Ahead of the holiday season, Amazon just dropped the price on a current generation LG OLED TV. Right now you can order a massive 77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED Smart TV for $1,996.99 with free delivery. The 77" size is rarely discounted to under $2,000 and if you simply cannot wait until Black Friday (for example, you want to get it in time to watch Ohtani in the World Series), then you won't find a better price on a comparable TV. The C5 is LG's current generation 2025 model.

77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED Smart TV for $1,997

Humans like to consider themselves the top of the food chain, and while that idea might work on Earth, we barely scrape by in the galactic gladiator competition. The Predator franchise, which began with the classic Scwarzenegger film in 1987, is all about the "Yautja" - towering trophy-seeking hunters from space who travel to different worlds for lethal competition and have been known to kidnap species for hunts back on their home planet.

Two initial Predator films in 1987 and 1990 created a baseline for the Predator saga. Since Xenomorphs from the Alien moves are also a cinematic scourge for humanity, it made perfect sense in the 2000's to create a shared universe with two Alien vs. Predator flicks. In the following decade, directors such as Robert Rodriquez, Shane Black, and Dan Trachtenberg all put their spins on the franchise.

With Predator: Killer of Killers now streaming and Predator: Badlands arriving later this year, it's a better time than ever to binge the original sci-fi classics. If you want to watch every Predator movie in order, we've got you covered! Below you'll find the full timeline of the Predator movies and where to watch them online.

Jump to:

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

You can also check out our guide to the Alien movies in order to incorporate the whole timeline.

How Many Predator Movies Are There?

There are a total of eight movies in the Predator franchise — four in the mainline series of films, two Alien crossovers, one prequel, and one anthology film. A new mainline Predator movie is set to release later in 2025.

Predator Movies in (Chronological) Order

1. Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

Killer of Killers is an anthology film featuring different iterations of Predators doing what they do best across three different timelines. The first two timelines, set in the Viking Age and Feudal Japan, take place hundreds of years before even the prequel Prey. The third timeline, however, is set after World War 2, after Prey and before the original Predator. I'd argue Killer of Killers is best enjoyed with context from the original movie, but the animated anthology can be watched at any point in a Predator marathon.

Read IGN's review of Predator: Killer of Killers

2. Prey (2022)

Prey is a prequel and therefore designed to be watched after everything else (especially Predator 2) but if one is truly looking to take in the Predator franchise in chronological order this is the place to begin. Set in 1719, across the the Great Plains, Prey follows a young Comanche woman, Naru (Amber Midthunder), who gets more than she bargains for when she accompanies her brother on a hunt and winds up in the crosshairs of a (more primitive) Predator. Determined to prove herself, Naru sets her sights on taking the alien stalker down in this fresh and thrilling take from the three-decade saga.

Read IGN's review of Prey

3. Predator (1987)

It all started with 1987's Predator, directed by Die Hard's John McTiernan and starring heyday Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and Shane Black (who would direct his own Predator film many years later). Predator is an awesome action classic where a near-unstoppable military rescue team gets their asses handed to them by a terrifying invisible force in the jungles of South America. When the attacker is revealed to be an alien hunter out on its own version of a sinister safari, Schwarzenegger's Dutch must figure out how to ambush and defeat a monster light years ahead of him in tech and tactics.

4. Predator 2 (1990)

A few years later, Predator returned to multiplexes for more massacres and mayhem, but this time with a complete change of cast and setting. Taking place amongst a near-future heatwave/crimewave -- 1997 Los Angeles -- Predator 2 follows cops played by Danny Glover, Bill Paxton, Ruben Blades, and María Conchita Alonso as they attempt to not only deal with a bloody Cartel war on the streets, but a badass alien Predator too, stalking the cityscape for victims.

5. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

After 14 years -- with novels, comics, and video games keeping the franchise flames lit -- Predator came back in a huge way with a full crossover movie, merging with the Alien saga, which hadn't been dormant but definitely struggled to find its footing in the '90s. Alien vs. Predator, from Resident Evil/Event Horizon's Paul W. S. Anderson, was a big hit, injecting new life into both sci-fi/horror properties. Set in "present day" America, AVP introduced a nasty bit of history connecting the Yautja and Xenomorphs. Namely that Predators had been conducting hunts on Earth for centuries using humans as breeding bodies for Xenos, and then hunting down the Xeno swarm for "right of passage" sport. Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, and Ewen Bremner star.

Read IGN's review of AVP: Alien vs. Predator

6. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)

The sequel to AVP, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, picks up right where AVP left off, so timeline-wise this is all the same battle. Not as successful as its predecessor (hence it being the final crossover film) Requiem delivered an Alien-Predator hybrid, known as the "Predalien," as it attacked a small Colorado town and a Predator "cleaner" being dispatched to take down this new monstrosity.

Read IGN's review of Alien vs. Predator: Requiem here.

7. Predators (2010)

The only Predator movie to not take place on Earth, Predators, from Robert Rodriguez, looked to shake up the formula a bit by bringing audiences to a distant planet, a Yautja game reserve. With a killer cast including Adrien Brody, Walton Goggins, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace, and Alice Braga, Predators showed fans how humans, specifically "established killers," are abducted and used for sport between two warring Yautja tribes.

Timeline-wise, this is a tricky one. It's never clearly stated when this all happens. Meaning, the Earth year. But it's easy enough to just assume it's 2010, when the movie was released. Or, in the very least, based on the characters, the early 21st Century. So Predators can fit into your chronological viewing plans here, at number six, or you can save it for last.

Read IGN's review of Predators

8. The Predator (2018)

Despite Predators being a modest hit it would still be eight years before a new Predator film hit the big screen and with 2018's The Predator, director/co-writers Shane Black (Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) would take the franchise back to its original formula (which he himself starred in) by presenting a squad of unstable soldiers -- played by the likes of Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane and Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen -- who take on a pair of rampaging Predators and thwart their Yautja schemes (which involve DNA splicing). The film ends with a tease for more, while alternate/unused endings featured time traveling versions of both Alien's Ellen Ripley and Rebecca "Newt" Jorden in a new grab for crossover gold.

Read IGN's review of The Predator

How to Watch the Predator Movies by Release Date

If you're looking to watch all the movies in theatrical release order, the correct list is below:

1. Predator (1987)
2. Predator 2 (1990)
3. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
4. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
5. Predators (2010)
6. The Predator (2018)
7. Prey (2022)
8. Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
9. Predator: Badlands (2025)

The Future of the Predator Franchise

Predator: Badlands, in theaters November 7, 2025, will star Elle Fanning and feature Predator as the protagonist, according to director Dan Trachtenberg. The movie's first teaser appears to show Elle Fanning's character "rebooting" like a Weyland-Yutani synth, pointing to a connection with the Alien movies.

The more recent official trailer suggests even more Alien references, while also showing off the surprisingly communicative Predator himself. In a conversation with IGN, Trachtenberg also mentioned James Bond and World of Warcraft as references for the new movie, so in my opinion, it's shaping up to be something special.

Matt Fowler is a freelance entertainment writer/critic, covering TV news, reviews, interviews and features on IGN for 13+ years.

If you want a gaming PC that can follow wherever you may roam, a gaming laptop is likely your best bet. While desktop parts will usually still beat out a gaming laptop, the best of them offer excellent performance in the latest games. Best of all, some models are able to offer peak performance while still remaining thin and light, like the Razer Blade 16, which is my pick for the all-around best gaming laptop of 2025 so far. As of April 15, these are back in stock after Razer had briefly taken down the direct link to buy the Razer Blade 16 and other laptops, replaced with "Notify Me" buttons, ahead of when tariffs were supposed to kick in.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Laptops:

The first thing I always recommend to people hunting for a new gaming laptop is to consider is what PC games they actually hope to play. The second is what settings they hope to play them at. These two questions can guide your purchase to higher- or lower-end hardware and what trade-offs you're willing to make. Now more than ever, gaming laptops come in every shape and size, from thin and light devices like Asus' ROG Zephyrus G14 to moderately heavy powerhouses like the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16. Larger performance-driven laptops (like the ones that come with a 4K display) achieve their enhanced performance with more powerful, and power-hungry, components, which means sacrificing on portability, battery life, and fan noise.

There are countless to choose from a ton of different gaming laptop brands, and finding the best for you can be more than a little daunting. I've tested dozens over the years, and I have a deep understanding of what it takes for a laptop to ascend to greatness for different types of gamers and can confidently say: These are the best gaming laptops of 2025 so far.

1. Razer Blade 16 (2025)

Best Overall Gaming Laptop

Let's get this out of the way: The Razer Blade 16 isn't the most powerful RTX 50-series laptop. Instead, this notebook earns my top pick because of sum of its parts. The team at Razer understood that a huge cross section of laptop gamers carry their machines with them every day, and flat-out making it nicer to use while also being powerful can dramatically enhance the use experience. As an extra, if you're willing to invest in Razer's laptop cooling pad, you can unlock the full wattage for performance that goes toe-to-toe with other RTX 5090 laptops.

Make no mistake: The Razer Blade 16 is still a gaming beast. In my review, I threw everything and the kitchen sink at it and there was nothing it couldn't run well on its crisp 1600p OLED screen. While running those games and benchmarks, the system stayed surprisingly quiet. This is a gaming laptop you could use in a school library without attracting attention.

It's true that a high-powered RTX 5080 like the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 also recommended in this guide will get you similar, if not better, performance. What most other laptops can't offer, though, is the Blade 16's level of portability and noise.

Measuring just 0.59 inches at its thinnest point, it's a marked improvement from its predecessor and, well, most gaming laptops with such powerful hardware. It also weighs only 4.7lbs; you won't forget it's there, but it won't leave your back and shoulders sore from lugging it around. That portabilty makes it more appealing as a daily carry, so I didn't second guess taking it with me every day even when I might not actually need it.

The Blade 16 does a great job of feeling like the premium product it is. The chassis is milled from a single block of aluminum and feels solid and robust. It also helps with heat dissipation, but solid engineering ensures that the keyboard never gets more than warm while gaming. Its screen is also excellent with impressive factory calibration and multiple professional color modes that allow it to be used for creative applications straight out of the box. It's per-key RGB keyboard is completely programmable, complete with SOCD (Snap Tap) and macro support to better emulate a dedicated gaming keyboard.

On top of that, it also offers great battery life while gaming. Thanks to the new advancements in how the RTX 50-series handles power management, you can play games for around two hours instead of one or less like last generation.

The Razer Blade 16 is an excellent laptop that, while pricey, is something special in this space. If you want a great gaming laptop that will impress you with its portability, look no further.

2. MSI Thin A15 AI

Best Budget Gaming Laptop

3. Gigabyte Aorus Master 16

Best High-End Gaming Laptop

4. Asus Zenbook S 16

Best Work and Gaming Laptop

5. Asus TUF Gaming A14

Best Gaming Laptop for Students

The Razer Blade 18 embodies decadence in the world of gaming laptops. This is a machine that pushes the envelope and offers a true desktop replacement experience. And that's fitting, because if you're after high-performance 4K gaming on a laptop, you're going to need a next-level rig. Just prepare your wallet, because this type of experience doesn't come cheap.

The Razer Blade 18 features a massive, 18-inch IPS display with a peak resolution of 3840x2400. That's actually higher than 4K but – hold onto your hats – it's able to push that resolution with a rapid 240Hz refresh rate that's perfect for ulta-smooth gameplay. It's not OLED or mini-LED, but this screen gets plenty bright and offers vibrant, well-calibrated SDR colors.

There's another reason to consider this laptop if you're into competitive esports: It's one of very few gaming laptops that comes with dual resolution modes. With Razer Synapse you can choose between the native resolution above or drop to 1920x1200 and boost the refresh rate all the way to 440Hz for the ultimate in responsiveness and motion clarity. While the picture isn't as crisp, at 18 inches, the impact of dropping to this resolution is much less impactful than on a full-size gaming monitor.

To power all of this, the system can be equipped with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB of DDR5 memory, and up to 4TB of storage to hold all of your games. It also comes outfitted with the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, which cinches the on great gaming performance. On top of all that, the system comes with Razer's thermal hood design for improved thermals and a great set of speakers with impressive volume.

Just don't plan on gaming for very long without its monster charging brick. But at 7.1lbs for just the laptop and another pound or two for its charger, it isn't likely that you'll be taking this on the go very often. Believe me – I tried, and you feel it right away. I reviewed the Blade 16 for IGN and our official Blade 18 review is upcoming, but I can say with confidence: If you want a 4K gaming laptop with the ability to replace a desktop and can be taken on the move, this is the one to choose.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus lineup is considered by many to be the MacBook of Windows laptops. It has the clean, streamlined looks that many people associate with Apple's line-up, a fantastic display, and impressive performance. Best of all, it comes in at only 3.5 pounds, so you can carry it all day, every day without ever feeling weighed down.

I'm currently using the 16-inch version of this laptop, the G16, as my daily driver and it's similar in all but screen size and a few extra ounces. If I could go back, I would choose the G14, and here's why: Even though the G16 is amazing in its own right, it hints at the kind of portability that the G14 offers in spades. There's an elegance to its design – the aluminum chassis with a glossy slash along the lid – that's minimalist and alluring.

The understated design highlights the gorgeous display. Asus outfits the G14 and G16 with its ROG Nebula OLED displays, which are incredibly vibrant and tuned to look amazing straight out of the box. While this might be the "MacBook of Windows," don't sell this laptop short: It can be outfitted with up to and RTX 5080 and drive that beautiful display up to 120Hz. It can definitely handle heavy workloads, but make no mistake, this is lightweight ultrabook is still centered on gaming.

Its svelte design comes with some natural trade-offs you should know before pulling the trigger. Its thin chassis leaves less room for cooling so, like other thin and light laptops of this type, it can't quite hit the high wattages bigger laptops can. I'd recommend sticking to the RTX 5070 or RTX 5070 Ti to get the best bang for your buck.

It used to be the case that "Apple" and "gaming" didn't belong in the same sentence, but that's just not the case anymore... as long as you have the right MacBook to get the job done. The MacBook Pro 16 is officially the best way to enjoy gaming on the go for diehard Apple users.

The MacBook Pro 16 is ostensibly for power users and you could be forgiven for thinking that it's exclusively a tool for creative professionals. But don't underestimate this powerful, lightweight machine: The very same qualities that make it great for creatives also make it the best choice for gaming.

With the introduction of the M4 and M4 Max, Apple's Pro 16 is finally able to play games at a level that won't leave you pining for Windows. Apple's silicon is all-around fast, and that applies to its built-in graphics as well. While a lot will depend on the games you're playing, you won't be forced to turn settings to a minimum as a given anymore. Games can look good and play at enjoyable frame rates, all while giving you access to the Apple ecosystem you depend on.

Now, all of that comes at a comparatively steep price. I wouldn't recommend picking up the Apple MacBook Pro 16 exclusively for gaming, but if you're also eyeing it for your own creative or professional endeavors, you can pull that trigger with confidence knowing that your inner gaming doesn't need to be left out in the cold any longer. We'll eventually be testing the MacBook Pro with the new M5 chip that was recently revealed, which alleges to improve the graphic performance 1.6x, but for now, this is the portable Apple machine to beat.

The Nintendo Switch-era has been a frustrating one for Pokemon fans. The evolutionary line from Sword and Shield, to Pokemon Legends: Arceus, to Scarlet and Violet was one of slow but steady progress as Game Freak refined its ideas for how capturing, exploring, and battling should look in a fully 3D world. But this era has also played host to a major downhill slide in terms of overall polish, appearance, and performance across those three games. Pokemon Legends: Z-A, I’m happy to report, puts an end to that slide on basically all counts. It continues to successfully experiment with Pokemon’s gameplay by translating its carefully cultivated turn-based battle system into an action-based one. And it does so while scaling back its ambitions for a massive world to a more manageable size, resulting in a tighter, more polished, and far more fun Pokemon than we’ve seen in several years.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A takes place entirely within the bounds of Lumiose City, a Paris-inspired metropolis that I fondly remember from Pokemon X and Y, the events of which took place five years prior to this new story. A sudden rash of Wild Pokemon invading its city limits has resulted in conflicts between them and the people that live there, and necessitates “Wild Zones” within the city to keep them separate. It’s into this tense environment that you show up via train: a young adult (For real! Not a ten-year-old child! Your peers talk about getting jobs and paying rent! Holy Sharpedo!) with seemingly no agenda or reason to be in Lumiose beyond casual tourism. You’re immediately adopted by a group that refers to itself as Team MZ, which is dedicated to protecting the city by day, and becoming strong enough to do so effectively by climbing the ranks of a local competition every night: the Z-A Royale.

Never before has a Pokemon game’s setting been so integral to its story and themes. The way its characters and story focused so tightly on Lumiose as a place and a community reminded me in many ways of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. By not asking you to cross vast distances on a fairly abstract badge-collecting journey all by yourself, Z-A is able to tell the stories of more characters in more detail. You have a crew of pals who hang out at a hotel with you, and who constantly show up in the city to help you out in battle or with whatever else you need. Unlike rivals in past games, they’re given more space to develop as characters and actually have a relationship with you beyond throwaway lines about type alignments.

Z-A is also stuffed with side quests that give you ample opportunity to get to know the inhabitants of Lumiose. Delightfully, most of them aren’t Pokemon trainers. You’ll help a Furfrou groomer teach her Scyther styling techniques, and a perfume maker sample Pokemon odors for her wares. A cafe worker needs you to lure Trubbish away from her cafe, and an electrical worker needs you to chase off Pokemon messing with his elevator (er, “Holovator”). To keep the comparisons to Yakuza going, the vast majority of these side quests are, frankly, pretty silly. They often feature creative or weird scenarios that are resolved by your character, like Kiryu, inexplicably being far and away the toughest person in the room. There are over 100 of these side quests, and they involve all sorts of tasks, such as battles, catching certain Pokemon, teaching Pokemon specific moves, trading, evolving, acquiring certain items, doing parkour, and a lot more. It took me 35 hours to roll credits while mostly staying on top of side quests as they gradually popped up during the campaign, but I still haven’t managed to finish every single one in the post-game.

Also like the Yakuza games (this is the last comparison, I swear), Z-A’s plot is civic-minded. Rather than just being about becoming stronger or filling up a monster encyclopedia, your goal is centered around training to protect the city you now call home. As you grow, you encounter a cast of characters with different ideas about what Lumiose City needs to thrive, some of whom clash with one another. Z-A wrestles with some actual, real-world ideas as it questions what it means when multiple groups of people (or, I guess, creatures) inhabit the same space but have very different needs, and who should be prioritized when those needs conflict. Z-A doesn’t come away with easy answers, but it does provide some pretty interesting metaphors for real-world issues both civic and environmental, and above all else, emphasizes compassion for others in trying to solve them.

(Also there’s a literal benevolent Japanese mafia faction in this game. Okay, now I’m done for real, I promise.)

One sour note in all this is the lack of voice acting. I’ll be honest, I’ve played Pokemon games so often and for so long without it that Z-A not having voice acting didn’t really bother me during all the time I spent running around, doing sidequests, and reading main quest text boxes. Where it did become a problem, however, was during the major story cutscenes, where characters dramatically move their mouths and flail their arms around while absolutely no sound comes out. This wacky pantomime was jarring and immersion-breaking. I don’t know what Game Freak was thinking here. It’s long past time Pokemon caught up to every other story-heavy game and hired some dang voice actors, at least for major cutscenes.

Speaking of Game Freak needing to play catch-up, take a deep breath with me, because we gotta talk about performance.

It’s… fine? It’s fine. It’s actually fine.

On the Nintendo Switch 2, Z-A runs at a smooth and consistent 60 FPS. NPCs and objects do still pop in rather suddenly and a bit too close for comfort, but it’s substantially better than the wonky phasing in and out at spitting distance we saw in Scarlet and Violet. I didn’t see any character animations move at agonizingly slow framerates. I didn’t personally run into any game breaking bugs. None of my Pokemon got stuck in the floor or the wall. The loading screens are almost too fast to read the tips shown on them. Taken all together, I was able to play through the entire game barely thinking about performance, which is so much more than I could say for Z-A’s two predecessors.

That doesn’t mean Z-A looks great, though. One major, oft-pointed-out problem with Z-A is that it takes place entirely in a plain, unattractive city. Most of the time, you will be looking at the same five or six building exteriors, all of which are flat, ugly images with no detail or depth: just some windows and balconies painted onto a wall, Looney Tunes-style. There’s some variety in town, like a Wild Zone that gets covered in snow, a graveyard, and a sandy area, but for the most part, Lumiose is made up of a lot of the same parks, the same cafes, and the same paving stones again and again and again. You can’t go inside most buildings.

But not all of Z-A is aesthetically disagreeable. The building interiors you do get to see are detailed, colorful, cozy-looking, and not repetitive. Character models are more expressive than before, too, and there’s a wider visual variety in NPC designs than ever before thanks to small, long overdue touches like distinct facial features and differently colored outfits within trainer classes. Your own character’s face customization capabilities continue to improve from past games as well. Outfit customization is pretty good, with lots of options to choose from, no gender-locked clothing, and the ability to mix and match colors of jackets, shirts, belts, and other items in certain cases for a wider variety of looks.

While I’ve dinged Lumiose for being visually uninteresting, that’s not synonymous with it being uninteresting to explore. Z-A mostly solves one of the biggest issues I had with both Arceus and Scarlet/Violet: they were both big, empty worlds devoid of real reasons to explore beyond the surface. Those two predecessors tried to capture the vast scale of the Pokemon world, but the actual open areas lacked real detail. Much of their maps consisted of enormous fields full of the same Pokemon and meaningless items sort of scattered randomly around. Their caves were empty tunnels, their mountaintops often barren, and their landmarks rarely offered an interesting reward for visiting. Why even have a giant world if you’re going to make it so boring? Z-A isn’t like that.

By shrinking the world down to a manageable size, Game Freak was able to find the time, or ideas, or whatever it was that was lacking before to fill it with thoughtfully placed rewards. Sometimes those are items such as TMs or collectible Colorful Screws that wait at the end of Z-A’s rather amusingly cumbersome platforming segments. But more often those rewards are rare Pokemon. You see, while most Pokemon are confined to Wild Zones, some monsters do still lurk in the city streets, and they’re genuinely exciting to find. At first, you’ll only see common Pokemon: Pidgeys and Fletchlings pecking around in parks, Kakuna dangling out of trees, maybe a Trubbish munching on some garbage. But explore enough, and you’ll start to find alleyways, courtyards, and rooftops hiding rarer monsters: an Ariados dropping suddenly from a sewer ceiling, Gastly leaping out from a dark corner at night, a single Eevee trotting down a narrow backroad. I squealed once when I saw a single, rare Dratini on a rooftop I’d worked painstakingly hard to reach. It’s moments like these that really flesh out Lumiose and make it such a delight to explore.

In fact, there’s so much to see that I’ve somehow gotten this far into my review without digging into Z-A’s most revelatory change yet: the battle system. Pokemon is an action game now! They threw the last of the turn-based elements out the window! It’s great!

It’s genuinely impressive how well Game Freak managed to translate a familiar system of monsters, moves, status effects, items, and types into a completely different genre. Instead of taking turns, you move your character around the battlefield while the monsters are fighting. Your Pokemon will follow you by default, giving you an indirect and interesting way to control their positioning somewhat and even dodge your opponent’s moves. If you hold down ZL, your Pokemon will instead square up with its opponent and you can select and use moves. If you’re in a battle against a wild Pokemon, you’ll need to do all this while also moving your character out of danger, as they can damage and even knock you out, adding an interesting new layer of strategy to how you position yourself, and thus your monster, for optimal offense and defense.

I was concerned, based on early trailers, that all this would amount to just smashing the same offensive moves into opponents with little actual strategy, but that’s far from the case. The indirect movement system, while a little clunky to get used to, introduces an interesting strategic layer of positioning as you play with the flow of dodging and attacking. The moves themselves are delightfully complex in both their variety and the ways Game Freak has changed them to fit the action genre while keeping their spirit alive. Short-range moves, for instance, can be used very quickly, but put you in danger of being hit. Long-range moves take a bit of time to wind up, but you stay at a distance while you do them. Moves like Protect and Detect have been reconfigured to be used almost like a parry. Fire Spin and Sand Trap form areas-of-effect on the ground you can try and lure enemies to stand in, while Spikes throws a bunch of hazards all over the place.

Status effects have been overhauled, too: paralysis slows you down significantly, while confusion sometimes causes your Pokemon to wander off in weird directions. Mega Evolutions also got a revamp that adds even more complex layers including a meter to fill, the ability to Mega Evolve multiple different Pokemon in the same battle, and Plus Moves, which are essentially moves with the power of a Mega Evolved Pokemon but usable by any monster on your team under the right conditions.

One of the best parts of this system is how it still rewards past Pokemon knowledge even in this entirely new framing, with everything working roughly how you’d guess it might. While I hope Pokemon doesn’t fully abandon turn-based battles, I would love it if the Legends spin-off series adopts this action system going forward and continues to refine it – Arceus introduced a revolutionary new system for catching Pokemon, so it feels like a fitting that Z-A has revolutionized the other key half of the series. Besides, I cannot wait to watch the competitive community get its hooks into this and see what meta develops.

Until then, we have the campaign’s own challenges to overcome. Even casual players are likely to breeze through some of it – the Z-A Royale, for instance, has you collecting points by defeating trainers until you get enough to instigate a Promotion Match and move up a rank. These battles are a joke. The Battle Zones you fight through to collect points try to shake things up by allowing you to sneak up on enemy trainers for an advantage attack, or be snuck up on yourself. But it’s trivially easy to sneak up on opponents and knock out their first monster in a single blow, then thrash their second immediately after.

To an extent, that may be intended, as you can increase monetary rewards from Battle Zones by beating as many trainers as possible before daybreak, so you’re encouraged to just Rapidash your way through battles. But the Z-A Royale’s relative ease nonetheless mutes the accomplishment of ranking up, particularly in light of the fact that the story actually forces you to jump a whopping 17 ranks at once at one point. Would the story have been an agonizing 100 hours long instead of a normal 30 hours if Z-A had not done this? Yes. Does it still feel real silly when it happens and make the Royale into a bit of a joke? Also yes.

But it’s not all a walk in the PokePark. You’ll still find challenge in other places, such as Wild Areas, where a powerful Alpha Pokemon can summon a gang of smaller guys to overwhelm you if you’re not careful. Most difficult, and most fun, are the story battles against Rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon. These monsters are big and mean, deliberately going directly after your trainer a lot of the time and forcing you to carefully balance dodging attacks yourself and positioning your Pokemon well to slowly whittle down a big health bar. Some of the Rogue Mega Evolutions have devastating second phase attacks, such as turning the entire arena into a bullet hell, making copies of themselves, or spontaneously popping up behind you for a painful swipe attack. Game Freak really goes out of its way to ensure all its new Mega Evolutions get their moment to shine through these encounters. Just wait until you see Mega Starmie!

If you're looking for a high-capacity power bank for those longer trips, and you want to able to play on your Switch 2 while you're charging it, then this deal is perfect for you. Amazon is currently offering the Iniu 20,000mAh 45W Power Bank for just $19.96 after a 46% off coupon that's automatically applied during checkout. Any 20,000mAh power bank priced under $20 is a good deal, but this one is even better because of the higher 45W power output and the built-in USB cable.

Iniu 20,000mAh 45W USB Power Bank for $19.96

It's safe to say Event Horizon: Dark Descent has been a big hit for IDW Publishing. The first two chapters of the series (which serves as a prequel to the 1997 horror movie) are both going back to print in November 2025, and they're getting some horrifying new cover art to mark the occasion.

IGN can exclusively debut the new cover art to the third printing of Event Horizon Dark Descent #1 and the second printing of Dark Descent #2, both of which form a connecting image. Check them out in the slideshow gallery below, along with an exclusive new page from issue #3:

Event Horizon: Dark Descent is written by Christian Ward and drawn by Tristan Jones, with colors by Pip Martin and colors by Alex Ray. The series explores the events leading up to the original film, showing the dark fate that befell the original crew of the doomed spacecraft. The series is part of the IDW Dark horror imprint, which includes other spinoffs of popular films like Sleepy Hollow, A Quiet Place, and Smile as well as original projects like Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.

"When I came aboard Event Horizon, I thought it would be a nice, quiet little book that would maybe have a solid little built in following and maybe I could make something that someone down the track would find and be wowed by in a back issue bin and be compelled to find the rest the same way I was with all those rad licensed horror comics back in the late '80s and early '90s..." Jones tells IGN. "If you'd told me then that we'd be opening to not one but two sold out issues, and one of those being sent back to print twice I'd have thanked you for being very kind but definitely scoffed...! So here's me now, genuinely humbled by the response this thing has received release after release, and endlessly thankful for the cult that makes Event Horizon a cult movie turning up month after month and showing their support for this thing! Everyone on this thing has given their all to make the best book we can with this, and it's really great to see it striking such a chord with readers."

Jones adds, "And I'll say this, if you haven't hit your stores and preordered #3 and #4, you're going to want to do that ASAP, because knowing how those issues go and seeing how the response has been is going to make those the ones you'll be kicking yourself for not locking down!"

"I had four goals in mind when I approached Event Horizon: to celebrate the legacy of the movie, to make it accessible to new readers, to make it emotionally impactful, AND most importantly, SCARY as F**K! In short, a book that anyone could enjoy that would move and terrify in equal measure," Ward says. "Seeing the hype and success of Event Horizon: Dark Descent build and build as it finds new readers is so wonderful and so gratifying and I have to thank my co-pilots, Tristan Jones and Pip Martin, without whom this book would not soar nearly as high as it does. Most exciting of all however, is that the best is yet to come. Both issue 3 and in particular issue 4 (did someone say 'Blood Orgy'?) will have readers shedding tears as they read between their fingers and of course, this book answers what happened before the film, now I'm pondering 'what happens after?' So get on board now... it's a long journey to hell."

Both new printings will be released on November 12, with a preorder deadline of October 27. You can preorder these reprints at your local comic shop.

In other news, check out our exclusive excerpt of the Batman 1989 sequel Batman: Revolution and see why Marvel seems serious about ending the new Ultimate Universe.

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

Ever since digital streaming was introduced as an alternative to cable, companies like Disney, Warner Bros, Netflix, and Amazon have been finding new ways to "revolutionize" monthly subscriptions, which has more or less come right back around to the concept of cable. (Only now every "channel" requires its own login and password, and costs at least $7 a month.) As the streaming service war wages on with constant changes, mergers and acquisitions, "bundles" are becoming more common as more streaming services are created, and some of these have gotten creative with including both digital and physical services.

The ability to combine multiple networks and major streaming platforms into a single subscription is becoming simpler than ever (thankfully) and gives better savings over subscribing individually to every service you'd want. Depending on your needs as a subscriber and your interests as a streamer and/or online shopper, the options available should tick many of your boxes.

Check out our picks below for the best streaming bundles to consider subscribing to in 2025 to help you save on your streaming bill.

Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max Bundle – $16.99/month (with ads)

A new streaming bundle has entered the arena. Apple TV and Peacock have locked arms for a new offer, the first full bundle we’ve seen from either service. Starting at $14.99/month, the bundle offers over 30% in savings when compared to individual subscriptions, making this a particularly solid deal for two of the more reasonably priced streamers.

Apple TV and Peacock Launch New Streaming Bundle Starting at $14.99/Month

Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple TV, Apple Music, Sports, and Beats, made the following statement about the bundle's launch: “From acclaimed originals to can’t-miss live sports, the Apple TV and Peacock Bundle unites the best of entertainment in a simple and seamless experience.”

Apple TV, which recently ditched the plus sign, is best-known for 'prestige' original series like Severance, Silo, and The Studio (they seem to like the letter “S”). The service also seems to be building up its live sports offerings, having become the exclusive U.S. broadcaster for Formula 1. The MLS Pass is a separate subscription available through Apple TV, but the service just announced it will not be required for play-off games.

Peacock, on the other hand, really built its momentum off the NBC slate of sitcoms like The Office, Parks and Rec, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The service also has a wacky spread of sports offerings, including the Premier League and a spread of NBA games. I don’t think it's a coincidence we’re seeing this bundle launching so soon after ESPN Unlimited, as it seemingly offers a cheaper alternative for more casual sports fans.

Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.

I've been playing Pokémon Legends: Z-A on my Switch 2 since it was first released and have loved every minute of it. The game takes place entirely in Lumiose City and I've found that it runs beautifully on the new console. Whether you're catching Pokémon in the wild zones or diving into intense battles, everything looks crisp and gameplay is perfectly smooth.

You don't actually need to own a Switch 2 to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A, though. The standard Switch version is now available for $10 less than its Switch 2 counterpart. So if you're a Poké fan who hasn't yet taken the plunge and purchased the latest console, you don't have to miss out on the latest Pokémon adventure. The real question is: How well does the Switch 1 version actually run? IGN had the chance to play the game on both consoles side-by-side and it would seem the older console is quite capable of running the game – with the exception of some frame rate loss. You can check out our comparison below to see for yourself how the two versions of the game stack up against each other.

Should You Upgrade?

Like we noted in our comparison video, the differences between the two versions of the game are noticeable, but not so vast that you really need to upgrade to play the game. If you want the best possible gameplay experience with the sharpest possible visuals, then I'd say it's absolutely worth upgrading to the Switch 2. If you don't want to dish out the $450 for a new console, however, the Switch 1 version of the game will work just fine. The environments will be a little less detailed and some of the Pokémon may look a bit stilted in their movements, but overall the experience will still be fun.

If you're a Windows user that's looking for a PC version of the Apple Mac Mini, then one of the most popular models has dropped in price. Amazon is offering Prime members the AceMagic Vista Mini V1 Intel N150 Mini PC for just $131.34 shipped with coupon code "DEALSLICKV1". This is a great opportunity to pick up a tiny PC that includes the CPU, RAM, storage, and Windows 11 Pro OS for a lot less than the cost of a Mac Mini.

AceMagic Vista Mini V1 Intel N150 Mini PC for $131

Xbox itself has made a big deal out of its "Play Anywhere" initiative, and in my experience, it's become one of the best conveniences of playing games across its ecosystem. All first-party Xbox games and a wide range of third-party titles are included in the list of Xbox Play Anywhere games – meaning you can play these games across Xbox Series consoles and Windows PCs if you own them; no need to buy them twice as long as they're on the same Xbox-Microsoft account. Additionally, your saves are compatible cross-platform and exist in the cloud so you don't need to do anything special to pick up where you leave off.

This is important to remember in light of the launch of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X – the new PC gaming handhelds that sport the platform's branding. Despite how Microsoft loves to boast in its "This is an Xbox" ads for the handhelds, these are not Xbox systems. The system boots through a modified version of the Xbox app for PC, and has some quality-of-life features other PC handhelds don't have.

However, you are not playing Xbox versions of these games, you are playing the PC versions. Not every game you own on Xbox is going to be available on the ROG Xbox Ally (because again, it is not an Xbox). However, those that are will be conveniently placed under "My Library" on the Xbox Ally, so at least you don't need to do any extra digging to figure out what's playable.

While Play Anywhere helps bridge the gap between Xbox and PC for tons of games, it is not an exact one-to-one translation and it does not apply to all games. There are some PC games you can get through the Xbox app and Game Pass that are also PC exclusives, so it can go both ways. The easiest way to check if something is a Play Anywhere game and/or available across platforms is to check the game's page on the Xbox app. It will have a Play Anyway icon and designation under its name, and will show the available platforms under the "Playable on" header of the Information section (the "Capabilities" header will indicate "Xbox Play Anywhere" if it features it as well).

Play Anywhere does not guarantee a smooth gaming experience, either. Since the ROG Xbox Ally X is a PC, you will be subject to choosing your graphics settings. Modern games, especially those under the Xbox umbrella, tend to be fairly optimized or at least detect your system specs for presets suited for an optimal experience. The ROG Xbox Ally X's Z2 Extreme processor is very powerful and pushes handheld gaming to new technical heights, but – as comes with the territory of PC gaming – performance can vary from game to game. This won't be the same as booting up a game built specifically for Xbox systems. After spending some time with the ROG Xbox Ally, however, it has often given a smooth and seamless experience for playing games under the Play Anywhere banner.

This leads to the conversation of Game Pass – with the recent shake up of new tiers and price increases for Game Pass, it can be confusing what you're subscribing to. PC Game Pass applies to the ROG Xbox Ally X, which gives you access to its PC library, most of which includes the high profile Xbox games already. This includes day-one first-party titles; games such as The Outer Worlds 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Keeper, and upcoming releases like Fable, Forza Horizon 6, and Gears of War: E-Day are included (barring any changes to subscription plans). Those later games should be able to run with playable settings and performance on the newly minted handhelds, but we're not the ones who can guarantee that.

Note that if you have Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass is lumped under it so the benefits will apply across Xbox consoles and PC if you use multiple platforms.

Xbox Games You Can Play on the ROG Xbox Ally Handheld

As noted above, Play Anywhere is fairly wide-reaching, especially as it pertains to modern games. There are currently 1,532 games under Xbox Play Anywhere that will work across Xbox consoles and PC (including the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds). If you have purchased any of these games on your Microsoft/Xbox account, or if they're within the PC Game Pass library and you're a current subscriber to it (or Ultimate), you will be able to play them.

Asus and Xbox were smart to embrace other PC-based distributors and platforms with the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds – one of its best features is being able to sign into your Steam account and import your Steam library to play on these handhelds. Steam comes pre-installed to make things even easier. While compatibility and performance may vary from game to game, these handhelds being PCs is an advantage Xbox consoles just don't have since it opens you up to a much wider library. That extends to GOG, Epic Games Store, and Battle.net (which need to be installed separately), and again, your mileage may vary with performance, but games you own on those accounts are available.

One of the biggest questions on my mind, however, is how Xbox intends on handling backward compatibility with many original Xbox and Xbox 360 games not having proper PC ports. Xbox has been a great example of modern games preservation with the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, but moving to a Windows PC-based platform throws a wrench in those gears. We don’t know what the next Xbox console will look like, but if it embraces a Windows-based platform like the ROG Xbox Ally, I hope that Microsoft will do the work to ensure that Xbox’s fantastic back catalog will continue to be playable into the future.

We all know by now that LEGO has some of the most creative and intricate licensed sets around. Their original themes like Adventurers and Castle have taken a backseat to these over the decades, opting instead for modern themes like Ninjago and Monkie Kid, but as a fan of most of their partnerships, I'm not one to complain. Their newest unique idea is a trio of book nooks based on some of our favorite books from the last century and beyond: Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, and Lord of the Rings.

LEGO Lord of the Rings Book Nook

The Lord of the Rings book nook is an amazing buildable depiction of the iconic "You shall not pass!" scene from the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This happens as Gandalf the Grey confronts the demonic Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm in an effort to allow Frodo and his companions a chance to escape. Notably, in the book Gandalf actually says "you cannot pass".

I built the entirety of the set in one sitting, and with a small snack break it took roughly four hours. Throw on a podcast or your favorite movie and just enjoy the time – it'll go by fast. The build itself was a ton of fun, and I especially appreciate some of the unorthodox brick connectivity designs that not only help to capture the aesthetic of the Mines of Moria, but allow the finished product to function. The buildable Balrog figure has pegs in the back near the wings that slot into two holes on either pillar to keep it in place and fold its wings in fluid motion when transitioning between the two modes.

All three of the LEGO book nooks are modular; you can have them "folded" for thier intended use as a book nook, or you can unfold them to display the entire scene as more of a centerpiece on your shelf. It's much taller than it appears in photos, so plan your shelf space accordingly.

One aspect of the build I'm sadly not as impressed by is the flame effect. I can see what they were going for in terms of aesthetic, but I'm not entirely sure the pieces used help to capture it well. Still, it's a unique design that deserves praise if at least for the ingenuity.

If you're a relative newcomer to larger scale LEGO kits like this, another design aspect I appreciate immensely is that certain sections of the set have built-in visual aids and color coordination to ensure you place each component in the right spot, as it can sometimes be hard to line longer pieces up correctly. Check out my example below – the tan flat brick is there to let you know to line that part up with the pillar section.

Overall, I came away from this build extremely impressed. Not only do these sets serve a function as a snug book nook to heavy-enough bookend, but when unfolded it makes for a great focal point for your game room or LEGO collection shelf. The details are undoubtedly what make this a standout, from the "You shall not pass!" plaque, to the level of detail and posability on the Balrog figure, and even the Dwarven stone masonry on the pillars that give it a sense of unique personality.

The Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter book nooks offer the same level of detail, immersion, and Easter eggs, as well.

The LEGO Lord of the Rings book nook isn't the most affordable set around (it'll set you back $129.99), in fact pretty much all LEGO sets will have you breaking the bank in some regard, but the quality and level of detail is undeniably impressive. One of the official pics may show it in an unfortunate pose, but the sheer scale and size of it put that right out of my mind. It fits right at home on my bookshelf, and I love the modularity if I ever want to change things around a little bit. It's an excellent addition to the small (but still growing) LEGO Lord of the Rings theme.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

Wolfbox "Mega Flow" series electric air duster is one of the best air duster under $100 because it offers solid build quality and sustained, powerful cfm output. It's not the least expensive air duster but there's an eBay deal that brings the price down by nearly 60%. The Wolfbox official eBay Store is currently offering its most popular model - the Wolfbox MF100 - for just $44.40 after you apply coupon code "BESTGIFTS". Note that this is an open box model, but the product is new and unused. This is a much better deal than getting it from Amazon, which has it new for $72.

Update: Looks like this item is now out of stock.

Wolfbox MF100 Cordless Electric Air Duster for PC for $46.74

Final Destination has made its bones bringing audiences’ worst fears to the big screen. Through a twisted mix of horror and absurdity, the franchise explores the cosmic balance of life and death, building stories (and tension) around the idea that disasters are not averted, only delayed, and Death cannot be cheated.

For those who want to watch or rewatch the full Final Destination saga before watching Bloodlines, we’ve compiled this chronological list of the series’ six movies.

How Many Final Destination Movies Are There?

Six Final Destination movies have been released since the franchise debuted 25 years ago. Outside of film, there are also six original Final Destination novels (not counting novelizations of the movies) and two comics.

Which Final Destination Movie Should You Watch First?

There are two potential starting points: Final Destination (to view the movies in release order) or Final Destination 5 (to view them in order of their narrative chronology). Given Final Destination isn't a franchise with a crucial throughline, we recommend starting with the original.

Final Destination Movies in Chronological Order

The following blurbs contain broad spoilers for each movie.

1. Final Destination 5

The earliest-set movie in the franchise is Final Destination 5, which takes place in (or just before) the year 2000. Like the four movies prior, it introduces a group of people who avoid a deadly disaster — this time, a bridge collapse — thanks to the protagonist's premonition.

Final Destination 5 is purposely hazy with its place on the timeline until the very end, when we discover it leads straight into the original Final Destination.

2. Final Destination

The beginning of Final Destination connects to the end of the fifth movie through the Flight 180 disaster. High schooler Alex Browning has a vision of his fight exploding midair, kicking off a series of events that lead him and several others to deboard the plane. The vision comes to fruition, and the group is left to evade Death and its relentless pursuit to reclaim their lives.

3. Final Destination 2

Set a year after the first movie, Final Destination 2 introduces a new group of characters and another averted disaster: a massive traffic accident initiated by the series’ infamous logging truck. The film connects to Final Destination through Flight 180 survivor Clear Rivers, who attempts to help the new group cheat Death.

4. Final Destination 3

Final Destination 3, set in 2005, features an all-new cast of characters (excluding Death). The inciting accident here is every amusement park goer’s worst nightmare: a deadly roller coaster malfunction. As the formula goes, the survivors, led by high schooler Wendy Christensen, spend the movie trying to prevent Death from collecting its debt.

The events of the first two movies are referenced in Final Destination 3, though it features no returning characters.

5. The Final Destination

The franchise’s fourth film, The Final Destination, is set around 2008-2009 and follows a new group of survivors led by college student Nick O'Bannon. Nick foresees a disastrous crash at a racetrack and saves himself and a handful of other spectators, thrusting the group into Death's all-too-familiar game of cat and mouse.

6. Final Destination: Bloodlines

2025’s Final Destination: Bloodlines, released 14 years after the previous movie, straddles the series’ timeline; it primarily takes place in the present, though its intro scene is set in the 1960s, depicting a disaster at a fictional version of Seattle’s Space Needle. Unlike previous Final Destination movies, Bloodlines’ protagonist (college student Stefani Reyes) has visions of the past rather than the future. The movie explores her familial connection to and the present-day consequences of that 1968 disaster.

Bloodlines is notably the final movie in which the late Tony Todd appears. Todd reprises his role as William Bludworth, who previously appeared in Final Destination 1 and 2.

Final Destination Movies by Release Date

• Final Destination (2000)
• Final Destination 2 (2003)
• Final Destination 3 (2006)
• The Final Destination (2009)
• Final Destination 5 (2011)
• Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

What's Next for Final Destination?

After almost 15 years, Final Destination returned to theaters with Bloodlines. After a pretty successful box office run, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that a seventh Final Destination movie has already been greenlit. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Lori Evans Taylor, a co-writer on Bloodlines, will write the next sequel. More recently, New Line entered final talks with Belgian filmmaker Michiel Blanchart about directing it. Unfortunately, we have no word on a potential release date.

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

Netflix’s Kennedy family drama is moving forward, with X-Men star Michael Fassbender set to play Joseph Kennedy Sr.

Variety reports that Netflix has ordered an eight episode first season simply titled Kennedy. It’s based on JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956, by Fredrik Logevall. Fassbender, who played a young Magneto in the X-Men films and David in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequels, will play the Kennedy family patriarch.

It’s no easy feat to get horror maestro Stephen King to approve a casting choice for a movie based on one of his works — or is it? According to Glen Powell, who stars in the upcoming adaptation of The Running Man, it might be easy, but it’s agonizing nonetheless.

“[Director] Edgar [Wright} offered me this movie, and I was like, ‘Yes,’” the actor revealed at New York Comic Con recently. “And then, like, later that night [Edgar says], 'By the way, like, you have to be approved by Stephen King. He's gonna watch Hit Man tonight.'"

Needless to say, that notion would flare up anyone’s anxiety. "And so I had to wait overnight for Stephen King to watch Hit Man and hope that I still had the role in the morning,” Powell explained. “It's terrible." However, despite the intensity of the moment, he was ultimately approved by King to play the role of Ben Richards, the central character of the horror writer’s beloved 1982 novel on which the movie is based — and King reportedly “loved” Hit Man, just FYI.

The novel was originally published under Richard Bachman and follows Richards as he ends up part of a nationalized game show in a near dystopian future in which contestants are hunted for one month by trained killers all over the nation. The competition affords whoever stays alive the entire month $1 billion.

Wright directs from a screenplay penned by himself and Michael Bacall. The movie has a star-studded cast alongside Powell, including Colman Domingo, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera, Josh Brolin, Daniel Ezra, and Jayme Lawson.

This is the second adaptation of the story, with the first coming just five years after the book was published. The 1987 film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role of Ben Richards.

The Running Man will sprint into theaters on November 14, 2025. Stephen King, meanwhile, recently revealed his top 10 favorite movies, while keeping adaptations of his own works out of the mix.

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

An impressive new mod for The Simpsons Hit & Run has rebuilt the game to instead feature Futurama, catching the attention of the cult classic's original lead designer.

Futurama Hit & Run, as the mod is called, is available now in demo form as a free download — you'll just need a copy of the original Simpsons game on PC in order to play.

The Simpsons Hit & Run originally launched for PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox back in 2003, and was heavily inspired by the Grand Theft Auto games of the era. Gameplay for this Futurama mod also feels familiar, as you run around as Fry and complete missions for characters such as Bender, Professor Farnsworth and Dr. Zoidberg.

ANNONCE 📣 🎮 : La démo de Futurama Hit & Run, sera disponible le 19 octobre ! Une idée juste parfaite ! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/cy8WBhoLYL

— Mooonaa 💕 (@lycheemoona) October 18, 2025

There's driving too, of course — with Fry able to zoom around a section of New New York in a hover car. One particular mission has Fry escorting Bender back to the Planet Express headquarters while avoiding police in hover cop cars. But there's no sign yet of actual flying — perhaps in future.

Currently, the demo includes four story missions, plus a set of street races, vehicles, costumes and other Easter eggs to find and unlock. The demo also comes with an acknowledgement that it currently uses AI-generated dialogue as a "temporary placeholder." The mod team states: "Professional voice artists are already engaged, and their recordings will replace the placeholder content in a future update."

Response to the demo has been positive, not least from Joe McGinn, who worked on the original The Simpsons: Hit & Run over two decades ago. "As the lead designer of the original game, I can only say... this looks awesome!" McGinn wrote in a comment on the mod's trailer. "I want to play it."

Fans have long hoped for another Simpsons game, and previously cheered on a separate unofficial Hit & Run project that looked set to remake the entire title in Unreal Engine 5. Alas, that idea ran into legal issues with Disney, and its creator has now said the finished version will never be released.

Still, there may well be something new and official for The Simpsons fans to play in the not-too-distant future, as the franchise's long-awaited Fortnite mini-season now finally appears to be near.

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

Here's your weekly Pokémon TCG pricewatch and stock update, and it's an absolute banger. Amazon seem to be listening to me and the rest of community calling out their ridiculously high pricing on Pokémon TCG right now, but probably not. Regardless, we're seeing their exclusive Blaziken ex and Volcanion ex Premium Collection in stock for MSRP. That's right, no price hikes and no where near it's market value that's north of $90. Could this mean something positive for the future of Pokémon TCG at Amazon?

TL;DR: Deals for Today

Unfortunatley that's where the hope ends for big box retailers. TCGplayer is cheaper on every in-stock Pokémon sealed product on Amazon right now. There's usually one or two, but it's looking grim for them. For you it's great, as you're getting the proper market value from Prismatic Evolutions Booster Bundles ($59.96) and Surprise Boxes ($43).

Blaziken ex & Volcanion ex Premium Collection

Poké Price Check: Mega Evolution In Stock

Mega Evolution seems to be a well-printed start to the next era of Pokémon TCG. I'm seeing boosters in convienience stores and some products on physical shelves, not to mention the Booster Bundle ($52.89), Gardevoir ETB ($88.81) and Three Booster Blister ($28.90) available on Amazon. Like the rest of the products in this carousel though, the cheapest is TCGplayer right now.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

This article contains spoilers for 2019's The Outer Worlds.

With The Outer Worlds 2 imminently about to drop, we think it's a good time to brush up on the fundamentals of Obsidian's high-concept sci-ifi universe and recount the events of the first game. The next 2,000 words or so will work nicely as a refresher for people who finished The Outer Worlds ages ago, and also as a primer for those of you diving into the sequel without any prior knowledge. It goes without saying, then, that what follows contains spoilers for The Outer Worlds 1. If you don't want anything spoiled... well, the long and short of it is that unregulated capitalism is bad. That's enough to get you going with The Outer Worlds 2.

But you didn't come here for tl;dr. You clicked on an article to read it, so here's everything that happened in The Outer Worlds.

Divergence

The Outer Worlds' story arguably starts in 1901 with a non-event. That is, President William McKinley not getting assassinated by an anarchist for failing to regulate the corporations, and subsequently, uh, leaving the corporations unregulated for the rest of his term and apparently for the rest of time, putting humanity on course to colonise the stars, but as an entrenched, hyper-capitalist society in which workers rights are not remotely a concept. So this is like a nightmare version of Star Trek where everything sucks unless you’re absurdly rich. Thank god this is just fiction.

Fast forward a few hundred years, and The Earth Directorate, a one-world government established after a devastating war, is granting licenses to various conglomerates to go off and colonise distant planets, the titular Outer Worlds. We don’t know exactly how many galaxies have been colonised, but multiple systems are mentioned through the course of the game, including Septerra, Tyrannus, Draconis, and from the upcoming Outer Worlds 2, Arcadia.

The Outer Worlds 2 isn't a direct sequel to its predecessor, so that's technically everything you need to know. But there's every chance that someone or something from the original game will make an appearance, be that as a side character, easter egg, or even an important event in the story. So read on to brush up on everything that happens prior to your adventure in game two.

Lost Hope

Our story occurs in the troubled system of Halcyon, and that trouble starts before the colonisation effort even reaches the system. Of the two vast colony ships sent there, only one arrives on time - The Groundbreaker. After seeding all the inhabitable planets with colonists, it becomes an independent freeport space station and floating strip mall, an essential hub for trade at the intersection between small time private enterprise and the rest of the corporation-controlled system. The second ship, the Hope, carrying tens of thousands of scientists and thinkers in suspended animation, has a skip drive malfunction enroute from Earth and ends up limping to Halcyon at sublight speeds.

Presumed lost, it is then discovered by The Board, Halcyon’s corporate overlords, and instead of being allowed to complete its journey, it is tethered to a remote ice moon and hidden from view. The Board don’t have the tech or the will to revive the Hope colonists, and they don’t want to have to deal with a public outcry about it, either. And so they are content to let it remain frozen and forgotten in time.

This, however, irks one of their scientists, one Phineas Welles, who is so incensed by The Board’s inaction that he takes matters into his own hands and starts experimenting, in secret, on the Hope’s colonists in order to find a viable method of resurrecting them after all this time. He succeeds, but not before becoming a disgraced outlaw and the most wanted man in the entire system.

Unfortunately, the resurrection process requires lots of rare material that’s difficult to gather when you’re on the run, and so Phineas decides to use his one and only test batch of revival serum on a single Hope colonist. In a last-ditch raid on the abandoned starship, he selects someone to revive at random in the hopes that they will become a loyal ally and help him finish his grand scheme: to revive every Hope colonist, seed the Halcyon system with smart people who aren’t idiots, and free the colonies from corporate control. He successfully does so, but not without his own ship sustaining significant damage, grounding it permanently.

Who he revives depends on you, the player, and their skills and character traits depend on your choices in both the character creator and the game’s narrative. And so begins a grand choice and consequence story in which the optimum outcomes are locked behind gates of competency – that is, if this heroic Stranger wants to achieve the most free and least bloody outcome for the people of Halcyon, they’re gonna need to pass some lofty speech checks. And we’re assuming that’s what they did, because covering every possible permutation of The Outer Worlds' story would take far more time than any of us reasonably has.

The Unplanned Variable

Before the player character arrives – almost forty years late – to the Halcyon system, The Board is content to preside over a system of shocking inequality, maintaining control through stifling bureaucracy and manufactured scarcity. But not every worker is a mindless drone, as we find out in Emerald Vale: the first major test of The Stranger’s resourcefulness, charisma, and political savvy - an opening chapter that sets the blueprint for all the conflicts to come.

But first, The Stranger needs a ride, and a guide. Welles arranges with a known privateer and general Han Solo archetype, Captain Hawthorn, to meet The Stranger on the planet Terra 2. Unfortunately what Hawthorn actually meets is the Stranger's drop pod, violently, with the top of his head. This leads The Stranger to commandeer Hawthorn's now captainless ship, The Unreliable - a sort of chubby Millennium Falcon with a feisty onboard computer - and take off on a grand interplanetary adventure.

Uh, except, not yet: it turns out that The Unreliable needs a replacement power regulator before it can go, which is annoying, but the pursuit of a new one does give The Stranger an opportunity to recruit two immensely useful companions: engineer Parvati and philosophical space-priest Vicar Max, both of whom provide boosts to The Stranger’s crucial Persuade and Intimidate skills, vital for the wheeling and dealing that lies ahead.

After checking in with the boss of Emerald Vale’s biggest corporate town and Spacer’s Choice Saltuna cannery, Reed Tobson, it turns out that there are two power regulators in the area: one in his factory, which he is understandably reluctant to give up, and one at an abandoned Botanical Lab, now home to a set of deserters who, disillusioned with the systemic mistreatment they experienced as lifelong, sometimes multi-generational indentured employees of Spacer’s Choice, have decided to found a new cooperative society free from company oversight. Unfortunately, this means that the Saltuna Cannery is chronically understaffed, and so Reed asks you to cut off their power at the local plant in order to force his workers back into the fold, which will make it safe for you to nab their power regulator.

It seems like a solid plan, but it does come with the downside of propping up an odious bootlicking toad like Reed at the expense of people whose only crime is wanting to be free of a system that is hostile to them. The obvious alternative is to screw him over and divert power to the Botanical Lab, but effectively killing the town of Edgewater at the same time – not only is Edgewater a safe walled city where people live, it is also the home of companion Parvati, so destroying it comes with a significant personal cost.

There is, however, an optimal solution: The Stranger decides to shut down the Botanical Labs and take its power regulator, initially making an enemy of the deserter leader Adelaide, but convinces Reed Tobson to step down as leader of Edgewater, cleverly using his own company loyalty against him by pointing out that he’s remarkably crap at his job, and that the best outcome for Spacer’s Choice is for him to just disappear. Morbid, sure, but they could have just shot him, so this really is the best outcome for all concerned. The Deserters return to the town, Adelaide takes over as administrator from Reed, and sets about making the colony more sustainable by growing food in soil enriched by, uh, corpses. Which is fine. Look, however you slice it, life is cheap here. There is, as it turns out, no perfect solution to any of Halcyon’s problems – but this way, the people of Edgewater get a little more health and happiness without having to give up the corporate infrastructure they so rely on.

Groundbreaker

With a freshly installed power regulator and an eager new crew, The Stranger sets off to Groundbreaker Station, Halcyon’s premiere shopping destination and hive of scum and villainy. Most of it of the white collar variety.

There, they recruit two more companions: Felix, a canny dockworker with a high Persuade boost, and Ellie, a roving sawbones loyal only to her next pay packet who comes complete with a boost to the party’s lying skills.

The Stranger’s next task involves visiting the moon of Monarch, but this is tricky because the planet has been deemed off-limits by The Board as it is subject to an entrenched civil war and a communications blackout. Having been cut off from board oversight, it’s generally assumed that the place is bad news. Bad News, however, is The Stranger’s middle name. Or names. It’s not really. But look, nothing will deter The Stranger from going there, not even a corporate embargo or risk of certain death. They demonstrate this determination by doing a bunch of busywork in another semi-abandoned corporate settlement just to get enough bits to buy an illicit black market navkey to the town of Stellar Bay in the Cascadia region of Monarch.

Clearing the Air

Phineas needs to procure a rare substance called Dimethyl Sulfoxide in large quantities to revive all the colonists still frozen on The Hope. To track some down, he’s made a deal with an information broker on Monarch with the help of Nyoka, The Unreliable’s final recruitable companion, but has yet to receive the intel for reasons unknown. So he sends The Stranger there in his stead to find and retrieve this vital piece of the puzzle.

Upon arriving on Monarch, The Stranger makes contact with Nyoka and sets off to Devil’s Peak, the ominous horned mountain that hosts a large communications station where the Information Broker is currently holed up, and learns (after doing lots of murder, like, loads and loads of it) that the reason Phineas hasn’t received the intel is that the region’s communications are being drowned out by pervasive broadcasts by Monarch Stellar Industries, the corporate remnant still holding onto power on Monarch, and The Iconoclasts, a group of anarchists determined to free the colony of Board control.

This is like the Edgewater vs Deserters situation on steroids, and confirms what Phineas has told you about Halcyon: the system is falling apart, and The Board are content to let it, rather than relinquish its stranglehold on the workers. But The Stranger is remarkably good at brokering impossible deals – getting people from opposing factions to see reason, and work together toward a common goal. They work this magic on Monarch, first to end the broadcasts and free up the comms tower to send Phineas his intel, and then – just as an encore, you understand – put an end to the conflict entirely with a little deposing here, a bit of finessing there. Turns out diplomacy's a piece of piss.

Byzantium

Sorting out the mess on Monarch provided a strong foundation for the health of the Halcyon system going forward, but there still remained the issue of The Board and their sheer indifference to the horrific conditions that people are having to live with outside of their glittering capital city of Byzantium – which is exactly where the intel sends The Stranger in order to retrieve those vital chemicals, which are being used by The Board to run experiments on human test subjects in suspended animation.

It turns out that The Board’s answer to the Halcyon system’s collapsing economy and total lack of food security is the Lifetime Employment Program – a scheme where all of Halcyon’s workers will be placed in indefinite suspended animation, revived only when needed, in order to reserve the colony’s dwindling food supplies for the societal elite in Byzantium. And, y’know, their scientists will totally get onto fixing the whole food shortage thing in the meantime. Definitely. Yep. Oh, and this involves killing everyone left on board The Hope to make space in the fridge for this planned batch of worker popsicles.

This being unconscionable, The Stranger shuts down the board’s research and retrieves the Dimethyl Sulfoxide, the second to last piece of the puzzle needed to revive the Hope colonists. The final piece being the ship itself.

Endgame

Phineas sends The Stranger back to where it all started, the Hope, with a plan to restart its skip drive and bring it to Terra 2, so the work of reviving its colonists – said to be Halcyon’s best and brightest – can get underway. It is Phineas’s belief that they will be able to solve the colony’s food shortages and systemic conflicts with science, technology, and pragmatism.

Once the ship is retrieved, though, it is discovered that Phineas’s secret lab has been ransacked, and he himself imprisoned on Tartarus, Halcyon’s infamous penal colony. The fight that ensues involves almost everyone The Stranger helped out on their travels up to that point – with both the MSI and the Iconoclasts showing up as allies to assist in this cosmic prison break, along with the crew of The Groundbreaker itself.

Despite a certain acceptable level of bloodshed being inevitable, The Stranger’s progressive reputation, history of even-handed pragmatism, and relative lack of a murderous streak puts them in a position to negotiate peacefully for Phineas’s release, locking in his vision for reviving the Hope colonists, and setting its brilliant thinkers on the path to fixing the colonies.

The Halcyon system was not saved by violent action, but by negotiation, compromise, and calculated political manoeuvring. And also a bit of violence. A smidge. A necessary pinch of shooting and battering. Also petty theft and the odd swindle. But mostly the whole diplomacy thing. And via these actions, a ragtag group of colonists from all walks of life managed to deliver true, lasting systemic change to Halcyon before going their separate ways and their ship, The Unreliable, falling into legend.

Also at some point they lost contact with Earth and nobody knows what happened to it. I guess we’ll find out in The Outer Worlds 2 – a game on which, as far as we know, almost none of this has any bearing whatsoever. Still, saves you having to play it again, right?

Xbox has addressed the ROG Ally X handheld's controversial $1,000 price point — and said it had been hardware maker Asus that ultimately decided how much to charge.

While released as Xbox-branded devices, with access to your Xbox library and Game Pass built in, the $600 ROG Ally and $1,000 ROG Ally X are ultimately Asus-made handhelds — and because of this, Asus set the price.

That's according to Xbox president Sarah Bond, who told Variety that Asus had used its "insight into the market, into the feature set, into what people want, to determine the ultimate prices of the devices."

Despite the price, response to the Ally X in particular has been positive. IGN dubbed the device as "the new handheld gaming PC to beat" in our Asus ROG Ally X review, though noted that its cost was "the elephant in the room."

"At $999, not only is it more expensive than the $799 ROG Ally X, but it’s twice the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 or the Steam Deck," IGN wrote. "Everything is getting more expensive lately, and while the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is certainly guilty of this — it’s actually pretty reasonably priced compared to other similar devices that’ve launched in the last year," comparing it favorably to the Lenovo Legion Go 2 and MSI Claw A8.

And then there's the issue of tarriffs to content with, an element outside of Asus' (or Microsoft's) control. The impact of these added costs to U.S. imports lead to a lengthy wait for Microsoft to formally confirm the handhelds' pricing, months after it revealed a release date.

With the handhelds now available, Bond has suggested that sales of the devices — at launch, at least — had not been impacted by concerns around its cost.

"The reaction was overwhelming demand for the device," Bond said. "We sold out on the Xbox Store. We sold really quickly at a number of other places around the world. I feel really good about the value that we’re giving gamers for the price, based off the reception to the hardware."

Will any of this impact Xbox's own plans to launch a first-party handheld of its own? It's unclear. While Microsoft's gaming boss Phil Spencer has previously confirmed his interest in such a device, subsequent reports have suggested the idea has been sidelined. We asked Jason Ronald, Microsoft's vice president of Xbox gaming devices and ecosystem, about Microsoft's internal plans to make a first-party Xbox handheld back in August.

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

There’s a lot we don’t know about the final season of Stranger Things, but one thing’s for sure: despite all the teasing, Joseph Quinn will not be returning as Eddie Munson for Season 5.

"I love that Joe Quinn is toying with people! But no, he's dead,” co-showrunner Matt Duffer recently told Empire for their new Stranger Things Season 5 issue. “Joe is so busy anyway, that everyone should know he's not coming back. He's shot like five movies since! When the hell has he got time to come and shoot Stranger Things? No, sadly, RIP. He’s fully under that ground.”

Duffer is of course referring to how coy Quinn played it on red carpets this year when being asked about the final season of the beloved series. In fact, he teased the audience with possibilities at a recent red carpet for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

To say Call of Duty is an important piece of video game history would be an understatement. It’s hard to think of first-person shooters (or action games in general) without mentioning this series, which has become one of the most successful franchises ever after revolutionizing single-player campaigns and online battles.

For decades, CoD has dominated the multiplayer scene. Apart from creating iconic characters like Captain Price and Alex Mason, the series has also introduced unexpected figures to their ranks, like Spawn, Snoop Dogg, and Lionel Messi. With Black Ops 7 on the horizon, you might want to look back on over 20 years of Call of Duty history.

With entries exploring conflicts from both our past and our possible future, here's every Call of Duty game in chronological order.

Jump to:

• How to play in chronological order
• How to play by release date

How Many Call of Duty Games Are There?

Due to quite a few subseries, a reboot, and the many studios that have worked or are working on the series, it can be a bit troublesome to determine how many Call of Duty games have been released.

If we consider only the main entries with single-player campaigns, including all the World War II titles, the Modern Warfare subseries (plus its reboot), and the Black Ops subseries, there are 20 video games in the Call of Duty franchise

That said, things get complicated when you add all the expansions, online experiences, mobile games, and spin-offs. For example, Call of Duty: United Offensive is an expansion for the first game, while Call of Duty: Finest Hour and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One are side stories of the first two entries.

Spin-offs include strategy game Call of Duty: Siege, launched in 2016 based on Infinite Warfare’s universe; Call of Duty: Heroes, released in 2014; and the mobile version of Call of Duty: Black Ops. In fact, many main entries have significantly different editions for mobile/handheld when compared to the major console releases. Examples of this are PS Vita’s Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified and Nintendo DS’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance.

Then there’s the Chinese free-to-play Call of Duty Online, released in 2015 and shut down in 2021. 2019’s Call of Duty Mobile took its place and is still running today.

The unique Zombies modes have become a staple of the series since their first inclusion in 2008’s World at War, and they have appeared in multiple entries since.

Finally, the franchise entered the battle royale and live service genres with Warzone, launched in 2020, which became a huge success. Two years later, it was replaced by Warzone 2.0, a complete overhaul of the game’s map and experience. Warzone Mobile brought the battle royale experience to iOS and Android devices in early 2024.

To avoid confusion, it’s worth mentioning that the reboot of the Modern Warfare series will be numbered with Roman numbers. Also, Black Ops 4 is not added to the list below for its lack of campaign (it’s a multiplayer-only experience).

Which Call of Duty Game Should You Play First?

For the sake of simplicity and accessibility, we recommend 2019's Modern Warfare reboot as a solid starting point for Call of Duty campaigns. Starting here creates a straightforward path through the rebooted Modern Warfare trilogy, as all three games are available on modern Xbox and PlayStation consoles, as well as PC. Plus, unlike the Black Ops subseries, each game was released within the last five years, meaning none should feel too dated.

Call of Duty Games in Chronological Order

Beware of minor spoilers for the stories, characters, and relevant events of each game in the list below.

1. Call of Duty (2003)

The franchise's first game was developed by Infinity Ward and published in 2003. This is the first of many entries in the series focused on World War II, following the steps of other household names like Medal of Honor.

In the first Call of Duty, you play three different campaigns as different soldiers from three countries: the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union.

The North American soldier, Private Martin, starts his training in 1942 and participates in the invasion of Normandy in 1944, while the British Sergeant Evans fights in Operation Tonga that same year. Evans will later be helped by Captain Price, a recurrent name in the franchise. On the other hand, the Soviet Alexei Ivanovich Voronin’s campaign takes place in the Battle of Stalingrad.

2. Call of Duty 2 (2005)

The sequel of the original title repeats the settings and nations but with some different perspectives. Instead of three campaigns, you experience four: one from the perspective of a North American soldier, one from the Soviet Union, and two from Britain.

As Private Vasili Koslov, you have to defend Moscow from Nazi German soldiers, while North American Bill Taylor joins the army that assaults La Pointe du Hoc during the infamous D-Day. The British soldiers, Sergeant John Davis and David Welsh, participated in the conflict in North Africa. Davis is led by Captain Price.

3. Call of Duty: World at War (2008)

A few years after Call of Duty 3, the team at Treyarch came back and delivered their last entry based on the conflict the series has been breathing off since its beginnings. This time, however, the campaign was only divided into North American and Soviet forces.

You follow American Marine Private C. Miller during the Makin Island raid in 1942, and later in the Battle of Peleliu, in which American forces confronted the Japanese army. The Soviet section takes place in the Battle of Stalingrad, but this time on the Eastern Front as Private Dimitri Petrenko.

4. Call of Duty 3 (2005)

The first main game in the series not developed by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty 3 was Treyarch’s first attempt at recreating World War II events.

Taking place in 1944, armies from Britain, Poland, the United States, Canada, and France fight against Germany's Nazi forces in the village of Chambois, France, during the Battle of Normandy.

This is the only main entry you cannot play on PC.

5. Call of Duty: WWII (2017)

Almost a decade and a half after the first game, studio Sledgehammer Games returned the franchise to World War II. This was the first time in the main series there was only one protagonist in the campaign: Ronald “Red” Daniels, accompanied by his loyal squad. As Red, you fight Nazi German forces across the European theater, from Normandy to Germany.

While WWII has some brief flashback sequences in 1940, which would set it as the first game in the series chronologically, the core of the title takes place in 1944.

6. Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021)

In the latest entry set in World War II, developer Sledgehammer Games tried once again to bring Call of Duty to its roots and explore this historical event from a different perspective.

Contrary to 2017’s WWII, you are presented with multiple characters on different fronts. The main objective is to learn more about Phoenix, a secret Nazi project that could change the tide of the war in favor of Nazi Germany.

Vanguard also has flashback sequences for different protagonists starting in 1941, but the majority of the campaign is set in 1945, near the end of the war.

7. Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)

Developer Treyarch changed eras with Black Ops. Going from 1961 to 1968, you’ll experience the events of the Cold War and part of the Vietnam War for the first time in the series.

The main protagonist, Alex Mason, works with the CIA and is tasked to remember events that would help find Soviet sleeper agents. These agents are around the United States, and they plan to release a dangerous chemical weapon called Nova 6.

8. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)

Developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War helps connect the original Black Ops and Black Ops 2. While the main protagonist this time is nicknamed “Bell,” you get to choose your name, gender, and other details like dialogue lines.

Set in 1981, you team up with characters from previous games, including Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson. Under CIA’s Russell Adler, your elite team is supposed to catch a Soviet figure that goes by “Perseus” who is planning to attack the United States.

9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)

The sequel to the original Black Ops presents two timelines. On the first one, you follow Alex Mason’s footsteps several years after he and his team successfully stopped Nova 6. It’s 1986, and Jason Hudson asks Mason to aid with the search for Frank Woods, who disappeared in Cuando Cubango, Angola.

The second timeline is centered around David Mason, Alex’s son, who’s looking for Raul Menendez in 2025. Menendez is the leader of Cordis Die, a terrorist organization that provoked the Second Cold War.

10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 takes place in the early 1990s, beginning in 1991, after the events of Black Ops 2's late-80s storyline. The story is centered around the Gulf War, wherein Frank Woods and his team of rogue agents are hunted by a shadowy group that's infiltrated the CIA.

Historical figures represented in the game include former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

11. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

The last entry to have a number after “Call of Duty,” Modern Warfare is the first time the series abandoned its classic Allies vs Axis conflict for something more recent.

In 2011, Yasir Al-Fulani, the president of a fictional Middle Eastern country, was executed by Khaled Al-Asad, the leader of a revolutionary party. Meanwhile, Russia is going through a civil war provoked by Imran Zakhaev, an arms dealer.

A squad commanded by Captain Price and formed by protagonist John “Soap” MacTavish have to stop an international crisis.

12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Set five years after the events of the previous game, Modern Warfare 2 tells the story of Vladimir Makarov, an Ultranationalist who continues the work of Imran Zakhaev. It turns out this extremist party gained control of Russia, so Makarov gained the power to start committing terrorist acts against the United States.

Well-known faces like the Captain Soap and Captain Price join forces with Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley, “Nikolai”, and other agents to stop Makarov’s secret plan.

13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)

The end of the first Modern Warfare trilogy brings the pursuit of terrorist Vladimir Makarov to its climax. Captain Price’s team re-arranges itself with Yuri, an ex-Spetsnaz known by Nikolai. Captain John "Soap" MacTavish is also present for the final mission.

Makarov captures Boris Vorshevsky, the president of Russia, who was going to establish peace with the United States. After threatening the president’s daughter, Makarov acquired nuclear launch codes, becoming an international danger once again.

14. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

In 2019, Infinity Ward rebooted the successful Modern Warfare series by reusing some classic characters in a new timeline. Well-known faces like Captain Price are present in a new conflict with Russia.

Set in the same year it was released, a fictional republic called Urzikstan is invaded by a Russian army. While this attack is going on, a terrorist organization called Al-Qatala, also from Urzikstan, begins with operations against different countries in the world. Captain Price, alongside his Task Force 141 and the Urzikstan Liberation Force, try to de-escalate the conflict.

15. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)

Taking place in 2022, Modern Warfare II follows the story of the MW reboot, featuring returning characters from Task Force 141 and the Urzikstan Liberation Force leader Farah Karim.

Al-Qatala is still a threat, but all eyes are on Quds Force, an Iranian revolutionary group commanded by Hassan Zyani. Zyani is supported by Al-Qatala and a Mexican cartel from the fictional city of Las Almas, and he plans terrorist acts against the United States after the assassination of General Ghorbrani, an Iranian forces leader.

16. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)

Picking up after the events of 2022's Modern Warfare II, MWIII once again stars Task Force 141, including recurring characters John Price, Simon "Ghost" Riley, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, and John "Soap" MacTavish. Ultranationalist terrorist Vladimir Makarov, the villain from 2011's Modern Warfare 3, once again serves as the antagonist.

17. Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)

A standalone entry with few connections to previous titles, Call of Duty Ghosts was developed by Infinity Ward in 2013. As its name indicates, it focused on the special operation group called Ghosts, a U.S. team tasked with secret missions.

It’s 2027, and after a decade of conflicts in the Middle East and an oil crisis, a South American force called the Federation of the Americas initiated a war against the United States. Working with your new team, you have to stop Gabriel T. Rorke, the former leader of Ghosts.

18. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)

Advanced Warfare was the first entry to take place several decades beyond its release date. It was also the first game developed primarily by Sledgehammer Games.

Set in 2054, you control Jack Mitchell, a member of the United States Marine Corps who later fights in the private military corporation known as Atlas after suffering an accident. On this occasion, the enemy forces are a Chechenian separatist group called KVA led by Joseph "Hades" Chkheidze.

It was one of the first entries to feature futuristic changes in gameplay due to its setting, like the fact that soldiers now wear exoskeletons, which bring them unique abilities.

19. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2015)

The end of the initial Black Ops trilogy was also set in the future. More specifically, in the year 2065, when a Third Cold War between the Common Defense Pact and the Winslow Accord is happening. Robotic drones, cyborg supersoldiers, unpiloted air forces, and other technological advancements take center stage.

A black ops team composed of you (simply referred to as “The Player”), Jacob Hendricks, and your cybernetics division will be tasked with preventing the conflict from reaching a more dangerous state. You investigate a strange event in Singapore and look out for the 54 Immortals, a crime organization.

20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)

No Call of Duty game went further into the future than Infinite Warfare. Around the 2080s, the United Nations Space Alliance was created after humans had spent all the natural resources available on Earth. Beginning the colonization and exploitation of resources on other planets, this alliance is defended by the Solar Associated Treaty Organization, a military force that battles the totalitarian regime Settlement Defense Front from Mars.

How to Play the Call of Duty Games By Release Date

1. Call of Duty (2003)
2. Call of Duty 2 (2005)
3. Call of Duty 3 (2006)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
5. Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
10. Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
11. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
12. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2015)
13. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)
14. Call of Duty: WWII (2017)
15. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
16. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
17. Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021)
18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)
19. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)
20. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024)
21. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (2025)

What’s Next for Call of Duty?

It's official: Black Ops 7 is next up in the Call of Duty franchise. A reveal trailer was shown at the June Xbox Showcase, starring Milo Ventimiglia as David Mason. Michael Rooker is also set to reprise his role as Mike Harper from Black Ops 2.

The seventh Black Ops game is launching on November 14. It will be set in 2035, over 40 years after Black Ops 6, and brings back co-op campaigns. Activision did its best to curb cheaters throughout the Beta period, and Seth Macy's impressions during the multiplayer Beta include that the gunplay "works exactly how I want it to." Since that Beta period, we've seen the massive launch of Battlefield 6, stoking a potential battle between the two classic shooters this fall.

Outside of games, Activision recently struck a deal with Paramount to produce a live-action Call of Duty movie. David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, has said he’s a big Call of Duty fan who’s put “countless” hours into the franchise. Little is known about the direction the movie will take, but Ellison did refer to Paramount's recent success with Top Gun: Maverick as a "guiding star."

Axel Bosso is a contributing freelancer for IGN, covering everything related to video games (he's behind some of the Wikis you might have used over the years)!

We already knew the star of The Terminator — Sarah Connor, of course… aka Linda Hamilton — would be joining the Stranger Things Cinematic Universe for Season 5. But now, we’re getting a glimpse, albeit a small one, into her character from the Duffer Brothers themselves.

“She’s hyper-intelligent and intimidating,” Matt Duffer told Empire of the character Dr. Kay, a government agent hunting down Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven, in their new Stranger Things Season 5 issue.

And it looks like she’s probably going to be using those smarts to, quite frankly, kick some ass. “She’s a scientist but if she needs to, she can get into a fight and shoot a gun,” Matt added.

That’s all we have to go on at this point when it comes to Hamilton’s character, and we have even less information about the plot of season 5 itself. It'll be interesting to eventually see all the facets of her character and how she affects the greater story. That said, the Duffer Brothers have opened up a little bit about what fans can expect throughout the season.

The cocreator and showrunner of the series recently opened up to Variety, alongside brother Ross Duffer, about making sure the final season would explain “about what the Upside Down was.” He added: “Every season would be like, ‘Should we talk about it?’ And we’d go, ‘No, let’s wait.’ And then finally, we’re like, ‘Well, we have to now!’”

Another thing fans can expect is a complete story. “It doesn’t feel like we dropped a storyline — it all connects,” Ross told Variety in the recent chat, while Matt noted: “We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters. This is a complete story. It’s done.”

Last week, star Finn Wolfhard admitted the fear that Stranger Things might tank its reputation with a dodgy finale was a concern for the show's cast after seeing Game of Thrones' final season brutally "torn to shreds."

Stranger Things season 5 will be released on Netflix in three parts: four episodes on November 26th for the Thanksgiving holiday, another three episodes on Christmas, and the final episode of the series on New Year’s Day.

After all that, will this really be the end of Stranger Things? Of course not. Netflix already has plans for animated series and at least one spinoff.

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

A brand new special edition DualSense is joining the PlayStation family. The Icon Blue PS5 DualSense wireless controller is now available to pick up from Walmart, and it's only available to buy from Walmart. This exclusive controller is currently listed for $84 at the retailer, and is bursting with bright blue colors that are "Inspired by PlayStation’s storied heritage," according to the PlayStation Blog.

If this vibrant new Walmart-exclusive controller has caught your eye, you can pick it up at the link below.

PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller (Icon Blue) at Walmart