If you're looking for an Anker power bank that can handle the demands of power hungry electronics like the new Xbox Ally X handheld gaming PC or the latest MacBook Pro 16" laptop, then the model that I currently use and recommend is on sale. Amazon is offering Prime members the Anker PowerCore 737 24,000mAh Power Bank with 140W of Power Delivery for just $74.99 with free shipping. I've owned this exact power bank for a few years and still use it regularly; it has been on multiple flights and road trips and works as intended. There are plenty of good battery brands nowadays, but Anker is still up there as of the most, if not the most reliable brands on Amazon.

Anker 737 24,000mAh 140W Power Bank for $74.99

The Xbox Ally X, the latest powerful handheld gaming PC, is a terrific machine, instantly taking the top spot on our list of the best handheld gaming PCs. For some, however, the price was a source of sticker shock (cue the Drew Scanlon blinking meme.) To help out against the $999.99 MSRP, you can now get a small discount on the Xbox Ally X at Best Buy. If you’re cool with buying an open-box unit, you can save up to $110, depending on the condition (see it at Best Buy).

A compact power bank that is perfect for your Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Apple iPhone 17 has dropped in price for a limited time. Amazon is currently offering the Iniu 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank for just $10.19 after you clip the 49% off coupon on the product page. I hope you don't mind a power bank with a bit of pizzazz because this one's decked out in a fun tropical punch colorway. I expect this deal to reach its redemption limit very quickly.

Iniu 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank for $10.19

Gearbox has released the big Borderlands 4 Day 30 patch, which makes a number of key balance changes to the game.

This update, released October 23, includes widespread stability improvements, multiplayer fixes, UI polish, and a suite of quality-of-life upgrades across visuals, audio, and accessibility. It also addresses various reported issues for Vault Hunters including major balance tuning, loot systems, gear, and achievements — further refining late-game, mission flow, and overall player experience.

Borderlands 4 players had been bracing themselves for this patch, as it finally takes aim at what Gearbox called "unintended interactions." Chief among these were builds that revolved around what was dubbed the 'crit knife,' which caused so much damage players were able to one-shot bosses even on Borderlands 4's toughest difficulties.

“We will monitor the community closely for feedback and respond after the changes have settled,” Gearbox said. “This measured approach to your input will provide a consistent and better experience. As a reminder, our primary goal with balance adjustments is to provide you the greatest number of viable builds.”

The update launches alongside the free Horrors of Kairos Seasonal Mini-Event. From today, October 23 to November 6, players will experience “a terror-inducing blood rain during all world boss encounters, with the added chance to loot the all-new legendary ‘Murmur’ Tediore Assault Rifle and ‘Skully’ Order Grenade.

The patch notes, courtesy of the Borderlands website, are below:

Borderlands 4 Day 30 October 23 update patch notes:

Change List:

Horrors of Kairos!

• Added support for the Horrors of Kairos! This free mini-event will be live from October 23 to November 6.
• Added the "Murmur" Legendary Tediore Assault Rifle and "Skully" Legendary Order Grenade to the rewards for world bosses across Kairos! These special drops will only be available during Horrors of Kairos, and delivered to the Reward Center. These do not change the rates on any other gear for that boss.

Read the official announcement article for Horrors of Kairos for more information on the event and a spooky SHiFT code to shoot fear into your enemies!

Progression, Loot, & Rewards

• Reduced Specialization Respec Machine cost from 5000 Eridium to 1500
• Added drops to a certain boss fight that was not dropping loot
• [PC] Ultimate Vault Hunter Level 5 Rank Up mission now correctly increases rank on Steam
• Granted missing cosmetic rewards for players who completed Kairos Speaks with 155 Echo Logs prior to a previous update
• Improved equipment handling when opening Rewards while driving
• Lost Loot Machine logic updated to better prioritize higher-quality loot in overflow situations
• Lost Loot Machine SDU upgrades now properly expand slots in multiplayer sessions
• Addressed a reported issue with the Lost Loot Machine that could cause duplications in multiplayer
• Loot enemies now drop more cash
• Golden Chests can now consistently be opened after joining a session and redeeming SHiFT keys
• Reward Center behavior adjusted after claiming the Gilded Glory Pack, to prevent it from losing function
• Break Free reward bundle redemption standardized, will now correctly apply account-wide as intended
• Adjusted unlock conditions so Rift Incompatible achievement now correctly completes for all players in multiplayer
• Cut That Out achievement now unlocks when viewing the board from a further distance.
• Level-based progression updated so Crimson Rising achievement unlocks at character level 10 as designed
• Timing adjustments made so Catch a Ride! achievement unlocks only at the intended progression point
• Challenge tracking updated so Jakobs Throwing Knives no longer count as gun kills
• Ensured that Bobblehead collectibles in Pester’s Grotto and Motherbird Node were accessible.
• Discovered locations now stay discovered when returning to single-player after multiplayer
• Various Fast Travel stations have been adjusted to unlock when they’re intended to, including concerns seen in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode
• Vault Key animations now play correctly during ECHO-4 sequences
• ECHO Log pickup in Unpaid Tab now counts properly
• Amara’s Escort to Core objective now consistently advances when replayed
• Improved various instances of mission waypoints not showing up accurately

Gameplay & Missions

• Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine is able to be interacted with reliably in multiplayer
• Legendary Vending Machine no longer closes unexpectedly during Vend of the Line
• Made general improvements to prevent enemies from getting stuck when spawning, and addressed various reported spawn point issues
• Addressed bounties Beatloaf, Grip, and Shagriculture not reliably spawning
• Addressed reported instances of Terminus Range Vault enemies getting stuck on ledges during encounters
• Addressed a reported issue in co-op during the Splashzone boss fight, leading to more consistent behavior
• The Howl Capture Station no longer reactivates after safehouse capture
• One Fell Swoop has been updated to prevent players from being left floating in the air. Bio-Bulkhead now shows the correct elemental icon and movement has been smoothed to eliminate jitter after certain attacks
• Warden Scathe no longer clips through arena walls in his boss fight
• Improved Echo Location guidance across several missions
• Patched collision gaps, holes, clipping, and invisible walls
• Corrected Order drop pod events to consistently reach that ground and no longer appear stuck in the air
• NPCs should no longer cause players or vehicles to get stuck when the player runs them over
• Pangolin enemies can now be damaged by grenades while in ball mode
• Chain Master trait now tethers to all allies in range when multiple enemies have the ability
• Mangler enemies no longer desync their position when dodging in multiplayer

Vault Hunter Changes

Harlowe the Gravitar

• Addressed some Gravitar builds that reportedly caused performance slowdowns; they should no longer prevent UI elements from updating or Fight For Your Life sequences from completing
• Gravitar passive and Augment bonuses to Gun Damage now correctly apply to Ripper Heavy Weapon barrels and the Ripper Legendary Heavy Weapon Steamer; Entanglement interactions also function as designed
• Gravitar class mods have been adjusted to no longer roll +5 Pencils Down and push passives past their intended cap

Creative Bursts

Balance Adjustments:

• Neutron Capture now converts all Gun Damage into radiation, and now only applies to Gun Shots, and not all instances of Gun Damage.
  • Dev Note: Neutron Capture is one of the best damage scalars in the entire game, but during testing, we found that this was erroneously applying to all instances of Gun Damage and was able to scale in unanticipated ways as a result. This new change will still see Neutron Capture being one of the best (if not the best) damage scalars in the game, but the power level will be much more in line with our expectations. Additionally, since all damage from the Gun is converted into Radiation, it should have more scaling vectors for clever build crafters, and allow for meaningful boosts from Gun Damage.

Cosmic Brilliance - Passive

• Flux Generator + Annihilation interaction updated so spawned grenades now scale correctly with character level

Amon the Forgeknight

• Shield visuals adjusted for improved clarity in combat situations

Trait - Forgeskill

• Adjusted interaction with Forge Master class mod so Forgeskill now respects its cooldown in multiplayer

Onslaughter - Calamity

• Camera behavior stabilized when combining Onslaughter with Order Legendary Pistol Noisy Cricket
• Attack frequency of Rocket Punch is now consistent in multiplayer

Balance Adjustments

• Seeing Red Duration restored no longer increases per point invested, and is now 4 seconds for all ranks.
  • Dev Note: Seeing Red was always meant to have huge damage scaling potential, but was always meant to be hard to maintain. We didn't want to nerf this passive's power, but we're making the effect harder to maintain.

Scourge - Vengeance

• Scorched Kairos passive now displays consistent magazine size values for the Ordnance gadget
• The Forgewave no longer fires unintentionally during Glacial Rapture
• Projectiles no longer get stuck in the air when Forgemaster Firewall is active during the Fortress Indomita boss fight
• Blackout Shock Damage now properly scales with points invested
• Blackout is now 15% per point, down from 21% per point
  • Dev Note: After fixing the scaling of the DoT (damage over time), we found that Blackout was overperforming a bit, so we gave it a slight re-adjustment. This will still be an overall buff, now that the DoT properly scales.

Crucible - Cybernetics

• Visuals corrected so Forgeknight Forgeaxe no longer disappears when activating Crucible at the same time as throwing with Double-Edge
• Corrected animation of Crucible while climbing
• Raging Inferno Incendiary Damage now properly scales with points invested

Vex the Siren

• Challenge “Me, Myself, Myself, and I.” now tracks correctly in multiplayer, independent of clone duration on other players

Dead Ringer - The Fourth Seal

• Specter’s copied weapon now displays proper visual effects when firing with a Maliwan Element Switcher

Incarnate - Vexcalation

• Bleed from Bloodletter has been updated so it no longer recursively triggers itself, preventing unintended damage loops

Phase Phamiliar - Here Comes Trouble

Balance Adjustments

• Double Trouble Illusion Damage Multiplier is now 75%, up from 50%
• Double Trouble Illusion's Duration is now 8 seconds, up from 5 seconds
• Apex Beast Damage Dealt increase increased to 15% from 10% per stack of Unsealed

Rafa the Exo-Soldier

• Free Grenade from Filantropo class mod now deals appropriate damage even when no grenade is equipped

People Person skill tree

Action Skills - APOPHIS Lance

• APOPHIS Lance changed to penalize Gun Accuracy instead of Gun Handling, resulting in projectile speed being unaffected.
• APOPHIS Lance now benefits from cooldown reduction effects

Gear

• Skills that boost Gun Handling now properly increase Projectile Speed
• Addressed reports that swapping weapons with the Free Loader Enhancement on an Order weapon with a Ripper magazine would cause all weapons to not consume the accurate amount of ammo
• Health restoration from Legendary Repkit Adrenaline Pump now works correctly when combined with Legendary Shield Guardian Angel
• Reduced critical chance on Jakobs crit knife to 30%
  • Dev Note: It had to happen, you knew it was going to happen!
• Jakobs Legendary Pistol San Saba Songbird no longer stacks infinitely when swapping weapons
• Using a Jakobs Shotgun with Torgue sticky projectiles and the Knife Launcher underbarrel no longer deals knife damage after switching fire modes
• Jakobs weapon parts updated so ricochet effects only trigger from intended damage sources
• Ripper Legendary Shotgun Golden God overheating effect now clears correctly when switching weapons
• Corrected behavior on Maliwan Legendary SMG Ohm I Got so the first three shots no longer consume ammo without dealing damage during continuous fire
• Maliwan Legendary Heavy Gun Gamma Void corrected to apply proper increased Radiation damage to enemies inside the Singularity
• Weapons with COV magazines now function correctly if a repair animation is interrupted with a Repkit in multiplayer
• Daedalus Legendary SMG Frangible removed from chest loot tables
• Daedalus Legendary AR First Impression reduced the critical damage multiplier
• Recoil behavior improved while charging and firing Order ARs and Torgue Heavy with Triple Barrel parts with Gun Handling passives
• Vladof Flamethrower underbarrel no longer deals infinite damage or bypasses Bio Armor
• Torgue Grenades with Spring and Apex Augments now always explode on its first apex
• Grenades with Spring Augment and Divider Payload now have the intended three additional bounces when paired
• Gadgets no longer reset to maximum uses after gaining Second Wind
• Healing Orbs spawned from Legendary Repkit Kill Spring can no longer heal enemies
• Order Legendary Shield Cindershelly combat voice lines now trigger at the intended frequency, less often to be less distracting
• Tediore underbarrel names now match correctly across item cards and ammo widgets
• Maliwan Lingering Payload and Splat Pack Augment projectiles no longer persist when thrown at vending machines

Gear Balance: Assault Rifles:

• Star Helix fire rate increased by 33%
• Bonnie and Clyde base damage increased by 40%; Pair of Thieves: Bonus damage granted increased to 150% from 100%
• Bugbear base damage increased by 40%; Rotary Gun: Max Damage increased to 200% from 100%
• Rowan's Charge base fire rate increased by 100%
• Rowan's Charge recoil reduced slightly
• Lucian's Flank base damage increased by 50%
• Lucian's Flank recoil reduced slightly
• Aegon's Dream base damage increased by 35%

Heavy Weapon Ordnance:

• Gamma Void base damage increased by 450%; Singularity Duration decreased to 6s from 10s, Radiation damage amp increased to 50% from 40%, Gamma Void Cooldown increased by 100%
• Ravenfire base damage increased by 25%

Class Mods: Dev Notes: Class Mods relating to Melee Damage, Action Skill Damage, and specific one-off stats on Legendaries have been buffed to make them more desirable.

All Class Mods:

• Melee Damage Action Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%

Siren Class Mods:

• Avatar's Attunement Skill Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%
• Kindread Spirits' Command Skill Cooldown rate on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%

Forgeknight Class Mods:

• Blacksmith's Forgedrone Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%
• Blacksmith's Legendary Effect now also increases all Forgedrone Damage by 20% per active Forgedrone
• Viking's Detonation Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Forge Master's Forgeskill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Elementalist's Legendary Effect now also increases all Damage Dealt by Amon by 2% per active Affinity Stack

Gravitar Class Mods:

• Bio-Robot's Hazard Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Skeptic's Stasis Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%

Other Gear:

Dev Notes: Gear effects that are related to Melee and Action Skill Damage have increased effectiveness. We want these builds to be pushed up a bit, but wanted to distribute the power among the various pieces of gear to make them more desirable.

Rep Kits:

• Hard Hitter now grants 50% Melee Damage Dealt, up from 40%

Firm Ware:

• Reel Big Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1 and 2, up from 15%/25%
• Action Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1, up from 15%
• Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage at rank 2, up from 30%
• Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage on Melee Kill, up from 25%

Shields:

• Boxer Armor Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 15%/25%/40%
• Berserker Energy Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 20%/27.5%/35%

Specializations

Groundbreaker:

• Groundbreaker now only stores Gun, Action Skill, and Ordnance damage.
  • Dev Note: Groundbreaker was causing recursive loops that could lead to infinite damage by storing “Bonus Damage” across the board. We still want this skill to be effective, but it should not be able to scale infinitely. We’ll be monitoring Melee builds after this change to make sure they are meeting expectations, and will further adjust if necessary. This ultimately had to be fixed so we can establish a baseline before we investigate further buffs/changes.

UI & UX & Text

• Sorting settings in menus now persist when switching tabs or leaving the menu
• “Toggle Junk” behavior has been corrected to target the desired item in Bank menus and Backpack
• Weapon wheel no longer sticks when opened near Guns vending machines
• Combat Radar now features a dedicated Legendary Loot Indicator, making high-value drops easier to spot in the heat of combat
• Press/Hold input now cancels correctly without triggering unintended actions
• “Apply Settings” prompt only appears when changes are made
• [PS5 and Xbox] Splitscreen updates, including number text scaling, Equipment/Backpack improvements, scrollbar behaviors, Party list layout, and “Flip Card” functionality
• Restored Fullscreen resolution controls and switching behavior
• Weekly Activities now populate after campaign completion
• Maurice's Black Market Vending Machine timer updates to show correct cooldown
• Firmware 3-Piece bonuses (Ahoy, Oscar Mike, Daed-dy O’) now show cooldown icons; Deadeye Tier-3 stacks now appear in the passive bar
• Boss Bar spacing corrected when Combat Radar is active
• Transfer Machine naming has been standardized across the game
• Travel notification now displays the initiating player’s name
• ECHO Location path remains readable over time; made improvements to pathfinding
• Updated various UI visuals and icons for alignment, consistency, and clarity
• Updated localization and various text descriptions across the game
• Standardized/updated terminology across gear, menus, customization, and manufacturers

Visuals

• Updated various character and NPC animations
• Corrected various reported instances of VFX not rendering correctly
• Grapple Vault points now show proper models instead of placeholders
• Reduced reported instances of visual pops at cinematic starts

Audio

• Audio and VO now remain active when returning to menus after level traveling in multiplayer
• Adjusted audio mix for improved balance across gameplay and VO
• SFX volume slider now correctly applies to high HDR-value sounds
• Addressed several reported instances of VO not playing as intended across multiple missions and scenarios
• Vault Hunter battle voiceover frequency has been tuned so lines repeat less often
• Missing pain reaction audio restored for several named NPCs
• Improved various subtitle timing and text
• Background music now continues as expected during the Idolator Sol boss fight
• Unique audio cue restored for Phosphene (shiny) gear spawns

Settings & Accessibility

• Personal Cross-play settings can now be adjusted immediately after switching Party Privacy from Local Only to Public in Session Settings
• Air Dash is now fully usable on controller when Toggle Crouch is set to Off under Accessibility → Gameplay
• Individual graphics options now reset properly after making changes and then selecting Run Auto-Detect in Options
• [PS5 and Xbox] Field of View resets consistently to Default on consoles without showing mismatched values

Player Experience

• Improvements to stability
  • We are continuing to investigate and will make further improvements to stability and performance.
• Addressed multiple reported issues across multiplayer, missions, menus, and engine systems.
• Improved matchmaking and session stability.
• Addressed performance in multiplayer when there were large numbers of homing projectiles
• Refined graphics settings and shader handling
• Improvements made to patch reliability and automation processes
• Ocean could occasionally fail to load

Miscellaneous

• [Epic] Rich Presence now displays correctly in non-English languages on Epic
• [PS5] Friend list now loads properly after logging out and back in during patch checks on the title screen
• Joystick input now behaves consistently when lowering deadzones
• [PS5 and Xbox] SHiFT account linking verification codes now auto-copy and apply correctly on console

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Bethesda Softworks will soon kick off its Fallout Day 2025 livestream, and we’re here to share every new announcement and detail it has to offer.

With no new mainline Fallout game in sight and fans – including celebrity and Fallout alum Danny Trejo – always asking for more Fallout: New Vegas news, we do have some idea of what Bethesda will show. Yesterday, the studio teased updates for the 10-year-old Fallout 4, as well as its ongoing Fallout 76, for example, while also promising to share news related to Fallout Shelter. Fans can also expect to catch a glimpse at new merch, upcoming events, and more.

Although it’s unclear when the next Fallout game will arrive, fans of Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic role-playing game series already have their hopes up for today’s stream. Fallout Day 2024 kept announcements light but still included a few reveals, such as a sneak peek at what the series’ first ever playable Ghouls would look like and the introduction of Camp pets. Keep checking in with us on this story when the Fallout Day 2025 stream kicks off at 10 p.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, and be sure to leave your predictions in the comments below.

Fallout Day 2025 Is Here

Following a very musical pre-show, the Fallout Day 2025 livestream began with an introduction from senior community director Jess Finster and senior community manager Richard Stanford – and even a live-action Dog Meat. They tease updates on projects like Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Fallout Shelter, while also promising appearances from a few special guests.

Celebrating 10 Years of Fallout 4 With an Anniversary Edition

Studio and production director Angela Browder showed up for the Fallout Day 2025 livestream to talk about 10 years of Fallout 4 and what Bethesda had planned for it next. Fallout 5 is surely many years off, but the newly announced Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition should help with the wait.

It’s a bundle aimed to revitalize the fourth mainline Fallout game with a re-release that includes all six pieces of DLC: Nuka-World, Far Harbor, Automatron, Vault-Tec Workshop, Contraptions Workshop, and Wasteland Workshop.

“In addition to the add-ons, the Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition also includes over 150 pieces of Creation Club content, including some previously unreleased items to supplement your adventures,” associate art director Daniel Lee said during the show. “And now, with this anniversary, we’re taking your experience to the next level because Creations are coming to Fallout 4. That means you’ll see even more new content coming to the Commonwealth.”

Developing…

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

Today's daily deals is a mixed bag of an insane 75-inch TV and sound system deal from LG, 30% off Hulu with ads and a solid deal on a powerhouse portable charger from Anker. Fanatical is also running a spend $15 get a free game promo, so I've also picked out some of the best games on offer on there right now that would qualify.

TL;DR: Deals for Today

Fancy having DLSS 4-powered gameplay on the go with a Nvidia RTX 5070ti gaming laptop? Lenovo Legion has you covered for under $1,800, which is an insane pricepoint when you check the overall specifications. Let's gets into it:

Hulu (with ads) + Live TV for $64.99/mo for 3 Months

77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED Smart TV

Anker 25,000mAh 165W Power Bank

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 10

Football Manager 26 (Steam)

Once Upon A KATAMARI (Steam)

SILENT HILL f (Steam)

Alienware Gaming Desktop Discounts

Fancy a solid RTX 5080 build for under $2,000 including free delivery? You'll be able to take advantage of DLSS 4 with more gas in the tank than a RTX 4080 Super, which is one of Nvidias best graphics card releases last year. Buyers can look forward to high frame rate 4K gameplay with all the bells and whistles added. We're talking ray tracing and definition sharper than any console can currently output. Check our review out for more information on this epic GPU.

Alienware Gaming Laptop Discounts

When it comes to gaming laptops in general, picking one within your budget is the first major step. For something worth gaming on, the $1,000 mark is the price of entry. That will include a RTX 5060, going all the way up to $3,549 for a RTX 5090 build if you really want that mobile gaming flex.

Nvidia RTX 5000 Series Refurb Deals

Still running a Nvidia RTX 1000 to 3000 series? This is your chance to upgrade your rig to DLSS 4 and Ray Tracing with Woots RTX 5000 series refurbished sale. The sweet spot with this generation has to be RTX 5080 that includes 16GB of GDDRR6 RAM that can handle 4K gaming and all the frames. Need to upgrade on a budget? RTX 5070 12GB is a great option for $529 too.

MTG: Cheapest at Amazon

There's a handful of booster boxes available for slightly less at Amazon this week, but it's a bit of a poor turnout for Magic: The Gathering players. Most of the listing on Amazon are above MSRP and higher than secondary market values, but the carosel above are good deals when compared to TCGPlayer.

MTG: Cheapest at TCGPlayer

TCGPlayer's sellers are keeping away from the sneaker-heads and crypo bro mentality that's hit Magic and Pokémon TCG is 2025 and is keeping prices down. Market value for MTG sealed product goes off what people are willing to pay, and it shows. There's so much here that's at a lower price than big box retailers it's embarassing. But, it's great for your pocket!

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.

Some Battlefield 6 players are up in arms after first information about Season 1 revealed what they believe is an out of place soldier skin.

Fans have waited weeks for a first look at Season 1 and its new maps, modes, and guns. However, after EA and Battlefield Studios finally pulled back the curtain with a trailer yesterday, the only thing on the community’s mind was a question: could this be the beginning of the end?

New Battlefield 6 maps like Blackwell Fields and Eastwood certainly served as meaningful attention grabbers, but it’s just one skin that has completely controlled the conversation. The cosmetic in question is Wicked Grin, a new skin for the Assault Class. A sneak peek at the suit arrived via various Battlefield 6 Season 1 previews that hit the web yesterday, revealing a wardrobe that fans feel ranges from grounded to gaudy.

PC Gamer was one of a few sites to share an image of the skin, which features dark blue highlights from head to toe. It’s Class operator also sports a toothy smile painted across their bandana. It’s been more than enough to set off alarm bells among the Battlefield 6 community, especially considering the Wicked Grin skin description teases that it can be “unlocked as a free store gift.” It suggests Assault players could flood lobbies with those standout blues as soon as next week, potentially bringing fans' fear of goofy skins into reality. Even if this or any of the other Season 1 skins remain a far cry from the dozens of celebrity, superhero, and cartoon character crossovers present in other popular shooters like Call of Duty and Fortnite, tens of thousands of fans are clearly unhappy with what they’re seeing so far.

“So, weren't we supposed to have realistic skins for some time?” one popular comment from a fan says. “Something that someone would really wear during a war? Yet it seems that with the start of Season 1, everything will turn to colorful mess, with no way of differentiating teams based on uniforms, the game will look more like a Paintball or [ActionSportGames] event.”

“I will not revive anyone wearing this kind of skin. My take,” one Reddit user says. “I’m gonna miss the days when everyone has default and beta skins,” another Reddit user adds. “I’m afraid this game won't be recognizable in the future.”

EA and BF Studios have never set a hard rule describing what exactly their version of a grounded Battlefield 6 looks like. Still, the Season 1 skin is being perceived as a breach of trust after the community had been told to expect grounded visuals across the board for at least a while.

“We are a gritty, grounded, realistic shooter,” Ripple Effect and BF Studios technical director Christian Buhl told IGN last month. “That's what we intend to be, and that's what the game is going to look like for a while.”

Many admit that there is still much ground to cover before Battlefield 6 stops looking like the grounded military shooter that it currently is and starts introducing some of the more outrageous characters seen in other games. There's also the fact that there are, of course, many other more grounded outfits both in the Battlefield 6 base game and coming in Season 1. As for what we’ve seen from Season 1 so far, though, fans are now more on edge than ever.

“Is it realistic? No,” another community comment adds. “Is it more grounded then Beavis and Butt-Head, Peter Griffin, Sgt. PsPsPs, Wubz, Feelin Sloothy, the list goes on... I would say yes.”

"If you want to use regular, realistic outfits, there are plenty," someone else says. "If someone wants to wear one with a bit of colour, they can. It’s a video game, not real war."

Time will tell if Battlefield 6 will push past the Wicked Grin skin seen with Season 1. Until then, you can check out all of the major additions set to be introduced in next week’s content drop. You can also read up on how players in the Engineer class are using the repair tool to create works of art.

Finally, be sure to check out our full list of all currently available Battlefield 6 multiplayer maps. Those looking to brush up on their online skills can also read our multiplayer tips and tricks guide.

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

Netflix is doing stranger things lately — and this time it's both literal and figurative. The series finale episode of Stranger Things will officially be shown in movie theaters, a move that goes against the streamer’s well-known ethos.

The two-hour Season 5 finale episode, titled 'The Rightside Up,' will premiere both on Netflix and in over 350 nationwide theaters in tandem on December 31, 2025 at 8pm ET and play into New Year’s Day. This marks the first time a Netflix episode will premiere both on streaming and in a theatrical setting, let alone simultaneously. An official list of participating theaters will be announced at a later date.

In a recent Variety story, Stranger Things co-creators and showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer opened up about wanting the series finale to have its day in the theater.

“That would be amazing,” Ross told the outlet. “Because the fans could be there with other fans, and experience it as a communal thing — it would be incredible.”

“People don’t get to experience how much time and effort is spent on sound and picture, and they’re seeing it at reduced quality,” Matt added. “More than that, it’s about experiencing it at the same time with fans.”

Netflix has been notoriously against and uninterested in exhibiting its films theatrically. In fact, Netflix’s chief content officer Baja Balaria recently said she didn’t think a show on the level of Stranger Things needed what a theatrical release could offer.

“A lot of people — a lot, a lot, a lot of people — have watched Stranger Things on Netflix,” she told Variety earlier this month. “It has not suffered from lack of conversation or community or sharing or fandom. I think releasing it on Netflix is giving the fans what they want.”

However, late this summer, Netflix took its mega hit animated film KPop Demon Hunters to theaters for a one-weekend special singalong edition release — which totally killed at the box offices and fans (I can say from experience, I actually hosted one of these) had a blast. Did KPop Demon Hunters blaze a trail for Netflix in theaters?

Stranger Things Season 5 is set to release in three sections: the first four episodes will drop for Thanksgiving on November 26, the next three episodes will come out on Christmas, and the final episode will debut on New Year’s Eve.

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

Elden Ring Tarnished Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 has had its release date delayed until 2026.

Originally planned for a 2025 launch, the Switch 2 version of FromSoftware’s 2022 Game of the Year-winning fantasy RPG, Elden Ring, will now arrive next year to “allow time for performance adjustments."

This new package of the base game plus its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was due to land on Nintendo’s new console sometime this year, but the studio has now pushed it to presumably focus on the technical concerns that have been raised by those who have played it in its pre-launch state.

This is something IGN has first-hand experience of, having called Elden Ring on Switch 2 “a disaster in handheld mode” after checking it out at gamescom a couple of months ago. Performance was said to suffer in particular when exploring the world.

We noted that “frame rate drops were significant when turning the camera whilst exploring outside of the tutorial area, and this, combined with a confusing button layout on Switch 2, made combat confusing and exploration fairly dispiriting.”

FromSoftware has apologized to fans looking forward to playing Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin’s epic on a handheld console, but thanked them for their “patience and support."

We don’t yet know when in 2026 Elden Ring Tarnished Edition will arrive, with a firm date still being kept close, but let's hope it's in a much better state when we get to see it next.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

A new report has shed light on the goings on at Microsoft, which has allegedly pushed Xbox studios to deliver a 30% profit margin — much higher than the industry average.

Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that Microsoft’s 30% profit margin goal had led to the gaming division’s huge layoffs, canceled projects, controversial price rises, and multiplatform push.

The cuts to Xbox have been deep. Thousands of staff have lost their jobs over several rounds of layoffs. Games such as Rare’s Everwild and The Initiative’s Perfect Dark reboot were canceled after years of development. ZeniMax Online Studios game Project Blackbird was canned, leading to mass layoffs. The Initiative was also shut down. Last year, Microsoft closed Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi rush developer Tango Gameworks.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has increased the price of the Xbox Series X and S consoles, and the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $29.99 a month — the latter of which was a hugely controversial move. Microsoft tried to make the jump to $80 video games, but ended up reverting to $70 after fans pushed back on the idea of paying $10 more for Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds 2. Most expect Microsoft to go to $80 at some point next year.

Bloomberg said the average profit margin in the video game industry is 17-22%. Over the past six years, Xbox has hit 10-20%. To put that 30% target into more context, Sony's PlayStation division achieved a 16% profit margin in Q1 FY25. Bloomberg said Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood enforced the new target in fall 2023 — amid Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

The upshot now is, according to Bloomberg, that games that are cheap to make or considered more likely to make lots of money may take priority over riskier projects. Xbox’s “floundering” hardware division, meanwhile, may face “a significant rethinking.”

IGN has reported on recent comments from Xbox president Sarah Bond, who said the next-gen Xbox console will be “a very premium, very high-end curated experience.” Bond has also called the idea of exclusive games “antiquated.” Nowadays, Xbox Game Studios is one of the most prolific and successful publishers on PlayStation.
Microsoft issued Bloomberg a statement that suggested its Xbox profit margin target isn’t the same across every project.

“We look at the business as a whole, balancing creativity, innovation, and sustainability across a diverse portfolio of offerings. As with any creative business, sometimes that means making hard decisions and stopping work on things that are no longer working for a variety of reasons, and shifting resources toward the projects that are more aligned with our direction and priorities.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

If Star Trek is the optimistic dream of what humanity could become, The Outer Worlds 2 is the nihilistic nightmare of what it will probably be. Thankfully, both make for highly entertaining material to explore, and this second run through Obsidian’s corporate dystopia is a significant step up from the original. With a story that’s more grounded and interesting, significantly more competent combat, and an irresistible RPG grind, I had a blast putting my fist through the kafkaesque final frontier alongside a cast of memorable companions, even when a weak first act and some truly terrible enemy variety made the going less exciting. Across the more than 65 hours my completionist playthrough took, I fought with myself over moral dilemmas, giggled at absurd worldbuilding, and brought several would-be dictators to their knees – that’s exactly what the for-profit space doctor ordered.

The Outer Worlds 2 is a good old-fashioned single-player, open-world RPG in the same vein as Dragon Age, Fallout, and Avowed. Y’know, the ones where you’re an especially cool person given undue authority to insert yourself into the various conflicts of the world and decide the fate of all living beings while collecting a cast of snarky companions in the process? Well, as a followup to 2019’s The Outer Worlds and a sorta, kinda followup to 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian is at it again with a very similar blueprint here. It lays out a new dystopia to shoot your way through as you level up, grab every piece of loot within reach, and solve all the galaxy’s long-standing problems in no time at all. It’s not the most novel concept, to be sure, but it’s one I love that we simply don’t get enough of, and pulls it off better than the vast majority of recent attempts.

This sequel returns to a wonderfully satirical alternate reality where unfettered capitalism has conquered the stars to turn majestic celestial bodies into tacky outdoor strip malls. Though it shares the same pessimistic vision for the future, it ditches the first game’s Halcyon system for a different part of the galaxy called Arcadia, with a fresh batch of planets for you to single-handedly decide the fate of. More prominent than the new planets to explore though is a distinct shift in tone. While there’s still plenty of goofy jokes and ways to make your trek through corporate-owned space completely absurd, this sequel is much more interested in telling a grounded story – one that focuses squarely on the politics of Arcadia’s various factions and repeatedly forces you to make judgement calls on which of these deeply flawed organizations is the lesser evil.

That bet on more serious topics and the delicate balance of warring political entities is one that pays off, thankfully, and I found myself genuinely torn by who to side with and even frustrated by my inability to appeal to the better angels of these selfish, power hungry monsters, which is exactly what I look for in these kinds of make-your-mark-on-the-world games. The way you’re positioned as a central figure who will decide which of these power-hungry factions will emerge victorious is quite reminiscent of one of my favorite Obsidian RPGs, Fallout: New Vegas, and just like with that one, there aren’t any truly good answers here. Auntie’s Choice is a supposedly freedom-forward capitalistic organization that actually functions as an oppressive, monopolistic pseudo-government that would make Helldivers 2 proud, while The Protectorate is an openly fascistic society that seeks to suppress any thought diverging from their orthodoxy, and choosing which of these two vipers nests gets to control the fate of an entire planet is rarely straightforward. Even the groups that seem more reasonable like the Order of the Ascendant, which uses science and math to predict the future as it tries to guide humanity towards enlightenment, will get caught casually committing atrocities to prevent some supposed future they’ve seen through their abacus, which made me ponder if their way of life was actually any better.

When The Outer Worlds 2 is putting the political jockeying front and center, it’s sick as hell, and without question has some of the coolest worldbuilding and satisfyingly perilous moral dilemmas I’ve seen in some time – but it takes its sweet time getting there, mostly focusing on this conflict in its second half. For the first half of the story, you’ll instead prioritize a humdrum revenge quest I cared about so little that I actually forgot it was even the first act’s main focus by the time I reached credits. In fairness, they do use this early time to introduce you to the principle movers and shakers in Arcadia while you seek vengeance, which sets it up for a much stronger second act, but for the first 20 or so hours felt like the main story was quite slow and unengaging. It does rally if you can hang in there for a bit, but I wish it was more consistent throughout.

One area that is much more consistent is the absolutely gripping RPG climb, which sunk its teeth into me from moment one with a near-constant stream of interesting decisions to make about who my character was and how in the heck he was going to be able to save the galaxy. With only two skill points earned per level to spend across 12 skills that make you good at everything from Leadership to Lockpicking, you’ve got some serious decisions to make about what you want to excel in. This becomes an even more stressful decision once you take a look at the enormous list of perks, which can only be unlocked if you’ve sufficiently bought into the relevant prerequisite skills. That includes things like the ability to pickpocket others, which only becomes available to those who have leveled up Sneak, or another perk that allows you to sell increasingly unbelievable lies as you improve your Speech skill. You’re only allowed to buy 15 of these bad boys before you hit the level cap of 30, so planning out your ideal spacefaring badass and making sure you’ve got the skills you need to get the job done becomes very compelling, and I found myself hungrily looking for enemies to kill and side quests to complete to feed my XP habit.

But the best part of this power climb is how it manifests in unexpected ways in the form of flaws. The Outer Worlds 2 tracks the things your character does in search of certain trends, then provides opportunities for you to lean into those quirks by offering benefits that come at a cost. For example, if you tend to steal a lot, you might be offered the Kleptomaniac flaw, which allows you to sell all your stolen goods for more money, but also makes your character steal things automatically from time-to-time, which can get you in quite a bit of trouble with the locals. Alternatively, if you skip through a lot of dialogue, you’ll be offered the Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome flaw, which gives you bonus XP but forces you to choose all your dialogue options under a very short time limit before choosing an option for you randomly. Each of these has pretty massive implications on how you play and are irreversible, which can lead to all sorts of hilarious mistakes.

Early on in my playthrough, I was tempted by a Jack of All Trades flaw offered to me, which gave me a whole extra skill point every time I leveled up, but came at the cost of never being able to raise a skill more than one point above my lowest rated skill. This seemed like a pretty fair trade at the time, but I quickly realized that my character was now just bad at pretty much everything and constantly ran into roadblocks in my journey that made me thoroughly regret my decision (although it actually made for a pretty great way to play for the purposes of this review, since I got a taste of being semi-good at every skill on the roster). Even when these choices went on to haunt me for the rest of my playthrough, I couldn’t help but love them, and if anything it made me excited for subsequent playthroughs where I could learn from the error of my ways and perhaps stumble across some new flaws to saddle myself with.

Like its predecessor, you spend most of your time exploring the wild frontiers of untamed planets while staring down the barrel of a rifle and/or stabbing jugulars, and this is an area of significant improvement since the last time we were let loose in this setting. While the first Outer Worlds was mostly passable when it came to combat, this sequel manages to level up to “generally enjoyable” with snappier gunplay, improved mobility that has you sliding and double jumping around, and, most importantly, an arsenal of weapons that feels much better suited for the gloriously goofy sci-fi setting. I found so many weird and unexpected weapons with unique effects, like a shotgun that fires shots completely silently and instantly melts its target so bodies can’t be found (especially useful when trying to go undetected), and another weapon that started out weak but leveled up as I scored kills until is was an absolute beast (and which made me want to rewatch Solo Leveling).

Not only that, but there are a ton of ways to customize your weapons and armor with loads of mods you can buy and craft. Those do things like reduce your damage output overall to gain explosive rounds or better protect yourself against a certain elemental effect – and this is without me going into some of the truly bonkers and unique options that I won’t spoil here! They really do a lot more to make your rewards for exploring and completing quests more interesting and befitting of the silly world around you, which makes all the difference in the world. As you might expect, combat still has its quirks, like how the reticle on weapons often feels a bit more slippery than I’d like and how enemies would sometimes manage to hit me in melee even though I’d double-jumped a meter over their head. If you’re (unrealistically) hoping this has caught up with the best practices of a proper FPS like Battlefield 6, then you’re likely going to be disappointed, but it’s still at least a huge step up compared to the average open-world RPG, and that’s something.

The biggest letdown with combat is definitely the enemy variety, which usually features two or three types of wild animal on each world that you see way too much of for several hours at a time, alongside your standard humanoid enemies and a few robotic foes here and there. You’ll encounter a whole helluva lot of Raptidon creatures from the original, for example, and I found myself extremely sick of seeing them before I’d even left the first planet, much less by the time I entered the final stretch and was still running into them. It’s pretty disappointing that in a galaxy filled with so much promise, there’s practically no surprises in terms of the adversaries you face after only a few hours.

Even worse, The Outer Worlds 2 does the same thing as Avowed where all the enemies you encounter are finite and placed in specific spots in the world, and once you kill them they’re gone for good. This means that eventually you’ll be running through large swathes of the map utterly devoid of life, which makes areas feel very empty and also removes any possibility for random and unexpected encounters to occur. I’m not entirely sure why Obsidian keeps taking this approach, as I thought it was a detriment in Avowed as well, but they’ve stuck with it here and I still don’t dig it. That said, there’s at least a pretty decent fast travel system that let me jump around to important areas rather than backtracking through completely dead space, which I feel like I did a fair amount in Avowed. So even though it was disappointing to see this approach return, I ran into the ramifications of it far less frequently.

Speaking of running around, The Outer Worlds 2 has four main destinations, each with their own particular vibe, usually dictated by whichever faction has controlling interest, from the monk-like temples hidden in the snow on Cloister to the busy backwaters in the jungles of Eden. Exploring each is a lot of fun as you kill stuff, learn about the world, recruit new members to your party, and feverishly check off every quest on the map. I felt like I was always finding someone interesting to talk to or some loot just out of reach for me to puzzle through. All of that usually made for a good time, apart from the previously mentioned enemy repetition and the empty map that results from killing them, which does make for a very feast and famine situation.

Just like real life, a story-focused RPG is only as good as the companions who follow you around, judging your every decision, and this is one area where The Outer Worlds 2 most improves upon its predecessor. The six mostly-memorable characters you befriend and travel alongside each stand as a representative of the respective organization from which they hail. For example, Tristan, a heavily-armored brute serves as the group’s cop, eager to carry out his authoritarian government’s twisted form of justice on pretty much everyone you meet, while Inez, an entrepreneurial combat medic, is constantly reminding you of the virtues of the so-called free market enterprises she grew up with.

Like Mass Effect and Fallout before it, this tactic of making your party members serve as mouthpieces for each of the world’s factions is incredibly effective. It both immediately makes each companion’s worldview crystal clear and also helps you understand the powers at play and the philosophical disagreements that become pretty important for you to know as you start making decisions that massively alter the balance of power. Even if you’re not reading every journal entry you stumble across or following every bit of dialogue, it’s almost impossible not to become intimately familiar with Arcadia’s most important players just by absorbing it from your comrades, which makes it much easier to care about the story and the ultimate fate of the galaxy.

That said, there are still some companions who are a little less compelling, like Niles, an engineer who is mostly defined by a revenge quest that can resolve itself fairly early on in your journey, leaving little reason to bring him with you, and Valerie, a robot assistant who has some pretty amusing one-liners, but feels fairly disconnected from the story compared to the others. Unfortunately, these characters are the ones who appear earliest in the story, which makes a fairly bad first impression compared to how much better they eventually get. Although, now that I think about it… that is sorta a time-honored tradition in RPGs of this kind, isn’t it?

With Gen V Season 2 wrapped up, fans are wondering how the incredibly powerful Marie might fare in a showdown with The Boys supervillain Homelander. Well, according to showrunner Eric Kripke, fans shouldn’t expect Marie to appear in The Boys Season 5 as a Captain Marvel-style deus ex machina who kicks Homelander’s ass.

That’s because Marie still hasn’t mastered her powers, or as Kripke has put it in a number of Gen V Season 2 finale spoiler interviews, she’s not Net at the end of The Matrix.

Warning! Spoilers for The Boys and Gen V follow.

For a much deeper dive on all this, check out IGN’s Gen V Season 2 Ending Explained: How It Sets Up the Final Season of The Boys article, but to summarize, Marie can control blood, which potentially makes her more powerful even than Homelander. Homelander, for the uninitiated, is a sort of evil Superman, a character so overpowered that few rivals dare question his word. But Marie Moreau, played by Jaz Sinclair, has the potential to kill him due to her ability to command and weaponize blood.

But, it seems, Marie hasn’t realized her potential, and won’t have by the time The Boys Season 5 rolls around. Speaking to Variety, Kripke confirmed that The Boys Season 5 picks things up around half a year after the Gen V Season 2 finale, with Marie and co joining Annie/Starlight (Erin Moriarty) and A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) in the fight against Vought.

“She’s super powerful, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s amazing at controlling it,” Kripke said. “She’s not Keanu at the end of The Matrix, because — based on the next couple Matrixes — it’s not great for drama. You want a character who’s really struggling and growing, especially a kid like Marie. So even though she has a lot of raw power, she has to learn how to control it.”

It was a similar thought in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, in which Kripke said: “... Marie’s still young, and just because she’s incredibly powerful doesn’t mean she has perfect control over it. There’s a journey. She’s not Neo at the end of The Matrix. Those become bummer, boring Messiah characters, and she’s not that. She’s still a person and has a hard time wrestling with the amount of power that she’s finding herself to have.”

And, following the same thread in an interview with ComicBook, Kripke added: “Obviously, what I would like to see is Homelander get his ass kicked. He deserves it. The truth is just because Marie is very powerful, it doesn’t mean she knows how to control it. She is still just a kid. She is not Neo at the end of The Matrix. Marie has a lot of growing to do, and a lot of setbacks and challenges. And she should. That’s what makes the character interesting… the struggle. With all that being said, I don’t know if a direct confrontation with Homelander would go so great. And, there are a lot of people in line and waiting to bitch slap Homelander.”

The big question, of course, is whether Homelander actually dies in The Boys Season 5. Kripke wouldn’t give that away, of course, but did tell THR that Billy Butcher is “front of that line.” But then there’s the likes of Stan Edgar, the aforementioned Marie, Annie, and Huey who would no doubt all like a piece.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

With Fallout Day upon us and rumors swirling around remakes, remasters, and even new games in the famous post-apocalyptic role-playing series, one Hollywood star has made his thoughts crystal clear.

That star is Danny Trejo, whose appearances in the likes of From Dusk till Dawn, Con Air, and Spy Kids made him a cult figure. But he’s intimately familiar with Fallout, too, having played Raul Alfonso Tejada, a Ghoul companion, in the much-loved Fallout: New Vegas.

So it stands to reason that Trejo would, like so many fans, love to see Fallout: New Vegas return in some fashion. Responding to Bethesda’s official Instagram post on what to expect from Fallout Day, Trejo said: “Remaster New Vegas boss!” alongside a fire emoji. Trejo has 3.1 million followers on Instagram, so his comment will be heard loud across the social network.

Alas, a Fallout: New Vegas remaster was not on Bethesda’s official list of games set to appear during its Fallout Day broadcast, which is set for 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm UK today, October 23. Specifically on Fallout 76, Bethesda will show more of the Burning Springs update. This big expansion, due out in December, sees Walton Goggins reprise his fan-favorite role as The Ghoul from the Fallout TV show.

Fallout Shelter is also mentioned, as is Fallout 4 and Creations, which suggests the decade old role-playing game will get some new content soon. Creations are community created mods released officially for Bethesda’s video games.

Elsewhere, there are new merch drops, community in-person events, and a post-show celebrating the community. There is no specific mention of the Fallout TV show, either. with Season 2 due out in December.

There are all sorts of rumors floating around about potential Fallout remakes now that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is out the door (Fallout 3 Remastered was leaked back in 2023, but those plans may have changed). And we know Bethesda plans to eventually get to Fallout 5, albeit after The Elder Scrolls 6.

The last we heard on Fallout 5, by the way, was back in June 2024, when Bethesda Softworks head Todd Howard said he wasn’t interested in rushing it out the door. Howard opened up about the future of the hit post-apocalyptic RPG series during an interview with YouTube content creator MrMattyPlays.

"For other Fallout games in the future, you know, obviously I can’t talk about those right now, but I would say, sort of rushing through them, or we kind of need to get stuff out that is different than the work we’re doing in 76… we don’t feel like we need to rush any of that," he said. "The Fallout TV show fills a certain niche in terms of the franchise and storytelling."

The last mainline Fallout game was Fallout 4, which was released in 2015. DLC content for the entry was steadily released for PC and consoles over the next year, and in 2018, Bethesda launched its multiplayer-centered offshoot, Fallout 76. While fans slowly flocked to the West Virginia-set open-world RPG, it wasn’t until the premiere of Prime Video’s Fallout TV show that the Bethesda series leveled up in terms of attention.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has released the Into the Unjust: 4.1.0 update, which it said is designed to make the game “feel better to play.”

This much anticipated update overhauls how Arrowhead approaches patching “to better target the pain points you’ve shared with us.” The studio said that means “more focus on stability, balance, and the issues that affect your experience the most.”

Over 200 bugs have been fixed, along with key balance updates and quality-of-life improvements. Arrowhead said that while new features are coming, this patch marks “a big step forward: both in the game itself and in how we work to improve it.” More refinements are already underway, the studio continued.

In terms of balance, the overall effectiveness of primary weapons, sidearms, throwables, and stratagems is increased. SMGs and pistols, for example, have been adjusted to emphasize their role as close-quarters weapons, with increased close-range damage and increased damage falloff.

It’s worth noting changes are made to enemies across the board. The Dragon Roach, for example, has seen its spawn rate decreased, and destruction of the wings now results in instant death. Each wing has a health pool, and the Dragon Roach should be more susceptible to explosions because even if you hit the body you now also hit the wings and do more damage. Overall, there should be fewer Dragon Roaches and they should be easier to take down.

Check out the patch notes, courtesy of the Helldivers 2 Discord, below:

Helldivers 2 Into the Unjust: 4.1.0 patch notes:

Balancing

General changes

Primaries, Sidearms, Throwables, and Stratagems

• Improvements have been made to increase the overall effectiveness of primary weapons, sidearms, throwables, and stratagems

Light vs. Medium Penetration Weapons

• Light and medium penetration weapons now offer more distinct advantages.

Light penetration weapons generally deal a higher percentage of their total damage against durable enemies, differentiating them more clearly from medium penetration options

SMGs and Pistols

• SMGs and pistols have been adjusted to emphasize their role as close-quarters weapons. Close-range damage has been increased, and damage falloff has been increased to reinforce their short-range combat identity

Melee Weapons and Throwables

• Melee weapons and throwables have been improved to make each feel more impactful and unique in their function

Resupply Rack

• The resupply rack is not climbable anymore

Primary weapons

SG-8P Punisher Plasma

• Damage projectile decreased from 100 to 0
• Damage explosion increased from 150 to 225

SG-8S Slugger

• Damage increased from 280 to 330
• Durable damage increased from 75 to 90

AR-23 Liberator

• Damage increased from 80 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

AR-23A Liberator Carbine

• Damage increased from 80 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

AR-23P Liberator Penetrator

• Damage increased from 60 to 65

AR-23C Liberator Concussive

• Damage increased from 65 to 75
• Durable damage increased from 30 to 35

AR-61 Tenderizer

• Durable damage increased from 22 to 30

AR-32 Pacifier

• Damage increased from 50 to 55
• Stun value per projectile increased from 1.5 to 2

SMG-37 Defender

• Damage increased from 80 to 100
• Durable damage increased from 8 to 18
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

MP-98 Knight

• Damage increased from 70 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 18
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

SMG-32 Reprimand

• Damage increased from 125 to 135
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

SMG-72 Pummeler

• Damage increased from 70 to 85
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 18
• Stun value per projectile increased from 1.5 to 2
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

LAS-16 Sickle

• Damage increased from 55 to 60
• Durable damage increased from 5 to 6

MA5C Assault Rifle

• Damage increased from 80 to 90

M7S SMG

• Damage increased from 70 to 80
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 16
• Drag increased from from 0.6 to 1.2

StA-11 SMG

• Damage increased from 70 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 18
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

PLAS-39 Accelerator Rifle

• Extra spare magazines increased from 8 to 12
• Ergonomics increased from 40 to 60

Sidearm weapons

CQC-2 Saber

• Damage increased from 110 to 125
• Durable damage increased from 55 to 65

CQC-5 Combat Hatchet

• Damage increased from 110 to 160
• Durable damage increased from 55 to 80
• Attack speed has been slightly reduced

CQC-42 Machete

• Damage increased from 170 to 200
• Durable damage increased from 80 to 100

P-2 Peacemaker

• Damage increased from 85 to 95
• Durable damage increased from 25 to 30
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-19 Redeemer

• Damage increased from 60 to 70
• Durable damage increased from 5 to 12
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-113 Verdict

• Damage increased from 125 to 135
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

M6C/SOCOM

• Damage increased from 100 to 110
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-92 Warrant

• Drag decreased from 0.3 to 0
• Gravity multiplier decreased from 1 to 0.3

Throwables

TED-63 Dynamite

• Damage increased from 700 to 1000
• Armor penetration increased from Medium to Heavy
• Demolition strength increased from 30 to 40
• Stagger increased from 30 to 40
• Uses decreased from 4 to 3

G-7 Pineapple

• Shrapnel from main explosion increased from 7 to 18
• Demolition strength on the main explosion increased from 20 to 30
• Inner radius on shrapnel explosion increased from 1 to 2.5m
• Damage on shrapnel explosion increased from 70 to 100
• Removed lifetime on the shrapnel
• Shrapnel from the shrapnel explosion decreased from 6 to 0

G-50 Seeker

• Higher priority for flying enemies
• Highest target priority for marked target
• Damage increased from 400 to 500

G-6 Frag

• Uses increased from 5 to 6

G-3 Smoke

• Uses increased from 4 to 5

Throwing knifes

• Damage increased from 250 to 300
• Durable damage increased from 100 to 150

PLAS-1 Scorcher

• Plasma projectiles will now pass through foliage without losing velocity

Stratagems

PLAS-45 Epoch

• Duration until explosion increased from 3 to 3.25 sec
• Delayed muzzle charge VFX by 0.5 seconds so it now appears when the projectile is overcharged, improving visibility of the charge state
• Damage on standard projectiles explosion increased from 400 to 500
• Demolition strength on overcharged projectile increased from 10 to 30

M-105 Stalwart

• Damage increased from 80 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

FLAM-40 Flamethrower

• Canister capacity increased from 130 to 150
• Starting canisters increased from 2 to 3
• Max spare canisters increased from 4 to 5

APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle

• Durable damage increased from 180 to 225
• Starting magazines increased from 4 to 5
• Max spare magazines increased from 6 to 8

AC- 8 Autocannon

• Damage increased from 260 to 325

GL-52 De-Escalator

• Damage increased from 55 to 100
• Durable damage increased from 55 to 70

MS-11 Solo Silo

• Health increased from 800 to 1500
• Enemies will not attack it
• Increased demolition strength needed to destroy it

Orbital Railcannon Strike

• Cooldown decreased from 210 to 180 sec

EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit

• Missile Armor penetration in worse angles increased from 6-6-4-0 to 6-6-5-0
• Rotary gun ammo capacity increased from 1000 to 1350

Enemies

• The goal is to make light and medium armor-piercing weapons equally effective against certain common enemies by adjusting their durable damage and durable resistance values

Illuminates

Fleshmob

• Targeting the faces deals extra damage to its main health, effectively creating weak spots
• Main health decreased from 6000 to 5000
• Most health zones are slightly more durable
• Slightly less vulnerable to fire to balance health decrease

Elevated Overseer

• Main health decreased from 600 to 450
• Head health increased from 150 to 200
• Head zone armor decreased from 3 to 2
• Torso health decreased from 600 to 450
• Arms health decreased from 300 to 250
• Slight increase on how easy it is to set on fire

Leviathan

• Now equipped with beam-based weaponry
• Leviathans will not show up in missions outside of cities

Terminids

Rupture Strain enemies

• Updated textures for all Rupture Strain enemies for better readability

Rupture Warrior

• Movement speed when underground has been decreased
• Needs to surface more often when moving underground
• Its burrow attack is slightly slower and leaves more space to be dodged
• Smaller damage boxes when attacking from below
• Front legs armor decreased from 3 to 2
• Will prefer to emerge before attacking turrets instead of destroying them from below ground

Rupture Spewer

• Retuned the timing of how fast it starts to act from when it unburrows

Bile Spewer Variations

• Increased size of its mouth weak spot

Brood Commanders

• Slightly harder to set on fire

Warriors

• Slightly harder to set on fire
• Slight durable increase in head and body

Dragon roach

• Spawn rate decreased
  • 50% lower on difficulty 5,6
  • 40% lower on difficulty 7,8,9
  • 33% lower on difficulty 10
• Destruction of the wings results in instant termination of the Dragon
  • Wings now have their own health pool of 4000
  • Increased how much damage wings take from explosion

Bile spewers

• Slightly harder to set on fire
• Larger body parts are slightly more durable

Hive Lord

• Improved performance during Hive Lord encounters.

Automatons

Base Alarming

• Automaton troopers in bases will require better visual confirmation before calling in reinforcements, instead of calling them in immediately

Devastators

• Slightly harder to be put on fire
• Large body parts are slightly more durable

Command Bunker Turret

• Removed ragdolling from its projectiles explosion

Factory Strider

• Slightly less vulnerable to fire

War Strider

• Shoots 2 fewer grenades per salvo
• Shoots grenades less often
• Removed ragdolling from its projectiles explosions
• Added weak spots aim for the eyes and the vents on the back

Scout Striders

• Armored top shield is more durable

Fixes

Stratagems

• Fixed an issue where Helldivers were unable to call down stratagems in the objective area of the "Nuke Nursery" cave mission
• Fixed an issue with the B-100 Portable Hellbomb stratagem sometimes falling on Cave roofs in the "Destroy Spore Lung" mission
• Fixed an issue with the drill objective stratagem sometimes landing in unintended places such as on top of caves, in Nuke Nursery Hive World missions
• Players can now stay aiming down sights when activating the LIFT-860 Hover Pack

Crashes

• Fixed a rare crash occurring when fighting Illuminates
• Fixed a crash when hotjoining and readying up before other hotjoiners
• Fixed a crash occurring when a player would re-join multiple times
• Fixed a rare crash caused by Eagle-1
• Fixed a rare bug where the Eagle-1 would never be removed from the game session and eventually cause crashes
• Fixed rare crash bug that could happen when spawning in groups of enemies
• Fixed crash affecting Helldivers trying to lean out from a vehicle
• Fixed a crash that could happen when scrolling through the weapon customization menu
• Fixed a crash that could happen during game shutdown

Weapons

• Fixed armor penetration values in the Stats Menu for CQC-5 Combat Hatchet, CQC-30 Stun Baton,CQC-19 Stun Lance, CQC-2 Saber, CQC-1 One True Flag and the G-7 Pineapple grenade; the armor penetration value displayed as Medium instead of Light
• Improved initial bullet alignment while strafing and riding in vehicles
• Moved the first person camera further away from the MS-11 Solo Silo's Target Designator scope
• Fixed the weapon reload animations desyncing when wielding armor passives that give increased reload speed
• The FAF-14 Spear can now lock onto Automaton AA turrets
• Fixed projectiles hitting direct center of sights when extremely close to objects
• Haptics feedback is now present throughout the firing of the FLAM-40 Flamethrower stratagem

Miscellaneous

• Fixed a bug where Hive Lord body parts would not spawn properly
• Fixed an instance where the Helldiver couldn't re-join their previous host, if said host left a joined game in progress from the loadout
• Fixed a bug where the LIFT-182 Warp Pack would sometimes get stuck suspended in the air or crash
• Fixed Adreno-Defibrillator armor passive animation bug
• Fixed disconnection issues when joining a solo player with 3 cross-platform players
• Fixed mesh clipping for the arms on some animations
• Reduced the chance of the Extraction Shuttle clipping through terrain
• Fixed a flickering bug on the avatar when the Helldiver gets affected by mud or snow
• Fixed a bug hole covered by terrain in one of the CR10 Mega Nests
• Rupture Warriors can no longer destroy deployable turrets while still underground
• Fixed an issue where the front door of the GATER could become inaccessible
• Fixed a rare issue where the player could be disconnected when they are a part of a mixed platform, 3 person lobby that joins a solo player under poor network conditions
• Fixed an issue with Illuminate dropships not taking correct damage during the “Repel Invasion Fleet” missions
• The currency symbol for Saudi riyal is now displayed correctly in the in game shop
• The Oil Rigs reverse audio will no longer continuously play if the player attempts to reverse during oil extraction
• Fixed Helldivers going through the floor in the tutorial mission, when diving near the barbed wires
• Fixed a rare soft-lock in tutorial
• Helldiver is now killed when driving into drill holes during Nuke Nursery missions
• Fixed an issue where Helldivers could enter a vehicle even though the seat got claimed by someone else first
• Fixed controller vibrations behaving incorrectly when connecting or disconnecting controllers on PC
• Fixed miscellaneous threading issues in the audio system
• Fixed minor texture clipping issues on the floor between hellpod launchers on the ship
• Fixed an issue where voice chat could sometimes change volume unexpectedly - particularly when entering caves

Optimizations

• Optimized status effects
• Optimized physics by only enabling powered ragdolls when needed
• Optimized physics body handling for damage calculations
• Optimized Automaton units and NPC eyes, by changing them from particle effects to shaders
• Optimized AI behaviors by analyzing and stripping out redundant code
• Reduced stuttering during drop-in sequence for missions on Hive Worlds
• Improved audio IO performance
• Snow distribution and overall look has been reworked
• Improved performance by tweaking LOD settings for characters
• Optimized asset distribution for several planets types
• Optimized scattered assets such as grass on various planet types
• Optimized asset distribution in Hiveworlds and Terminid caves
• Optimized asset setup and geometry for assets used in Hiveworlds and Terminid caves
• Optimized status effect physics and particle systems while maintaining visual feedback and fidelity
• Optimized various Automaton explosion VFX
• Optimized Acid Rain effects during Acid Storms
• Optimized Dragonroach fire attack VFX
• Made various optimizations to the fire system, including particle and light optimization.
• Improved performance by optimizing the rendering of several shaders

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Magic The Gathering’s Final Fantasy set in June set new records for the franchise, and given the popularity of Commander, we’d imagine plenty of the four decks included in the set were shifted.

The trouble is, there’s always been a discrepancy in price, with the Final Fantasy 6 deck ‘Revival Trance’ going for much less, Final Fantasy 7’s ‘Limit Break’ going for much more, and the other two falling somewhere in between.

Best Buy’s answer? Discounting them all to the same price.

Best Buy Has Every Final Fantasy Magic Deck Under MSRP

On the positive side, this means you can get Limit Break, a deck that regularly sells for much more than its MSRP, for $48.99.

It’s a very fun deck that’s themed around equipment and dealing combat damage, and will no doubt be an easy pickup for anyone who waited for a discount.

On the downside, that means Revival Trance is also $48.99. It’s under MSRP, sure, but this deck’s messy game plan and lack of big reprints mean you can snap it up for around $35 elsewhere if you keep an eye out.

Rounding out the quartet, I’ve been having more fun with Scions and Spellcraft recently, the Final Fantasy 14 deck helmed by Y’Shtola. It’s all about pinging opponents around the table for damage, which isn’t something you often get in a blue/white/black deck. It’s $48.99 now.

Finally, arguably the best deck from the set, Counter Blitz is helmed by Final Fantasy X’s Tidus and Yuna, and lets you manipulate counters to deal big damage or keep Summons around longer. And, guess what? It’s $48.99 now, too.

Each deck also comes with a ‘Collector Booster Sample Pack’ which includes two cards in foil or borderless treatment, too.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

Microsoft has said the idea of a video game exclusive locked to a single storefront has become “antiquated for most people,” as the company soldiers on with its multiplatform push for Xbox games.

Xbox has left console exclusivity behind — in truth some years ago now — with most Xbox Game Studios published games releasing on platforms other than Xbox. Indeed, when Microsoft finally announced Playground’s Forza Horizon 6 and confirmed it would launch on PlayStation 5 after Xbox and PC, it came as a surprise. Nowadays, Xbox Game Studios is one of the most prolific and successful publishers on PlayStation.

Microsoft’s approach is in stark contrast to Nintendo and Sony’s. Nintendo has the most hardline policy on its games, releasing them on its consoles only. Sony has softened its approach in recent years, releasing the bulk of its games on PC after PlayStation (and in the case of Helldivers 2, eventually on Xbox). But Sony still refuses to launch its big single-player games on anything other than PlayStation day one (the latest example of this is Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei).

Speaking to Mashable, Xbox president Sarah Bond pointed to the likes of Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft as evidence that the majority of gamers had moved on from exclusives.

“We're really seeing people evolve way past that. The biggest games in the world are available everywhere,” she said. “You look at Call of Duty, you look at Minecraft, you look at Fortnite, you look at Roblox, that's actually what's really driving community in gaming. That's where people gather. They have experiences. And the idea of locking it to one store or one device is antiquated for most people. You want to be able to play with your friends anywhere regardless of what they're on.”

Microsoft’s stance on exclusives has become one of the biggest talking points in the Xbox community, and that conversation is ramping up again as the company begins to discuss in vague terms about its next-gen Xbox.

In the same interview, Bond suggested the next-gen Xbox console would be a console PC hybrid, and described it as “a very premium, very high-end curated experience.”

The comments come hot on the heels of the release of the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld, which costs $1,000. (In another interview, Bond said this and the less powerful, $600 ROG Ally are ultimately Asus-made handhelds — and because of this, Asus set the price.)

Xbox fans are now wincing at the thought of how expensive the next-gen console will be, particularly in the context of recent price rises to Xbox Game Pass and the Xbox Series X and S.

It now seems certain that it won’t come with any console exclusives.

“And we're really leaning into that with this [ROG Xbox Ally X handheld] experience because it just opens up another way for you to play,” Bond continued. “As does cloud, as does PC, as does the consoles that we all own and have in our living room.”

One prominent critic of the exclusive is former president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America Shawn Layden, who last year said that when a video game’s costs exceed $200 million, “exclusivity is your Achilles’ heel.”

“It reduces your addressable market,” Layden told GamesBeat, before citing the success of Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, which launched on PlayStation 5 and PC to explosive success. “Particularly when you’re in the world of live service gaming or free-to-play. Another platform is just another way of opening the funnel, getting more people in. In a free-to-play world, as we know, 95% of those people will never spend a nickel. The business is all about conversion. You have to improve your odds by cracking the funnel open. Helldivers 2 has shown that for PlayStation, coming out on PC at the same time. Again, you get that funnel wider. You get more people in.”

Layden said single-player games have a similar audience consideration as multiplayer games, though not exactly the same. “For single-player games it’s not the same exigency,” he said. “But if you’re spending $250 million, you want to be able to sell it to as many people as possible, even if it’s just 10% more.”

The Secretlab Magnus Evo is a stylish, smartly-built gaming desk that sets itself apart with genuinely useful PC-focused features, good build quality, and an intuitive assembly process. The overall level of quality here is high, which is understandable given the $750 starting price and Secretlab's reputation of producing high-end gaming chairs and the two prior Magnus desks. The key this time is a streamlined design, bringing the motorized sit/stand functionality and integrated power from the Magnus Pro to a slightly lower price point – along with a simpler and more capacious cable tray and static magnetic zones along the rear edge and front corners of the desk.

Secretlab Magnus Evo – Design and Features

Like the Magnus Pro that precedes it, the Magnus Evo is made from a combination of MDF and steel, with a stable inverted-T base, thick legs with integrated electric motors, and a wide (59-inch or 70-inch) desktop that's 25 inches deep and 0.8 inches thick. Unlike the Magnus Pro, which featured a flip-up edge with an integrated cable gully, the rear edge of the desk is fixed and made from steel, allowing you to conveniently whack down magnetic accessories or securely install friction-fit mounts. The desk's height ranges from 28 to 46 inches, can handle a maximum weight of 265 pounds, and can raise or lower around six inches in five seconds. It's a similar spec sheet to the Ikea Idåsen, Herman Miller Nevi, Flexispot EQ4, and Corsair Platform:6 sit/stand desks I've tested for Eurogamer, and I'm willing to bet the Magnus Evo's core components will prove equally reliable given the mature state of electric motors in 2025.

However, the Evo's controls are a step ahead of anything else I've tested, as they look integrated into the desktop rather than being affixed to the underside. As with most other contemporary electric sit/stand desks, you get a height read-out (to the nearest tenth of a centimeter) and the ability to save and recall three preset heights (presumably one each for sitting, standing and cleaning). The touch controls are easy to accidentally brush with a finger, but thankfully there is a quick on/off switch here to disable them when not in use. Moving the desk up and down is smooth and relatively quiet, and the desk only starts to feel a touch unsteady when it's approaching its highest setting. The motors also automatically reverse course if they begin to meet resistance, so I didn't worry about the desk causing any damage to limbs, pets, or nearby objects.

Where the Magnus Evo differs more substantially with (most) of those aforementioned desks is the focus on gaming features. There's no RGB here, thankfully, with Secretlab instead opting for an integrated power plug and a capacious metal basket to keep all of your cables hidden. The whole power delivery system is smartly designed, with the desk's power coming from a cable integrated into the left or right foot, running up to the motors and also to a full-size outlet on the same side. (You can choose which side during assembly, with the default left-side installation giving you a plug on the rear of the desk, while the right-side installation has a plug on the front.) My UK unit came with a pleasantly hefty plug, normally only found with 1200W+ PC power supplies, and can handle 2500W at 12A - though the spec sheet reveals a more modest 1440W at 12A in the US and Japan, or 2000W at 10A in Australia and New Zealand. From here, the angled port has a straight shot to the cable tray, which is large to conceal a hefty 12-port UK power strip and can be pulled down to a 30-degree angle for setup, then pushed back up to its magnetic attachment point.

I found the cable tray much easier to use than that of the Corsair Platform:6, which tends to annoyingly grab cables due to its high back, though I think it might struggle to accommodate a full set of 12 power cables and whatever other peripheral or speaker cables that might one day live there. The Corsair Platform:6 also required the installation of a horizontal bar above the desk surface for its monitor mount, limiting compatibility with third-party mounts substantially, so I'm happy to see Secretlab embracing a more traditional mounting solution here.

Looking for a gaming chair upgrade, too?

Check out our roundup of the best gaming chairs!

Secretlab Magnus Evo – Assembly

As the surface of the Magnus Evo consists of three sections, the single box that arrived was significantly smaller than I expected for a 70-inch desk – though it was still heavy enough at 143 pounds that I opted to open it up downstairs, then carry each piece up individually. Each element thoughtfully carries an alphabetic identifier, which is easy to cross-reference with the list of materials and the assembly instructions. This extends down to the individual bolts and tools provided, so finding the next element to install was consistently straightforward.

The manuals provided with the desk and its accessories were easy to parse, with generously sized and detailed illustrations, clear language, and logically arranged steps. These manuals did contain a few minor errors (such as asking me to remove washers that didn't exist or remove a cardboard cover that was plastic), along with some grammatical oddities (like "sideway" and an incorrectly deployed "it's"), but the only true moment of confusion I had was when installing the monitor mount. This must predate the Magnus Evo, as it refers to opening the magnetic cover to install the base, which doesn't jibe with the static metal used here (but does make sense on the earlier Magnus Pro).

Secretlab promises a 15-minute build time for the Magnus Evo, but it took me closer to an hour to get everything ready, even with a second person on standby to help out when needed. Conceptually, it's straightforward at least:

• Marry the desk surface with an extension on the left and right
• Connect the legs with their integrated motors (with the power supply on the left or right as you prefer)
• Add on the cable tray
• Install the feet
• Flip the desk upright
• Plug it into a power source
• Perform a quick sit/stand self-calibration

From here, you're free to install any further accessories, ranging in difficulty from easy (the headphone holder, which comes pre-assembled and magnetically attaches to the left or right front corners of the desk) to somewhat tricky (the PC case/tower mount, which requires unscrewing and rescrewing four bolts, then clipping in increasingly weighty metal arms and the PC itself). The latter is the only accessory I'm still not sure I'll keep using – while the PC I'm using is well under the maximum width and 55-pound weight limit, I'm not a huge fan of the way the PC wobbles slightly when poked and is only supported across perhaps 60 percent of its width.

The most successful accessory in my eyes is the monitor arm, which is available in a single or dual configuration. I opted for the double, which refreshingly is secured to the metal-topped surface from the top using a hand tool – so there's no need to crawl under the desk like every other monitor mount I've ever owned. From here, I dropped on the lower then upper arms, screwed a VESA plate to the back of the monitor (with stand-offs available, if needed), and then dropped the augmented monitor onto the arm. This worked well, at least until the extremely pointy monitor arms were pushed backwards into my wall with some force. Perhaps consider asking a second person for help to hold the end of the arm in place if you're working with a monitor that's heavy enough to need two hands to lift.

The only truly negative experience I had assembling the Magnus Evo was being left with a huge amount of nonrecyclable foam afterwards, which was enough to completely fill the black rubbish bin that's only collected every fortnight in my area. I'm sure that this foam is cost-effective for protecting the desk's components, but I'd love to see Secretlab follow the lead of other PC peripheral manufacturers like Razer and Logitech in using more easily recyclable materials like paper or cardboard wherever possible.

Secretlab Magnus Evo – Gaming

The Magnus Evo performed well in testing for both work and gaming, whether standing or sitting. In fact, it's quickly become my favourite desk to use out of the three in my office, thanks to its cleaner design, easier-to-access cable management tray, and convenient magnetic accessories. It feels stable enough at all heights, particularly when sitting down, and moves up and down with minimal fanfare.

The Evo XL model I'm using is comfortably large enough for a 32-inch main monitor, a 27-inch secondary monitor, a small form factor gaming PC, and a full-size gaming PC, plus all of the attendant cables and accessories this setup requires. The MDF surface is comfortable and easy to wipe clean, while the rear metal portion feels durable enough to handle an effectively unlimited number of mountable accessories – which is good, as I'll soon need to add lights, a camera, and a microphone for video production. The integrated power port makes the bottom of the desk look so much cleaner than its predecessors, and I feel a renewed vigor for trying to keep my cable management on point. Of course, there is an optional cable management accessory pack as well, with intensely strong magnets, so there's no excuse not to make things look clean.

The only minor worry I have with the whole setup is the stability of the PC case/tower mount. Having your PC move up and down with the desk looks great and makes it easy to run cables out-of-sight along the leg column, but I do worry when the PC wobbles a bit when I nudge it with my knee. Even while running 18 pounds below the maximum weight requirement, I think I'd feel more secure if my chosen case was a little narrower. I'd pop in the container PC instead, but this small form factor design is too short for the mount and therefore has to sit above.

Batman’s arrival in the rebooted DCU is perhaps the most anticipated superhero reveal in James Gunn’s fledgling new universe. But it is shrouded in mystery even now, years after it was announced. So, is it still happening, and, if it is, when will we hear more?

Andy Muschietti, director of 2017’s It, 2019’s It Chapter Two, and 2023’s critical and commercial failure The Flash, is down to direct Batman: The Brave and the Bold for Gunn’s DCU. But we’ve seen nothing of the movie since it was announced as part of Gunn’s Gods and Monsters: Chapter One phase of the DCU back in January 2023. Indeed, Gunn went as far as to admit earlier this year that "Batman's my biggest issue in all of DC right now."

But could we be close to a reveal of some description? Speaking to Variety to promote the launch of HBO Max show It: Welcome to Derry, Barbara Muschietti confirmed that “the intention is yes,” to move forward with The Brave and the Bold, “but we can’t talk about it.”

Then, Andy Muschietti perhaps went further than he was allowed to when he added: “We have to wait a few, a couple of months to start talking about it.”

“I screwed it already.”

Variety framed this as Andy Muschietti realizing that saying he has to wait a couple months to talk about his Batman movie may itself have been letting slip too much information, which says a lot about the secrecy surrounding this movie. But if that’s true, then we may get our first proper insight into what Gunn and Muschietti have planned for the DCU’s Batman by the end of the year.

Last month, Gunn told IGN that “plenty of things are in flux” when it came to The Brave and the Bold, but insisted “I like where we are” on the script. Gunn had previously called Damian Wayne “a little son of a bitch” and “my favorite Robin” back when he and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran unveiled the Gods and Monsters slate.

Considering that The Brave and the Bold, as it was originally announced, would pair Batman with his son Damian Wayne, who’s about 10 years old in the comics, does that mean the DCU’s Bruce Wayne (and hence the actor who will play him) will be in his mid-to-late 30s?

“No, I think you have to wait to see the movie,” Gunn replied. “Some things have changed. Plenty of things are in flux on what his situation is with his parentage and all that stuff, so I wouldn't take any of it — Yeah, I mean, the actor who wants to... Listen, first of all, I can't tell you the amount of big actors that have told me they want to be Batman.

“I think you'd have a harder time finding actors who don't want to be Batman. He's the one character everyone wants to play. That's the truth.”

Indeed, we know more about who’s not playing Batman in The Brave and the Bold than who may. You can forget about Robert Pattinson, who plays The Batman in Matt Reeves’ self-contained DC universe, the ‘Batman Epic Crime Saga.’ Reacher star Alan Ritchson has said he’s not in the running, either. Nor is Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt.

Gunn has discussed in vague terms the kind of Batman he’s going for — or, perhaps it would be better to say the kind of Batman he's trying to avoid.

Speaking earlier this year, Gunn said: “Batman has to have a reason for existing, right? So Batman can’t just be ‘Oh, we’re making a Batman movie because Batman’s the biggest character in all of Warner Bros.,’ which he is. But because there’s a need for him in the DCU and a need that he’s not exactly the same as Matt’s Batman.

“But yet he’s not a campy Batman. I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in a funny, campy Batman, really. So we’re dealing with that. I think I have a way in, by the way. I think I really know what it’s — I just am dealing with the writer to make sure that we can make it a reality.”

While fans wait for The Brave and the Bold to see Gunn's Batman, Episode 6 of DCU canon kickstarter Creature Commandos showed Batman standing on a rooftop looking down at crime boss Doctor Phosphorus. The image below revealed a mega-stacked Caped Crusader in his iconic costume, but there was little else that could be discerned about Gunn’s take on the superhero.

Anker quietly released a new 25,000mAh power bank earlier this year that sits alongside their Anker 737 and Prime series of power banks. This particular model boasts a massive 25,000mAh battery capacity, 165W of total charging output, and two built-in USB Type-C cables in case you forget to bring your own. It normally retails for $135, but there's a deal today that drops the price to $91.99. This is a great complement to your power-hungry gaming handheld PC like the Steam Deck, Xbox Ally X, or Lenovo Legion Go. In fact, it can also charge non-gaming laptops including most new MacBooks.

Note that the 165W spec is a bit misleading. Although the Anker power bank can indeed deliver up to 165W of total power output, an individual USB Type-C charging port can actually only deliver up to 100W max.

New Release: Anker 25,000mAh 165W Power Bank

If you're seeking the absolute best of the best in PC gaming performance, look no further. Alienware has just dropped the price of its flagship Alienware Area-51 prebuilt gaming PC equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card starting at $4,299.99 with free shipping. This is the lowest price I've seen for an Alienware 5090 gaming PC and is reasonably competitive compared to other boutique PC builders. The GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card is currently the most powerful GPU on the market, and by a wide margin.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC From $4,299.99

Alternatively, Dell Outlet is now offering an assortment of Clearance, Like New (Refurbished) and Scratch & Dent Alienware Area-51 gaming PCs equipped with both RTX 5090 graphics cards. You'd be saving up to $1,000 less compared to buying an identical system brand new and includes the same warranty. Dell's certified refurbished systems are submitted to a rigorous refurbishing process. These previously owned products could have observable minor blemishes that do not affect performance, or could look as good as new.

The RTX 5090 Is the Most Powerful Graphics Card Ever

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although with this generation Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in hardware-based raster performance. If you want the absolute best performance for your gaming PC, there is literally no other option from any other brand.

See more of the best Alienware deals.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

It’s that time of year, when retailers start to announce their Black Friday sales. The latest announcement for the holiday shopping event comes from LEGO. The official LEGO Store Black Friday sale is scheduled to run November 28 - December 1, 2025. That’s right, it’s a four-day sale that starts promptly on Black Friday and runs through Cyber Monday.

While LEGO’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale is a multi-day event, it’s quite a bit shorter than some other retailers are planning for their sales. Best Buy’s Black Friday plans, for instance, span the entire month of November, and will likely include plenty of discounts on LEGO sets as well. You can expect similarly elongated sales (including LEGO deals) from other retailers, like Amazon, Target, and Walmart, as well.

What Kinds of LEGO Black Friday Deals to Expect

LEGO is pretty predictable when it comes to sales. General smaller sales throughout the year tend to get you about 20% off a variety of sets. For bigger sales, like Black Friday, you can expect a good number of sets to drop to 20%, 30%, or even 40% off, depending on various factors. Factors include how long ago they were released and whether they’re on the list of LEGO sets retiring soon.

In addition to discounts, LEGO always has GWPs (Gifts With Purchase) to give away when you buy certain sets. These are smaller sets you get for free, often for spending a certain amount on the LEGO Store. Last year, for instance, if you bought The Endurance set, you got three GWP sets for free. We’ll have to wait to learn what GWP sets will be available this Black Friday.

LEGO Insiders Weekend Date

You don’t have to wait for Black Friday to kick off the LEGO holiday shopping festivities. Each year, the company runs a LEGO Insiders Weekend sale the weekend before Black Friday (so, November 22 - 23 this year). This sale is only open to LEGO Insiders, but you can sign up here for free. You can check out the LEGO Insiders Weekend page on the LEGO Store here, but there aren’t any discounts and no real information at the time of this writing. All the company says to expect is a weekend “filled with surprises, gifts with purchases and much more.”

For more, check out every new LEGO set out in October 2025. There's been a lot of brick-focused news lately, including four new LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight sets coming out next year. We also just built the LEGO Gingerbread AT-AT Walker, a delightful Christmas treat.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

Pro-style controllers are a dime-a-dozen nowadays, but Scuf has pioneered the third-party gamepad that comes with extraneous features that are supposed to give a competitive edge. Things like programmable back buttons, swappable thumbsticks, hair trigger stops, and finely tuned analog control can genuinely make for a better gameplay experience, particularly for competitive scenarios where precision and split-second inputs matter. With so many options already available, where does that leave the new Scuf Valor Pro? It’s in the smaller details.

While there are a few new additions that aren’t necessarily game-changing, like onboard volume-chat wheels (and an upcoming 1000Hz polling rate for PC users), what matters is how it iterates on familiar features to make them feel better to use. The wired version comes in at $100 while the wireless model goes for $190, and it's a tough ask even for those looking for something geared towards competitive play, but aside from a few quirks, it’s one of the better controllers for PC and Xbox.

Editor's note (10/22/25): This review, originally published on February 24, 2025, has been updated to reflect my experience using the new wireless model of the Scuf Valor Pro. A new section has been added to highlight it specifically as well.

Scuf Valor Pro – Design and Features

With this primarily being for Xbox, it takes on the same layout and similar ergonomics as the stock Xbox controller. Nearly across the board, however, every button has a better and more responsive tactile feel. The face buttons have a nice bounciness that makes them easier to tap rapidly, and the eight-way directional pad still has a distinct clickiness but it doesn’t have that stale crunch of the normal Xbox controller.

What’s arguably the biggest upgrade with the Valor Pro is the switch to magnetic Hall Effect analog sticks (and TMR on the wireless model). As the concern over stick drift on traditional controllers leaves folks burned by defective parts and expensive options for replacements, Hall Effect and TMR sticks have been increasingly common in high-end third-party gamepads. They’re much more durable since the magnetic parts create less friction, and it also feels great from a performance standpoint here on the Valor Pro.

Another noteworthy addition is the unique onboard volume and chat balance control. On the bottom next to the 3.5mm audio jack are two scroll wheels – the left one handles in-game volume and the right one controls chat volume. Many wireless gaming headsets have a volume-chat mix dial of their own, so the one on the Valor Pro is strictly for devices plugged into the audio jack. This limits its use-case somewhat, but can make things convenient for those who go with a wired analog headset.

As for the more minute details, the left and right bumpers have a great mouse-like click to them, making them much easier to press with a light touch while providing good tactility. The triggers are smooth and consistent all the way through so it’s easier to apply a specific amount of pressure. On the inner side of RT and LT are trigger stops to put the hair trigger mechanism in place – it creates a much shorter throw distance so you can theoretically actuate and reset trigger inputs faster.

Back paddles are key to any good pro-style controller and the four programmable buttons are decent, but not exactly my favorite of the many controllers I’ved used in the past. The two main buttons, labeled P1 and P2, sit along the inner side of the controller’s grips where your middle fingers would typically rest. While their positioning and tactility are great, they’re a tad too stiff for my liking – at least I never accidentally pressed them even with a tight handle on the controller.

The back buttons labeled P3 and P4 are interesting in that they’re more like hunches that sit closer to the center of the controller’s rear. You can either flick them with the backside of your middle finger or press down on them directly, which makes them easier to use than P1 and P2 thanks to their soft, mouse-click feel. If you only need two back buttons and/or find the inner P3 and P4 buttons to get in the way, you can easily remove them by plucking them out from the notch on the inner side.

The rubberized texture that lines the handles creates a firm and comfortable grip – with all these extra features and pieces built for performance, having a solid grip on a controller that has a decent weight brings it all together.

Scuf Valor Pro – Customization and Software

With Scuf being under the Corsair umbrella, it's a bit surprising that the Valor Pro doesn't use the iCue software suite on PC for manual configuration. It’s one of my least favorite software suites among the major peripheral manufacturers, so it's actually fine. Not having a customization app isn’t the end of the world since there just isn’t much to fiddle with on the Valor Pro. Mapping the back buttons is done easily on the controller itself – just hold down the profile button the back, press the back button and normal button you want to map together, and that’s it. You can even map d-pad directions and stick clicks in rare cases that would help more. The profile button swaps between three different settings (indicated by the LED color on the top right) so you don’t need to keep remapping things if you need specific setups for different games.

A post-launch update brought 1000Hz polling rate to PC users – polling rate refers to the frequency at which the controller sends registered inputs to the device it’s plugged into. High polling rates are increasingly common in gaming mice and keyboards, and there’s a theoretical advantage to that, and while I find polling rates over 1000Hz to bring a minimal to negligible benefit, bringing a controller to the 1000Hz standard helps it keep up with the input fidelity offered by higher refresh rate displays (if you use them).

Like other Scuf controllers, you can lift the Valor Pro’s faceplate off since it’s held in place magnetically. Customizing a faceplate is cool and all, but this is how you swap out the thumbsticks by just pulling them out. The normal concave-style sticks are on by default, but I quite like the convex-style sticks, especially since there’s a taller one I can use as the right analog stick to create more room for precise motions (which helps aiming in a shooter).

Looking to upgrade your audio game?

Check out our roundup of the best gaming headsets for Xbox!

Scuf Valor Pro – Performance

Now, for the fun part – I played a good amount of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer, Avowed, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, and Forza Motorsport to get a full picture of how it performs in various scenarios. And from hours of playing these games, the Valor Pro stacks up against some of my favorite third-party controllers in recent memory.

The first thing I did before jumping into Black Ops 6 was map the face buttons to the back buttons to make sure my right thumb never had to leave the stick. As I mentioned above, the P1 and P2 buttons are quite stiff, but that wasn’t too much of a problem when having jump and crouch set to them – being able to initiate a slide while constantly aiming felt great and the P2 button worked well for that. Reload and switching weapons often need to be done in heated moments so setting them to P3 and P4, and giving them a light flick, did the trick in intense firefights.

Call of Duty is the type of game that would benefit from hair triggers, and it’s the one area the Valor Pro falls short. I tend to avoid using hair triggers on account of the fact that I just don’t like how it feels, despite the potential benefit. But even more so with the Valor Pro, I was even less inclined to use them since they make the triggers stiff as a board. It takes far too much pressure to initiate the trigger, which defeats the purpose of a hair-trigger that’s supposed to be light and fast on the draw. And if anything, it hindered my ability to get the jump on my enemies. If this is a feature you rely on with high-end controllers, it’ll be a dealbreaker.

A wired controller for $100 (and the wireless version for $190) is a somewhat tall ask, but you’ll be getting one of the better options available for PC and Xbox.

I quite enjoyed my time with Avowed using this controller simply because I can map jump to a back button (there’s surprisingly a lot of parkour in the game). The overall build and feel shined throughout a long session, which is something I can also say from playing through more of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. It being an action game that requires lots of rapid pressing of the face buttons, the bounciness of A, B, X, and Y made the experience a bit more enjoyable and took some pressure off my right thumb. Ninja Gaiden also has a few button combos for special attacks, so using the back buttons to more easily press A + B or B + Y turned out to be a nice convenience.

Forza Motorsport proved the finesse of the triggers. The smooth and consistent throw of RT and LT let me feather the gas and brake with precision, more so than the stock Xbox controller. The triggers find a good balance between being firm and light, and manage to have no friction, stickiness, or unwanted resistance along the travel distance. So, while the hair triggers leave a lot to be desired, its normally set triggers have the edge over some of the best controllers on the market.

Razer's Pokemon themed gaming Kraken Kitty V2 headset sold out immediately when it was first launched stateside back in early August. The only way to get your hands on one was on eBay for a marked up price. Fortunately, Pokemon fans can rejoice because supply has finally caught up with demand. Target currently has the Razer Pokemon Kraken Kity V2 Gengar Edition headset in stock at its intended retail price of $139.99 with free and immediate delivery. If you're a Target Circle cardmember, then you can even get an additional 5% off your purchase.

Razer's Pokemon Gengar Edition Gaming Headset in Stock

Amazon, one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, paid a relative pittance for control of the James Bond franchise: $20 million.

That means Amazon paid less than the $25 million that Daniel Craig was reportedly paid for his final Bond film, No Time to Die.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, this revelation comes from a U.K. tax filing made by EON Productions, the former 007 franchise production company run by Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother, Michael G. Wilson.

The duo sold the rights to the Bond franchise to Amazon in February, granting the tech giant complete creative control over all James Bond intellectual property, a stunning move that rankled some Bond fans and Amazon critics.

“On 20 February 2025, the company entered into an agreement for the sale of its interest in the Bond franchise, all associated assets as well as its subsidiary companies, B24 Limited and B25 Limited. The total consideration for the sale amounted to $20 million (USD),” according to EON’s filing.

But, as THR notes, it’s likely Broccoli and Wilson will ultimately make far more than a mere $20 million off the franchise that their family had run since the 1960s.

According to the trade, “the Broccoli family will continue to have economic exposure to the Bond franchise through the joint venture structure of the deal. It is also possible that there are other elements like earnouts or stock options that could impact the value of the final sale price. Sources said at the time that the total value could be closer to $1 billion.”

Amazon MGM Studios is actively developing the 26th James Bond film with Dune’s Denis Villeneuve directing, David Heyman and Amy Pascal producing, and Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight writing the screenplay.

The filmmakers are reportedly looking to cast a “fresh face” as 007, specifically an unknown male British actor in their late 20s to early 30s.

James Bond 26 begins filming in 2027 for a 2028 release date.