It looks like I'm in the mood for nostalgic throwbacks, practical travel gear, and low-key upgrades for everyday life today. How about revisiting iconic games like Bioshock 1-3 and Mafia 1-3? Or perhaps McFarlene Spider-Man is your bag? There's even a (surprisingly) great Friends-themed coffee mug for under $7, there’s a bit of something here for everyone.

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I'm also weighing up a INIU portable charger that's compact enough to toss in a pocket but fast enough to power your phone. If you're traveling or just trying to get better rest, the WAOAW 3D contoured sleep mask seems like a solid pick with its soft feel and light-blocking design. And if you’re into Disney or LEGO, the Up House set is both fun to build and easy on shelf space. Plus, the upcoming Thunderbolts 4K combo is now up for preorder if you’re collecting Marvel releases. Let's get into it:

Coke Zero Sugar 12 Pack

Doritos Variety Pack

WAOAW Sleep Mask w/ 3D Eye Cups & Adjustable Strap (Black)

Thunderbolts* - UHD Combo + Digital

Mafia X Bioshock Game Bundle

INIU 10,000mAh 45W USB Power Bank

LEGO Disney and Pixar ‘Up’ House, Classic Disney Celebration

Silver Buffalo FRIENDS Central Perk Black Ceramic Mug

Spider-Man By Todd Mcfarlane: The Complete Collection

Donkey Kong and Pauline Amiibo Preorder

Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Switch 2)

Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Switch 1)

Tunise Rechargeable Portable Neck Fan

Symphonic Journeys Pokémon Red & Blue - IGN Exclusive Vinyl

Lies of P (Steam)

Lies of P: Overture

Borderlands 4 PC Preorders

September 12th is closer than you think, so get Borderlands 4 preordered from Green Man Gaming and secure your preload on Steam. Randy Pitchford reckons that it's co-op mode will be "The best ever", too.

Pokémon TCG Classic

The Sam's Club Pokémon TCG Classic deal is back, and it's massively undercutting other big box retailers and the secondary market. Just for comparrison, the top four cards from this set, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur and Mewtwo, are worth the same price as this discounted offer. This deal is well worth it and should be snapped up as soon as possible.

Pokémon TCG Stock Updates

As usual we're looking at over-inflated pricing at big box stores, but it's a dependable source of sealed product for trainers looking to add to their collections or rip open boosters. Although we'd recommend checking out secondary market prices first, as big retailers are now regularly selling over market value now too. I've already done the hard work for you:

TCG Player and eBay Pokémon Sealed Product

The Most Expensive Japanese Black Bolt White Flare Cards

The most expensive cards from Pokémon TCG's Black Bolt and White Flare sets are already commanding serious prices in Japan. Top of the list are the Special Illustration Rares of Zekrom ex and Reshiram ex, both featuring intricate, hand-drawn artwork and fetching well over ¥20,000 (around $130–$150 USD) on the secondary market.

Also climbing fast are the new BWR (Black White Rare) cards and the full-art Victini promos from the themed file sets. With stunning clay and knitted art styles also making their debut, collectors are pushing prices up across the board, especially for low-population, high-style secret rares.

This Weeks Pokémon TCG Crashers and Climbers

With Black Bolt and White Flare wrapping up the Scarlet & Violet era, all eyes are now on what’s next—and Mega Evolution is officially back. The Japanese Championships 2025 confirmed MEGA Symphonia and MEGA Brave as the first entries in the new Mega Expansion Packs, launching August 1 in Japan. These sets reintroduce Mega Evolution ex cards in a powerful new form, now Stage 2 Pokémon worth 3 Prize Cards when knocked out. Cards like Mega Gardevoir ex, Mega Venusaur ex, and Mega Lucario ex are leading the charge, and collectors are already snapping up classic Mega cards in anticipation of their return to the spotlight.

MTG Live Preorders

Preorders are now live for Magic: The Gathering’s next major set, Edge of Eternities, ahead of its August 1 release. You can lock in Play Booster Boxes, Bundles, Commander Decks, and Collector Boosters, with prices already dipping below MSRP in some spots. With some chunky lore, borderless cards, and premium packaging teased, now’s a good time to grab your picks before stock tightens closer to launch.

MTG Stock Update

There's the usual suspects of insanely priced boosters such as Theros Beyond Death, but there's also some discounts such as 9% off a box of Assassin's Creed collector boosters and a massive 32% off a booster box of Lord of the Rings set boosters.

MTG Final Fantasy Chase Cards

I was going to say how insane MTG Final Fantasy's popularity is, but it's completely understandable. Whilst sealed stock is going up in value and becoming harder to get, there's plenty of option for the most in-demand cards for your deck or collection.

MTG Aetherdrift Chase Cards

Aetherdrift is one of Magic: The Gathering’s more experimental sets, blending high-speed vehicle mechanics with a bold visual style. Released as part of the Universes Beyond series, it introduced new archetypes and card types designed to shake up both casual and competitive formats.

3 Months for $0.99 Audible Deal

3 Months Free Kindle Unlimited

Sound Explosion Software Bundle

Alienware AW3423DWF Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor

The Legend of Zelda Master Sword by Proplica

Monster Hunter Wilds PS5 and Xbox Series X

Monster Hunter Wilds has hit its lowest price yet for the standard physical edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X at just $55.99, down from $69.99. This latest entry takes the series into a fully voiced narrative, dynamic biomes, and crossplay multiplayer. If you’ve been waiting for a price drop to jump into the Forbidden Lands, this is a solid time to grab a copy.

Symphonic Journeys Pokémon Red & Blue - IGN Exclusive Vinyl

Elden Ring Nightreign Official Strategy Guide

Donkey Kong Bananza

amFilm Switch 2 Tempered Glass Screen

Disney is officially working on a live-action Lilo and Stitch 2 following the success of its first remake, which premiered last month.

The House of Mouse confirmed its plans to develop another movie in its popular Lilo and Stitch movie series with a video on Instagram. It’s a bit fluffier than your usual sequel confirmation, as it shows its blue alien mascot driving around a Walt Disney Studios before finding inspiration in the number two. No further details about Lilo and Stitch 2, including its plot or release date, have been revealed.

"Should’ve known he couldn’t keep a secret," Disney says in its post. "A 626 day surprise: #LiloAndStitch 2 is now in development!"

The live-action Lilo and Stitch remake premiered May 23, 2025, and quickly became quite the box office success. Just before it crawled its way into theaters, Disney was already considering what sequels could look like. Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman went as far as to say, “It feels like it’s going to work very well, and it’s the kind of property that lends itself to more,” at the time.

If anything, it’s a surprise it’s taken this long to see a green light for a live-action Lilo and Stitch 2. Just one week after its premiere, the 2025 remake had managed to pull in $610.8 million globally. That number has only increased to be just shy of $1 billion mark at $914,396,949 (via Box Office Mojo).

We gave the 2025 live-action Lilo and Stitch remake an 8/10 in our review.

Developing…

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Bad Influence is a new manga-style sci-fi series from Webtoon. Created as a collaboration between HiHi Studios (co-founded by streamer Valkyrae and Range Media’s Kai Gayoso) and start-up Otherly Productions, Bad Influence follows a woman named Nel who rebels against the oppressive regime ruling over her dystopian home. As the series makes its debut on Webtoon, IGN can exclusively debut the entire first issue for your reading pleasure.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to read Bad Influence #1:

Bad Influence is drawn by artist Jor Ros and co-written by Orson James and Roman Calais. Here's Webtoon's official summary of Bad Influence:

In Bad Influence, the city of Weisshorn is a surveillance city, where life is a never-ending parade–literally. Mascots smile from every screen, propaganda loops in cheery jingles, and the people are kept docile by distraction. At the center of it all is Oswald, a charismatic dictator with a showman’s flair and a deep need to control the story everyone lives inside.

The series follows the adventures of Nel — a hot-headed and haunted young woman, who isn’t buying the dream sold to the masses. Nel joins a rebel gang to take the system down. But the deeper she digs, the weirder it gets. She unearths glitches, ghosts, and truths that no one wants uncovered. Reality’s falling apart. And Nel might be next.

“BAD INFLUENCE is about a reluctant rebel fighting back against the system,” said James in a statement. “Weisshorn is a broad-smiling dystopia where control is asserted through entertainment. The system doesn't just rule with fear — it distracts, dazzles, and scripts your life through spectacle. If everyone’s smiling, how bad can it be? It’s the surveillance state dressed up as a theme park.”

“Nel’s rebellion is an act of self-discovery,” added Calais. “Nel isn’t just fighting the regime — she’s trying to figure out who she is beneath the roles she’s been forced into. Life in Weisshorn is a mess of lies and trauma, and Nel’s ready to break out. But she’s not the chosen one. She feels lost, confused. Nel carries herself like a fighter, but behind that is a young woman patching over the cracks of doubt and insecurity with stubbornness and sheer will. And, in this world, holding it together might be the most radical act of all.”

The first three chapters of the series are now available as part of the Webtoon Originals program, with new chapters to follow each Thursday.

In other comic book news, the Phillipe Labaune Gallery is showcasing the work of Paul Pope, and DC has revealed the many variant covers for September's Batman #1 relaunch.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Kojima Productions fans can’t stop talking about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach load times, with many calling them the "fastest" they’ve "ever seen in a video game."

Hideo Kojima’s strand-game sequel launched to stellar reviews, including our own, where we called Death Stranding 2's post-apocalyptic take on Australia “hauntingly beautiful.” While there are many elements to praise, it’s the visuals that have been almost unanimously celebrated. Death Stranding 2 is quite the visual showcase, so seeing loading screens last less than a second before dropping protagonist Sam Porter Bridges into wide-open fields is quite the sight to behold.

Videos of players showcasing the quick load times have already flooded social media feeds since early access launch arrived June 24, and the results are hard to deny. Pressing the “Continue” button on the main menu presents a flash of a black screen before picking up exactly where players left off. Loading another save while already in-game presents similar results. Some of the phrases being thrown around include “blink or you’ll miss it,” “instant,” and “the fastest load times I’ve ever seen.”

Kojima’s secret to the unbelievable load times in Death Stranding 2 has yet to be revealed, but one popular X/Twitter post has a theory.

“Okay but actually how the f**k,” user @RealBugAubrey said. “Either everyone else is not so secretly terrible at their job or Kojima Productions is making deals with spirits and demons.”

Death Stranding 2 has the fastest loading time I've EVER seen in a video game.

Don't blink or you'll miss it. It's literally instant.#DeathStranding #DeathStranding2 pic.twitter.com/2PWkNN92JI

— KAMI (@Okami13_) June 23, 2025

It’s been mentioned already but the load times in Death Stranding 2 are unbelievably fast, like the fastest I’ve ever seen in any game ever.

Genuinely how did they do this?? pic.twitter.com/GmxbaF3ijH

— Synth Potato🥔 (@SynthPotato) June 26, 2025

The essentially non-existent Death Stranding 2 load times are only impressive because so many other games on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S still feature loading screens that can last for up 30 seconds or even minutes long. Even without sitting down for a side-by-side comparison, many believe Death Stranding 2 might feature the most impressive load times for a game of this caliber ever. However, there are a few other shining examples that players believe might give Sam Porter Bridges a run for his money.

Insomniac Games’ 2023 title, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, famously features similarly fast loading times on PS5, with players able to teleport to any location in New York City. All it takes is holding a button, which the developer has clarified doesn’t hide its own secret loading function.

On the Xbox side of things is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which many fans have noted features a main menu screen that is the actual game itself.

"Right on par with Indiana Jones new game - both seem to load the actual save file in the background as it boots up, so selecting to continue just essentially reveals the game in progress," one Reddit user said.

Indiana Jones: https://t.co/DOBj7maJk4 pic.twitter.com/LSSQ269mI2

— Luiz (@diasluizzz) June 24, 2025

It’s sparked some debate among those seeking to defend their favorite video game, but one thing is clear: many major games are starting to ditch loading screens altogether. We’ll have to wait and see just how long it takes before loading screens vanish from most games entirely. In the meantime, you can read up on why Nintendo is mentioned in the Death Stranding 2 credits. You can also check out how some players are reacting to its infamous "I won't do it" dialogue option.

Check out our Death Stranding 2: On the Beach guide for a full main story walkthrough, complete with checkmarks to track your exact progress, plus guides for Sub-Orders, Standard Orders, and Aid Requests - plus even more secrets and a cheat code! If you’re just jumping into the game, we have plenty of tips for what to do first, how to survive in combat, and how to make it through Brutal difficulty if you’re playing on the most challenging setting.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Summertime has arrived, and plenty of great video game deals along with it. There are quite a few Xbox deals, in particular, that are worth checking out at the moment. With big sale events like Amazon Prime Day on the horizon as well, there are bound to be many more to come as we get closer to the sale's start day on July 8. Until then, though, some of our favorite Xbox deals at the moment include discounts on Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Sniper Elite: Resistance, and Monster Hunter Wilds (which has hit its lowest price yet at Amazon), but these just scratch the surface of what's out there.

If you're looking to stock up on new Xbox games or accessories, we're here to help. Here are the best Xbox deals available right now.

Best Xbox Game Deals

If you're looking to stock up on new Xbox games, there are quite a few on sale right now that are worth checking out. Some of our favorite deals at the moment are from Woot's Video Game Super Sale, which includes discounts on Metaphor: ReFantazio, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and Sniper Elite: Resistance, but there are so many more to look through. Monster Hunter Wilds has even hits its lowest price yet at Amazon. You can check out those deals and more of our favorites above.

What's Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?

Game Pass has a nice rotation of new titles to play every month. If you're curious about what's in store for the end of June and start of July, we've got you covered. The Xbox Game Pass June Wave 2 lineup is:

• Star Trucker (Xbox Series X|S) – June 18 Now with Game Pass Standard
• Wildfrost (Console) – June 18 Now with Game Pass Standard
• Rematch (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – June 19 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Volcano Princess (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 24 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Against the Storm (Cloud and Console) – June 26 Game Pass Ultimate
• Warcraft I: Remastered (PC) – June 26 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Warcraft II: Remastered (PC) – June 26 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Warcraft III: Reforged (PC) – June 26 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Call of Duty: WWII (Console and PC) – June 30 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Little Nightmares II (Cloud, Console, and PC) – July 1 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (Cloud, Console, and PC) – July 1 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

Best Xbox Accessory Deals

Outside of games, there are a few different Xbox accessory deals that are worth your time and money as well. Walmart's offering a nice discount at the moment on the Elite Series 2 controller, while Amazon's got the 1TB Seagate Storage Expansion Card on sale. Woot has a couple of nice accessory deals to check out, too.

When Should I Buy an Xbox?

In general, it is advisable to keep an eye out for sales and restocks throughout the year, as availability has improved since the initial launch of the console. Unlike the Nintendo Switch, there is no specific recommendation to wait for a sale regardless of the time of year. Instead, it's a good idea to monitor various retailers and online platforms for restock announcements and promotional offers.

However, certain events like Black Friday or other holiday seasons may bring about unique bundles, discounts, or promotional deals specifically for the Xbox Series X. These bundles may include additional games, accessories, or exclusive limited editions. While quantities for such promotions might be limited, they can provide an opportunity to get more value for your purchase.

It's worth keeing in mind that Xbox recently increased console prices as well, which you can read more about here.

Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S?

Choosing between the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S ultimately depends on your gaming preferences, budget, and specific requirements. Let's compare the two consoles to help you make an informed decision:

1. Performance: The Xbox Series X is the more powerful option, offering native 4K gaming, higher graphical fidelity, and faster loading times. It has more advanced hardware, including a larger storage capacity. On the other hand, the Xbox Series S targets a lower price point and offers a less powerful performance, targeting 1440p resolution gaming and upscaling to 4K.

2. Price: The Xbox Series S is more affordable compared to the Xbox Series X. If budget is a significant factor for you, the Xbox Series S provides a cost-effective option while still delivering a next-generation gaming experience. For example, the Series S can play Starfield at 1440p 30fps (vs 4K 30fps on Series X).

3. Storage: The Xbox Series X comes with a larger internal storage capacity, allowing you to store more games directly on the console. The Xbox Series S, however, has a smaller storage capacity, which means you may need to manage your game library more actively or rely on external storage solutions.

4. Disc Drive: The Xbox Series X includes a disc drive, enabling you to play physical game discs and enjoy a wider range of media options, including Blu-ray and DVD playback. The Xbox Series S, in contrast, is a digital-only console, meaning you can only play games downloaded from the digital store.

5. Graphics and Performance: While both consoles support ray tracing, the Xbox Series X provides a more immersive and visually impressive experience due to its superior hardware capabilities. If you prioritize cutting-edge graphics and want the best performance available, the Xbox Series X is the preferable choice.

Consider your gaming preferences, budget, and whether you prioritize top-of-the-line performance or cost-effectiveness. If you have a 4K TV, want the most powerful console, and are willing to invest more, the Xbox Series X is the recommended option. If you have a lower budget, a 1080p or 1440p TV, and don't mind sacrificing some performance, the Xbox Series S offers excellent value for money.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2025, we're trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We've got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you're trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

There are many ways to play games these days. Consoles and gaming PCs are still popular options with loads of power, and gaming handhelds have surged lately, but the ability of everyday phones and specialty gaming phones to tap into all sorts of games is hard to ignore. It’s a device you likely have on you all day, every day, and that alone can make it an ideal gaming device. But how do you ensure you’re getting a phone that can game well? That’s what we set out to explore when we test phones, whether they’re mainstream options or those niche options designed specifically for gaming. Here’s an inside peek at the testing we perform to sift the wheat from the chaff.

Benchmarks

Benchmarks are a staple in hardware testing. They hit a machine hard with a heavy workload and provide a simplified score or metric (like average frames per second) at the end of the test. The results provide a key reference for directly comparing the performance from one device to another.

For all phones, I run Geekbench 6 to measure single- and multi-core CPU performance. I also run Geekbench 6’s GPU test using Vulkan on Android and Metal on iOS. Since gaming combines both CPU and GPU performance, we also run some gaming-specific benchmarks, including 3DMark’s Wildlife Extreme, Steel Nomad Light, and Solar Bay (for compatible phones) tests. These 3DMark stress tests both the CPU and GPU, but with a different balance. So, a phone with a strong CPU and modest GPU, for instance, may perform well in Wildlife Extreme but underperform in Solar Bay compared to a phone with a modest CPU and strong GPU.

I run each benchmark several times and average the results. This helps ensure consistency, but it can also help reveal inconsistency. A phone may be able to perform well in the first run of a benchmark, but if heat builds up too quickly, it’s very common to see performance drop.

Game Tests

Benchmarks are generally designed to push a device to its limit, often beyond what is practical in everyday operation, so I also test phones with actual games available today. These remain demanding, of course, but powerful phones generally won’t struggle with them. In the past, this has included games like Call of Duty Mobile, Sky: Children of the Light, and Genshin Impact. Recently, Wuthering Waves has proven a suitable challenge for the latest phones. I attempt to run the game at its highest graphics settings with a 60fps frame rate limit (the max available). I play 30 minutes, watching for any hitches in performance or inability to maintain a steady 50-60fps in both the short and long term. If a phone struggles significantly with this, I may reduce the graphics settings and resume testing, noting the settings level ultimately tested at.

At the end of this playtest, I also evaluate the external temperature of the phone, looking for hotspots and the temperature around the edges where I hold it. After all, a phone that runs games incredibly fast may not be worth much if it also burns your hands in the process.

After gaming, I also switch back and forth between apps to see how much the phone's memory retains and to check whether it’s possible to step away from a game briefly and then resume play without needing to reload the game.

Additional Testing

Beyond the benchmarks and gaming tests, each phone is evaluated on its everyday operation, the quality of its screen (clarity, brightness, color, smoothness, etc.), wireless connectivity speeds, day-to-day battery life, physical design, special features, and camera quality.

While gaming phones tend to offer quality displays and solid battery life, they can struggle when it comes to features and design. So even though my process for testing gaming phones and non-gaming phones is largely the same, I end up weighing them differently.

What Are the Best Gaming Phones Right Now?

IGN's overall top pick for the best gaming phone right now is the RedMagic 10 Pro with its excellent performance and a great display. Below are the rest of our top-reviewed options for gaming in 2025.

Mark Knapp is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry with bylines at PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark on Twitter @Techn0Mark or BlueSky at @Techn0Mark.

The appeal of a console like the Nintendo Switch 2 or gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go S, etc., is obvious: They provide a portable gaming platform you can bring anywhere so you can enjoy games wherever and whenever you want. But you’re already carrying a phone around with you everywhere you go. What if it could check the same boxes that a gaming handheld does?

That’s the question that might send you down the gaming phone rabbit hole. Depending on what you’re after from your gaming hardware, there’s a good chance a gaming phone could be a good fit for you. But first, you’ll want to understand what makes a standout gaming phone so different from your typical smartphone, what limitations a gaming phone will still have, and how you plan to use it.

What Makes a Great Gaming Phone?

A gaming phone is going to have all the same core elements as an everyday phone, but it will likely have souped-up versions and extra hardware enhancements to help it perform better at its core task: gaming.

On the iPhone side of the fence, the best gaming phone will pretty much just be the latest Pro model, as it will include the most potent system-on-chip and highest quality display of the options Apple makes.

On Android, it gets more complicated. Many flagship phones will feature the latest Qualcomm or MediaTek chipset, so it might seem like they should all perform on an even footing. To some extent, they can perform quite close to one another. In our phone tests, we often find the same system-on-chip performing neck-and-neck to one another in short tests. But in longer, more demanding tests, we get to see just how the gaming phones’ enhancements help set them apart.

Sustained performance

When we test phones, we put them through long-lasting gaming and benchmarks that give them plenty of time to see their temperature climb and their performance tank. A phone that can run a benchmark once at 30fps might sink down to just 15fps after running that benchmark 20 times. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra demonstrated this well; its performance halved over the course of 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light stress test. By contrast, the RedMagic 10 Pro implemented active cooling, allowing it to run the same benchmark and see its performance only sink by 21% over the course of the test (or even hold stable at a slightly lowered ceiling). That sustained performance is crucial for longer gaming sessions. The last thing you want from a gaming phone is to start playing and watch your game get slower and slower as you go.

Heat management and ergonomics

It’s not just the heat of the chipset tanking performance that matters. Where that heat goes is also important for a gaming phone. Unless you’re using a phone controller, you’re going to be holding the phone in your hands while you play. The heat generated by the phone can result in hotspots and go beyond merely uncomfortable to touch. Gaming phones tend to have enhanced cooling systems that aim to prevent heat buildup in the first place located in spots that keep it away from the areas of the phone you’re likely to hold while gaming. The Asus ROG Phone 9 positions its chipset at the center of the phone, for example. A gaming phone ought to have rounded corners as well so that hard edges don’t stab into your palms.

A fast screen

60Hz is a thing of the past on great phones. Gaming phones, even on the affordable end of the spectrum, almost invariably offer at least 120Hz refresh rates. That helps make everyday use feel smooth, but it’s especially applicable to games for more detail in motion. That’s not the only element of speed that matters here, though. Gaming phones also tend to have an elevated touch sampling rate. This helps register touches on the display sooner, which may be hard to detect in practice but can make a difference in fast-paced games where every millisecond counts.

A big battery

A super-powered phone with a massive display could be wonderful to game on, but if it’s carrying a tiny 4,000mAh battery, it probably won’t be all that useful for gaming in general. Playing games sucks down a lot of juice between the screen being on and chipset running at high speeds. Combine that with the burden of regular use throughout the day, and you could be running for a charger frequently if you try to game on a phone with a small battery. Most good gaming phones will feature a sizable battery pack. For example, the RedMagic 10 Pro offers one of the biggest batteries we’ve seen in a phone that wasn’t outlandishly thick with its 7,050mAh pack.

Additional features

Scoring high marks in the areas above can set up a phone for success while gaming. But to go above and beyond, a gaming phone should have a few extra features tailored to enhance the gaming experience or provide even more options while playing. This can include bonus software or hardware features, like OnePlus’s HyperRendering tool for upscaling and frame interpolation. Many gaming phones will feature dedicated shoulder buttons to give gamers more input methods. Support for pass-through power is also a common and useful tool for gamers, as it lets the system-on-chip draw power directly from a cable connection, skipping the battery and the extra heat generation that comes with it.

Gaming Phone Limitations

Getting a gaming phone to serve its core purpose tends to come with some trade-offs. Some of those are because the design necessitates it, and others are simply because a manufacturer can only put so much into a phone before its price spirals out of control.

Missing features

A few features of modern smartphones you’ve probably come to expect aren’t always present on gaming phones. Wireless charging might be absent. That extra layer of coiled wire necessary for wireless charging not only takes up precious internal space, but can get in the way of the phone’s ability to transfer heat into the back of the chassis. To make up for it, a lot of gaming phones will at least support very fast wired charging (like the RedMagic 10 Pro’s 100W charging). Water protection can also fall short of competitors. A gaming phone that uses active cooling won’t have the same sealed chassis that other devices do, so it’ll be exposed to potential ingress of water and dust.

Cameras

The camera system on many smartphones can be one of its biggest selling points; take the triple-sensor arrays on the iPhone 16 Pro or OnePlus 13, or even the quad-sensor array on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, for instance. Meanwhile gaming phones tend to divert their efforts elsewhere. The Asus ROG Phone 9, despite costing as much as these competitors, offers a much more meager camera system with one wide camera, one ultra-wide, and a throwaway macro lens. It’s a similar story for the RedMagic 10 Pro. Even if the amount of cameras tacked onto a gaming phone is the same as a mainstream phone, we’ve yet to see one come near the quality of the mainstream competition.

Game selection

Even if a gaming phone has gobs of power to run games, it is still limited to the selection of games available on its native operating system (more than likely, that’s Android). While there are tons of games available on mobile, you’ll still be missing out on many of the biggest games around. AAA games tend not to launch on mobile platforms. There are means of playing PC and console games on your phone via cloud gaming and game streaming, but these rely almost entirely on the quality of your wireless connection and can run on very modest hardware – meaning, a gaming phone provides little benefit over any other phone. The performance of phones has leapt substantially recently, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see more attention given to mobile, but until then, the benefits of a powerful gaming phone will be limited to the selection of games available directly on the phone itself.

Does a Gaming Phone Make Sense?

Ask yourself this series of questions before buying a gaming phone. If you answer any of them with a “no,” then you’ll probably be able to skip a gaming phone and opt for a normal smartphone instead.

Do you like to play games available on Android and iOS?

If so, then a gaming phone might make sense. If most of the games you want to play are on PC or console, though, there’s little reason to get a gaming phone, as it won’t provide any particular benefit. For PC games, a gaming handheld may make more sense. For console games, you’ll likely be looking at game streaming or cloud gaming.

Do you play games with intense graphics?

Realistic 3D graphics can be a heavy lift for gaming hardware, and that’s when the performance of a gaming phone might come in handy. But many mobile games aren’t terribly demanding. Games like Among Us, Hearthstone, Stardew Valley, Subway Surfers, etc., don’t seriously tax recent smartphone CPUs and GPUs. If that’s your preferred gaming fare, then you can probably get by perfectly fine with a normal smartphone.

Do you like to dial up graphics settings to the max and game for long stretches of time?

Even though they’re not made specifically for gaming, recent flagship phones like the OnePlus 13 can still perform wonderfully in demanding games. It’s the extra performance and thermal management of gaming phones that helps them outperform their mainstream counterparts when it comes to going balls to the wall, sustaining performance for extended periods, and maintaining acceptable temperatures while doing so. But if you just jump into a game here and there for 5-10 minutes at a time and don’t care about cranking up graphics settings or the differences between 30fps and 60fps, plenty of phones are up to the task.

If you answered yes for those last three questions, then a gaming phone could be a smart pick. You’ll get stronger performance, longer battery life, and fewer heat issues than you would from most everyday smartphones. In any other case, you’ll probably be better served by a standard smartphone, gaming handheld, cloud gaming, or some combination of the three.

Which Gaming Phone Should You Buy?

IGN's overall top pick for the best gaming phone right now is the RedMagic 10 Pro with its excellent performance and a great display. Below are the rest of our top-reviewed options for gaming in 2025.

Mark Knapp is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry with bylines at PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark on Twitter @Techn0Mark or BlueSky at @Techn0Mark.

Gareth Edwards, director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has said he's "very happy to move on" rather than return to a galaxy far, far away.

Rogue One received mostly positive reviews when it launched in December 2016, while spin-off Disney+ series Andor has become one of the franchise's most critically-acclaimed projects ever.

Still, Edwards, whose next project Jurassic World: Rebirth launches on July 2, has said he is unlikely to ever return to direct another Star Wars project. "I'm very happy to move on and do my thing," Edwards told Business Insider.

"It's the thing that was in my life before I knew what a film was," Edwards said, suggesting he still held a fondness for the Star Wars series in general. "It's like your mom; it's like something that's a part of you. I'm always fascinated by what they're doing. I never stop loving that trilogy."

Despite Rogue One's reception, production on the film — as with fellow Star Wars spin-off Solo — experienced a few bumps along the way. Indeed, Rogue One required five weeks of reshoots after principal filming wrapped, with additional story and a tweaked ending added by Tony Gilroy, who also joined the project as a second-unit director. (Gilroy, of course, also then went on to create Andor.)

"I'm very grateful that people say nice things," Edwards said of Rogue One's general reception among audiences now. Does he concur that the film is the best Star Wars project under Disney's ownership? "I don't agree with it, but I appreciate it," he noted.

Keen to see what Edwards is up to now? Well, the latest Jurassic World: Rebirth trailer involves a prickly scene with a Spinosaurus that's well worth a watch — though it probably also deserves a spoiler warning.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Get your webbing ready, because you’re going to want to swing by your local theater this fall to see Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy when it returns for a limited weekend showing courtesy of Fathom Entertainment.

The engagement begins on September 26 with Spider-Man, but the next day has a special treat. On September 27, theaters will screen Spider-Man 2 — but in a new 4K edition of the extended cut, newly retitled Spider-Man 2.1. This is the first time that the cut, which includes deleted and extended scenes, will be screened theatrically. Finally, the trilogy will conclude on September 28 with screenings of Spider-Man 3.

“The success of Spider-Man in 2002 helped launch the modern era of superhero films. To this day, Tobey Maguire’s take on Spider-Man resonates across generations,” Chief Executive Officer of Fathom Entertainment Ray Nutt said in a statement issued to Variety.

“At Fathom Entertainment, we celebrate fandom and I am delighted that ‘Spider-Man 2.1’ in 4K will make its theatrical debut, a true gift for longtime fans and a thrilling discovery for new ones.”

The engagement will have encore screenings the following weekend, October 3-5, just in case you miss the original weekend or need to get in for a second marathon.

Fathom has been doing a lot of cool theatrical rereleases engagements lately — and it has even more on the horizon. It rereleased Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in June and has Clueless coming up after that. Additionally, it plans to show Rocky IV, The Sound of Music, Sunset Boulevard, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the near future.

Tickets for the Spider-Man trilogy engagement go on sale on July 25.

Photo credit: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

A Fortnite player who consistently cheated in competitive tournaments has been handed a huge fine and banned from the game "forever," developer Epic Games has said.

Sebastian Araujo from Lomita, California, was sued by Epic after participating in 839 cash tournaments within just four months, while using a device designed to evade Fortnite's anti-cheat detection.

According to Epic, which won its legal action against Araujo this week after he attempted to ignore the lawsuit, the player's winnings amounted to "at least $6,850." That's no small amount, but his fine now is 25 times higher: an enormous $175,521.

How has Epic landed on such a figure? Court documentation shared with IGN shows the developer demanded the statutory minimum $200 fine for each violation of the game's copyright for all 839 tournaments Araujo took part in — for a total of $167,800. The remainder of the fine is then mostly attorney fees and costs.

"While the Court notes the amount sought by Plaintiff exceedingly surpasses Defendant's alleged actual gain, $6,850, Defendant took significant measures to conceal the true scope of his cheating activities by creating multiple fake accounts and employing a hardware spoofer to circumvent detections," the court documentation reads.

Further examination shows Epic had pushed for an even higher fine — with an additional $100,000 penalty in statutory damages for copyright infringement — though it's here that the judge decided this amount would have been "excessive" versus Araujo's actual ill-gotten gains.

If it feels like Epic is making an example out of Araujo, then it wouldn't be the first time. Back in February 2025, Epic humiliated another Fortnite tournament cheater by forcing them to post a public apology video acknowledging they had cheated, and were similarly now banned for life.

As with that case, the money Araujo must now pay will be donated by Epic to Child's Play, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing access to toys and games.

Both cases follow a promise made back in November 2024, when Epic said it was "ramping up legal action against both players who cheat and cheat sellers," as it sought to bolster "competitive integrity in tournaments."

This latest public announcement, eye-watering fine and lifetime ban are all likely designed to act as deterrants for any other players with ideas of doing the same.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

It’s easy to forget these days that actor John Cena has his roots elsewhere — but the now beloved movie star recently opened up about whether or not he’d ever return to the WWE after his upcoming retirement tour.

"There is no way," Cena recently revealed on Good Morning America. "There is absolutely... I don't want to speak in absolutes, because I don't want to close any opportunity, but I made a promise to the fans who've allowed me to be here for a quarter of a century. They allowed me to sit with you today. I wouldn't want to disrespect them like that. This is an event — when people attend, it's very exclusive."

The wrestler, who is considered one of the greatest of all time, also noted that he didn’t want to “ruin” the connection he’s built with fans throughout his career for the “selfish gain” of picking back up again after announcing his decision to step back from the sport.

What’s the worst Terminator movie of all time? Fans have debated this question for years. James Cameron’s 1984 thriller The Terminator, and its blockbuster follow-up, 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, are considered two of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, and neither should be considered here. But that still leaves four Terminator sequels to sort.

Here are all the Terminator films released so far:

• The Terminator October 26, 1984
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day July 3, 1991
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines July 2, 2003
• Terminator Salvation May 21, 2009
• Terminator Genisys July 1, 2015
• Terminator: Dark Fate November 1, 2019

So, this really comes down to four movies: Terminator 3; Salvation; Genisys; and Dark Fate, all of which were poorly received. Terminator fans have been ordering this list of films from best to worse for years, but now Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator himself, has had his say — although I think his answer is packed full of bias.

The 77-year-old actor and former Governor of California declared a winner (loser?) on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen while promoting Fubar Season 2.

"I would say the worst was probably the No. 4, because that was done during the time I was governor and I was not in it," Schwarzenegger said.

That’s Terminator Salvation, which stars Christian Bale and Sam Worthington but not, as Arnie points out, Arnie himself. Well, Arnie didn’t act in the movie — a CGI version of Arnie as the Terminator turns up briefly to throw Bale around a room. It's the best bit of the film.

“How do you do a Terminator movie without me being in the Terminator movie?” Schwarzenegger wondered. “It doesn’t make any sense. It’s impossible!”

Not only was Terminator Salvation poorly received, but it made less money at the box office than expected. It wasn’t until 2015 — six years later — that another Terminator movie came out (the similarly poorly received Genisys), this time with Schwarzenegger in it. But that made little difference to the film's reception, which was savage. Salvation is currently the only Terminator film to date not to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the interview, Schwarzenegger joked that in response to Salvation, he threatened to pass a law while governor forbidding movies that “suck.”

“I called immediately,” he laughed. “I said, ‘I’m gonna pass a law that says it’s forbidden to do movies that suck!’”

In truth, Schwarzenegger’s pick here comes as no surprise, and it’s not even the first time he’s criticized Salvation. Whatever your pick, it seems there’s little life left in Terminator, despite similar 80s and 90s sci-fi franchises such as Alien and Predator enjoying a resurgence. The last movie Cameron directed in the franchise was Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He had no involvement with the three sequels that followed but returned as a producer on Terminator: Dark Fate — a movie he said he was "reasonably happy" with, though he admits it might have worked better without the original stars.

In 2022, Cameron said another Terminator reboot was "in discussion," but nothing was set in stone, and we’ve heard nothing since. He said at the time: "If I were to do another Terminator film and maybe try to launch that franchise again, which is in discussion, but nothing has been decided, I would make it much more about the AI side of it than bad robots gone crazy."

Photo by Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency/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.

I have been shopping Amazon's Prime Day sale every year since it first started back in 2015 and professionally writing about the deals it brings for almost as long. Finding the best discounts during a sale as vast as this can be difficult, especially if you're going in blind. Some of the biggest price cuts are hidden in coupons, promotions, and lightning deals that can shift at the drop of a hat. Amazon is even adding new midnight deal drops into the mix this year, only furthering the mayhem.

That being said, there are a few things you can keep in mind to find the best Prime Day deals available in 2025 without going over budget. With a bit of planning ahead and the help of a deal-hunting expert, you can come out of Prime Day feeling like you've won something. With higher tariffs set to resume in August, there's a lot riding on this year's Prime Day deals if shoppers want to save as much as possible this year.

1. Set a Spending Budget

Whether you're doing holiday shopping way early or just looking to buy a few items you've been needing this summer, budgeting is perhaps the most important thing you can do ahead of Prime Day. Online retailers like Amazon set up their pages to ensure you spend as much money as possible, and if you aren't careful, your cart can quickly become a lot fuller than you originally planned. Deciding how much you can realistically spend during Amazon Prime Day is a great way to limit yourself.

2. Make a List of What You Actually Want to Buy

One of the biggest dangers of deals shopping on Prime Day is that Amazon will customize your experience to maximize how many purchases you make in one session. One second you're browsing the best TV deals and the next second you're buying a whole pile of discounted socks and an electric toothbrush. This can quickly become expensive if you aren't careful, so making a list of things you specifically want to buy on Prime Day ahead of time is a great way to combat this. And if a Prime Day deal doesn't seem as good as Black Friday pricing, then it's okay to wait a few more months to make that purchase.

3. Compare Sale Prices and Check Historical Pricing

One of the dangers of shopping Amazon Prime Day sales is that you end up looking only at Amazon. Just because something is currently discounted on Amazon doesn't mean it isn't cheaper somewhere else or won't drop in price later on. You can usually compare prices on products across various retailers with a simple Google search. Most of the major retailers also price match if you can find it cheaper somewhere else. Both the Walmart Deals event and Target Circle Week will be running concurrently with Prime Day this year, and they will often match or lower prices on products to compete with what Amazon is putting on sale during that two day period.

4. Don't Hesitate on a Good Lightning Deal

Prime Day can be a fairly competitive time for consumers, especially when it comes to lightning deals. Although there are some deals and sales that stay consistent throughout both days during Prime Day, many of the biggest discounts may only exist until they are fully claimed. If you see a really good deal on something, you should try to snatch it up before it's gone. Lightning deals can appear on just about every item during Prime Day, but some of the most common ones are on physical media, TVs, phone accessories, and workout equipment.

In addition to ligtning deals, 2025 will also bring new midnight deals drops every day of the sale. Amazon has stated you can expect these to be brand-themed from popular companies like Levi's, Samsung, and Kiehls and that the deals will only last one day or until stock is depleted.

5. Do Your Own Research

If you have a general idea of what you want to buy on Prime Day but don't know specifically what brand or product to get, it's very important to take the time and do your own research. This can be done fairly with a few simple Google searches such as "best TV for gaming" or "best budget gaming laptop". From there you should be able to narrow down the brands and models that fit your needs best. You should apply this same thinking once you find a decent deal on a product by looking up professional reviews of those products. This will usually give you a better idea of what you're buying versus relying on Amazon reviews that are built into the shopping experience.

6. Follow a Trusted Source on Social Media

There are many deals that come and go fairly regularly, and unless you plan on keeping tabs on all of the major retailers ongoing, you may end up missing out on some great discounts and lightning deals. It may be overwhelming to keep up, but one way to avoid this is to follow a trusted deals source on the social media platform of your choice. This can help you stay up to date on the latest Prime Day deals without having to constantly dig for them yourself.

7. Don't Forget to Check for Coupons

A fairly common mistake online shoppers can make on Amazon is to miss obvious savings simple because they forgot to check a box before putting something in their cart. Amazon will often have coupons available that make a sale even better, so make sure you check the price details before you make a purchase. There will also sometimes be really good promotions, like Amazon's buy one, get one free sales that they often run as early Prime Day deals that you won't want to miss.

8. Follow Safe Shopping Guidelines

What do we mean by "shop safely" exactly? When you're busy adding things to your wish lists and to your online carts for Prime Day and beyond, you may be eager to quickly check out and move onto the next thing. Before you make your online purchases, here are some safety tips to consider:

• Ensure there's a secure connection in your browser's URL field, especially if you're on public and/or free Wi-Fi. (In Chrome, there's a locked icon for example to the left of the URL 🔒).
• As always, be cautious of new phishing and spam emails landing in your inbox. Don't trust any email that looks off to you whatsoever, and avoid clicking any links in emails that appear even somewhat spammy. It's getting harder to recognize what's real from what's a scam, so be careful, especially during popular deals days like Amazon Prime Day.
• Another piece of advice when online shopping is to ensure your auto-populated passwords and your security settings are up-to-date in whatever browser you use. As a Google user, you can manage your passwords and strengthen your security at Passwords.Google.com, which we'd definitely recommend doing before you get to shopping! You can also consider selecting "Sign in with Apple" or "Sign in with Google" when relevant for creating accounts so you don’t have to create yet another new login. Lastly, there's always 2-Step Verification, a proven way to protect your Google account when logged in and keep the internet safer from cyberattacks in general.
• Another autofill-related tip is to try using virtual card number (in Chrome), which allows you to use your autofill payment card information when checking out. Google will allow the option to generate the unique virtual card number which keeps your actual payment card number hidden. This can be especially important when making a transaction on a new site you haven't visited prior.

Jacob Kienlen is a Senior SEO Strategist and Writer at IGN who has spent a good chunk of his career finding deals on tech and physical media online. He has been professionally working in commerce journalism since 2017 when he first broke into the industry.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has seen a big boost in players after launching its first new class, but complaints over monetization have continued especially after developer Fatshark released a version of the Arbitrator's default helmet with its visor up for $5.

This week’s Battle for Tertium update, which arrived alongside the new Adeptus Arbites class DLC, reworked the core player experience to provide a new, clearer narrative focus for the co-op first-person melee / shooter hybrid.

Players now experience a linear campaign with new mission debriefs and embedded cinematics. It’s designed to “ease in new players and gradually unlock features that were previously gated by character level,” Fatshark has said.

But the big draw for veteran players was the release of the Adeptus Arbites class, and it appears to have done the trick. This $11.99 DLC looks like it’s sparked the interest of players who have stuck with the game since its troubled launch, as well as convinced lapsed players to dip back in.

Following the launch, Darktide hit a peak concurrent player count of just over 43,000 on Steam, the highest it’s been on Valve’s platform for over two years. And this doesn’t even paint the whole picture of the game’s success, given it’s also out on console.

In a statement provided to IGN, Product Marketing Manager Rodrigue Delrue said Fatshark had noticed the uptick, but failed to say exactly how many were playing Darktide across PC and console.

“We’ve seen a high level of engagement across all platforms, even if we don't have exact numbers to share at this time,” Delrue said. “What’s important is that the community remains active and passionate, and we’re incredibly thankful for that.”

There's a brand new update for your Xbox console — but probably not the one you're expecting.

If you still have an Xbox 360 plugged in, Microsoft has issued a fresh system patch that makes a couple of tweaks to the aging console's main dashboard — most notably, the addition of a big advert for Xbox Series X/S.

Microsoft now seems keen for anyone still using an Xbox 360 to leave the classic console behind, with adverts showing the company's range of Xbox Series X/S models alongside the suggestion that users "upgrade today" to "experience next-gen performance." Shouldn't that technically be next-next-gen?

The update even provides a handy QR code to scan, so you can quickly load up the Microsoft Store and browse the company's recently-increased console prices.

Microsoft finally shut down the Xbox 360's Marketplace last year, stripping out Xbox 360 dashboard elements linked to the store in the process. Today's update makes the whole thing look a little neater.

Happy to stick with the Xbox 360? The update also includes a welcome fix for the console's main game tile, which previously displayed stretched artwork.

Xbox 360 turns the ripe old age of 20 later this year, having originally launched on November 22, 2005. But while Microsoft has long since moved on from the console, it's seemingly aware there are still some owners with the veteran console plugged in.

Response to the surprise update has been positive for those still making use of their Xbox 360 consoles. "Finally it looks better!" wrote one fan on reddit. "At least it doesn’t look depressing anymore," wrote another.

"I had to jump on and see if myself," wrote a third user. "It is why I love Xbox. They could have easily left us with a s****y dashboard. But they listened. They didn’t have to do it but they did."

Earlier this month, Xbox lifted the lid on the next Xbox-branded bit of hardware, the handheld Xbox Ally X from Asus, and here's everything you need to know. It's also working on brand new, next-gen consoles, although we don't have a release window yet.

Image credit: Trackwalker

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Funcom is updating Dune: Awakening almost faster than we can write about it. No sooner had we introduced you to its Public Test Client and news that the studio was trialling extending the PvE zone of the Deep Desert from about 10% of the map to 50%, Funcom has dropped an update to confirm that the change will be rolling out for all players from today, June 26.

"The PvE area has been adjusted to encompass the entire southern half of the Deep Desert map," Funcom confirmed in its latest patch notes, below. "This means that players who have no interest in PvP should be able to find what they want without engaging in PvP. Imperial Testing Stations, caves, and so forth found in this area are thus now PvE."

"Rest assured that we will continue to listen to your feedback and make adjustments in the future," the team said.

It follows an AMA in which the studio told players frustrated by the endgame experience that it was "formulating a plan" to improve PvP in the Deep Desert. Previously, players branded the endgame as "toxic" due to griefing even after patching out the ability for players to squish other people with their Ornithopter

"We want PvE players to be able to play the endgame and have access to the content of the endgame," said creative director Joel Bylos. "Our goal is not to force PvE players to interact with a PvP system that they may have no interest in.

"We still believe in the core concept of the Deep Desert — an endlessly renewing location that resets every week and creates an activity loop for great rewards. The tension of heading out there, head on a swivel, eyes peeled for foes as you enter the most dangerous part of the most dangerous planet in the universe. Our wish was that players would embrace this loop, forming guilds to work together to overcome the bleakness of the Deep Desert."

For those wondering, yes, Control Points and Shipwrecks will continue to be PvP "throughout the entire map," which means you will find "localized pockets of PvP within the PvE section still. Similar to how Shipwrecks are PvP in Hagga Basin." Work has also begun on changing the Ornithopters; equipping a rocket launcher module will now decrease the top speed of your Scout Orni by 20%, and Assault Ornis by 10%.

After the patch has been applied, players will also be able to report other players’ messages from the text chat or report them by using the Inspect menu.

Dune: Awakening Patch Notes 1.1.0.17

Deep Desert

As outlined in A message from the Creative Director on PvE and PVP » Dune: Awakening, this hotfix will see the first iteration of the changes to the balance between PvE and PvP in the Deep Desert. Rest assured that we will continue to listen to your feedback and make adjustments in the future.

• The PvE area has been adjusted to encompass the entire southern half of the Deep Desert map.
  • This means that players who have no interest in PvP should be able to find what they want without engaging in PvP. Imperial Testing Stations, caves, and so forth found in this area are thus now PvE.
  • Control Points and Shipwrecks will, however, continue to be PvP throughout the entire map, which means you will find localized pockets of PvP within the PvE section still. Similar to how Shipwrecks are PvP in Hagga Basin.
• To retain the Risk vs Reward setup for the Deep Desert:
  • The density of resources increases the further north you go. This includes high-density clusters of valuable resources.
  • The largest spice fields will also spawn in the north.
  • The majority of Control Points will exist in the northern part.
• As part of these changes, we have made some balancing adjustments in the Deep Desert:
  • The lower half of the Deep Desert now offers PvE loot that is balanced toward shared loot and PvE activities. You may find better loot in the more dangerous PvP area located further north on the map. In the PvE area, for example, each player gets their own loot and can expect to receive one schematic. In the PvP area, loot is distributed on a “first come, first served” basis, with higher quantities of everything. Players can expect to find 2–6 schematics there, which are among the rarest.
  • Plasteel plates can only be found in PvP zones.
  • The amount of active medium spice fields has been reduced from 8 to 5.
  • The number of active small spice fields has increased from 20 to 22.
  • The spawn rate of Titanium and Stravidium has been reduced in the PvE areas so that large quantities only spawn in the far-out PvP areas.
  • The number of nodes in resource hotspots in the PvE part of the map has been reduced.
  • The respawn time of Titanium and Stravidium has increased from 30 to 45 minutes.
• Some Imperial Testing Stations are still in the PvP region, and players who want all schematics available each week will want to visit both the PvP and PvE Imperial Testing Stations. Keep in mind the loot in them rotates each week, so even if you’re not interested in PvP, you could obtain it at a later date if you’re not able to trade for it or buy it off the Exchange.

Vehicles

• We have begun work on the outlined changes to the Scout Ornithopters.
  • Equipping a Rocket Launcher Module will now decrease the top speed of your Ornithopter.
    • For Scout Ornithopters, the reduction is 20%.
    • For Assault Ornithopters, the reduction is 10%.
  • Infocards for the modules now reflect this change.
• Exiting ornithopters mid-air will now cause them to drop straight down instead of gliding away. This should decrease the chance that you lose your ornithopter upon disconnecting from the game or exiting by accident your ornithopter mid-air (yes, we have seen the videos).
  • Known issue: There is an edge case that if your vehicle ends up in the quicksand you might not be able to interact with it if you are in the quicksand. The workaround is to try to get on top of the vehicle to interact with it. This will be fixed in the very next patch.

Visiting

• We removed the restrictions when visiting other sietches. Before this change, players had their “home” sietches, and could visit other sietches in their world but couldn’t claim land. Now, any player can go to any sietch in their world and claim land wherever they want.

Technical and stability

• Increased game stability.
• The latest NVIDIA driver was added to the GPU driver check at the game launch.

Other

• We have introduced Player Reporting, allowing players to now report other players’ messages from the text chat or report players from the Inspect menu on players.

FIXES

Technical and stability

• As a continuous effort, we have closed several exploit vulnerabilities.
• Fixed an issue where a specific type of network issue would cause players to be stuck in an infinite loading screen.
• Fixed an issue where some players could experience a client freeze when traveling between Deep Desert servers.

Combat

• Fixed an issue where players performing a melee attack could get obstructed by corpses lying on the ground.

User Interface

• Fixed an issue where the guild faction alignment was not localized on the Guild Overview tab.
• Fixed an issue where players could encounter a black screen if they skipped the cinematic at “The Wreck of the Hephaestus”.
• Fixed an issue where several Sandbike research schematics failed to mention the Imperial Testing Stations as the primary source.

Travel

• Fixed an issue where players could use an ornithopter pilot service to fly from the cities to Hagga Basin if they had arrived in a city with their ornithopter.

Miscellaneous

• You will no longer lose learned emotes when respec’ing your skill tree.

Dune: Awakening has enjoyed a superb launch, with a 'very positive' user review rating on Steam. Within hours of going live on June 10, Funcom's survival MMO had clocked up over 142,000 concurrent players on Valve's platform, and hit a new high earlier this month of 189,333 players. And it's already clocked up over 1 million players, too, making it Funcom's fastest-selling game ever, and securing a Great 8/10 in our review.

If all that's got you interested but you're not sure where to start, make sure to check out all the Dune: Awakening classes you can choose from, and keep an eye on our Dune: Awakening walkthrough for a step-by-step guide to the story. We've also got Dune: Awakening resource guides that'll help you find iron, steel, aluminium, and a Dune: Awakening Trainers locations guide to help you survive on Arrakis.

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.

Mark Hamill has spoken in detail about the backstory he made up for Luke Skywalker as we see him in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, after moving to clarify his dissatisfaction with Rian Johnson’s story.

Hamill has made no secret of his disagreement with Luke’s on-screen motivations for exiling himself and becoming the hermit Rey meets in 2017’s The Last Jedi. As Skywalker explains in the movie, he blames himself for Ben Solo turning to the Dark side of the Force, which drives him to quit the Jedi. When Rey tracks Luke down in a bid to recruit him into the Resistance, he refuses.

Now, eight years after that movie came out, Hamill has gone into detail on his head canon for why Luke abandoned the Jedi.

Speaking in an interview on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn to promote his new movie, The Life of Chuck, Hamill was asked about how uncomfortable he was when he found out Luke had exiled himself in The Last Jedi.

Hamill’s response started with him insisting he’s a big fan of Rian Johnson, and indeed thinks he made “a great movie.”

“Here’s the thing, and I’d love to clear this up: Rian Johnson is one of the most gifted directors I’ve ever worked with,” Hamill said. “He’s amiable, he’s fun on set, he’s smart. He made a great movie. I think the staging of the stand-off between Kylo Ren, Adam Driver and I at the end, is so well staged. The foreshadowing that I’m not really there. Adam wipes the snow away and you see the red planet beneath, I wipe the snow and it’s just snow. That’s so subtle. I love Knives Out and Brick and Looper. He’s one of my favorite directors.

“And the fact that I went public with my dissatisfaction with the motivation for Luke becoming a suicidal hermit might have colored things in a way that, maybe I should have kept that to myself. But I kept saying to Rian, ‘This would just make Luke double down even…’ and he said, ‘Well, your class at the Jedi Academy were wiped out.’”

This is in reference to the scene in which a young Ben Solo brings a building down on Luke Skywalker, tears a Jedi temple apart and murders his students before running away to eventually become Kylo Ren.

“I said, ‘Rian, I saw entire planets wiped out! If anything, Luke doubles down and hardens his resolve in the face of adversity.’ So that’s all,” Hamill explained.

“I said, ‘Can I make up my own backstory of why he is the way he is? I don’t want to just say that I have bumped my head and I have brain damage.’ He said, ‘Yeah, do whatever you want.’ So I made up a much, much darker backstory that I thought could justify him being that way.”

Hamill then revealed this backstory, which certainly goes places:

“I thought, what could make someone give up a devotion to what is basically a religious entity, to give up being a Jedi?” Hamill began. “Well, the love of a woman. So he falls in love with a woman. He gives up being a Jedi. They have a child together. At some point the child, as a toddler, picks up an unattended lightsaber, pushes the button and is killed instantly. The wife is so full of grief, she kills herself.”

This head canon, Hamill explained, would have justified Luke’s actions and proven an adequate motivation for going into self-imposed exile.

“I thought, that would be… because I hear these horrible stories about these children who find unattended guns and wind up dead,” he continued. “That resonated with me so deeply that, that could possibly… but he didn’t have the time to tell a backstory like that, I’m guessing. He just wanted a brief thing to explain it. And to me, it didn’t justify it.

“That said — and I told him [Johnson] this — despite the fact that I disagree with your choices for Luke, I’m going to do everything within my power to make your screenplay work as best as I can. And the only thing unfortunate about that is, I’ve heard comments from fans who think that I somehow dislike Rian Johnson, and nothing could be further from the truth.”

The comments also come hot on the heels of Hamill’s confirmation that he will not return to Star Wars in a future movie, insisting: “There's no way I'm gonna appear as a naked Force ghost.”

Rey is set to return to the world of Star Wars in the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed sequel to the universally panned Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker. It will tell the story of Rey as she looks to rebuild the Jedi Order roughly 15 years after the events of that film.

In the shorter term, The Mandalorian and Grogu is due out 2026. Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy's Star Wars movie starring Ryan Gosling, is due out in 2027.

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.

You may remember that Funcom recently assured Dune: Awakening players in an AMA that it was already "formulating a plan" to improve PvP in the Deep Desert, which players have previously branded as "toxic" due to griefing even after patching out the ability for players to squish other people with their Ornithopter.

In a candid letter, creative director Joel Bylos said "we want PvE players to be able to play the endgame and have access to the content of the endgame," insisting "our goal is not to force PvE players to interact with a PvP system that they may have no interest in."

"We still believe in the core concept of the Deep Desert — an endlessly renewing location that resets every week and creates an activity loop for great rewards. The tension of heading out there, head on a swivel, eyes peeled for foes as you enter the most dangerous part of the most dangerous planet in the universe. Our wish was that players would embrace this loop, forming guilds to work together to overcome the bleakness of the Deep Desert."

Bylos admitted that the "extremely competitive nature" of the Deep Desert was forcing players to engage when they may prefer PvE, and consequently, "some areas" of the Deep Desert will now be flagged as "Partial Warfare (PvE)" where players can grab rare resources without getting ambushed. The largest spice fields, shipwrecks and Landsraad control points will remain "War of Assassins (PvP)" as "high reward, high risk" areas.

And now, just two days later, Funcom's already testing some pretty radical changes.

It all comes as Dune: Awakening unveils its Public Test Client, where players can try out the latest patch and features in exchange for accepting builds may have bugs or be a little unstable. As part of efforts to make the endgame more enjoyable, the PvE area near the shield wall has been expanded to cover row A, B, C, D and half of E within the Deep Desert.

Compare that to how the PvP and PvE are balanced now where only row A is PvE, and that's essentially switching half of the Deep Desert from PvP to PvE.

As PC Gamer points out, this doesn't necessarily mean this will be applied in the final game — trying out new ideas is what test servers are for, of course — but it does at least indicate that Funcom was serious about revising the endgame experience.

Dune: Awakening has enjoyed a superb launch, with a 'very positive' user review rating on Steam. Within hours of going live on June 10, Funcom's survival MMO had clocked up over 142,000 concurrent players on Valve's platform, and hit a new high earlier this month of 189,333 players. And it's already clocked up over 1 million players, too, making it Funcom's fastest-selling game ever.

We gave Dune: Awakening a Great 8/10 in our review, writing: "Dune: Awakening is an excellent survival MMO that captures Frank Herbet’s sci-fi world incredibly well, mostly to its advantage and occasionally to its detriment. The survival climb from dehydrated peasant to powerful warlord of Arrakis is a joy almost every step of the way, and the story and worldbuilding filled this nerd with absolute joy. There’s still plenty for Awakening to work on though, as its combat never really hits its stride, the endgame is a bit of a chaotic mess not worth the effort."

If all that's got you interested but you're not sure where to start, make sure to check out all the Dune: Awakening classes you can choose from, and keep an eye on our Dune: Awakening walkthrough for a step-by-step guide to the story. We've also got Dune: Awakening resource guides that'll help you find iron, steel, aluminium, and a Dune: Awakening Trainers locations guide to help you survive on Arrakis.

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.

Nintendo has updated Mario Kart World to change how the game handles online course selection, in a move that has gone against many fans' wishes and highlighted the mixed response to the game's open world overall.

Mario Kart World version 1.1.2 was released last night, and patch notes from Nintendo state that it has "adjusted courses selected in Random when selecting next course in a wireless VS Race."

While confusingly phrased, this change looks to be a deliberate move by Nintendo to nerf the game's Random course selection option when playing in VS mode — something many fans had been using to opt out of 'intermission tracks' whenever possible.

What is an intermission track? This fan term relates to the often long stretch of open world players must travel through to get from their current location to another nearby course, before playing just one lap of its track. It's these nearby courses that the game will usually suggest as options for the next race, meaning players typically must play an intermission track, alongside the Random option which alternatively picks a course from elsewhere.

Fans had been using the Random option to deliberately skip intermission tracks where possible, hoping instead to be transported to a far-away course where they are plonked at the starting line. In these cases, players are then given the classic three-lap Mario Kart course experience.

Now, with this change, Random also picks from the nearby courses the game suggests — meaning far-away courses are no longer guaranteed to appear, and intermission tracks are now more likely.

As a lengthy thread on forum Restera states, the change goes against how many players want to play Mario Kart World online, with the ability to consistantly play three laps of a course in VS mode, rather than only one lap after a long open-world drive through an intermission track.

Nintendo seems to have made this decision in response to player behavior as, anecdotally at least, use of the Random option seemed to be on the rise. And now, the patch is prompting a backlash.

"Nintendo has basically stepped in and said 'no, you're supposed to play this way,'" wrote fan GreenMamba. "They saw players clamoring for a more traditional online mode and did... the exact opposite of what they wanted."

The change will likely also make Mario Kart World's brilliant Rainbow Road track even rarer, the user noted. Perhaps World's best course, it is only accessible from the game's main open-world when selecting its specific Grand Prix, meaning fans hoping to play it online must rely on the Random choice option and hope it eventually gets picked.

"Good luck to ever even playing Rainbow Road online anymore," GreenMamba continued. "Thanks I hate it," wrote another fan. "Let people just play three-lap courses if they want to." "I get the impression that Nintendo isn't open to feedback on this," wrote a third.

Fans have suggested Nintendo should add a bespoke three-lap VS option for those who want it, alongside the game's current offering. Others say intermission tracks should be kept to the game's Knockout Tour mode entirely.

Mario Kart World's open world is not without its charms — it can be a relaxing place to cool off after heated races, and it holds a decent number of things to discover — but fans have consistently said its lengthy sections between main track locations just aren't as good.

"The highways aren't bad — in fact some of them can be very fun — but they're often extremely wide and straight, leading to long portions of each race that aren't as demanding or enjoyable as the twists and turns of the dedicated levels," IGN wrote in our Mario Kart World review.

For now, it seems users will be seeing more of these open highways in VS mode play — though it remains to be seen what Nintendo's wider plans are for Mario Kart World over time.

Check out our Mario Kart World guide and learn how to unlock every hidden Mario Kart World character, plus how Kamek Unlocks work — you’ll need them to unlock NPC Drivers. We’ve also got a guide to all the Mario Kart World food scattered across the open world and where to find it, which will help you get all the Mario Kart World outfits and costumes permanently.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

We already knew that Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced was on its way to PS5, and now we have a release date: August 12.

Ninja Theory's game will be available in two editions: a $49.99 standard edition, which includes the base Hellblade 2 alongside the upgrades and new features available in the Enhanced update, and a $69.99 deluxe edition, which also includes Hellblade 1 upgraded for PlayStation 5, as well as the Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Original Soundtrack, "making it the perfect entry point for Senua’s journey."

Those who already own the PlayStation 4 version of Hellblade 1can upgrade to the PS5 version for free.

Don't forget that the Enhanced release and all the associated extras coming to PS5 players will also arrive as a free update on PC and Xbox Series X and S, too, including performance mode, dark rot mode — which adds an "additional challenge" — an enhanced photo mode, and developer commentary for those interested in the "craft and creative decisions" behind Senua's Saga. Here are more details on each new feature and upgrade:

• Performance Mode – Where the original release was optimized for 30fps to deliver an immersive, cinematic experience, the Enhanced update will include a ‘Performance Mode’ to optimize for 60fps. On PC, the game will offer a “Very High’ preset to push fidelity even further based on personal hardware.
• Dark Rot Mode – The Dark Rot from Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice has returned and offers an additional challenge for Senua in this optional game mode. The Dark Rot will grow each time you fail, and if it reaches Senua’s head, her quest is over and all progress will be lost.
• Enhanced Photo Mode – the Enhanced update will include an expanded and improved toolset, including a new ‘Motion’ tab for custom cinematic video capture.
• Developer Commentary – for those interested in the craft and creative decisions behind Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, the Enhanced update includes over four hours of developer commentary from a variety of voices involved in the making of the game.

We thought Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 was Great, slapping it with a well-earned 8/10, writing: "Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is another Viking-worthy feast for the senses that meets the high bar set by its predecessor, even if it never really manages to clear it."

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.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s long-awaited Siege Mode is out now across all platforms alongside Patch 8, which makes some significant changes to the game.

Siege is a take on the classic horde mode, and sees teams of three Space Marine players battle waves of Tyranids and Chaos Marines.

It’s the first significant new mode to hit Space Marine 2 since its hugely successful release last year, and for publisher Focus Entertainment and developer Saber Interactive, it will hopefully breathe new life into the explosive co-op shooter.

It’s worth noting that Saber has made some key changes to the way Siege mode works compared to the version playable as part of the Public Test Server (PTS). “The biggest criticism regarding Siege mode from the community was the wave timer limit,” Saber explained. “It exists only for technical reasons. In this build we've made some optimizations so the Siege mode can last longer.” Full details are in the patch notes below, as per Steam.

Siege mode itself, alongside its exclusive cosmetic rewards, are free, but there are new paid cosmetics (White Scars Chapter Champion and Blood Angels Customisation Pack). Elsewhere, Space Marine 2 finally has Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion (RTAO) and DLSS 4 support (better upscale, multiframe generation in Nvidia settings for 50xx series cards) on PC, and there’s the introduction of the Thunder Hammer for the Bulwark class (which the developers added simply because they thought it was cool).

As Saber has indicated, it’s working on a “very big” update for customisation that lets players reuse chapter champion armour parts on other classes (with lore accuracy, clipping and technical restrictions). It’s not in Patch 8, so perhaps we can expect it in Patch 9.

Space Marine 2 has sold an impressive 7 million copies so far. It’s done so well it “changes everything” for Saber, Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits told IGN soon after the game came out last September. It was also a big financial success for Warhammer 40,000 owner Games Workshop. CEO Kevin Rountree has said Space Marine 2 contributed significant royalty revenue to the tabletop company's business last year.

Focus and Saber surprised some Space Marine 2 fans when it announced Space Marine 3 was in development back in March, half a year after the game came out. But given the huge sales you can see why the project was greenlit so soon. "Space Marine 2 has proven to be a transformative game for Saber," Matthew Karch, CEO of Saber Interactive, said at the time. Still, Focus and Saber had to put out a statement reassuring players of its commitment to Space Marine 2, which is still working through its year one roadmap of content. Without spoiling the Space Marine 2 campaign, it strongly suggests a continuation (IGN has reported on the enemy faction we’ll probably see in Space Marine 3).

In the shorter term, Space Marine 2 players are wondering what else is coming to the game. Patch 8 does not add any new weapons or Operations mode maps, so it seems the focus here is squarely on Siege. But Saber has confirmed new content is on the way, including a new class. Season 4 also includes a new game mode for PvP and a new Chaos enemy. Check out IGN’s exclusive interview with Saber on Space Marine 2’s Siege mode for more information.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl's 1.5 Patch is here, introducing various tweaks and fixes, but it's the first phase of GSC Game World's modding tool that's dominating our interest… and our hard drives.

"Shape the Zone in Your Way with the Stalker 2 Zone Kit," GSC Game World said. "Modify existing content or create new experiences — animations, weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone."

Sounds great, right? Which it is, if you happen to have 700GB of space free… on top of the 160GB you need to run the base game itself.

The reason, GSC said, is because as part of its partnership with the modding community, the team is sharing a slew of uncompressed files so modders are using original assets in the development of their mods, which is better for everyone, of course.

"The size of the mod kit is a result of the in-game assets being uncompressed for the mod makers," GSC told PC Gamer. "It's a big game, and the assets are many, resulting in a considerable size of the download. The Zone Kit is currently in phase one, so we'll explore the opportunities to optimize its size (if possible) in the future."

"Yeah, we launched the Zone Kit as Phase 1, because we want to develop it together with Mod Makers," a community representative explained on Reddit. "It already has a lot of features, but still this is Phase 1. On Phase 2 there will be even more things to do with the Zone via the Zone Kit."

"Underneath the technical problems that plague STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a unique greatness," we wrote in our S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl review, giving it 8/10. "It emerges as a refreshingly brutal shooter that strives to hook you with its incredible atmosphere and leave you invested by the end of this long, arduous journey." Read more on how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has changed everything for the studio amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine here.

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.

PlayStation 5 owners who have already completed Death Stranding 2: On the Beach report a surprising inclusion within the Sony-published game's credits: Nintendo.

Specifically, the company listed within the credits is Nintendo Pictures, the Mario maker's motion capture studio it bought and rebranded in 2022.

This is the first time that Nintendo Pictures has been credited as having contributed to a non-Nintendo game since it was acquired, though as VGC reports, there may be a good reason why.

Death Stranding 2 development was underway in 2022, around the time Nintendo snapped up the company, previously known as Dynamo Pictures. Indeed, the game's reveal trailer, shown at The Game Awards 2022, features a first look at scenes with Norman Reedus and Lea Seydoux that look to have been shot using motion capture.

It seems probable, then, that Nintendo Pictures (or rather, Dynamo Pictures) was simply signed onto the project before Nintendo's purchase, and continued work on it per its contract. The company previously worked on the original Death Stranding, so it seems likely its services were retained relatively early.

Nintendo Pictures staff members who worked on Death Stranding 2 include a motion capture director, numerous motion capture editors, motion capture coordinators, and a motion capture advisor.

Since the acquisition, Nintendo Pictures has otherwise focused entirely on projects from its namesake, including Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Pikmin 4, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Whether the company will work on any other non-Nintendo projects now remains to be seen.

Getting started with Death Stranding 2? IGN previously reported on a fun opening Easter egg that's perfectly safe to try out for yourself, even if it seems risky.

Check out our Death Stranding 2: On the Beach guide for a full main story walkthrough, complete with checkmarks to track your exact progress, plus guides for Sub-Orders, Standard Orders, and Aid Requests — plus even more secrets and a cheat code! If you’re just jumping into the game, we have plenty of tips for what to do first, how to survive in combat, and how to make it through Brutal difficulty if you’re playing on the most challenging setting.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

The Social Network, the 2010 film which told the story of how Facebook was founded, will be getting a sequel.

Oscar-winning writer Aaron Sorkin will pen the script and direct the follow-up, Deadline has reported, with a focus on Facebook's more recent controversies.

In particular, Sorkin is believed to be focusing on events discussed in the Wall Street Journal's The Facebook Files, which published leaked documents that suggested the social network was well aware of the societal harms its algorithms were propagating.

Sorkin has previously stated that he believes Facebook contributed to the events of January 6, 2020, when rioters broke into the U.S. Capitol building, though Deadline sources have stressed this sequel will not specifically be a "January 6" movie. Instead, it will also cover the effects of social media on younger users, and those outside the U.S.

While Sorkin appears to have a story set out, the project still sounds early, with no casting yet confirmed. Will Jesse Eisenberg return as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg? Sorkin has mulled a sequel for a while, and Eisenberg has previously expressed interest.

"Oh, yeah," Eisenberg told IndieWire in 2019, when asked if he would return to the role in a potential sequel. "To play a good role in a popular thing is very rare. This was an opportunity to play a complicated character that you'd normally play onstage or an art film, but on a big scale. For me, that was incredibly fortunate."

Image credit: Monica Schipper/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

Video game subscription services can be great for folks who want to try loads of different games without paying full price for each one, but it stinks when a game you've been looking forward to vanishes from the service entirely. So why do companies like PlayStation and Xbox routinely remove games from services like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, especially when it's their own, first-party games? Recently, one Sony executive provided... something of an answer, at least from the PlayStation perspective.

In a Game File interview with Nick Maguire, VP of global services at PlayStation, he was asked about the fact that PlayStation regularly delists games from the service. Just this past May, it took down over 20 games. Some of these removals make sense, such as GTA 5 — it's likely Sony's deals with third-parties have expiration dates. But it's a little more surprising to see older Sony first-party games removed, such as Infamous: Second Son, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Resistance 2.

“We've got 80 collections of games across the catalog,” Maguire responded. “So we want to keep it fresh and bring in new games. Sometimes that means taking a few games out at the same time to keep the proposition interesting and help people find new games as well.”

In the same interview, Maguire discussed PlayStation Plus' ongoing success, saying that "engagement... has never been higher." Maguire declined to speak explicitly about how pricing impacted that (subscription prices went up in 2023) and he did not offer subscriber numbers, but he did explain some of the logic behind which games Sony chooses to add. For instance, the company tries to find "a moment to grow a franchise," such as by releasing a game on the service just before its sequel launches. He also says that Sony tries to add roughly one new "classic" game per month, though they may not always meet that goal due to emulation taking time.

What it won't be doing anytime soon is what Xbox is doing, which is add its own first-party games to the service the day they come out. “We've sort of stayed true to our strategy across the board, where we're not looking to put games in day and date,” Maguire said.

Sony just announced the new games coming in July to PS Plus, which include Diablo 4, SNK’s King of Fighters 15, and Don't Nod’s Jusant.

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.

This review contains spoilers for The Bear season 4, which is now streaming on Hulu.

Chef Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) has snapped out of his funk, and The Bear is back on track – all it took was Carmy blowing his life up. With its main character’s emotional meltdown sucking the oxygen right out of his restaurant (also called The Bear) and overshadowing the progress of everyone in his circle of colleagues, family, and friends, season 3 was a major step down for FX’s culinary dramedy. Fortunately, creator Christopher Storer makes up for it by having Carmy throw himself into a course correction that becomes the central focus of season 4.

In the wake of a review that says their restaurant “stumbles with culinary dissonance,” the compounded financial consequences for Carmy and his crew are dire. Investor Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and his money guy Computer (Brian Koppelman) open season 4 with a do-or-die proposition:. The Bear has seven months to make money or they’ll have to cease operations. A countdown clock glows angrily within the kitchen, a constant reminder of what’s at stake for the restaurant and its staff.

That renewed sense of purpose inside The Bear means there’s a lot more real estate available to the whole ensemble. Their cumulative forward progress, personally and professionally, is once again important to the overall story, and a source of structure for season 4 – and these 10 episodes are better for it. Chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) still has that big decision looming: whether to sign her partnership paperwork at The Bear, or jump ship to run Chef Adam’s (Adam Shapiro) new place in the city. While that continues to be the most terminally stagnant plot point in the mix, Edebiri also gets to play something other than indecisive . A beautiful fourth episode (co-written by Edebiri and her co-star Lionel Boyce and directed by Zola’s Janicza Bravo) shows Syd spend a day off with her cousin Chantal (Danielle Deadwyler) and her daughter TJ (Arion King), shedding more light on her roots outside the restaurant and why she became a chef.

Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) continues to wrestle with his own goals and nagging self-doubt as a leader at The Bear, and as a father in the perceived golden glow of Frank (Josh Hartnett), the “perfect stepfather.” Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) is ushered back into the spotlight as he hires the vivacious consultant Albert (Rob Reiner) to help him “create opportunity” for himself and the sandwich business. Theirs is an energetic storyline that connects the kitchen to the larger business, and folds in the antics of the Fak brothers (Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri) to better effect. And Nat (Abby Elliott) gets to be the empathetic momma bear for her infant and the members of her restaurant family who are suffering under The Bear’s withering financial state.

And that leaves Carmy to get back in touch with the guy we fell in love with and rooted for in the first two seasons. The obsessive, psychopathic chef of season 3 is put in the bin, shamed away by his selfish behavior and callous treatment of his team. Carmy spends a lot of season 4 mending fences at The Bear and beyond: He ghosted Claire (Molly Gordon), and it’s quite poignant to watch their life-long friendship help them overcome such a nasty romantic implosion. As he looks to his family trauma to see the source of his mistakes and make some big decisions about where he’s going next, he also turns towards his mother, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), to let her make her own amends.

In the new season, Storer eschews the tense oners of previous seasons and instead rewards the characters with plenty of space to be contemplative, alone or together. The former madness in The Bear’s kitchen has calmed by necessity, as the bleak fiscal outlook supersedes Carmy’s success-killing non-negotiables. The turmoil is now more interior, more personal. More than ever, Storer tucks the camera right into the actors’ faces so they can reveal the inner selves of the people they’re playing, or thoughtfully consider big choices sans dialogue. Across the board, the intimacy allows the whole cast – from the guest stars to the series regulars – to shine brightly.

There’s even a return to ensemble chaos as Tiff’s (Gillian Jacobs) wedding to nice guy Frank gathers all the people who orbit and exist within this cobbled-together community of misfits in episode 7. A 180 in tone and maturity from season 2’s volatile “Fishes,” the wedding reception reveals just how far these characters have come as actual cousins mingle with “adopted” ones, exes find common ground to coexist, “uncles” take the place of birth parents, and so on and so on. It’s a hopeful showcase for this world and its extended cast.

There’s been no official announcement of whether or not this is the end for The Bear, but season 4 feels like a conclusion. Its motifs – countdown clocks, wake-up alarms, an apparent and abundant appreciation for Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day (another story of self-improvement and broken cycles) – represent Carmy and his circle acknowledging the precious nature of time, accepted purpose, and sacrifice. Every single character has grown in some way since we first met them in season 1, and Storer is wise to leave plenty of runway for them to continue down their individual paths in the season finale. He also pulls off the difficult trick of staging a passionate confrontation between some core characters that ends up reframing so much of what we thought we knew about these endearing, emotionally constipated people. Their spoken truth is a relief to witness – necessary for them to move on with a renewed promise of hope and peace. Whether or not it’s the series finale, it attains that special alchemy of satisfying closure while leaving plenty leftover for audiences to ponder about where these characters go next.

If you're looking for P5X codes, IGN's got you covered! In this article, you'll find a list of all the active and working Persona 5: The Phantom X codes in June 2025 that you can redeem for free rewards and bonuses in P5X on PC, iOS, and Android. Note that there are currently no active P5X codes.

Active Persona 5: The Phantom X Codes (June 2025)

There are currently no active Persona 5: The Phantom X codes. Seeing as the game has just released in the West, it's likely we'll see at least one new code in the coming days. Stay tuned as we'll update this page as soon as new codes are released.

Note that there are some active codes for the Asia versions of P5X, but these cannot be redeemed in the global version.

All Expired P5X Codes

There are currently no expired Persona 5: The Phantom X codes as of June 2025.

How to Redeem P5X Codes

To redeem P5X codes in Persona 5: The Phantom X, follow the steps below:

1. Complete Prologue: Discover a Secret World. This takes around 15 minutes after starting the game for the first time.
2. Open the main menu.
3. Click on "Exchange Code."
4. Input your code into the box.
5. Click on "Confirm."
6. If your code is valid, you'll obtain your free rewards.

Why Isn't My P5X Code Working?

If the code you're trying to redeem in Persona 5: The Phantom X isn't working, it's likely because of one of three reasons:

• The P5X code is expired
• There's a typo in the code
• The code is region-locked

When inputting a P5X code, ensure it's spelled correctly (for example, a zero isn't a capital O, a lowercase L isn't a capital I, etc.) and that there are no spaces before or after the code.

If your P5X code still isn't working after checking for typos, it's more than likely expired and can no longer be redeemed in Persona 5: The Phantom X.

Sometimes, the developer releases codes that can only be redeemed in specific regions, so if you find a code online that you can't redeem in your game, this could also be why.

How to Get More P5X Codes

To find more Persona 5: The Phantom X codes, the best way is to join the game's official Discord server. Codes may also be posted on the P5X X account, so we'd recommend turning notifications on for that so you can be notified every time there's a new post in case they're posted there.

Of course, you can bookmark this page too, as we check for new P5X codes regularly and update it each time there's a new code.

What is Persona 5: The Phantom X?

Persona 5: The Phantom X is a gacha spinoff of the popular ATLUS RPG, Persona 5. Like in Persona 5, you attend school and answer classroom questions, forge bonds with characters, and explore various dungeons. You pull for new characters and weapons via gacha banners, which can then be used in combat.

Meg Koepp is a Guides Editor on the IGN Guides team, with a focus on trends. When she's not working, you can find her playing an RPG or cuddling her corgi.

Warning: this article contains major spoilers for Death Stranding 2: On The Beach.

Hideo Kojima returns us to a world of porters, BTs, BBs, Voidouts, and more with the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. As you’d imagine, it’s a story filled with complex terminologies, philosophical concepts, metaphysics, and more, but we’re here to help you make sense of it all.

So, whether you finished the sequel and need help understanding the full picture of the ending, or just looking to see how Hideo Kojima’s newest adventure unfolds, here’s our full Ending Explained for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

Setting the scene

Death Stranding 2 picks up 11 months after the events of the first Death Stranding. Following the successful connection of the former United States to the Chiral Network (this world’s magical internet that is helping the world rebuild following the apocalyptic titular Death Stranding), defeating the terrorist leader Higgs, and preventing his sister Amelie from destroying the world, Sam Porter Bridges attempts to settle into a quiet life with his daughter, Lou. But that idea is quickly brought to a halt by the reappearance of former accomplice Fragile and her new company, Drawbridge, when she asks Sam to head south and get Mexico back on the grid.

Upon connecting Mexico to the Chiral Network, it’s discovered that linking together a country appears to open a Plate Gate (a giant teleportation portal) to other continents. This is vital because after the events of the Death Stranding, civilization is still largely separated from each other, and Plate Gates would go a long way towards making Earth one interconnected society again.

But as Sam completes his Mexican mission, tragedy strikes when a mysterious armed group in red invades Sam’s home and kills Lou and injures Fragile, sending Sam into a depressive spiral over the loss of his child. Lost, he agrees to join Drawbridge and the crew of its ship, the DHV Magellan, on a mission to connect Australia, the destination of the Mexican Plate Gate.

Who are the Armed Red Attackers?

Amazon MGM Studios has today confirmed that Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond movie.

“Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007,” said Villeneuve in a statement published in conjunction with today’s announcement. “I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. I'm a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor.”

Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios boss Mike Hopkins has called Villeneuve “a cinematic master, whose filmography speaks for itself.”

“James Bond is in the hands of one of today’s greatest filmmakers and we cannot wait to get started on 007’s next adventure,” has said.

Villeneuve’s directing credentials include the Academy Award-winning space epics Dune and Dune: Part Two, plus Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival. Villeneuve also helmed the acclaimed Incendies (2010), Prisoners (2013), and Sicario (2015).

Early this year it was confirmed that Amazon MGM Studios had entered into an agreement with Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the long-time producers and co-owners of the James Bond franchise, for Amazon to assume creative control of James Bond going forward.

The search for someone to direct the next Bond film has been ongoing for some time. Names previously reported to have been on the shortlist included Edward Berger (director of Netflix's All Quiet on the Western Front remake), and Kelly Marcel (director of Venom: The Last Dance).

The wait for confirmation of the next Bond himself, however, continues – although one particular Brit has emerged as a clear fan favourite. Until then, Villeneuve has one more Dune movie to make.

Of course, if the wait for the next Bond film is too much to bear, 2026 is scheduled to mark the arrival of a new Bond game from Hitman developer IO Interactive – 007: First Light. You can watch the debut trailer below.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

There’s no better time to clear your wishlist than mid-year, when sales come as thick and fast as Mario Kart blue shells. From haunting strategy RPGs to nostalgic space oddities, this idle Thursday's discounts run the full genre gauntlet. I’ve even spotted a few brand-new preorders already getting the price-drop treatment. With no more ado, let’s get amongst it.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I’ve used a Fire Flower to ignite a 17-candle cake for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, that chaotic crossover must-own for Wii. Brawl was a glorious celebration of Nintendo’s legacy, bringing together icons like Mario and Link and absolute dream additions like Sonic and Solid Snake in a frenetic, four-player free-for-all that my mates and I played the absolute nunchucks off.

What set Brawl apart was the sheer volume of unlockable content and a Subspace Emissary mode offering a surprisingly deep solo campaign, complete with side-scrolling levels and cinematic cutscenes. It also added layers to the Smash formula: slower physics, floatier jumps, and the divisive but game-changing tripping mechanic. Lastly and for the first time, online play let us clobber friends (and foes) across the globe. Truly a landmark love letter to gaming history that still holds a special place in my collection.

• Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (-44%) - A$45
• Star Wars Heritage Pack (-32%) - A$77
• Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 (-85%) - A$11.90
• Darkest Dungeon (-70%) - A$9.80
• Observer (-85%) - A$6.70
• UnMetal (-75%) - A$7.50

Expiring Recent Deals

• Pokémon Legends: Z-A (-13%) - A$78
• Sonic x Shadow Generations (-35%) - A$49
• Inside (-90%) - A$2.90
• Front Mission 1st: Rem. (-66%) - A$17.80
• Sniper Elite 3 Ult. Ed. (-80%) - A$10.50
• Overcooked! All You Can Eat (-66%) - A$19.30

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

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Amazon Prime Day is one of the biggest sales of the year, second to only Black Friday. Although this shopping holiday was created by Amazon, it has ballooned into a much wider event. Most major retailers have already announced some sort of rival sale in 2025, and July is shaping up to be a great time to find savings this year.

I've been browsing Amazon Prime Day deals since the very first one back in 2015 and I always try to make at least one major purchase. This year, however, I'm planning on spending a lot more if the deals are actually good. The uncertainty around tariffs that are supposed to resume in August has me thinking it's probably better to buy now rather than wait for prices to go up later.

If you're hoping to plan your shopping ahead of time, we already know quite a few things about Prime Day 2025. Unfortunately, there are also still a lot of unknowns as the start date approaches.

When Does Amazon Prime Day Start in 2025?

The first thing you need to know are the actual dates for Prime Day. Amazon has announced that its Prime Day sale will start on July 8 and run through July 11 this year. This is a break from tradition as Amazon has made the switch from a two-day event to a four-day event. It's the longest Prime Day Amazon has ever had.

In addition to the Amazon sale, both Walmart and Target have announced competing events in July. The dates are slightly different and include varying start times depending on each retailer's membership plan. I'll break down those start dates for you below:

Walmart Deals Start Date - July 8-13

Walmart announced its Deals sale that starts the same day as Prime Day. However, Walmart+ members will be able to access the sale a day early on July 7. A Walmart+ membership is free to try, but early access usually requires paying the monthly subscription fee to activate.

Target Circle Week - July 6-12

Target also announced Circle Week, which starts a little bit earlier than Amazon's sale and runs a little bit longer. Similar to Prime Day, Circle Week is only available to those with a Target Circle membership. It's free to sign up, but the paid Target Circle 360 subscription will get you access to the sale on July 5, a whole day earlier.

Does Amazon Have New Deals Every Day of the Sale?

A lot of Prime Day deals will be available for the entirety of the sale, but some are more limited to specific windows of time. Amazon announced that Prime Day 2025 will be offering something new called 'Today's Big Deals' which will feature brand-specific sales that will launch at midnight each day. Amazon has stated these themed drops will come from brands like Samsung, Kiehl's, and Levi's and only last the duration of the day or until the deal runs out. This new type of sale is separate from the usual lightning deals available during Prime Day.

Which Early Deals Are Worth Shopping Today?

Amazon has already kicked off early Prime Day deals, and they are pretty much the same discounts we see every year. The best offers are on a mix of Amazon's own subscription services and devices. Examples include Audible and Kindle Unlimited subscription with extended free trials, as well as price cuts on select Amazon devices. I've gathered up some of the best early promotions going on right now above.

Do you have to be a Prime Member to shop Prime Day deals?

Amazon Prime Day is a sale meant exclusively for those with an Amazon Prime membership. That being said, there are still discounts that non-Prime members will be able to access during the event. These will be discounts on the products that Walmart, Target, and Best Buy will likely also have discounts on, so you won't necessarily need a membership to still find worthwhile savings. Though you will be locked out of any lightning deals Amazon has during the sale.

What Deals to Expect on Prime Day

While Amazon has yet to detail any specific discounts, I've covered the sale enough that I can make an educated guess about what to expect in 2025. Outside of the Amazon device deals that are already live ahead of the event, here's a snapshot of what categories are most likely to get discounts.

Video Games

There a quite a few great times to buy video games throughout the year, and Prime Day is absolutely one of them. Although you may have to shop around a bit to find the best price, you'll be able to find plenty of deals on popular games for the Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X.

I'd expect to see prices on popular games from last year and early 2025 drop under $30, with even older games under $20. Amazon recently started offering first-party Switch games again, but most of the deals on Nintendo exclusives will still probably be at other retailers.

Subscriptions

Although Amazon is most known as an online retailer, it also has a variety of subscription services. Prime Day is usually a great time to find discounts on streaming services via Prime Video, or even just longer free trials of Audible and Kindle subscriptions. Amazon is already offering a few extended free trials to Prime members before Prime Day even begins.

In addition to services like Audible and Kindle Unlimited, Amazon also has free games for Prime members you can already take advantage of. These deals will stick around throughout the sale.

VR Headset Deals

Although you shouldn't expect any discounts on the new Xbox edition of the Quest 3S, you can for sure expect some sort of discount on the standard Meta Quest 3 and 3S this year. These deals were some of the most popular discounts on Amazon for Black Friday last year and we expect to see similar pricing for Prime Day this year.

The most recent Meta Quest 3 deal we saw dropped the price of the 3S by $50, and that same deal will likely return. It's also possible we'll see the same discount on the PSVR2 headset from Days of Play sale earlier this year, but it's not as likely as the Quest 3 deal.

Gaming Accessories

While Black Friday is usually a better time to find discounts on popular gaming accessory brands, Prime Day is likely going to be the best time to find those discounts this year. That's largely because tariffs have already caused some major players to increase prices (Microsoft, for example). With harsher tariffs still set to resume in August, gaming accessory brands are almost certainly going to be affected.

In terms of deals you can potentially expect this year, it will likely be very similar to the PlayStation Days of Play sale for PS5 controllers and headsets. Xbox controllers will also probably get some sort of discount, though maybe not as low as earlier this year. Third-party accessories will most likely have the lowest prices, so keep an eye out for those brands when looking for Nintendo Switch 2 accessories.

TVs

Last year, Amazon discounted multiple quality OLED TVs for Prime Day. We expect to see similar deals this year, alongside great deals for anyone looking for a new gaming TV. You can expect to see TVs of all sizes on sale, from as small as 32 inches to as large as 85 inches. With Prime's free two-day shipping, your brand-new discounted TV can arrive just days after you buy it. All in all, it's one of the very best times to buy a TV outside of Black Friday and Super Bowl season.

As to what specific deals to expect, it's worth highlighting the popular LG C4 has already dropped to its lowest price for 2025. This $300 discount is a good example of what type of price reductions we'll see on last year's models for brands like LG, Sony, and Samsung.

Kitchen Applicances

Any appliances for the kitchen are always a safe bet for Prime Day sales. This includes stand mixers, air fryers, microwaves, and more. In prior years, Prime Day has also had fantastic deals on coffee makers, with hundreds of dollars worth of savings at times. Overall, if you're in need of new kitchen equipment, Prime Day is one of the best days of the year to save some cash.

Price wise, you can most likely expect roughly a 30-50% markdown on these types of smaller appliances. This varies by brand of course, so don't expect some of the higher-end products to have the same level of discounts. You'll most likely be able to get a Keurig for under $40 though.

Apple Products

Apple products are pretty much a given for Prime Day. We expect to see AirPods Pro discounted, alongside AirPods Max and other Apple headphones. Additionally, it's likely Amazon will discount a few iPad models, which makes Prime Day a perfect time to pick up a new device before Apple's big hardware event in the fall.

The newest iPad generations have already been discounted by $50 since they've been released, so you can expect that same pricing or slightly lower for Prime Day. The same goes for the latest AirPods models, which were recently heavily discounted. Major retailers tend to compete with Apple pricing during the event, so it's good to shop around to see who as the lowest prices on any given day.

Vacuums

Vacuums are a hot item every Prime Day. This includes both stick vacuums and robot vacuums, which are great for any household. Big name brands like Dyson and iRobot tend to show out for Prime Day, so we expect to see some quality deals from notable brands this July.

In the past, we've seen some older iRobot Roomba vacuums drop under $100 and that will likely be the case once again. Bissell will also usually have more niche options, like an upholstery cleaner for $90 or less, which are always best-selling items during these types of sales.

LEGO Sets

Amazon is one of the best places to buy LEGO online, and Prime Day is one of the best times to buy LEGO sets every year. There will most likely be some massive discounts on some of the most expensive LEGO sets on the market, and you can even expect some of the cheaper LEGO sets to get discounts during that time, though it won't always be listed as a Prime Day deal.

Amazon also tends to have a lot of excess stock in recently retired sets it's trying to unload. So some of the less popular sets from previous years can sometimes get a discount before they start going up in value again. We're already starting to see some early LEGO deals arrive at Amazon, like the Pixar Up House set that just dropped in price for the first time this year.

School Supplies

Considering it takes place during the middle of summer break, Prime Day is undoubtedly a great time to find discounts on back-to-school supplies. Things like clothing, writing utensils, and backpacks will all receive discounts during this time. If you're hoping to find a cheap Pokémon backpack for your kids, this is the time to do it.

It's worth noting that Target has set it sights on being the main destination for back-to-school discounts this year by claiming it will be offering "2024 prices" on things like notebooks, colored pencils, crayons, and more. Amazon will most likely match these prices.

Gaming Consoles

I don't think video game console deals will be as good as Black Friday last year, but I do think there will be at least some discounts on PS5 and Xbox consoles for Prime Day. It's consistently one of the best times to buy a PS5, a Nintendo Switch, or an Xbox console.

As for what discounts to expect, I'd guess something close to a modest $50 off on the main consoles. The PS5 Pro got its first discount during the Days of Play sale this year and it was right in that range. I'd expect to see some deals on the Switch now that the Nintendo Switch 2 is here, but those will probably be outside of Amazon.

Gaming PCs

The summer is arguably one of the best times of the year to buy a gaming PC or build one yourself. Black Friday tends to have better prices on the PC components themselves, but retailers like Amazon and Walmart will always have solid discounts on budget gaming PCs during the summer months. This is especially true during Prime Day when Amazon tends to discount brands like CyberPower and Asus.

Don't expect to find any real discounts on newer PCs with the latest and greatest Nvidia GPUs, but you should definitely be able to find something less powerful for under $1,000. I'd also expect to see price cuts on some of the more popular gaming handhelds now that the market has grown. The Legion Go, for example, recently got its biggest price cut.

4K and Blu-ray Movies

Amazon has become one of the last places you can find physical media at good prices, and Prime Day is one of the best times to buy. Last year we saw a ton of popular Blu-rays get discounts and Amazon has only increased the frequency of sales in 2025. The most recent buy one, get one 50% off sale for Father's Day is a good example of that.

As for what deals you can expect on Prime Day, it really depends on what you're looking for. Movie collections will likely see the biggest discounts, so things like The Lord of the Rings collection or the Dune franchise will likely be at or near their lowest prices. The only thing that isn't likely to be on sale are preorders for newer 4K releases like Thunderbolts* or The Minecraft Movie.

Tips for Shopping Amazon Prime Day Deals

With Prime Day less than a month away, it's a good time to start making a plan for what you want to get out of it this year. Here are a few Prime Day tips I'd suggest you consider ahead of the event:

1. Set a Budget - Keeping track of how much money you can actually spend is important to avoid overspending. When everything is on sale, it can be easy to buy more than you really should just because things are at their lowest price of the year.
2. Make a Shopping List - Knowing exactly what you're trying to find discounts on is a great way to avoid making unnecessary purchases. This can also make it easier for you to compare prices between retailers or set price drop alerts ahead of time.
3. Compare Prices - Although Amazon tends to automatically price match on most things, it's still good to compare prices to other retailers before you buy. You can also use the website CamelCamelCamel to compare prices against Amazon's historical pricing.
4. Find Unbiased Reviews - Amazon reviews have gotten somewhat better in recent years, but you should still do research outside of the site before making a decision. Seek out unbiased reviews on expensive purchases before you buy.
5. Be Wary of Sponsored Products - Search results in Amazon include sponsored sales that may not be what you're looking for. Look for the little 'sponsored' tag before you click. You may want to scroll past those.
6. Make Sure to Clip Coupons - One of the easiest ways to save money on Amazon that many folks seem to miss is coupon clipping. There are a ton of coupons available for Prime Members, and all you need to do is check a box on the product page for additional savings.

Jacob Kienlen is a Senior SEO Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor's degree in communication and over 8 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different topics -- from TV series to indie games and popular book series.

If you're seeking the absolute best of the best in PC gaming performance, look no further. Dell has just dropped the price of its flagship Alienware Area-51 prebuilt gaming PC, equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card starting at $4,599.99 with free shipping. This is a competitive price - especially for an Alienware computer - compared to the similar off-the-shelf prebuilts on Amazon. The RTX 5090 is undisputedly the most powerful graphics card on the market and is pretty much impossible to find for under $3,000 by itself.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC From $4,599.99

The RTX 5090 Is the Most Powerful Graphics Card Ever

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in terms of pure hardware-based raster performance. The 5090 also has more (32GB vs. 24GB) and faster (GDDR7 vs. GDDR6) VRAM compared to the 4090. This GPU is extremely difficult to find at retail price and is currently selling for $3,500-$4,000 on eBay.

Check out more of the best Alienware deals

Check out our Best Alienware Deals article with all of Dell's currently ongoing deals on gaming laptops and desktop PCs. Not everyone is the DIY type. If you're in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of the best brands we'd recommend. Alienware desktops and laptops feature solid build quality, top-of-the-line gaming performance, excellent cooling (further improved on the newer models), aggressive styling, and pricing that is very competitive with other pre-built options. Best of all, there are plenty of sales that happen throughout the year, so it's not difficult to grab one of these computers at considerably less than their retail price.

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.

Although Black Friday is still the best time to buy almost everything, many other seasonal sales events have become almost as big in recent years. With pretty much every retailer planning some sort of way to attract customers throughout 2025, there are plenty of sales to look forward to this year. With some tariffs already in effect in the U.S. and more resuming in August, shoppers are looking for discounts wherever they can find them.

If you're hoping to save some money at any point this year, there are a few different sale dates worth marking on your calendar, the next one being Fourth of July sales. We've gathered some of the biggest upcoming sales events we know about to help you plan out your online (or in-store) shopping in 2025 and beyond.

1. Steam Summer Sale (June 25-July 10)

The Steam Summer sale kicks off tomorrow and it is arguably the best time to buy games all year. Atleast for PC gamers that is. The sale runs through the Fourth of July and ends just before Prime Day sales officially start at Amazon.

In the past, this sale has been an excellent source of both new and old games. You can expect to find discounts on some of the best reviewed games of 2025 as well as huge price reductions on various gaming bundles.

1. 4th of July Sales (June 30–July6)

Falling into the three-day weekend category of holiday sales, the 4th of July is a surprisingly great time to find discounts on a lot of things. Last year we saw price cuts on major electronics like TVs and gaming monitors that were just as good as Prime Day or Black Friday. All of the usual product categories that offer holiday discounts will also offer price cuts, so things like mattresses, major appliances, furniture, and clothing will all go on sale. Since it is also the first true official summer sale, you'll also usually find some good deals on things like sporting equipment and grills that you won't see again until Labor Day weekend.

You can check out some of the bigger 4th of July sales we saw in 2024 for an idea of what to expect this year. It's traditionally been one fo the best times of the year to buy a gaming monitor or TV and will likely remain that way in 2025.

2. Prime Day (July 8–11)

Amazon Prime Day is the first truly massive sales event of the year and has grown to rival even Black Friday in terms of overall discounts. Although this event originally began as an Amazon-only sale, it has quickly grown into an event that practically every other retailer participates in. Last year we saw retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and even Kohl's offer some sort of counter sale to compete with Amazon. It's one of the only times of the year where it's a good time to look to buy just about anything you would need or want.

Amazon has officially confirmed the dates for Prime Day 2025. The shopping event will take place on July 8 through July 11, making it the longest Prime Day on record. Though Walmart has also announced its competing sale and it will be two days longer and Target will be having its Circle Week at the same time. There are already quite a few early Prime Day deals available, which we've laid out below.

3. Labor Day Sales (August 25–September 1)

Following Amazon's Prime Day sale, August will have a variety of back-to-school sales. However, the final version of this, and the overall best time to shop, is when retailers switch over to Labor Day sales marketing. Similar to Memorial Day, you can expect to find great discounts on things like mattresses, clothing, LEGO sets, laptops, PCs, Apple products, outdoor gear, and just about everything else you can think of. Not only is Labor Day weekend a holiday, it is also when most students are heading back to school. Because of this, it's one of the best times to shop before Black Friday comes around in November.

Although Labor Day always falls on Monday, the actual sales usually start the week before.

4. October Prime Day Sales (Mid-October)

Although it's a fairly new thing, Amazon has started offering a Prime Day-like sale in October ahead of Black Friday deals. The online retailer doesn't call it a Prime Day sale (this sale is "Prime Big Deal Days"), but that's essentially what it is. This first started in 2022 when Amazon announced a big fall sale to get ahead of the Black Friday shopping season and has since been adopted by other major retailers.

We don't yet have a date for the sale, it usually takes place during the second week of October and runs for a couple of days. You can check out our coverage of the event in 2024 for an idea of what to expect.

5. Black Friday Sales (November 1–30)

Black Friday is the best time to buy pretty much everything, regardless of the category or retailer. It's the single biggest shopping event and if there are discounts to be had, it's almost definitely going to be sometime during this sale. Although Black Friday 2025 itself lands on November 28, the actual sale has a much larger window than that.

You can expect the first Black Friday deals to start arriving shortly after October Prime Day sales are concluded, but the general rule of thumb is that all of November will have Black Friday pricing happening everywhere. Many of the best deals will still take place on Thanksgiving and the Friday afterwards.

In terms of when major retailers will start dropping their official Black Friday sales in 2025, we will have to wait for confirmation sometime in late October. But usually, you can expect those to begin the weekend before actual Black Friday – that would mean around November 21 this year.

6. Cyber Monday Sales (November 30–December 5)

Cyber Monday began back in 2005 as a way to offer shoppers online discounts after Thanksgiving weekend so they could avoid the in-store madness. With the majority of holiday sales moving to an online platform, it has since become just as big as Black Friday. Although there are sometimes differences between Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, they are generally the same thing. The only difference is when they actually happen.

You can expect Cyber Monday sales to kick off Sunday of Black Friday weekend, rather than actual Cyber Monday. And although the best deals will likely be on November 30 through December 1, many retailers extend their sale through the week by labeling the deals as part of Cyber Week.

7. Green Monday Sales (December 8–23)

Green Monday is actually a sales event created by eBay back in 2007. While it isn't nearly as big as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, it essentially represents the last stretch of sales before Christmas. The day itself was originally created as a way to promote the last day you could buy something online and get it shipped to you before the holidays, but thanks to faster shipping every year, that isn't necessarily as much of a problem for the bigger retailers.

In 2024, you can expect Green Monday sales to stretch pretty much right up until December 24 and maybe even through Christmas. Many retailers will label these as "last-minute" sales, but we've lumped them all into the same category.

8. New Year's Sales (December 26–January 1)

The final sales event of 2025 is centered around New Year's, but it usually starts just after Christmas. These discounts are a chance for retailers to take advantage of shoppers who are returning unwanted gifts and are now flush with extra cash. You can also expect some surprisingly good deals on older tech as these same retailers look to unload older models to make way for newer ones. Late December and early January are actually some of the best times to buy a TV or find a deal on a gaming monitor every year thanks to the proximity to CES, the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

Jacob has written for various different publications over his career covering commerce, tech, games, and entertainment. You can find the bulk of his previous work at Digital Trends and The Manual where he covered tech deals, Netflix, and food.

Ultrawide monitors may have been a niche in the past, but today, this spacious form factor has gone mainstream and it’s no wonder why. The extra screen real estate offers real benefits, whether you’re a gamer or an everyday computer user that’s interested in enhancing your experience in front of a screen. The best ultrawide monitors occupy multiple places in our best gaming monitor and computer monitor lists, but if you’re looking for the best of the best within this segment, look no further. These are the best ultrawide monitors of 2025.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Ultrawide Monitors:

The top ultrawide monitors offer all of the benefits of a standard monitor but with a 21:9 aspect ratio. While they are wider, they’re usually about the same height as a 23-24-inch monitor. Because of this, and the ability of different operating systems to lock windows to specific areas of the screen, they can also be a great way to replace a two-monitor setup and get rid of the distracting bezels separating two standalone monitors.

I've been testing and reviewing monitors of all kinds for years, and can confidently say that these are my favorite ultrawide options right now.

1. Asus ROG Swift PG39WCDM

Best Ultrawide Monitor

Asus has been at the forefront of the OLED gaming monitor game throughout this generation, and that also extends to ultrawides. In this case, we have the big kahuna: The ROG Swift PG39WCDM, a massive 39-inch 21:9 display with incredible brightness, contrast, and colors, fantastic responsiveness, stellar motion clarity, and a suite of features that make it hard to pass up. This is even more true now that its price has come down. As of this writing, I was able to find it for only $900, which, while expensive, is a steal for what you're getting.

If you've been on the fence about picking up an OLED monitor for yourself, it's about time to jump down. While there are still some minor drawbacks (like SDR brightness), the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices. Because each pixel is independently illuminated and controlled for brightness, it's able to offer infinite contrast for the deepest blacks and exceptional dynamic range without ever even turning on the HDR mode. When you do, you can unlock its full 1,300-nit brightness. Simply put, if you value picture quality, enjoy HDR games or movies, or just want a picture that will make you feel good about your investment. The ROG Swift PG39WCDM is a great choice.

It's not all about the picture, however. For gaming, you'll enjoy its rapid 240Hz refresh rate, which allows it to deliver exceptional motion clarity and input latency that's to the floor. This goes hand-in-hand with its naturally more responsive OLED panel, bringing total input delay down to 0.03ms. It's perfect for competitive gaming and, frankly, overkill for productivity. But any motion at all, even scrolling spreadsheets or webpages, or simply sliding your mouse cursor across your desktop, feels pleasantly smooth.

This display also packs a number of other features for gaming. It comes complete with a number of enhancements, including a Shadow Booster, Extreme Low Motion Blur (ELMB), on-screen reticles, Night Vision, and a Sniper Mode that works with the normal picture as well as its Night Vision mode. The panel itself also has a deep 800R curvature to enhance its immersiveness as it extends further into your peripheral vision.

For productivity – as well as for gaming – its integrated KVM allows you to swap platforms with a single button press. While some people might feel that its size and curvature are not ideal for productivity applications, I found the impact here to be much less significant than on other monitors with an identical curve. So clearly, Asus has done some tweaking to improve its clarity.

I was able to review the 34-inch version of this monitor and was floored. Even though it's been months since that review, it has still been my high-water mark, which makes it an easy pick for the best overall ultrawide you can get so far this year.

2. MSI Optix MAG342CQR

Best Budget Ultrawide Monitor

3. Acer Predator X34 OLED

Best Ultrawide Gaming Monitor

It was a close call between the Acer Predator X34 OLED and the Asus ROG Swift PG39WCDM for the best choice for gamers. Ultimately, the X34 won out in the gaming-specific category due to its more traditional 34-inch size and the PG39WCDM's well-roundedness for productivity applications. The X34 is an excellent monitor across the board too, so feel free to tackle those spreadsheets and creative apps, but it's the best fit for gaming overall and that applies to competitive and single-player games alike.

It's on-paper specs compete with the best OLED monitors you can buy today. It features a resolution of 3440x1440, so games, movies, and pictures all look crisp and detailed. Its pixel-by-pixel controlled panel offers infinite contrast and a peak brightness of 1,300 nits for wide dynamic range. Blacks are pitch and highlights shine, which lends games a lifelike, immersive quality. It also runs at a 240Hz refresh rate with only 0.03ms of input latency, so ghosting and motion blur are concerns of the past.

In my review of the Predator X34 OLED, I was struck by its color reproduction. Acer has done an impressive job of dialing in its colors straight out of the box, so you won't need to worry about an aftermarket calibration if you need to use it for creative work. Even if all you're doing is gaming, which is where this monitor shines the most, you'll be impressed with how rich its colors are without touching a setting or enabling HDR.

The X34 comes with a deep dish 800R curvature. Compared to many competing monitors which might have a 1,500R or 1,800R radius, the X34's arc is much more pronounced. While this admittedly takes a bit of getting used to if you're new to this type of display, it's a boon to immersiveness as the screen seems to draw you into its center.

The biggest drawback to this display is that the text isn't quite as crisp as most similarly specced flat panel OLEDs released this year. It's still easily legible and a noticeable improvement from OLED monitors of years past that were plagued by clarity issues. But it's worth noting, if you do a lot of reading or productivity work on your monitor, as this may be slightly distracting. Still, for gaming, the Acer Predator X34 OLED is tops and well worth considering.

4. Dell Ultrasharp U3425WE

Best Ultrawide Monitor for Productivity

When I'm looking for a great productivity monitor, there are a few key things I'm on the lookout for: solid ergonomics, excellent clarity with enough screen real estate to easily take on multiple tasks at a time, wide viewing angles, and exceptional connectivity are each key to providing a great work experience. The Dell Ultrasharp U3425WE checks every one of those boxes and is the monitor to beat for productivity in 2025.

In addition to being a 34-inch ultrawide – essentially replacing two side-by-side monitors – its 3440x1440 resolution ensures that everything from text to pictures will be crisp and clear. It uses an IPS panel for wide viewing angles, and the stand offers a full suite of adjustments to quickly share your work with your colleagues. Its brightness isn't amazing at only 300 nits, but it's perfectly fine if you're not using it in direct sunlight. Still, this is the one area where I would like to see the U3425WE push a little further than it does.

What really sets this monitor apart, however, is its incredible connectivity. It features (deep breath): five USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (one with BC 1.2 charging), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports with 15W PD charging, one Thunderbolt 4 (with DP Alt Mode and Power Delivery), and two upstream ports for Thunderbolt and USB to send power and data back to the host PC. It even includes a 2.5G ethernet port port, as well as HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, and a headphone jack. This massive array of ports allows the U3425WE to be the central hub for your computing experience, connecting to and charging multiple devices at once, and minimizing cable clutter between your laptop, desktop, and display.

This display goes a step further still by offering hardware level multi-stream transport. Without any additional software, it can partition the display in two and deliver a bezel-free multi-screen experience. If you are able to install software, I recommend picking up the Dell Peripheral Manager suite for additional partioning and customization options.

Though the monitor runs at an impressive 120Hz, it's not great for competitive gaming if you plan to multi-purpose it. Rapid responsiveness isn't on the priority list for productivity-based monitors, so instead of the 1ms or less response times, the U3425WE can only hit 5ms in its fastest mode. In its default Normal response-time mode, it clocks in at only 8ms. For single-player and slower-paced games, it's still very playable, but if you want a competitive edge, a gaming monitor is still the best choice.

For getting work done, however, this is a stellar pick, if a bit expensive. For all it offers, it's clear that Dell had the needs of desk workers clearly in its sights.

5. MSI MPG 491CQPX QD-OLED

Best 32:9 Super Ultrawide

How to Choose the Best Ultrawide Monitor

Shopping for an ultrawide monitor isn’t that different from shopping for any other monitor, but there are still some key things you should look out for and keep in mind as you shop:

Size: The first thing to consider is how big of a monitor you need. Ultrawide monitors typically hover around 32-34 inches but there is a range on either side of that to meet different needs. There are also super ultrawides which use a 32:9 resolution and can replace a three-monitor setup, though these displays can be more challenging to run due to their higher resolution.

Resolution: The next thing to consider is the monitor’s resolution. Because they are essentially two monitors in one, I recommend focusing on the second figure for a quicker understanding of the level of clarity you should expect. A 2560x1080 monitor, for example, is about the same as two 1080p monitors; 3440x1440 is approximates two 1440p monitors, and so on. Remember, a higher resolution can improve picture clarity, but if you’re also planning on playing PC games on this display, those also require higher-powered hardware to achieve the same frame rates.

Curvature: Ultrawide monitors often come with curved displays but not always. The form factor lends itself to an arc and can make playing games feel more immersive. The curve of a monitor is described using an “R” value, the most common being 800R, 1500R, and 1800R. The higher the number, the shallower the curve. An 1800R curve isn’t very perceptible but an 800R curve can feel very pronounced and even make images and text appear warped. Try to see these different curves in person if at all possible.

Refresh Rate: A monitor’s refresh rate is how often it flashes its picture every second and can enhance the smoothness of motion. For productivity, the standard is 60Hz and you’ll have trouble finding anything less than that. For gaming, I recommend targeting 120Hz or higher for the best experience. Higher refresh rates, like 240Hz are often considered assets for first-person shooters where they can help improve clarity during fast motion, like rapid spins and flick-shots.

Panel Type: A monitor’s “panel” is its physical screen and there are several different technologies to choose from.

• In-Plane Switching (IPS): This very common panel type is widely regarded for its colors and viewing angles. It’s popular among creative professionals and gamers alike, though historically has been slower and more prone to ghosting. This is a much small issue today. These panels usually use an edge-lit backlight which causes them to have lower contrast and potential for backlight bleeding.
• Vertical Alignment (VA): VA panels are almost as common as IPS and typically offer slightly better responsiveness (though not always). Their colors and viewing angles aren’t quite as good as IPS but because they don’t use the same technology, offer much better contrast. They’re a good middle-ground between IPS and TN panels.
• Twisted Nematic (TN): These panels are much less common today and are pretty much reserved for esports gaming monitors and very cheap, usually not very good productivity monitors. Their colors and viewing angles aren’t very good, which is why they’ve been largely phased out. I recommend avoiding this panel type unless you’re an esports gamer and need the best possible responsiveness without jumping the cost barrier to OLED. Their biggest asset is that they’re fast and don’t suffer ghosting unless it’s especially low quality.
• Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED): OLED panels work differently than any of the other panels included in this list. Instead of utilizing a backlight, each pixel is independently controlled for brightness, right down to the point of completely turning off. This allows them to offer incredible contrast and wide dynamic range even in SDR mode. They also offer the best responsiveness, making them a great fit for gaming. The downside is that they typically offer worse average brightness than competing IPS or VA panels and have the risk of image retention from static elements on the screen. Though this is less of a risk than it has ever been thanks to technological advancements, OLED monitors aren’t typically considered a great choice for productivity due to this risk.

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR): Variable Refresh Rate technology allows a monitor to adjust its refresh rate to match the in-game frame rate, eliminating screen tearing. For AMD, this is known as AMD FreeSync while Nvidia’s version is called Nvidia G-Sync. These branded versions come in different tiers that add standards for display quality or require support for Low Framerate Compensation (LFC). They are both important features for gaming that lead to a smoother, more enjoyable gaming experience.

Input Delay/Response Time: This spec has to do with how fast the panel is able to change the hue of its pixels. For productivity, 5ms or less is sufficient. For gaming, target ratings of 1ms or less to reduce the likelihood of ghosting.

Ultrawide Monitor FAQ

Are ultrawide monitors good for gaming?

Definitely. Ultrawide monitors make up some of the best gaming monitors available today. The added screen real estate can make games feel more immersive an engaging. Just be aware that, though most new big games feature native ultrawide support, this isn’t the case for every game. It can be a particular issue with older titles and indie games. There are often workarounds, but if you find yourself playing mostly these types of games, I recommend researching potentially compatibility issues ahead of time.

Are ultrawide monitors good for work?

Absolutely. The added width can be a major asset to productivity since you can keep two windows side by side akin to using two monitors separately. For creative work, such as video editing, they’re also a great choice because they allow you to see more of the timeline at one time and a normal widescreen can. I do recommend avoiding monitors with deeper curves for productivity, however, as some users are sensitive to the slightly warping that can occur. Typically, this becomes an issue with 1000R or 800R rated monitors.

How much should I pay for an ultrawide monitor?

While ultrawide monitors used to be much more niche than they are today, it’s now possible to try one for yourself without breaking the bank. A good ultrawide monitor usually costs between $300 and $500, though it’s possible to spend more (and sometimes a lot more) or less depending on the features you’re looking for and what you’re willing to sacrifice.

Are budget ultrawide monitors worth it?

If all you’re looking for is the ultrawide aspect ratio, they can be! I suggest avoiding the absolute cheapest options if you’re brand new to monitor shopping and are still learning the ins-and-outs of their specs. Often, the lowest price monitors make big sacrifices in resolution, ergonomics, refresh rate, or all of the above. That said, you absolutely do not need to spend more than $300 to get a good, entry-level ultrawide monitor with adequate brightness and features.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

Only a handful of films have been able to capture the adrenaline rush and adventurous spirit of motorsports, but those that have are nothing short of a thrilling, high-octane time at the cinema.

With F1 roaring into theaters, and Brad Pitt getting behind the wheel of a Formula One race car, we've scoured the past century for the best racing movies of all time, and the 15 finalists here represent a diversely entertaining collection of character dramas and contests of will.

Movies centered around cars date back to the 1920s when the U.S. was coming into its own as a car-filled nation. Cars and car films have come a long way since then, but they're still as adrenaline-pumping as ever. Major Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise, Steve McQueen, Chris Hemsworth, and Matt Damon have headlined racing films over the past century, with the drama of that world creating a "sports film" unlike all the rest. The stakes can be personal glory, scientific innovation, or—you know—busting nefarious criminal syndicates, making car-racing flicks a truly captivating sub-genre.

Here are the 15 best racing movies of all time!

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Considering where the Fast and Furious saga went, 10 films and one spinoff later, it's easy to forget it all started with street racing in 2001's The Fast and the Furious. Things eventually became the A-Team with cars, then James Bond with cars, and now... Star Wars with cars?... so it's fun to look back at the original, which was, er, Point Break with cars. An undercover cop (the late Paul Walker) becomes part of a heist crew (led by Vin Diesel) in order to take down their hijacking ring. It's weird to call this solid action film a "humble" beginning, but things just get nuttier from here.

Fast and the Furious bloomed into an MCU-rivalling mega franchise, and its next chapter arrives sometime in 2026 with an untitled Fast X sequel confirmed. See our guide on how to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order to catch up on the series so far.

Ford v. Ferrari (2019)

James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) crafted this Oscar-nominated story about a team of American and British engineers hired by Ford to build a race car that could defeat the famed Italian racing team of the '60s. Matt Damon and Christian Bale are at the top of the bill for this one, supported by a great ensemble that includes The Punisher's Jon Bernthal, Outlander's Caitríona Balfe, and Josh Lucas. Ford v. Ferrari is a gripping tale, blending history, design, and character.

Days of Thunder (1990)

Tom Cruise reunited with Top Gun director Tony Scott for this effective, pulse-pounding early "Tom Cruise movie" (i.e. Tom Cruise starts aloof and cocky, gets humbled and learns to not be an a-hole). Days of Thunder also was big for Nicole Kidman, breaking her in with American audiences in this flashy, fast-paced story of racing rivals Cruise and Michael Rooker, who find friendship and redemption after a big accident. Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, and Cary Elwes also star.

Speed Racer (2008)

The Wachowskis' gonzo, hyper-color big screen adaptation of 1960s anime Speed Racer lights up like lightning, delivering a boisterous special-effects extravaganza. Emile Hirsch stars as Speed Racer, a young man whose life and love has always been racing. Born into the business, and at the helm of his Mach 5, Speed Racer turns down an offer from the head of Royalton Industries, along the way inadvertently uncovering a corporate plot to fix races. With Christina Ricci as Trixie and Matthew Fox as Racer X, this fantastical cartoon-o-lama is Formula One family fun.

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

A road movie and racing film in one, starring music star James Taylor and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, Two-Lane Blacktop now celebrates cult status decades later. This funny, poignant trek follows a mechanic and a driver, who race and maintain their 1955 Chevy, traveling across America with no particular destination in mind. In the years since its release, the film has also become notable as a time capsule for U.S. Route 66 during the pre-interstate highway era.

Senna (2010)

Tracking the life and death of Brazilian motor-racing champion Ayrton Senna, this documentary is a deeply engaging look at the Formula One career of the legendary racer, putting you in the driver's seat for both genuine thrills... and genuine heartache.

Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story (2023)

The real-life story of British teenager Jann Mardenborough -- a Gran Turismo player who became a professional racing car driver -- made its way to the big screen for a solid underdog racing movie starring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom. Neill Blomkamp, replacing Joseph Kosinski (who's now directed F1), helms this heartwarming story with authenticity and optimism.

Cars 3 (2017)

Cars 3 -- which some fans like the best out of the Cars trilogy -- sees (now) veteran racer Lightning McQueen in danger of being forced to retire, giving us a poignant story pulsing with dazzling animation. It's the most Pixar-feeling of the Cars movies, filled with emotional depth, standing as a triumphant improvement over Cars 2.

Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman (2015)

This compelling documentary from Adam Carolla chronicles the 35-year racing career of iconic movie star (and voice of Doc Hudson in Pixar's Cars movies) Paul Newman -- and his racing life as both a driver and owner. It's a loving, energetic portrait that shines a spotlight on a fascinating footnote to Newman's storied career and legacy.

Driven (2001)

Sylvester Stallone wrote and starred in (and probably ghost directed) Driven, using many of his tried and true Rocky themes in the story of a veteran race driver coming out of retirement to help a talented rookie win an auto racing championship. Envisioned as a Formula One movie, Stallone pivoted to CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), which folded not long after the movie opened. Despite having some truly thrilling racing scenes, the film was a box-office bust.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

A lot of laughs can also be found on the racetrack, as demonstrated by Adam McKay's Talladega Nights, one of comedian Will Ferrell's magnificent, quotable "heyday" films. Ferrell stars as numbskull NASCAR idol Ricky Bobby -- a simple, successful idiot who falls from grace after he finds defeat at the hands of a French Formula One champion (Sacha Baron Cohen). The film's all-star ensemble includes John C. Reilly, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch, and Amy Adams in one of the greatest comedy movies.

Rush (2013)

The MCU's Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl star in this finely-tuned sports drama from Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, about the famed rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 racing season. Strong performances and exciting, exhilarating racing scenes help push Rush past the finish line.

Check out more Chris Hemsworth movies.

Grand Prix (1966)

Winner of three Academy Awards, and directed by The Manchurian Candidate's John Frankenheimer, Grand Prix includes real-life racing footage within its reels, adding to the authenticity of the story. Following four Formula One drivers -- with an international cast including James Garner, Yves Montand, Brian Bedford, and Antonio Sabàto -- Grand Prix takes viewers through a fictionalized version of the 1966 Formula One season. A visually vibrant film, Grand Prix presented racing on the screen in a way that had never been done before.

Death Race 2000 (1975)

From the pioneering authenticity of Grand Prix to a good ol' time at the movies with Death Race 2000. David Carradine stars in this glorious Roger Corman spectacle of schlock about a dystopian future society where a casualty-filled Transcontinental Road Race entertains the masses, becoming our new national pastime. Maligned at first, Death Race 2000, which also stars Sylvester Stallone and The Karate Kid's Martin Kove, is now considered a cult classic.

Le Mans (1971)

You've seen that much of this list focuses on the '60s and '70s racing scene, with even Speed Racer being based on a racing anime from that era. Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen, is like Grand Prix in that it contains real-life racing footage amidst a fictionalized story, though Le Mans also comes with supplemental viewing in the form of the 2015 doc Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans, about the actor's drive (heh) to make a movie about his passion: race-car driving. Le Mans itself, too, is a must-watch for race fans.

That's it for our picks of the best racing movies of all time! Has our list revved your engine, or has your favorite missed a place on the podium? Let us know in the comments.

Looking for more movies that define their genre? Take a look at our picks for the best spy movies and the best thriller movies of all time.

New Racing Movies in 2025

F1, starring Brad Pitt. F1 follows a driver who comes out of retirement to compete alongside a rookie in Formula One and is due for release on June 27, 2025.

Note: This list was updated on June 25, 2025, with even more picks for the best racing movies. It was originally published on May 12, 2023, as a top 10.

Marvel fans looking to expand their movie collection can rejoice as physical editions of Thunderbolts* are finally up for preorder. Several versions are hitting the market, including a 4K steelbook (see here at Amazon) and a Walmart-exclusive Blu-ray, both of which are set to release on July 29.

We’ve compiled the differences between the Blu-ray and 4K steelbook so you can peruse all the details before making a commitment. In case you were curious, every listing sticks with the movie's original title.

Thunderbolts* - Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD Steelbook

The Dying Light: Retouched update will add enhanced visuals and remastered audio to Techland’s original zombie parkour experience on PC and consoles tomorrow – but Nintendo Switch players won’t be able to join in on the fun.

The studio laid out all of its plans for the free update yesterday, revealing a content drop that will make the 10-year-old post-apocalyptic hit feel fresher than ever. Improved textures and lighting, as well as an audio experience that’s been completely remastered from the ground up, are just the start of what was outlined for players on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S. Nintendo Switch, however, was left out of the lineup entirely.

IGN reached out to Techland to ask about a potential Dying Light: Retouched update for Nintendo Switch and if it’s something players can look forward to in the future. A representative for the studio tells us it’s not in the cards.

“The Dying Light: Retouched Update is not coming to Nintendo Switch,” Techland explained in an email exchange.

Dying Light first arrived for Nintendo’s original hybrid gaming platform in 2021 as an all-encompassing Platinum Edition bundle. It’s unclear how this version fared in terms of sales, but we do know its performance was affected by a ban in Germany that has rendered it unavailable to purchase digitally through the Switch eShop across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Those hoping that Retouched or a similar update could instead arrive for Nintendo Switch 2 are also out of luck. For now, Dying Light is only playable on Nintendo’s new hardware via backward compatibility.

“When it comes to a Switch 2 port of the original Dying Light: We have no plans at this moment,” Techland tells us. “We're currently fully focused on delivering Dying Light: The Beast on August 22, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. We have no news to share about Nintendo Switch 2 at this time.”

It means Techland’s Dying Light support for Nintendo fans remains limited to Dying Light: Platinum Edition on the original Switch. Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Cloud Version was announced for Switch in 2021 but never released despite the sequel arriving for other platforms in 2022. There’s no word on when or if it will ever be released.

Meanwhile, Dying Light: The Beast, a spinoff that puts players back in the shoes of original protagonist Kyle Crane, is set to leave out Nintendo platforms when it launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X | S August 22. Dying Light Franchise Director Tymon Smektała told Wccftech last week that Techland would “love” to bring The Beast to Switch 2 but had “nothing to announce” at the time.

Dying Light: Retouched is still set to introduce a healthy number of changes to the decade-old zombie game when it launches tomorrow. You can read more about everything included in the developer’s blog post here. You can also check out our original 8.5/10 Dying Light review here.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

This article contains spoilers for Ironheart and the Ironheart comics.

In the first episode of its initial three-episode drop, Ironheart introduces a host of shenanigans from villain The Hood’s lame introduction to the resurrection of a dead friend by way of A.I. But the silliest of them all also happens to be pretty out of character for Riri Williams and, yes, also includes Anthony Ramos’ Hood.

Episode 1 acts as a traditional premiere, re-introducing us to Dominique Thorne’s Riri (previously seen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and establishing her current plight as she seeks funding to finish her prototype power suit. She wants to use the suit to offer first responders the technology they need to cut down delays in support to people in need, and the episode illustrates the reasoning behind that desire by centering on the death of Riri’s stepfather and best friend. It also manages to bring The Hood and his crew into the fray: Ramos’ villain and his right-hand man John (Manny Montana) need a tech genius to help in their ring of thefts after Rampage (Eric André) gets them caught during a job gone bad. So they trick Riri into a meeting by way of some quick cash and a faulty elevator trap.

After easily escaping the elevator, Riri meets Hood for the first time, taking his proposal to join his crew completely seriously and eventually agreeing to join him after she sees how much money she could make. This, dear reader, is nonsense, and not because our hero is being tempted by the dark side!

You mean to tell me that the same Riri Williams who met Shuri (Letitia Wright), the (at the time) Princess of Wakanda, and Okoye (Danai Gurira), leader of the Dora Milaje, and immediately called the latter ashy when she started throwing orders around, saw some ding dong in a leather cape and didn’t immediately read him to filth the moment he started talking? I simply refuse to believe it. She got Okoye for being bald and unmoisturized but had nothing to say about Captain Cloak?

Despite the marketing — and lack thereof — signaling otherwise, the first episode of Ironheart introduces what has the potential to be a decent series. But Riri’s response to The Hood’s offer isn’t just out of character, it also removes the opportunity to acknowledge the villain’s goofiness. Anthony Ramos looks straight-up ridiculous as The Hood! You’ve gotta give the audience a reason to be intimidated or otherwise engaged with a character if they’re gonna be running around looking that silly.

If you’re going to introduce some dork in a cape and not illustrate or otherwise explain why he is choosing to look so absurd, you need a character that acts as a stand-in for the audience’s reaction, especially in a ground-level show. We know The Hood uses demonic magic, based on the comics, but people being introduced to this character are literally just looking at some dude in a leather cape. We do see a small moment in the first three episodes where the mild-mannered leader takes a, uh, monstrous turn, but not until Episode 3. Until then he’s just Some Guy™. If they had let Riri say what we were all thinking, it could have saved them three episodes of people being distracted by some guy in a goofy cape.

The first three episodes of Ironheart are available on Disney+ now, with the remaining three to drop next week.

Humble Bundle has a ton of bundles that you won't want to miss in June, including a Mafia x BioShock collection, a Capcom publisher sale, and much more. Now through the end of the month, be sure to pick up bundles of games, ebooks, software, and other digital content at a deep discount to help support a wide array of charities,

You can check out our favorite Humble Bundles below, and be sure to keep checking back as we'll be adding more as they go live!

Get June's Humble Choice Benefits at a Discount, Including Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered

June is a great month to purchase a membership for Humble Choice, as it will get you access to a monthly mix of PC games, indie favorites in the Vault, up to 20% in Humble's store, and the good feeling of knowing 5% of your subscription payment will support charitable causes like The Trevor Project. The best part? The $11.99/month fee can be reduced to just $6.99 for one month with the code JUNE25 until June 30 for new subscribers!

In June, subscribers will be able to unlock Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered, Nobody Wants to Die, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Tchia, Sker Ritual, Biped, Havendock, 1 month of IGN Plus, a 1-month subscription to Boot.Dev, and more.

Mafia x BioShock Game Bundle

Ahead of Mafia: The Old Country and the next entry in the BioShock franchise, you can pay at least $18 to unlock the definitive editions of the first three Mafia games and BioShock Remastered, BioShock 2 Remastered, and BioShock Infinite. That's a $169 value that will also go to support Covenant House.

There are two tiers of unlocks for this bundle, and they are as follows;

3 Item Bundle (Pay at least $10)

• BioShock Remastered, BioShock 2 Remastered, BioShock Infinite

Entire 6 Item Bundle (Pay at least $18)

• 3 Item Bundle collection, Mafia Definitive Edition, Mafia II Definitive Edition, and Mafia III Definitive Edition

Capcom Publisher Sale: Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and More

If there have been some Capcom games you've wanted to add to your collection, Humble is hosting a Capcom Publisher Sale through June 30 that can get you up to 85% off certain titles.

Some highlights include 50% of the Ace Attorney Anthology, 75% off Devil May Cry + Vergil, 58% off Dragon's Dogma 2, 75% off Monster Hunter Rise, 60% off the Mega Man Legacy Collection, first-time discounts on Humbles' Marvel vs. Capcom games, and 75% off Resident Evil Village alongside discounts on most major RE games.

Focus Entertainment Publisher Sale: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem, and More

Focus Entertainment is offering big discounts on games in its catalog through June 30, and some of the highlights include 40% off Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, discounts on both A Plague Tale: Innocence and A Plague Tale: Requiem, 67% off Atomic Heart, 60% off Aliens: Dark Descent, 82% off The Surge 1 & 2- Dual Pack, and much more.

Machine Learning, AI, and Bots by O'Reilly

If you are looking to level up your coding skills and even build your own bots, this Machine Learning, AI, and Bots by O'Reilly bundle is worth a look. For $25, you can unlock $1,182 in value by gaining access to 17 courses like Learning LangChain, The Developer's Playbook for Large Language Model Security, and more. Furthermore, this bundle supports Code for America.

There are three tiers of unlocks for this bundle, and they are as follows;

1 Item Bundle (Pay at least $1)

• Natural Language Processing with Transformers, Revised Edition

3 Item Bundle (Pay at least $18)

• 1 Item Bundle Course, Generative Deep Learning, and Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow

Entire 17 Item Bundle (Pay at least $25)

• 3 Item Bundle Courses, Learning LangChain, AI Engineering, Prompt Engineering for LLMs, Hands-On Generative AI with Transformers and Diffusion Models, The Developer's Playbook for Large Language Model Security, Hands-On Language Models, Developing Apps with GPT-4 and ChatGPT, Prompt Engineering for Generative AI, Machine Learning Interviews, Training Data for Machine Learning, Generative AI on AWD, Architecting Data and Machine Learning Platforms, Low-Code AI, and Machine Learning with Python Cookbook

RPG Game Master Book Series

Become the best Game Master around with this RPG Game Master Book Series bundle, which includes up to 11 ebooks filled with knowledge to improve your skills and give you the tools to create unforgettable gaming experiences. Furthermore, this bundle helps support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

There are three tiers of unlocks for this bundle, and they are as follows;

2 Item Bundle (Pay at least $1)

• The Game Master's Book of Villains, Minions, and Their Tactics and The Game Master's Book of Legendary Locations Sampler

4 Item Bundle (Pay at least $8)

• 2 Item Bundle ebooks, The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying, and The Game Master's Book of Legendary Dragons

Entire 11 Item Bundle (Pay at least $15)

• 4 Item Bundle ebooks, The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters, The Game Master's Book of Non-Player Characters, The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons, The Game Master's Book of Astonishing Random Tables, The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters Digital Map Pack, The Game Master's Book of More Random Encounters, and The Game Master's Book of Instant Towns and Cities

The Witcher x Cyberpunk 2077 by Dark Horse

If you can't get enough Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher in your life, this bundle will provide you with up to 25 books and comics from the CD Projekt Red franchises, offering $438 in value by spending at least $24. Not only will you get new stories in comic form, but some of the bundles include art books and more to round out your collection. Furthermore, this bundle supports SpecialEffect.

There are three tiers of unlocks for this bundle, and they are as follows;

1 Item Bundle (Pay at least $1)

• The Witcher: Classic Collection

6 Item Collection (Pay at least $12)

• 1 Item Bundle comic, The Witcher Volume 8: Wild Animals, Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: The Edge of the World, The Witcher Volume 9: Corvo Bianco, Cyberpunk 2077: XOXO, and Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown.

Entire 25 Item Bundle (Pay at least $24)

• 6 Items Bundle collection, Gwent: Art of the Witcher Card Game, The Witcher Volume 7: Ballad of Two Wolves, The World of Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher Volume 6: Witch's Lament, Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams, The Witcher Volume 5: Fading Memories, The Witcher Volume 4: Of Flesh and Flame, Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: A Grain of Truth, The World of the Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team, Cyberpunk 2077: Where's Johnny, Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: The Lesser Evil, The Witcher: Ronin (Manga), The Witcher Volume 3: Curse of Crows, The Witcher: Volume 2 - Fox Children, Cyberpunk 2077: You Have My Word, Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout, The Witcher Volume 1: House of Glass, and Cyberpunk 2077: Your Voice.

Puzzle Pizzazz

Puzzle fans, rejoice! Humble's Puzzle Pizzazz bundle is offering brainteasers and the incredibly named 'Metroidbrainias' like Homebody, Entropy Centre, and The Abandoned Planet for deep discounts through June 27. Furthermore, this bundle supports The Trevor Project.

There are two tiers of unlocks for this bundle, and they are as follows;

4 Item Bundle (Pay at least $8)

• Paper Trail, A Guidebook of Babel, Kingsgrave, and Homebody

Entire 8 Item Bundle (Pay at least $12)

• 4 Item Bundle collection, The Entropy Centre, The Abandoned Planet, The Star Named EOS, and Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery

Big Bang Unreal & Unity Asset Packs Bundle

If you are more into developing games than playing them at the moment, this Big Bang Unreal & Unity Asset Packs Bundle may be for you as it offers up to a $7,440 value for those who spend at least $20.

Yes, this bundle includes up to 5,000 assets, including realistic and stylized environments, SFX packs, and more powerful tools to bring your games to life. Those who purchase will also gain access to resources, tutorials, and beta-testing-ready content to get you building ASAP. Furthermore, this bundle supports One Tree Planted.

Humble Bundle is part of IGN Entertainment, the division of Ziff Davis that includes GamesIndustry.biz, IGN, and MapGenie.

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 for $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.

Update: Price has dropped slightly from $2450 to $2325.

Alienware Aurora RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $2,350