Phasmophobia maker Kinetic Games has revealed it "wouldn't write off" a sequel to the viral hit ghost-hunting game, but is keen to keep working on the current version "until we're really happy with it."

In an interview with IGN to discuss today's launch of the Grafton Farmhouse map rework, art director Corey J. Dixon suggested the five-year-old game might finally exit early access next year alongside its well-publicized Horror 2.0 update, which is currently slated for 2026.

"We definitely have plans for 1.0, probably in line with our Horror 2.0 update, where we feel the game is feature-complete," Dixon said. "It doesn't mean we'll stop working on it — we still want map reworks and new maps and stuff in the future, so there'll be more stuff for the game. But I think once the Horror 2.0 has been redone, which is the next thing we work on after the [2025's] Player Update, the game will feel finished. Once that's in, I think it will be in a good spot."

"It's really difficult to know [when it may be finished]," he added. "Our community is constantly putting out, 'Oh, it should have this!' so we can look at that and just keep doing it! We'd love to work on it until we're really happy with it. We haven't set a date or an update that's like: we're done. I think we'll just know: there'll be that company-wide feeling that this project is done now, we've made it the best it can be, which is what [creator] Dan [Knight] wanted Day One. I think we'll know when we hit that milestone — I don't think we can plan for that."

As for Phasmophobia 2?

"I wouldn't write it off. It would be a fun challenge to see if we could do another one. There are a lot of things that I know we would change as a company if we went into Phas fresh. There's definitely things we would all probably say, 'Oh, let's not do that!' Or 'that would be awesome. We should do that instead.' So, yeah, you never know. It's definitely not off the cards."

Phasmophobia is a four-player online co-op psychological horror where you and your team of paranormal investigators enter haunted locations filled with spooky activity and gather as much evidence of the paranormal as you can. Since it launched in early access in 2020, spawning an entirely new genre of ghost hunting games in its wake, it's passed 23 million sales thanks to its blend of co-op horror and investigative gameplay. It also made IGN's 25 best horror games ever made list.

2025 has already been a productive year for Phasmophobia, not least because, though it's only August, we've already seen a major overhaul of the in-game journal, the release of the (terrifying) reworked Bleasedale Farmhouse, and now a revamp for the fan-favorite Grafton Farmhouse map has just gone live. There's also a new small map, Nell's Diner, on the way, too.

For more, check out IGN's interview with Phasmophobia art director Corey J. Dixon, where we talk about new maps, environmental storytelling, and what it's like working with Blumhouse Films on a movie adaptation.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

2025 has already been a productive year for Phasmophobia maker Kinetic Games, not least because though it's only August, we've already seen a major overhaul of the in-game journal, the release of the (terrifying) reworked Bleasedale Farmhouse, and now a revamp for the fan-favorite Grafton Farmhouse map has just gone live.

As we dive into the final half of the year — and get ever closer to spooky season — we sat down for a chat with art director Corey J. Dixon to talk about what's new, when Phasmophobia will finally feel finished, the possibility of Phasmophobia 2, and what it's like working with Blumhouse Films on a movie adaptation.

IGN: Tell us about the reworked maps. Why rework them at all?

Corey J. Dixon: [Creator] Dan [Knight] wanted Phas[mophobia] to be the best thing it could be. And with the amount of asset packs that he had to use to create the game, there was a feeling of it not being his own thing. The design and the game and everything else inside of it was his baby — and it was successful because of that — but anyone could recreate Tanglewood. They just needed to buy the asset. So Dan was like: 'I want to make this the best puzzle horror game I can. Let's rework the maps.'

I joined Kinetic Games about nine months after Phas came out, so it's just over four years now. Back then, there were only three of us. It was me, Dan, Ben [Lavender], and I was doing all the art myself. My first job was slowly replacing all the art assets, [and] we're still going four years later. But there's a lot more people now.

IGN: Why was Grafton next on the list to get a revamp?

Corey J. Dixon: We do what we feel is best for players. Asylum was the most repetitive map. It was absolutely huge before. I'd had chats with Dan where he's like, 'Oh yeah, it took me so long, like I was just copy-pasting rooms because I'd made it so big,' and it just wasn't that enjoyable to make. That was the first target — we felt that that was the most repetitive, and could have the biggest uplift.

So we did that one first, and then the farmhouses. There are two farmhouse maps, but they were almost identical. We had so many players who couldn't even tell the difference between Bleasdale and Grafton because they were the same asset pack. So we had the conversation, and I suggested that we should really spread them apart. Let's make one of them this kind of ornate, mansion-y, bigger map, and then take the other one in the opposite direction. Let's ruin it, destroy loads of it — give it that abandoned ghosthunting experience that a lot of people do in real life. I think it's worked — they feel completely different now.

IGN: Do you have plans to rework anything else?

Corey J. Dixon: Earlier this year, we announced we would be doing Tanglewood, and that's a fan-favorite map. Everyone absolutely loves Tanglewood. So we'll have to make sure we maintain a balance of, you know, giving it a fresh coat of paint, but not changing too much, because we know how much players absolutely adore it. But I'm pretty sure we'll find that balance.

IGN: How do you manage demand from players who want smaller maps with those who want much bigger ones?

Corey J. Dixon: It's a combination of things, the first mainly being the community. We've got statistics on what maps people play. We know that people play small maps, and we hear people talk about small maps all the time. That's a massive factor. We want to update and add things that players want to play. We understand there is a community of players that do like the larger maps, but the bigger the map, the longer it takes to make or redo. So, for us, if we're going to do, for example, three maps in a year, and if we [chose] a large map, that might mean we only get to do one or maybe two a year. So players are missing out because we're doing something that takes much longer.

It's kind of weighing up what the benefit is for the community versus how long it takes. We would like to rework all of the base game maps eventually — it's just how long that takes, and in what order.

IGN: Have you ever considered expanding beyond four-player co-op?

Corey J. Dixon: A lot of the community have asked for that, especially on the big maps! Yeah, more players means you'll find the ghost and identify it quicker. But it's not really something we're looking into. The whole game is locked in around four players. And it's a 10-year project. Now, for Dan, he's [already] worked on the game that long, and the code base is kind of locked in, there's a lot of linking, intertwining systems, and it all kind of works together. So even if we wanted to do that, it would be an absolutely huge project.

IGN: You've also recently revealed that the next new map coming to Phasmo is Nell's Diner. Tell us about it.

Corey J. Dixon: We planned for a new, small map this year and, again, looked at the community. People suggest things all the time. We have a massive list that has all of the things the community has suggested, so we reference that and see what we think, what we think would work or not.

We need to make sure that small maps make sense, because the way that the game plays, you're restricted in what kind of maps you can do. A lot of people have suggested a theater or an amusement park, and while those would be absolutely amazing art tasks — they'd be so fun to make, gameplay-wise — they'd be really difficult. Massive open spaces mean you don't have ghost rooms, and you need to have things on the floor or things for the ghost to interact with. So a diner just kind of made sense. You can split it up into these nice little chunks — you've got the dining area, the counter, the kitchen, the staff areas at the back, and then some toilets. It's a perfect little, small map.

It's also a familiar thing. People love the house maps because they play Phas in a familiar environment, which is just a house that doesn't look creepy or abandoned. They stop playing [for the night] and walk around their house at night and go, 'Oh my God. This is so similar. This is my house, and I'm scared of looking around at night.' And a diner is very familiar for a lot of people.

The theming is super unique. We've never done a retro American style or really embraced the culture of it all. Shout out to the art team!

IGN: Is that because you have a bigger team now? One of the criticisms we see is about the pace of development, which has felt sluggish at times.

Corey J. Dixon: Oh, yeah. Definitely. If you compare our updates this year to last year — I think last year was just the console update, and then we did [new map] Point Hope. This year, we've already done the Bleasdale update. Grafton. The Chronicle update — which was a huge shake-up of the gameplay — came out a couple of months ago, and we're still on track with our roadmap. We did Easter, we've got the Halloween holiday, and then Nell's Diner as well.

IGN: You recently said the diner was a chance to use a little environmental storytelling, too?

Corey J. Dixon: We're trying to push that as much as possible. Phas doesn't have a story, per se, but even back when I did the asylum map, I tried to add a bit of storytelling there about, like, maybe there's an origin story there for one of the ghosts, or maybe it's just a crazed lunatic.

We're trying to let players think about what happened here without being too hand-holding. We've dropped these little bits and pieces around, and people absolutely love it. We did some stuff in Bleasdale that even referenced Grafton. [Our community] absolutely loves it. So we're just trying to push that Phas is not just a ghost-hunting game with these environments that look pretty but don't mean anything. It's a living, breathing world. We've got a lore update coming at some point that's just going to push the storytelling in the game as far as we can.

IGN: Does this mean we're closer to a 1.0 release? Phasmophobia's been in early access since its 2020 debut.

Corey J. Dixon: We definitely have plans for 1.0, probably in line with our Horror 2.0 update [slated for 2026] is where we feel the game is feature-complete. It doesn't mean we'll stop working on it — we still want map reworks and new maps and stuff in the future, so there'll be more stuff for the game. But I think once the Horror 2.0 has been redone, which is the next thing we work on after the [2025's] Player Update, the game will feel finished. Once that's in, I think it will be in a good spot.

It's really difficult to know [when it may be finished]. Our community is constantly putting out, 'Oh, it should have this!' so we can look at that and just keep doing it! We'd love to work on it until we're really happy with it. We haven't set a date or an update that's like: we're done. I think we'll just know: there'll be that company-wide feeling that this project is done now, we've made it the best it can be, which is what Dan wanted Day One. I think we'll know when we hit that milestone — I don't think we can plan for that.

IGN: How do you keep the horror sequences fresh (and scary) for veteran players while keeping the gameplay loop simple enough for new ghosthunters?

Corey J. Dixon: We just try and maintain a balance. Like with the Chronicle update, we wanted to make it make sense. Before, something would be dropped on the floor, and you take a photo and go to the person you're selling them to, and say: 'I promised the ghost threw this! It wasn't me!' So that was the main goal of the update: let's make the evidence system make sense, right?

People come up with crazy ideas, and some of them are great. Going back to the first anniversary, and we did a mini update where we redid the journal, because that was a big pain point for players. And people were posting designs on Reddit. It meant that when we came to do it, we had tons of reference, and we knew what players wanted feature-wise, and we just had to make it kind of look pretty, and we haven't touched it since. The community's great, it's almost like you don't need anyone [on the development team] with a brain now. We could just be developers that don't have any thought, and we just follow the Reddit thread and just churn out stuff, because there's so many good ideas on there!

When we got to the gameplay design of the Chronicle Update, it was just about maintaining that interest for new players, but having it complicated enough so that experienced players would enjoy it as well. With the unique and duplicate system, you can go in and take whatever photos, videos, and sounds you want, and not worry about the unique and duplicates, and you'll still get a pretty good payout.

But veteran players with thousands of hours [in the game] — they know every nook and cranny. They can kind of curate their own really difficult game mode in custom difficulty, and they can go for a perfect investigation, and they can make each game the hardest they want it to be, and then end up with these huge payouts. The custom update is kind of 'play your way.' We noticed so many people were making their own little challenges, and we were like, let's just put it in the game. Let's just spend the time and put it in. We did a few updates to get the rewards right, but now it's super solid. It's rewarding when it needs to be, and it's less rewarding when it doesn't. I'm really happy with how that turned out.

IGN: Given how much Phasmophobia has changed since its launch half a decade ago, have you ever considered starting from scratch with a sequel?

Corey J. Dixon: I wouldn't write it off. It would be a fun challenge to see if we could do another one. There are a lot of things that I know we would change as a company if we went into Phas fresh. There's definitely things we would all probably say, 'Oh, let's not do that!' Or 'that would be awesome. We should do that instead.' So, yeah, you never know. It's definitely not off the cards.

IGN: What about a Nintendo Switch 2 version?

Corey J. Dixon: We want what's best for the game, and if the opportunity arises, we'd love to. But there's no news or anything I can share.

IGN: Before we go — the Blumhouse movie adaptation. How can Phasmophobia's genre-defining gameplay translate to a movie?

Corey J. Dixon: We've got a really good partnership with Blumhouse. It's brilliant. It will be a Phasmophobia film, it won't just be a ghost hunting film — we're going to make sure it's a film that fans want to watch, and we're going to work with them really closely. They're really willing to work with us, and, obviously, we want to work with them. So yeah, we've got a really good partnership, and I think fans are going to love it when it comes.

Phasmophobia's Grafton Farmhouse reworked map is now live across all platforms, including PC via Steam, PS5, PS VR2, and Xbox Series X and S.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Star Wars' John Boyega has said he expected a more dramatic relationship to develop between his character Finn and Daisy Ridley's Rey throughout the saga's sequel trilogy — rather than the simple friendship viewers got instead.

Speaking at Fan Expo Boston, Boyega said he had picked up on hints that his character was secretly Force-sensitive from the script of his first movie in the series, The Force Awakens, and believed that this plotline would be developed further in subsequent films — before taking more of a tragic turn.

Comparing his idea for Finn and Rey's relationship to Star Wars' classic Obi-Wan and Darth Vader showdown, Boyega said he thought the pair were due to become antagonists — which would certainly have provided Finn with more of a story arc.

"I think I assumed he was Force-sensitive from The Force Awakens script, or at least by the time I got to the end of The Force Awakens script. I thought they were planning dual Jedis," Boyega said (thanks, ScreenRant).

"I actually thought that they would Obi-Wan and Darth Vader us a bit," he continued. "That we would turn against each other or something along those lines."

Alas, this plot thread was not to be, and Finn's nascent Jedi abilities — well, he does at least wield a lightsaber at one point — are then largely ignored. Two films later, viewers get a couple of vague hints in The Rise of Skywalker, but these also ultimately go nowhere. (Remember those bits where Finn tells Rey he has a secret, without ever actually revealing it? Yep, that's about all we got.)

Finn is introduced as a character with a fresh perspective on the usual good-versus-evil events of the Star Wars films, being a former Imperial Stormtrooper. But beyond a rivalry with his former commander Captain Phasma (a plot thread that is swiftly wrapped up in The Last Jedi), this is largely left unexplored.

The Force Awakens sees Finn form his strongest bond with Rey, something else that gets short thrift in later movies. The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker focus Rey's storyline squarely on her relationship to past Jedi, such as Luke, and her pairing with Kylo Ren — with whom she forms a deeper bond as their relationship to each other and both sides of the Force grows.

Boyega's character meanwhile spends much of The Last Jedi on a side-quest to the casino city of Canto Blight alongside fellow rebel Rose — who later stops him from sacrificing himself during that film's climactic battle.

Finn is then given even less to do in The Rise of Skywalker, which awkwardly sidelines Rose and leaves the former Stormtrooper as something of a sidekick to pilot hero Poe. Quite why Finn's Force sensitivity is hinted at but never confirmed on-screen remains something of a mystery — with director J.J. Abrams only confirming this had indeed been the character's secret in a subsequent interview.

Certainly, Finn never gets anything quite as dramatic to do as a showdown on a lava planet with a former friend and mentor. And while Rey is set to return in at least one future Star Wars film, it's less clear what the future might hold for Boyega's character, and his hopes of wielding a lightsaber once more.

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

Monster Hunter Wilds’ crucial update 1.021 goes live tomorrow, August 13 (Tuesday August 12, 2025 7.30pm PT), and ahead of that Capcom has released early patch notes alongside a message to the community apologizing for the state of the game.

Director Yuya Tokuda confirmed update 1.021 expands the endgame, adds 9★ Monsters and Talismans, and makes improvements to weapon balance, quality of life changes, and optimizations.

Monster Hunter Wilds update 1.021 Required Space (Current Update Only)

• PlayStation 5: Approx. 3 GB
• Xbox Series X|S: Approx. 2 GB
• Steam: Approx. 2 GB (With High Resolution Texture Pack: Approx. 6 GB total)

Of particular interest to PC players will be Capcom’s effort to improve “stability.” Monster Hunter Wilds has a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam for all reviews, but recent reviews are ‘mostly negative.’ In his letter to the community, Tokuda apologized for the delay for these fixes.

Despite reviewing well initially, Monster Hunter Wilds’ endgame content is sorely lacking compared to past games, so the many fans who play Monster Hunter over time, with friends, are struggling. It's also suffering from severe performance issues on PC that have yet to be fully resolved. Despite new content and seasons, fans remain unsatisfied with the state of the game, to the point where some are taking things too far and apparently harassing and threatening individual Capcom team members over it.

Last month, Capcom said it would release the endgame content expansion much sooner than expected after Monster Hunter Wilds experienced “soft sales.”

Tokuda began his message to the community by apologizing for the time it’s taking to make improvements to the game, but insisted Capcom is committed to the cause. To that end, Title Update 3 is scheduled for release at the end of September, and Title Update 4 is due out this winter. “For our fourth title update this winter, on top of new monsters, we are also considering additional weapon-related end-game features,” Capcom said.

The release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps has brought Marvel’s first family into the MCU, but it has also sparked a reappraisal of 2005’s Fantastic Four movie and its sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer.

That’s according to Michael Chiklis, who played The Thing 20 years ago in both movies. Speaking to Collider, Chiklis said critics got both movies wrong, and pointed to the audience reception and the money the movies made collectively at the box office as evidence that they “got a lot right.”

“There were a lot of people, I think, critically who got it wrong,” he said. “They really maligned our films, and they were very underrated considering… they were very loved by the audience. It was one of those cases where critics weren’t great to those films, but the audience was, and that still remains.”

2005’s Fantastic Four (which stars a young Chris Evans as the Human Torch before he would go on to play Captain America in the MCU), has a 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ ‘Tomatometer,’ which means 28% of critics gave Fantastic Four a positive review.

That’s the collective reception from critics, but what about the audience score? That’s 45%, according to Rotten Tomatoes’ ‘Popcornmeter.’ What does that mean, exactly? 45% of users rated Fantastic Four 3.5 stars or higher. Rise of the Silver Surfer fared better, with a 37% Tomatometer rating, and a 51% Popcornmeter.

According to Chiklis, the recent release of the MCU Phase Six kickstarter The Fantastic Four: First Steps has finally caused people to acknowledge both movies were “really good.”

“I’ve always sort of quietly gone like, okay, say what you want to say, but the people see it,” he said. “And now all these years later, people are sort of acknowledging like, hey, these films are family-friendly, fun movies… they got a lot right. They may be imperfect, but they’re really good movies.”

And then there’s the box office for the movies. “We made three quarters of $1 billion, those two movies,” Chiklis said. “So, you know, all those people can’t be completely out of their minds, you know what I mean?”

According to Box Office Mojo, Fantastic Four grossed $333,535,934 at the global box office during its theatrical run, whereas Rise of the Silver Surfer made $301,913,131.

Ioan Gruffudd, who starred alongside Chiklis as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, recently told Vulture they originally planned to make three Fantastic Four films, but the trilogy plan was ditched.

“The mindset was that we were going to do three, and I think the second movie was equally successful as the first and equally enjoyable for the fans," Gruffudd said.

“I particularly loved working with Doug Jones [as the Silver Surfer] on that movie, who’s just a terrific artist and an expert in the field of movement. If you want to witness somebody bringing a character to life physically, he’s just untouchable. So there was definitely that sort of momentum, and the plan was to do three movies, but these decisions are beyond my control.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is under a box office scrutiny of its own, despite already outperforming every other Fantastic Four movie with $434.2 million globally. After starting strong, weekend two and three have seen sharp declines, to the point now where First Steps is unlikely to beat DCU kickstarter Superman. The question is, will Marvel Studios see it as a box office disappointment ahead of next year’s Avengers: Doomsday?

Photo by Chris Polk/FilmMagic.

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.

Simon Pegg has described Quentin Tarantino's plans for an R-Rated Star Trek movie as "bats*** crazy," and offered a hint of how he thought the project might have been received by fans — had it ever come to be.

As unbelievable as it might sound, Tarantino was attached to direct a big screen Star Trek project for several years, after the Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction director personally approached Paramount with an idea for a Captain Kirk spin-off.

But despite years of work and a team of writers working on the idea (including Twisters scribe Mark L. Smith and Iron Man 3 co-writer Drew Pearce), the project ultimately never came to fruition — and Tarantino confirmed in 2020 he was no longer on board.

Now, speaking with Collider, Star Trek and Mission Impossible star Simon Pegg has described the idea as "everything you would expect a Quentin Tarantino Star Trek script to be."

"That was what we call in the business bats*** crazy," he continued, without divulging quite what the story of the movie would have entailed. "I think it would have been such an incredible sort of curio to see Star Trek through his lens. I don't know how it would have gone over with the fans, but it certainly would have been an interesting thing."

Details on the project have always remained hazy, though Mark L. Smith has previously hinted that the plot would have involved Captain Kirk and time travel, with elements drawn from classic gangster movies. Meanwhile, Tarantino himself previously described it as "Pulp Fiction in space."

Despite numerous Star Trek TV shows launching over the past decade, the franchise's future on the big screen has remained far more nebulous. The last proper Star Trek film to release in theaters was 2016's Star Trek Beyond, the third and (currently) final in the series' Kelvin reboot timeline, in which Pegg starred as Scotty.

Since then, numerous ideas for further Star Trek films have been floated — including a string of attempts at getting a fourth movie in the reboot series made, but to no avail.

Earlier this year then saw the launch of Star Trek: Section 31, a television movie starring Michelle Yeoh's character Philippa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery, albeit to strongly negative reviews. IGN's Section 31 review returned a 2/10 score, and described the project as something that would "infuriate Star Trek fans and bore everyone else."

Image credit: Kristy Sparow/Getty Images.

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

Developer Remedy believes the release of its first self-published game and Control spin-off, FBC: Firebreak, "succeeded technically," but acknowledged it "underperformed" on Steam, admitting that "commercially, we were unsatisfied."

In a statement to investors, the studio reiterated Firebreak topped 1 million players. However, the majority of those players were on console — via PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass subscription — even though PC was "planned as the primary consumer sales channel."

"The game’s initial onboarding experience and mission structure resulted in high early player drop-offs and an influx of negative reviews," the financial statement said. "As players spent more time in the game and we released updates improving the game, sentiment in reviews turned more positive.

"Commercially, we were unsatisfied with the launch-phase consumer sales of FBC: Firebreak. Thus far, FBC: Firebreak’s commercial performance has largely been driven by the Xbox and PlayStation subscription service agreements. A considerable portion of the revenues from these agreements will still be recognized throughout the contract period."

Remedy promised big changes last month. The pledge came after Remedy posted a candid statement shortly after Firebreak's launch, acknowledging "not everything had gone well."

The studio did, however, note that FBC: Firebreak was designed to evolves over time, and believes it's a solid game "despite the rocky launch." A larger "Major Update" scheduled for late September will be the next key step for FBC: Firebreak, which Remedy "expects to drive interest in the title." It said it remains "committed to continuing to work on FBC: Firebreak, engaging with the community, and expanding the game."

In its financial results for the first half of 2025 and the second quarter, Remedy reported a revenue boost during both periods, following increases in game sales and royalties. The quarter once again operated at a loss — although at $580,000, this was not as sharp as last year's $3.7 million loss — and across the first six months of the year, revenue was up 43.4% to $35.1 million.

As for other games? The studio confirmed Control 2's development is "on track" and meeting milestones as the focus is now on "gameplay, environments, and missions." The Max Payne 1 & 2 remake project remains in full production as "collaboration with Rockstar Games remains close and productive."

"FBC: Firebreak is a compelling co-op shooter that, despite its good looks, doesn’t have the depth to keep things interesting long-term," we wrote in IGN's FBC: Firebreak review, awarding it 6/10.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Alan Tudyk has made an explosive allegation surrounding his involvement with I, Robot, claiming his name was pulled from the film’s publicity because his performance as Sonny the Robot scored higher with test audiences than Will Smith.

Alex Proyas’ 2004 sci-fi film I, Robot sees Smith’s Detective Del Spooner investigate the alleged suicide of U.S. Robotics founder Alfred Lanning, believing a human-like robot called Sonny (Tudyk) murdered him. Tudyk voiced Sonny and provided the motion capture for the CGI character.

Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds has dropped a huge tease that fans are taking as a signal he will appear in next year's Avengers: Doomsday.

This morning, on Instagram, Reynolds posted an image of the Avengers logo with Deadpool-style graffiti spray painted over the top. The paint is Deadpool-color red, and could be seen as both copying the "A" for Avengers, as well as the traditional "A" anarchy logo.

Reynolds' foul-mouthed mercenary was last seen in 2024's $1.3 billion grossing Deadpool & Wolverine, though was not among the many stars confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday during Marvel's big chair reveal.

Still, the success of last year's Deadpool & Wolverine — as well as the character's penchant for multiverse shenanigans — has prompted fans to speculate that he would pop up again soon somewhere, either in Avengers: Doomsday or the subsequent Avengers: Secret Wars.

For now, Marvel is believed to only be shooting scenes for Doomsday, with the timing of Reynolds' post strongly suggesting he's set to return for that, rather than later down the line. Indeed, some fans are eagerly anticipating a second big reveal of Avengers: Doomsday cast members, perhaps via a second set of chairs, as production continues.

Avengers: Doomsday filming has now been underway for several months, with members of Sam Wilson's Avengers, The Thunderbolts/New Avengers and The Fantastic Four spotted on set together in previously-leaked pictures. We also know that numerous members of the legacy X-Men team have also been filming — though that still leaves plenty of MCU characters yet to be confirmed.

Could there possibly be room for more Marvel characters? Fans certainly hope so, and both Reynolds' Deadpool and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine sit atop many lists. After all, with Doomsday featuring a trip back to the old Fox universe and its original team of X-Men featuring Patrick Stewart's Professor X, James Marsden's Cyclops and Ian McKellen's Magneto, surely a reunion should be on the cards?

Image credit: vancityreynolds.

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

Sometimes a bargains haul comes along that perfectly aligns with my bad habit of adding more to my backlog than I clear. This idle Tuesday's mix is an irresistible blend of heavy hitters and cult curios that deserve a spot in anyone’s library. As per always, I’ve found myself revisiting old favourites and even picking up a few oddities I’d somehow missed.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm celebrating the 42nd birthday of Mario Bros., the arcade cabinet that launched a plumbing empire. Partially inspired by some of Joust's mechanics (and an Italian-American landlord hounding Nintendo for rent), Mario Bros. was a non-scrolling arena affair that was quite addictive, especially in simultaneous two-player. Interestingly, it was made by a tiny team of just five people, all of whom were credited in its great, great, great, (great) grandchild, Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Sadly, we rarely see such a lineage occur in modern game development, given how lay off happy this bloody industry has become.

Aussie birthdays for notable games.

This Day in Gaming

Aussie birthdays for notable games.

- Mario Bros. (ARC) 1983. Get

- Warlords III (PC) 1997. Get

- Trials HD (X360) 2009. Sequel

- Hacknet (PC) 2015. Get

Beats' flagship headphone is on sale at a steep discount today. Amazon is offering the Beats Studio Pro wireless noise canceling headphones for just $179.95, nearly 50% off the $350 list price. Six color options are available at this price. The Studio Pro is the highest end Beats headphone currently available. We deemed it one of the best over-ear headphones and a more affordable, more stylish alternative to the popular Sony and Bose models.

Beats Studio Pro Headphones for $179.95

Lenovo is offering up one of its new 2025 gaming PCs equipped with an Nvidia Blackwell GPU for under $1,000. As part of the Lenovo Back to School Sale, you can pick up the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 RTX 5060 gaming PC for just $985.99 after you apply two stackable coupon codes "BUYMORELENOVO" and "EXTRAFIVE". Total savings including the instant discount is $385. Free delivery is included. This is the newest 2025 Lenovo Legion desktop model, which has undergone a radical facelift and, more importantly, updated with the latest and greatest components like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5000 series Blackwell graphics cards. The RTX 5060 graphics card is a solid option for 1080p gaming.

Lenovo Legion RTX 5060 Gaming PC for $986

Apply both codes: "BUYMORELENOVO" and "EXTRAFIVE"

Walmart is offering the best price I've seen on a new MacBook laptop. Right now you can pick up an Apple MacBook Air 13" with M1 Chip for just $599 with free delivery. This is a brand new, retail packaged laptop that is sold by Walmart directly, not by a marketplace vendor, and comes with a 1 year Apple warranty. This older generation MacBook is still a very capable laptop for general productivity use and an affordable option for anyone heading back to school.

Macbook Air 13" M1 (8GB/256GB) for $599

Available in Gold and Silver

The Magic Puzzle Company is one of our favorite jigsaw puzzle brands on the market. Each puzzle features beautiful original artwork from independent artists and a delightful surprise ending. At 1,000 pieces each, every Magic Puzzle Company puzzle is as fun to put together as it is to complete.

These puzzles got their start on Kickstarter, garnering an astonishing amount of support to produce the first series of puzzles. Since then, there have been a total of twelve Magic Company puzzles across four series releases. The most recent Series Four puzzles were released on Amazon last year after a two-year hiatus, and I hadn't been able to find any mention of a Series Five since then.

And yet seemingly out of nowhere, a listing for the first Series Five Magic Puzzle Company Puzzle appeared at Amazon and you can already buy it.

The Magic Puzzle Company - Series Five - The Drippy Trip Is Now Available

These little details are really what makes The Magic Puzzle Company puzzles worth getting. As an avid Adventure Time fan, that connection alone is almost enough to get me to purchase this one on the spot.

More Magic Puzzle Company puzzles

For a full list of what other puzzles are available from this brand, you'll need to check out their Amazon store page. The Magic Puzzle Company website only features Series one through Three, but Amazon has all four there. I've gathered some of the more popular options below:

Channing Tatum and Rebecca Wang have joined the English dub cast for the upcoming Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle arc.

Crunchyroll and Aniplex announced the news today, confirming the two stars will lend their voice talents to the upcoming movie continuation alongside returning cast members, including Zach Aguilar as Tanjiro Kamado, Abby Trott as Nezuko Kamado, Aleks Le as Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Bryce Papenbrook as Inosuke Hashibira.

Tatum (Deadpool and Wolverine) will provide English voice work for Keizo, with Wang (Blue Eye Samurai, Solo Leveling) tapped to play Koyuki.

Ravensburger is one of the best puzzle brands out there in terms of quality, price, and overall selection. I own quite a few Ravensburger puzzles and can absolutely attest to that. The pieces are always nice and sturdy and there's never any weird dust in the box. Unfortunately, that level of quality comes at a higher price than a lot of other brands out there.

Thankfully, Amazon is having a pretty good sale on these puzzles this week. The last time we saw discounts like this was back in May of this year, but that was for 1,000-piece puzzles only. This time around there's a nice mix of jigsaw options for both adults and kids. If you're a chronic puzzler like me, I definitely recommend you check out these deals while they're available.

Ravensburger Puzzle Sale at Amazon Today

Almost all of the puzzles in this sale are considered Amazon lightning deals. That means there is a limit to how much stock each one of these has available at the discount listed. So the more popular a puzzle is, the more likely it is to have the discount fully claimed before time runs out on the sale. After covering these sales a few times, however, I've found that the "limit" on the discount is almost never reached.

As for what's worth checking out in this sale, I've gathered all of the best options available above. There's a nice mix of puzzles for kids here mixed in with some more adult-oriented options. The very popular Disney Toy Store 1000-piece puzzle, while not directly included in the sale, has also reached its lowest price in months. It's filled with all kinds of details from the Pixar movies while offering a similar vibe to The Craft Cupboard puzzle Ravensburger is discounting right now too.

If you're looking for some new puzzles to do with your kids or grandkids, there are also a few good options in this sale. For really little kids, The Animals of the World Puzzle pack is bright, fun, and comes with two 12-piece puzzles designed for three-year olds. For older kids I'd also recommend checking out the Horse Dreams 100-piece puzzle or the 150-piece Cosmic Connection.

What's the best piece count for kids?

There is no direct line between what piece count is good for kids vs. adults, so it really depends on the kid. The earliest age you'll likely see on the puzzle packaging is 3+, but some kids will be ready before that. I bought a four-pack of 12-piece Spider-Man puzzles for my two-year-old nephew this year and he had no problem figuring it out on his own. So if you're buying for a toddler that has already shown an interest, that 3+ age rating is worth looking out for. This will usually include 12- or 24-piece puzzles.

For older kids who have shown a more of an interest in puzzling already, you'll probably want to keep the piece count at 300 or lower. If you plan on working on the puzzle with them, a higher piece count is doable, but 500 and 1,000+ puzzles are usually reserved for adults and teens.

A puzzle storage is a great gift for adults

If you're looking for a good puzzle gift to give yourself or someone else, I would definitely recommend a dedicated table or puzzle board. Larger puzzles just flat out take longer to put together, and if you don't have a place to leave it or the option to put it away, it can be hard to ever actually finish a puzzle. Thankfully, there are plenty of products that solve these specific problems.

I'm looking at a map of my city, Kansas City, right now, and wondering what I should do for fun this coming weekend. Should I visit the giant purple Zoroark stomping over downtown? If I want to see the Superman with the glowing red eyes in the suburbs to the south, I first have to pass Ralsei Deltarune sitting atop the highway, smoking an enormous blunt. I could go visit the Northland, but there is an enormous United Airlines plane straddling the Missouri River, which might make transit a bit confusing. Hmm. Options, options.

That probably sounded like nonsense if you're not aware of wplace, a delightful new time waster in the form of a world map where users can draw a single pixel in a color of their choice, wherever they like, once every 30 seconds. If that sounds familiar, you're probably thinking of one of its main inspirations: /r/place, the Reddit game with a blank canvas that let users similarly place one pixel at a time. Though /r/place closed a few years ago, wplace has rapidly gained popularly in the last few days, to the point where just about wherever you live or wherever you look, you can find detailed collaborative drawings, silly graffiti, inside jokes, and more doodled all over the map. And unshockingly, a lot of those doodles are gaming references.

Like most people, I checked out my own city first before exploring wplace more widely. Kansas City is indeed covered with gaming characters. At a glance, I can see several Pokemon, characters from Rain World, Deltarune, OneShot, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Mario, Earthbound, Among Us, Angry Birds, and plenty more can be spotted amid the city's roadways and rivers. There are also lots of other pop culture icons, like SpongeBob and various Transformers, sprinkled in with political messages, sports team logos, various flags, location-specific graffiti, and other random doodles. Some people just wrote their names.

The city of Waterdeep just can’t catch a break. Despite the various adventurers that call it home and stop to rest at the Yawning Portal Inn, the city and its citizenry find themselves under assault by dangerous and powerful monsters, leaving everyone Horrified.

The latest rendition of Ravensburger's popular cooperative series, Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons, crosses over with Wizards of the Coast's legendary tabletop RPG. The result is a game that my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed and were eager to play again, despite a few stumbling blocks.

The original Horrified was released back in 2019, and this new Dungeons & Dragons edition is the series’ sixth iteration. The basic premise each game shares is that up to five players work together to vanquish a selection of monsters by racing around the map, collecting resources, escorting civilians to safety, and beating back the monsters.

To win, each monster has to be dealt with. But players will lose if the monster deck is depleted or if the terror track ever hits seven (it's raised whenever a citizen is killed, hero is knocked out, or an effect triggers it). The extra fun part is taking out the monsters. How you deal with each monster is unique, with each one having its own sort of mini-game associated with it that players have to work through before they are gone for good.

Being Dungeons & Dragons themed, this version of Horrified features some of the most recognizable creatures from its pantheon, including the Displacer Beast, a Mimic, the Beholder, and of course, a big red dragon. As a longtime fan and player of D&D, I was instantly intrigued by the box art and the board – but it was the monsters and how they operate that really drew my friends and me in. The developers really managed to work in how these creatures behave according to D&D lore when designing their challenges.

The Red Dragon, for instance, has a treasure you have to claim before you can vanquish it upon its treasure horde. The Mimic, for its part, is hidden and off the board until the party manages to finally reveal it. My favorite, by far, was the Beholder, which requires you to take out its 10 eye tendrils first, before going after its large central eye, each with a unique and powerful effect they could hit you with, dictated by a die roll. And yes, of course, there are dice rolls here; you can’t have Dungeons & Dragons without some sort of dice-rolling goodness involved, and it doesn’t stop with just eye lasers either.

Players assume the roles of staple D&D classes, including the Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Bard, or Wizard. For the most part, each character plays identically, with the exception of their special actions, which require you to roll a 20-sided die (one is included with the game in case you don’t have a small dice horde like yours truly).

That’s just how it goes when you’re rolling d20s.

Taking your special action can result in one of five possible outcomes, with the various classes behaving differently. For instance, bards can allure other players and citizens towards themselves. The fighter can rush to the nearest monster to do battle, and the cleric helps during monster attacks by letting you re-roll dice. We had some especially funny moments where our resident Wizard teleported the Beholder monster straight to the spot where our cleric just so happened to be – twice in a row. We had a good laugh about that (at least most of us), but that’s just how it goes when you’re rolling d20s.

Admittedly, we did homebrew and tweak the cleric a bit, however, allowing her to “stock” her special actions (basically using actions on her turn to hold rolls for actions), allowing her to use her beneficial skills during any monster phase up until her next turn. This lets the character feel more cleric-y, helping her teammates, as opposed to the as-written rules, which only let her use those skills on her turn’s monster phase.

Horrified, in general, isn’t an overly complex board game. In my testing, first-time players were usually able to grasp the flow of the game within a turn or two. Taking actions is straightforward, and the monster cards that dictate how many new items are spawned, any events that take place, citizens that appear, and what monsters activate, are equally so.

Some of the wording on how monsters behave caused some confusion and debate, such as whether the mimic monster moved the number of spaces indicacted on the monster card’s movement space, or just a single space when it is activated. But overall, we figured it out (whether our decision was correct or not) and it worked out for us.

Unique to this version of Horrified is the ability to reduce the terror track, which gives players a hand, pushing them further back from defeat. This is done whenever a monster is defeated, and I found it to be a great addition to use – especially when first introducing new players to the game, as Horrified games can be a bit challenging and require strategy to win. I also appreciate that it is easy enough not to use, so Horrified veterans can simply ignore this feature if they find it lessens the challenge too much.

One aspect that I am a bit disappointed by with Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons is its small pool of monsters you can pick from. With “easy” games asking players to pick from two monsters and the standard challenge requiring three, it means you'll be replaying these monsters frequently.

Other versions featured six or seven monsters, with only the Cthulu-themed Horrified offering just four monsters. And with so many other classic D&D monsters left on the table, it’s a shame we couldn’t have gotten a couple more in the box. Where are my Gelatinous Cubes and Owlbears, or heck, throw something wild like Vecna, the terrifying Lich, into the mix. I can only hope that Ravensburger adds more monsters or classes with future expansions.

Where to Buy

• Get it at Target

Universal and DreamWorks Animation have announced a delay for Shrek 5, pushing its release date to June 30, 2027.

The companies announced the schedule shift today, confirming the long-awaited fantasy follow-up will finally step out of the swamp in about two more years (via Variety). It’s a six-month delay from the previously announced December 23, 2026, release date and about one year removed from the original July 1, 2026, premiere plan.

DreamWorks and Universal refrained from sharing the reason behind their decision to push Shrek 5 to its new June 2027 release date. The change also comes with a new date for an Untitled Illumination Event Film, which is moving up from Shrek 5’s late June spot to April 16, 2027.

Shrek 5 was formally announced with a summer 2026 release date last year. Its reveal promised the first mainline Shrek entry since 2010’s Shrek Forever After but kept story details under wraps as DreamWorks and Universal plotted how to bring Mike Myers’ iconic green ogre back to the big screen. Outside of the occasional Puss in Boots spinoff, it’s been 15 years since audiences last saw Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona in their own movie.

We’ve since learned a few details about how Shrek 5 will shake up the tongue-in-cheek fairy tale universe it originally introduced in 2001. Earlier this year, DreamWorks and Universal announced that Spider-Man and Dune veteran Zendaya had joined the film’s cast as Shrek and Fiona’s daughter, with Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz all back, too. A 30-second Shrek 5 trailer released in March revealed its fresh new art style, as well as a sneak peek at Zendaya’s character.

The long wait for Shrek 5 will continue for a few more years before it finally stomps its way into theaters June 30, 2027. While we wait, be sure to read up on how the internet – and Sonic the Hedgehog – reacted to Shrek’s updated animation style.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer 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).

NVIDIA RTX Remix is a modding platform for RTX AI PCs that allows modders to remaster classic games by adding full raytracing, enhancing textures, adjusting lighting, moving environmental objects, and adding DLSS 4 to improve image quality and performance. RTX Remix released in March this year, and there are already more than 350 active projects using it and more than 100 released mods.

To showcase the improvements this technology makes possible, NVIDIA is hosting a competition featuring 23 user-created mods for a wide range of classic titles, including BioShock, Portal 2, and multiple Need for Speed, Star Wars, and Call of Duty games. These mods will face off in four categories with a grand total of $50,000 up for grabs, with winners announced at gamescom on August 18. The categories are: Community Choice RTX Mod, Most Complete RTX Mod, Best Use of RTX in a Mod, and Best Overall RTX Mod.

• Community Choice will be determined by fan vote, and the winner will get $10,000. Fan voting has concluded, but the winner will be announced on August 18.
• Most Complete is for the most fully playable remaster with high quality throughout. The winner will get $10,000.
• Best Use of RTX is for the most impressive visual improvement, using effects like atmospheric fog, smoke, shadows, and dynamic lighting. The winner will get $10,000.
• Best Overall is what it sounds like, the mod that combines everything — impressive visuals while also being an excellent playable experience — into the best package. The winner of this category will get $20,000.

The categories are not mutually exclusive, so one mod can take home multiple wins. You can see the competition listings for all 23 entries here, and we’ll include a brief description for each below. Each entry will be linked to its individual page, where you can find detailed information, images, videos, and reviews:

Call of Duty 2 RTX Remix of Carenten by tadpole3159

This is a complete remake of the Carenten map from Call of Duty 2, with basically every asset and surface redone. And creator tadpole3159 went above and beyond to do it, photo scanning real World War 2 combat clothing and kits and putting them in the game via a process called photogrammetry. You can hear him discuss the improvements he made and the process he used to accomplish them in this video. The mod also adds dynamic lighting changes as the sun moves across the sky, as well as six player-controlled weather conditions that you can change with the press of a button in the middle of a match.

Star Wars Republic Commando RTX by automata.

This is a hybrid Star Wars: Republic Commando mod that uses RTX Remix for its path-traced renderer while also modding the underlying game to expand the use of RTX Remix. Blaster bolts have become shadow-casting lights, the commandos and their arsenal have been rebuilt with 4K physical-based rendering (PBR) textures, and lighting has been redone to bring the game more in line with the look of the rest of the Star Wars universe. You can see the result of the mod team's work in this comparison video.

Skurtyy’s Portal 2 RTX PBR Pack by skurtyyskirts

Dramatic lighting improvements are the name of the game for this mod, which updates 2011’s Portal 2 using RTX Remix’s volumetric system. The dilapidated test chambers have been enhanced with customizable fog effects, floating dust bunnies, and precisely controlled lighting. Sunbeams now shine through broken ceilings without dampening other light sources.

Fallout: New Vegas RTX by skurtyyskirts

This is a full graphical overhaul of 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas with full raytracing, PBR materials, and enhanced assets without sacrificing the game’s original aesthetic. Everything from the desert sun to the neon-soaked New Vegas Strip to interiors of abandoned Vaults have been redone to provide accurate shadows, reflections, and global illumination. Weapons, armor, and terminals have been remastered, and there are new high-fidelity details like irradiated water puddles.

Need for Speed: Underground RTX by alessandro893

One of two mods on this list for the Need for Speed: Underground series, this one is a transformative reimagining of the original. A lot went into this one, including a full rework of China Town and the Lock Up sprint race track. There are 500 new textures, 30 new high-poly 3D models, 26 original meshes, new vegetation, and terrain smoothing. You can see the improvements in action in this video.

Manhunt Remixed by gabdeg

This mod remasters all 20 levels of 2003’s Manhunt, adding fully path-traced lighting and high-resolution environmental and character textures. Since the original game’s lights weren’t compatible with path-tracing, they were all removed and manually replaced. Emissive graphic effects and reflections have also been added on things like windows, monitors, and signs. You can see what a difference these made in the mod's release trailer.

Need for Speed: Underground 2 Remix by UncleBurrito and team

This is a massive overhaul of 2004’s Need for Speed: Underground 2, with everything handmade by the mod’s creator. That includes new models for vehicles, extensive texture replacements, remade traffic signals and street signs, tons of lighting changes, and a completely remade skybox. The most recent video details the latest updates and shows the progress mod creator UncleBurrito and their team have made.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines - RTX Remaster by Safemilk

This is Part 1 of what will be a full, asset-by-asset remodel of 2004’s Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. That means everything is being re-created, all the way down to carpets and the labels of snacks on store shelves. And that’s in addition to sweeping changes to the lighting and reflective surfaces. It’s a huge undertaking.

Painkiller RTX Remix by Binq_Adams and team

This mod retextures, relights, and rebuilds large portions of 2004’s Painkiller from the ground up while keeping its original gothic horror aesthetic. Lighting effects have been dramatically improved, textures of surfaces look much more detailed, and 2D environmental objects have been replaced with detailed 3D models. The latest trailer shows off how much improvement has been made in the mod's most recent update.

Black Mesa Remixed - POC - Inbound by xoxor4d and team

2020’s Black Mesa originally started as a fan-made remake of Half Life, so what better way to update it than with a fan-made mod? This features dramatic improvements to lighting and textures, particularly on the inbound tram ride. There are also more than 40 materials built from the ground up and 100 materials created from the original colormap. The trailer shows off these improvements, and the level of detail is impressive.

Codename Atlantis RTX by xoxor4d

This mod shakes things up a bit by essentially adding a new minigame to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in addition to custom-made weapons and interactable objects. The standout new custom weapon has a built-in eye that looks around realistically, and the new minigame tasks you with finding 20 Suzannes (named for the Blender “mascot”) before time runs out while water slowly rises. The water effects are new additions and can slow you down and decrease gravity depending on how high the water has risen. You can see the new weapon and gameplay from the minigame in this video.

Max Payne: Remix by Noodle

The current version of this mod is the first step in a larger plan to fully modernize 2001’s Max Payne. As of now, Roscoe Street Station has been remodeled with hand-crafted PBR materials, and hand-placed RTX lighting has been added to most of the game. In the future, it is expected to expand the PBR materials to the rest of the game, improve models and assets, and fix bugs.

SCP Containment Breach RTX Remaster by Inward 3D and team

A visual remaster of 2012 indie horror game SCP – Containment Breach, this mod adds raytraced lighting, shadows, and PBR materials. Rooms have been relit, there are AI upscaled and remastered textures, and character models have been improved. You can see the improved look and updated character models in this video, which features more than 8 minutes of gameplay.

BioShock RTX by skurtyyskirts and team

A ground-up restoration of the 2007 classic BioShock made by two people, this mod adds full real-time path tracing and a total PBR asset revamp. More impressively, it also solves engine issues that plagued the original game, making everything run more smoothly while also looking prettier.

Morro RTX by 3DNomad

This mod updates 2002’s Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, improving light sources in the Imperial prison ship, Seyda Neen, and Balmora. It also adds PBR materials based on the original textures and updates the geometry of more than 300 models. You can get details on these improvements from the mod's creator, 3DNomad, in this summary video.

DuoPrincess Remixed by Etokapa and team

Perhaps the most niche title on the list, this mod remixes the textures, lighting, and meshes of every level in 2003’s Duo Princess. Every 3D texture has been upscaled and retouched, and the lighting has been completely redone. The original lights have been replaced, new lights have been added, and there are new emission maps and dust particles. This video summarizes the improvements and shows some side-by-side gameplay with RTX on and off so you can see the difference.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein QHD by LuciansDiner

This mod shows some love to 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein, improving weapon models, lighting, and textures. High-res texture replacements take advantage of the displacement provided by parallax occlusion mapping, while emissive lighting has been added to torches, light bulbs, and stage lights. You can see those enhancements in this video.

UnrealRTX by mstewart401

This mod modernizes the 1998 classic Unreal with improved lighting, PBR materials, and environmental models. It adds full raytraced global illumination, dynamic shadows, volumetric lighting, and emissive effects. Vegetation has been replaced and grass added to outdoor areas to enhance fidelity, and surfaces now respond to light. This video gives you nearly an hour of gameplay to see the mod in action.

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast RTX REMIX by ArjaanAuinger

This mod is listed as a tech demo for Jedi Knight II with one playable level. That level has been relit, its textures have been upscaled, and there’s a mix of generated and hand-crafted PBR materials. The lightsaber has also been improved and now actually emits light. This video shows several minutes of gameplay, along with commentary from creator ArjaanAuinger, who walks you through the mod's features and how to install it.

I-Ninja Remixed by g.i.george333

Platformer I-Ninja gets a facelift with this mod that’s designed to enhance the visuals while keeping the original stylized look. There are a total of 2,000 new textures, thanks to a combination of newly created ones and upscaled originals. Volumetric fog and dust particles have been added, and surfaces have been updated with added geometric detail. The mod's trailer includes gameplay and video comparing scenes with RTX on and off, and the difference is obvious.

Sonic Adventure RTX Legacy Version by Ver11

This mod is an update to Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut, the enhanced port of the original Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure. It adds brand-new lighting, remastered PBR materials, new water effects, and grass to almost all levels. This video includes 10 minutes of gameplay that showcases the improved look.

Colin McRae Rally 3 RTX Remix Mod by budgiegamesindie

This mod is largely focused on UK Special Stage 1 and the Ford Focus car in 2002’s Colin McRae Rally 3. Retopology has been used on the car’s windows, wheels, and hood, and its textures have been upscaled with AI. The stage has new lighting, a new skybox, volumetric fog, and higher-quality trees. This trailer shows the massive difference this mod makes when RTX is on vs. off.

Star Wars: Republic Commando RTX by Chaos007

Not to be confused with the previous mod of Star Wars: Republic Commando, this one is an early demo build that covers the intro cinematic, prologue, and first level of the Geonosis campaign. It introduces full raytraced lighting, enhanced textures, upgraded models, new structures, particle improvements, and UI enhancements. This video showcases just how significant the improvements are.

Oh no, the latest World of Warcraft patch has us teaming up with an evil cosmic void being who has tried to kill us many times already and will definitely stab us in the back later...but we're all kind of okay with it? Partially because we have no choice but also because she's hot and sarcastic?

I'm talking about Xal'atath. You know, this lady. Heads up, I'm going to talk in this article about spoilers for World of Warcraft: The War Within leading up to the events in Patch 11.2, Ghosts of K'aresh that dropped last Tuesday. If you haven't started playing the patch yet and don't want to know what's happening, maybe don't keep reading.

Even if you're a lapsed World of Warcraft player, you might know this lady if you've dipped in as recently as World of Warcraft: Legion. Xal'atath first appeared in that expansion in the form of a dagger artifact weapon wielded by Shadow Priests, which would occasionally whisper creepy evil stuff to them about N'Zoth and the Old Gods and all that malarky. At the time, some folks grew rather fond of her unsettling whispers, even affectionately referring to her as "knaifu". The dagger, with the rest of the expansion's artifact weapons, was used to drain the corruption from the giant sword that Sargeras stuck in the planet at the end of the expansion. Normal stuff.

While we naively thought we wouldn't hear from Xal'atath ever again, what was once one weapon among a giant stack of them turned out to be hugely plot-relevant. Xal'atath was passed around from place to place in the interim expansions, finally regaining her power and emerging from the dagger in the form of a void-infused high elf, all the better to corrupt people with. She bopped around Azeroth for a while, manipulating the underground giant bug people and some dragons before she finally made herself known as something called the "Harbinger of Dimensius," basically a herald of a super powerful void lord bent on destroying reality. Again, normal stuff.

At the start of our current expansion, The War Within, Xal'atath appears to be the main villain. She opens the expansion by causing the destruction of Dalaran (again), and she's responsible for the events that lead us to fighting both the Nerubians and the goblin Gallywix. She's spent a lot of time popping up here and there and taunting our ally Alleria Windrunner, she nearly kills Khadgar, and she's obsessed with this void artifact she's been carrying around called the Dark Heart, which she keeps using to corrupt and empower and manipulate. All of this is to say, she seems pretty evil to me! She serves the void and is clearly very interested in destroying us, our buddies, and probably all of Azeroth! Nothing she has done so far seems good, at all!

And yet.

In patch 11.2, Xal'atath joins us. The short explanation is that she actually betrayed Dimensius in the past, but he's coming back, and he's probably pissed off at her. If he shows up, she's done for. Out of a sense of self-preservation, she's been trying to beef up the Dark Heart to stop his return rather than accelerate it, and was messing around with the Nerubians and the Goblins in an effort to get that done. But at the end of patch 11.1, she accidentally (and sort of stupidly) loses the Dark Heart, forcing her to team up with Alleria and the player as a back-up plan.

What this actually means, in practice, is that Xal'atath follows us around while questing and occasionally proposes we do things that sound horrible and dangerous, like turn ourselves into an energy being and fill someone with void energy so they can hear the planet sing to them (normal stuff!). But, you know, we can't stop Dimensius without her. She knows his weaknesses, and is pretty much the only path to getting close enough to him to do something about his encroachment. So the murdery knife-elf gets to come along.

Need a backup wall charger for your Apple iPhone 16 or Nintendo Switch 2? Target just dropped the price on the Anker Ace 45W USB Type-C wall charger to just $11.99 (it's normally $20). Target offers free shipping on orders over $35, or you can simply buy online and pickup in-store for free. This is a very inexpensive price for an Anker branded charging brick with enough power output to fast charge most portable electronics. Note that no cables are included.

Anker Ace 45W USB Wall Charger for $11.99

The Fate series is an incredibly popular and beloved anime. From the outside, it's often regarded as one of the more complex series to watch. There are dozens of spinoff series featuring the Fate name, whether it be anime, manga, games, or light novels. However, once you understand the origins of the series, it becomes much easier to understand how to watch the different seasons of the anime.

With over 20 different anime projects, Fate is a series worth your time and attention. Whether you've been interested for a while or haven't heard of the series until now, we've got you covered with the Fate anime watch order. You can also check out our guide to the best anime of all time for more options.

Jump to:

• Which Fate anime to watch first
• Fate Stay/night watch order
• Fate/Grand Order watch order
• Fate anime spinoffs

What Is Fate?

The entire Fate umbrella of anime spawned from a visual novel called Fate/stay night, which was released in 2004. The game was created by Type-Moon, a studio founded by Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi. Nasu crafted the story of the game, while Takeuchi was in charge of the art. The two remain in these roles for most visual novels released by Type-Moon, although the company is bigger now with more staff.

One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy with a body that responds like rubber thanks to eating Devil Fruit, on his quest to become the next Pirate King by finding the ultimate treasure of legendary Pirate, Gold Roger. Based on Eiichiro Oda's best-selling manga series, One Piece is full of epic battles and a highly entertaining and eclectic ensemble of characters known as the Straw Hat Pirates.

With over 1,000 episodes across over 20 seasons (divided into 10 sagas with 52 different story arcs), specials, OVAs and shorts, it can be difficult to decide when and where to put the One Piece movies into your (re)watch list. Whether you’re new to the world of One Piece or settling in for an epic movie rewatch alongside the live-action series, we’ve got you covered.

Take a look at our One Piece timeline guide for what order you should watch the One Piece movies and episodes in.

Jump To:

• How to watch in chronological order
• How to watch by release order

How Many One Piece Movies Are There?

There are currently 15 feature length One Piece movies you can watch alongside the anime series. The movie stories are not connected to the series, and therefore aren’t canon. But the stories are built around canon characters and offer an opportunity to learn more about the world of the Straw Hat Pirates.

While the original One Piece movies are a little hard to track down online, more recent One Piece movies are available to stream on Crunchyroll and also have Blu-ray releases.

Where to Stream One Piece

If you want to start the true binge (don't be intimidated by that episode number, it's worth it), the One Piece anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix. The live-action One Piece show is streaming exclusively on Netflix.

The One Piece Series In Chronological Order

To avoid confusion or early introduction to canon characters, we recommend watching the One Piece movies alongside the anime series and its corresponding episodes in the expansive franchise.

1. One Piece: The Movie (watch after episode 18)

The Straw Hat Pirates find themselves pitted against the ruthless pirate Eldoraggo after an encounter with a trio of thieves. The Straw Hat Pirates must thwart Eldoraggo on his hunt for the treasure of a legendary captain and secure the hoard of gold for themselves. One Piece: The Movie falls in between the Syrup Village arc and the Baratie arc of the East Blue Saga. It offers a good, if visually nostalgic, world overview by showcasing the early days of the crew as they embark on a treasure hunt.

2. One Piece: Clockwork Island Adventure (watch after episode 53)

The Straw Hat Pirates join forces with the Thief Brothers in order to recover their stolen ship, Going Merry and weapons from bandits. The crew and their allies must go to war against the pirate clan reigning over the Clockwork Island, in order to stop their leader from acquiring a superweapon and forcing their crew mate Nami into marriage. One Piece: Clockwork Island Adventure falls after the second half of the Loguetown arc of the East Blue Saga. While this may be a standalone story it's a fun must-watch adventure about a vacation gone awry.

3. One Piece: Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (watch after episode 102)

Stories about a great treasure lure the Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates to the wilderness of Crown Island where the crew encounters intelligent animals. While separate from the rest of the Straw Hats, the crew’s doctor Tony Tony Chopper triggers a prophecy and ends up crowned the island's lord and protector, the King of Beasts. Despite a few interesting fight scenes, Chopper’s Kingdom is an extremely skippable filler film. But if you’re a completionist, One Piece: Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals falls after episode 102 of the Arabasta Arc: in the Arabasta Saga.

4. One Piece: Dead End Adventure (watch after episode 138)

The Straw Hat Pirates need cash so they enter an underground race between pirates known as the Dead End Competition. The crew finds themselves pitted against a vice-admiral with his own powers and his formidable bounty hunter sidekick. Dead End Adventure is the first full-length feature and offers a fantastic adventure newbies and diehards can enjoy. This movie can be watched at any point after episode 130 but we think it falls in line best after episode 138 in the Goat Island arc of the Sky Island Saga.

5. One Piece: The Cursed Holy Sword (watch after episode 143)

The Cursed Holy Sword centers on Zoro, the crew’s swordsman. While on the island of Asuka, the Straw Hat Pirates learn about a legendary cursed sword the Shichiseiken. The crew’s quickly swept up in the shenanigans of marines intent on freeing the sword. Zoro’s joined their ranks and the rest of the crew must unravel his reasons and figure out what’s going on. This film is a chaotic mess that doesn’t fully come together and is pretty much a miss unless you’re just dying to know more about Zoro. The Cursed Holy Sword falls in line best after episode 14 of the Ruluka Island arc in the Sky Island Saga.

6. One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (watch after episode 224)

Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, the sixth movie in the franchise, see the Straw Hat Pirates interrupt their journey to Grand Line for a pit stop on a recreation island to relax. Upon arrival the leader of the island, Baron Omatsuri, welcomes them and gives them seven challenges to achieve greater relaxation. The remainder of the movie is unraveling the mystery lurking beneath the surface of this seemingly happy community. Without giving anything away for the uninitiated, it's safe to say the Secret Island should not be on your skip list. The Secret Island falls in line best after episode 224 of the Ocean’s Dream arc in the Water 7 Saga.

7. One Piece: The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle (watch after episode 228)

If you’re in the mood for great action sequences and an off-kilter plotline, then The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle will fully satisfy. The Straw Hats find and open a treasure box. Instead of loot, the crew finds an old lady inside. They agree to help her return home in exchange for a treasure on her Mecha Island. Upon arrival, the crew comes under attack by the island’s leader before he reverses track and asks for their help finding the treasure. Karakuri Castle is best seen after episode 228 of the Foxy’s Return arc in the Water 7 Saga.

8. One Piece – Episode of Arabasta: The Desert Princess and the Pirates (watch after episode 312)

Most One Piece fans will list the Arabasta arc as one of the best in the franchise. Which means if you watched the episodes, then this movie is extremely skippable. This movie is essentially a condensed version of that storyline that doesn’t offer any new storywise. If you need or want a refresher offered with high quality action sequences then watch the Episode of Arabasta remake after episode 312.

9. One Piece: Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in Winter, Miracle Sakura (watch after episode 325)

The Chopper Plus remake changes events and adds new canon characters, including a sidekick for the villain Wapol, to the original episodes in the Drum Island arc. It’s best to view watch this One Piece movie as an alternate universe where Luffy’s still trying to save crewmate Nami with different obstacles. If you’re interested in seeing the Bloom in Winter play out in a parallel world, watch Chopper Plus after episode 325 and the end of the Water 7 Saga.

10. One Piece Film: Strong World (watch after episode 381)

Luffy and his crewmates learn that islands in East Blue have been destroyed. The crew discovers that an ex-member of the Rocks Pirates, Shiki the Golden Lion, is responsible. Shiki wants to destroy the marines. After he kidnaps Nami to become their navigator, the Straw Hats decide to take matters into their own hands. They come together to battle the legendary Shiki and rescue Nami. Strong World showcases Shiki’s devil fruit powers and pits Luffy and crew against a myriad of challenges. Strong World is absolutely not canon but makes for a great ride. Watch it any time after episode 381. But we suggest waiting until after the last episode (429) of Little East Blue arc of the Summit Saga for best alignment in this epic journey.

11. One Piece 3D: Straw Hat Chase (watch after episode 381)

One Piece 3D: Straw Hat Chase gets treated as the eleventh movie in the One Piece franchise, but in reality it’s more of a short (and at this point, kind of lost media). Luffy wakes up to a missing crew and spends the entire movie on the hunt for them. Cue it up directly after finishing Strong World because there’s nothing special to separate it from the pack. Straw Hat Chase is pretty much impossible to find and so skippable not even hardcore completionists will demand you sit through it.

12. One Piece Film: Z (watch after episode 578)

One Piece Film: Z aims right for the feels with a story centering former marine admiral Z. Z’s stolen a dangerous weapon known as the “Dyna Stones,” and now the Straw Hat Pirates and other admirals must battle him to stop the end of the world. Widely considered one of the best One Pieces movies, Z is colorful and action-packed on top of being a tear-jerker. There’s a bit of debate about the best time to slide Z into the timeline. It’s viewers choice: cue it up after episode 573 or wait until the end of the Z’s Ambition arc with episode 578. Whichever you decide, not watching it would be a mistake.

13. One Piece Film: Gold (watch after episode 750)

The Straw Hat Pirates visit the greatest entertainment city contained on the Gran Tesoro ship. THe story shifts from a gambling vacation to a heist film in short order. This casino adventure offers slick animation and plenty of action from start to finish. Sometimes the point is fan service and that’s exactly the aim of Gold. If you’re this far down the One Piece rabbit hole then that fan service is going to make for a satisfying ride. This is best viewed after finishing the Silver Mine arc of the Whole Cake Island Saga.

14. One Piece: Stampede (watch after episode 889)

Luffy and crew decide to participate in a pirate festival alongside numerous other famous pirates. They quickly realize it's actually a free-for-all to find another one of Roger’s treasures. Over the course of the battle royale, more mysterious goings-on appear and cause upheaval. Do expect to see plenty of fan favorite characters, and the full range of powers operation in the One Piece World. Stampede is next-level fan service wrapped in an epic adventure. This must see movie can be watched any time after episode 889, the end of the Whole Cake Saga. But we suggest maybe waiting until after the Cidre Guild arc in the Wano Country Saga.

15. One Piece Film: Red (watch after episode 1030)

One Piece Film: Red, the most recent movie, is about Shanks and his daughter Uta. The Straw Hats attend a concert hosted by Uta, a famous singer, on Elegia the Island of Music. Things quickly go awry when the attendees discover that Uta is the daughter for Shanks, chief of the Red Hair Pirates. It should be noted that Red is initially driven by songs since that’s how Uta’s power manifests but the unfolding mysteries, chases, displays of legendary powers, and dangerous encounters make it all worthwhile. Red fits seamlessly after the Uta's Past arc of the Wano Country Saga.

How to Watch One Piece Movies in Release Order

1. One Piece: The Movie (2000)
2. Clockwork Island Adventure (2001)
3. Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (2002)
4. Dead End Adventure (2003)
5. The Cursed Holy Sword (2004)
6. Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005)
7. Giant Mecha Soldier of Karakuri Castle (2006)
8. The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta (2007)
9. Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Cherry Blossom (2008)
10. One Piece Film: Strong World (2009)
11. Straw Hat Chase (2011)
12. One Piece Film: Z (2012)
13. One Piece Film: Gold (2016)
14. One Piece: Stampede (2019)
15. One Piece Film: Red (2022)

The Future of One Piece

Eiichiro Oda originally started One Piece (the manga) in 1997; meaning these stories have been a weekly serial for the past twenty-six years and are still running. Oda’s said in the past he’s only eighty percent finished! While predictions have often pegged 2025 as the year One Piece ends, that seems incredibly unlikely. Regardless, there’s plenty of source material to adapt into future sagas for many years to come.

The One Piece anime has been going for pretty much just as long as the manga (and will likely see the manga through its completion), and has officially resumed after a 6-month hiatus. On the manga side, you can check out Oda's full chapter release schedule here. Additionally, Netflix has also announced that it will be working on a new Anime remake of One Piece with the studio that made Attack on Titan and Spy X Family.

What About the Netflix Show?

While we don't have any news about new One Piece movies, we do know that the One Piece live-action series is returning for a second season some time in 2026. A new teaser for Season 2 also seems to confirm that Season 3 has already been greenlit.

Another major One Piece collaboration is LEGO releasing seven new One Piece sets based on the first season of the Netflix show. All of these sets represent scenes from the East Blue Saga.