Unreal Engine is probably the most well-known video game tool set in the world. Its fifth iteration is the system that forms the foundation of Fortnite and dozens of other games, including Black Myth: Wukong, the Oblivion remaster, and the upcoming Witcher 4. But did you know that Unreal Engine is used for more than just making video games? The technology, developed by Epic Games, has also been used to create theme park rides, television shows, and movies – and is fast becoming a regular tool for the entertainment industry.
Taking centre stage in Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars-themed section of Disney’s parks in Florida and California, is the Millennium Falcon. Head inside and you can ride Smuggler’s Run, a simulator experience that lets you pilot the iconic ship. It is genuinely impressive – you and your six-person crew have direct (if limited) control over the Falcon’s movements and weapons, and so as you alter the pitch and yaw of the ship, not only does the entire cockpit physically lurch around, your inputs are reflected in the flight path and enemy encounters. All this means that the world beyond the cockpit’s windows isn’t just a simple video. It’s dynamic and interactive. Simply put, the team at Walt Disney Imagineering have created a video game. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s built in Unreal Engine.
During a recent presentation as part of Unreal Fest Orlando, Disney Imagineering’s Executive VP of Creative & Interactive Experiences, Asa Kalama, explained that Smuggler’s Run is based on a “custom fork of Unreal Engine version four that supports a number of special effects that we and our partners at Industrial Light & Magic felt were really important to deliver something that feels cinematic. It feels like you’re in the movie.”
“[We did] a lot of work to develop custom shaders and custom full screen space effects like bloom,” Kalama explains. “Motion blur was something that we actually had a lot of interesting philosophical conversations around, because in real life there's no motion blur, but a key quality of making something feel like Star Wars and feel really cinematic is the ability to have that effect on. So after a lot of testing and a lot of evaluation, we actually determined that that was something that made it feel more real, even though in fact it was actually slightly less real.”
Many of Unreal’s built-in effects were not usable by Disney’s team, as Smuggler’s Run’s five interlinked projectors needed to use a cube map rendering technique, which was incompatible with many typical Unreal features. But the resulting custom branch of Unreal Engine 4, complete with assets taken directly from Industrial Light & Magic’s library, means the ride’s digital effects both work as intended and feel authentic.
The current mission used by Smuggler’s Run opened in 2019, but a brand new one is currently in development, which is planned to launch alongside the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in May 2026. While not linked to the events of the new movie, Mando and his little friend will still feature as part of the mission, which sees crews hunt down a high-stakes bounty.
“We're upgrading our show game computer, so latest generation CPU graphics cards,” Kalama reveals. “And then we're also moving from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5, and we're really excited about all the additional visual fidelity that that's ultimately going to unlock for us.”
The mission will also feature branching pathways, allowing crews to explore either Cloud City, Corouscant, or the wreckage of the Death Star depending on the flight path they choose. “And then, even within each of the level environments themselves, we've worked with our partners at ILM to develop levels that have considerably more branching,” Kalama adds. “So that even if you return to the same destination, there's a new route or new secrets to uncover.”
It seems like the idea is to further blur the line between theme park ride and video game, which in turn will enhance the immersive effect of actually commanding the Millennium Falcon. Of course, Smuggler’s Run is far from the first Star Wars project to use Unreal Engine in an unconventional way. The system has been used to create the digital backdrops used in TV shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. The Third Floor, a visual effects company based in LA, has worked alongside Industrial Light & Magic to create those Star Wars shows.
“We started experimenting with game engines with various options in the 2010s,” recalls The Third Floor’s Chief Creative Officer, Joshua Wassung. “And really, just as Unreal matured in the mid 2010s, we started getting really excited about moving into that platform and really dove all in for The Mandalorian in 2019. [That’s] when we made the big shift."
It was the flexibility of the engine that allowed us to really push that particular "moving concept art" look that we were going for.
Star Wars may be in a galaxy far, far away, but The Third Floor recently took Unreal Engine to a whole new frontier – the world of The Predator. The new movie from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, Predator: Killer of Killers, was entirely animated using Unreal Engine 5.
“Unreal is a system that lets you do so many different things,” Wassung enthuses. “It lets you pursue your own art. So our particular approach was that we really wanted to lean into moving concept art. We wanted everything to be hand painted.” Unreal Engine was used to ingest hundreds of paintings, which were then used by a real-time compositing system to blend multiple layers together. “It was the flexibility of the engine that allowed us to really push that particular look that we were going for,” says Wassung.
One of the most impressive sequences in Predator: Killer of Killers replicates the “one-shot” style of filmmaking. In it we see a Viking woman, Ursa, fight against an array of enemies in one continuous, unbroken shot. This style is among the most complex approaches to create in live-action filmmaking, demanding extensive rehearsal, strict timing, and pin-point precision. It’s a different story when animating in Unreal, where there’s no chance of an actor flubbing their line or missing their mark. But that’s not to say there aren’t any challenges.
“There's so many parts,” says Wassung. “I think we had 98 characters all fighting in that scene. And so we have maybe just a handful of animators. So juggling how to choreograph them is incredibly complex. But then you also have to animate the camera in a way that feels like you're really there. It's just so much thought goes into it, and it took months, but we love the result.”
But while creating a “one-shot”, or indeed any shot, in Unreal is far from a walk in the park, there are many tools available in the engine that help ease production woes. Ambitious projects can be made relatively quickly, which in turn can reduce budgets.
“Unreal does let you work in parallel, so that you have teams working a bit more simultaneously, which does speed up the production, and time is money,” Wassung says.
“But the other thing is the real-time feedback,” he notes. “Typically, shots in an animated feature might take an artist say one, two, even three weeks for one shot. Our quota, once the team got going, was four to five hours per shot per artist for First Pass, which is just insanely quick. So it's really the time, the fact that you can go faster allows you to save costs overall.”
This cost saving element is unlocking new filmmaking possibilities. Rebellion Developments, the owner of Judge Dredd and the wider 2000 AD comics universe, is currently developing a new Rogue Trooper movie. Set on the violent battlefields of the far future, this comic adaptation would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce if made using more traditional filmmaking techniques. But Rogue Trooper is not a live-action movie, nor a classically-developed CGI film. Instead, it is being made in Unreal Engine 5.
One of the key points was to make it very much not look like a video game.
“We're significantly cheaper,” Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley told IGN in an interview last year. “We've done it on an indie budget. We've by necessity had to manage the cash flow because it's us making this. It's not a big studio doing it.”
Kingsley goes on to note that such savings “perhaps takes some of the shackles of limited budget off people who want to make something indie and creative. I hope it does. I hope it's the beginning of something really exciting.”
While Rebellion is the custodian of 2000 AD, the company is best known for developing video games, such as the Sniper Elite series. And so comes the big question: without the Hollywood-grade tools used by the likes of Industrial Light & Magic and Wētā FX, will Rogue Trooper just be a feature-length video game cutscene?
“One of the key points was to make it very much not look like a video game,” Kingsley emphasises. “So we have professional movie makers working on this. We have cinematographers, we have movie lighting experts, we've got all the people with the qualifications to make the best possible movies.”
Among those people with qualifications is Duncan Jones, director of Moon, Source Code, and the CGI effects-heavy Warcraft movie. With Jones at the helm and a small army of professional filmmakers backing him, Rebellion has all the people required to ensure Rogue Trooper doesn’t look like it’s running on an Xbox.
Rogue Trooper’s cast, which features Aneurin Barnard, Hayley Atwell, Sean Bean, and Matt Berry among many others, is being brought to life with the aid of MetaHuman rigs, a character creation and motion-capture technology built into Unreal Engine 5. The system was not used by The Third Floor for Predator: Killer of Killers, but Wassung still sees a lot of value in it.
“So many times you're making CG humans for whatever reason. They might be just doubles for a stunt, or they might be your lead character. You're kind of doing the same work over and over again, at least on a base level,” he explains. “And I think that MetaHuman is this enormous shortcut because a lot of that work is now already built into this tool. So I think that that allows a young filmmaker by themselves to jump right into a character that's already at this very high level.”
For Rebellion and its animation partners at Treehouse Digital, features like MetaHumans and the visual effects that Unreal Engine 5 is capable of have been key to bringing the strange world of Rogue Trooper to life. “What we're not trying to do is make it look exactly the same as it would if we were filming live action,” says Kingsley. “We are taking advantage of the digital space so we can do more with volumetric fogging, for example, than you could in real life.”
While Unreal Engine may still be predominantly known for its use in video game development, it’s clear that it has quietly spread its reach throughout many other sectors of the entertainment industries. The galaxy of Star Wars is practically united by Unreal, with shows, games, and theme park rides all making use of the engine. Elsewhere, we’re seeing the tech used in many filmmaking corners, from the pre-planning of the desert sequences in Dune: Part 2, to entire movies created in the engine, such as Predator: Killer of Killers and Rogue Trooper. One thing seems certain: that list will only keep on growing as new studios and new creatives begin to experiment with Epic Games’ versatile technology.
The studio behind the popular multiplayer space ninja action game and its free-to-play fantasy follow-up treated in-person and remote fans to hours of announcements, including a fresh look at never-before-seen gameplay, new cosmetics, and some of the major updates still yet to come in 2025. It was yet another jam-packed showing for the Digital Extremes team as it careens toward the launch of more story expansions for Warframe and the eventual launch of Soulframe.
From Warframe’s new The Old Peace Narrative Chapter and the devil-frame Uriel to Soulframe’s fresh gameplay updates, we’ve gathered all of the highlights from today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream presentation for you to check out right here. Plus, whether you’re seeing everything for the first time or just looking for a refresher, we’ve also included information Digital Extremes shared with press during a TennoCon preview event IGN attended earlier this month.
Soulframe
Soulframe is still very much in development, but that didn’t stop Digital Extremes from providing attendees with a new gameplay deep dive. Just like TennoCon 2024, this year’s Soulframe presentation gives fans a live look at the team’s progress, highlighting all of the improvements, big and small.
Extensive customization options are one element Digital Extremes plans to carry from Warframe to Soulframe, with the team doubling down on that idea during TennoCon today. Additionally, while Soulframe Preludes, a private early access build that is open for all this weekend, has largely seen players focus on up-close, methodical combat with swords and shields, the team has been experimenting with other options, including sidearms. More love for fans of two-handed weapons is also something Digital Extremes says is “absolutely” in the works.
“You’ll see that, now, the game now supports casting playstyles and archery playstyles,” Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair said during the preview event. “So, there’s a lot of choice now in the game, not just that up-close, sweaty, parry stuff… and because you now have a sidearm, you can mix and match those if you want as well.”
The TennoCon 2025 Soulframe gameplay showcase kicked off with a conversation with quest-giver and customization NPC Verminia. After trailing her winged rat friend, fans were able to catch a glimpse an Envoy ability that allows players to transform into a blue butterfly, opening up a window to become closer with nature in the land of Alca while also sneaking up on unsuspecting enemies. As the demo continued, audiences were able to catch glimpse of the Neath'uns underground as well as a fight against a three-headed, corrupted foe known as The Waste Bear.
The player featured in today’s build can also be seen casting green magic at their enemies from a distance. The Soulframe team says the combat shown in the TennoCon demo is “more casual” than what’s been offered so far, as players will have the freedom to hurl energy at their foes by using a staff and potentially other tools, too.
“Over a year now of players going hands-on with Soulframe in our Preludes pre-alpha builds, we’ve learned so many lessons and built a lot of new features for us as a studio,” Soulframe Creative Director Geoff Crookes said in a statement. “After last TennoCon, we put a huge amount of effort into improving combat fluidity and continued that passionate work into exploring brand new features like player social hubs, asynchronous player messaging with World Trees, among so many other additions. Today, we shared what the latest additions to our next Preludes build would be and beyond. We promise to all existing and future players to keep trying new things outside our comfort zone and work with you to create something we’ve all been looking for.”
You can see how things are shaping up, along with a first look at combat against the Bromius Omen Beast and the Wazzard of Wastes, in the TennoCon 2025 Soulframe gameplay trailer below.
During a press Q&A session, Digital Extremes shared more about what players can expect to see come to Soulframe in the future. For those hoping to see some version of an extended open Preludes period, the team says it needs more time before committing to any plans, but it at least sounds like the idea isn’t off the table should development progress smoothly.
Warframe: The Old Peace
Following a week of teasers and excitement from the community, Digital Extremes has revealed that the next major Warframe narrative chapter is an Operator-focused story titled The Old Peace. Centered around a peaceful time in the past, this new chapter is expected to launch later this year.
Gameplay footage for The Old Peace reveals a remastered look for players’ Tenno Operators as they bounce between the present and the past. It's a lot to take in, with one lengthy segment revealing a mission that features a crucial bit of fan service: a playable version of Excalibur Prime. This specific Warframe, previously made available only to early Warframe adopters, won’t become available ever again, but The Old Peace will at least allow players to finally step into his shoes for a few cinematic, story-driven sequences.
Digital Extremes released a brief teaser for the content alongside its demo debut: “Think far back and remember the long-forgotten tale of Tau, a childhood Sentient friend named Adis, as well as the war-scarring conflict between the Orokin, their creations, and a coalition of Dax Anarch Warriors upon the Perita moon.”
The Old Peace will also feature a side story known as The Devil’s Triad. How exactly its contents fit into Warframe lore remains somewhat of a mystery, but we do know that it will introduce two new Protoframes into the mix. Despite fears that Digital Extremes would refrain from releasing more of these human-infused Warframe styles, fans can rest easy knowing that the story content features Protoframes for both Harrow and Wisp.
The Devil’s Triad will also serve as a welcome mat for Uriel, the next new Warframe. This Frame is said to be inspired by the devil, featuring glowing red highlights that cover his tar-like design. Details about Uriel’s abilities have yet to be revealed.
Alongside some of The Old Peace’s most notable additions comes the promise of a mysterious new faction and a Tauros Focus expansion, which comes with a new Operator ultimate ability. Digital Extremes is also maintaining its commitment to providing Warframe fans with a solid listening experience by publishing its new song, Lullaby of the Manifold, for free on YouTube. The track was featured in today’s The Old Peace gameplay demo and will become available on most music platforms starting July 21, 2025.
Digital Extremes Has More Warframe Content in the Works
The Old Peace is no doubt the biggest card Digital Extremes has up its sleeve for 2025, but there is so much more in store, too. The swift and sharp Valkyr will receive her Heirloom cosmetic bundle July 21, giving longtime fans of the clawed warrior a collection created in collaboration with community artist Pertti Bahaa. The Warframe team is also partnering with tabletop RPG developer Paizo to create Warframe x Starfinder: Operation Orias, which is set to arrive for tabletop fans this October.
Also set to arrive at an unspecified point this fall is what Digital Extremes is calling its “Untitled Fall Update.” It’s set to be one of the most substantial additions to Warframe ever, promising content that includes a ground-up rework for the nature-themed Oberon, a Lavos deluxe skin, and the 62nd Warframe.
This new content, along with a host of quality-of-life features, sounds promising, but the real reason to get excited is a new tutorial Quest called The Teacher. The mission will finally introduce a streamlined introduction to how Warframe’s Mod system works as Digital Extremes works to address criticisms regarding its game’s steep learning curve for new players.
More about the Untitled Fall Update will be revealed during the September Devstream. In the meantime, players can also look forward to a Warframe Android closed beta in the fall (sign up here), as well as Caliban Prime access. The latter was briefly featured during today’s The Old Peace gameplay showcase and is set to be released before the new Narrative Chapter launches.
As for a proper Nintendo Switch 2 Warframe port, Sinclair shared during the Q&A session that the Digital Extremes tech team is “so excited” to utilize the power of Nintendo’s sequel hybrid console, teasing potential upgrades like faster load times. There’s just one problem: they need dev kits.
“Our tech team is so excited to take advantage of the high-speed cores and the other really cool features of it,” Sinclair said. “There’s just such a backlog for dev kits. So, yeah, if you know anyone… just one, that’s all it would take. I know our programmers are just, like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait.’ We definitely have plans. When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.”
Warframe content for 2025 is locked in, with much of it shown off during all of the TennoCon 2025 festivities. For 2026, meanwhile, Digital Extremes is teasing a full-on Tau Narrative Chapter. Information on how it will pick up from where The Old Peace leaves off remains tightly under wraps for now, with no release date or window given, outside of the promise that it will launch next year.
10 Years of TennoCon in the Books
Soulframe looks like another ambitious online experience from Digital Extremes, but TennoCon would be nothing without the game that started it all. Warframe Creative Director Rebecca Ford touched on the journey so far when speaking about the 10-year TennoCon anniversary.
"10 years of TennoCon is such a mind-boggling thing to say out loud,” Ford said. “When we first started this celebration event back in 2016, we had no idea it would grow to what it is today. Our community is everything to us; we wouldn’t be here without them. To be able to continue TennoCon and bring together more players in person from around the world and treat them to the latest announcements, hijinks, and simply celebrate the world of Warframe is a privilege we don’t take for granted.”
She continued: “The 10th TennoCon has been a deeply special, unforgettable journey. We want to thank our community to Tau and back for joining us on this monumental milestone. See you all next year!”
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).
Digital Extremes says the "backlog" of dev kits is the reason players have yet to see an official Nintendo Switch 2 port for Warframe.
Studio CEO Steve Sinclair explained why the team behind the popular space ninja action game hasn’t created a port for Nintendo’s sequel hybrid console during a press Q&A IGN attended ahead of today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream. He said the Digital Extremes tech team is “so excited” to see what a Nintendo Switch 2 Warframe port would look like but can’t even begin development until they get their hands on the necessary hardware.
“Our tech team is so excited to take advantage of the high-speed cores and the other really cool features of it,” Sinclair said. “There’s just such a backlog for dev kits. So, yeah, if you know anyone… just one, that’s all it would take.”
Digital Extremes brought its 12-year-old multiplayer hit to Switch in 2018, allowing longtime players to enjoy all that Warframe has to offer, at home and on the go. It is available to play through Nintendo's new console but only through backward compatibility, with Nintendo including it on a list of Switch 2 titles that still suffer from start-up issues.
When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.
Digital Extremes said it’s still investigating the cause of these hangups, but it’s the enhancements that a Switch 2 version of Warframe could bring that have players truly excited. Sinclair teased faster load times as just one of the potential upgrades.
“I know our programmers are just, like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait.’ We definitely have plans. When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.”
The Switch 2 launched on June 5, 2025, introducing new features such as Joy-Con mouse functionality, improved graphics, and enhanced social tools. Although its launch lineup was able to lean on third-party support with titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Deltarune Chapter 1 – 4, Split Fiction, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, and Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, early adopters remain on the lookout for more games to fill out their libraries.
As players clamor for more games, other indie developers say they, too, are in need of dev kit access. Into the Restless Ruins creator Ant Workshop, Citizen Sleeper 2 developer Fellow Traveller Games, Unreal Engine support studio Tanglewood Games, and more spoke about dev kit scarcity with GamesIndustry.biz last month. Insider Nate the Hate also reported that many developers across the indie and third-party spaces have been unable to start work on Switch 2 games due to a lack of dev kit access (via TheGamer). It's currently unclear which publishers currently have access to Switch 2 dev kits or when they will become more available.
For now, there’s no word on when Digital Extremes or many of the other dozens of developers without dev kits will receive the tools they need to bring their games to Switch 2. As more titles slowly trickle in, you can read our 7/10 Nintendo Switch 2 launch review. You can also check out everything revealed during today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream 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).
We've rounded up the best deals for Saturday, July 19, below, so don't miss out on these limited-time offers.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for $47.99
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition launched earlier this year, and it's still one of the biggest RPGs you can jump into on any platform. The remaster introduced numerous quality-of-life updates that were much needed, in addition to a brand-new epilogue chapter. We gave the game a 9/10 in our review, stating, "Xenoblade Chronicles X was already one of the Wii U’s best games, and this Definitive Edition does more than enough to justify another trip to planet Mira."
Donkey Kong Switch Games Are on Sale at Woot
With Donkey Kong Bananza out now, there has never been a better time to jump in and experience the Nintendo Switch library of Donkey Kong games. Woot has each of these games on sale this weekend, with the absolutely stellar Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD included.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake for $34.99
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was one of the most enjoyable RPGs of 2024, featuring a gorgeous remade HD-2D world and voice acting. If you haven't had the chance to check this one out yet, Amazon has Nintendo Switch copies available for only $34.99. In my opinion, the Switch has to be the definitive way to experience this classic, and now is the perfect time to catch up before Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake this Fall.
Request A Nintendo Switch 2 Invitation on Amazon
Amazon has at last listed the Nintendo Switch 2, and you can request an invite to purchase the console now. Once you are selected, you will receive an email that will allow you to add the system to your cart and purchase it. There is no telling when these invites will run out, so I recommend requesting one, even if you might purchase the Switch 2 elsewhere.
Bose Ultra Open-Ear Wireless Earbuds for $199
Best Buy has the Bose Ultra Open Ear Wireless Earbuds for $199 this weekend. Despite their open design, these earbuds allow for private listening that still keeps important outside noises included. These earbuds feature up to seven hours of play time, with an extra 19.5 hours of power packed into the charging case. Plus, you can control and personalize your earbuds through the Bose app.
Save on Super Mario Party Jamboree Just in Time for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
With the rcent reveal of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, it's no question that you are going to want to save anywhere you can. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Party Jamboree is set to cost $79.99, but you can upgrade from a Nintendo Switch copy for $20. This weekend, save your cash and pick up a copy of Super Mario Party Jamboree from Woot for only $44.99. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is set to launch next week, so now is the time to secure your copy while you can.
Elden Ring Nightreign Deluxe Edition for $46.19
Elden Ring Nightreign is a great time with friends, and you can save on the Deluxe Edition of the game this weekend at Amazon. This edition of the game includes additional DLC content, feautring additional playable characters and bosses, in addition to a digital artbook and mini soundtrack. Bandai Namco has continued to release new content for Nightreign, so this is a great time to jump in.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
A new season full of anime is here to check out! An evil eye, an abyss of trash, and the return of kaijus are what you can expect this summer anime season. There's a new season full of anime to check out this Summer like the return of the highly anticipated Dan Da Dan, Keiichi Arawi’s CITY The Animation, and the ugly world of Gachiakuta. Across Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, Hulu, and Netflix, as well as others, there are a lot of places to enjoy anime at the moment.
Check out some anticipated series in the video above or the slideshow gallery below, followed by the full list of new Summer season 2025 anime and where to watch them in the U.S. and their respective streaming platforms. Anime listed are available now unless otherwise stated.
Dan Da Dan Season 2 (Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu)
Dan Da Dan finally returns this season after that wicked cliffhanger they left us on. Okarun and the gang have another supernatural event on their hands, but this time we see the newest addition, Jiji, shine in the first few episodes. Studio Science Saru is back for Season 2, so expect great character designs and more amazing action sequences. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the season unfolds as the crew’s little bubble seems to blow up. Dan Da Dan Season 2 is available now on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu.
My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 (Crunchyroll)
The beloved rom-com My Dress-Up Darling is back with Season 2! For those not familiar, the series follows Marin, a cosplayer who develops a close relationship with Wakana, who is very skilled at making clothes. Cloverworks returns to helm animation for Season 2, and they really stepped up their game this season. Although subtle at times, some sequences just appear to be on a different level, so props to the team. My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 is available now on Crunchyroll.
The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity (Netflix)
Another highly anticipated romance series this season is The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity. The series follows Rintaro, a seemingly delinquent student who meets Kaoruko, a student from an all-girls school, at the bakery where he works. The pair have a customer relationship at first, so we’ll get to see how their bond grows over the course of the season. Cloverworks is also the studio behind this romance series, so expect some quality work for its anime adaptation debut. The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity will premiere on Netflix on September 7.
Call of the Night Season 2 (HIDIVE)
Continuing on the great romance series train this summer, we have the return of Call of the Night with Season 2! The series follows Kou, a young boy who, due to his insomnia, meets a mysterious girl in the dead of night. Turns out this girl is a vampire, and meeting her changes Kou’s perspective on life. LIDENFILMS, the studio behind Tokyo Revengers and Kotaro Lives Alone, is back leading animation production for the second season. If the new opening sequence alongside the latest music banger from Creepy Nuts is any indication, this second season will have an interesting development with some fighting action. Call of the Night Season 2 is available now on HIDIVE.
Takopi's Original Sin (Crunchyroll)
One of the most talked about series this summer season is Takopi’s Original Sin. The series follows a squid-like alien on a quest to spread happiness across the universe. Eventually it’s rescued by a young girl, and so the alien, now named Takopii, hopes to understand more about the humans of this planet. Please note: This series deals with bullying and suicide and features disturbing images and behaviors. So please take the utmost care around this series. Takopi’s Original Sin is available now on Crunchyroll.
CITY The Animation (Amazon Prime)
On a lighter note, If you miss the likes of the Keiichi Arawi’s Nichijou, there’s a new series for you this summer. CITY The Animation follows a group of girls in their everyday lives, and is filled with some of the most ridiculous and hilarious situations you’ve seen in any anime. Kyoto Animation, the studio previously behind Nichijou, is also taking point on CITY The Animation so expect some very entertaining sequences as the season progresses. City The Animation is available now on Amazon Prime.
Leviathan (Netflix)
Are you interested in alternate timeline stories? If so, then the new Leviathan series may be a good fit for you! Set in 1914 and depicting the start of World War I, the series follows Sharp, a young girl disguised as a boy in hopes of joining the military, and a young prince who flees his country after his parents’ assassination. The kicker is that there are creatures that exist in this world that are used for military purposes, like a giant, floating jellyfish and weaponized bats – and these pop up among all the political drama. Studio Orange, known for Beastars and Trigun Stampede, is leading production for this series, so expect some amazing 3D animation. Leviathan is available now on Netlfix.
The Summer Hikaru Died (Netflix)
Speaking of Netflix anime, another talked about series this season is The Summer Hikaru Died. The series follows best friends Yoshiki and Hikaru, except this is not the same Hikaru that Yoshiki grew up with. It’s a mysterious creature that took the form of Hikaru and Yoshiki accepts it for now as part of his grief. CygamesPictures, the studio known for Apocalypse Hotel and Brave Bang Bravern!, is behind this anime adaptation. It’ll be interesting to see how Yoshiki keeps up this facade as the season progresses. The Summer Hikaru Died is available now on Netflix.
Gachiakuta (Crunchyroll)
One of the most anticipated shonen this summer season is here with Gachiakuta. The series follows Rudo, a young boy who lives in the slums surrounding a somewhat perfect society. He is mistakenly accused of murder and it leads to him being thrown into a gaping abyss where all the trash in this society is dumped. Bones Film, the studio behind the recent My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, will be heading animation for this series. Gachiakuta has all you need for action-packed shonen, so expect some flash action sequences as Rudo seeks revenge throughout the season. Gachiakuta is available now on Crunchyroll.
Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 (Crunchyroll)
Finally, the highly anticipated Kaiju No. 8 is back with Season 2! Last we saw Kafka and the Third Division, there was major destruction after the climatic battle. As rebuilding takes place, the crew is split up for what seems to be training opportunities. Production I.G. returns to helm animation production, so we’ll see more glorious Kaiju battle action as the season progresses. Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 is available now on Crunchyroll.
Those are some anticipated new and returning anime available to watch this summer 2025 season. If you want more anime, check out our list of the Biggest Anime Coming in 2025 and also our list of the spring 2025 anime in case you missed the last batch of new series.
All the New Anime Arriving in Summer 2025
Here’s the full list of anime coming out in Summer 2025 that will be available to watch in the US:
We are in the era of handhelds, and there's no denying that the Steam Deck led the way for handheld gaming PCs to prosper. But are modern iterations finally dethroning the first monarch? Lenovo most certainly threw down the gauntlet.
The Lenovo Legion Go S is now our favorite handheld gaming PC, and one huge feature it has in common with the Steam Deck is that it runs SteamOS. If you don’t know, the Legion Go S is currently the only third-party handheld gaming PC that officially supports SteamOS.
SteamOS is one of the major reasons why the Steam Deck is beloved, and why we loved the Legion Go S so much. But if you’re hunting for a handheld gaming PC with this way-better-than-windows OS, which do you get?
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Specs
We’ve established that the Legion Go S and Steam Deck both share SteamOS, but which can run it better?
As much as the Steam Deck is a fan favorite, it’s getting a bit old — it launched in 2022. That’s not too long ago, but it’s packing an AMD 4-core, 8-thread Zen 2 CPU and 8-core RDNA 2 GPU. Those launched in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The Lenovo Legion Go S sports the AMD Z1 Extreme chipset (launched in 2023), which includes a Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 GPU.
But does a few years really make that much of a difference? Well, yes. Matching the Steam Deck’s resolution at 1280 x 800, the Legion Go S managed to run one of the most terribly optimized games at 30 frames per second (aka Monster Hunter Wilds). Capcom’s latest entry in the Monster Hunter franchise is straight up unplayable on the Steam Deck, at an average of 19 fps. I’m actually surprised it ran at all – I’ve seen the game crash on a friend’s Steam Deck.
That’s not to say that you’re getting stuck with a terrible chipset if you decide to go with the Steam Deck. It can run plenty of AAA games on lower settings, even Cyberpunk 2077. It won’t be as good as the Legion Go S, but if you want the bare minimum, it works.
Outside of their chipsets, the Steam Deck is outfitted with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for the LCD model and a 512GB or 1TB SSD for the OLED variation. Meanwhile, the Legion Go S features 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. 16GB of RAM is solid, but 32GB definitely helps if you’re trying to run more taxing games.
The Steam Deck is still a solid piece of gaming tech, but if you put it in a room with the Legion Go S, you won’t find any Steam Decks in Ba Sing Se.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Battery Life
Battery life is a weird one to test and talk about with handheld gaming PCs because it so heavily varies depending on what you play. But when pitting the Legion Go S and Steam Deck against each other, there is a “simple” answer.
On the PCMark 10 Battery Test, the Legion Go S lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes while the Steam Deck survived 8 hours and 8 minutes. Now, I put “simple” in quotation marks because very few people, if anyone, is using handheld gaming PCs the way that PCMark 10 is testing them.
You might get a few hours out of each of them at a time, and what you play will impact how long it lasts. I got a solid couple hours out of the Legion Go S while playing The Messenger before I had to charge it.
But in theory, the Steam Deck should last a little longer. I doubt it’ll be 1 hour and 43 minutes longer, but longer nonetheless. Just don’t let this be what heavily impacts your buying decision.
Winner: Steam Deck
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Design and Comfort
There are significant design differences between the Legion Go S and the Steam Deck. Some may come down to preference, but I legitimately believe the Legion Go S is superior in this regard.
The Legion Go S isn’t perfect, but the overall button layout on its face resembles a traditional Xbox controller, which is relatively comfortable. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck buttons are all in… unique (wrong) places. All of the traditional buttons are squeezed together in the top corners of the device, and that’s to make room for the dual trackpads at the center. This may just be me, but you could not pay me to play games with those things.
Despite my gripes with the Steam Deck’s button layout, the Legion Go S is a chunky boy. So much so that I need to put more pressure into holding it up, and occasionally my hands will get tingly from the lack of blood flow. I’m not saying that’ll happen to you, but keep in mind that this thing weighs a solid 1.6 pounds. That may not seem like much, but when you’re holding it up for a few hours, you’ll notice it. The Steam Deck is a little lighter, at 1.4 pounds. Again, those numbers are deceiving — it will make a difference.
Unless you’re dying to use a trackpad, or you want the lightest SteamOS handheld gaming PC, then the Legion Go S offers the superior gaming experience.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Display
This is where things get a little tricky. The Legion Go S was set up to win this round instantly. It sports an 8-inch, 1920 x 1200, 120Hz display. Those are some solid specs for a handheld gaming PC, but there’s arguably one flaw: it’s an IPS panel.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with an IPS panel, but I was there when the Nintendo Switch OLED launched, and let me tell you, it completely changed how handheld gaming felt. I wasn’t carrying around a screen anymore, I was holding a window, a tear in time and space into my favorite worlds… that’s hyperbole, but it was really freakin’ pretty, okay?
Where Steam Deck shines is its OLED display. Obviously, I love OLED displays, so much so that I could forgive its lower specs, like its 7.4-inch display size, 1280 x 800 resolution, and 90Hz refresh rate.
But I got to say, I snuggled in bed with the Legion Go S one night, and I couldn’t help but be awestruck by the gorgeous background art of The Messenger as I suffered a series of terrible deaths at the hands of some OSHA-violating Wile E. Coyote traps.
So yes, technically OLED will look more bold due to its infinite contrast and self-emitting diodes, but the Legion Go S has so much going for it that I might give up the OLED, but I’ll weep for it.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Price
As you can see, the Lenovo Legion Go S is killing the Steam Deck, but if you haven’t already guessed, it’s going to kill your wallet, too.
The Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS and the Z1 Extreme chipset costs costs$829 at Best Buy. Meanwhile, the most expensive model of the Steam Deck (OLED, 1TB SSD) costs $649 on Steam. That’s nearly a $200 difference.
You can technically get the worse Legion Go S with Ryzen Z2 Go and 16GB of RAM for . If you go with the Steam Deck’s LCD model, you can save the most money, as it runs for $399, which is technically cheaper than a $599 at Best Buy ($450).
You can literally see which has the better price, but which offers the better value? It depends on what you want. Do you just want a handheld gaming PC with no frills? Then the LCD Steam Deck is the way to go. But if you have the disposable income, the Legion Go S is worth the extra $200. You can’t deny the performance gain or even the boost to display specs. Yeah, it’s not OLED, but 1080p/1200p is the standard for handheld gaming PCs in 2025.
Winner: Steam Deck for cheapest / Lenovo Legion Go S for value
The Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Handheld gaming PCs are improving every year, and the Lenovo Legion Go S seems like a natural evolution of the handhelds that came before, and a massive leap for the second handheld to use SteamOS.
From performance to design, the Legion Go S is the better handheld gaming PC. For its price and battery life, the Steam Deck still has a lot going for it, and especially so if you’re attached to OLED displays like I am. Unfortunately, I can’t get over the wonky button layout. If you’re a console gamer, the Legion Go S will feel like the smoothest transition.
However, with the Xbox Ally X launching at the end of the year, I am excited to see how Microsoft plans to outmatch SteamOS in design and performance. Windows is a significantly heavier operating system, so unless Microsoft strips it down to its barebones, it’ll lose out the performance gains from the Z2 Extreme.
But if you’re dead set on a SteamOS handheld gaming PC, then the Lenovo Legion Go S should be at the top of your letter to Santa.
Rami Tabari is a contributing writer at IGN with over 9 years of experience in the tech and gaming industry. You can find his bylines at Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide (and on a random Predator review at Space.com). When Rami isn't wading through a sea of the latest gaming tech, he's agonizing over the worldbuilding in his upcoming novella.
Kaiju No. 8’s 12-episode first season stood out as a fresh take on the typical shonen anime formula, focusing on adults pursuing their dreams later in life and showing off rich depths never before seen in a monster-hunting story. While season 1 was a refreshing change of pace adorned with all the noise and spectacle deserving of a standout show, its season 2 premiere comes across less as a triumphant continuation and more as a feeble attempt to recapture its success.
It starts on a promising note: a flashback to protagonist Kafka Hibino’s childhood, in which he and his friend/future Defense Force idol, Mina Ashiro, flee invading kaiju. But it turns out the scene was just a dream. That’d be acceptable if the episode didn’t follow up its false start with a tease of a catastrophic battle with a Godzilla lookalike, only to have the big lizard disappear without much fanfare.
There’s a nagging feeling that Kaiju No. 8 isn’t rushing to deliver thrills this time around, which becomes even more frustrating when it cues up a callback to its very first episode: A slice of life from its vision of Tokyo in which everyday people go about their business – in this case, commuting to and from work – only to feign amusement at the latest alert of a pending kaiju attack. What once felt like an innovative running gag now feels like a superficial nuisance.
It's hard not to feel the same lack of enthusiasm throughout the premiere, with its focus on boring meetings between government officials discussing the kaiju problem (and, by extension, the powerful beast Kafka can transform into). When it looks like we’re about to escape these doldrums, the characters merely move to another room to outline their plans. Not even that pseudo-zilla from earlier is enough to add a sense of spectacle to the show’s sluggish pacing. This transition from high-energy explosiveness to meditative character study would be easier to understand if Kaiju No. 8 hadn’t kept its lead character (and the bombastic action he promises) out of the spotlight for so much of the episode. The premiere feels wearying, replacing the genre-defying spirit of season 1 with a familiar rhythm that rarely surprises or astonishes.
It’s an episode that feels content to coast rather than soar. This is unfortunate, considering Ichiro Okouchi’s script offers glimpses of intrigue and comic relief from side characters like Kikoru Shinomiya. Under the mentorship of Gen Narumi, Shinomiya emerges as the most engaging presence in the premiere. She takes Kafka’s role as Kaiju No.8’s emotional anchor, and her odd-couple banter with Narumi – in which the haughty nepo-baby recruit struggles to accept her commanding officer’s procrastination, which includes playing video games and building gunpla – is one of the few things giving season 2 a pulse so far.
Visually, the anime remains striking: tanks thunder across the battlefield with believable weight, and the diorama-style cityscapes, washed in muted watercolors and CG scaffolding, convey a mesmerizing, quiet beauty (even when they’re reduced to rubble). That polished aesthetic is bolstered by Fumiyuki Go and Yuta Bandoh’s exhilarating musical score and cinematic sound design. But none of this could make me see past the sleepy way the premiere unfolds. Action sequences spark briefly before giving way to boardroom chatter and exposition dumps that fail to build tension around Kafka’s lingering identity crisis from the season 1 finale.
What was refreshing about season 1 has begun to feel stale.
Mercifully, its final moments hint at an imminent kaiju attack, though it’s hard to get too excited about that prospect when cracks have begun to show in the show’s mostly harmless 3D creature and tank designs. What was refreshing about season 1 has begun to feel stale, and that’s not helped by a premiere that spends more time on setup than on convincing us we should stick around in the hopes that the momentum picks up for the rest of season 2.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Donkey Kong Bananza.
Donkey Kong Bananza is now out in the wild, and one of the biggest burning questions ahead of launch centered on DK’s new best friend: Pauline. She’s a teenager in Bananza – 13 years old, to be precise – and this has led to rampant speculation that Bananza is a prequel to Super Mario Odyssey, which features an adult Pauline living in New Donk City.
We’ve played through the main story of Bananza and completed most of its major post-game beats, which means we now have the answers to that question and more. But be warned, we’re about to spoil the entirety of Donkey Kong Bananza's finale. So if you’re still working your way to the Planet Core, turn back now, and join us once you’ve seen Bananza through to the end yourself.
Bananza eventually reveals that 13-year-old Pauline does, in fact, call New Donk City home, just like her Odyssey counterpart, and the story’s grand finale takes place in the metropolis after it’s been completely overrun by the returning King K. Rool. When DK and Pauline break through to the surface, Pauline exclaims “This is MY city!”, confirming the fan theory that Bananza would end by returning Pauline home to Odyssey’s most iconic location. But is this city connection enough to confirm that Bananza is a prequel to Super Mario Odyssey?
First, some background on Pauline, who is central to this mystery. In Odyssey, Pauline (who’s a full-grown adult) is the Mayor of New Donk City, perhaps most memorable for her performance of Jump Up, Super Star! at the New Donk City Festival. Teenage Pauline and Mayor Pauline share a lot in common: Beyond their shared name, they are both singers and performers, with much of Teenage Pauline’s character arc revolving around gaining enough confidence to perform in front of her hometown. She also sings the Bananza Transformation songs, and Void Kong is obsessed with the power of her voice… at least until King K. Rool boots him out of the story entirely.
Based on Pauline’s age, most expected Bananza would be a prequel to Odyssey, and potentially an origin story for New Donk City itself. It would make sense that DK, acting as Pauline’s hero and best friend, would prompt the people to name the town after her savior once she was safely returned. But in Bananza, New Donk City is already established before DK and Pauline arrive, and during one of Teenage Pauline’s monologues at a Getaway, she references New Donk City’s nickname “The Big Banana”, a Kong-inspired parody of New York’s “The Big Apple.” It’s a nickname we’ve heard before, first uttered in Mario Odyssey by a New Donker.
Using all that as a starting point, it seems that there’s actually more evidence to suggest that Bananza is a sequel to Odyssey, and that Teenage Pauline is Mayor Pauline’s daughter, and the granddaughter of original Pauline (who we’ll call Arcade Pauline). Let us explain.
Teenage Pauline regularly references her grandmother throughout Bananza, including one time directly in the main story. After the pair run into Diddy and Dixie Kong in the Racing Layer, Pauline says to DK during the dive to the next layer, “I’m glad you got to see your friends again! But if I don’t get home, Grandma will worry.” Teenage Pauline’s Grandma is the only family member she directly mentions in Bananza, so Nintendo clearly wants us to think about who her grandma is.
The most likely answer becomes clear when we consider Donkey Kong’s grandfather: Cranky Kong. It is well-established that Cranky Kong is the original Arcade Donkey Kong that kidnapped Arcade Pauline way back in the day. Bananza reinforces this lore, as Cranky rants about his old rival who wore overalls, clearly referencing Mario… or Jumpman, as our favorite plumber was originally known. Cranky and Wrinkly Kong’s son is Donkey Kong Jr., who - despite what the Super Mario Bros. Movie may have tried to tell you - is not actually our current Donkey Kong. Junior starred in the Donkey Kong Jr. arcade game and made various other playable appearances before being essentially wiped from the face of the earth. The tie-wearing Donkey Kong we know and love – first introduced in Rare’s Donkey Kong Country – is actually Donkey Kong the Third, son of Donkey Kong Jr. and an unknown Kong mother.
So, we’ve established three generations of DK, which brings us back to Pauline. Arcade Pauline and Mayor Pauline don’t look like the same person. Arcade Pauline has blonde hair, while the Mayor is a brunette. You could argue this is just a character redesign, but a billboard in Odyssey’s New Donk City shows a blonde version of Pauline. Perhaps that’s just a fun easter egg, but perhaps it’s a clue to canon, and we have to use all the evidence we can. The New Donk City Festival – which sees Mario recreating gameplay from the Arcade Donkey Kong game – is held to “tell the story of our city's beginnings," according to Pauline. This implies that New Donk City was founded after the events of the arcade game, built on the foundation of the girders Jumpman climbed up towards Donkey Kong.
New Donk City is a sprawling metropolis, and it likely took the course of at least a human generation to build it up to such an enormous size. That, combined with the different appearances, leads us to believe that Arcade Pauline and Mayor Pauline are two different people. Perhaps, dare we say, they are mother and daughter?
I suppose it’s possible that Bananza could still be a prequel, that Mayor and Teenage Pauline are one and the same, and that Arcade Pauline is her grandmother with a missing generational link between them, but it feels cleaner to suggest that there are three generations of Pauline: Arcade, Mayor, and Teenage, just like there are three generations of DK: Arcade/Cranky, Jr., and the main DK of today.
We really hope our theory that Teenage Pauline is the granddaughter of Arcade Pauline is true, because it’s absolutely adorable that the grandchildren of two of the oldest Nintendo characters have now teamed up and become best friends in Bananza. It’s very cool to think that Nintendo has found a clever way to redefine one of its oldest character dynamics over 40 years later. Unfortunately, completing the bulk of Bananza’s postgame content – which are called Bananza Rehearsals and leads to Bananza’s true final platforming challenge – doesn’t really shed any more light on this. Pauline returns to the surface to perform a song for her city, but all we see of that is a new piece of art that appears after the credits have rolled.
So while Bananza’s position as a prequel may make a lot of sense, it ultimately can never be more than a theory. There’s just not enough concrete evidence from Nintendo. This theory does raise some concerning, perhaps even supernatural questions about Mario, though. If he has really interacted with multiple generations of Paulines and Donkey Kongs… does this mean Mario never ages, while those around him do? Or are there multiple generations of Mario? Is Nintendo implying that Mario and Jumpman are two different characters? It’s probably best not to think about it too much.
Finally, and perhaps most crucially, it’s important to remember that Nintendo historically doesn’t care about lore and continuity across its games. Even The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild – has lore inconsistencies that are ultra-hand-waved away. So it’s quite possible Nintendo doesn’t even have a truly established timeline between the original Donkey Kong, Odyssey, and Bananza, and just loves to keep fans guessing.
What do you think is going on in Donkey Kong Bananza? Is Teenage Pauline the daughter of Mayor Pauline and granddaughter of the original Pauline Cranky Kong kidnapped all those years ago, or are we being completely ri-Donk-ulous? Let us know in the comments!
Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN's Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find him online @LoganJPlant.
With The Fantastic Four: First Steps opening this month, based on the comic that launched Marvel as we know it, it’s a good time to tell Marvel’s unknown origin story.
Through its comics, movies, merchandising and more, Marvel is the biggest and most valuable intellectual property in history. And just like its superheroes, it started in an unlikely manner – with a young man named Martin Goodman.
Yet Goodman remains a relatively obscure figure in the annals of comics. Very little has been said, or is known, about him (so much so that researching this article took the better part of a year). But his story is a dramatic and exciting adventure worth telling.
It’s the story of Marvel.
From Humblest Beginnings
Martin Goodman was born Moses Goodman in Brooklyn, New York, on January 18, 1908, the same year as the launch of the first mass-produced car by Ford and five years after the first flight by the Wright Brothers.
He was one of 13 children, born to Jewish immigrants fleeing the pogroms in Vilna, Lithuania. His father eked out a living as a tailor and his mother as sewing machine operator at a dress factory. “He grew up very poor,” Martin’s grandson, Jason Goodman, told IGN. “He had to rip the heels off of his sister’s shoes as hand-me-downs so that he had shoes.”
He found escape from his hardscrabble life in books and magazines, reading stories about brave men on fantastic adventures.
According to Sean Howe, author of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Martin’s father supplemented his income as a construction worker, but fell from a roof and broke his back. Unable to work, he became a peddler, and Martin had to drop out of school in tenth grade to help out.
With 15 mouths to feed, Martin did odd jobs and sold newspapers and gum by subway entrances. He found escape from his hardscrabble life in books and magazines, reading stories about brave men on fantastic adventures. He dreamed of one day writing them. Then, around 1928, right before the Great Depression hit, he decided to leave home.
“Martin traveled around like a hobo,” Myra Wilkinson (née Goodman), Martin’s niece, told IGN. “It was at least a year, maybe longer.”
Jerry Perles, Goodman’s lifelong friend and Marvel’s in-house counsel from 1939 to 1968, recounted in a 1987 interview how Goodman bummed across America on freight cars, cooking beans over fire.
“I think he just wanted to go see how everybody else was living,” Wilkinson said. “He’d listen to people’s stories. A lot of times he would sit and write them… I know that’s where he got a lot of information for stories he wanted to write.”
When he returned to New York, at around age 20, he found work as a file clerk or sales rep (or both) at Eastern Distributing Corporation, a national distributor of magazinesandpulps. Within a year he was promoted to circulation manager, where his supervisor, 29-year-old Louis Silberkleit, became his mentor and friend. (According to Goodman’s New York Times obituary, he also established himself as a cartoonist, creating comic strips for different publishers, though there’s nothing to support this.)
In October 1932, Eastern went bankrupt. By that point, Goodman and Silberkleit’s new companies were already a month old: Newsstand Publications, where Goodman was editor, and Mutual Magazine Distributors, where Goodman was co-owner.
But it was the peak of the Depression, and within two years Mutual went bankrupt too. With no distribution arm, Silberkleit decided to jump ship, selling his share in Newsstand to Goodman. Martin didn’t get to become a writer, but he was now a full-fledged publisher.
Silberkleit went on to found MLJ Magazines in 1939 together with partners Maurice Coyne and John Goldwater, which in 1946 changed its name to that of its most popular publication: Archie Comics.
Goodman eventually managed to turn Newsstand around, and in 1933 founded a new pulp imprint called Timely. In 1935 he followed with another, Red Circle Magazines, which published Marvel Science Stories. The pieces were beginning to fall into place.
In 1934 he also met and married Jean Davis. Likely because he was busy running his fledgling business, they didn’t go on their European honeymoon until 1937. They planned to return in style aboard the posh zeppelin Hindenburg, but couldn’t find seating together so decided to catch a plane instead. On May 6, as the Hindenburg was about to touch down in New Jersey, it burst into flame, becoming one of the most famous aviation disasters in history.
By 1938, Goodman was a successful publisher of at least 27 magazines, ranging from pulpfiction to sports. He bought his parents a house in a nice area of Brooklyn and hired his brothers and even uncle-in-law for various roles in the company. It might seem like nepotism today, but between the Depression and rampant antisemitism, it was customary then, even necessary.
Goodman wasn’t only business savvy, but, according to Blake Bell and Michael Vassallo’s The Secret History of Marvel Comics, was a hands-on publisher with a keener understanding of the importance of cover art and logos than arguably anyone else in the business. “I remember hearing and seeing that,” Wilkinson confirmed. “He knew what he liked.”
Goodman published under a variety of company names, which helped him both appear bigger and mitigate legal and financial risk. It was common practice then, though over the course of his career he purportedly created more than 120 imprints and shell companies.
Bell and Vassallo, as well as some other accounts, present this leapfrogging between ventures as dishonest, a way to stay a step ahead of creditors and the law. And that may well have been the case. But Goodman was also a restless entrepreneur, often buzzing with more ideas than patience, and the anxiety of his impoverished childhood never left him.
Wilkinson remembers discussing it with her father David, Martin’s younger brother. “That’s just normal business,” she said. “He wasn’t doing that to hurt anybody. He wasn’t trying to do something that was illegal. That wasn’t Martin.”
Still, Goodman did engage in some unsavory practices, like republishing material from one magazine in another with a changed title and character names, without notifying or compensating the writers. Without notifying buyers it was also illegal, and by 1942 the Federal Trade Commission sanctioned him. Not that he let it stop him.
The Punch That Launched Marvel
Goodman was also quick to catch on to trends. Superman, the first superhero, debuted in a comic magazine, Action Comics #1, in June 1938, and was a smash hit. Batman followed in May 1939’s Detective Comics #27, to similar success. Within three months Goodman was a comic book publisher, introducing the Human Touch and Namor the Sub-Mariner in Marvel Comics #1.
He didn’t produce the comic himself. He dipped his toe in the water by subcontracting a studio “packager” called Funnies, Inc. to provide a finished product, which he then published under his Timely imprint. (The industry being in its infancy, Funnies’ owner, Lloyd Jacquet, had also been the editor of New Fun Comics #1, DC’s first comic.)
Goodman’s own creative contribution was repurposing two of his pulp heroes, Ka-Zar (a Tarzan knockoff) and the Masked Raider (a Lone Ranger knockoff), technically making them the first Marvel characters.
He printed 80,000 copies, which quickly sold out. A second printing sold 800,000. So he decided to cut out the middleman and produce comics in-house. Timely Comics was born.
“Martin moved forward big. He always thought big. He was not a small-minded man. He was a gambler. He was a crapshooter,” Perles remembered.
He created a comics department in his offices at the McGraw-Hill Building off Times Square, and hired one of Funny’s freelancers, a tall, genteel 26-year-old named Joe Simon, as the editor and writer. On Simon’s recommendation, his second hire was a squat, gruff 22-year-old named Jack Kirby as art director and artist.
Their parents were also Jewish immigrants and tailors, and the three got along. “He was a very sweet man,” Simon described in a 1990 interview. “He was about 35 at that point. His hair was snow white.”
According to Kirby’s biographer and former assistant Mark Evanier, Goodman was willing to pay Simon handsomely, including profit share on books he created, but balked at paying Kirby the salary he wanted. It’s a pattern that repeats itself throughout Goodman’s career, of appreciating writers but treating artists as hired hands, which would later shape the creative conflicts at Marvel.
The rest of Timely was staffed with relatives. His younger brother Artie ran the coloring department. Brothers Dave and Abe were involved in various capacities. His wife Jean was a writer and editor, and even credited as co-owner in 1952. There were more, but it was a haphazard field and records weren’t always kept properly, so it’s unclear who exactly did what and when. What’s clear is that Martin was loyal to his family, and that the Marvel juggernaut of today started out as a small family business.
Goodman also hired Simon and Kirby an office assistant, a 17-year-old named Stanley Lieber. Lieber has usually been referred to as his cousin, but in truth he was Jean’s cousin (their mothers were sisters) and, coincidentally, also a nephew; his and Jean’s uncle Robbie was married to Martin’s sister Sylvia.
He hired a squat, gruff 22-year-old named Jack Kirby. He also hired Simon and Kirby an office assistant, a 17-year-old named Stanley Lieber. (In time, Lieber would come to use a pen name: Stan Lee.)
A year into Timely’s existence, Simon and Kirby came up with Captain America. Recognizing the character’s potential, Goodman decided to give him his own title instead of an anthology feature—the third superhero to ever get one, after Superman and Batman, and the first to debut in one.
He also agreed to pay them an unorthodox royalty fee. According to Joe Simon, “Goodman offered 25 percent of the profits, 15 percent for me, 10 percent for the artists. We shook hands on the deal. Artists are notoriously poor businessmen.”
Captain America Comics #1 was an instant hit, selling about a million copies. The sensational cover showed Captain America punching Hitler, dated March 1941 but published December 20, 1940, a full year before Pearl Harbor and when almost 95% of Americans opposed getting involved in WWII.
Much has been said about Simon and Kirby’s bravery in lampooning Hitler so brazenly, and rightfully so. The German American Bund mailed and called in death threats, yet they continued.
But as the publisher, it was also Goodman’s decision. It was his name on the Timely shingle, his investment, and he made himself a target just the same. He’d also done it before, in the pulp Dynamic Science Stories #2 (February 1939), and soon after, in Sub-Mariner Comics #1 (April 1941).
There was more trouble. His old partner, Louis Silberkleit, sued him over Cap’s similarity to his own character (and the first patriotic-themed superhero), the Shield. The case was either dropped or dismissed, but Goodman had Simon and Kirby change Cap’s shield to a round disc to help differentiate them.
Lieber mostly ran errands, but was given the occasional writing assignment. His first was a two-page prose story in Captain America Comics #3 (May 1941) in which he had Cap throw his mighty shield for the first time. Like Goodman, he had aspirations of becoming a writer, and he wanted to save his real name for “the great American novel” he would one day write. So he used a pen name: Stan Lee.
Ten issues in, Simon and Kirby found out that Goodman was stiffing them, putting all of Timely’s overhead against the Captain America profits to minimize their royalties. Disgruntled, they started doing work for DC in secret. When Goodman found out in late 1941, indignant, he fired them. (Kirby believed it was Lee who told him, though Simon doubted it. But it didn’t matter. Their style, in popular titles like the Boy Commandos and the Newsboy Legion, was unmistakable.)
With the pair gone, Goodman was left with no staff. But his instincts had always served him well, and he had little choice anyway, so he made Lee, at the age of 19, the temporary editor. He let him stay in the role for 31 years.
Goodman never struck gold again after Captain America, but he did well with Namor and the Human Torch as well as some others, and non-superhero titles like Terry-Toons Comics. Most of it was imitative and not very good, but that was okay. “Fans are not interested in quality,” he told Literary Digest in a rare interview.
Vince Fago, a Fleischer animator whom Lee hired as a freelancer, explained that “a lot of guys thought comics were going to die after the war, so doing things like recycling stories didn’t seem to matter.”
When all is said and done, Goodman was a schlockmeister. He saw comics not as an art or literary form but as a cheap, disposable product. He was selling junk food. And to make a profit, he had to sell large quantities fast, not invest in long-term quality. Even the name he chose—Timely—implied something current, in vogue, a fad.
But he was still a successful businessman, and it was important to him to be taken seriously. The atmosphere around the office was formal, and he made even his brothers call him “Mr. Goodman.”
When the US joined the war, he got himself a cushy assignment as a nighttime air warden patrolling Long Island, where he lived, against air raids, U-boats and saboteurs. During the day he continued growing his publishing empire. Around August of 1942 he moved his operations to the plush Empire State Building, where Fago filled Lee’s shoes as editor-in-chief while Lee was in the service. He remembered the office being small. “I don’t think he expected to expand too much,” Fago said.
But expand Goodman did. Timely was now selling 250,000 to 500,000 copies per issue, putting out five books a week or more. “You’d see the numbers come back and could tell that Goodman was a millionaire,” Fago said.
Yet the specter of his childhood never left him. He spent every afternoon pouring over sales charts. “Goodman knew the hard times, and though things were going great, he banked on things changing later.” Fago said. “And he was right.”
When Atlas Shrugged
After the war the superhero genre fell out of favor, though comic books were selling better than ever. By 1952 Goodman had given up on superheroes, but he’d occasionally test the waters with Cap, Namor or Torch here and there.
Instead, he followed popular trends like Western, jungle adventures, horror, teen romance, science fiction and othercomics.
Meanwhile, his other businesses flourished. He became a big player in the down-market publishing industry, producing everything from men’sadventuremagazines to celebritygossip magazines to crossword digests to paperback books, all under different imprints of his Magazine Management Corporation, formed around 1947.
“He was pretty much a genius when it came to newsstand publishing,” Stan Lee later said. “He had a feeling for what the average reader looked for.”
Goodman also had an eye for talent, at least with writers. He gave several their first break, including Bruce Jay Friedman, Mickey Spillane and Patricia Highsmith. In 1959 he hired a young postal worker named Mario Puzo to write for his crime pulps, who a decade later serialized his new novel in Goodman’s Male magazine. It was called The Godfather. (A few years after that, Puzo also wrote the script for Superman: The Movie.)
In 1951, Goodman made another bold move, forming his own newsstand distribution company, again cutting out the middleman. He called it Atlas—after the Greek titan who bears the weight of the world on his shoulders—and added its globe logo (inconsistently) to the covers of his magazines, books and comics. It was never the official name of his comic division, but as time went by readers started referring to it as Atlas Comics, and the name stuck.
Being his own distributor allowed Goodman to foster relationships with wholesalers, get real-time feedback on what was selling, and adjust quickly. He was a trend-chaser, but he knew when to come in: right after something had proven itself and before it became outmoded. He’d commission his own version, often a cheap knockoff, and if it sold well, flooded the market with a bunch more until the fad sputtered out. Then on to the next thing.
For better or worse, he understood the value of monopolizing shelf space before other publishers did. For the average impulse-buying kid at the newsstand, there was a higher chance of picking up one of his comics than anyone else’s.
But by mid-decade, America was in the grip of anti-comics hysteria, and the rise of television threatened the industry’s future. Goodman saw the writing on the wall (or thought he did), and in 1956 sold his distribution company, soon retiring the Atlas logo, and signed with one of the two biggest distributors in the US, American News Company.
This gambit didn’t pay off like the others. The following year ANC shut down suddenly, leaving him stranded. With little choice, he signed with the other big distributor, Independent News.
The problem was that Independent was owned by Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz, who were also magazine publishers and owned DC Comics. Seizing the opportunity, they only agreed to distribute a limited number of his magazines, and only eight comics a month (though the clever Lee rotated 16 bimonthly titles instead).
According to Evanier, Liebowitz regarded Goodman as a loose cannon who was harming the marketplace by flooding it, and sought to rein him in.
By 1959, Goodman went from publishing as many as 80 comics a month to eight. By 1961, he fired his entire comics staff—or rather, he had Lee do it—leaving only Lee as a “human pilot light” to oversee freelance artists from a tiny cubicle. Lee has told this story often, but what’s been left out is that Goodman had to fire many of his own family members.
With crisis came opportunity. Goodman had Lee write almost everything himself and work closely with a handful of freelance artists, which was all he could afford. One was a newbie named Steve Ditko.
“I’d hear them talk about it,” Wilkinson said. “I just remember my dad saying, ‘He had to do what he had to do.’”
Things were bad, but Goodman never said die. He’d turned things around before. (Some Marvel histories have claimed that he considered shutting down the comics division, but there’s no real evidence of this.)
And with crisis came opportunity. Goodman had Lee write almost everything himself and work closely with a handful of freelance artists, which was all he could afford. One was a newbie named Steve Ditko. Another was Jack Kirby, who was willing to swallow his pride and come back to work for Goodman because he had a family to support.
These conditions are ironically what allowed a small group of immensely talented creatives to maintain control over their output, which would soon result in a cohesive, dynamic new universe....
The Marvel Age
Atlas Comics, as it was still known, was crammed in Magazine Management’s offices next to the pulps. “Fabulous” Flo Steinberg, Lee’s multi-talented assistant, recounted: “Mario Puzo would look in and would see us all working on his way to the office and he would say, ‘Work faster, little elves. Christmas is coming.’”
But they made the best of it, churning out comics about cowboys and giant monsters. Then, in 1961, everything changed.
DC was experiencing some success with superheroes again. As Lee’s story famously goes, Goodman, who was an avid golfer, met Liebowitz for a game, where Liebowitz bragged about the sales of his new comic, Justice League of America.
When Goodman returned to the office, he charged Lee with creating their own superhero team. And thus, the Fantastic Four were born. The story has been widely recounted in articles and books, but it’s almost certainly apocryphal. Liebowitz later insisted he never played golf with Goodman, nor discussed his sales.
More likely, Goodman, who always had his ear to the ground, got wind and followed suit, as he always did. Whatever the case, it was Goodman’s idea to create a new team of superheroes, which kickstarted the Marvel Revolution.
What he didn’t know was that Lee was a day or two away from quitting. As Lee often said (and often quipped, “I’ve told this so many times that for all I know it might even be true”), he was bored with creating comics that were juvenile and banal, but Goodman thought they should be made for young children.
When he asked Lee to try superheroes again, it was Lee’s wife, Joan, who suggested that, since he had nothing to lose, he might as well write them the way he’d always wanted to. So he reached out to Kirby, whom he considered “the most creative artist of all,” and in November 1961 they introduced the Fantastic Four. In 1962 came the Hulk, Thor and Ant-Man. Then in 1963 Iron Man, the Avengers and the X-Men followed. In 1966, Silver Surfer and Black Panther. And countless other characters and concepts.
Lee also collaborated with Ditko to create Spider-Man in 1962 and Doctor Strange in 1963, as well as Namor creator Bill Everett to create Daredevil in 1964.
There were other creators involved, notably Don Heck and Larry Lieber (Lee’s younger brother and another Goodman cousin-in-law), and together their inspired, manic creativity changed comics forever.
The company was now known as Marvel Comics, and more than just new characters, it created a whole new approach to superheroes. Stories were more realistic, featuring “heroes with feet of clay” who didn’t always manage to stay noble and graceful.
Equally innovative, they all lived in the same world, where they’d meet, fight, team up and even date. When Superman and Batman crossed paths, it was in a special event or team book, not their regular comics. With Marvel, what happened in one character’s series had repercussions in another’s. It mattered.
As the publisher, Goodman was, in today’s parlance, an industry disruptor. As much of a safe-bet copycat as he was, he was also willing to take risks and let Lee try out new ideas, like superheroes that were a dysfunctional family, persecuted minorities, a scary monster and a mopey teen (though he resisted that one at first).
He was also more involved in editorial decisions than given credit for. “He wanted something done a certain way, and if they strayed away from the story plot or something didn’t look quite right, he’d give his input, whether it was nice or not,” Wilkinson said.
“Anything I put into the books and he didn’t like, he’d let me know,” Fago confirmed. But he “never interfered with what Stan was doing. He had faith in Stan.”
Goodman 'never interfered with what Stan was doing. He had faith in Stan.'
Comic creator JL Mast has been working on a graphic novel series about the history of Marvel for the past eight years, the first volume of which is due out next year. “His influence on Marvel Comics is often underestimated or deliberately downplayed,” he told IGN. But “Goodman was a hands-on publisher. Most decisions ran through him. He didn’t usually shape characters or stories directly, but he dictated how many pages each story could be, which characters might be paired in one book to save on costs,” and “he knew all of the Marvel heroes, their specificities, and how to market them.”
Lee, a human exclamation point, became the public face of Marvel, and by mostaccounts was a resourceful editor and natural leader. But, Jason Goodman adds, “I occasionally wish that he would have given more credit to my grandfather. Somebody had to be there to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and pay the bills. If he had been on the Hindenburg, would there be any of the characters that Stan Lee is credited with?”
The new Marvel was a huge success. In 1963, it reportedly sold 22.5 million comics. In 1965, it was 45.5 million—all while limited by Independent News.
According to Howe, Puzo now changed his tune. “For Stan Lee,” he signed a copy of his book, “whose imagination I cannot hope to equal.”
Still, Marvel constituted at most a third of Magazine Management’s revenue, according to Lieber. The real money was in the men’s magazines and, as Goodman soon learned, licensing.
Grantray-Lawrence Animation, who mostly made subcontracted work for Hanna-Barbera like Top Cat and the Jetsons, paid Goodman a king’s ransom for the rights to produce two cartoon series, The Marvel Super Heroes in 1966 and Spider-Man in 1967.
Just like Goodman did in his early pulp days, the shows, especially the former, reused stories and art straight from the comics, without giving Kirby, Ditko and the others credit or pay.
Legally, Goodman didn’t owe them anything. It was all work-for-hire, which he already paid for and owned. But what he owed them ethically was a different question, and according to Evanier, they were angry. (According to Howe, Goodman did promise Kirby a share of earnings from his creations but kept stalling.)
Ditko and Kirby famously quit soon after. Bell and Vassallo argue that it was primarily over Goodman’s stinginess, though by their own accounts it was as much about not receiving proper credit by Lee. (According to former Spider-Man editor Jim Salicrup, while Spider-Man remained a sore spot, Lee and Ditko eventually buried the hatchet.)
The Secret History of Marvel is unequivocal in its portrayal of Goodman, claiming that he “relished lording over the people who worked for him” and “was proud of the miserly wages he paid them.” And indeed, more than one account has described him as bullish and hot-tempered, prone to outbursts when things didn’t meet his expectations.
But he wasn’t a Dickensian villain, even if some employees may have felt that way. He operated by a logic of his own, which didn’t always make sense to others. He paid low salaries, but gave generous bonuses. He stiffed freelancers out of royalties, but covered medical and mortgage bills. He pinched pennies at the business, but donated liberally to charities.
“I’ve heard all those descriptors, sometimes from the same person,” Mast said. “He could be cold and calculating with one freelancer, then crack a joke and hand out a bonus to another. I think he liked to keep people off-balance.”
Fago also remembered: “He seemed like a kind man to me at times. But then he’d say, ‘After the war, I’ll get those sons of bitches!’” by which he meant “his staff and freelancers.”
“A lot of that is true,” Wilkinson said. She remembers visiting cousin Stan at the Marvel bullpen as a child and hiding from uncle Martin under Ditko’s desk, where he was working on The Amazing Spider-Man #1.
“He was an unusual man. Sometimes he’d be the warmest thing on the planet. Other times….” Wilkinson describes him as someone who kept a collected veneer, but underneath was turbulent. “They all were. My uncles were like that… Stan was pretty much the same way.”
Goodman was a first-generation American who grew up in poverty and scraped his way to success. His approach to business was unsentimental, and more than once criminal. But he was also smart, creative and loyal to family. He was complex, like all good Marvel characters.
Changing Fortunes
In early 1968, Goodman was contacted by Martin Ackerman, owner of Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation (renamed Cadence Industries in 1970), a small conglomerate of photo labs, drugstores, plastic manufacturers and other holdings. Ackerman was expanding into publishing, and had recently bought several national magazines, including the esteemed Saturday Evening Post. Marvel was next in his sights.
He made Goodman a princely offer: a reported $9 million (+$83 million today), which Goodman, as the sole owner, would pocket.
The deal was signed by June. It included all of Goodman’s companies, subsidiaries and imprints, listing 84. It also included the seven lawsuits pending against him, one by Joe Simon for the rights to Captain America.
Martin Goodman was complex... like all good Marvel characters.
Kirby, who according to Evanier was irate that he didn’t see a cent from the sale of the house he helped build, said that Goodman sold Marvel for “less than the value of Ant-Man alone.”
“I can't speak to what it was actually worth,” Jason said, but “it was explained to me by my father that, being from very humble beginnings, grandpa finally had a big chunk of money and could take… pride in that.”
Goodman was still only 60 years old, and as part of the deal stayed on as publisher until 1972. Then, in 1969, Perfect Film bought magazine distributor Curtis Circulation Company, which allowed him to switch from Independent News and publish as many comics as he liked. Which is exactly what he did.
Marvel expanded throughout the 1970s, and by the second half of 1972 had reportedly overtaken DC as industry leader, a position it’s largely retained since. (According to Jim Shooter, Marvel’s editor-in-chief from 1978 to 1987, by 1984 Marvel’s market share was 70% to DC’s 18%, and DC almost licensed its publishing rights to Marvel.)
Goodman, meanwhile, continued taking risks, often trusting Lee’s judgement. He agreed to publish Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 (May–July 1971), for example, despite the Comics Code Authority’s objection and without their seal of approval—a big deal then—to promote an anti-drug message.
He also continued running Marvel in his idiosyncratic style, staffing it with family but keeping his distance. “When I graduated from college they gave me a job,” Wilkinson, who joined in 1972, remembers. “I was in the main bullpen with the magazine people… doing the paste-ups, the layout and all of that stuff.”
She reported mostly to Martin’s son, Charles “Chip” Goodman, but “I don’t ever remember seeing either one of them come through that office the whole time.” What she does remember is the security camera behind her workstation. “I always thought [that] was kind of weird,” she said.
In 1972 Goodman was ready to retire, and planned to leave Chip, whom he’d been preparing to succeed him, as the new publisher. But Lee wasn’t having it.
“Stan felt unappreciated,” Mast said. He was well-paid, but at the end of the day didn’t own his co-creations any more than Kirby did, nor did he get a cut of the company’s sale. After 31 years as the editor, he felt he’d earned the promotion.
According to Shooter, he was ready to quit. “He went to DC and actually negotiated a deal with DC. He was going to revolutionize the whole place… he already started working on it.”
Purportedly, Cadence had promised to make Chip the publisher after Martin, but never put it in writing. And so, afraid of losing Lee, whom they saw as the face of Marvel, they made him the new publisher and president instead. Chip took over the men’s magazines, but Goodman and Lee’s relationship was chilly thereafter, according to Mast. “They got along occasionally. Other times, if they fought in the office, everybody kind of ran and hid behind their desk,” Wilkinson said.
Around November 1972, Marvel moved to bigger, plushier offices at 575 Madison Avenue, a block-long ziggurat on a row of posh ad agencies. Wilkinson believes it was at least in part because of Goodman and Lee’s growing clashes. “It was getting kind of claustrophobic,” she explained.
Then Al Landau entered the drama. Described by Howe as “short, abrupt, and aggressive,” he was the owner of Transworld Features, a news syndicate and photo agency Goodman used for his magazines, and coincidently Chip’s summer home neighbor. He asked to be introduced to Sheldon Feinberg, president of Cadence.
When Lee stepped down as Marvel’s president, a job he hated, in 1973 (but remained publisher, soon of all of Magazine Management), and the Goodmans expected Chip to take his place, Feinberg informed them that he’d given the job to Landau.
They were furious. According to Howe, Landau was unmoved. His response to Chip was, “Do you want to be fired or do you want to quit?”
Vengeance, Inc.
Hurt, betrayed, his family legacy taken from him, Goodman wanted revenge. “He wanted to take Marvel down,” Marvel VP of Publishing & Executive Editor Tom Brevoort said. “He also wanted to show that it was really his business acumen that had been responsible for the success of Marvel.”
In June 1974, he and Chip launched Seaboard Publishing and its imprint, Atlas Comics. They set up shop literally around the corner from Marvel’s offices. Today their company is generally referred to as Atlas/Seaboard, to distinguish it from the 1950s Atlas, but people in the industry then called it by a different name: “Vengeance, Inc.”
They came out swinging, publishing 23 comic book series and a variety of monster, sci-fi, and other magazines. They hired Lieber away from Marvel, who was somewhat disgruntled that his brother wasn’t giving him more work, and made him co-editor with Jeff Rovin, whom they hired from Warren Publishing. (But for reasons unknown, they put Lieber in charge of the black & white comic magazines and Rovin in charge of the color comics, when their experience was almost exclusively the opposite.)
If Marvel was known as “The House of Ideas,” Atlas declared itself “The NEW House of Ideas.” Ironic, seeing as their characters were, true to Goodman form, derivative. There was Tiger-Man (Spider-Man), Destructor (reverse Spider-Man), Brute (Hulk), Devilina (Vampirella), Wulf the Barbarian (Conan) and others, though, in fairness, also originals like Scorpion.
Atlas’s covers were also obviousswipes, possibly not just to ape what was selling but to give Marvel the finger. Lieber called it “a very tacky business.” Landau contemplated suing.
He enticed them with higher rates than Marvel or DC (reportedly in some cases by 50%), ownership stake in their creations, and returned original artwork. His new company was, again, a disruptor.
'He wanted to take Marvel down and show that it was really his business acumen that had been responsible for the success of Marvel.'
Lee wrote a panicked letter to Marvel’s freelancers, comparing Goodman—careful not to name him—to Hitler, as a dictator who captivated people by making extravagant promises. According to comics historian Alex Grand, Goodman and Lee never spoke again.
Despite all the talent involved, Atlas proved to be less than the sum of its parts. Some of the comics were good, or at least experimental, but mostly they were insipid schlock.
Rovin later explained: “Anger is a lousy reason to start a publishing company; not only are bad calls made in an effort to be vindictive or to recapture lost glories, but the angry party tends to lose interest when the anger fades and the bills continue to mount.”
Without Magazine Management’s muscle, Atlas struggled to make sales and, according to Howe, distribution troubles prevented it from reaching many regions. Evanier also believes that DC and Marvel closed ranks, increasing their number of titles to crowd Atlas off the newsstands.
In late 1975, just over a year in, Atlas closed. It had published a total of 67 issues, with the longest series reaching #4.
The failed venture lost Goodman a fortune, but he did succeed in revolutionizing the industry yet again. It led other publishers to start returning original art, raise rates and offer better deals to creators.
Goodman’s long and tumultuous career ended on a loss. But in the final tally, he scored many more wins.
As for Chip, Jason said that his father “never, ever, ever expressed bitterness… he was a very successful man in his own right… he made peace with it.”
Marvel After Martin
Weeks after shutting down Atlas, Goodman retired to Florida.
“I think he enjoyed his retirement,” Wilkinson said. “He played a lot of golf, and that made him happy.”
Jason remembers visiting him often, and their games of Scrabble. “Grandpa was always very proud of being as good at Scrabble as he was, and of being a publisher, because he didn’t have formal education. So to be a man of letters was significant for him.”
At Marvel, meanwhile, Landau was fired before 1975 was out, when Cadence found out he was artificially inflating sales figures. According to Shooter, he was also caught embezzling.
Landau’s successor, Jim Galton, sold Magazine Management’s Playboy-like publications Stag and Male back to Chip and folded the rest, effectively dissolving Goodman’s original company.
Chip, who also owned the similar Swank, transitioned the magazines from erotica to pornography, eventually selling them in the 1990s. “Chip had gotten into those 976 [phone sex] numbers,” Wilkinson remembered. “Made them a lot of money.” But, she added, “he was always a nice guy.”
Marvel continued to struggle through much of the decade, almost going bankrupt. After 30 years under Goodman, between 1986 and 1997 it changed corporate hands three times. It went public in 1991 and bankrupt in 1996, became solvent in 2004, and evolved into a movie studio in 2005.
Goodman died on June 6, 1992, at the age of 84, at his home in Palm Beach. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s since around 1980, Jason said. A hard fate for a proud man, whom Lee described as “sharp as a tack.”
All Marvel did to honor him was a single paragraph notice in Marvel Age. “Nobody talks about Martin Goodman,” Irwin Linker, an art director at Magazine Management, is quoted in Howe’s book. “It’s like he never lived, and he’s the guy who started the whole thing. It’s like he never existed.”
'When I tell people that my grandfather founded Marvel Comics, they say, 'Stan Lee is your grandfather?''
“When I tell people that my grandfather founded Marvel Comics,” Jason said, “they say, ‘Stan Lee is your grandfather?’”
Legacy
In August 2009, the Walt Disney Company bought Marvel for $4.2 billion. Marvel is now part of Disney’s stock, but is worth over $50 billion, according to Forbes. It’s something Goodman couldn’t possibly have imagined when he founded the company in 1939 to cash in on the comic book fad.
Stan Lee, though always a hired employee, never a stakeholder, became synonymous with Marvel, and arguably the most famous man in comics. Especially with his MCU cameos, he grew to become a global pop culture icon. He’s been the subject of countless articles, books, and documentaries.
Martin Goodman, meanwhile, remains largely obscure. What few depictions of him exist have tended to be negative, as creators and fans tend to side with artists over business owners.
But whether he was a visionary entrepreneur or a ruthless opportunist, a creative marketeer or a shameless exploiter, passionate or temperamental—or any combination of the above—he was a key figure in American publishing of the 20th century.
And just like without Lee or without Kirby, without Goodman there would be no Marvel today.
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The third entry in the animated Spider-Verse franchise will now open in theaters on June 25, 2027 instead of the previously announced June 4, 2027.
Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson are directing Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse from a screenplay by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller & David Callaham. The film is produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Jinko Gotoh. Executive producers are Aditya Sood and Christina Steinberg.
The filmmakers said at CinemaCon in April that their already delayed film needed time to make sure they got it just right.
Lord said at CinemaCon that Beyond the Spider-Verse picks up the second where they left off in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales’ friends may or may not be enough to save everyone.
indie.io is a video game publishing platform that works with lots of different developers and publishes games in a variety of genres. They’ve published dozens of games, several of which are discounted on Nintendo Switch right now as part of a sale that will run through July 30.
As with indie.io’s library as a whole, the sale includes a wide range of genres. There’s cozy adventures, tactical RPGs, creature collectors, management sims, and more. You can check out the full sale here, but we thought we’d highlight six games that showcase the diversity of titles that are available. Let’s get started:
The cozy farming sim genre has been thriving in recent years, and Echoes of the Plum Grove adds to the formula by letting you experience multiple generations. Initially, you wash up on an island shore and start with a modest plot of land. Over time, you can expand your homestead, start a family, and grow that family. You can befriend or insult your neighbors, form an alliance with a local witch coven, or poison people who cross you. As the generations pass, these decisions will shape your descendents’ experiences and ultimately define your legacy. The game world is fully hand drawn, with 2D characters in 3D environments that heighten the cozy feel. And while forming relationships through the generations is the central core of the game, there are also mysteries across the island for you to uncover.
Dark Deity is a strategy RPG that was clearly inspired by classics of the genre. You build up an army, lead your soldiers in turn-based combat, and choose what classes to promote them into as they grow stronger. There are 30 playable characters, and if one of them falls in battle, they’ll suffer grave wounds that drop their stats. So you need to be careful and strategize as you lead your squad from rookies to heroes. The main story is told across 28 chapters that take more than 20 hours to complete, and the “Suns Out, Swords Out” DLC is also available for 20% off as part of the current sale. It adds seven additional levels, each telling a story from before or after the events of the base game.
Another modern game that takes inspiration from and builds upon the classics of the genre, Coromon is a monster tamer with more than 100 monsters to catch and train. Each monster is defined by its element, traits, and skills. The battle system is stamina-based and every skill costs SP, so you need to be strategic about when you use your most powerful skills. Meanwhile, traits are inherent to a monster and can trigger when certain conditions are met. They don’t sap stamina when they trigger and differ between monsters of the same species, so they can be an important factor of building your perfect team. The story of Coromon takes you across six biomes as you try to stop a mysterious threat, and there are more reveals and plot twists than you might expect in a typical monster tamer.
Game titles don’t get much more clear than this one. In Cat Cafe Manager, you … manage a cat cafe. You inherit an old, rundown cafe in the town of Caterwaul Way, and you’ll need to rebuild and renovate it to give the local stray cats a proper home. You can decorate and expand the space to fit your personal tastes, as well as hire new employees and refine their skills. You can make plenty of feline friends, but you’ll build relationships with humans too. It is a cafe, after all. The villagers will want to stop by and take a load off after a long day, and you can travel across the town to chat with the locals and discover new recipes and other opportunities for your cafe. Who knows, you might even uncover a mystery or two in need of solving.
And now, for something completely different. 9 Years of Shadows is a side-scrolling Metroidvania where color has been drained from the world for almost a decade (hence the name). You play as Europa, a warrior bent on fighting her way to the mechanical giant Talos and stopping the corruption seeping out of it before everything is swallowed in darkness. You’ll befriend a cute floating bear called Apino who has the ability to bring back color, and together you’ll wield elemental armors, restore vibrant hues, and try to free the world from the colorless curse that plagues it. And as you do, enjoy a soundtrack from composers Michiru Yamane and Norihiko Hibino, known for their work on Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid, respectively.
Our list ends by circling back around to a cozy, relaxing game. Mail Time is a cottagecore adventure set in a whimsical forest where you’re a courier who uses light platforming to deliver letters. You can customize the look of your character and run, jump, and glide your way across the forest to make deliveries to the critters who live there. Relaxation is the focus of the game, with gameplay that doesn’t saddle you with anything stressful. There’s no time limits, pressure, danger, or fall damage. You can just chill, make your deliveries, upgrade your gliding, and do it again. Simplicity can be nice sometimes.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is a seminal figure in contemporary mystery fiction; he's gone on to inspire countless other characters like Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, Benoit Blanc from Knives Out, and even Batman in some iterations. The iconic detective has also countless adaptations in various other media, like Sherlock Holmes (2009) starring Robert Downey, Jr. as the titular investigator, and most notably BBC's Sherlock, a modern-day take on the classic stories headed by Benedict Cumberbatch.
What these adaptations all have in common is their faithful-enough recreations of the source material, which was published from 1887 to 1927 in various lengths and forms. Many of these books are collections of dozens of short stories, totalling over 50 individual works. It can be a bit overwhelming knowing how and where to start since the publication dates of the narrative chronology are all over the place, so we've done the research for you.
Our list below only consists of stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, nothing from authors after him is included.
How Many Sherlock Holmes Books are there?
Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon is made up of 56 short story collections divided up into multiple books and four full-length novels. After his passing, his son Adrian Conan Doyle took over and continued the Sherlock Holmes legacy with 12 more short stories, which some fans don't consider when reading through. Other authors have been approved to write their own Sherlock Holmes stories over the years too, but we won't be focusing on those here.
Sherlock Holmes Reading Order
1. A Study in Scarlet
The first book published and the first in the vast chronology, A Study in Scarlet introduced the world to Sherlock Holmes, his mustachioed companion Dr. John Watson, and their iconic residence, 221B Baker Street (which LEGO has turned into a pretty neat book nook). In it, the duo investigate a gruesome murder and traverse Victorian London and beyond in search of an answer.
2. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
This collection of 12 short stories feature Holmes and Watson in their prime. The first story " A Scandal in Bohemia" introduces Irene Adler, who has been reinterpreted over the years as Holmes' love interest and is a prominent figure in the mythos. All of these short stories feature detective cases of various magnitudes, and serve as a great way to get deeper into minds of Holmes and Watson after finishing A Study in Scarlet.
3. The Valley of Fear
The Valley of Fear is actually the last full length novel that was published, but fits somewhere near the middle of the greater chonology. Holmes and Watson are once again called upon to investigate a grisly murder, this time taking them all the way to Vermissa Valley (the Valley of Fear, as it were) in the United States. A portion of the book is told from Pinkerton agent Birdy Edwards' point of view, offering a closer look into the mind of motivations of the antagonist.
4. The Sign of Four
Next up is the Sign of Four, which introduces Watson's eventual love interest, Mary Morstan, as well as Sherlock's struggles and dependancy on drugs. Mary brings the case of her missing father to the duo, who disappeared ten years prior. Once a year for six years, Mary receives a pearl in the mail, with the sixth pearl including an invitation to finally meet this mysterious sender. What follows is another great story of mystery and intrigue with larger consequences.
5. The Hound of the Baskervilles
Probably the most popular and recognized Sherlock Holmes tales, the Hound of the Baskervilles (the third novel to be published) is a veritable ghost story rife with suspense and chills. Naturally, not everything is as it seems, as the duo has to race against time and contend with a phantom hound to save the endangered Baskerville heir. Some folks prefer to read this a bit later, but as this is a chronogical reading order, it stays here.
6. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is made up of 12 short stories and is the first appearance of both Sherlock's older brother Mycroft Holmes, and his deadly nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. Moriarty's name has been sprinkled throughout the stories leading up to his first phyical appearance in the short story "The Adventure of the Final Problem", in which Sherlock Holmes falls to his death at the Reichenbach Falls. Or did he?
7. The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Moreso a real-world financial incentive for Arthur Conan Doyle than a creative literary strategy, The Return of Sherlock Holmes sees our favorite detective return from the dead. The first short story in this collection of 13 is "The Adventure of the Empty House", in which Watson is investigating the murder of a judge with the help of a disguised Sherlock Holmes. Holmes reveals himself to Watson, and tells the tale of how he actually was victorious over Moriarty and spent years traveling across the globe.
8. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes can be read at any time, as the collection of 12 short stories (and the last to be published) is meant to be enjoyed as a standalone experience. It's at this spot on our list, however, because a character from the short story "The Advenure of the Illustrious Client", mentioned in previous stories, dies. What can I say, I don't like spoilers.
9. His Last Bow
The final collection of eight short stories, and the true conclusion of the tales of Sherlock Holmes. It includes a meta, "in-universe" statement from Dr. Watson assuring readers that Sherlock is alive and well, although retired. We also get an atypical look at Sherlock's life during his war service. This collection has grander stakes than the previous, with Sherlock coming out of retirement to aid the government in the events leading up to World War I.
Sherlock Holmes Full Collections
Sherlock Holmes Complete Collection (Paperback)
Everything outline above can be picked up in one place with the Sherlock Holmes Complete Collection. It includes all nine books; the four novels and every short story compilation. This version also includes a journal for you to take notes and keep track of events with. Even the publishers know how complicated the timeline can be.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection (Leather-bound)
If prefer a more classic feel when reading these timeless stories, I'd suggest the 1,000+ page leather-bound collection of all the Sherlock Holmes stories. It looks better on the bookshelf with its massive spine or serves as a centerpiece for a coffee table. It's currently only $18.65 (38% off), not a bad deal for such a massive collection of incredible mysteries.
One of the best Audible deals of the year for Amazon Prime members is availabe now. Until July 31, new and returning Audible subscribers can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus absolutely free. You will need to be logged into your Amazon Prime membershp to see this promotion. Premium Plus is Audible's highest tier plan and normally costs $14.95/mo. As a additional subscription perk, you get a free audiobook of your choice for each of those three months and you get to keep them indefinitely.
3 Free Months of Audible Premium Plus
Audible is a subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of the best audiobooks without ever having to purchase them. There are two paid membership plans: the lower tier Audible Plus ($7.95/mo) and the higher tier Audible Premium Plus ($14.95/mo). The biggest difference between the two is the size of the audiobook library. Whereas Audible Plus only lets you listen to a selection of about 10,000 audiobooks, the Audible Premium Plus plan gives you access to a whopping 500,000 audiobooks.
Although the seriously expanded library is the main draw of the Audible Premium Plus membership, there are some other nice perks as well. Every month Premium Plus members get to pick one audiobook to keep in their library indefinitely, even after the membership expires. Also, Premium Plus members can get 30% off any additional audiobooks they wish to purchase in addition to exclusive limited-time discounts.
If you were already planning to purchase a couple of audiobooks, then it makes more sense to pay less than $3 to get three audiobooks you get to keep indefinitely and enjoy all the benefits of Audible Premium Plus for three months. This deal only pops up a few times per year, so don't waste your "first-time subscriber" eligibility status on a short 30-day trial.
Catch up the the latest novel releases, audiobook style
Several best-selling new and recent releases are available in an audiobook format and part of Audible's Premium Plus subscription plan. Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest Hunger Games novel, is narrated by Jefferson White, who you may already know from Yellowstone where he played Jimmy Hudstrom. The audiobook has a listening time of about 12 hours and 48 minutes. Stephen King released his Never Flinch crime novel in May 27 and it's also available as a nearly 15-hour long audiobook narrated by veteran Jessie Mueller. If you're a fan of Brandon Sanderson, check out Wind and Truth, book five of the popular The Stormlight Archive series. It was released in December of 2024 and runs an epic 63 hours long.
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.
Alienware released a new flagship gaming laptop this year - the Area-51 - and it brings to the table a host of upgrades over the m-series laptops including a sleeker redesign, current generation components, and better cooling potential. As part of the Alienware Black Friday in July Sale that's slated to end this weekend, select Area-51 gaming laptops have dropped to the lowest prices I've seen this year. They're all equipped with the newest Intel Core Ultra 9 processors and Nvidia RTX 5000 series Blackwell graphics cards. Check out all of the deals below.
Alienware Area-51 Laptops on Sale for Black Friday in July
The Area-51: New Style, More Power, Better Cooling
New for 2025, the Alienware Area-51 gaming laptop features a magnesium alloy chassis with upgraded cooling to tackle the latest and greatest heat generating components. This includes more fans and bigger cutouts enabling greater airflow, more generous use of copper, and a new thermal interface material to better transfer heat away from the core components. Dell claims that the laptop can handle a higher power ceiling of up to 240W TDP without raising acoustics.
Design-wise, the Area 51 accentuates its smooth contours, with rounded edges and soft corners replacing the squared off design you'd see in most other laptops. The hinges are also mostly internally positioned so that they're near invisible. As befits an Alienware laptop, there are ample customization options for RGB LED lighting.
The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a top performing CPU
The Area-51 laptop is also equipped with a very powerful CPU as well. The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX boasts a max turbo frequency of 5.4GHz with a whopping 24 cores and 40MB total L2 cache. According to Passmark, this is the second most powerful Intel mobile CPU available right now and goes head to head with AMD's Ryzen 9 7945HX3D.
The RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080 mobile offer the best performance for your dollar
As expensive as these laptops are, you don't want to spend even more on trivial upgrades. The RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU boasts performance on par with the RTX 4080 but with the added benefit of faster GDDR7 RAM and DLSS 4.0. The RTX 5080 mobile GPU represents a healthy improvement over the RTX 5070 Ti for a nominal price bump; it's about 15%-20% more powerful than the RTX 5070 Ti and the RTX 4080 that it replaces. It also happens to be about 5% more powerful than the RTX 4090 and has the same amount of memory (16GB). Unfortunately, the RTX 5090 only appears to be just 5% more powerful than the RTX 5080, and its only real benefit is the 24GB of memory, which isn't that useful for gaming (but is an attraction option for professionals who work with AI applications).
Check Out More Alienware Black Friday in July 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.
Donkey Kong: Bananza is out now, and while most of us are having a bananza smashing our way through Ingot Isle, some players are taking things a bit slower, and spending hours in the game's Artist Mode making wild sculpted creations.
If you're out of the loop, Donkey Kong: Bananza has an unlockable artist mode where you can use your rock-sculpting powers to make 3D shapes, color them in, and share them online with other players. It's basically a virtual carving tool, and it's pretty dang fun to mess with even if you're not much of an artist.
But as with every other game that lets players create with any amount of freedom, players are making some truly excellent stuff already and sharing it online. This is helped by the fact that the Nintendo Switch 2's Joy-Con mouse controls make it much easier to sculpt at a fine level of detail than just flailing around with the joysticks, resulting in some pretty good art overall that's only getting better as people master the system.
A lot of folks are making Nintendo characters, the Kongs obviously, but also...this guy?
I'm also seeing a weird amount of DK-Homer Simpsons being made - I guess because his head is nice and round and easy to sculpt? And also very similar to Donkey Kong's, I guess?
It is probably worth mentioning that yes, you can also make inappropriate or bawdy sculptures in the game's artist mode. You do you, of course, but be warned that if you share these creations online, Nintendo might bust out the ban hammer on you and could potentially restrict your Nintendo Account as a result.
Donkey Kong: Bananza is out today, and we highly recommend it, having given the game a 10/10 in our review. As our reviewer put it, "Donkey Kong Bananza is a truly groundbreaking 3D platformer, with satisfying movement, powerful abilities, impressive destructible environments, and clever challenges that all come together in complete harmony to create Nintendo’s first Switch 2 masterpiece."
When the Switch 2 preorders were first going up (and selling out), I wrote about how it's still worth buying a Switch 1. I wasn't planning on picking up the new Nintendo console off the bat, but the incredible reviews of Donkey Kong Bananza convinced me to cave and buy one much earlier than I'd expected. IGN gave the game a rare 10 out of 10 review and people are already talking about how it's giving GOTY vibes barely a week after release. As a lifelong Nintendo fan, the potential of missing out on a Donkey Kong masterpiece for a full year was just enough to push me over the edge.
I was first introduced to Donkey Kong in the Super Nintendo days. Donkey Kong Country was challenging and fun, and my brother and I spent countless hours playing it. Then came Donkey Kong 64, which if I remember correctly, actually required an Expansion Pak to function. It was the first 3D game I'd played that truly felt new and sits comfortably as one of my favorite games from my childhood.
These feelings of nostalgia are definitely what drove me to move up my Switch 2 purchase timeline, but who am I to deny myself a little bit of magic every once and a while? I was pretty worried I wouldn't be able to find a console available anywhere since stock has been pretty spotty since release, but I actually managed to secure a Mario Kart Switch 2 bundle at Target today. We've also been getting reports of folks receiving Switch 2 invites on Amazon.
If you're like me and have decided to pull the trigger on the latest Nintendo console, you can check IGN's ongoing Switch 2 stock updates or try jumping to the links below to see if any are available in your area.
Where to buy Switch 2 Consoles
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World
Nintendo Switch 2
Why I'm Excited to Start Playing Bananza
I was generally uninterested in Bananza until Nintendo dedicated an entire Direct to it. After that, we learned that the team behind Mario Odyssey were the ones who worked on the game. Then, IGN's review really sealed the deal for me when I got an in-depth look at the game from someone I know and trust for anything Nintendo.
Like everyone else, I loved Mario Odyssey when I played it on the Switch. It was flat out fun, and exploring those new 3D worlds and taking on those challenges really hit the spot. Getting that same feeling from a Donkey Kong game would scratch a decades-old itch I didn't even know I still had. The freedom to smash, climb, and barrel through a world as Donkey Kong is something I'm really looking forward to.
Regrettably, my Switch 2 isn't set to arrive until three days after my copy of Bananza. I guess I'll just have to stare at it in anticipation for days until my console finally shows up.
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.
LEGO increasingly caters itself towards an adult audience, which begs the question: where are adults going to keep these massive sets after they finish building them? The LEGO Art sets provide one possible answer to this dilemma. There's plenty of wall space in the average dwelling – at least in comparison to the amount of shelf space.
Real-life masterpieces inspired these brick-based works of art. Here are the best LEGO Art sets you can buy in 2025.
Best LEGO Art Sets at a Glance
If you want a blurb-free list of the sets recommended in this article, you can scroll through them above. Otherwise, read on for details about each of them, including dimensions and piece count, as well as why I picked them.
Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night
Launched in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art (where the original work resides), this LEGO reproduction of Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" uses 3D to mimic the master's thick brushstrokes. Van Gogh painted "The Starry Night" during his asylum stay at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The set comes with a tiny Vincent van Gogh minifigure – a bit of levity for a man who led a very complicated, distraught life.
Hokusai - The Great Wave
One of the most recognaizable works of art in the world, "The Great Wave" was a woodblock print created by Hokusai in 1831; only about 100 prints survive to the current day. This LEGO recreation uses LEGO Dots to achieve its printed appearance, and it comes with a tile piece that bears Hokusai's signature.
Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa
Da Vinci loved to experiment. He worked on "Mona Lisa" for 15 years, making slight alterations and additions and never giving it to the man who commissioned it. It is purportedly a depiction of Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo. Today, it's primarily known for the subject's mysterious smile, but it was infuential and known even in Rennaissance times. The LEGO recreation of "Mona Lisa" replicates the colors that da Vinci used centuries ago; the actual painting looks much darker today than it once did owing to age and varnish.
Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers
We built LEGO Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers for its launch, and were impressed by its vividness and its size; who knew that yellow-on-yellow-on-yellow could be so distinctive? Van Gogh painted Sunflowers during his stay in Arles, France, and he created seven different paintings total. LEGO based this set on the second repetition of the fourth version, known in the art world as F458.
Robert Indiana - LOVE
First made famous by its inclusion on the Modern Museum of Art's 1965 Christmas card, Indiana recreated LOVE as a pop art sculpture in 1970. It has been reproduced numerous times since, perhaps most famously as the centerpiece of Philadelphia's LOVE Park (officially John F. Kennedy Plaza). This LEGO set captures its inspiration's original color scheme: red with green and blue edges. It makes for a great office display or holiday gift.
Keith Haring – Dancing Figures
Heavily inspired by graffiti, Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work took on political themes. Haring died of AIDS-related complications in 1990. This set, which pays tribute to his legacy, comes with five separate instruction booklets (one for each dancing figure). They convey movement, freedom, and joy in a colorful, accessible way.
Batman: The Animated Series - Gotham City
Inspired by the Art Deco movement of the 1910's and 1920's, this set is a large, interactive skyline of Batman's Gotham City. It is on our list of the Best LEGO Sets currently available, and so of course, we had to include it on our LEGO Art list as well. Many of the building's interfaces are removable to reveal the inner workings of Wayne Manor, Arkham Asylum, and more. As a tribute to Batman: The Animated series, it's a worthy of any LEGO Batman collector with a love for the show.
Why LEGO Art?
Promoting LEGO as a lifestyle is a stroke of marketing genius, because of how it seamlessly integrates LEGO into people's spaces. It's neither a toy apart from the room, nor is it a hindrance that demands front-and-center prominence.
LEGO Art is decorative and adds ambience to the room without complicating or cluttering it. It is for everyone to enjoy and appreciate, especially for the builder, who gets to admire their creation every day instead of tripping over it.
Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO. He's also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.
Star Trek will forever be one of the most influential sci-fi franchises of all time. Born in 1966, the legend of the USS Enterprise still lives on today, and no prop is more iconic than the original Tricorder. This essential item first appeared in 1996 and was used to perform environmental scans, record data, and analyze it. Despite being so iconic and inspiring numerous devices, the original Tricorder has never been released to the public in its true, authentic form. However, that changes today.
The Wand Company, known for its premium prop replicas, has finally completed its nine-year journey to create a replica of the original Star Trek Tricorder. If you're a fan of the legendary sci-fi series, this is an incredibly unique item that will upgrade your entire collection to the next level.
Pre-Order The Original Series Tricorder Today at IGN Store
The Original Series Tricorder is as authentic as can be, as a huge undertaking went into the design of this forever iconic prop. Don't be mistaken: this is not a toy, but a working display-grade replica. The Original Series Tricorder was crafted using 3D scans of the last known hero prop, and it is fully functional, including every feature you'd expect.
This includes a full-color LCD TFT screen, the complete 233 ship's logs archives from the Enterprise, removable function discs, environmental sensing, and so much more. You can even record a log of your own to store, allowing you to make this iconic prop personal. The Wand Company has paid immense attention to detail on every inch of this prop replica, with the use of quality materials to ensure an authentic and premium look and feel. In addition to the Tricorder, you'll also receive a leatherette travel case, which is essential to protecting this prop replica.
The Story Behind The Original Series Tricorder
The release of this product has been a labor of love from The Wand Company, with the team first conceiving an idea for this release in 2016. Development officially began in 2019 after Greg Jein allowed the team to scan his screen-used hero prop, allowing The Wand Company to get the most accurate model possible. This was the last known hero prop, and without it, a replica would have to be modeled without an exact reference.
The Wand Company revealed the ongoing development in 2020, and in 2021, a series of blog posts began to release every few weeks to update the progress of crafting this replica. These posts included insights on the modeling process, the technology behind the prop, in addition to reveals on what this replica would include. Despite a few production delays and development issues, The Wand Company managed to create something that many thought was impossible.
This incredibly special product is available to pre-order now at IGN Store. Pre-orders are expected to ship in August 2025.
About IGN Store
IGN Store sells high-quality merch, collectibles, and shirts for everything you're into. It's a shop built with fans in mind: for all the geek culture and fandom you love most. Whether you're into comics, movies, anime, games, retro gaming or just want some cute plushies (who doesn't?), this store is for you!
Christmas is still a ways away, but it's never a bad time to get fun Nintendo memorabilia. Hallmark is dropping a new selection of video game themed keepsake Christmas tree ornaments next week, on July 21. You can preorder them on Amazon now, and there are dozens of other ornaments from other games to pick from, like Minecraft, Halo, and Sonic the Hedgehog that are already available.
The latest batch of ornaments includes characters from notable Nintendo franchises like the Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, and Super Mario.
Hallmark Keepsake Nintendo Christmas Ornaments Are Available Next Week
Hallmark's upcoming Nintendo ornament selection is pretty cool for fans of their games. They're all made of plastic and vary in size but shouldn't stand more than just a couple inches high, making them easy to store away with the rest of Christmas stuff throughout the year. There's a handful of Pokémon available like Pikachu, Venusaur, and Blastoise, but there's no Charizard. What gives, Hallmark? You can also grab an awesome Elephant Mario from Super Mario Bros. Wonder, one of my personal favorite Nintendo Switch games. The Link from The Legend of Zelda ornament is easily the coolest one, as it not only features his classic NES design, but it plays sounds and music from the games. It's a good Legend of Zelda gift to give someone before Christmas. Other Nintendo themed ornaments you can get are Pikmin, Poké Balls, Cat Mario, Samus Aran, and Isabel from Animal Crossing.
A notable omission is an ornament featuring Donkey Kong. Donkey Bananza on Nintendo Switch 2 just released, so it's odd Nintendo and Hallmark wouldn't try to capitalize on the success of one of their biggest properties. IGN's Logan Plant gave Donkey Kong Bananza a ten, saying "Donkey Kong Bananza is a truly groundbreaking 3D platformer, with satisfying movement, powerful abilities, impressive destructible environments, and clever challenges that all come together in complete harmony to create Nintendo’s first Switch 2 masterpiece."
If you're envious of the Steam Deck experience or looking for an alternative to Windows 11, you're in luck. You can install the Steam Deck’s operating system, SteamOS, on your gaming PC for free using Valve's official SteamOS recovery image.
While Valve doesn't guarantee support for every PC yet, SteamOS can run on most AMD-powered systems. It only took an hour to get it up and running on my PC and you can do the same.
Before You Get Started
There are a couple things you'll need to install SteamOS on your PC, and a few things you should know before trying this.
For starters, SteamOS hasn't had a full PC release yet, so it's only officially supported on a handful of devices. You can still try to install it on PCs that don't have official support, but as a general rule, SteamOS works best with all-AMD systems. If you have an Nvidia GPU or an Intel processor, you're more likely to run into issues. For this guide, I installed SteamOS on a PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600G CPU and Radeon integrated graphics.
It's also important to note that SteamOS is a distribution of Linux, which means apps that are only available on Windows won't run on it. Most games that require kernel-level anti-cheat aren't compatible, either.
To get SteamOS installed on your PC, you'll need an empty USB drive with at least 8GB of space. I also recommend having a second storage device on hand, whether it's an external hard drive or a USB thumb drive, to back up your PC beforehand.
How to Install SteamOS
1. Backup your PC
Installing SteamOS requires wiping your PC's drive, so I recommend backing up everything on your PC first. I use an external hard drive to back up all my files, but you can use any drive you like, including cloud storage. The important thing is to save your files on a different drive than the one you're planning to install SteamOS on (don't use the USB drive you're going to put your SteamOS recovery image on, either).
If you have multiple drives on your gaming PC and want to make sure data on your other drives isn't wiped while installing SteamOS, it's a good idea to physically remove those drives from your PC.
2. Download the SteamOS recovery image
After backing up your PC, download the official SteamOS recovery image. This contains the default version of SteamOS that ships with the Steam Deck. It's designed for restoring a Steam Deck (or another compatible handheld gaming PC, like the Lenovo Legion Go S) if something happens to your original installation, but you can also use this recovery image for a new installation of SteamOS. After downloading the zip file, extract it.
3. Flash the SteamOS recovery image to a USB thumb drive
The next step is creating bootable media with the SteamOS recovery image and an empty USB drive. Make sure the drive you use has at least 8GB of storage on it and doesn't have any other files (the drive will get wiped in the process of creating your bootable media).
To do this, you need a disk image writing tool like BalenaEtcher or Rufus. I used BalenaEtcher. With the empty USB thumb drive plugged in, I selected "Flash from file" and chose the SteamOS recovery image extracted from the zip file, then selected the USB thumb drive as the destination. It may take several minutes to flash the SteamOS recovery image onto your drive. Once it's done, shut down your PC.
4. Boot into the BIOS on your PC and update your boot priority
Next, turn your PC back on, but make sure you boot into your BIOS (not your operating system). If you don't know the BIOS key for your PC, you can find it by checking the manual for your motherboard (or laptop). Delete and Escape are common BIOS keys. As your PC is starting back up, repeatedly press your BIOS key.
The BIOS looks different depending on your PC, but the setting you need to update is your boot priority. This determines which drive your PC boots into first. Make sure you have your USB drive with the SteamOS recovery image plugged in and set it as the first option in your boot priority. Save the changes and exit your BIOS (which will start the regular booting process).
5. Boot into SteamOS recovery image
After exiting the BIOS, your PC should attempt to boot into the drive with the SteamOS recovery image. It can take a few minutes for SteamOS to start up. At first, all you'll see is scrolling lines of text on a black screen – that's Linux going through the SteamOS startup checklist. Once it's complete, your screen will go black, potentially for several minutes, while SteamOS is launching.
Eventually, the SteamOS desktop environment will show up, but this can also take a few minutes, so leave your PC alone while it gets everything up and running. When it's ready, your mouse and toolbar will appear on screen, along with four icons along the top of your screen.
To install SteamOS, double click the icon labeled "Wipe Device & Install SteamOS." You'll get a pop up warning you that this process will permanently delete everything on your device. If you're sure you want to go ahead with the installation, select "Proceed."
6. Allow SteamOS to install on your PC
After allowing the SteamOS installation to begin, a terminal will appear on your screen. Don't close it or attempt to change anything in it – this terminal is running the SteamOS installation. Don't attempt to do anything else in the desktop environment while this is running, either.
When the process is complete, you'll see a pop up asking if you want to proceed with a reboot. Select "Proceed" and let your PC restart. This can also take a few minutes, so don't hit your power button or unplug your system.
7. Reboot and set up SteamOS
After rebooting, you should see the SteamOS welcome screen. Go through the steps on screen to get your PC set up. When you're done, SteamOS will search for updates, download them, and restart again. After that, you should see the Steam sign-in page. Log in and you'll be good to go!
SteamOS will launch in Steam's Big Picture Mode since it's designed for handheld gaming PCs, but you can navigate it with a mouse and keyboard if you want (or a controller). It also has a normal desktop environment outside of Steam where you can install other apps, like Discord, and use your PC for any other normal tasks like web browsing. To move from Steam to your regular desktop environment, select the Menu button in the bottom left, then "Power" then "Switch to Desktop."
Tip: Epic Games and GOG don't have Linux apps, but you can play compatible games from those apps on your SteamOS PC using the Heroic Games launcher.
Can't Install SteamOS? Try These Alternative Linux Distributions
SteamOS doesn't have a full PC release yet, so it won't work on every system. If you can't get it running with your hardware, your best bet is to install a different Linux distribution until SteamOS gets a full release.
The first alternative I recommend is Bazzite. This is one of the best Linux distributions for gaming, especially if you're new to Linux. Bazzite even works on handheld gaming PCs, if you're looking to replace Windows 11 on your handheld.
If Bazzite isn't your cup of tea, beginner-friendly distributions like Fedora, Ubuntu, and Mint are also good options. Due to their popularity, it's easy to find troubleshooting help for these distributions and each can be configured to resemble Windows or macOS if you want a more familiar desktop environment.
Stevie Bonifield is a freelance tech journalist who has written for IGN, PC Gamer, Tom's Guide, and Laptop Mag, covering everything from custom keyboards to gaming on Linux.
Games Workshop’s The Big Summer Warhammer Preview Show 2025 offered a tantalising look at the tabletop wargaming company's upcoming slate, and we’ve rounded up everything revealed to help you catch up in case you missed the livestream.
There were announcements for Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, Legions Imperialis, Warhammer Underworlds, and even a surprise Space Marine 2 reveal.
This live report is now concluded.
The Leagues of Votann
Proceedings kicked of with a reveal for The Leagues of Votann (Warhammer 40,000's take on space dwarves). It's a huge plastic expansion, the biggest since the faction launched, that includes new troops, new artillery, new heroes and new abominable intelligence. There's a new Combat Patrol (an army starter pack or a set to bulk out an existing force) for The Leagues of Votann, and check out Buri Aegnirssen, a specialist Tyranid hunter, below. Yes, that's a Tyranid Prime on top of his head.
Supporting the release is a new Leagues of Votann Codex, packed with lore and new rules.
Warhammer: The Old World
Next up was a reveal for Warhammer: The Old World. Brand new units are coming to the Tomb Kings of Khemri. There are two new Arcane Journals, the first dubbed The War of Settra's Fury, which was described as "a really cool way of looking at the lore of The Old World," the second called Dawn of the Storm Dragon.
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
Moving on to Age of Sigmar, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary, there are two factions from the Grand Alliance of Death on their way with new units, new battletomes and new army rules.
We have the Flesh-Eater Courts Death Battletome, alongside a new mini to support: High Falconer Felgryn. Also coming to the Flesh-Eater army is the Charnel Watch. And there's the Death Battletome for the Nighthaunt, packed with lore and "some significant defensive buffs." Check out the wonderfully-named Lord Vitriolic, below:
Helsmiths of Hashut
Here's a big one: the Chaos Dwarfs faction returns for Age of Sigmar as the Helsmiths of Hashut. This new faction includes the Infernal Cohort with Hashutite Spears, the War Despot, the Dominator Engine, and the Tormentor Bombard war machine. As you'd expect, the set includes a new Battletome.
Warhammer: Underworlds
Games Workshop then revealed the Spitewood Expansion set for Warhammer: Underworlds. Designed as an expansion to the Embergard boxed set, Spitewood contains two brand new warbands, two new Rivals decks, a new double-sided board, and a token board that includes new feature tokens representing deposits of Aqua Ghyranis.
Legions Imperialis
Leaving Age of Sigmar behind, Games Workshop revealed new tanks for the Horus Heresy game, Legions Imperialis, including the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank Squadron, the Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer, and the Mastadon Assault Transport, the latter of which was described as the "30,000 equivalent of a siege tower."
Warhammer: The Horus Heresy
Also coming to the 30,000 setting is the MKII Assault Squad and the Journal Tactica: The Forges of Saturn.
Black Library
The Scouring is confirmed! As fans had speculated, The Scouring period of Warhammer 40,000's long history is getting its own novel series, kicking off with Ashes of the Imperium by Chris Wraight. This multi-book, multi-author series is set to reveal what happens to the Imperium and the Traitor Legions after the end of The Horus Heresy. Ashes of the Imperium will be released later in the year.
Warhammer 40,000
40K is getting five new Space Marine characters: Vulkan He’stan (Salamanders); Darnath Lysander (Imperial Fists); Aethon Shaan (Raven Guard); Caanok Var (Iron Hands); and Suboden Khan (White Scars). It's worth noting Aethon Shaan is the new Chapter Master of the Raven Guard, replacing Kayvaan Shrike, who's decided to step back from the top job and operate from the shadows.
There are a series of Combat Patrols coming to accompany the release of the characters for the Imperial Fists, White Scars, Iron Hands, Raven Guard, and Salamanders.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Games Workshop announced the first ever officially licensed, wearable Space Marine helmet. This is the MKX helmet Lieutenant Titus wears in the Space Marine video game series. The lenses inside illuminate!
Kill Team
Games Workshop announced a brand new Kill Team box set featuring the Necrons versus the Deathwatch, which Games Workshop said is probably the most requested Kill Team release ever. Tomb World sees Kill Team "return to the Close Quarters gameplay pioneered in Kill Team: Into the Dark, this time with an all-new Necron-themed killzone complete with shimmering portals, teleportation pads, and regenerating walls."
The Tomb World Dossier book contains background lore for the two kill teams and the Tomb World of Somneft they’re fighting over, "setting up a decisive showdown between Kill Team Vaskovian and Amhetra’s Cryptoretinue."
And that's it! We've wrapped up everything announced during Games Workshop's Big Summer Warhammer Preview Show 2025. What was your highlight?
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.
Bose just kicked off a new summer sale promotion with 25% off its entire inventory of certified refurbished Bose headphones, earbuds, soundbars, and portable speakers with you apply coupon code "SUMMER25". In all fairness, a few of these deals are slightly higher than the best deals we saw during Prime Day (by slightly I mean by about $10-$20), however those deals have since expired and I don't think we'll see better pricing until Black Friday.
Bose Summer Sale: 25% Off Refurbished Items
I've broken out some of the more notable discounts below. Note that the coupon takes off an additional 25% off on top of already existing discounts that you get for buying a certified refurbished model. The combined discounts total up to 47% off in some cases. That's very steep considering you're getting the same warranty as purchasing brand new.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
The QuietComfort Ultrais Bose's newest noise-cancelling headphone, released in late 2023. It is a significant upgrade over the standard QuietComfort headphones in audio and noise-cancelling performance and is easily comparable to other current heavyweights like the Sony WH-1000XM5/XM6 and the AirPods Max. The Ultra features redesigned ear cushions that are both more comfortable and provide a more secure seal, resulting in better passive noise isolation. It also supports spatial audio for better immersion, and it's updated with the new Bluetooth 5.3 protocol. Android users can rejoice in the fact that the Ultra supports Snapdragon Sound, a feature that offers optimized sound quality, connection stability, and latency for your streaming audio when the headphone is connected to an Android device.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
If you use an Android smartphone, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds is a better pair of earbuds than the AirPods Pro 2. This is Bose's top-end earbuds, with better noise canceling than the QuietComfort Ultra over-ear headphone due to its sealed in-ear design and better passive noise isolation. Of course the earbuds also boast top notch audio quality to match. Like the Ultra headphones, the earbuds support Snapdragon Sound when paired with an Android device.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Open Earbuds
The Ultra Open earbuds is for people who don't want any type of noise isolation, be it passive or active. These earbuds site just outside your ear canal, thus leaving them completely unimpeded. These are a great pair of earbuds for situations where you need to be aware of your surroundings, for example if you're jogging on the streets, taking a fitness class that involves listening to a training instructor, or working at home whilst keeping an ear open for your kids. It's definitely a more niche type of earbuds, so make sure you know exactly what you want if you opt for this model.
Bose QuietComfort Headphones
The Bose QuietComfort is just a rename of the QuietComfort 45. Aside from the name and a few different color choices, they are the same headphone. The QuietComfort features excellent sound and noise cancelling performance for its price. They're close in quality to Bose's flagship headphone, which is nearly double the price. The QuietComfort is comfortable to wear and has been updated with faster USB Type-C charging, a longer 24-hour battery life on a single charge, and an "Aware" mode that lets you listen in on your surroundings.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar
This is Bose's highest end soundbar and normally retails for $1,000 brand new. The soundbar measures 41" long and contains a 5.1.2ch setup with Bose TrueSpace technology, including two upward firing dipole speakers for Dolby Atmos. Popular amongst soundbars nowaways, "A.I. Dialogue Mode" is a feature that automatically balances voice and surround sound so that you don't need to turn up the volume to deafening levels in order to hear what everyone is saying onscreen.
Which Bose headphones are best for you?
The best Bose headphones offer exceptional sound quality through a range of in-ear and over-ear headphones. To help you find the best Bose headphones for you, we’ve researched and compiled a list of our all-time favorites from the brand, ensuring you can find the right type of headphones for your needs.
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.
With so many great games coming down the pipeline, now's a great time to hop on the Xbox Game Pass bandwagon. If some titles joining the catalog this year have caught your eye and you're itching to join in on the fun, you can choose between one or three month Game Pass Ultimate membership options at Amazon. Unfortunately, there aren't any discount deals available at the moment, but we'll update this when a new one drops.
You can learn more about options for signing up, what's coming soon to Game Pass this month, and the big releases still to come below.
While there aren't any deals available at the moment, we've included where you can buy a one month Game Pass Ultimate membership above at Amazon. This will set you back $19.99. Amazon also has a three month Game Pass Ultimate membership option available for $59.99, if you want to stock up on a few months to get you started.
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 July and start of August, we've got you covered. The Xbox Game Pass July Wave 2 lineup is:
High On Life(Cloud, Console, and PC) - July 15 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
RoboCop: Rogue City(Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S) – July 17 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
Back to the Dawn(Cloud, Console, and PC) – July 18 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Abiotic Factor(Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S) – July 22 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Wheel World(Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S) – July 23 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers(Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S) – July 24 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Grounded 2 (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S) – July 29 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Farming Simulator 25(Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 1 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
It's important to note that the Game Pass Standard tier (available for $14.99/month) does not give users access to day one releases - that's exclusive to the Game Pass Ultimate tier. If you're looking to play big Xbox exclusives and other new games on the day they release, you'll need to be subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate.
What Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass?
Unfortunately with new games joining the catalog it means a few must take their leave. Below, we've listed the games that'll be leaving Xbox Game Pass on July 31.
Gigantic (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The latest big release on the platform is Doom: The Dark Ages. In our review, IGN's Mitchell Saltzman said, "Doom: The Dark Ages may strip away the mobility focus of Doom Eternal, but replaces it with a very weighty and powerful style of play that is different from anything the series has done before, and still immensely satisfying in its own way."
If you're looking for even more savings on all things Xbox, have a look at our roundup of the best Xbox deals. There, we've highlighted all of the latest and greatest discounts on the platform, from incredible game deals to fantastic offers on high-quality headphones. Or, if you'd rather see what's going on with other platforms, check out our roundups of the best PlayStation deals, the best Nintendo Switch deals, and our overall roundup of the best video game deals.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
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