It's happening people! The house of mouse has kicked off its Black Friday sale with up to 30% off toys, soft toys, clothing, pajamas and even adult loungewear. Of course there's some Christmas goodies thrown in for good measure, and most importantly, a shopping bag. That's right people, this bag for life bargain is going to blow your mind.
Disney Store Black Friday Event
There's so many deals I can't put them all in one article, but i've gathered the highlights then I definately didn't ugly cry because my kids are now to old to appriciate half of this stuff. Damn you Roblox and makeup! If you fancy risking loosing out on the Black Friday deal(s) you have your eye on, they'll be another 10% off your order using the promo code "EXTRA10". High risks bring high rewards, but I don't want to miss out either.
I've put the best Disney Store Black Friday deals in easy-to-navigate sections for you all to drool over. Make sure you have your debit card ready, this is going to get emotional:
Christmas Deals
Disney Christmas merchandise is always awesome, and you're guaranteed to find something you love to put on your Christmas Tree or put on display this year. Whilst I wouldn't reccomend putting the shopping bag on your tree, it would be on-brand for a Disney Christmas. I'd probably use it to put presents in for Father Christmas to pick up.
There's a full 30% off the Tinker Bell Christmas Tree Topper, coming in hot at £31.50, it lights up too. £12 off the Home Alone Jumper is well worth a spot in your Christmas Jumper lineup this year too. £28 for one of the best quotes in family film history is worth every penny.
If you want something different to decorate your Christmas Tree with, the Mickey Mouse Icon White Snowflake Light-Up Bauble is £13 off, which is a 46% discount down to £15. I thought Disney Store Black Friday was only up to 30% discount?
Well this gorgeous MIckey and Minne 2025 Christmas Glass Droplet Tree Ornament is 30% off at £16.80, down for £24. It's a proper unique decoration or gift, and it'll probably start off a new collecting obsession. A Lightsaber Advent Calander people, I don't even need to try with that one, that's awesome.
The Muppets Christmas Carol is one of my earliest core memories as a kid, and I also remember crying my eyes out seeing the Ghost of Christmas Future, such happy times. But I'll 100% be picking up the light-up ornament of Kermit and Miss. Piggy, just for the nostalgia alone. And the Gonzo Cushion is ridiculously ugly, which means it's perfect for Christmas time.
Soft Toy Deals
It's such a shame we don't have nationwide Disney Stores anymore, I used to love taking the kids in to pick out a new soft toy every now and again for a treat. But that doesn't mean you can get yours a couple of cuddly treats in time for Christmas Day with these Black Friday deals.
No doubt someone you know is a Stitch and Angel fan, and you can get a 52cm version of each for £20 each at the moment. They feature a "soft feel" finish, which means they're all nice and fuzzy and great embroidered details the kids (and adults) will love. Just to clarify, that a half-meter Stitch teddy bear for 50% off is usual £40 price tag.
Infact most of the soft toys in the Black Friday sale are £20 or below, including the pure evil that is Lots-O-Huggin' Bear from Toy Story. Or you could get a 67cm Mickey and Minnie for £40, guess how much they are each?
Bath Toy Deals
Mums and Dads all know how valuable it is having toys for the bath, it just makes life so much easier. Each of these sets are £14, knocked down from £20 and includes Frozen, Disney Princess, Cars, Moana 2 and Toy Story. They all come in a little bucket to chuck them in after bathtime too, which again is extremely useful for babies, todlers and stumps that can't/won't tidy up.
Toy Deals
Here's where it starts getting good, the toys! Of course Toy Story is dominating this section. Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and all your favorites are here. I remember when the first Toy Story released, that Christmas Buzz Lightyear was the hottest toy on Earth. Luckily my Mum and Dad booked a trip to Disneyland Paris, and their were hundreds of little Tim Allan's.
The Cinderella Doll, Horse and Light Up Carriage toy is a great deal, £21 off or a full-fat 30% down from £70. Every penny saved helps on the run up to Christmas, and this is a fantastic main present for your little princess.
Looking for a budget Disney Princess gift instead? How about Ariels Palace Micro Playset for £14, down from £20. Remember Polly Pockets? Think that but with Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian.
Kids Costumes
I can't make it any clearer that these are childrens costumes and you all need to calm down. With the exception of Spider-Man, it seems that ever sindle Disney Princess costume has been knocked down to £24.50 from £35 , which is a cheeky £10.50 saving that can go towards Cinderellas Glass Slippers or Elsa's boots for example. Even Belle is flogging her flippers in this Black Friday sale.
Kids Pajama Deals
Christmas isn't Christmas without new Pajamas, and that goes for the adults too (more on that next). If you've never got a set of jammies from the Disney Store before, they'll last until they grow out of them, and they're always so soft and cosey, perfect for this time of year. They're all down to £14 or lower from around £20, including Spider-Man, Lightning McQueen and Frozen, although I'd try defrosting them before making you kids wear them. I should look for a job writing Christmas cracker jokes, I'm wasted here...
Adult Loungewear
Oodies are expensive, but these Oversized Lounge Hoodies aren't, £28 knocked down from £40 by Goofy (The one with severe anger issues that Walt killed and replaced with the daft one). And and you want to be ridiculously cosey this Christmas, you'll also have to get the Fantasia Weighted Throw, It's only £38.50 down from $55 and it counts as a lifting session at the gym. Stay swole this Christmas with Disney's Black Friday deals!
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.
Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers have revealed the four episodes they recommend rewatching ahead of the release of Season 5 on Netflix.
Ross and Matt Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter that the four episodes, below, are key to understanding where the story goes in Season 5, which kicks off on November 26.
The four Stranger Things episodes are below:
Season 2, Episode 4, “Will the Wise”
Season 2, Episode 6, “The Spy”
Season 4, Episode 7, “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”
Season 4, Episode 9, “The Piggyback”
Matt Duffer told THR that Season 2 “is when we really started to build out the mythology and started to dive into everything, and how this was going to be an ongoing [series]. That’s where we started to really plant the seeds for the mythology, and I think probably that’s why that is as relevant as it is.”
Ross pointed towards the Season 4 episode, The Massacre at Hawkins Lab, which “starts unveiling some of the Upside Down mythology and starts giving some answers, and, of course, all the stuff with Henry (Bower) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) continues to resonate throughout Season 5.”
This isn’t about an explanation for what the Upside Down is; Matt and Ross Duffer have already said the fifth and final season will reveal all on Stranger Things’ hellish alternate dimension. This is about the kidnapping of Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp.
Stranger Things began with the mysterious disappearance of Will, and Season 5 will finally answer why he was kidnapped and brought to the Upside Down in the first place. ‘Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers’ is the first episode of Stranger Things and the first episode of the first season. It was written and directed by the Duffer Brothers and premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016, along with the rest of the season.
For years fans have theorized about why Will was kidnapped, rather than simply killed like so many others. What happened to him when he was in the Upside Down, and to what end? The first five minutes of Stranger Things Season 5, which Netflix has released, starts to answer those questions. We see a de-aged Will terrified in the Upside Down and running for his life from the Demogorgon. While Will puts up a valiant fight, he is eventually dragged to the lair of Vecna himself. It’s here that things get strange, as Vecna summons vines to prop Will up. Vecna then pumps some sort of substance through a tendril and into Will via his mouth. Will does not look like he’s enjoying the experience.
Clearly, whatever is inserted into Will is designed to take him over in some capacity and potentially become a part of the Upside Down itself. It’s all part of Vecna’s master plan, of course. “At long last,” Vecna says, menacingly. “We can begin. You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together, William. Such beautiful things.”
If you’ve watched Stranger Things you’ll know that Will's mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Chief of Police Jim Hopper (David Harbour) eventually find Will and bring him back to our world, although he is much changed. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ross Duffer said that fans should go back to Season 2, Episode 6, called ‘The Spy,’ to help them understand what’s going on. This is, Ross said, “the most important episode,” and shows Will “working, in a way, for the Mind Flayer.”
In The Spy, Will is brought to Hawkins National Laboratory. At one point, a severed tendril from the tunnels is burnt, causing Will to experience pain. Will later points soldiers in the direction of a place the monster doesn’t want him to see, which turns out to be a trap. Will says "he made me do it" because "they upset him." Will, it seems, is the spy.
Season 5 begins in the fall of 1987, near the anniversary of Will’s disappearance in the Upside Down. “So much of the season was built around the idea of coming full circle, answering many of the questions that were posed all the way back in Season 1,” Matt Duffer told EW. “I think the two biggest questions that we didn’t really answer in Season 1 that we do answer this season is ‘what is the Upside Down, truly?’ and ‘why was Will taken?’”
“We reveal really everything about the Upside Down, all of which was planned out in season 1,” Matt added. “It was fun to finally pull back the curtain on all of that.”
Here’s the official blurb on Stranger Things Season 5:
The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.
Stranger Things Season 5 debuts on Netflix in three parts, with the first four episodes arriving for the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26. The next three episodes premiere on Christmas, and the series finale will debut on the streamer and in over 350 theaters nationwide on New Year’s Eve.
Stranger Things Season 5 release dates:
VOL 1 - November 26, 5pm PT
VOL 2 - Christmas, 5pm PT
THE FINALE - New Year’s Eve, 5pm PT
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
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.
A fresh update for the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy app has added a new startup Easter egg, alongside the arrival of several more retro titles.
Switch Online subscribers can now update their Game Boy app to Version 3.0.0, which adds the ability to view the original boot screen of your preferred Game Boy title when loading up a game.
If you've set your app to play the game as if on Game Boy, then it's the OG Game Boy startup screen that you'll see. If you've selected Game Boy Pocket, then you'll see that instead. Finally, if you're playing with your app set to Game Boy Color mode, you'll get that startup screen — colors and all.
So, how to see this Easter egg for yourself? Well, it's as easy as holding the left control stick on your Switch console when loading the app. Sound familiar? Yes, this is the same Easter egg and unlock mechanism that Nintendo previously added to the Switch Online's Game Boy Advance app.
Finally, today's latest regular Switch Online catalogue update adds four more games to the service for subscribers, listed below.
Battletoads (NES)
Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES)
Bionic Commando (Game Boy)
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy)
Anything take your fancy?
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
I probably could have held off on writing this until what I like to call "Black Friday proper", on Nov. 28. But I've already seen several top offers fall into the shadow realm, never to return. And, I've got a sneaking suspicion that my top Black Friday picks will soon meet a similar fate.
Don't get me wrong, there's still some brilliant offers up for grabs, with some of 2025’s best games dropping to $30 or less, while plenty of other big PS5, Xbox, and Switch releases from the past couple of years are also heavily discounted right now (at least for now).
That's been massively helped by Walmart, which has stocked up on some of the best Black Friday discounts going this year. Yet, with retailers like Amazon and Best Buy still refusing to auto price-match most deals, once Walmart sells out, we likely won't see some of these low, low prices again for a while.
So, writing this article, I am.
You might have already seen my $20 or less roundup, which is still packed with heavy hitters from the last few years, and perfect if you want maximum bang for your buck. Some are so good, they even feature in this article as well. But, I've also tried to keep things as fresh as possible for returning readers.
I've also got you covered if you're looking for a more comprehensive roundup of the best video game deals for Black Friday. With that out the way, my advice is to snap up the following games up ASAP, cause once they're gone, they're gone.
I was being all silly... but that is kinda fantastic. Releasing just a few months ago, remake or not, $40 off is a mighty fine offer. Only last week, this was down to $50 at Best Buy and I was all like, "$20 off - that's a good deal!" What a fool I was.
Still, extra reductions on top of already good deals? Now that's what Black Friday is all about. But, fair warning, with deals of this caliber, Black Friday or not, they usually don't last long, so I'd pick it up while you still can.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Okay fair warning, there's a couple of Sonic games on this list, and you should be happy about it! The blue blur has been having a blinder these past few years, and SEGA has continued its hot streak of form with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. This might actually be the best racer I've played in recent years, and I even enjoy it more than Mario Kart World (sorry, not sorry!).
It's down to $30 for Switch, PS5, and Xbox, which is an almighty good deal, especially since this hasn't long been out, and was selling for $60-70 only a couple of months back. Not only that, it's another extra reduction deal, as this was $45 only last week in the sale. I may actually be enjoying Black Friday for once! This is such a good deal, and well worth picking up while stock lasts.
Star Wars Outlaws
Somehow, Star Wars Outlaws returned. Hey, even a 7/10 game can be worth $30! Well, $15 on PS5, $20 on Xbox, and $30 for the Gold Edition on Switch 2.
Listen we all like to dog on this game, but I truely think there's a lot of fun to be had with Outlaws. Sure, it's got a bad rep, but you're actually getting so much genuinely great Star Wars content, it's no joke.
If anything, I really think it's worth a go for anyone who was ever on the fence about buying it for whatever console you're playing it on. I think it's a great pick for anyone on Switch 2, especially since it's dropped further in the sales, down from $60 to $40 last week, and now just $30 at Amazon. Score!
Sonic X Shadow Generations
Hey it's that other Sonic game I mentioned! Sonic X Shadow Generations featured in my top picks from last year, and it's absolutely worth playing for just $15 on Switch and Xbox, or $25 on PS5. It's worth it for just the Shadow Generations levels alone.
I loved every minute with this game, and I even bought it again for my Steam Deck to play on the go. Trust, I may also end up buying it again on my Switch if I'm feeling extra saucy. Play this game! It's brilliant! Yes, I am a Sonic fanboy, and I always will be.
Super Mario Odyssey
When it comes to Switch games, my top pick is still Super Mario Odyssey for Black Friday. It recently ranked fourth on IGN's "Top 100 Nintendo Games of All Time", and it's down to just 30 bucks. That's an outstanding deal, especially for such a good game, that also includes a free Switch 2 upgrade.
You can find the discount at both Walmart and Target, as it was obviously too hot for Amazon to hold on to for long. To be fair, Amazon quickly lost all their Switch deals once Walmart started rocking the price boat and dropping games an additional $10 all of a sudden.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Okay I've got to do the thing where I admit to not playing games again, even when they're on sale and very good deals. Echoes of Wisdom looks fun! For $30, I think it seems like an excellent offer for Black Friday. Since I've never played it, so I'm going to trust in my lovely collegue Tom Marks to rescue my embarassment.
He said this in his incredibly positive 9/10 review for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom on IGN: "The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is far more than some second-tier spinoff, combining the expertly crafted dungeons and item progression you’d expect from a 2D Zelda with the wild creativity provided by Tears of the Kingdom."
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Another one of my favorite games of the year, Assassin's Creed Shadows, is now down to just $30 for both PS5. This has been one of my big comfort games for 2025, and I couldn't recommend it enough for anyone looking for a chill, fun, adventure through Japan.
Go in with no expectations, and I genuinely think you'll be surprised at how much fun this game can really be. The stealth is the best the series has ever had, and the addition of Yasuke is surprisingly excellent, providing a brilliant change of pace for when you're looking to just rip and tear through a castle instead of tip toeing to the objective. At $30, this is more than worth it.
Elden Ring
Hard to believe it has been more than three years since Elden Ring landed on consoles and PC, and somehow it still lived up to every wild expectation I had for it. IGN handed it a 10 at launch, quite deservedly, and it's fast become one of my favorite games of all time as well. It is more than worth the $15 Walmart is currently charging for it in the Black Friday sales. That's a stupidly good deal.
If you'll allow me to momentarily skirt around my $30 or less rule (just like I did with the $20 or less rule, way too many times), I do highly encourage you to check out the full package if you can. Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree Edition is also discounted, $39.99 on PS5 and is well worth it. Still, if $20 is your limit, the base game has hundreds of hours worth of content already waiting for you.
Spider-Man 2
Anyone else feel like Spider-Man 2 gets a bit of an undeserved bad rep?
Especially for how much fun it actually is. I'll admit the story is no where near as good as the first, but the gameplay in this one is absolutely outstanding and had be gripped for first playthrough, and then an immediate New Game Plus run.
At $30 in the Black Friday sales at Walmart, this is definitely one of the best deals going right now for PlayStation owners, if you one of the few who haven't gotten around to playing yet.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
It's only fitting that I finished up on yet another Switch game I have never touched, but am assured that it is brilliant, and $30 for it is about as good of a deal that Nintendo will genuniely ever offer for any of its first party games. To back me up, I brought in the assisstance of IGN's Logan Plant, who had this to say in his 9/10 review last year:
"Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an amazingly loyal and visually dazzling remake of a treasured RPG, and the improvements made throughout easily make this the definitive way to experience Mario’s unforgettable quest."
I had this whole speel ready for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 for $30, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 as it's my strongest contender to go up against what seems like the clear front runner in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the 2025 Game of the Year Awards.
But the deal is gone! See what I mean? Sorry for the deal FOMO, but it really shows how not all of the top offers are going to last through Black Friday on November 28, let alone until Cyber Monday when most of the sales "officially" end.
If your budget is more in the $40 range, you should absolutely be picking up 2024's Game of the Year winner, Astro Bot, which is down to $40 at Walmart, after, you guessed it, Amazon sold out!
Right, that's me actually done now, if you pick up anything good over Black Friday, or just want to tell me how much of a fool I am, let me know in the comments ASAP. Have a great Thanksgiving, and see you next time.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
Artwork for Fortnite's new Chapter Seven era has seemingly teased a crossover with LEGO Ninjago, and confirmed a return for the game's dreaded Cube.
While LEGO already has a deep integration with Fortnite, the addition of Ninjago characters into the game will prove interesting — as it remains to be seen whether the characters will appear as non-LEGO versions. Indeed, this teaser simply shows a set of golden nunchuks belonging to Ninjago hero Jay, without the character himself being present.
Lego Ninjago's characters are, obviously, LEGO minifigures — but in Fortnite, playable characters always have a regular (non-LEGO) skin version as well. Perhaps we'll see a full, human-like version of Jay make its debut? Or perhaps fans will be allowed to run around Fortnite's battle royale as over-sized LEGO figurines (this seems less likely).
Numerous other clues to Fortnite's future are included within the image, which prominently features a new helmeted character apparently called The Traveler (no, not the one from Destiny). Shockingly, the character's helmet appears to contain a small version of the golden Cube last seen within Fortnite back in 2021, when it was defeated alongside the Cube Queen in the game's Chapter 2 finale.
Fortnite's Cube villains were a major part of the game's original storyline, and served as part of The Last Reality, an alien race that invaded the Island until its overseers, the Imagined Order (IO), intervened. Squint closely at the computer console surrouding The Traveller and the IO's logo can be seen, alongside various logos for the heroic Seven — the faction that then went on to eventually overthrow the IO and liberate the Island during Chapter 3.
The fact that all three of these factions (The Last Reality, IO and The Seven) are now being referenced — and perhaps fully reintroduced — is a huge U-turn for Fortnite's storyline, which largely abandoned their stories from the start of Chapter 4 onwards, following the departure of Fortnite's previous creative boss Donald Mustard.
Other things obviously referenced in the image include previously-confirmed collaborations with Back to the Future and Kill Bill, and what looks like Tilted Towers' clock tower.
Fortnite's current era, which is being capped off by an enjoyable Simpsons mini-season, will conclude this Saturday in a highly-anticipated live event that looks set to feature every major collab from the past 12 months, all teaming up to defeat Chapter 6's big bad.
So, yes, that means Fortnite's latest villain will square off against characters from Star Wars, The Simpsons' supersized Homer Simpson, Godzilla, Kong, James Gunn's Superman, the Might Morphin Power Rangers' Dino Megazord, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the KPop Demon Hunters, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, Hatsune Miku, The Bride from Kill Bill and Marty McFly, if not more.
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
The final reckoning is finally headed to streaming. Tom Cruise’s supposed final outing as Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, will be available to stream exclusively on Paramount+ on December 4, just in time for a big holiday watch.
Alongside Cruise, the film stars returning cast members Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell, Shea Wigham, Angela Bassett, Ving Rhames, Eassi Morales, and Pom Klementieff. Several new folks joined the fray as well, including Tramell Tillman, Hannah Waddingham, Katy O’Brien, Nick Offerman, and Holt McCallany.
The film, which is the eighth in a 29-year-franchise that began with Brian de Palma’s Mission: Impossible in 1996, picks up after the end of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning and continues to follow Hunt and his associates as they try to destroy the Entity, an immensely powerful AI program, before the bad guys nab it.
Final Reckoning premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in an out of competition screening and then made its way to theaters days later on May 23. Interestingly enough, the last time Cruise attended Cannes with a project before that was for Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, so it’s kind of funny (in a great way) that his latest appearances at the prestigious film festival were for high-octane commercial action projects.
Chris McQuarrie directed the film from a script he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. McQuarrie directed the three previous installments of the franchise — 2015’s Rogue Nation, 2018’s Fallout, and 2023’s Dead Reckoning — so it was fun to see him take the helm for Cruise’s last outing as an elite spy.
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
“GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION,” reads the X / Twitter post from the Zap Actu GTA6 account. The supposed gameplay clip of Rockstar’s upcoming surefire blockbuster is brief, but, if true, a shocking leak indeed.
Of course, it’s not true. It’s not a leak. It’s not even real gameplay. It’s yet another AI-generated GTA 6 “leak” video viewed by millions that remains live across social media, which seems unable to do anything about it beyond the odd community note.
The tweet below, published yesterday, November 25, has gone viral, securing 8 million views in just over 24 hours. Below it, a community note warns against its authenticity, but that appears to be doing little to dull its impact. And it is far from the only one. The same Twitter account responsible for this “leak” has published a number of similar clips in recent months, some of which which have a huge number of views, all in a desperate bid for followers and Discord members.
🚨🚨 GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION 🚨🚨
A new and highly disturbing leak has just surfaced on TikTok before being taken down only minutes later — but the damage is already done. The video allegedly showed a real gameplay moment where the player is controlling Lucia,… pic.twitter.com/iSD4duGEPu
Based on the replies, many Twitter users are taking these leaks at face value. It’s a problem GTA 6 has faced for some time now, which probably comes as little surprise given the intense excitement and thirst for new information on what is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. But it is far from the only video game to suffer from this problem. Indeed, video games are not alone in this, either.
In 2023, Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI version of his likeness was being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan. Last year, Morgan Freeman thanked fans who alerted him to AI-generated imitations of his voice online after a series of videos created by someone posing as his niece went viral. And in May this year, Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to appeal to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an Instagram post because she couldn’t get the company to pull an AI-generated ad that featured her likeness for “some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse.”
What is the solution here? In July, YouTube was said to be preparing to update its policies to crack down on creators’ ability to generate revenue from “inauthentic” content, which is made easy to produce on a massive scale with generative AI. While propelled forward by the great YouTube algorithm, you've probably stumbled across a fake trailer or two. The hope was that YouTube would be able to crack down on the channels that pump out this sort of low-effort content, but a cursory glance at YouTube shows this has yet to happen.
Without legislation forcing content built by generative AI tools to include labels clearly marking it as such, or laws preventing deepfakes without permission, fans will continue to be misled by bad actors. And as generative AI technology improves, so it will become harder to distinguish between the fake and the real.
Sora 2, which OpenAI launched on October 1, is capable of generating 20-second long videos at 1080p resolution, complete with sound. Soon after its release, social media was flooded with videos generated by the app, many of which contained depictions of copyrighted characters including those from popular anime and game franchises such as One Piece, Demon Slayer, Pokémon, and Mario. Despite the prostetations of the Japanese, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared Sora 2 videos using copyrighted characters "interactive fan fiction."
Zap Actu GTA6, meanwhile, doesn’t seem bothered by any potential backlash, and is posting even more fake GTA 6 “leaks.” Their latest, published just a few hours ago at the time this article went live, already had 220,300 impressions. In their Discord, which is slowly gaining new members, one person who joined today questioned everything they were doing, saying: "If it's AI, that's disrespectful to the fans, friend @ZapActu." ZapActu has yet to respond.
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
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.
Altman hopes when people see the former Apple design guru's device they will say, 'that's it?' It's going to be here in under two years so I guess we'll see.
Oni Press' Hobtown Mystery Stories series of graphic novels has developed a cult following in recent years, as these books essentially ask the question "What if Stranger Things were produced by A24?". These supernatural mystery tales all center around the small city of Hobtown, a place where cults, conspiracies, and curses are just a daily part of life.
With the third volume in the series, The Secret of the Saicer, out in bookstores and comic shops now, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of the book. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:
The Secret of the Saucer is written by Kris Bertin and drawn by Alexander Forbes, with colors by Jason Fischer-Kouhi. Here's Oni's official description of the book:
In Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Secret of the Saucer, the lines between conspiracy and reality become intertwined like never before during the town’s highly contested mayoral election. There’s the arrival of an unexplained, unidentified flying object, a chaotic and unhinged Ape Lord, and an outbreak of literal backward thinking. The high school Teen Detective Club should be at the forefront of the case but is rife with conflict and its own crisis of leadership as the sleuths become increasingly paranoid. Is there anyone they can trust?
“Imagine if A24 re-made Stranger Things and you begin to understand the ambition of the strange and surreal story that Kris Bertin and artist Alexander Forbes have undertaken,” said Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn in a statement. “There’s a multi-generational mystery, a supernatural mini-man, and a ragtag group of teen detectives. I genuinely love this series. Hobtown Mystery Stories just might be the best-kept secret in comics. These graphic novels are a personal obsession for me and soon they will be for you, too.”
Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Secret of the Saucer is available in stores now. You can order a copy on Amazon.
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