How to Train Your Dragon is one of my favorite animated movies of all time. With the new live-action version of the movie hitting theaters later this month, I'm unsure how to feel about yet another animated movie from my youth getting the reboot treatment. That being said, I am very glad that the new movie is the cause of the very first LEGO How to Train Your Dragon set.
Toothless, the Night Fury himself, is about to be immortalized in LEGO bricks. The new How to Train Your Dragon set is set to release on July 1, 2025 and is meant for adult builders specifically. At 784 pieces, LEGO Toothless is a mid-range build with a mid-range price tag of $69.99. It's currently available to preorder at the LEGO store right now ahead of its release date.
Preorder LEGO Icons How to Train Your Dragon: Toothless
The most surprising thing about this set is how many pieces go into it. At first glance it looks like it would be really small, but it actually sets over 6.5-inches once its full built. With 784 pieces, it's likely a lot more complex of a build than you'd think just looking at the images. All of these pieces likely contribute to the posable nature of the set. Once its built you can pose the head, jaw, wings, and tail to set it in whatever position you wish to display. It also comes with a fish and a plasma-blast attachment so you can choose whether to have something coming out of his mouth or not and have options available.
The design looks very similar to how Toothless looked in the original animated film, and they've made him look pretty much the same in the live-action version. He's got those big green eyes, and is set in a dog-like sitting pose that makes him seem very approachable. His missing tail fin is fitted with the design featured at the end of the movie, rather than the initial leather version that Hiccup made to help him fly.
More New LEGO Sets You Can Buy Now
This newly announced set may be enticing to fans of How to Train Your Dragon, but it doesn't come out until July. If you're looking for new sets that were just released in June, there are actually a lot of options to choose from. There are some LEGO book nooks that are very popular so far as well as the first LEGO Simpsons set we've seen in over seven years.
How to Get The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle
The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle can be purchased on any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. If you're looking to cut down on streaming costs and currently own all three of these, this is an excellent bundle to invest in. It'll save you quite a bit compared to what you'd pay for the three of them separately per month - 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.
Hulu deal for students — Get Hulu (With Ads) for just $1.99/month
If you're a student enrolled in a university (a US Title IV accredited college or university, per Hulu's website), you can sign up for Hulu (With Ads) for $1.99 a month. That's an excellent deal if you're a student, saving you $8 on the usual monthly price.
Hulu subscription tiers
Hulu is available in a couple of different tiers. The least expensive option is the ad-supported tier, which comes in at $9.99/month. This gives you access to everything exclusive, tons of movies, Hulu Originals, children's programming, and more. If you want to ditch the ads, the ad-free plan is $18.99/month.
Hulu: Bundle to Best
If you want a more affordable option when it comes to a Hulu subscription, you can't go wrong with a bundle, and Hulu has several to choose from:
Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) —Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) is $82.99/month and includes Disney+ and ESPN+. It also gives you access to more than 75 channels with live TV and unlimited DVR functionality. The Hulu + Live TV plan also has a three-day free trialto test out the service.
Hulu + Live TV (Ad-Free) —The ad-free version of Hulu+Live TV is $95.99/month and comes with ad-free versions of Hulu and Disney Plus, although ESPN still shows ads.
Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic —This is the most economic bundle. It will set you back $10.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. It lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both Disney+ and Hulu.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Basic —This bundle adds ESPN+ into the mix alongside Disney+ and Hulu, bumping up the price to $16.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN+ at this level.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Premium — This bundle is $26.99/month and comes with ESPN+ (with ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.
What can you watch on Hulu?
There is a bonkers amount of shows and movies you can watch on Hulu. Let's start at the top and simply talk about the verticals on offer with the base subscription, because if we also talk about what is available via Disney+, ESPN+, or live TV, we'll be here forever. (You can also sync up Hulu with Max to gain access to things like The Last of Us and House of the Dragon.)
Here's what you get:
Network and Hulu Original television shows (AMC, Adult Swim, ABC, A&E, FX, etc.)
Movies (HBO, Hulu Originals, anime films, etc.)
Sports (NHL, Soccer, MLB, Auto Racing, NFL, College Football, PGA, Tennis, etc.)
News (ABC News Live, Good Morning America, World News Tonight, 20/20, The View, etc.)
Hulu television
Hulu has some amazing shows, both those that are finished and many which are ongoing. For comedy, there are plenty of options to choose from, including New Girl, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, What We Do In The Shadows, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Broad City, Abbott Elementary, and so much more.
There are also some big Hulu originals to watch, including The Bear, The Old Man, The Handmaid's Tale, and Only Murders In The Building. With an FX partnership, Hulu is also home to those shows, including the drama miniseries, Shogun, and the upcoming Alien: Earth series.
As far as animated fare, there are modern adult classics like Rick and Morty and Bob's Burgers, as well as Futurama, Family Guy, and King of the Hill. Anime staples like Cowboy Bebop are also available. And if you want to bring more youth-friendly fun, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Curious George are just a small sample of what Hulu has available.
The future of Hulu
Hulu isn't going anywhere. Beyond it being awarded the best streaming service by us, it also received a 9/10 in our updated Hulu review. Writer Rosie Knight said, "Hulu's ease of use, solid UI, and ever- expanding catalog has moved it ahead of top competitor Netflix to secure our highest score for a streaming service."
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel’s annual World Championship is fast approaching, which means the Road to Worlds campaign is underway. There are free log-in rewards, and you can compete in qualifying events for the opportunity to represent your region at the World Championship in Paris.
If you don’t know about Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, we can give you a quick rundown. It’s a free-to-play digital version of the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game, with more than 10,000 cards and including the evolutions the game has made over its more than 25 years of existence. It’s available across nearly all platforms — iOS, Android, PC, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S — and has cross-platform play, letting you Duel players of varying skill levels from all over the world.
If that sounds intimidating, don’t worry. If you’re a new player or haven’t played in a while and need a refresher, there are in-game tutorials that teach you the basics of the game. Once you finish those tutorials, you get a base Deck to get started and can collect new cards as you progress through the game. The game also provides visual cues to let you know when you can execute combos and chain effects or respond to your opponent’s effects, helping make sure you don’t miss anything while you’re learning the game.
You can continue practicing and getting better through Solo Mode, where you play through storylines and learn more about the lore behind the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. As you probably already know, the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise extends across several pieces of media and is a big reason for the international popularity of the TCG. That combined with the competitive nature of the game has also made it popular with professional athletes, which you can see NBA player Grant Williams and professional football players Kris Jenkins and Ryan Hunter discuss in the videos below.
Once you’ve gotten more comfortable with the game, you can move on to face your fellow Duelists. And now’s the time to jump in, since there will be free log-in rewards during the Road to Worlds event that can help you build up your Deck before taking on the qualifying events
From now until July 3, you can get a series of daily rewards for a total of 1,000 gems, a profile icon, and a Red Supernova Dragon Card. You can get additional gems and rewards if you take part in the World Championship Qualifiers, which anyone can enter starting June 3.
The initial qualifying round will last until June 12, with Duelists beginning at a different level depending on what rank they reached in May’s Season 41. But don’t worry, even if you didn’t take part in Season 41, you can still compete in the qualifiers, you’ll just start from Duel Level 1. Winning Duels will see you rise through the ranks, to a max of Duel Level 20. Anyone who reaches Duel Level 20 will then move on to Regionals between June 12–15, where the goal is simply to get as many points as possible by defeating other qualifying Duelists.
The top performers in each region earn an invite to the World Championship in Paris, where they’ll compete for the grand prize. While the qualifying rounds and Championship are all single-player matches, the players who win and move on to Paris will also get the chance to team up with two other Duelists to take on the defending champions from the United States.
There will be hundreds of thousands of Duelists of all skill levels from around the world competing during the Road to Worlds events. With so many active players and easily attainable in-game rewards, there won’t be a better time to start your journey in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. The game is free-to-play and there’s no entrance fee for the qualifying events, so there’s nothing stopping you from building a Deck and giving it a shot.
For more information about Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, including several tutorial videos to help you understand card types and strategies, you can visit the official website. For more details about all the events leading up to the World Championship, you can check out the Road to Worlds page. To keep up with news and updates, you can follow Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel on Twitter and Instagram.
Nintendo has just released a short clip of footage from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet running on Nintendo Switch 2 at 60fps and... okay, sure, that does look a lot better.
The footage was released via the Nintendo Today! app. It's not much, just over 30 seconds of clips of the main character running through the world, but it does show off what seems to be a significant improvement over the Nintendo Switch 1 version of the game.
At 60fps, many of the issues with characters popping in and out at a short distance seem to be alleviated, and more Pokémon are able to appear on screen, at further distances, at a time. In particular the main city, Mesagoza, looks a lot better in the brief glimpse we get, and being able to see more Pokémon from farther away helps the world look a touch less empty.
Of course, at just half a minute of official, curated footage, it's not really possible to say how this impacts the experience holistically. In our review of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet at launch, we noted that the fps was really just one issue of many. At the time, Scarlet and Violet were riddled with bugs ranging from harmless visual goofiness to game crashing, and features such as raid battles seemed to be broken by design. Multiple DLC releases didn't alleviate most of those issues, either.
It will be interesting to see how much of a difference a Nintendo Switch 2 makes to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet when the upgrade patch releases on June 5 alongside the console. Its improvements will likely be a harbinger of what's to come with the imminent release of Pokemon Legends Z-A this October, too.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Warning! Potential Death Stranding 2 spoilers follow:
The U.S. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has once again dropped an unsolicited clue about an unreleased game, this time confirming in Death Stranding 2's rating summary that as well as the anticipated "open-world landscape to deliver various goods and packages" as a courier "attempting to reconnect society in a post-apocalyptic world," players will be able to bash stuff to death with a guitar.
This may not be the first time you've heard of this unique weapon — interestingly, Higgs literally shreds in the announcement trailer posted over a year ago now — but at the time, fans weren't sure if that was just something Higgs got to indulge in. Now it seems we'll either get to rock out as Sam with a guitar weapon of his own, or we'll get to play as Higgs and use his. It's not clear which. It could be both!
"This is an action game in which players assume the role of a courier (Sam Porter Bridges) attempting to reconnect society in a post-apocalyptic world," the ESRB summary reads.
"From a third-person perspective, players traverse an open-world landscape to deliver various goods and packages. Along the way, players can engage in combat against human soldiers, battle androids, and ghostly apparitions. Players use melee weapons (e.g., battle guitar) and firearms (e.g., machine guns, sniper rifles) to kill enemies."
Players can expect realistic gunfire, blood, and slow-motion effects, as well as stealthy takedowns "to incapacitate soldiers discreetly." There will also be further sequences with "additional acts of violence and/or gore," including some dude losing his hands and legs to a robot samurai, another who's cut in half by an unspecified giant machine, and a man set alight "in a fantastical manner."
Death Stranding 2 is, as you'd expected, rated Mature 17+.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Downton Abbey is finally coming to a close with Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. The trailer for the upcoming film, which is set to put the story’s 15-year run to bed once and for all, was just released by Focus Features.
The Grand Finale marks the third film in the Downton Abbey franchise and the final conclusion to the story of the Grantham family, which originated with the 2010 ITV series. The final film will follow Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary “as she navigates London high society, while Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) oversee the Yorkshire County estate.”
The place we'll always remember. The family we'll never forget. Everything has led to this.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is only in theaters September 12. Watch the teaser trailer now. pic.twitter.com/FdlfDVPc1m
The film concludes both the film trilogy and six seasons of the television series, and because it’s such a major event, The Grand Finale will bring back many famous faces who have appeared in the Downton Abbey-verse in the past. That includes Paul Giamatti, Dominic West, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, and Jim Carter. The movie will also feature Arty Froushan, Simon Russell Beale, Alessandro Nivola, and Joely Richardson, who are all newcomers to the Downton Abbey world.
The first footage from the film debuted at CinemaCon this year back in April as part of Universal’s presentation of upcoming projects.
The first Downton Abbey film was released in 2019, with the second movie, Downton Abbey: A New Era, coming shortly after in 2022. Simon Curtis, who directed A New Era, returns to helm the third film from a script by series creator and main writer Julian Fellowes, who also wrote the previous two films.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is set to arrive in theaters on September 12, 2025.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
A new, single-player Dungeons & Dragons action adventure is on the way from Stig Asmussen, the director behind Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and God of War 3.
The currently-untitled D&D project was announced today by Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, and is set to launch on PC and unannounced consoles "at a later date."
Asmussen's new studio Giant Skull is on development duties for the upcoming D&D project. Founded last year following Asmussen's departure from Respawn Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based Giant Skull was previously announced as making a new AAA single-player game built using Unreal Engine 5.
"Our talented and experienced team at Giant Skull is built on creativity and curiosity," Asmussen said in a statement today. "Our goal is to craft a rich new Dungeons & Dragons universe filled with immersive storytelling, heroic combat and exhilarating traversal that players will fully embrace."
The announcement of Giant Skull's project adds to a portfolio of games set to be published by Wizards of the Coast over the coming years, after the hugely-successful Baldur's Gate 3 from Larian, another D&D game, helped raised the profile of the franchise globally.
Another D&D action adventure game is already in development at Invoke Studios, the team behind Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance. Wizards of the Coast is also set to publish Exodus, the promising-looking sci-fi RPG from Archetype Entertainment, a developer founded by a collection of former Mass Effect veterans.
"We're kind of working out our plans for the future and what we're going to be doing with that," Hasbro gaming boss Dan Ayoub told IGN back in March this year. "And actually, in pretty short order, we're going to have some stuff to talk about around that."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Considering what it offers, Disney Plus is one of the best streaming services on the block. From classic Disney animated films to the latest Marvel shows and Star Wars movies, excellent kids' programming like Bluey, and so much more, Disney Plus puts an incredible range of high-quality viewing options at your fingertips. And with so much to check out - including Captain America: Brave New World - you'll want to find a plan that best suits you. We're here to help.
At the moment, one of the best Disney Plus bundle deals available is the massive Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle. This starts at $16.99/month to get you all three streaming services with ads. It's one of the best bundles available at the moment, but we've included more Disney Plus bundle deals worth exploring below. If you're looking for more streaming deals from other services, check out the best Hulu deals and bundles and the best Max deals.
How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle
The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle can be purchased through any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across the three platforms.
If you currently own all three and want to cut down on costs, this is a great way to bundle them together and save big on what you'd pay for them separately per month – 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.
What Is the Paid Sharing Plan on Disney Plus?
In an effort to crack down on password sharing, Disney has added a paid sharing plan for individuals outside of your household. Basically, anyone using your account that's not within your household will have to be added as an "Extra Member" to your account. This costs an additional $6.99/month for the ad-supported Basic subscription and $9.99/month for the Premium ad-free plan, and only one Extra Member slot is available per account. You can learn more from Disney's paid sharing explainer here.
What Are the Different Disney+ Subscription Tiers?
Disney+ is available in a couple of different tiers. You can get the least expensive option (called Disney+ Basic) for $9.99/month, which gives you access to everything except the ability to download select shows to watch on the go. This tier is ad supported. If you want to get rid of ads and be able to download certain shows, you can spring for the $15.99/month or $159.99/year Disney+ Premium package.
What Are the Different Disney+ Bundles?
Want a way to save on your Disney+ membership? Bundles are a great, affordable way to go. As far as bundles go, there are two ad-supported bundles and two ad-free bundles. Here's the breakdown:
Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic is $10.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. This plan lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both services.
Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium is $19.99/month and comes with Hulu and Disney+ with no ads. It also includes Disney+ Premium features like the ability to download shows to watch on the go.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Basic adds ESPN+ (With Ads) to the mix alongside Disney+ (With Ads) and Hulu (With Ads), bumping up the price to $16.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN+ at this level.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Premium is $26.99/month and comes with ESPN+ (With Ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.
Disney+ Gift Cards
If you want to help someone out and give them a gift that will keep on giving, gifting a one-year Disney+ card is a great way to go. It provides all the great things Disney+ offers and it costs a fraction of what it would take to buy even a small sampling of those movies physically.
What Can You Watch on Disney+?
There is a bonkers array of shows and movies you can watch on Disney+. Let's start at the top and simply talk about the verticals on offer here with the base subscription.
On the Disney front, you have awesome classic movies like The Sword In The Stone, Robin Hood, 101 Dalmations, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty, modern classics like The Princess & The Frog, Tangled, and Frozen, and a wide range of animated shows, including Phineas & Ferb.
You also gain access to a ton of vintage content like Escape to Witch Mountain, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Love Bug, and a whole lot more. The Disney Junior section is home to absolutely top tier animated shows like Bluey (which, for my money, is worth the price of admission on its own).
There's way more on offer, too, including a ton of Muppet movies, new live-action films and adaptions, nature programs, documentaries, Pirates of the Caribbean, and musical programs featuring Taylor Swift (like her wildly popular The Eras Tour), Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and more.
Pixar on Disney+
When it comes to computer generated films, Pixar stands alone. Kicking off the revolution with Toy Story, Pixar has consistently put out fantastic films, and they are all here. From the Toy Story series to Finding Nemo, Cars, and more recent hits like Inside Out 2, there is a ton to love.
Beyond even that, there are incredible shorts like Bao and Party Central, as well as a wide range of originals and series based on major films, such as Dory's Reef Cam, Forky Asks A Question, Cars On The Road, and more.
Marvel on Disney+
The MCU has become a true juggernaut, and there are many viewers who subscribe to Disney+ purely for access to nearly the entire MCU lineup of films and shows.
Whether you are a fan of the blockbuster action films, you are an appreciator of the classic 90s runs of "Saturday morning" cartoons like X-Men, or you are currently vibing to the funky theme of the 1981 Spider-Man series, there is a ton of Marvel to enjoy on Disney+. And with new movies and shows being added to the MCU all the time, including most recently Deadpool & Wolverine and Captain America: Brave New World, there is always more coming.
Star Wars on Disney+
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a film that changed everything. The original Star Wars is a seminal sci-fi fantasy work that inspired generations of creators, but there is still nothing quite like that far away galaxy. Disney+ grants access to all things Star Wars, including the remastered versions of the original trilogy (hopefully some day they'll add the theatrical cuts, too), as well as the prequels and sequels.
Alienware is offering competitive prices on RTX 5080 equipped gaming PCs to kick off June. Right now you can pick up an Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 gaming PC from $2,349.99 shipped. This is a good price for a well-engineered gaming rig with powerful current generation components, 240mm AIO water cooling, and sensible airflow design that can handle 4K gaming at high frame rates. In the current market, buying a prebuilt gaming PC is the only way to score an RTX 5080 GPU without paying an exorbitant markup. If you were to try to find a 5080 GPU for your do-it-yourself PC build, you'll probably spend nearly as much for the GPU as you would for an entire system.
Alienware Aurora RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $2,350
The prices on the Alienware Aurora R16 model starts range from the bottom end of $2,349.99 to the top end of $3,149.99. Each tier up offers either a CPU upgrade or increased RAM and/or storage:
Alienware Area-51 RTX 5080 Gaming PC for $3,449.99
Dell unveiled the new Alienware Area-51 gaming PC at CES 2025. The chassis looks similar to the 2024 R16 system with aesthetic and cooling redesigns and updated components. The I/O panel is positioned at the top of the case instead of the front, and the tempered glass window now spans the entire side panel instead of just a smaller cutout. As a result, the side panel vents are gone, and instead air intakes are located at the bottom as well as the front of the case. Alienware is now pushing a positive airflow design (more intake than exhaust airflow), which means a less dusty interior. The internal components have been refreshed with a new motherboard, faster RAM, and more powerful power supply to accommodate the new generation of CPUs and GPUs.
The GeForce RTX 5080 GPU will run any game in 4K
The RTX 5080 is the second best Blackwell graphics card, surpassed only by the $2,000 RTX 5090. It's about 5%-10% faster than the previous generation RTX 4080 Super, which is discontinued and no longer available. In games that support the new DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation exclusive to Blackwell cards, the gap widens.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
The thrilling second season of The Last of Us is officially getting a 4K steelbook. If you've been waiting for news of its physical release to drop, preorders are live now and it's officially set to release on September 23 this year (see here at Amazon). Head to the links below to secure your copy and scroll further down to learn more about the bonus features included with this steelbook.
Preorder The Last of Us: Season Two Season (Steelbook)
The Last of Us Season Two Steelbook Bonus Features
The Last of Us season two steelbook comes with a wide variety of bonus features to dig into. They are:
Ellie's Ultimate Revenge
Beneath the Surface: The Visual FX of The Last of Us
Growing the World of The Last of Us
Welcome to Jackson (Set Tour)
Joel's Journey to Season 2
Ellie's Journey to Season 2
Pedro and Bella Q&A
Battle of Jackson, Deconstructed
Open Book: Isabela Merced & Young Mazino
Mushroom Taste Test
Character Featurette – Joel
Character Featurette – Ellie
Character Featurette – Abby
Character Featurette – Dina
Making of: The Last of Us Episode #1
Making of: The Last of Us Episode #2
Making of: The Last of Us Episode #3
Making of: The Last of Us Episode #4
Making of: The Last of Us Episode #5
Making of: The Last of Us Episode #6
Making of: The Last of Us Episode #7
Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles for each episode
For even more TV shows and films releasing in a physical format soon, have a look through our breakdown of upcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases. Here, we've listed out a wide variety of shows and movies coming out soon over the next few months, so you can plan ahead to stock up.
More Upcoming Physical Releases
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks has unveiled its new-look website and confirmed its working on an "unannounced action game."
The site — which shows new branding and a careers page recruiting for new roles for an unannounced project — states Tango Gameworks' core mission is to "create new games and expand intellectual properties" as an "independent development studio based in Tokyo, Japan" under the Krafton umbrella.
PUBG publisher Krafton then acquired Tango Gameworks and the Hi-Fi Rush IP from Microsoft back in August 2024, saving the studio from being shut down. Krafton shared the news in a press release alongside confirming that, "as part of this strategic agreement, Krafton intends to collaborate with Xbox and ZeniMax to ensure a smooth transition and maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks, allowing the talented team to continue developing the Hi-Fi Rush IP and explore future projects."
"Finally, after months of waiting, Tango Gameworks is back, and in a brand-new way," the studio's new website states. "We’ve opened our site to give our fans and future team members a look into our studio. Here you can learn about the studio philosophy, as well as see featurettes from members of the team.
"Since joining Krafton, Tango Gameworks embarks on a new chapter, developing titles that resonate with players around the world," the company added. "We remain dedicated to the creation and growth of distinctive and new IPs, taking on challenges to be a unique voice in the game industry."
Tango added that its vision is "centered on a studio that acts like a creative workshop, making games and experiences that emphasize that 'hand-made' feel we put into our work."
As for what that new game may be? That's difficult to call right now. A news post published earlier today says Tango "aren’t ready to reveal much yet," but "has a number of positions open for early work on an unannounced action game."
"The positions span almost every department, so if you are interested in working with the team behind such hit releases as Hi-Fi Rush, read up on our studio philosophy." According to a machine translation of the senior-level designer position, Tango is looking for someone with "experience developing 3D action games" in Unreal Engine 5. The cutscene manager job similarly calls for 3D action game experience, but doesn't give us any other clues for now. Could it be Hi-Fi Rush 2?
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Elden Ring Nightreign Patch 1.01.1 is live now, taking aim at the single-player experience to hopefully ease up the difficulty on those trying to clear the new FromSoftware game by themselves. One player, however, decided not to wait, and cleared every Nightlord solo before the patch made anything easier.
Single-player difficulty in Elden Ring Nightreign has been one of the new game's hot topics, post-launch. Players have expressed frustration over how difficult running the game solo compared to trios has felt. Here's a bit of what our Elden Ring Nightreign review here at IGN had to say about it:
"None of this is to say that solo play is outright impossible, and I have had a few successful runs on my own. Just that the balancing of solo play feels like a job half finished, and as a result, the frustration of playing alone wasn’t worth the triumph for me to have any desire to play more without a squad."
All of this built up to Bandai Namco and FromSoftware announcing a patch, arriving today, that took aim at easing the burden of solo players. For many, this might be a welcome relief.
Over on the r/Nightreign subreddit, though, user "Valseran" posted evidence of their solo clears of each Nightlord, from the game's starting expedition to its final boss. Their reasoning? "Wanted to rush them down before the nerf."
It's certainly an achievement. I'd heard tell of other players clearing big chunks of the game solo, and some, like YouTuber Ongbal, have been posting their solo victories against specific Nightreign bosses. Still, Valseran's effort to clear everything they could before the patch closed in is both impressive and fitting.
You can see the clear times on the right-hand side, showing them advancing steadily and clearing bosses in the days ahead of the update, like they're outrunning the impending storm of the patch. These bragging rights were earned largely by Ironeye wins it seems, with the Duchess and Executor characters making cameo appearances early on. Thankfully, we don't have to intuit too much from just one screenshot alone, as Valseran went into further detail about their victory within the comments.
"Don't worry too much about getting a good bow so much as stacking weapon passives in your other slots," said Valseran, when asked about tips for Ironeye. "Ranged dmg, dmg while Two-handing, and dmg while at full health can all stack and really cause your damage output to get absurd. Any purple quality bow will shine with some decent passives. Also his dash ability is great dmg output but i tend to save it as a dodge when i know an attack thats difficult to roll is on the way, I tend to use his Art for the same reason against bosses, more for the invulnerability than the damage."
While Valseran primarily ran Ironeye, the ranged archer among the Nightfarers, they did say they prefer melee on some bosses, and even ran melee weapons as Ironeye on a few. Some bosses, though, are "just a nightmare solo" without ranged attacks, according to the lone wolf archer. They also rank the final boss as the hardest, but say they died to the centaur boss (Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow) the most.
Extra lives also seem to be a big priority, which makes sense; without teammates to pick you up, you'd like to have a safety net or two. Valseran said they would prioritize acquiring the extra lives from merchants, and also some field bosses would also drop them depending on the expedition. "One of my boss fights i went in with 4 extra lives," said Valseran. "But at the very least, always get one early."
An extra life during boss fights is one of the ways FromSoftware is handing solo players a helping hand with Patch 1.01.1. The effect "Automatic Revival Upon Defeat," which allows revival during a night boss battle once per night, has been added to solo expeditions, effectively handing players a free second life. Valseran did say they think the extra life will be "kinda substantial" in solo play. Since stacking them is already ideal for single-player, having a free one is a nice bonus.
So while the single-player Nightfarers might have an easier time with clearing some of the more challenging fights in Elden Ring Nightreign, at least one player has earned some significant bragging rights. For everyone else, Elden Ring Nightreign is out now, with a slightly easier burden to bear for the lone wolves, and waiting for more Nightfarers to attempt to clear its challenges.
Here we go again! The upcoming sequel to the Five Nights at Freddy’sfilm adaptation, simply titled Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, has officially released its poster — and needless to say, we’re pretty excited to head back to Freddy Fazbear’s for a slice (pun intended) once again.
The one-sheet features a children’s toy called the FazTalker, which feels reminiscent of a two-way radio and one of those kids boombox-microphone combos from Fisher Price back in the day. It features the pizza joint’s main mascot, Freddy Fazbear, and has speakers and/or a microphone in the ears and an open mouth. Instead of an actual bowtie, that space is outlined and a communication screen is in its place. In the poster, that screen reads: “You there?”
Clearly, someone is trying to communicate, potentially with Mike, the first film’s leading man who is going to be played once again by The Hunger Games alum Josh Hutcherson. Considering the movie’s final act, it isn’t far-fetched to think this poster image could somehow be related to William Afton, the owner of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and chief antagonist played by Matthew Lillard.
While Afton, who is presumed dead at this point, did not appear in the first film as Freddy Fazbear — spoiler alert here, but he did end up becoming Springtrap, which is a specific version of the yellow Bonnie rabbit costume that FNAF fans know well — that doesn’t mean that this can’t potentially be his ghost trying to communicate from the beyond.
That said, there’s a lot of potential explanations for the toy, as it isn’t part of the original FNAF lore and seems to have been created for the movie. Mike’s little sister, Abby, could potentially own the toy, which might then be trying to communicate with, and maybe even mess with, her — especially when you consider that it has already been established in the first film that the ghosts of the children Afton killed were able to communicate via the dreams and drawings of both Mike and Abby. It definitely feels plausible that this device could somehow be co-opted to work within those confines and then be used for evil, maybe even in an attempt to lure the characters back to Fazbear’s again.
According to a press release from Universal, the film has also settled on a tagline for the second installment: “Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances.” Honestly, we’re scared. The first five nights were hard enough!
The first FNAF movie, which was released in October 2023, “opened to a record-shattering $80 million and went on to earn almost $300 million worldwide,” according to the studio. The next film — which was written by the game’s creator Scott Cawthon and directed by Emma Tammi, who helmed the 2023 hit —is set to be released on December 5, 2025.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
The Witcher 4 developer CD Projekt Red has confirmed it will showcase more of its highly-anticipated upcoming RPG this week.
In a post on social media this afternoon, CD Projekt Red announced it would be bringing a look at "the innovative techonology and features that will power The Witcher 4, and beyond" to Epic Games' State of Unreal briefing tomorrow.
Epic's keynote will kick off at 9.30am Eastern time tomorrow, June 3, and will be streamed online.
Last year, Epic devoted a portion of its State of Unreal showcase to a peek at Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, the Captain America and Black Panther-starring game from Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig.
A similar focus on The Witcher 4 would provide our first look at in-game (or at least in-engine) visuals for the project, which has so far only been glimpsed via a lengthy CGI trailer. Could we even see proper gameplay? Time will tell.
We'll be coming together with @UnrealEngine to present during the State of Unreal.
We’re looking forward to showcasing some of the innovative technology & features that will power The Witcher 4, and beyond.
Another interesting point here is CD Projekt's mention of technology that powers not only The Witcher 4, but "beyond." Is this is a reference to future games in this new era of The Witcher, or could we get a glimpse at another UE5-powered CD Projekt game, such as Cyberpunk 2?
Finally, more five years after its first announcement, we're about to get our first real look at IO Interactive's new James Bond game. Initially teased as Project 007, the official title is 007 First Light, and it's set for a reveal sometime this week.
In a post to Twitter/X today, developer IO Interactive showed a still image of presumably James Bond in silouette lit faintly by a single beam of light, with text reading "First Light 007" and "Game reveal this week." It included a hashtag "#EarnTheNumber", likely a reference to a fact that the project is an origin story centered around Bond "earning" his 007 number.
The post didn't include any further details, but it seems likely we'll see this game at one of the showcases planned for the coming week as a part of Summer Game Fest, Summer of Gaming, or one of the other gaming events typical for the first week of June.
007 First Light was first revealed back in 2020 as Project 007, and since then we've learned very, very little about it. We know it's a James Bond origin story and is a wholly original piece of work rather than retreading the events of any particular film. More recently, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak said he hopes this will be the start of a new trilogy of games, though unfortunately the studio's beloved Hitman franchise is on hiatus while IOI works on this game. We also learned just this past April that in addition to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, it's getting a Nintendo Switch 2 release.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
PlayStation's Days of Play is back, and with it some great PS5 deals. From games to accessories to consoles, this year's event features a wide variety of discounts for gamers to enjoy. Here we've gathered up some of the top deals available at the moment, including the new PS5 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 bundle that dropped as part of Days of Play. There are some great game deals to highlight as well, including offers on Astro Bot, Helldivers 2, and so many more.
There's so much to enjoy with this summertime sale event, so let's jump right in. Here are IGN's top picks for the best PlayStation deals today.
Best PS5 Video Game Deals
The Days of Play sale has seen quite a few discounts on some exciting games. Helldivers 2 has dropped to $29.83, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is down to $29.99, and beloved GOTY winner at The Game Awards, Astro Bot, is down to $49.94. Woot's Spring Sale is still going strong as well, with deals on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Silent Hill 2, and many more.
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 bundle runs for $399.99 for the digital console bundle or up to $449.99 for the disc console bundle. With each of these deals you're saving $119.99 compared to buying each item separately, which is a very nice offer to take advantage of while it's still available.
The PS5 Pro has received a $50 discount in the Days of Play sale, dropping its price from $699.99 to $649. If you've been looking for a performance boost and have had your eye on this console, now is a good time to pick it up. Our PlayStation 5 Pro review from IGN's Michael Higham called it, "an impressive console with noticeable boosts in performance and graphics for games that take advantage of its powerful hardware."
If you've been waiting for a good time to pick up a new controller (or an extra for co-op), now's your chance. Thanks to Days of Play, several different colors of DualSense Controller are marked down at the moment. The DualSense Edge has also received a discount, which you can see below.
The PSVR2 Horizon: Call of the Mountain bundle has received a $50 price drop as part of Days of Play, bringing its price down to $349. This package is a great value for everything you're getting (the PSVR2 headset and controllers alongside the Horizon Call of The Mountain game), and pushes the PSVR2 as a strong contender against budget-friendly VR options like the Meta Quest, delivering a premium virtual reality experience without the eye-watering cost.
Sony also gave the PSVR2 a new lease of life by adding PC VR support, allowing owners of the second-generation headset to play PC VR games like Half-Life: Alyx, provided they have the Sony-made adapter.
A bunch of different PlayStation accessories are on sale for Days of Play as well, from headphones and earbuds to console covers and more. You can see some of our favorite picks at the moment from the sale event above.
Best PS5 SSD Deals
PS5 games continue to grow in size, and with SSD prices climbing, finding the right storage at a great price is more important than ever. We've listed our favorite deals just here, but you should ensure you're checking back here for more updates as often as possible, as new SSD deals pop up all the time.
Keep in mind that not all SSDs are compatible with the PS5. To ensure optimal performance on the best PS5 SSD, you'll need a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 drive with a minimum read speed of 5,500MB/s to match the console's internal storage.
PlayStation Plus Deals
Essential - $63.99 (was $80)
Extra - $101.24 (was $135)
Premium - $107.19 (was $160)
PS Plus 12-month plans are up to 33% off for Days of Play. That’s for people who aren’t currently subscribers. If you already have a PS Plus subscription, you can upgrade your plan to a higher tier and save 33% off the remainder of your membership.
Where to Buy: PlayStation Portal
The PlayStation Portal has come a long way since its launch. Initial skepticism surrounded the device, but over time, it has proven itself as a handy companion for PS5 owners.
Despite stock challenges and surges in demand, a new feature is making the Portal even more appealing to potential buyers. Sony rolled out an update for the PlayStation Portal, currently in opt-in beta, allowing PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers to stream games from the cloud.
This means you can now enjoy a library of games on the go—even if you don’t own a PS5. The update adds another compelling reason to consider the PlayStation Portal.
How to Trade in Your Old PlayStation Consoles
If you're looking to trade in your old PlayStation consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.
Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.
While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you'll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction. The latter of which poses its own risks.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
Introducing Victory Banner, a new World War II-set real-time strategy and third-person shooter hybrid whose gameplay that lets you switch seamlessly between top-down tactics and boots-on-the-ground action. It's in development for PC.
In Victory Banner, you'll secure trenches, rescue wounded allies, set up comms, and more. You'll be able to play as sniper, medic, or tank operator – and every soldier has a name and a story, a la XCOM, in an effort to give extra gameplay meaning to each unit. You can command both entire squads and individual units.
This unique genre mashup is set in 1941 on Europe's Eastern Front. Two single-player modes are promised: the enemy-dominating Frontline as well as the name-tells-you-everything Stealth mode. Victory Mode is developer Peresvet's debut game, and you can wishlist it on Steam if you're interested.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
If you’re checking out the Nintendo Switch 2 preorders currently available at Amazon UK, or are checking the one you placed weeks ago, you may have noticed it’s scheduled to come after the console’s June 5th release date this week.
While this would normally be a cause for concern, we’ve determined this is not the case. While the current Nintendo Switch 2 product page at Amazon UK, for example, states a delivery date of June 7 with Prime delivery, this appears to be an error in Amazon’s stock and order management system.
When looking at reports of conversations with Amazon support reps, all customer service agents that have been spoken to have stated that Switch 2 preorders will still arrive on June 5th.
The reason for the inaccurately stated date on the site is likely due to how the website utilises its various systems to determine stock availability and delivery dates on the retailer’s huge scale.
Like how Amazon uses an automated, varied pricing system, instantly fluctuating prices for items based on availability and demand, the website applies the same sort of thinking to delivery times based on multiple factors.
These include elements like general shipping times, holidays, troublesome weather, and the specific location you’re order is going to.
In the Nintendo Switch 2’s case, Amazon UK’s advertised delay has likely come from the system calculating its many pre-orders for this one product going out at the same time.
Taking into account the number of packages, along with the number of local depot workers and delivery drivers available in each region, it looks like the system is adding extra days to account for adding strain that fulfilling all those orders would bring.
In reality, though, Amazon UK have seemingly already logistically planned for this, as it has done so for countless big product launches over the years, like the PlayStation 5 or original Nintendo Switch.
From our own experiences, including our own team’s preorders, these “delayed” estimates are usually updated closer to launch, and the item still turns up on your doorstep on release day.
Of course, there’s always the slight chance of local delivery delays or stock issues, but as of now, there’s no sign of that happening for the Switch 2. Everything points to Amazon delivering as promised.
If you’d like to be sure, however, you can reach out to Amazon UK yourself to check on your order via its customer service page.
Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.
Hard to believe it's already June. But a new month means a new batch of PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2(!), PC, and even VR games is heading our way. This month sees the release of the next iteration of Nintendo's incredibly popular hardware, plus a bunch of games (and ports) for launch. And if you're not into the new hybrid console, you can pick up Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for PS5, plus a bunch of other games. Read on to see release dates for all the biggest games and expansions coming out in May and beyond. Let's have a look.
If you're someone who likes to preorder your games, you can click the links on the platform of your choice to make sure it arrives on launch day.
June 2025 - Video Game Release Dates
The big release in June is obviously the Nintendo Switch 2, the Mario company's first new hardware in seven years. It's getting a new Mario Kart installment at launch, plus a ton of ports of big games like Cyberpunk, Hitman, Hogwarts, and more. Anyone not planning on spending $450+ on a new console this month can pick up a new Five Nights at Freddy's, a new Death Stranding, and more.
Deltarune Ch 1-4 - June 4 - (PS5, Switch, PC) (Switch 2 on June 5)
But fans believe this ending was clearly not the series' original plan, and Gatwa's decision to leave after only 18 episodes prompted something of a rethink.
Let's travel back in time to this time last year, when Gatwa was still demonstrating enthusiasm for continuing on in the coveted role. At this point, filming for the recent season finale was being completed (fans tracking location shooting believe in May 2024), and the series had episodes in the can to last for another 12 months.
In April 2024, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gatwa said he would be "so angry if I never face a Dalek." (Only one other Doctor, Paul McGann's briefly-seen Eighth Doctor, has not.)
"By the time that I'm done with Doctor Who, I better have faced a Dalek," Gatwa continued. "What on earth would be the point of me being Doctor Who without facing a Dalek!"
But later last year, an appearance by Gatwa on the BBC's Graham Norton Show raised eyebrows when a comment about his still-to-be-confirmed third season was cut from transmission. The audience in the room reportedly heard Gatwa state that season three would film in 2025 — however this comment was trimmed from the version of the show ulimately broadcast.
The BBC's Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has maintained that the decision to make further episodes with co-production partner Disney was always set to be made now, following the conclusion of the second season airing. But this situation — even if resolved immediately — has left the show on a production hiatus, with no new episodes expected to be ready much before 2027.
Roll forward to February 2025, and fans who track Doctor Who location filming spotted that the show's production had resumed, although not on new episodes. Instead, additional location shooting for this season's finale took place for the scenes set in the house and garden of companion Belinda Chandra, in the ending viewers saw at the weekend where Gatwa's Doctor bids her farewell, before heading off in his TARDIS to regenerate.
Clearly, this block of shooting — nearly a year after the original production wrapped, and only three months before transmission — was not a minor venture. Behind the scenes footage aired during the finale's accompanying Doctor Who Unleashed documentary shows that Gatwa's final day of shooting was back on the UNIT set, with many returning cast members present. And, of course, Gatwa's regeneration sequence featured an appearance by former Doctor Jodie Whittaker — another apparently late addition.
All of this means the final third of the finale was likely affected by reshoots — everything from when Gatwa's Doctor leaves UNIT initially to try and save Poppy via a hastily-hatched plan. It's only at this point viewers first get a sense that Gatwa is planning to regenerate on purpose, with later scenes then establishing his time as Fifteen is definitely coming to an end.
Word of Gatwa's departure leaked in recent weeks from an account on YouTube that accurately spoiled every major plot point from the whole season (including Mrs Flood's identity, Whittaker's return, Omega, and the bigeneration of The Rani). This account claims the original ending to the episode would have left the characters celebrating victory at a party, while the mysterious Susan (now left as a dangling plot thread) looked on, setting up the next season.
There's other evidence of this older ending — now presumably locked away in the BBC's vault, never to see light of day. Last week, Disney+ uploaded a promotional photo for the finale showing the Doctor and Belinda dancing at a party, in a scene that never made the final version of the episode. Fans expect that this was the party scene mentioned by the leaker, from the episode's original ending.
And then there's the matter of Belinda's father, whose actor highlighted his upcoming appearance in the season seemingly unaware his scenes had been entirely cut. Belinda still makes it home in the finale's final 20 minutes, but her father is explained as elsewhere, again pointing to another change in plot.
📺The new season of Doctor Who premieres this weekend on BBC One and streaming on BBC iPlayer. ⭐ARCHIE LAL as HARI CHANDRA.#SuperClientspic.twitter.com/hDRuLwLnot
Fans believe it's likely that this uncertainty over timings contibuted to Gatwa's decision to leave now and pursue other projects, rather than keep his schedule open indefinitely.
Gatwa's career certainly feels to be on the rise — from becoming the breakout star in Sex Education to featuring in the hit Barbie movie. Among fans, there has always been a sense that Gatwa's time in the TARDIS would likely be limited, as Hollywood came calling, though with just 18 episodes under his belt, many believe a third season would ensured his tenure never felt too brief.
Photo by Tommaso Boddi/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Reports that modders unlocked a secret multiplayer mode in Stellar Blade aren't quite as they seem, claims the player who first posted a split-screen gameplay video that's going viral across social media.
While overnight reports popped up that Stellar Blade developer Shift Up had built a defunct multiplayer mode directly into the game, the modder who discovered it and shared a two-player gameplay clip of Stellar Blade in Discord has insisted this is not the case.
"I woke up to everyone posting clips that I shared in a Discord completely out of context, I avoided tweeting these for a reason," PhantomSomnus wrote on X/Twitter. PhantomSomnus then explained that "split-screen mode is built into Unreal Engine, [Stellar Blade developer] Shift Up did not create it."
That's how PhantomSomnus managed to load a second Eve into their game. The split-screen multiplayer in the video was not developed by Shift Up, it was made by PhantomSomnus using Unreal Engine's native local multiplayer support. "The reason why I set up split-screen was to see if I could get any of it to work, but as you can see I failed," PhantomSomnus explained in a post on Reddit.
— Stellar Blade Brasil (@StellarBladeBR) June 1, 2025
"There ARE signs of multiplayer in the game," PhantomSomnus said, "but they're online only." A previous post of theirs includes a screenshot depicting what they found when digging around the demo's backend. The "old scrapped/unused multiplayer PVP mode," as Somnus calls it, no longer works, but they did discover "some menus left over."
Does this mean be any kind of multiplayer update or mod in the future for Stellar Blade? "Very unlikely," PhantomSomnus said.
The PC version of Stellar Blade launches via Steam on June 11 along with a raft of PC-specific features, including AI upscaling via Nvidia DLSS 4 and AMD FSR 3, an unlocked framerate, Japanese and Chinese voiceover, ultrawide display support, higher resolution environment textures, and DualSense support for haptic feedback and trigger effects. It was originally region locked in 100+ countries, but is now available to pre-order on PC in "over 250 regions."
IGN's Stellar Blade review returned a 7/10. We said: "Stellar Blade is great in all of the most important ways for an action game, but dull characters, a lackluster story, and several frustrating elements of its RPG mechanics prevent it from soaring along with the best of the genre."
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
FromSoftware has released Elden Ring Nightreign patch 1.01.1, the game’s first since launch, and with it made single-player mode a lot easier.
Update 1.01.1, available now across PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S, adds the effect "Automatic Revival Upon Defeat," which allows revival once per night boss battle to solo expeditions, and increases the amount of runes gained for solo expeditions.
That will come as some relief to players who had found solo mode a brutal experience. As explained in IGN's Elden Ring Nightreign review: "Let’s get the most important caveat out of the way first: if you are hoping to tackle Nightreign entirely solo, and are anything less than a hardcore Elden Ring player that actively seeks out ways to make that already difficult game even more challenging, Nightreign isn’t for you. Yes, there is technically a single-player option, but it is so poorly balanced that I would be shocked if it isn’t patched and adjusted within the first month of release. And this is coming from someone who lives and breathes these types of games."
Elsewhere, the update increases the number of high-rarity Relics that can be obtained as a reward when reaching Day 3 during Expeditions, and increases the probability of obtaining high-rarity Relics from Scenic Flat stones purchased at the Small Jar Bazaar. The patch notes, published by Bandai Namco, are in full below.
Over the weekend, FromSoftware acknowledged matchmaking issues on Elden Ring Nightreign, and offered suggestions to players affected. There had already been some negative reaction, mostly due to Nightreign's lack of duos co-op, lack of voice chat, and other archaic mechanics. That age-old multiplayer struggle to find enough friends to make up a coordinated three-player group is very much a part of the Elden Ring Nightreign experience, too.
Last week, producer Yasuhiro Kitao took to social media to comment on Elden Ring Nightreign’s early sales success (2 million units in its first day). “Nightreign has some peculiar aspects to its game design and is different from our recent titles in various ways,” Kitao said. “Nonetheless, many of you have bravely jumped into this world, and for that we're immensely grateful.
“As with Demon's Souls or Sekiro, it may be confounding at first, but just like those games, Nightreign offers its own challenges and experiences. Once you overcome the initial hurdle, it'll surely provide a sense of accomplishment that's also its very own.
The effect "Automatic Revival Upon Defeat", which allows revival once per night boss battle, has been added to solo expeditions.
The amount of runes gained has been increased for solo expeditions.
General balance adjustments
Increased the number of high-rarity Relics that can be obtained as a reward when reaching Day 3 during Expeditions.
Increased the probability of obtaining high-rarity Relics from Scenic Flat stones purchased at the Small Jar Bazaar.
Bug Fixes
Adjusted camera behavior when activating the Guardian's Ultimate Art, “Wings of Salvation.”
Fixed a bug in the Duchess's Character Skill “Restage” where Status Ailments would not trigger when built up from other players' attacks.
Fixed a bug where some attacks of Raider with Greataxe and Great Hammer weapon types had higher damage than intended.
Fixed a bug where some “Those Who Live in Death “ enemies would revive when defeated with the “Sacred Blade” skill.
Fixed a bug where the “Bleeding” Status Ailment would not build up when the Skill “Bloody Slash” hit an enemy.
Fixed a bug where the “Ghostflame Ignition” attack would not occur under certain circumstances.
Fixed a bug where the status ailment “Frostbite” would not build up when the light wave released by a strong attack hit an enemy while the “Moonlight Greatsword” skill was active.
Fixed a bug where the speed of arrows fired with the “Mighty Shot” and “Enchanted Shot” skills was slower than expected.
Fixed a bug where the attack range of the magic spell “Rock Sling” was longer than expected when using it with a staff equipped in the left hand.
Fixed a bug where the effect of reducing the maximum HP of enemies when the incantation “Black Blade” hit them was not activated.
Fixed a bug where the Passive Effect "Successive Attacks Negate Damage" would stack when successive attacks were made while the Effect was active.
Fixed a bug where some Passive Effects were not displaying their effects at the correct values.
Fixed a bug where the Relic Special Effect “[Guardian] Become the target of enemy aggression when ability is activated” would not activate under certain situations.
Fixed a bug where certain effects were not being applied to Relics obtained from Expedition Rewards or purchased from the Small Jar Bazaar.
Fixed a bug where items that could be obtained upon completing a Remembrance in the Remembrance world when the scenario conditions were met could not be obtained when changing characters and concluding a Remembrance.
Fixed bugs in the behavior and specifications of certain attacks and actions of specific enemies.
Fixed a bug that caused the game to become unstable under certain conditions during battles with specific enemies.
Fixed a bug in the graphics rendering during battles with specific enemies.
Fixed some incorrect information in the staff credits.
Fixed some text.
Fixed a bug where some sound effects were not playing correctly.
Fixed a bug where the “Exit Remembrance” effect was not displayed during a “Wylder” Remembrance on some platforms.
Fixed a bug where the HUD was not displayed on some platforms.
Fixed a bug where the game would crash under certain circumstances on some platforms.
Fixed a bug where Expeditions and reconnecting to sessions would fail under certain circumstances on some platforms.
Fixed a bug where background music would not play properly under certain circumstances on some platforms.
Steam-only adjustments
Fixed a bug where some graphics were not rendered correctly when “Low” was selected in “Quality Settings” under “Graphics.”
Fixed a bug where the Climb up action sometimes failed when using the keyboard.
Fixed a bug where the Climb up action was difficult to perform when using a gamepad.
The version number of this update shown at the lower right corner of the Title Screen will be as follows:
App Ver. 1.01.1
Regulation Ver 1.01.2
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Ubisoft's unannounced but widely-expected Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake has been referenced again, this time by a collectible statue maker.
PureArts, which makes figurines and busts of countless video game characters, recently held a livestream showing off a range of new Assassin's Creed merchandise.
Here, PureArts representatives strongly hinted that the remake would surface in the not-too-distant future, and noted that "there is something going on."
During the livestream, Assassin's Creed fans noted the absence of Black Flag hero Edward Kenway from PureArts' latest range, prompting a presenter to acknowledge the situation and state that the company was holding off launching a new version of Edward Kenway right now for a specific reason (thanks, Insider Gaming).
"Assassin's Creed fans out there, you should be aware there is something going on with Edward," the presenter stated.
"Has that been announced?" their co-presenter asked.
"I think so," the presenter confirmed. (It has not.) "I'm pretty sure I saw rumours about it," they continued. "No I definitely saw an article about this. So I mean, if you're not a true Assassin's Creed fan it's not my fault... There's going to be something going on with Edward and our PVC 1/8th scale Edward statue will reflect that accordingly. Am I saying that well?"
Something big is definitely happening regarding the Assassin's Creed Black Flag Remake. 🏴☠️🔥
The people at Pure Arts unveiled a new collection of figures, but the EDWARD one was missing. 🧐
Indeed, fans expect the game to boast all of the visual fidelity found in the recent Assassin's Creed Shadows, as well as expanded wildlife and combat systems.
The suggestion by PureArts that its new Edward statue would "reflect" Black Flag's launch also suggests the fan-favorite character might get something of a new look.
"We do not comment on rumours or speculation," a Ubisoft spokesperson told IGN today, when contacted for more information on the unannounced game.
With no all-new Assassin's Creed game set for the end of this year, fans believe the Black Flag remake would be well positioned to arrive in time for the holidays.
In the meantime, Assassin's Creed Shadows is set to continue its first year of post-launch content with the arrival of its first major expansion, Claws of Awaji, likely due this September.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Nintendo’s big reveal of the Switch 2 back in April came with many surprises, but perhaps the most unexpected of them was that Cyberpunk 2077 was among the launch lineup. While the Switch 2 may be a whole new generation for Nintendo, the console is – much like its predecessor – relatively modest when it comes to hardware horsepower. Cyberpunk 2077, meanwhile, is one of the most technically ambitious video games ever made. Not only that, but the Switch 2 version is the complete package, including the Phantom Liberty expansion that was designed with PS5, Xbox Series, and high-end PC specs in mind. And so all this poses a big question: how has developer CD Projekt Red put Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2? Is this a case of forbidden blood magic, or has the studio made deep compromises to the experience? The answer is neither. In fact, this isn’t quite the impossible port it seems from the outside.
“We really thought it was going to be more of a challenge,” says Charles Tremblay, VP of Technology at CD Projekt Red. “But in the end, [it was] not that much.”
The road to Cyberpunk 2077’s Switch 2 version began back in summer 2023, when Nintendo met with CD Projekt Red to discuss its then top-secret new hardware. “At that point [there was] no Software Development Kit,” explains Tremblay. “Just more like ‘Okay, is there a possibility for us to collaborate with this hardware?’ I remember I was in the room and we just looked at each other. It was like, ‘Yeah of course we will check it [out], it looks like a really cool product.”
CD Projekt Red had, of course, already worked with Nintendo before. The Witcher 3 had been ported to the original Switch in 2019, although development duties were handled by Saber Interactive rather than CDPR itself. This time around things had to be different, in part due to the fact that the Switch 2 had yet to be publicly announced and so needed to be kept a closely-guarded secret. “It was way easier to have a very super small team working end-to-end with Nintendo rather than delegating the process,” says Tremblay.
Another important factor in keeping the development in-house was simply the studio’s knowledge and expertise in Cyberpunk 2077 itself. “We have very key people in here that know exactly how to make Cyberpunk run,” Tremblay says. And those people would be vital, as the Switch 2 version required many elements of the game to be re-engineered.
“Cyberpunk is built for x86 with old PC architecture,” explains Tremblay. “So this from the beginning was completely different. Lots of changes had to be done at the engine level, all the shaders [are in a] different language. We had to convert everything, some HLSL to GLSL. [The Switch 2 uses] a very, very different architecture.”
Another thing the team had to contend with was that the Switch 2 has fewer computational cores available than any other platform Cyberpunk has been built for, including previous generation consoles. “We have at least one core we share with the OS [operating system],” Tremblay reveals. That narrowing of resources means that where once there was core space available to enhance performance, that space now has to be used for activities such as decompression or IO operation. “This was one of the struggles we had, but otherwise I think it was surprisingly fast to get the game running on the platform. We were all super impressed.”
It’s the same great experience, but not competing with the high-end quality path tracing on PC that you can have. This is not the goal.
During the early stages of production, one of the main aims was simply to “try to figure out if [running Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 is] even possible.” As it became clear that the hardware was capable, a key tool in ensuring the experience was as strong as possible was Nvidia’s DLSS system. This rendering technology uses artificial intelligence to upscale lower resolutions and generate additional frames, resulting in sharper images with increased framerates.
“With DLSS it definitely increases the quality that you can have, on the go and on the TV,” says Tremblay. “That being said, the technology we built scales very well across all the platforms.”
“We can adjust the crowd density, we can adjust the fidelity we want the characters to have when we switch levels of detail,” he explains. “So it was very, very easy. And, of course, the DLSS helped to bring the quality to another level, but I think all of those things together makes the port very good.”
Since the Switch 2’s hardware specifications were released to the world, the go-to comparison has been a PlayStation 4. That’s a solid enough base for a handheld device, but it does set off alarm bells when it comes to Cyberpunk 2077 – a game that infamously ran terribly on that generation of consoles. So if the Switch 2 is like a PS4, that means that Cyberpunk will be awful on it, right? Not so much. While the consoles share similarities, the Switch 2 benefits from many modern technologies. DLSS is one of them, but there are several other factors.
“It was very difficult for the previous generation of consoles,” Tremblay admits. “I think I will say that the most difficult problem was the mechanical hard drive, which is one of the things that’s very important not to have.” The Switch 2 uses bespoke cartridges, but more importantly it supports the new microSD Express storage system that features faster data read and write speeds, “which is great” according to Tremblay.
“The Switch 2 has more RAM [than the previous generation of consoles], which is also very important,” he adds. All this means that not only does the Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 run better than the PS4 and Xbox One versions, but it also includes the Phantom Liberty expansion, which was much too demanding for old tech and thus was not released on last-gen systems.
Make no mistake, some extra RAM, better storage, and DLSS doesn’t miraculously turn the Switch 2 into a high-end PC. And so Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo’s new console is not the same experience as it is on a RTX 5090-powered rig. The content is the same – the same missions, streets, characters, and weapons – but the resolution and framerates are reigned in to ensure compatibility with the Switch 2’s specifications. Similar to the Xbox and PlayStation versions, there are two visual options to choose from: quality mode hits 1080p/30fps, while the performance mode targets 40fps at 1080p when docked, or 40fps at 720p on the system’s own screen.
It’s not just about resolution and framerates, though. The team at CD Projekt Red carefully combed through the game to assess what changes they could make to ensure Cyberpunk was more Switch 2-friendly. “We have people that are super experienced about the game and they really looked at what kind of parity we want to have with other platforms, whatever compromise [we made],” Tremblay explains. “We do a lot of iteration with them. So if we reduce the quality of [an element] and we play the game, we figure out ‘Okay, this is great’ or ‘This is not.’ And some of the people that have very, very good eyes can make those calls and we always try to compromise performance versus quality.
“We do have some people that are literally tweaking the settings, playing the games continuously, to figure out what kind of resolution compromise we can have, what kind of quality settings we can have to make the best experience for the players.”
While the Switch 2 has understandable limitations, CD Projekt Red has firm quality bars that it wishes to adhere to. That includes a minimum frame rate of 30 frames per second.
“So just to be clear, if it goes under 30fps, I don't think that's great,” Tremblay states. “There's no such thing as ‘Oh, this is fine to get 25 [fps in this section.’] No it's not, it should be 30fps everywhere.”
While 60fps has become the widely accepted golden standard by many developers and players, hitting that bar on Switch 2 hardware with a game as complex as Cyberpunk 2077 is a tall ask. It’s why the performance mode targets a middle ground.
“I think the 40fps is a very good compromise to the 60fps,” Tremblay says. “Honestly, I think it's a game changer, at least for me as a gamer. And we have the same on docked mode. The difference is that on docked mode it's dependent on your TV setting. So if you have a 120Hz refresh rate, then you can have the 40fps mode.”
All this talk of frame rates, resolutions, and compromises ignores the real strengths of the Switch 2 version, though. Nintendo’s hardware provides a unique approach that CDPR has embraced. “I think that on the handheld device, I think the experience is very good,” says Tremblay. “I think the experience that we have, that is way different than other platforms, with the gyros, the Joy-Con, the mouse support. I think the whole package in general, I think it's quite good.”
CDPR has gone all-in on these features. Motion controls allow you to augment the shooting mechanics with subtle movements of the Joy-Cons. If you’re looking for something more precise, you can turn the right-hand controller on its side and use it as a mouse, resulting in an aiming experience closer to that used by the PC version. And, of course, all this can be done on a bus, a plane, or at the bottom of your garden.
“I do think that all those things that the platform introduced [is] what makes this version different,” Tremblay says. “At the same time [it’s] the same great experience, don't get me wrong, but different, but not competing with the high-end quality path tracing on PC that you can have. This is not the goal, but the platform as a whole I think stands on its own.”
That last point is the real key to understanding the Switch 2 port. The whole project is about making a great version – not the greatest version – of Cyberpunk 2077. And even then, that measurement of ‘greatest’ depends on your priorities. If you already have a PC or a PS5 and you demand a silky-smooth framerate at 4K, then maybe the Switch 2 version isn’t a great fit for you. But if you’re primarily a Mario fan who only buys Nintendo consoles, then this new version of Cyberpunk 2077 is the greatest version, because finally there is a version for you.
And for those with both systems, there’s flexibility. “We have the cross save,” says Tremblay. “You can go to your home, you play on PC, and if you want to go, if you want to continue your game, it's no big deal. You just take your save. So for me, it's definitely the handheld device to play on the go. It's a system seller for me, for sure.”
The co-founder of The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red, Marcin Iwiński, has said the studio has learned to stick to its "niche." That is: "AAA RPG, open-world narrative-driven games."
In an interview on the studio's AnsweRed podcast, Iwiński sat down with joint-CEO Adam Badowski to talk about life at the studio, reflecting on its games and admitting that while the team has been tempted to branch out into different styles and genres of games, open-world RPGs is what it's best at.
"One more important thing which we learned over the time, and I think Adam will totally agree, [is] [...] we've learned that we have to be razor-sharp focused," Iwiński said. "We cannot do so many things we would love to do — we are tempted to do. We tried and it didn't work out. We have to focus on what we are good at, and really put 100% into it.
"That's why we switched from a single project company to the multiple project," Badowski added. "But everything is in our strategy. We're gonna develop AAA RPG, open-world narrative-driven games and this is our, let's say, niche. So the focus is there."
"It sounds so simple," Iwiński agreed. "When you're growing, it's hard because there are all these temptations and 'these people are doing this stuff online, and it's so cool and we love to play it,' and you think okay, no, let's take a deep breath and come back to what we're doing. Because if we spread ourselves too thin, we'll not deliver."
"Ideas are great, games are better and better gameplay-wise — especially gameplay-wise. But you need to take it and adapt it to our concept," Badowski added. "So it takes time. The initial excitement is great, but it doesn't work [over] the long term."
Last week we learned The Witcher 3 is getting one more patch later in 2025, bringing cross-platform mod support to the game and making mods available on consoles for the very first time. CD Projekt announced the patch as part of the celebrations of The Witcher 3’s 10th anniversary. It will introduce cross-platform mod support for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S later this year. “For the first time, creating, sharing, and enjoying mods for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be easier and more accessible than ever,” CD Projekt said.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Pokémon TCG’s next big release, Destined Rivals, is now available. It's still hard to find booster sets at MSRP, but you should also consider the best single cards to buy now that the expansion is out.
For those still on the hunt for Destined Rivals sealed boosters, we've collected all the retailers where you can buy the set, just below, so bookmark every listing you need to keep an eye on new restocks, and follow @IGNDeals for the latest updates.
TCGPlayer Listings
Best Destined Rivals Single Cards
Of course, you'll probably find some cool cards when opening up boosters, just like we did, and there's always a chance you'll get the chase card you want, but what if you could just pay the market value of the card you wanted for less instead?
That's what sites like TCGPlayer are great for, finding single chase cards, at the best price possible, and not having to spend thousands on sealed packs with overinflated prices. Let's run through all the top cards to buy right now.
Destined Rivals: What We Said in Our Preview
Here's what I had to say in my Destined Rivals preview for IGN: "After getting my hands on the expansion for the first time, it's safe to say that this is one of the best times I have had opening cards in ages."
"The illustrations are some of the best I've ever seen. The expansion plays with more Trainer Pokémon cards, including Ethan, the Pokémon Gold and Silver protagonist, and brought back more nostalgia than I could cope with. It feels like exactly what Pokémon TCG needed."
"Destined Rivals is more than just a trip down memory lane. It is a real evolution for the game. From the way the new Trainer’s Pokémon open up deck-building possibilities to the much better pull rates, this set feels like they finally figured out what collectors and players want again."
Between May 17–25, pre-release events will pop up at select stores, offering early access via Build & Battle boxes and small-scale tournaments. Want in? Talk to your local league store yesterday. And maybe bring snacks—you’re negotiating with gatekeepers now.
What’s in the Destined Rivals Lineup?
Team Rocket returns to stir up trouble once again, Trainers' signature Pokémon are back in the spotlight, and the card art? Some of the slickest in years.
Whether you're chasing eye-catching collectibles or just addicted to the thrill of cracking a fresh pack, Destined Rivals is engineered to tempt you.
We all tell ourselves we’ll buy just one item. That’s adorable. Here’s everything that’ll test your willpower on launch day:
Booster Packs
Booster Boxes (36 packs)
Elite Trainer Box
Pokémon Center Exclusive Elite Trainer Box
Booster Bundle (6 packs)
Triple-Pack Blisters
Build & Battle Box
Build & Battle Stadium
Expect premium collection boxes too—likely with alternate art promos starring fan-favorites like Misty, Cynthia, Ethan, or Marnie. You technically don’t need them. You’ll get them anyway.
If buying through a third-party resellers when preordering Destined Rivals, you may be willing to pay more to secure it, but it's also worth knowing the MSRP for each set so you're making an informed decision.
ETB: $49.99
Booster Bundle: $26.99
Booster Display Box: $159.99
1pk Booster: $4.99
3pk Booster: $12.99
Cards That Should Be In Destined Rivals
Here’s the full expected card list by Japanese set origin.
Trainer Cards: Team Rocket’s Giovanni, Archer, Ariana, Receiver
Special Energy: Team Rocket Energy
Steven’s Starter Deck
Steven’s Metagross ex
Steven’s Skarmory, Beldum, Metang
Steven’s Carbink
Steven’s Claydol, Baltoy
Trainer Card: Granite Cave
Marnie’s Starter Deck
Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex
Marnie’s Impidimp, Morgrem, Liepard, Scrafty
Marnie’s Purrloin, Scraggy
Trainer Cards: Energy Recycler (reprint), Spikemuth Gym
Destined Origins Cards I’ve Got My Eye On
There’s a good chance I’ll end up with multiple binders full of these, but a few cards have already secured a permanent place in my mental wishlist.
Cynthia’s Garchomp ex is a power move in every sense. Big damage, hand draw, and the smug energy of someone who always gets her turn one setup. This is peak Champion energy and I want three.
Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex is what happens when utility and sparkle collide. The ability accelerates Fire Energy like it’s no big deal, and Shining Feather heals your whole team while smacking for 160. It’s absurd, and I’m obsessed.
Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex is pure drama. It refuses to attack unless you’ve built an entire Rocket-themed deck around it, but when it does, it throws energy around like a caffeinated Gengar. It’s also incredibly extra, which I respect.
Misty’s Psyduck is here to make you laugh and then probably lose a game in the most lovable way possible. It has an ability that lets you discard it to the top of your deck, for... reasons. I don’t care. It’s perfect.
Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex brings the villain vibes with an aggressive Dark-type build that thrives on energy acceleration and being just annoying enough to work. It’s a disruption deck’s dream, and I plan to run it like it’s 2020 all over again.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
So, to save trainers the trouble of stressing about stock and paying MSRP at big box retailers (good luck with that), here are the best chase cards from Destined Rivals, including some big price crashers and climbers to make note of this week.
TL;DR: Best Destined Rivals Cards
Destined Rivals is one of the best Scarlet and Violet era sets, it's banger after banger as far as chase cards go. In our preview, we pulled 18 big cards across 46 packs. This includes a load of regular ex cards, 1 hyper rare, 1 SIR, 1 ultra rare, and 5 illustration rares.
Of course, you'll probably find some cool cards when opening up boosters, just like we did, and there's always a chance you'll get the chase card you want, but what if you could just pay the market value of the card you wanted for less instead?
That's what sites like TCGPlayer are great for, finding single chase cards, at the best price possible, and not having to spend thousands on sealed packs with overinflated prices. Let's run through all the top cards to buy right now.
The movement of the artwork and blatent bond it shows between trainer and Pokémon is what Pokémon is all about for me. It's going to take something epic to beat this cards artwork for me personally.
Hyper Rares have become the black sheep of the Scarlet and Violet era. They're more of an aquired taste, but Ethan's Ho-Oh ex looks fantastic in this style, as goes Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex.
It's also around half the price of collecting the secret art rare variants, which are supposed to be easier to get than hyper rares. Go figure.
Destined Rivals: Sealed Boosters
TCG Player is also running orders for sealed product too. It's market value prices, which will likely be cheaper than most big box retailers on release day.
Everything, including Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Boxes are available right now. Don't sleep on this set, it's one of the best we've had in the last 12 months.
This Week's Pokémon TCG Crashers and Climbers
The Single Pokémon TCG market on the other hand is going through a grand reset right now, which is down to a few factors. The crypto bro mentally to reselling products is dying down a little and more product is becoming available thanks to reprints.
We're not out of the woods yet by any means, but this weeks Crashers and Climbers show recent cards going down in price and cards from the X and Y era shooting up in value. We're 100% moving in the right direction.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
Ahead of Switch 2's launch this week, Nintendo has confirmed that owners of the new console should not remove the protective film covering its screen.
Nintendo has released health and safety information for Switch 2 as a downloadable PDF file, which includes a section on "Careful Usage" of the device (thanks, NintendoSoup).
Among the guidelines is the following warning: "The screen is covered with a film layer designed to prevent fragments scattering in the event of damage. Do not peel it off."
In other words, the adhesive film is intended to make your Switch 2 screen shatter proof, if the worst should happen. Removing it risks the screen's glass spreading, should it ever be splintered.
So, when unwrapping your Switch 2 and unboxing it later this week, be careful not to unwrap the device a little too much.
Other Switch tips provided by Nintendo include warnings not to use the Switch 2 in "dusty or smoky areas" — so no taking it out clubbing, or to old bookshops.
"Make sure to charge the built-in batteries at least once every six months," Nintendo also cautions. "If the batteries are not used for an extended period of time, it may become impossible to charge them." Well, here's hoping you'll be glued to Mario Kart World enough that this won't be a problem.
Other warnings are more obvious. "Do not expose devices to fire, microwaves, direct sunlight, high or extremely low temperatures," Nintendo says of how you should handle Switch 2. Makes sense!
After years of leaks, teases and reveals, Nintendo will finally launch Switch 2 this Thursday, June 5, 2025.
Last month, fans began receiving the first Switch 2 deliveries ahead of the console's official launch date. Footage of the console's unboxing and its startup sequence was posted online — before Nintendo ninjas swiftly had it removed.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Beloved YouTuber Shirley Curry, colloquially known as the Skyrim Grandma, has started playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered — and chat is giving her all the help she needs.
In a video titled ‘Oblivion Remastered #1 Learning’ posted to her 1.3 million subscriber YouTube channel, the 89-year-old began her journey in Bethesda’s recently released remaster having just left the tutorial area.
“Good morning grandkids. This is Oblivion Remastered,” Curry began. “I am out of all that creepy jail and dungeon and sewers and all that mess you have to come through for so long before you ever get to come out of that into the world. This is the first thing that I see.”
Curry is struggling somewhat with Oblivion Remastered, asking for chat’s help on things like how to show her character from a third-person perspective. She spends a lot of her time looking around, exploring, and getting to grips with Oblivion Remastered’s movement, control scheme, and mechanics. And yes, lockpicking is a real problem. But isn't it for everyone?
A second video, titled ‘Oblivion Remastered #2 Still Learning,’ was also mostly about getting to grips with the game. "I guess you're gonna have to hear an awful lot of complaining from me," Curry said while in a cave infested with goblins and giant rats.
But through it all are comments from helpful fans who are posting tips for Curry’s first few hours in the game.
“Wow, Grandma Shirley! Welcome to TES4!!!” reads one such comment, which Curry acknowledged with a ‘heart.’
“If you use keyboard, you can change from 1st Person to 3rd Person by clicking the mouse wheel button. On controller, it's the same as Skyrim: click the right joystick. Lockpicking is the worst in Oblivion! I just spam the auto attempt until I reach level 10. If I run out of lockpicks, I run out of lockpicks. Then I go to Nocturnal's Shrine and do her quest to be rewarded with the unbreakable Skeleton Key. Auto attempt to successfully unlock then becomes simple! There are also open lock spells, and a doom stone (like a standing stone in Skyrim) that will give you a lesser power to open a lock once a day. It's the Tower Stone. You have to activate it at night, and you can see it glowing from the Waterfront area of the Imperial City.”
Here's another helpful comment: "Glad to see your [sic] starting to get the hang of it Shirley, if you click wait you can choose what time of day you'd like but you can't near enemies." Curry responded to that one to say thanks for the tip.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa has quit the show and passed his Time Lord baton to Billie Piper — but fans believe all is not what it seems.
This weekend's season finale saw Gatwa leave the BBC's big sci-fi show after 18 episodes in the title role, and regenerate into a character played by former series regular Billie Piper.
But is Piper actually playing the Doctor? As the credits rolled, Gatwa (and the returning Jodie Whittaker, who popped up for a lovely cameo) were both credited as The Doctor. Piper was not. Instead, the credits simply noted "And introducing Billie Piper" to acknowledge her surprise reveal, without a role named.
Piper previously starred alongside Christoper Ecclestone's Ninth Doctor and David Tennant's Tenth Doctor as loyal companion/love interest Rose Tyler, who was last seen settling down with another version of Ten in a parallel universe.
But Piper also later returned as The Moment, a sentient weapon with a humanoid interface, which was key to the series' 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor.
Of course, in previous years, an actor's regneration sequence has always been used to hand off from one lead actor playing the Doctor to the next. So, the surface implication here would obviously be that Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor has become Billie Piper's Sixteenth Doctor.
In-universe, regeneration is simply a process of renewal — while the Doctor's body and personality changes, they are still playing the same entity.
But the credits tease, the surprise casting of Billie Piper, and the reality of the show's current production status has fans wondering otherwise, especially after previous shenanigans around the series' last regeneration.
Remember, of course, that Gatwa's Doctor appeared through a new type of regeneration not seen before — bigeneration, allowing him and Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor to coexist. Have we just seen a new type of regeneration again, if Piper has not been officially confirmed as The Doctor?
"What if this is the next part of bigeneration," one fan wondered on reddit, "re-merging with 14 now 15 has finished their therapy, and the Rose/Bad Wolf is the final part that returns to 14 for the pair to become 16 freshly?"
And then there's the practicalities of the series' current production. The BBC has maintained that a decision to renew the show by itself and co-production partner Disney would only take place after the current season has ended. This has led to some confusion among fans and in the media over the show's future. Currently, no confirmation of a new season, or schedule for it to be filmed, has been laid out.
With Gatwa set on leaving and the show's future still to be announced, the BBC would have faced the option of casting the next Doctor without being able to confirm when (or if) they'd be needed to return. Alternatively, the show could have broken convention by not showing who Gatwa's Doctor regenerated into — though this would have likely only led to a greater question mark over the show's current status.
"I don't think the writers themselves know who Billie is playing. It seems like such a last moment decision to cast her that was only done to avoid having an open ended regeneration," another fan said. "So she could be The Doctor. She could also not be. I don't think they decided yet."
Piper's confirmation as the face of the show going forward — whether for a full season, a special, or something else — at least anchors the show for now, and prompts fan speculation. Could she be playing The Moment again? Maybe she's the Valeyard, a long-teased future evil incarnation of the Doctor? Or maybe she really is the Sixteenth Doctor? After all, Tennant's Fifteen only stuck around for a handful of special episodes.
"It reads as a joke but [the showrunner] just brought back Sutekh, Omega, and Two Rani's," another fan wrote. "What funnier way to finally bring back the Valeyard than with Rose's face and to make them the manic/overemotional aspects of the Doctor's personality instead of the grumpy/dark ones as the character was introduced."
With no episodes currently in production, fans think Doctor Who is now unlikely to return to screens much before 2027 — so it may be some time before we find out what's happening next.
Photo by Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
People Can Fly, the Polish studio best-known for Outriders and Gears of War Judgment, has confirmed even more jobs are at risk as it cancels two projects: Project Gemini and Project Bifrost.
"Today we made a very difficult decision to suspend the development of project Gemini and project Bifrost — the relevant current reports have been released to the market," CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski wrote in a statement.
"The suspension of the Gemini project is a consequence of the fact that the Publisher has not presented us with a draft of the subsequent content rider to the Publishing Agreement covering the terms and conditions of further milestone on project Gemini and the lack of communication from the Publisher as to its willingness to continue or terminate the Gemini project.
"Project Bifrost was suspended due to the above and the analysis of the Group's cash flow, which showed a lack of prospects for securing organisational resources and funds necessary to continue the production and release of this project."
The CEO concluded: "As a result, we have to significantly regroup as a studio and scale down our teams, which hurts the most. We wish to express our deepest regret and sadness over how these events have unfolded and our sincere gratitude for everyone's contribution up to this point."
While the statement from Wojciechowski does not specific what publishing companies led to the decision to halt development, the Outriders developer's own website confirms Gemini was partnered with Square Enix, and Bifrost was a self-published project. Square Enix is yet to comment.
People Can Fly's most recent release is Bullestorm VR, an updated version of the classic shooter for Meta Quest and PSVR 2.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
The first gaming discounts of June (how is it even June?) have landed with all the subtlety of a final lap blue shell. Whether you’re looking to get stuck into some deeply replayable JRPGs, dominate in sports titles, or finally catch up on generational masterpieces you missed, there’s plenty of value across the digital shelves. Enough of my jibber jabber exposition, though. Let's get scrolling and saving.
This Day in Gaming 🎂
In retro news, it’s been eight years since Tekken 7 punched its way onto Aussie consoles, and what a wild ride it was. Bandai Namco brought the heat with slo-mo finishers, explosive Rage Arts, and (for some reason) PlayStation VR support. This turned out to be a glorified training room where you could awkwardly stare at characters like Kuma in a non-threatening pose. Still, the core game slapped; Tekken 7 remains a hallmark fighting game that was accessible and highly technical, with great customisation options.
Nintendo Switch players can snap up Shin Megami Tensei V for nearly half price, a game which, fun fact, was first announced alongside the Switch itself back in 2017 and was long considered “vaporware” until it finally dropped in 2021. Meanwhile, Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is already available at a launch discount, a rare move for the long-running series which famously lets you nuke Gandhi. Gott nuke something and it beats doing it to the whales, I guess.
Over on Xbox Series X, Metaphor: ReFantazio sees its first major price cut, a fantasy RPG from the same creative minds behind Persona 5, complete with flashy UI and deeply symbolic tarot themes. And Tekken 8, sitting at A$49, boldly continues the Mishima blood feud while letting players hurl each other into helicopters, a feature originally prototyped as a joke.
PlayStation 5 fans can nab Tales of Arise for just A$25. It was the first game in the Tales series to run on Unreal Engine, a leap that revitalised the franchise’s combat. And Elden Ring? The Erdtree hasn’t even sprouted yet, but Miyazaki once admitted Malenia’s boss fight was made “deliberately punishing” to spark community discussion. With flowery language, no doubt.
Lastly, PC players get a gem in Red Dead Redemption 2 at a wild A$22, a title so detailed that NPCs have dynamic hair growth cycles. Or snag Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the FromSoft entry that will remind Nightreign players that there's a deeper end to the difficulty pool. So suck it up and enjoy your lean-on-me, I'll-lean-right-back co-op.
Tom Cruise’s eighth Mission: Impossible film is now up to $353.818 million globally, with positive word of mouth helping fuel a 33% drop from opening weekend. IGN's Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning review returned a 6/10. We said: "The action thrills, but the soapy tone keeps greatness just out of reach for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning."
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, meanwhile, is now up to $350.1 million after seven weekends in theaters. Incredibly, Sinners is the only film in the top 10 highest-grossing of 2025 so far not based on an existing IP. IGN's Sinners review returned a 9/10. We said: "Ryan Coogler’s first horror movie expertly blends plenty of vampires and music into a compelling story about twin brothers – played by Michael B. Jordan – returning home to their Mississippi hometown in 1932."
Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, however, overshadows all, with a huge $610.8 million globally after just two weekends. IGN's Lilo & Stitch review returned an 8/10. We said: "Lilo & Stitch is one of the stronger results of Disney’s non-stop remake campaign, taking the emotional core of the original and amplifying it in a stirring manner." The question now is, will it end up beating A Minecraft Movie, which is now up to $947.1 million after nine weekends?
Elsewhere, Karate Kid: Legends launched with $47 million globally. IGN's Karate Kid: Legends review returned a 6/10. We said: "Karate Kid: Legends has some fun additions to the usual formula for this series, including Joshua Jackson stealing the show from the series' stalwarts, but doesn’t connect emotionally thanks to some distracting filmmaking techniques."
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
This summer, two huge superhero movies are set to do battle at the box office, with DCU reboot Superman launching on July 11 and MCU behemoth The Fantastic Four: First Steps hitting theaters a fortnight later, on July 25. But as the DC and Marvel fandoms spar online, DCU chief James Gunn has said he is uninterested in getting involved in internet rivalry, and would rather focus on all that’s good about each film.
On social network Threads, Gunn was asked if he had any word on The Fantastic Four in the context of fans pitting Marvel and DC against each other.
“They come out two weeks after us,” Gunn replied, “there's room for us both! I love my friends at Marvel. You can find whatever discussions you'd want to find online. I'd focus on all the positivity around the films instead of getting sucked up in online fan wars.”
Gunn, of course, has a long history with Marvel, having written and directed the much-loved Guardians of the Galaxy series of MCU movies. But he is no stranger to DC, either, having written and directed the well-received 2021 Suicide Squad movie.
Gunn is now co-head of the rebooted DCU alongside Peter Safran, and wrote, directed, and produced Superman. He is steering the DCU in a direction parent company Warner Bros. hopes will result in more success than the previous DCEU enjoyed. To this end, a number of DCU films and TV shows are in the works, and it seems inevitable that DC will clash with Marvel again.
For now, though, the focus is very much on Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, with each film under enormous pressure to post huge numbers at the box office. Whatever side of the comic book fence you sit on, July is set to be an awesome month for superhero fans.
And let’s remember, Marvel and DC have joined forces to announce what is sure to be one of the top-selling comic book projects of 2025. The two publishers are teaming on a pair of one-shot crossover specials featuring Batman and Deadpool. That makes this the first genuine crossover between the Marvel and DC Universes in more than 20 years. Best of all, they aren’t stopping with Deadpool/Batman #1 and Batman/Deadpool #1. Marvel and DC are already developing a follow-up crossover for 2026.
Photo by The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
It’s hard to believe it’s already June, but here we are—only a few weeks away from the official start to summer. That means plenty of deals are available on outdoor essentials to get you through the long days ahead, including grill accessories, power stations, tool kits, and lawn mowers. Maybe you'd rather hang out indoors to escape the heat? Well, controllers, PS5 games, and even Apple’s latest MacBook Air are all discounted today. With Father’s Day coming up, many of these items also make great gifts for the father figures in your life.
TL;DR: Deals for Today
Beyond these great deals, the Pokémon Destined Rivals TCG just dropped on Friday, leading a bunch of chase cards to crash. While some cards have regained value over the past couple of days, pre-order remorse is still alive and well. But whether you want to grab just a single card or a sealed pack, now might be a good time to buy. A pre-order for the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy bundle is also available at Walmart before the launch in a couple of weeks.
2025 MacBook Air (13-inch, M4)
Apple’s newest MacBook Air model, which came out only a couple of months ago, already has $160 slashed off its list price, making it under $840. With it comes a powerful M4 processor offering a 10-core CPU and GPU paired with 16GB RAM for a performance boost from previous models. This laptop can zip through everyday tasks and supports Apple Intelligence. Of course, the 13-inch Liquid Retina display is stunning, but this Air model supports a dual monitor setup as well. The camera also got an upgrade this time around, as it’s now 12MP and supports Center Stage and Desk View features.
SteelSeries Stratus Duo Wireless Gaming Controller
While the SteelSeries Stratus Duo Wireless Gaming Controller was already a great budget option at its starting price of $50, the $15 price tag after using the code: STEELSERIES makes it a wildly cheap gamepad. Sure, this controller won’t offer the flash and customizations of higher-end offerings, but it gets the job done with Hall Effect triggers, quality hardware, a 20+ hour battery life, and ergonomic design. Pairing with a PC is simple using the lag-free wireless dongle, and Bluetooth support is available for playing on the best gaming phones.
The Last of Us Part I and II for PS5
PlayStation’s Days of Play sale isn’t only happening at the PlayStation Store; plenty of other retailers, including Amazon, are getting in on the action by dropping the prices of a bunch of PlayStation products. The Last of Us Part I and Part II for PS5 are both down to the low, low price of just $30. So, get ready to join Joel and Ellie on a harrowing journey across the post-apocalyptic United States.
Anker USB-C Charger (Nano 65W)
Skip the hassle of having multiple charging bricks to top up devices and opt for this all-in-one solution from Anker instead. It’s an absolute steal right now at just $30, for 46% savings. It comes with two USB-C ports capable of charging speeds up to 65W, which is plenty to charge most laptops and tablets quickly, while a USB-A port is available with up to 22.5W power delivery. Just be prepared for those outputs to lower when charging three devices simultaneously.
JBL Bar 700
Kick your home theater setup up a notch with a new sound bar. JBL’s Bar 700 is back on sale for its lowest price ever, knocking $350 off the price tag. This audio system features a 5.1-channel soundbar and a 10-inch wireless subwoofer for a cinematic experience delivering next-level sound with booming bass. With Dolby Atmos support, you’ll be placed right in the center of the action of your favorite movies, shows, and games. The built-in Wi-Fi with AirPlay, Alexa Multi-Room Music, and Chromecast support also makes listening to your favorite music simple.
Fremo TP300 Portable Power Station
Summertime brings storms that can knock out power, and in case of emergencies, backup electricity is a must. Rather than grabbing a gas-guzzling generator, a portable power station that uses a lithium-ion battery is a simpler and safer solution for temporary outages.
Fremo has an awesome power station that’s $120 off, costing just $150. It offers a 231 Wh capacity battery and five output ports for charging, including a USB-C, USB-A, AC, and car port. 300W of charging power is divided between those outputs, providing enough juice to top up phones, tablets, laptops, and cameras. It only weighs 6.2 pounds too, making it a portable option for camping trips, while the built-in flashlight ensures easier navigation of darker spaces.
Craftsman VERSASTACK Mechanics Tool Set
Looking to grab a gift for the car lover in your life? The Craftsman VERSASTACK Mechanics Tool Set is down to its lowest price ever, costing just $99 for 50% savings. Not only do you get a massive 230-piece tool set full of all the sockets, wrenches, ratchets, and bits needed to fix up a vehicle, but you can also enjoy the peace of mind knowing you’ll enjoy the high-quality craftsmanship for years to come. It also comes with a durable 3-drawer box to keep things organized.
PlayStation DualSense Controller
The controller that comes packaged with the PlayStation 5 is at its lowest price of the year, setting you back under $55 for 27% savings. This wireless gamepad is comfortable to use, compatible with a range of gaming devices, and full of reliable controls. Haptics and adaptive triggers are baked in, amplifying your playing experience further. Plus, you can remap buttons, customizing the controls to give you a leg up in certain games.
JLab Talk Pro USB Mic
Kick your game streams up a notch, as the JLab Talk Pro USB Mic is on sale for over 77% off on Woot, making it just $34.99. This plug-and-play microphone is easy to set up and features four directional patterns. Whether you’re looking to record podcasts and music or take phone calls and do ASMR, it’ll be the perfect partner. Sound quality will even be optimized for whatever you’re recording, and the mic features volume and gain controls, ensuring you come across crystal clear.
Cuisinart 13-Piece Wooden Grill Tool Set
Summer means it’s grilling season, so it’s always a good idea to have a grill tool set on hand. Right now, Cuisinart has a great deal on a high-quality set for just $23.99. The reputable brand includes all the barbecue essentials in the kit, like a spatula, grill fork, cleaning brush, and tongs. Each of the tools features a sturdy wooden handle and stainless steel for a premium look and feel, while a case is included for safe storage. If you’re on the hunt for a Father’s Day gift, it also makes a great gift for those hard-to-buy-for dads and father figures.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Tales from the Pizzaplex Graphic Novel Collection Vol. 1
If you’re a fan of the horror video game, Five Nights at Freddy’s, a new graphic novel series from the creator, Scott Cawthon, is already discounted to the low price of just $8.90. This volume brings some horrifying and detailed comics to the story from the bestselling series Five Nights at Freddy's: Tales from the Pizzaplex, featuring the under-construction section of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, a Tube Maze, and some chaos.
It’s lawn mowing season, and battery-powered lawn mowers are beginning to take the reign from their gas-powered counterparts. You might think that these electric mowers offer less oomph, but the EGO Power+ LM2135SP 21-Inch Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Kit will prove you wrong. It’s self-propelled, has a multicut blade system, and runs for 60 minutes on a single charge. A second battery is even included, so you can keep mowing while the other battery charges. Right now, you can grab this kit for its lowest price ever, $599.99. That’s 43% off.
Charmast Portable Charger with Built in Cables
Portable chargers are great and all, but if you forget the right cord, they’re pretty useless. Charmast fixes this problem by offering a 10,000mAh power bank with USB-C, Lightning, and MicroUSB cables built in, so it’s ready to top off just about any device. Plus, there’s a USB-A cord for charging up the power bank. Each of the cables also has a slot for storage on the portable charger, preventing anything from getting snagged when on the go. Now is the time to buy, too, as it’s back to its lowest price, costing just under $20.
Pokémon Destined Rivals Sealed Products and Single Cards
After the best market value on Pokémon Destined Rivals sealed products? Some great deals are available from TCG Player, as big box stores continue to hike up the prices.
Don’t want to deal with the ripping open boosters to find a chase card? TCG Player has a bunch of single cards available, and the prices continue to fluctuate as I write this.
MTG Final Fantasy Pre Order
Pre-orders for MTG Final Fantasy continue to pop up occasionally at retailers, but selection is pretty limited at the moment. However, this bundle from Walmart is an excellent deal ahead of the launch in a couple of weeks.
LEGO has released a ton of new Harry Potter sets for June, but perhaps the most quirky and delightful build in the bunch is the Chomping Monster Book of Monsters set. It's a recreation of the iconic book we first see in the third Harry Potter film (The Prisoner of Azkaban) and it absolutely looks the part. More importantly, though, it actually chomps.
The new Monster Book of Monsters set has a lot of cool details on the outside that made it fun to put together, but it's what on the inside that makes it fun to play with after. LEGO provided IGN with a copy of the set for a test build and I got the chance to put it together myself. At only 518 pieces, I was able to build the whole thing in one evening before I went to bed and had my nephews playing with it the next morning.
Set #76449 is actually the second iteration of the LEGO Monster Book of Monsters. The first rendition was a Gift with Purchase (set #30628), called The Monster Book of Monsters, released back in 2020 with a lot fewer pieces and a more simplistic style. The newer Chomping Monster Book of Monsters looks a lot more realistic and includes actual chomping action. It also includes a Neville Longbottom minifigure that is holding a much smaller version of the book. It's a fairly easy build, but it was fun to put together and the chomping action was a nice touch.
The build is split up into four sections and you get one bag of LEGO bricks for each part. You start by putting together your little Neville Longbottom minifigure. He has two different face options to chooose from, so you can make him either smiley or terrified. I decided to go with smiley and placed him near the pieces as I put together everything else. The first part of the build is basically putting together the framework for the book.
This is the longest step in the whole process and it admittedly takes quite a bit of time until it really starts looking like something. You're building what will later become the chassis that your little chomping motor and wheels will later sit in, so it's important you get everything facing the right direction. It really helped me that you use red bricks to indicate the back and blue bricks for the front or I definitely would have made a mistake along the way.
It doesn't actually resemble anything like a monster book until you start adding some of the exterior pieces. There are light brown panels with a ridge that will look like pages once you're finished putting them together. The dark brown pointy pieces you add on the front and sides are what really start making it look like what you see on the box. You'll also add smooth panels on the back of each rectangle that will eventually fit together to form the entire base of the book.
The one thing I didn't particularly enjoy about this build was how repetitive it felt to build both sides of the book itself. There were some small differences between the top and the bottom of the book, but for the most part the build felt exactly the same. So it ended up being a bit repetitive to have to do basically the same step twice. That being said, it was extremely satisfying when I finally got to be able to connect the two halves at the spine. You thread a few long pieces through the back hinge and suddenly you've got what looks to be a hollowed out book.
The next portion of this build is where it really started to become fun. Once you're done with the overall structure, you move on to building the cover of the book. You start out with a series of large flat brown pieces that form the base of your cover. These are held together by two long flat pieces that are also thankfully color coordinated to indicate which side is up. Once you have the base assembled, you start adding all of the cool little details that bring the set to life. This includes the actual title of the book as well as the beady little eyes and spikey little feelers.
Once you snap the cover onto the top of your book frame, it starts looking like a legit Monster Book of Monsters. And while the cover is really the turning point, it's all of the additional details you add on after this that start to give it an air of life. As you build the frame and the cover of the book you will have added a bunch of what appear to be little LEGO arms near the front pages. These will become the holders for the book's spiny little teeth. There are twelve of these in total and once they're snapped in you can articulate them in whatever direction feels right.
The larger teeth get added after that, which is when it starts to look like it could actually chomp you. The instructions tell you to add one set of teeth at a time, but I decided to build them both first and add them all at once for dramatic effect. When all of the teeth are attached, you'll have what looks to be a Monster Book of Monsters that's actually capable of doing some chomping.
The final step of this set is the most interesting part. At this point you've built a fairly realistic monster book, but it's still an empty shell waiting for some internal components to get it running. Now you essentially have to build a working pull-back car that you place inside so it can get to chomping on its own.
The motorized aspect of this build is pretty straightforward, but it's a nice break from all of the detail work I had just done to be suddenly building a little wheeled car. It was also really fun to see how well the little car I'd just built snapped into place on the inside of the book itself.
After I fully put everything together, I immediately tried out the rolling chomping action. It's a neat trick that turns what looks like a display set into an actual toy you can play with. The roll-back mechanism only goes so far back, so it doesn't actually roll that far, but the chomping action makes up for the lack of distance. As it moves forward you can actually hear the teeth clacking together. I had both of my younger nephews play with the set afterwards and they enjoyed playing with it almost as much as l did. The gimmick wears off fairly quickly after you've done it a few times, but afterwards you still have a really cool looking set you can display somewhere.
The price of the set is fairly reasonable at $60, placing it well below some of the most expensive sets on the market right now. Any of the franchise-specific sets that come out are always going to be more expensive than a non-franchise set with a similar number of pieces, and this has consistently remained true for all LEGO Harry Potter sets. All-in-all, it's a set I'd recommend to any fan of Harry Potter and LEGO. It's a fun and simple build you can knock out in an afternoon, and the finished product would make for a great Harry Potter gift you can display on a shelf or your desk.
The Krusty Burger is a health inspector's nightmare, responsible for spawning the Krusty Burger, the Ribwich, The Clogger, and the Steamed Ham (per Principal Skinner). It comes with seven minifigures, including Krusty the Clown, Sideshow Bob, Homer Simpson, and Officer Lou. You can purchase it for $209.99 on June 4, although LEGO Insiders can order the set via Early Access beginning on June 1. You can sign up for free here.
To learn more about the set and its creation, we interviewed its designer. Ann Healy is a 39-year-old Senior Model Designer who's worked with the LEGO Group for the past six years. Here, lightly edited for clarity, are her thoughts on creating LEGO The Simpsons: Krusty Burger, the first new LEGO Simpsons set in nearly a decade.
What other LEGO sets have you had a hand in designing over the past six years?
Healy: I worked for three years on the LEGO Friends line. A few years ago, I got the opportunity to work on a Disney favorite of mine: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage set from Hocus Pocus. That project took years in the making to come to market, and I’m quite proud of it.
What drove the decision to revive the Simpsons brand after such a long hiatus?
Healy: We saw that even after a 10-year stretch since a new Simpsons set, there was still a lot of love for The Simpsons amongst LEGO fans. Our market research showed that there is huge brand loyalty for The Simpsons, appealing to people globally. Designing the Krusty Burger in LEGO brick form serves as a natural continuation of our Simpsons line and gives us the opportunity to make new, never-before-seen LEGO minifigures.
LEGO designers often build in their free time, working towards builds that they hope will one day become sets.
Coincidentally, the original Simpsons House and Kwik-E-Mart LEGO sets were some of the last sets I purchased before I knew I would be coming to work at The LEGO Group. In my first week working here, I found an early prototype of the Krusty Burger set on a shelf in our office. For context, LEGO designers often build in their free time, working towards builds that they hope will one day become sets. It gave me hope that someday, I might get the chance to work on something like that.
Five years later, to my surprise, our Head of Marketing pulled that same prototype off the shelf and said it was time to revisit The Simpsons! I volunteered right away as a lifelong fan of the Simpsons. I couldn’t believe my luck!
Describe the process of designing and building this set as best you can. How many times did you have to build the entire model in the course of finalizing it?
Healy: I started with refining and updating the old prototype, figuring out the general layout and developing a building-instruction flow. I worked digitally first, then built the model physically. From there, I would go back and forth between digital and physical, seeing if the model would work with real bricks. We have design team check-ins where I showed progress on the model and got suggestions from our Creative Lead and the other model designers.
I had several check-ins with the IP partner, where I would show them the latest updates and they could give feedback on the model and mini figures. I also had internal review meetings with our Model Governance and Building Experience teams, where we build the model, review every construction step, evaluate the play experience and test the strength of the model.
I did not keep track of every time I rebuilt the model, but I would estimate at least 20 times. The last time I built the Krusty Burger set was when the first production boxes arrived from the factory. I built it one last time for quality assurance!
Krusty Burger isn't a fully realized location in the show in the same way that Moe's Tavern is, or the Kwik-E Mart is, or the Simpsons’ house is. Which TV episodes did you use to map out the Krusty Burger and determine how it's set up?
Healy: Disney was a great partner in sending us reference images and layouts when available. Also, I watched as many episodes of The Simpsons as possible, so I could translate the TV animation into a real, physical, toy playset.
Season 20, Episode 21, “Coming to Homerica,” is the episode we used the most in reference, because it features the Mother Nature Burger that we reference several times in this LEGO set. The “Ribwich” from Season 14, Episode 12, “I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can,” is also featured.
Other referenced episodes of note include:
Season 6, Episode 15, “Homie the Clown” – Homer performs at a Krusty Burger
Season 12, Episode 13, “Day of the Jackanapes” – Bart and Sideshow Bob go to the Krusty Burger.
Season 10, Episode 1, Lard of the Dance” – Homer tries to sell grease from the restaurant.
Season 7, Episode 15, “Bart the Fink” – Features the IRS Burger takeover.
Season 19, Episode 1, “He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs” – Homer hides in the Krusty Zone ball pit.
Season 15, Episode 10, “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife” – Shows the Krusty Burger drive thru sign.
Season 21, Episode 4, "Treehouse of Horror XX" – Features the Krusty Burger in “Don't Have a Cow, Mankind.”
What's your favorite deep cut Easter Egg in the build?
Healy: Above the Krusty Burger drive-thru window, there is a kitchen display screen, showing that someone has placed an order for 700 burgers. This is a reference to the Season 5 episode “Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood,” in which Krusty has unwisely opened a Krusty Burger oil rig in the middle of the sea.
What was the most challenging aspect of designing this build? How were you able to overcome it?
Healy: The most rewarding challenge of designing this set was building the Krusty Burger Sign with LEGO bricks. The IP partner paid a lot of attention to the proportions of Krusty’s face within the sign, giving us reference material and tips on how to best capture his likeness. We even got hand-drawn doodles of the Krusty the Clown from them! One of my model-designer colleagues used to work as an illustrator and used his skills to capture Krusty’s features in brick-form even more accurately.
In addition, it was challenging to get the heavy Krusty Burger sign to stand up and remain stable on a single axle. Our Element Lead on the design project suggested we use a new element she was developing, an axle sleeve, to increase the weight the rod could hold upright. This new element did the trick.
The most rewarding challenge of designing this set was building the Krusty Burger Sign with LEGO bricks.
Is this a one-off revival of the Simpsons brand? Or is this the beginning of a longer partnership, where we can expect to see more LEGO Simpsons themed sets in the near future?
Healy: I cannot speculate on future products, per the LEGO Group’s and our partners' policies. Nonetheless, as a huge Simpsons fan myself, I am hopeful that fans have a positive response to this set!
LEGO The Simpsons: Krusty Burger, Set #10352, retails for $209.99, and it is composed of 1635 pieces. You can purchase it on June 4 for the general public, or starting on June 1 for LEGO Insiders. You can sign up for LEGO Insiders for free here. And stay tuned! We will be building, photographing, and reviewing LEGO Krusty Burger later this month,
Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO. He's also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.
As the chill of June sets in, it's the perfect time to trade spreadsheets for screenplays. Instead of navigating the labyrinth of endless options across Australia's six major streaming platforms, we've curated a selection of standout films and series to warm your winter nights.
From award-winning dramas to binge-worthy series, this guide is your ticket to the month's must-watch content. So, grab your favourite blanket, silence those notifications, and dive into a world of entertainment tailored just for you.
TV litter pick:Mix Tape – 12 Jun : Former teenage sweethearts reconnect decades later through shared musical memories, reigniting past emotions and questions about their future.
Movie litter pick:Wicked – 26 Jun : Explores the origin story of Elphaba and Glinda, two witches whose friendship and destinies shape the Land of Oz.
TV litter pick:Squid Game S03 – 27 Jun : An animated journey through Pharrell Williams' life, showcasing his musical evolution and creative milestones.
Movie litter pick:Piece By Piece – 7 Jun : Contestants engage in deadly games for a cash prize, revealing human nature's darkest facets.
TV litter pick:This City Is Ours – 4 Jun : A gritty crime drama delving into power struggles and corruption within a city's law enforcement.
Movie litter pick:The Surfer – 15 Jun : A psychological thriller featuring a man confronting his past while facing surreal challenges on a remote beach.
Netflix has not only revealed a new teaser trailer for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, but it revealed the new episodes will be released in three batches - Volume 1 on November 26 at 5pm PT, Volume 2 on Christmas (December 25) at 5pm PT, and The Finale on New Year's Eve (December 31) at 5pm PT.
Volume 1 of Stranger Things' fifth season will contain four episodes, Volume 2 will have three, and the finale will be its own singular event. These episodes will be released worldwide at the same time, and you can see when they drop in your region right here.
The fight isn’t over yet. Get ready for the epic series finale of Stranger Things.
Volume 1: November 26, 5pm PT* Volume 2: Christmas, 5pm PT* The Finale: New Year's Eve, 5pm PT*
As for what those episodes will be about, Netflix has shared the following;
“The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna," The official description reads. "But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding.
"As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time."
Netflix Tudum 2025 has revealed a ton of exciting details about the most-anticipated shows and movies heading to the streamer in the future, including when Stranger Things Season 5 will arrive, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery's release date, and Squid Game's Season 3 trailer.
There were a ton of announcements during the Netflix Tudum 2025 livestream, and we've gathered all the big news right here to ensure you don't miss a thing!
Stranger Things Season 5 Release Dates Revealed Alongside New Teaser Trailer
The fight isn’t over yet. Get ready for the epic series finale of Stranger Things.
Volume 1: November 26, 5pm PT* Volume 2: Christmas, 5pm PT* The Finale: New Year's Eve, 5pm PT*
As for what those episodes will be about, Netflix has shared the following alongside a short teaser you can see above;
“The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna," The official description reads. "But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding.
"As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time."
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Release Date Revealed
XII.XII.MMXXV. Thou shalt be seated.
Save the date for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the newest Benoit Blanc whodunnit from Rian Johnson, fresh off its announcement at #TUDUM. pic.twitter.com/Ihw0Nn8LW4
Rian Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery's latest teaser trailer not only revealed more about Benoit Blanc's latest adventure, but it also shared it will arrive on Netflix on December 12, 2025.
We don't know much about this new mystery yet, but Blanc himself has described this as his "most dangerous case yet." What we do know is that Daniel Craig's Blanc will be joined by Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
Squid Game Season 3 Trailer Teases the Final Games
Squid Game Season 3 is set to debut on Netflix on June 27, and Tudum shared with the world a new trailer that showcases what these final games have in in store for Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun and more.
“The new season will focus on what Gi-hun can and will do after all his efforts fail,” series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said. "He is in utter despair after losing everything and watching all his efforts go in vain. The story then takes an interesting turn, questioning whether Gi-hun can overcome his shame and rise again to prove that values of humanity — like conscience and kindness — can exist in the arena.”
Netflix Reveals the First Six Minutes of Wednesday Season 2
Netflix has released the first six minutes of Wednesday Season 2, which is set to debut in two parts on August 6 and September 3. Alongside a look at every Easter Egg hidden in the footage you can see above, Netflix also confirmed that Lady Gaga will guest star in Wednesday Season 2 Part 2 as Rosaline Rotwood - a "legendary Nevermore teacher who crosses paths with Wednesday."
Happy Gilmore 2 Trailer Reveals More of the Sequel That's Nearly 30 Years in the Making
It's been nearly 30 years since Happy Gilmore was released, and Netflix is celebrating by revealing a big trailer for the sequel that is set to be released on July 25. Netflix also revealed some of the cast we can expect to see join Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore, including Julie Bowen, Ben Stiller, Christopher McDonald, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny), Sadie and Sunny Sandler, and Blake Clark.
Professional golfers like John Daly, Paige Spiranac, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and Will Zalatoris will also be joining the fray.
Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein Gets a Teaser Trailer That Shows Off Oscar Isaac's Victor Frankenstein and the 'Misbegotten Creature He's Created'
Only Monsters Play God. Frankenstein, a film by Guillermo del Toro, is on Netflix this November. #TUDUMpic.twitter.com/tqowqZ3dXC
Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, which is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's iconic novel, got a new teaser trailer that shows off Oscar Isaac's Victor Frankenstein and the "misbegotten creature (Jacob Elordi) he's created."
Alongside a glimpse at these film that will be released in November, fans of del Toro's work will note "plenty of familiar imagery in the new teaser, from Isaac’s Victor standing on a decaying staircase holding a candelabra (see: Crimson Peak) to a blood-red angelic figure surrounded in flames (see: the Angel of Death in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the blue Wood Sprite and the sphinxlike Death in Pinocchio, and even the Faun in Pan’s Labyrinth)."
One Piece Season 2 Trailer Reveals the First Look at Tony Tony Chopper
ATTENTION ALL PIRATES! 🏴☠️ The doctor is in!
Tony Tony Chopper, voiced by the incredible Mikaela Hoover, made a show-stopping appearance at #TUDUM along with the Straw Hat Crew!
The latest trailer for Season 2 of One Piece has arrived and it has given us our first look at Tony Tony Chopper, who is voiced by Mikaela Hoover (Beef, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Superman).
For those unfamiliar, Chopper is a blue-nosed reindeer-boy hybrid and is able to treat various illnesses and wants to travel the world and cure all the diseases that pop up.
“What excited me about playing Chopper is the tug of war between his standoffishness and his huge heart,” Hoover told Tudum. “He tries so hard to hide his emotions and put on a tough exterior, but underneath, he’s a big softy, and his love can’t help but come out.
“I believe there is a little Chopper in all of us,” she adds. “We all want to be loved and accepted. We go to great lengths to keep the people that we love safe. There’s a purity to his nature that reminds us of what’s good in the world.”
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Team Up For The Rip
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are teaming up again for Joe Carnahan's The Rip, a film about a team of Miami cops who discover millions of dollars stored in a derelict stash house. As "outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question - including who they can rely on."
"The Rip came out of a deeply personal experience that my friend went through, both as a father and as head of tactical narcotics for the Miami Dade police department,” Carnahan explains. “It's inspired in part by his life and then, by my enduring love for those classic ‘70's cop thrillers that really valued the character and interpersonal relationships and became touchstones of that era — films like Serpico and Prince of The City and more recently, Michael Mann's Heat.”
The Rip will be released on January 16, 2026, and Damon and Affleck will be joined by Steven Yeun, Kyle Chandler, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Sasha Calle.
Connexion
