Desks are an easy part of your gaming setup to overlook, but having a proper platform for your gaming PC, console, gaming monitor, and other peripherals can make a big difference. Most of us will start out using whatever surface is available, but making the jump to a specially chosen gaming desk can provide some key advantages.

The most important is a tabletop that is big enough and strong enough to accommodate whatever you want to put on it, but there are also more specialized features such as motorized sit/stand functionality, cable storage and organization, power management, and mounting points for accessories. Of course, there are aesthetic considerations in play too, whether you prefer a warm and inviting space with natural materials or something a bit more modern, stark, and streamlined. There's plenty to consider, so I've rounded up six of the best gaming desks we've tested to get you started.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Desks:

I've been reviewing gaming desks for years, with four desks currently crammed into my home office in the name of research, so I feel confident about these recommendations. Whether you're looking for something compact and affordable, a fancier electric sit/stand option, or a premium option with some extra gaming-specific features, you'll find at least one suitable option among these contenders.

Additional contributions by Chris Coke and Danielle Abraham

1. Secretlab Magnus Evo

Best Gaming Desk

2. FlexiSpot Comhar Electric Standing Desk

Best Budget Gaming Desk

3. Secretlab Magnus Pro

Best Premium Gaming Desk

4. Corsair Elevate:6

Best Gaming Desk for Streamers

5. Thermaltake ToughDesk 500L RGB Battlestation

Best L-Shaped Gaming Desk

6. Eureka Aero Pro

Best Multi-Level Gaming Desk

What to Consider When Shopping for a Gaming Desk

The best gaming desks must provide a stable and robust place to house your rig and a few great gaming accessories. From there, you have more flexibility in choosing the right desk for your setup.

Size and shape

The first thing to consider is shape and size. Whether you're looking for something small and compact that can fit into a dorm room or a spacious setup with multiple levels and storage space, options are available at different budgets. Knowing how much surface area you need can, obviously, help narrow down your choice.

Desk features

The next thing to plan for is what features you would prefer to have, which also includes appearance and materials. It's pretty common for gaming desks to have features like cupholders or built-in mouse pads, while more premium offerings include modular systems for mounting streaming accessories, peripherals, or even your entire PC. Storage space and convenience features, like built-in USB ports or even full power points for charging your devices, are another value-add common to the best gaming desks.

Height adjustment

Finally, consider the adjustments you'll need. Many gaming desks are non-adjustable but others offer the ability to raise or lower their height. So-called "standing desks" typically do this with powered motors at a higher cost, but others are adjustable with levers and locking legs.

Have a plan for your shopping because once that massive package is unboxed, you won't want to disassemble it and try to ship it back for something else.

Gaming Desk FAQ

Are standing desks worth it for gaming?

Standing desks have plenty of potential health benefits like improving your posture, relieving shoulder and back pain, promoting more movement to increase circulation – sitting too long puts you at risk for blood clots – and even helping with focus. But when you’re gaming, things get a little tricky.

Finding a sturdy standing desk to hold your PC setup is essential. Then you need to worry about positioning your peripherals for enjoyable gameplay and the prevention of accidents. That said, it’s not like we haven’t gamed standing up before – look at all those classic arcade cabinets. These days, most standing desks have powerful motors that’ll safely lift or lower your battle station with the push of a button.

A standing desk probably won’t improve your gameplay, but in my experience, being able to sit or stand at will is quite freeing. I'll admit, it's a feature I wasn't sure I would even use very often when I tried my first one. But having the option is great if you need to stretch your legs or change position in the middle of a long gaming session. Now I couldn't imagine not having the option.

What's the difference between a gaming desk and an office desk?

The differences are fairly subtle. Any office desk can be used as a gaming desk and vice versa, but there are some additional features that make a desk more suitable for gaming. For example, gaming desks are more likely to include cable management solutions, powerful electric motors capable of holding heavy PCs and monitors, or modular systems to easily mount monitors, headphones cameras, lights or other accessories. Aesthetically, gaming desks are also available in colour schemes to match popular gaming PC cases, and may include RGB lighting. Ultimately though, the line here is a blurry one, and it's best to focus on a desk that meets your requirements regardless of how it's described.

Will is deputy tech editor for IGN, specialising in PC hardware, sim racing and display tech. He has been publishing about games and technology since 2001 (age 12). Will was formerly Deputy Editor at Digital Foundry. He is currently playing Battlefield 6.

We’re just shy of a week away from Black Friday 2025, but the sales have already begun. To wit: Amazon is running a massive Black Friday sale on “Amazon Resale” products that gets you an extra 30% off at checkout. Tons of items are eligible (nearly 1,000), including video games and accessories like controllers. Since these are resale products (i.e. “used”), they’re already listed for lower than MSRP. This sale takes an additional 30% off at checkout, which means you can get this stuff at fabulously low prices. You can check out the full sale here, or just check out the video game items.

Amazon Resale - Save an Extra 30% Off

Note that, when you click a link, Amazon may default to new (non-Resale) version of the item. To get the sale price in that case, you’ll need to click the “Save with Used - Like New” option underneath the “Add to Cart” button. Make sure you see the “Save 30% at checkout” in green text as well.

Finally, a word of advice before we get into the thick of it. Amazon always lists the condition the item is in, and I always look for items that are marked “Used: Like New” or “Used: Very Good” to make sure I’m not getting anything in, shall we say, rugged condition. That said, the lower the condition, the lower the starting price, so feel free to pick up whatever you feel comfortable buying.

As for what items are on sale, it’s a lot. PS5 DualSense controllers are on sale. Xbox wireless controllers are on sale. So are Beats headphones, JanSport backpacks, and much, much more. You name it, basically. One word of advice: if you see something you want, grab it. Lots of items are flickering into stock and then vanishing from the sale page as they sell out almost instantly.

For more, check out the Amazon and Best Buy Black Friday sales, both of which are now live. For a catch-all, check out when to expect Black Friday sales, which has info about when they start at all the major retailers.

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.

Nintendo Switch 2 owners have reason to rejoice because there's a new Black Friday deal on one of the most important accessories you can get for your console. Starting now, Amazon is offering the recently released Samsung P9 512GB MicroSD Express card for just $74.99 after a 25% off instant discount. Alternatively, the 256GB model is also on sale for $47.47, but you might want to pass on that deal; Nintendo has already announced that the official Switch 2 256GB memory card (which, by the way, is also made by Samsung) will drop to $39.99 on Cyber Monday.

Samsung P9 512GB MicroSD Express Card for $74.99

When I played Escape From Tarkov for the first time in 2018, I remember being captivated by its obtuse, insanely challenging structure. Like PUBG was to the battle royale genre, this promising prototype of an extraction shooter had so many unique elements going for it that made me absolutely certain it would be the next big thing, even if it was sometimes completely broken in its Early Access state. All these years later, now finally hitting 1.0, it’s pretty shocking how much has changed while it also remains exactly as exasperating as I remember it. The hands-off approach to onboarding that forces newcomers to beat their heads against its unforgiving mechanics for dozens of hours before claiming even a single victory captures the same relentless challenge I’ve always adored, while other frustrations, like its continued bugs, poor technical performance, and inability to address an abundance of cheaters, remains disappointingly worse than ever. I’ve only spent 30 hours with the 1.0 version so far, which (as any veteran player will surely tell you) is no time at all, but right now it feels like this progenitor may have been left in the dust of the genre it spawned.

Escape From Tarkov isn’t just the original standalone extraction shooter, but also the one most fanatically adherent to the ruthless principles on which the genre was founded. Not only are you thrown into a deadly hellscape filled with lethal NPCs and merciless human opponents, but you’re given absolutely no guidance in your quest for survival and loot. Practically none of the progression systems are explained to you, there’s no map for you to look at while out in the field to indicate where the extraction points are, and you could easily spend tens of hours studying weapon attachments and ammo types just to understand how the heck to use the tools of death you’ll find in your journey.

In some ways, I really admire how unrepentant Tarkov is – its beautifully exacting game design, and the sense of discovery that takes place across hundreds of lessons learned the hard way can be incredibly rewarding. But then there are times where it’s all just so dang frustrating, like how atrociously the UI and menus are organized, as if they were designed specifically to offend you. Whether or not the payoff of finally feeling comfortable enough to bring your best equipment out and try for a proper extraction is worth it will ultimately depend on couple things: your tolerance for pain, and your drive to master something designed to really test your expertise of systems Tarkov refuses to teach you. At least in these early hours with 1.0, I find myself somewhere in the middle of enamoured by its harsh edges and utterly disgusted by outdated design choices.

Unfortunately, the intentionally punishing design is marred by completely unintentional issues that have made this full launch that much harder to enjoy. The servers so far have been incredibly unreliable, with regular disconnects and wait times greater than 15 minutes to get into a match, and cheaters are very prevalent since accounts and items can be sold for real money in the gray market. As a result, I decided to spend most of my time this first week just focusing on the PvE mode for the sake of my sanity.

There’s also the matter of just how bad this thing looks and performs by the standards of the day. I remember thinking Escape from Tarkov already didn’t look great when I last revisited it, and coming back to it again a few years later has not done it any favors. Objects in the environment are blurry and low res, and with the exception of the vendors you’ll chat with as you complete quests, human faces look like they were modeled using the monster-generator that is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’s character creator. It’ll take me a while before I’ve played enough to call this review final, so hopefully developer Battlestate Games will smooth out the worst of these issues before they drive me insane, but it’s been an incredibly rocky start.

Anyway, I should get back to it – between the PvE mode, PvP mode, and Arena, I’ve got plenty more to see and do before I can make a recommendation either way. For now, diving back into this influential, daunting game has been equal parts fascinating and irksome, but I’m looking forward to going as deep down the rabbit hole as I can.

“What makes you happier? Is knowing the truth going to make you happier, or is living with a happy illusion the way to go? Which is the right choice?”

That, according to actor Jared Harris, is the question that lies at the heart of Reawakening, the Virginia Gilbert-directed film which is making its digital debut this week. The story of a husband and wife whose teenage daughter went missing a decade ago, only to have her – seemingly – reappear in their lives one day, Reawakening is part mystery, part heartbreaking what-if? tale, and part acting tour de force for Harris, who plays John, the dad of the family, Erin Doherty (Adolescence), who co-stars as the daughter Clare, and Juliet Stevenson, who plays the mother Mary.

I jumped on a Zoom call with Harris this week to talk about Reawakening, what’s going on with his sprawling Apple TV sci-fi series Foundation, his time on Mad Men, and the career-altering advice he once received from none other than Danny DeVito…

Reawakening: Is She Who She Says She Is?

The thing about the return of Clare in Reawakening is that what should be an incredibly happy occasion is nothing but. You see, Harris’ character John doesn’t believe that this 24-year-old woman is actually the same person who disappeared 10 years earlier.

“Is she who she says she is?” says Harris. “Why do the parents have such a different reaction to her? One of them immediately welcomes her, and then the other one doesn't think that it's her. The ironic thing is the one who's not convinced is the person who never stopped looking for her. You would expect that he would be the one who would go, ‘Oh, she's home!’ And then the mother would go, ‘Hang on.’ But it's the opposite way to that.”

Indeed, in the scene where John first finds that Clare, or someone claiming to be Clare, has returned home, he has a panic attack and then literally runs from the house and down the street, banging his hands against his head. It’s a fight or flight reaction.

“He'd imagined this moment and he'd thought there'd be this incredibly powerful connection that would occur between them,” says Harris of that scene. “She'd come running into his arms, and he'd say, ‘I never stopped looking for you sweetheart.’ ‘Oh, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.’ … And it doesn't happen. He looks at her and he doesn't feel that instant pulse of recognition.”

And yet somehow his wife Mary is accepting this person, this apparent stranger, into their home with open arms.

“‘Am I nuts?’” is what John is thinking according to Harris. “He's actually been gaslit, and I think that what he doesn't understand is, why don't I feel that it's her? What's wrong with me? Because my bellwether is Mary, and Mary knows that it's her, so what's wrong with me?”

As for whether or not this Clare really is the Clare who disappeared 10 years ago, well, you’ll have to watch the movie to find that out. But again, the movie is as much about that as it is what the arrival of this person at John and Mary’s doorstep means for the rest of their lives. The film is called Reawakening, after all.

“Mary says, ‘This has made me happy. Why pull it apart?’” explains Harris. “There was this terrible emptiness in our life, and then this thing has come and it’s filled in this gaping hole. Just accept it as a gift. What does it matter?’”

Are handhelds the future of Xbox? It’s a question that’s been bouncing around my head since the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X launched. Of course, I don’t think Xbox is ditching its console line entirely, but it begs another question – is Xbox better in the handheld market or is the Xbox Series X superior?

The Xbox Ally X is now our favorite handheld gaming PC, and that’s thanks to Asus’ slow perfection of its handheld series. On the other side of that, the Xbox Series X isn’t exactly the most popular current-generation console.

While the Xbox Series X may not be the best console, can it beat the best gaming handheld? Let’s see how it stacks up against the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X.

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Specs

The Xbox Series X is five years old, but can a handheld like the Xbox Ally X really outpace it?

Both Xbox devices are rocking AMD hardware, with the Xbox Ally X debuting the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chipset, and the Xbox Series X featuring custom AMD Zen 2 and RDNA 2 chips.

Both the Xbox Ally X and Xbox Series X feature 8 CPU cores, except the former is clocked at 2 GHz while the latter hits 3.8 GHz. The Xbox Ally X does support more RAM, at 24GB compared with the Xbox Series X’s 16GB. However, that doesn’t change the gap in GPU performance. While the Xbox Ally X is built on the new RDNA 3.5 architecture, its 16 Compute Units still won’t hold up compared to the 52 RDNA 2 Compute Units in the Xbox Series X.

In real-world practice, the biggest selling point of the Xbox Series X is 4K gaming at 60 fps. Of course, modern games have a shoddy track record achieving that on console, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is that the Xbox Ally X sports a 7-inch, 1920 x 1080, 120Hz display, so you won’t be getting 4K or even 1440p gaming, if that’s something you care about.

Winner: Xbox Series X

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Utility

The Xbox Ally X and the Xbox Series X cater to two completely different kinds of experience. Sure, you could play both on your couch, but one of them you can take wherever you want, while the other provides a more stationary experience.

With the Xbox Series X, you’re stuck playing in one place, you can’t play any PC games, and you don’t get to prioritize the graphics settings that matter to you. Modern AAA games are getting better about adding graphics settings on consoles, but it's nowhere near as thorough as PC.

With the Xbox Ally X, you need to worry about battery life, being trapped on a 1080p screen, and getting stuck with an inferior controller experience. Don’t get me wrong, the Xbox Ally X’s controller is the best in a handheld so far, but it still won’t be as comfortable as a traditional controller. Yet, despite some of those shortfalls, the Xbox Ally X offers so much. I can play it on the train on my way to work, which is a lot, but nothing beats snuggling up in bed and dying to Simon for the umpteenth time in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Another key factor is the display. The Xbox Ally X may only feature a 1080p screen, but it is more vibrant and vivid than most 1080p monitors or TVs. That means you'd have to spend hundreds of dollars for a 1440p or 4K screen that would look just as good. Sure, you get the bump in resolution, but that just reinforces that the Xbox Series X isn’t technically ready to go out of the box (you need a display).

Then there's the PC game stores. I'll get deeper into it in the next section, but it is incredibly convenient to swap over from the Xbox Store to Steam with the Xbox Ally X. With my Xbox Series X, I’d need to get up off my couch and go to my office, where I keep my PC. Of course, not everyone has the same set-up, but there’s still a massive separation between Xbox and PC with an Xbox Series X. The Xbox Ally X closes that gap, albeit at the cost of a few games.

Winner: Xbox Ally X

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Game Compatibility

If you aren’t deep into the PC gaming scene, you might be shocked that the Xbox Ally X can’t play every Xbox game. It seems like false advertising, but the truth of it is that the Xbox Ally X is a PC, not an Xbox. Although, that does come with its advantages.

With the Xbox Series X, you can play most AAA games, as well as older Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. That includes games not available on PC, like Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Halo 5: Guardians.

Those games may come to PC one day, but right now the Xbox Ally X still has access to a significantly larger library than the Xbox Series X. You not only get all the games on the Microsoft Store, but also games from Steam, Epic Games, Battle.net, and GOG. One of the great things about that is some stores periodically give out free games, especially the Epic Games Store.

So yes, you’re losing out on a few console-exclusive games with the Xbox Ally X, but you’re gaining a landfill’s worth compared to the Xbox Series X.

Winner: Xbox Ally X

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Price

Don't miss this great opportunity to pick up a Google Streamer 4K for over 50% off during Black Friday. Amazon Resale is currently offering Used: Like New units for just $49.87 after an extra 30% off discount is automatically applied during checkout. Alternatively, you can buy it brand new for $74.99 after a 25% off Black Friday discount. The Google Streamer 4K is one of the most fully featured Android-based 4K streaming devices available with updated features like smart hub functionality and Thread compatibility. It's also considerably less expensive than other similar options like the Apple TV, Roku Ultra, and Nvidia Shield TV Pro.

Amazon Resale (formerly Amazon Warehouse) is Amazon's official account for used goods. The products are sorted by condition, with "Like New" being the best. There's a good chance these items haven't been used at all and were returns from customers who have changed their minds, or simply products with blemished packaging. All Amazon Resale items also get the same 30-day return policy as any other Amazon purchase. Most "Like New" items still have a majority of its original manufacturer's warranty remaining (and sometimes the full warranty if the item was never sold).

Save up to 50% Off the Google Streamer 4K

The Walt Disney Company has been telling some of the most beloved stories in all of entertainment for over 100 years, but it's taken stepping aboard the Disney Destiny for me to feel more a part of them than I ever have before.

After inviting me to Papenburg, Germany, in August to see how the Disney Destiny was built, Disney welcomed me back aboard its newest cruise ship ahead of its maiden voyage on November 20 to experience what makes this Heroes & Villains-themed ship so special. After departing Ft. Lauderdale’s Port Everglades for three way-too-short days, it was those special story moments we were part of - whether it be Loki taking over the Grand Hall and declaring himself king or Cruella de Vil storming into her own lounge - that truly won me over.

Developer Poncle says its newly announced Vampire Crawlers is more of a spinoff than a sequel, but it sounds like Vampire Survivors 2 may actually be in the works, too.

Fans had their eyebrows raised when the studio behind the hit monster-slaying video game announced Vampire Crawlers as its new game during today’s Xbox Partner Preview. While the roguelike deck-builder might seem like a proper Vampire Survivors sequel at first glance, Poncle says in a new interview with Xbox Wire, this isn’t the case.

“This is just a spin-off of Vampire Survivors – hopefully the first in a series of spin-offs!” studio founder and CEO Luca Galante said. “The idea is to take some of the core pillars behind the development of VS and to apply them to existing genres. I’m talking about accessibility, immediacy, affordability, replayability, and sparkly stuff. Tons of sparkly stuff!”

It’s no doubt an idea a wide range of Vampire Survivors fans will gravitate to, especially as Poncle teases what could be more than one spinoff. Alas, the lack of a 2 next to the title means Vampire Crawlers is planned to offer something different from the core experience, but fans hoping for a proper follow-up may not want to count out Vampire Survivors 2 just yet.

“With regards to a sequel to Vampire Survivors, we’re working on something, but we’re not talking about that just yet,” Galante adds.

It's just one sentence of acknowledgement, but it’s still enough to confirm that Poncle has multiple ideas brewing when it comes to the future Vampire Survivors. Whether that lands a 2 next to the original title's name or results in something else entirely, we’ll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, Vampire Crawlers seeks to bring the humor the series is known for together with a new gameplay loop. A trailer for the spinoff, which Galante says Poncle has been working on for around four years, reveals a switch to first-person gameplay with some dungeon-crawling to boot.

Vampire Survivors 2 could be years away. In the meantime, players can look forward to Vampire Crawlers when it comes to PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S in 2026. For more, you can read our Vampire Survivors 1.0 review, where we gave Poncle’s popular monster-slaying game an 8/10.

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).

Sony's newest flagship wireless noise cancelling headphone has dropped to the lowest price ever, and it's not even close. As part of Amazon's Black Friday sale, Amazon Resale is selling "like new" Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless noise canceling headphones for as low as $248.43 after an automatic 20% off discount is applied during checkout. It normally retails for $450 and the current "Black Friday deal" for buying it new is still nearly $400 on Amazon.

Amazon Resale (formerly Amazon Warehouse) is Amazon's official account for used goods. The products are sorted by condition, with "Like New" being the best. There's a good chance these items haven't been used at all and were returns from customers who have changed their minds, or simply products with blemished packaging. All Amazon Resale items also get the same 30-day return policy as any other Amazon purchase. Most "Like New" items still have a majority of its original manufacturer's warranty remaining (and sometimes the full warranty if the item was never sold).

"Like New" Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphones From $248.43

Amazon’s Black Friday sale is officially live. Yes, a week ahead of time. Deals will rotate in and out until the day of Black Friday itself, which does make it a bit challenging to figure out whether you’re actually getting the best possible discount.

One of the big draws of any Amazon sale is the amount of discounts on physical media, and the retailer has highlighted a whole section for Black Friday anime deals. There are hits and misses here, for sure, but I managed to pick out quite a few great deals that are at or very close to their all-time low prices.

Anime Blu-rays and DVDs in Amazon’s Black Friday Sale

As with any Amazon sale, I recommend doing a bit of scrolling and searching for your favorite series. If you're looking for some inspiration, Dan Da Dan is a personal favorite from the past couple years, in large part because I still haven’t gotten the banging intro out of my head. The anime adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man has also become a massive hit, and the limited edition Blu-ray of Season 1 includes a 72-page Booklet and digital art galleries. Both of these Season 1 releases have dropped to all-time low prices, making them the best deals from the current generation.

From a little further back in the day, you have the combination of anime that got me personally into the medium. Death Note is nothing short of a classic, worthy of a spot on any collector’s shelf. While not quite at its lowest ever price, a 60% discount is nothing to scoff at.

On the wackier side of things, the complete series of Soul Eater has hit an all-time low. I stand by it as one of the greats in large part for having some of the coolest character designs. (Looking at you, Death the Kid).

There’s a somewhat slimmer spread of anime movies on sale, but there are certain deals that are pretty much unbeatable. This includes one of the more recent steelbook releases, Grave of the Fireflies, hitting a new lowest ever price. While the rest of the Studio Ghibli movies have small discounts right now, I’d expect better deals on those closer to Black Friday. (For reference, they're pretty much always on sale.)

What About Streaming?

Best Buy's Black Friday Sale has officially kicked off with some great deals on gaming hardware. Possibly the very best deal I've found so far is on the Lenovo Legion Go S Z1 Exterme SteamOS handheld gaming PC, which has dropped to just $649.99 after a massive $250 instant discount. This is the lowest price I've seen by nearly $130. Note that this is the more powerful model with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip and it is easily one of the best Steam-based gaming handhelds currently available. It's essentially a souped up Steam Deck alternative.

Save $250 Off the Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC

Godfall developer Counterplay Games reportedly shut down earlier this year, so seeing it suddenly reappear with Armatus, a full-blown roguelite shooter coming to PC and consoles in 2026, might be somewhat of a shock.

A trailer, including everything from far-along cinematics and tense gameplay, materialized during today’s November 2025 Xbox Partner Preview. It’s undeniably got that Godfall flair to it, as its main character can be seen smashing and blasting their way through a post-post-apocalyptic Paris.

It’s not often a game developer seemingly closes down only to reemerge months later with a brand-new video game for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S. We sat down with Counterplay studio head and creative director Ming Zhang to learn more about Armatus, its roguelike gameplay, and what it’s been like for the team to continue its work when those rumors were kicked up. You can see the full interview below.

IGN: To set the stage, tell me about Armatus and this trailer we're going to see. What are players looking at in this first trailer?

Ming Zhang: What you see in this trailer is snippets of gameplay, largely with a little bit of cinematic footage from our game. You know, it's been a number of years in the making, and this is Counterplay's next entry in our love of visceral combat. You see some of the abilities, some of the enemies, and some of the cool moves that you're going to be you're going to be able to do, in this case.

What can you tell me, in a little more detail, about its gameplay, its story, and, especially, the world it takes place in?

Zhang: It's a third-person roguelite shooter, and in order to build the world, what we did, is we took the concept of urban fantasy, which is the grim supernatural underneath the real world, and we took it to the nines. What happens in the post-post-apocalypse of an urban fantasy world? Well, you know, the real world kind of starts to break apart, and underneath, all the supernatural stuff starts to spill forth, right? When you think about, 'What is a city that evokes classic but also modern, and has all the right tone and tambre, even un-supernatural?' It would be Paris. Starting from there, we then said, 'Well, what is the kind of character that we would have bring here? We wanted to create the supernatural character, who was powerful and had access to these celestial abilities that you would be able to use, but we also wanted to take the sound and fury of modern firearms and put that in the hands of this supernatural being. So, you've got the magic and the firepower, and put it together.

I saw The Vanishing is what triggered this Paris to look like this. What can you tell me about that event and how it resulted in something like that?

Zhang: There's something about the word spoiler that is coming up (laughs), so you'll have to, you'll have to play and find out, but it is the pivotal event. That kicks off the game.

That's totally fair. You talked about it a little bit there, but what else is it about Paris that makes it the location you go to for this instead of somewhere else around the world?

Zhang: Paris just has incredible visuals, as a city. Again, when you think urban fantasy, it's impossible to avoid a lot of the gothic undertones. The architecture of the city already evokes the emotions that we wanted from those from the supernatural side of the world, so combining that real world with the supernatural was a big part of the setting as well.

I'm curious if you can tell us more about the different tools players will have at their disposal. Are there different guns, weapon modifiers, or abilities? What can we generally look forward to?

Zhang: This is a run-based game, and the primary, I say, means of combat that the player has is, of course, your gun. So, you have your gun, you will be able to shoot it, but you also have a melee weapon at your disposal, and you have several locomotion kits and several abilities that you will be able to pick. One of the things that was really important to us was that players do this thing that we internally call 'creative expression through combat,' where not only is it that, you have all these amazing tools that you can use in your in your player kit, it's that you get to customize the player kit that you're taking on the run as you play each run. Just as it's important to have visceral fidelity in the gameplay, it was important for us to have the build craft to go along with it.

Armatus is described as a third-person, roguelite shooter. Are there any specific games that inspired Counterplay when crafting its gameplay?

Zhang: We have a lot of references, as all game designers do. I think you'll have to play and discover all the references, but I think fans of the genre will be very pleased with what we have to offer.

I don't know if maybe you'd have the same answer, then, for some of the different movies, books, and games or shows that inspired the story and universe this takes place in?

Zhang: Well, one of the things that we always look for at Counterplay, and we've done this since the beginning, was interesting genre blends. Without getting you know too nerdy (laughs), we always look for combinations. We always look for the chocolate and peanut butter or whatnot, and so I think a lot of the fun in doing that is for our players to figure it out on on their own, but I think you'll see the inspirations worn pretty heavily on our sleeves.

Roguelite, I think, is a term that a lot of people hear, and they feel like if they've played one, they've played them all. What does Armatus do to stand apart from other rogue lights and shooters?

Zhang: I tend to think of roguelite as a design framework. It'd be like saying, 'If you played one RPG, you played them all.' The design framework is the thing that you scaffold the game on top of, but it's not the only thing in the game. As we emphasized, our game really sings when you get into the combat. Creative expression through combat is a core pillar of what we wanted to do. If you came into this game and you just wanted to slaughter demons using abilities and guns and melee, this is the game for you, and if you wanted to be the kind of person who strategically picks every single upgrade in order to hit the perfect combination and eradicate rooms that way, this is also the game for you. So that's kind of how we think about it.

How long is your average run going to be? Is this the kind of thing where you can play quick run before bed, or do you really need to sit down and lock in for hours and hours?

Zhang: We're still working on the game, so I prefer not to give a number at this at this point, but what I will say is, like many games that have come before and after, both in the third-person action genre, as well as the roguelite genre, the choices that you make have a big impact on how much you can do.

I think at the end of the trailer, you tease a boss fight. I'm not looking for specifics here, but are bosses something players can look forward to in Armatus, and what can you tell me about them?

Zhang: Yeah, bosses are definitely a part of the game. Thank you for that. Bosses are definitely a part of the game, and we call them Greater Demons. What they represent is, if you think of the demonic incursion that's happening in Paris, in the post-apocalypse that we talked about, the Greater Demons are the ones that anchor. They're more solid than the other ones. They're bigger, they're scarier, they are figures of nightmare, and I think players will have a great time being killed and killing them as well.

So would you call Armatus a particularly difficult game, then, or is that in the hands of the player through different options?

Zhang: I think that's going to be up to the player, but I guess you'll have to wait and see on that one, too.

What are some of the lessons the team learned from, specifically, Godfall, because it's really easy to compare these two, that the team brought into the development of Armatus?

Zhang: I think the biggest one is this: Coming out of Godfall, one of the things we consistently received feedback on, and it was almost all positive, but basically the big discussion point was the starting point in the game felt almost primordial. Then, as you unlocked moves in the skill tree, suddenly you were doing this and you were doing that. The combat in that game felt like a conversation with the developers. Again, I'm paraphrasing, you know, one or two reviews here, but that was a major source of feedback we got across the board. Fans really resonated with the dynamic combat that we had in Godfall, and they really liked this conversation with the developer-style of play that they had. So as we moved into our next project, we said, 'Hey, we did it for melee. Can we pull it off for shooters as well?' So we took that, and that's where this emphasis on build craft comes from.

I saw a lot of rumors earlier this year that Counterplay had shut down, and sitting here now, that's obviously not the case. So, I'm curious if you have any comment on that situation you'd like to share, and more specifically, what it's been like for the studio to see those rumors swirl while knowing full well that Counterplay's next game is very much still in development, despite that.

Zhang: I think most of the studio was too busy working on the game (laughs) to really pay attention to rumours that don't really apply to their day-to-day. I think the only comment I really have on it is, the announcement and future release of Armatus is a celebration of Counterplay Games, of our camaraderie, and this team that has gone through thick and thin together. It means the world to us that players are going to be able to see this game. They're going to play it, and we think that people are going to have a lot of fun. So, my comment is, go play Armatus, and then you can tell us how you feel about, right? (laughs)

Moving back to the game itself, I couldn't tell based on the trailer alone. Is this an entirely single-player experience, or are there any multiplayer elements, even scoreboards, or anything like that?

Zhang: It's a single-player game, and as for features, again, we're, we're still in development, so wait and find out.

I get it. It’s hard to talk about these things when the pieces are always moving, I'm sure.

Zhang: I think it's harder not to talk about these things, right? That's kind of the challenge here.

PC, PlayStation, and Xbox versions are on the way, but I also saw that a Nintendo Switch 2 version is in development. Were there any challenges in bringing Armatus to that console, and is the Switch 2 version expected to launch at the same time as other platforms?

Zhang: Yes, they are all expected to launch together. The challenge with these things is always optimization, but if you've seen Godfall, a PlayStation 5 launch title, you know that, if there's one thing that we do well, it's optimizing game systems.

Is there anything about Armatus that you want to talk about or that you want players to know now that they're finally seeing what this looks like?

This game is a love letter to action combat in all its forms. It's a love letter to the urban fantasy, gothic horror inspirations that we see in so many games and fiction all over, and the thing that is most important to us here at Counterplay is for players to see this letter that we've written. So, I can come up here and yammer about systems and features all day long, and all I would be doing is making promises to the audience, but the promise I will make is that if you play our game, you're going to have a really great experience of butchering all these demons.

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).

Publisher Lyrical Games and developer Plot Twist have revealed Erosion, a twin-stick roguelike set in a post-apocalyptic wild west that is set to launch into early access early next year.

The Xbox Partner Preview trailer for the next title from the Kraków, Poland-based studio teases a change of pace for The Last Case of Benedict Fox team as it targets a spring 2026 early access release for PC via Steam and Xbox Game Preview. A full launch is expected to follow later the same year for PC platforms, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S.

Where Plot Twist’s previous title leaned on 2D visuals and a Lovecraftian tale, Erosion seeks to let players loose in a mad open world with fast-paced combat and lots of character. The trailer promises to keep players entertained with destructible voxel environments, a poker mini-game, customizable vehicles, duels, loads of weapons, and boss fights, but that doesn’t mean the team is leaving story at the door.

“In Erosion, players find themselves in a distant future where a mysterious, sentient rock formation called the Pillar is consuming civilization piece by piece,” an Erosion story summary says. “They will descend into the mysterious Pillar to battle through chaotic, fully destructible dungeons, fighting to get one step closer to saving the protagonist’s daughter or losing her entirely to time itself. Every decision changes the story, and every death takes time off the clock.”

Years pass with every death in Erosion, meaning players will want to be extra careful if they don’t want to see everyone – including their daughter – grow old throughout the course of their journey. It’s a twist that’s teased in the trailer, with even the environment seeming to take a beating as time runs its course.

We’ll learn more about Erosion in time, so while we wait, be sure to check out our review for The Last Case of Benedict Fox. We gave it a 6/10 upon its release in 2023, saying, “The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a disappointingly uneven Metroidvania that’s just as likely to engage as it is to enrage.”

For everything else you might have missed during today's show, click right here.

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).

As part of Amazon's official Black Friday sale, the retailer is offering an excellent deal on a miniature-sized gaming PC. Right now you can pick up a Cooler Master NR2 gaming PC equipped with a GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card for just $1,899.99 shipped after you apply a $700 off coupon on the product page. This is an amazing price for an RTX 5080 prebuilt, let alone a micro-sized one. The NR2 is housed in Cooler Master's NR200P Max chassis, which is one of the most popular and well-reviewed ITX cases on the market. Despite its compact size, the NR2 is equipped with excellent cooling and powerful components. Normally there would be a high dollar markup on a boutique setup like this.

Cooler Master NR2 RTX 5080 ITX Gaming PC for $1,899.99

Indie developer Cococucumber is, for the first time ever, trying its hand at a sequel with Echo Generation 2.

Where the first turn-based romp channeled ‘80s and ‘90s vibes to create a nostalgic adventure that looked like Stranger Things was tossed into a blender with voxel graphics and classic RPG gameplay, the sequel is going a totally new direction. The sideways prequel skips the cozy small-town feel to drop players straight into a B-movie, cosmic horror story where they play as the missing father from the first game.

Its first trailer, which debuted as part of today’s November 2025 Xbox Partner Preview, teases a much more horrific experience for Cococucumber. We sat down with game director Martin Gavreau and studio producer and director Vanessa Chia to learn more about Echo Generation 2’s inspirations, how fan feedback helped guide development, and why the team decided to revisit one of its existing universes from a new perspective. You can see everything they had to say in the interview below.

IGN: Tell me about what people are going to see on Thursday. Tell me about this trailer and what exactly Echo Generation 2 is.

Martin Gavreau: It's very different than the first game. We were not sure how far we could go with it, because when you do a sequel, you have many options. You could say, 'Let's just do more of the same,' or you do something entirely different, or anywhere in between. There was a bit of an existential crisis of 'What do we do with this?' We felt that we wanted to see how far we could expand on this world-building. The first game, except for a very short moment, everything is within maybe a 5-10-mile radius of a small town, you know? The sequel, it's much more than that (laughs). It's much more. It's across the galaxy. We visit a different planet, we visit a different dimension, a different time era, and also, what's at stake is much bigger than, 'OK, I want to figure out what happened to my dad.'

You think about the first game, you start just playing with your sister in the street with a raccoon, and then at one point, you fight a mech with the cannon and lasers. You're supposed to be just a kid infiltrating a military base. There's a ramp going up to there, and we wanted to have this ramp up on another scale. Sometimes, in some classic RPGs, you start in your town and you end up fighting gods. So it's like, 'Let's go all the way there.'

So, the trailer, what we're going to see is part of the story. We're not revealing everything. There's big story moments that are not in the trailer that we want to keep. I don't think we're going to reveal them even later, before launch, we want to keep a lot of surprise. We're not playing as a kid anymore. We're playing as the father who disappeared, and it's before the first game. I mean, when you you play with time travel, is it a prequel? So it's a part of a prequel/sequel in some ways. There's some connection with the first game that, I think, people who played the first game, will definitely see a lot of connection, but in an expanded universe that happened across a different time.

We're going to jump back and forth between the future and the past. Really, really bigger scope and more complex plot to...I don't want to spoil it, but there's a much bigger issue happening across the galaxy. We, of course, want to go back home because we're getting trapped. To go back will become eventually, of course, still a goal, but what's the point of going back if you're going back to ruins? You don't want to come back to your Hobbit town and the Shire, and then it's all burned and destroyed. So you want to make sure that you go on a journey of adventure, but also you're going to come back to a world that is still, you know, intact and exists.

Echo Generation 2 obviously has some connections to the first game, but it also seems so different. I am wondering, why a sequel? Why a sequel to Echo Generation instead of something like Ravenlok or Riverbond?

Gavreau: I mean, I would love to do a sequel for Riverbond and Ravenlok. Revisiting those games and expanding on them would be a fantastic opportunity. But why do Echo Generation? There's always a bit of a business decision, because there's always a risk associated with making any game, but we're small in the studio, so it's what we feel like doing. We sit down and we talk all the team, share a bit there, you know, their ideas and what we like to work on, because there's always a possibility also to create a new game, no? And it's the same thing with making a sequel, and everybody loved making the first one. I think it's just the desire to go back to this world and expand on it.

We started the production right when the pandemic started, five years ago, already. So it just coincided, where we entered production for it, and at first there was a lot more unknown about, 'Is the whole world gonna collapse? Is everybody gonna die?' We used the game as a small safe haven structure. When I'm at work, we don't talk about politics, we don't talk about the vaccine or the virus. We just...we are living Echo Generation, and we live in that world, to our little bubble of imagination with these cute characters and talking raccoon, you know? It kind of helped us keep our sanity throughout the events of the pandemic, I think.

Maybe there's a special kind of association with it emotionally, and we felt like the story was not finished, that we had so many ideas that we couldn't put in the first game, that were left on the cutting room, so to speak, that we were really excited to go and work more on it. I think that was probably the reason after Ravenlok to go back to Echo Generation. Now, I don't think it's going to be an Echo Generation 3 after that. We have other plans, and there's been a different thing that we've been working on. Between all the games you can do, you have to commit to one, and everybody felt inspired. It's such a long amount of time not to make a game.

It's not going to spend a week or a month, it could be years, and it's what you live with every day. You ask yourself, 'Do I want to live with that world every day? Do I want to explore?' It's a long-term relationship, in a way, because even after you launch, you need to patch it. It's many, many years. I want to make sure that not only me is on board, and I love to do it, but everybody who has to work on it will find something interesting. It was not easy not to make a sequel. We realized it was harder than we thought, but we really wanted to make that game.

Echo Generation really wears its inspirations on its sleeves. Because Echo Generation 2 is so different from the get-go, what are some of the other inspirations for this game specifically? The movies, games, books, and shows that helped influence its development?

Gavreau: That's great that this could be seen, that you could observe those things in playing the first game. We're not hiding it, and we wanted to use different ones for the sequel and go places we didn't go before, like cosmic horror, for example. So if you think about, you know, the Call of Cthulhu and things that are more kind of like, 'What's out there in space? Is there forces beyond what are really there, and we're just not connected with them, and what if they discover humanity? So there's part of it is cosmic horror, but part of it also is Star Wars (laughs). We wanted to keep the same feeling of the first game. We wanted to use a lot of different inspiration that doesn't seem like they're going to work together at first.

We have also part of Cyberpunk. We have Blade Runner. We went for more of the sci-fi inspiration. We have 2001: A Space Odyssey in there. There's also X Files, because it's so fun to have. There's this kind of giant biomass that we teleport experiment again, like The Fly from Cronenberg. So, we went to inspiration that is more in the horror and sci-fi side, even if there's a bit of fun in there. I got fascinated, too, with this idea of the Backrooms. So maybe we have a little bit of that in there. That there's this other reality next to us, where there's this kind of mind maze, where you can get lost.

It's going to be a much more violent and scary game than the first one. Maybe not for kids entirely so much anymore. I think our rating is going to be probably 16 or 18 plus. We don't really think about it, but just when we fill out the questionnaire, whatever happened happened. But there is more blood, more gore, and it is pixel and voxel (laughs). So it's not as scary, maybe, but it's kind of fun in a way, like when you see the scientist getting smashed up with the blood. There's this playfulness with it, like B-movie playfulness that you have in movies like Tremors, and we wanted to capture that cool.

Why is launching day one on Xbox Game Pass the right move, specifically, for Echo Generation 2?

Gavreau: Well, the first one was on Game Pass. A lot of fans and people who discovered the game are on Xbox already, so it just feels like a logical way to do something similar with the sequel. Other than that, for us, I think it's our fourth game that's going to launch on Game Pass. We've we had this amazing relationship with Xbox that we had a chance to have their support. When you are on Game Pass, it comes with a lot of marketing support, like being part of a show or social media. Independent video games don't always have a publisher.

We don't have a publisher, so this kind of support really helped the game to get discovered. There's so many people on Game Pass that if you see a title that you're not familiar with, give it a chance, try it out, and see if you like it. It really helped open a lot of opportunities for the game to be played, and the end of the day, as a game developer, that's what you want. You want to be able to share your creation with as much people as possible. I think with Game Pass, definitely, it's been incredible to have all this interaction and this communication with the community on Xbox.

Were there any major points of fan feedback after the first game that you specifically want to address with Echo Generation 2?

Gavreau: Oh, yeah, definitely. Some of them, we address in the Midnight Edition. When we started the sequel after Ravenlok, we were thinking, 'Why don't we address some of those issues that some people had playing the game and make a special edition of the first game?' That was going to help us get back in that universe and see if it's possible to improve it in some ways, for quality of life. We really listened to player feedback. Also, something narratively, the first game, it was fun for being episodic, and also at the same time, there's a cost, and the cost is maybe the overarching main story suffered a bit from it. We still keep this episodic format in some ways, but there's a much stronger connection around the main story.

This is one of the things we tried to improve. Hopefully, we'll see if that works. Another one is to make the combat faster. The combat is so much faster now, the way we designed it. It was one of the design guidelines from the start. We need to be able to fight and resolve things much faster. If you want to stop and think you can, but if you want to go fast, it is possible to go very fast through the animation or the options given to you.

Going into a deck-building mechanic, now, also keeps the combat interesting throughout. What we saw is, sometimes, people, they find a companion, they love one move, and they just keep playing with that companion and that one move. Well, hey, there are a lot of different interesting moves that we designed, so if we add the deck-building mechanic, now you can adjust depending on the enemies you encounter. Maybe your deck will work against a certain environment, certain types of enemies, but you need to adjust it in other situations.

You need to keep adjusting your combat style, depending on enemies and depending on the type of cards. You have to have more variety on that side. Those were some of the feedback we tried to improve and implement on that side, for the combat and the story.

I don't think I saw a release date. I'm assuming, obviously, that's not something you can give me, but is this a game we see in 2026, or is there any kind of window you are targeting?

Gavreau: I was just talking this morning with a team member and what they were working on next, and they're like, 'I'm done.' (laughs) How can you be done? How can you be done with the game? Let's have a look.

But we're pretty advanced. I think we want to make sure we have enough time to polish everything. We want to make sure that we have time to balance all the combat and the journey, but the game is pretty advanced. How early depends on how fast we can go through the last phase of making sure the game is properly balanced, and everything runs smoothly.

(Editor’s Note: Cococucumber clarified after the interview that Echo Generation 2 is targeting a 2026 release window.)

Is there anything else you'd like to add about Echo Generation 2, the process of getting here, leading up to this reveal, and what it's like to finally pull back the curtain?

Gavreau: It feels strange, because we started working on it so long ago. We started working on it right after the first one was launched, and then it's been in and out. We were exploring different types of gameplay and prototyping. It might be, maybe, four years? I don't know, three or four years that this game has been, in some ways, in development? It feels a bit strange that, finally, we're going to be able to talk about it. We're very excited to see if people are going to remember it or be excited for it.

I think it's four years since (Echo Generation) launched. So you need to come with something new. You need to take some risk. This is what we decided to do with the game. Maybe some people wanted to have something very similar. But this is not exactly the decision we took. We decided to take more creative risk for the story and the game mechanic. Hopefully it still feels like an Echo Generation game, and the fan will embark on this journey and find it interesting, but it's, in many ways, going to be very different.

We were talking about the references, but the tone and the journey, the adventure, the combat, the speed of it, and the violence of it, and the excitement to to travel across the galaxy into to end up finding all those super powerful entities, I think, for us, it's super exciting to be able to finally share some of it, and soon, when it's ready, the game. I would like to talk more about certain things - I cannot at the moment.

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).

Apple has officially revealed its Black Friday plans for 2025, and the promotion details are exactly what you'd expect. Apple is offering up to $250 in gift cards when you purchase eligible products directly from its store. While it isn't surprising to see the same promotion as last year, it's still better than no sale at all. The shopping event will run from Friday, November 28 through Cyber Monday. So if you're planning on making any purchases from the Apple Store, this window is the best time to do so before 2025 ends.

Apple Black Friday Sale Details

Apple will be offering a range of gift cards between $25 and $250 depending on what products you purchase. You can check out the full list of eligible products directly from Apple's Black Friday event page, or check out the inclusions below.

As you can see, the gift card promotion isn't available for everything. The most notable exclusion here is that the only iPhones included are the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16e. None of the latest iPhone 17 models or the new iPhone Air are included here. Black Friday is still arguably one of the best times to buy an iPhone, but if you're looking to buy the newest phones you'll need to look for a deal outside of Apple direct this year.

Apple Black Friday sales at retailers

It's worth noting that Apple's own Black Friday sale never offers the best deals on Apple products. You can usually find the lowest prices on Apple Watches, AirPods, iPads, and MacBooks at other major retailers. Both the Amazon Black Friday sale and the Best Buy Black Friday sale have officially launched and you can already find deals on pretty much everything Apple from there. Most notably, the Apple AirPods Pro 3 have dropped to their lowest price since launch at almost every major retailer except the Apple Store.

Tonight's Xbox Partner Preview showcase has now concluded, and we've got a fresh list of new day one Xbox Game Pass launches to look forward to.

Alongside all the announcements and new trailers today, five more titles were confirmed to arrive day and date into Microsoft's gaming subscription service — including a couple of games available to play today!

Head below for the full rundown of everything announced as coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one.

Developer Panik Arcade has announced its popular rogue-lite slot machine horror game, CloverPit, is getting an Xbox Series X | S version, and it’s out today.

It’s a surprise console launch that was revealed during the Xbox Partner Preview just moments ago. A trailer for the CloverPit port catches newcomers up to speed just after Panik Arcade announced it had managed to sell 1 million copies after a month and a half on Steam.

“CloverPit is the demonic lovechild of Balatro and Buckshot Roulette, a rogue-lite that traps players in a hell of their own creation,” an official CloverPit summary says. Locked in a rusty cell with a slot machine and an ATM, you must pay off your debt at the end of each round, or fall to ruin – literally!”

As Xbox Series X | S players give CloverPit a spin for the first time, Panik Arcade is already teasing the next reason to stay locked in for more, as its presence at the Xbox Partner Preview comes with the promise that DLC, titled Unholy Fusion, is coming soon. Details on the add-on content, including its release date and how exactly it ups the ante, remain a mystery for now.

CloverPit’s surprise appearance on Xbox consoles follows the 1.2 update that slotted in last week. Its main attraction saw hard mode added to the experience, with rebalancing adjustments, as well as a UI overhaul, now in the mix.

CloverPit launched for PC September 26, 2025, and is available for Xbox Series X | S, Xbox on PC, Cloud, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Premium, as of today. It’s unclear if there are any plans to come to more consoles or other additional platforms.

For more, you can check out everything announced at the November 2025 Xbox Partner Preview.

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).

Bloodborne and Hollow Knight-inspired Metroidvania Crowsworn is back with a new gameplay trailer confirming plans to (eventually) launch for PC and consoles.

A long-awaited new, public look at developer Mongoose Rodeo’s highly anticipated, hand-drawn action game arrived as part of today’s Xbox Partner Preview showcase. While an updated glimpse at Crowsworn’s dark fantasy universe and cute-but-intimidating characters is welcome, the real news is that Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S have officially joined PC in its list of platforms.

You can tell exactly which games inspired Mongoose Rodeo with just one look at Crowsworn, but the Kickstarter project says its blend of ideas results in something unique. More than 19,600 backers supported Crowsworn during its initial campaign in July 2021, with its final tally bringing in CA $1,258,068. It was a crowdfunding initiative that saw backers turning up to support its mix of Devil May Cry, Hollow Knight, and Bloodborne combat, with its base goal reached less than three hours after the campaign launched.

“A dark curse has befallen the land of Fearanndal, a once vibrant kingdom,” an official story summary for Crowsworn says. “All but the last remnants of humanity have seemingly vanished, as the world is overrun by sightless creatures of nightmare.”

Kickstarter backers have received exclusive updates every few months for the last few years, but for everyone else, today’s Xbox Partner Preview gameplay trailer and platform commitment represent what may be Mongoose Rodeo’s most substantial showing in quite some time. While we wait for that ever-elusive Crowsworn release date, you can check out IGN’s list of the best Metroidvania games of all time.

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).

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu materialized at the Xbox Partner Preview to deliver the news that it’s coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S summer 2026.

It’s a narrowing of the previously promised release window, which had publisher Nacon and developer ACE Team prepped to deliver its four-player horror co-op vision at some point next year. As its gameplay trailer demonstrates, players will need to work together if they want to survive the Lovecraftian nightmares that lie waiting in The Mound.

Nacon and ACE announced The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu during the March Nacon Connect, revealing the project as a first-person experience set in a jungle with the capacity to twist the minds of any who enters. Players are given weapons and tools to make each trek easier, but the real pull is the mind games that will have friends turning against each other.

“The Mound is inspired by the stories of H.P. Lovecraft with their oppressive and unpredictable atmospheres,” an official description says. “Here, the supernatural forces don't just hunt you down: they distort your perception of every situation to throw you off balance. Faced with diabolical creatures and unexplained phenomena, the border that separates reality from illusion blurs, sowing doubt and paranoia among your group.”

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is set to release next summer.

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).

Publisher Oro Interactive and developer Cybernetic Walrus will let groups of four go undercover as gas station aliens when Roadside Research launches for PC and Xbox Series X | S early next year.

An update for the comedic co-op game arrived in the form of a new trailer shown during today’s Xbox Partner Preview. It comes with the news that Xbox and Game Pass have joined the launch lineup, which should see Roadside Research arriving for PC via Steam, Xbox Series X | S, and Xbox for PC and Cloud Q1 2026.

If you’re watching the trailer wondering, “Are those aliens really working at a gas station?” the answer is no – or at least that’s what they want you to think. Roadside Research sets four players up as a group of undercover extraterrestrials who are hoping to learn more about the human race. Blending takes more than a few masterfully crafted paper masks, with players tasked with managing and maintaining their rest stop in order to attract the right kind of attention.

“Aliens have landed on Earth… to run a gas station,” Cybernetic Walrus’ Roadside Research summary says. “Play solo or up to 4 players and do human tasks to blend in. People depend on you, it’s your job to make sure that the shelves have the correct items, refuel customers passing by, and provide food for travelers. But most importantly, you must conduct your research.”

Roadside Research joins the recent trend that’s seen an increase in friend-focused party games. Highlights from the last few years include Lethal Company, Content Warning, R.E.P.O., and Peak.

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).

Publisher Apogee Entertainment and developer Trigger Happy Interactive made an appearance at the Xbox Partner Preview to announce their first-person psychological horror game, Total Chaos, doesn’t just have a release date – it’s actually out today.

The surprise launch arrives after the Turbo Overkill developer bumped its previous July release date for a broader Q4 2025 plan a few months back. It was a last-minute delay that saw fans left in the dark as the wait for Sam Prebble’s survival horror experience grew, and now, as revealed in its new trailer, that wait is over.

Trigger Happy describes Total Chaos as a descent into madness that takes place in the darkest corners of Fort Oasis. Its status as a full-fledged experience that originally spawned as a Doom 2 mod means player can indeed expect to get their hands on a few guns, which, of course, are a must-have if they want to fight off the creepy crawlies hiding around every corner.

Besides its haunting visuals and humble beginnings, Total Chaos has attracted attention thanks to some of the talent behind it. Prebble is known for leading the charge at Trigger Happy but also has extensive experience in visual effects, with credits on movies like Avatar and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Meanwhile, Silent Hill music mastermind Akira Yamaoka was tapped to create the music for Total Chaos, too.

Total Chaos is out today for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S.

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).

Hitman World of Assassination has seen Agent 47 face a rogue’s gallery of guest stars, but he may only have one shot to take out a notorious hip hop alter ego in the next elusive target mission, Eminem vs. Slim Shady.

That’s right: Marshall Mathers himself is the star of the next add-on mission for IO Interactive’s long-running sandbox stealth series. An Xbox Partner Preview trailer for the music-themed collaboration teases an especially creative mission for players to look forward to as Eminem asks Agent 47 to take care of his chaotic evil twin after he becomes a walking, talking bad guy.

Hitman World of Assassination will soon see players work with Eminem to organize the death of Slim Shady, but IOI is no stranger when it comes to bringing celebrities into its deadly sandbox. Other recent elusive target collaborations have seen Agent 47 coming face to face with Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme, with another 007-themed pack pitting the cold killer against Mads Mikkelsen’s Casino Royale villain, Le Chiffre.

For more on IOI, you can check out how 007 First Light is shaping up. If you’re looking for more on Eminem’s history in video games, you can reminisce about the time the rapper joined Fortnite.

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).