Article includes descriptions written by Robert Falchi.

If you're searching for your next new game to play, Humble Choice January is now live, and this is the perfect bundle to discover something new! Each month, Humble Choice curates a selection of games for members to redeem. For January 2025, this includes games like Blasphemous 2, Against the Storm, Jagged Alliance 3, and more. This deal will only be available for a limited time, so check out the details below on how you can score this Humble Choice bundle!

Humble Choice January 2025 Games

TVs may be an investment, but they are one of the most used gadgets in your home. You don’t want to get some cheap screen with lackluster picture quality and a short lifespan just to save a few bucks. Instead, you should look for ways to spend less on the best TV ready for all your gaming and streaming needs. Luckily there are TV deals all year, so you never really have to pay full price for a new TV if you know when to look.

Everyone’s aware of the discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and admittedly those sales often render the most savings if you can score the best deals. However, there are other times throughout the year you can find major savings on the best gaming TVs or quality 4K TVs.

In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl every year, the biggest TV-watching event of the year, you’ll often enjoy savings. Combine that with most manufacturers releasing new models for the spring, and you'll discover that right now is actually a great time to find a deal on older TVs. That said, there are always more upcoming sales events, like holiday weekends and Amazon Prime Day, on the horizon.

Best Times to Buy a TV

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

What was once a huge shopping day following Thanksgiving has now expanded into a couple weeks in November for sales on everything you can think of. TVs often have some of the deepest discounts of the year, and it’s one of the best times to look out for one. You’ll find many lower-quality TVs for rock bottom prices, which could be handy for a guest bedroom or kid's playroom. Higher-end and newer models of TVs that came out in the spring are also often discounted, so you’re bound to find a deal suited for you.

Black Friday used to be exclusively for in-store shopping, where you’d see people camping outside retailers like Best Buy and Walmart the night before to score the limited inventory and low prices. There are still some incredible TV deals only for in-store purchases, but they’re mostly just advertised to get people in the store, and the stock will more than likely be gone unless you get there early. If you have a specific TV you’re searching for, just be sure to snag it quickly during these deals in 2025.

Cyber Monday is online shopping's answer to Black Friday. It’s simply when you’ll find the best deals shopping from online retailers. Amazon offers sales similar to Prime Day, which happens in the summer (and now in October), where you’ll find a variety of TV deals that are often available for a very limited time with a small stock. Other retailers like Best Buy and Walmart participate in Cyber Monday, and those stores will also have similar sales in-store.

Before the Super Bowl

After the holiday rush comes one of the biggest TV-watching events of the year: The Super Bowl. Many retailers have better TV availability around mid-January and early February, as stock should be back after shoppers made their purchases during the holiday sales events. Therefore, in the weeks leading up to the big game, you’ll see great savings on TVs, including many massive screens. Typically, older models will go on sale first with better discounts, but you can still find a great deal on a newer TV. Right now, we're already seeing Super Bowl deals on Samsung OLED TVs.

Early January is also when many TV manufacturers announce their newest models at the Consumer Electronics Show (See details about CES 2025 for the TVs you can expect to be on sale). That means some stores will be looking to get rid of their stock of older models to make room for the latest televisions coming in spring.

Springtime

If you’re seeking out a specific brand of television, be it Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, etc., many of those manufacturers release their latest TVs in the Springtime, starting around March and running through Memorial Day weekend. That means you may find deals on the older models of those TVs at that time as retailers want to make room for the new crop. Most manufacturers usually make minimal changes to the older model’s successor, so you won’t miss out on many features if you choose to purchase last year's version.

Amazon Prime Day

Prime Day was once an Amazon Prime exclusive sale that started in mid-July to celebrate their birthday, but now other retailers join in with similar deals. Walmart, Best Buy, and a variety of other retailers put on their own sales around the same time, attempting to compete with the online retail giant. Some will even match prices.

Amazon Prime Day generally lasts a few days during mid July and is only for Prime members. When it comes to TVs, you’ll often find deep discounts similar to the sales seen around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, many of the best TV deals are on older models. Be sure to keep your eye on the site, as deals are constantly added throughout the two-day sales event. All-in-all, Prime Day is still not as good as Black Friday when you compare the total number of sales across all retailers.

Holiday Weekends

If you’re desperate for a new TV and don’t want to wait, many retailers will have special sales during long holiday weekends, like President’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. These discounts often aren’t as great, and your TV selection is more limited, but you’ll still be able to score a decent deal on a TV.

The next holiday weekend to be ready for is Labor Day weekend. You can most likely expect Labor Day sales to kick off the weekend before and last through Labor Day itself, which takes place on Monday, September 1.

TV Release Cycles Matter

It’s important to pay attention to the TV release cycle to find the best discounts on TVs, especially if you’re looking to buy the latest and greatest releases. In January, at the massive consumer tech conference, CES, is when many manufacturers will announce their upcoming models. Come springtime, starting around March, those new models start to roll out, with many retailers placing deeper discounts on older models. You’ll still see releases into the summer. If you’re looking to grab one of the newest models, prices often don’t drop until the fall. When you hold out until Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you’ll see the best deals on the latest TVs.

TV Brands With New Products

Most of the notable TV brands release updated and new models of their TVs every year. We go over them below:

Samsung

Samsung has shifted its focus to higher-end models of TVs, and therefore, there's a limited selection when it comes to more budget-friendly options. We don’t see a very big change from last year's lineup, with many new models offering minor upgrades from their predecessors. This crop of Samsung televisions continues promise better brightness, improvements to the mini-LED and Quantum Dot (QD-OLED) backlighting, along with upgrades to their already excellent gaming features.

LG

LG's OLED evo TVs are getting a few upgrades in 2025, including AI features for more personalization and an upgraded "Brightness Booster Ultimate" technology. For gamers, LG's new G5 TV will sport a 4K 165Hz5 variable refresh rate, aiming to decrease lag and frame stuttering.

Hisense

Hisense continues to make a name for itself in the TV game with its 2025 lineup. Many of their higher-end ULED models now offer a 144Hz refresh rate for a better gaming experience. The 136" MicroLED TV is a stunning, large display that utilizes mini-LED technology to "eliminate traditional backlight limitations."

Vizio

In 2024, Vizio made a few small improvements to its latest TVs with some added features and better LED performance. They have also removed the top-line P-series model from their roster. You’ll still get to choose from the mid-range M-series and the more budget-minded V-series. If you’re okay with a 1080p resolution and a smaller screen, you can also grab the D-series on the cheap.

TCL

TCL made major changes to its TV lineup back in 2024. They introduced Q- and S-series, with their flagship model being the TCL QM8. At CES 2025, TCL announced a new entry-level Mini LED TV: the QM6K. Models are already available at 65", 75", and 85", with smaller size hitting the market later this year.

Roku

Yes, that’s right. Last year, Roku, the brand known for streaming devices and putting their smart technology into many other manufacturers' TVs, decided to branch out with its own lineup of Roku TVs. 11 different models range in size from 24 to 75 inches that are all designed for streaming first and foremost. The Roku Plus options will come with the Voice Remote Pro which features hands-free voice commands and rechargeable batteries, while the Roku Select models come with the more basic Roku Voice Remote.

You can get access to the Roku Channel without a Roku streaming device, so you don't need to get a Roku-integrated TV to take advantage of the free streaming service.

Top Budget TVs You Can Buy Now

If you're ready to shop right now, we keep an ongoing list of the latest TV deals worth shopping. We also have some top budget picks if you aren't necessarily in need of a sale. Below we've detailed some of our favorite cheap TVs you can buy in 2025:

When this 18-year AC fan was told he’d be spending time in Shadows, that's exactly what happened. Literally, shadows. My preview build was set darker than an Abstergo CEO’s soul, and a unique quirk of it was a lack of brightness settings. Compounding the issue: my choice to use the nocturnal ninja deuteragonist, Naoe, exclusively.

I was soon tested by bandit ronin, angry samurai, and those big-boned gits game designers love to roll out as Heavies. My greatest enemy, however, was the Stygian darkness around me. Trying to fight silhouetted foes by their UI flourishes and navigating intricate castle battlements using controller vibration braille? Challenging.

It dawned on me that I’d simply have to wait until the sun came up, in-game, at which point my heroine would be less effective because she’d stand out like a tengu’s diamond-studded nose ring.

Be that as it may, I'm glad I soldiered on. Though the overall experience still wasn’t perfect, in full daylight, the considerably delayed and controversy-stricken Shadows shone brighter than I figured it could. Mind you, my expectations were lower than one of Naoe’s underhanded sweep kick executions.

In a minute, I’m going to dive into Shadows’ pros and cons as I see them so far. For now, though, I guess I should provide prices for the diehards willing to make a leap of faith preorder now. If you’re more the type to hang back, synchronise, and get a better lay of the land—like me—then click here to skip the window shopping and get to my continued thoughts.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Standard Edition)

PS5

• Get it at Amazon - $89
• Get it at JB Hi-Fi - $89
• Get it at Big W - $89
• Get it at Harvey Norman - $88
• Get it at PS Store (digital) - $109.95

Xbox Series X

• Get it at Amazon - $89
• Get it at JB Hi-Fi - $89
• Get it at Big W - $89
• Get it at Harvey Norman - $88
• Get it at Xbox Store (digital) - $109.95

PC

• Get it at Ubisoft Store - $TBA

Preorder any version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and you’ll receive a bonus quest called “Thrown to the Dogs.” You'll also get the first expansion for free

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gold Edition

PS5

• Get it at Amazon - $159.95
• Get it at JB Hi-Fi - $158
• Get it at Big W - $139
• Get it at PS Store (digital) - $TBA

Xbox

• Get it at Amazon - $159.95
• Get it at JB Hi-Fi - $158
• Get it at Big W - $139
• Get it at Xbox Store (digital) - $TBA

PC

• Get it at Ubisoft Store - $TBA

The gold edition comes with the base game, plus the following:

• Season Pass

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ultimate Edition (Digital)

• Get it at PS Store - $TBA
• Get it at Xbox Store - $TBA
• Get it at Ubisoft Store - $TBA

The digital-only ultimate edition comes with the game itself, plus the following:

• Season Pass
• Sekiryu character pack
• Sekiryu hideout pack
• 5 skill points
• Red dragon filter in photo mode

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Collector’s Edition

• Get it for PS5 - $329.95
• Get it for Xbox Series X - $329.95
• Get it for PC - $329.95

The collector’s edition comes with the ultimate edition game, plus the following:

• Diorama figurine with dual protagonists
• Ultimate Edition: Base game + Ultimate pack
• Steelbook
• Hardcover artbook
• Shinobi's metal tsuba replica with stand
• Silk creed kakemono roll
• Set of 3 sumi-e lithographs

Hands On Continued

Let me reiterate that a lack of brightness settings was a work-in-progress flub that definitely won't affect you on day one. And, despite my extreme visibility issues, even I could see something about Naoe—she’s just incredibly spry and fun to use. And I mean like no assassin I’ve ever inhabited before (and I’ve Animused them all). She’s brilliant at displacing from bad situations and using her last known location, plus a variety of tricks, to turn any stealth error into the perfect bait-and-switch kill.

The key skill to use for this has got to be her multi-tool rope. I’m introduced to it early on in a non-combat scenario first, which is basically me shooting the shit by scaling Himeji Castle and stopping to pat the odd random tailless cat that I chance upon.

Sadly, this isn’t a manually aimed grapple hook, which makes me miss the granddaddy of the genre, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. What you get instead is a contextual LB icon that constantly flicks on and off in the upper middle of your screen to signify a no-looker attach opportunity. Again, this makes me miss a game—Ghost of Tsushima and its more or less HUD-less approach to everything.

This isn’t a manually aimed grapple hook, which makes me miss the granddaddy of the genre, Tenchu.

Zipping up castle ramparts with the grappling hook—about 30 feet per fling—is pretty intoxicating too. I wouldn’t say this game has the best climbing in the series, as I abhor how one-button and technique-less it’s been streamlined into, but I’m willing to admit that it’s the most visually impressive upward scrambling I’ve seen. Extremely complex hand grips and body contortions flow from animation to animation as Naoe scurries up things. She even does these nifty little contextual somersaults between rooftop eaves.

All this being said, I did spot some frame rate chugs when I got to the highest altitudes. Presumably because the engine was girding itself to stream in some ridiculously commanding view at the end of my ascent.

I expected the worst when I got up to the apex of this particular 152 foot castle and triggered the big synch point camera pan. To my relief, not a chug was there at all, so I believe it’s probably a tuning problem at this point. I also see no framerate issues when I chuck myself off that roof into a haybale roughly 100 ft below (truly the mechanic that never, ever gets old).

Thanks to my Ubisoft demoers, I’m kitted out with what I believe is some of the best gear available. I’m rocking a “Dragon’s Edge” Legendary Katana, which provides two passive perks and very impressive Weapon DPS, Posture DPS, Ability Damage, and Adrenaline Gain numbers.

I also have a Kusarigama (think: a fun-sized scythe with a chain attached to a chunk of metal) that goes by “Death Whisperer” and a Tanto (basically a short sword). Likewise, the clothes maketh the master assassin’s stats, so I’m decked out in an epic Silent Shinobi Hood and cuirass, which also have large numbers to embiggen my Health, Crit Chance, and Adrenaline Gain.

I also have a Kusarigama (think: a fun-sized scythe with a chain attached to a chunk of metal).

When it comes to personal growth, this particular Animus system doesn’t feel hugely unique when compared to the last high-tech sofa bed I lounged in. Like Valhalla, we’re grinding XP to earn levels that come with Knowledge Points to spend in Naoe’s six perk trees. They’re named Katana, Kusarigama, Tanto, Tools, Shinobi, and Assassin, and each of them has around 16 or so things to buy.

I’ll start with the katana, my home slice favourite. You’ll want to invest early in the Tidal Wave strike that pings you forward a few metres, bites off 25% damage, staggers the recipient, and can be upgraded to include a second target.

I also adore the pantsings provided by Eviscerate, a gutstab that ends with this lovely Spartan-kick-to-backlip hybrid move. Upgrading it to be used on larger foes is worth it, purely because the base animation will unintentionally look like you’re stabbing them in the groin instead of the stomach of a regular-sized grunt.

Failing any of those techniques, the unimaginative swordsfolk among you can simply invest in Guard Breakers, Momentum Builders that reward comboing with damage, Repeat Dodges that achieve the same thing, Daze inflictions, and those good old-fashioned table-turning counter-attacks on your LB parry.

The base animation will unintentionally look like you’re stabbing them in the groin instead of the stomach

If crowd control isn’t your bag, I had great success with Quick Strikes. Basically, if you pause after any attack and then tap RB or RT, you can inject two additional strikes into your combo. They seem to cross-up most foes. Or you can just do a Cyclone Blast that lassoes your chain ball into multiple enemies around you. It’s low-damage stuff, admittedly, but the big-boy version of it knocks people back and even slices shrubs and small trees in half. (I’m a sucker for the little details.)

When it comes to the Tanto, you shouldn’t let its diminutive size deceive you into thinking it can’t provide large damage and big fun opportunities. Case in point: the Shadow Piecer ability that turns a thrown Tanto to the face into a follow-up charge where you yank it out at an unpleasant angle. When I upgraded that to gift back 80% of my adrenaline bar, well, everybody got an express delivery Tanto to their melon.

There’s also the highly effective Shadow Barrage ability, which turns a successful dodge into a 20-second, freeform combofest that ends after 7 hits dispensed (or one received). If you’re good enough to chain some kills in there, that’ll up the damage by 5% for more murder. I punch all those numbers into my calculator, and it makes a smiley face.

You should also know that the Tanto is the Little Bread Knife That Could in terms of armour breaking. There are a bunch of perks that have Naoe inexplicably finding the gaps in armour for massive pain. Bonus buckets of blood can be yours if you can perform these chink-finding stabs from behind.

Beyond the three main weapons, I invested an absurd amount of points in my actual Tools of the trade. As an entree, I highly recommend placing yourself atop some balcony edge and then hoiking a “stage 3 enhanced” kunai into somebody’s face for a 400% damage insta-kill.

Hoiking a “stage 3 enhanced” kunai into somebody’s face for a 400% damage insta-kill.

As you may have guessed, Naoe’s greatest strength is her insane mobility, and Shinobi arts can give her Spider-Man-level skills at doing Peter parkour. On the grappling hook side of things, I was more than up for an Ascension Boost perk for zippier rooftop escapes. Likewise, the Heightened Sense mode, which makes time go molasses for 8 seconds, is pretty ludicrous. It’ll cease when an enemy spots you, at which point the flow state ends and your beating probably begins.

I also found great use in using the Vault technique after an attack deflection—you’ll use the enemy as a mini jumping castle and then capitalising on his discombobulated state that follows. I also saw huge success with a Shallow Water Breathing technique for basically staying underwater forever as a means to crocodile snatch anybody near the water’s edge.

When my time came to an end with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, my impressions were of something familiar that's finally leaning hard into what has always been its most ideal and aspirational form. The original AC blueprint, from its very inception, was really just a Middle-Eastern-flavoured ninja sim. AC Shadows—well, half of it at least—feels like a stealth experience homecoming that’s been ages in the making.

Naoe is my jam, and while this Japanese sandbox isn’t as painterly as the islands of Tsushima and Iki, Shadows has the edge in terms of interesting major metropolitan areas. They're all built around what I consider to be the most satisfying to climb jungle gyms ever built—multi-tier Edo-period fortresses.

I simply cannot wait to scale them for the purposes of springboarding into repeated death-from-above executions (or just insane haybale dives). The new release date of March 20th can't get here soon enough.

Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.

After id Software’s brilliant revival of Doom in 2016 and its even tighter 2020 sequel Doom Eternal, it’d be hard for Doom to soar any higher. So it isn’t. Instead, it’s keeping both feet planted firmly on the ground and bringing the high-speed, high-skill-ceiling first-person shooter even closer to the scores of Hell’s minions in the medieval-tinged prequel, Doom: The Dark Ages.

Yes, the new Doom pivots from Eternal’s platforming and instead literally grounds its combat in strafe-heavy gameplay with an emphasis on power. Sure, the great guns are still there – this is Doom, after all! – and that very much includes the new Skull Crusher that stood out in the reveal trailer. You know, the one that eats the skulls of your fallen enemies as ammunition and spits them back out at the still-living bad guys in smaller, higher-velocity chunks. But The Dark Ages also places a huge premium on your three melee weapons: the default electrified gauntlet, which can be charged up; the flail; and the star of the reveal trailer from last summer, the Shield Saw, which can be thrown or used to block, parry, or deflect. “You’re gonna stand and fight,” game director Hugo Martin said after my demo of the new Doom.

Perhaps it won’t surprise you, then, that Martin says The Dark Ages is inspired primarily by three other seminal pieces of pop culture: the legendary original Doom, Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel, and Zack Snyder’s 2006 classic movie 300 – perhaps not coincidentally based on a graphic novel by Miller.

As further evidence of this, the modern series’s trademark Glory Kill finishing-move system has been unsynced, meaning the fatalities can be performed from any angle on the battlefield and will change accordingly. This is to account for the hordes of enemies that will be around you all the time. Yes, like 300 (and the original Doom), you’ll be surrounded by bad guys in combat bowls that have been significantly widened in The Dark Ages. You can accomplish objectives in any order you want, and wander anywhere you feel like in the levels (which, by the way, Martin says have been shortened a bit where needed to stick closer to his sweet spot of each being about an hour long).

Even better, addressing a criticism I cited in my review of Doom Eternal, The Dark Ages will no longer force you to read its story in the Codex. Instead, the story will play out in cutscenes. And the story will “take you to the far reaches of the Doom universe,” id says, with a big story described as “a summer blockbuster event with everything on the line” as your power as the Slayer is coveted by your enemies.

Martin also made a point to emphasize that the development team is focusing on simplifying the control scheme, believing that in hindsight, Doom Eternal made the controls too complex. Martin said the team wanted something that felt intuitive so that when they pressure the player, they’re not reaching for buttons they’re not familiar with. The aforementioned melee options, for example, will be equipped like equipment (meaning, one at a time). Meanwhile, not only will there be more secrets and treasures hidden around, but the economy has been simplified to one currency (gold), and those secrets will focus on furthering your skill progression. Meaning, tangible, gameplay-altering rewards rather than lore deep-dives.

One thing you definitely can deep-dive into, though, is the difficulty. Custom sliders now let you tweak the challenge however you see fit, with adjustments for things like game speed and enemy aggression (and a whole lot more) at your fingertips in the UI.

I also learned a bit more about two standout gameplay sequences from the reveal trailer: the giant 30-story demon mech (called the Atlan) and the cybernetic dragonback riding. They won’t be one-offs, by the sound of it, but you can’t just call in either one anytime you like. Each has a full suite of abilities and even minibosses to battle. Oh, and one more key bit of information: there won’t be any multiplayer mode this time around, as the team wanted to focus all of its resources into making the best single-player campaign possible. Not that Eternal’s Battlemode was bad, but I imagine most players won’t complain.

But for me, someone for whom the original Doom was transformational in 1993, I just keep coming back to Martin’s pivot away from the (very successful!) direction they were heading in Eternal and his renewed adherence to the design principles of that 30-year-old foundational classic as he designed The Dark Ages. “It’s just gotta be different [from Eternal],” Martin said. “Especially if I loved the game. [If] I wanna play a Doom game, I wanna feel strong, but I’m OK with changing what that power fantasy is, especially if that change brings it closer to classic Doom.”

Hearing that has got me more hyped than ever. May 15 can’t come soon enough.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Doom: The Dark Ages was one of the stars of Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025 showcase, with confirmation of a release date, new gameplay footage, and plenty more.

First up, the release date. Doom: The Dark Ages launches May 15, 2025 across Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and PC. As a Microsoft-owned game, Doom: The Dark Ages launches day one on Game Pass. The Collector’s Bundle includes up to two days of early access.

There is no mention of a release on the just-announced Nintendo Switch 2, although Microsoft is reportedly bringing many of its games to the next-gen console once it comes out later in 2025.

We also have confirmation that Doom: The Dark Ages is single-player campaign only. Both 2016’s Doom and its sequel, 2020’s Doom Eternal, had online multiplayer. So why the change for Doom: The Dark Ages?

Speaking to press ahead of the announcement, executive producer Marty Stratton and game director Hugo Martin explained that the decision to go single-player only was made early so id Software could focus fully on the campaign.

“We made that decision early so that we could really just go all in on the campaign,” Stratton said. “It's our largest, most expansive, most epic campaign ever and we're just really happy with the decision and I think it's been awesome to have the team focused just on polishing and finishing the campaign.”

Martin added that because of the decision to ditch multiplayer, id Software was able to include features in the campaign that it wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. These include sections where you ride a fire-breathing dragon and pilot 30-story high Atlan mechs.

“That's why we were able to put the dragon and the Atlan in,” Martin said. “I mean, these are things we've wanted to do in the game for multiple games now, but couldn't because we had a multiplayer component which we loved, but really it was meant to just focus on the single player campaign and just level up that experience for players.”

IGN has plenty more on Doom: The Dark Ages, including confirmation of the game’s composer. For more, here's everything announced during Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2025.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The composer of Doom: The Dark Ages’ soundtrack has been revealed to be Finishing Move, the music production team behind the award-nominated Borderlands 3 and Halo Wars 2 original scores.

Formed by the duo of Brian Trifon and Brian Lee White, Finishing Move has been closely aligned with Microsoft’s games over the past decade, with credits on Halo 2: Anniversary Edition, Grounded, and Microsoft Flight Simulator to their name, as well as recently crafting the score for survival horror The Callisto Protocol.

During Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct, Doom: The Dark Ages game director, Hugo Martin, announced Finishing Move’s creation of the soundtrack, describing it as “a metal soundscape that’s loaded with guitars, medieval vibes, and pure adrenaline.” From the snippets we heard in the newly released gameplay, we can’t really argue with that description as the guitars joyously snarl and spit in time with the Slayer’s ripping and tearing.

The switch to Finishing Move comes after a complicated dispute between The Dark Ages developer id Software and composer Mick Gordon, who wrote the award-winning score to 2016’s Doom revival.

In what began as a question about Gordon’s involvement in the final mixing of its sequel Doom Eternal’s score, the feud grew over time, with the composer pointing accusations of unpaid wages at the developer, and singling out executive producer Marty Stratton for allegedly abusive behavior. Bethesda responded to these claims shortly after, describing Gordon’s version of events as an “unjust account of an irreparable professional relationship.”

Gordon would not work with id Software again, with soundtrack duties for Eternal’s DLC expansion, The Ancient Gods, handed to Andrew Hulshult and David Levy. Fans wondered if they would be the natural fit to handle The Dark Ages’ score creation, but evidently, id has gone in a different direction with Finishing Move.

Doom’s gunplay has always been inextricably linked to its metal soundtracks, with Bobby Prince’s original 1993 score one of the most iconic to have ever been created. Finishing Move will be eager to join the legendary ranks of both Prince’s and Gordon’s score when The Dark Ages releases later this year.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a single-player only first-person shooter campaign that arrives on Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and PC on May 15, 2025. For more, here's everything announced during Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2025.

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

The collaborative relationship between LEGO and Nintendo, two world leaders in family-friendly entertainment that operate in the adjacent realms of toys and games, began with the 1999 release of LEGO Racers on N64. At least one LEGO game has been released on a Nintendo platform nearly every year since, and multiple Nintendo-themed LEGO sets have been released each year since they debuted in 2020.

The LEGO-Nintendo synergy has persisted through the Switch era, and with the Switch 2 officially due out this year, we’re looking back on the legacy of LEGO on the Switch.

How Many LEGO Games Are There on Nintendo Switch?

As of January 2025, 17 LEGO games have been released on Switch, from LEGO Undercover City in 2017 to the PlayStation collaboration LEGO Horizon Adventures in 2024. Of the 17 games, seven are LEGO originals and 10 are licensed collaborations with other intellectual properties.

Every LEGO Game on Switch (Ordered by Release Date)

LEGO City Undercover (2017)

In April 2017, one month after the console’s launch, the series’ first game to hit the Switch was LEGO City Undercover, which is an original LEGO game originally released for Wii U in 2013. It’s based on the LEGO City series of building sets and tells the tale of an undercover police officer tracking an escaped prisoner.

LEGO Worlds (2017)

LEGO Worlds is another original game released on the Switch in 2017. Worlds is the most authentically LEGO game available on Switch; it steps out of the series’ usual action-adventure genre into the world of sandbox games (think Minecraft), allowing you to build structures and environments brick by brick.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game (2017)

The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game is, as its name makes clear, an adaptation of The LEGO Ninjago Movie. The game and movie, both based on LEGO’s own Ninjago line, were released in the U.S. on September 22, 2017. The action-adventure game features eight locations and several playable characters from the movie.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (2017)

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes draws characters and locations from Marvel movies and comics alike, with a massive roster of characters that (probably) includes every Marvel hero and villain you can think of. It’s a direct sequel to LEGO Marvel Super Heroes that ultimately pits you against the time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror.

The first game is also available on the Switch, though you’ll find it further down this list – it wasn’t ported until 2021.

LEGO The Incredibles (2018)

Another LEGO-Disney collaboration, LEGO The Incredibles combines story beats from both movies, the 2004 original and 2018 sequel. The game was released alongside The Incredibles 2 in June 2018. It features over 100 playable characters, including all five members of the Parr family.

LEGO DC Super-Villains (2018)

LEGO DC Super-Villains is a LEGO Batman spinoff focused on a collection of villains from the deep history of DC Comics, including The Joker and Lex Luthor. The villains must navigate the internal threat of personality conflict while pursuing the mysterious Justice Syndicate. It’s notably the first LEGO game to center its story around a player-created character.

LEGO Harry Potter Collection (2018)

The LEGO Harry Potter Collection is a compilation of two games: LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 and LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7. The collection includes the complete LEGO Harry Potter experience, pulling characters, stories, and activities from all seven books and eight movies. This collaboration goes hand-in-hand with the many LEGO Harry Potter sets that have released over the last few years.

The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame (2019)

The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame is a movie tie-in that was largely knocked for its lack of originality and innovation. The game blends elements of traditional action-adventure LEGO games with the building elements introduced in LEGO Worlds.

LEGO Jurassic World (2019)

Originally released alongside the movie in 2015, LEGO Jurassic World came to Switch four years later in 2019. It features a 20-level campaign with five levels from each movie that had been released up until that point in time (Jurassic Park 1-3 and Jurassic World). In addition to characters from the Jurassic World movies, you can unlock playable versions of the franchise’s primary directors, Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow.

LEGO Builder’s Journey (2021)

LEGO Builder’s Journey came to Switch in 2021 after debuting on Apple Arcade in 2019. While most LEGO games incorporate puzzle-solving, Builder’s Journey is all puzzles, all the time. It’s a beautifully designed game that tells its father-son story one geometric puzzle at a time.

LEGO Marvel Superheroes (2021)

First released in 2013, LEGO Marvel Superheroes didn’t come to Switch until 2021. It tells an original story with several of Marvel’s most recognizable heroes – Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Captain America, and others – teaming up to foil the apocalyptic plans of Doctor Doom and Loki.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (2022)

The definitive LEGO Star Wars experience, The Skywalker Saga features reimagined scenes from all nine Skywalker movies: the original trilogy, prequel trilogy, and sequel trilogy. Within this sprawling collection are over 300 playable characters, 23 planets, and 100 vehicles. Compared to past LEGO games, The Skywalker Saga moves you closer to the action by shifting the camera from a zoomed-out third-person perspective to a tighter over-the-shoulder view. Considering the sheer amount of Star Wars LEGO sets out there, it's no surprise this made for one of the best Star Wars games of all time.

LEGO Brawls (2022)

LEGO Brawls is the worst-reviewed game on this list, based on Metascore (46). It’s an accessible, Smash Bros.-inspired fighting game originally released for Apple Arcade in 2019. Brawls features well over 100 minifigures/fighters from over 10 LEGO sets, including Ninjago and Jurassic World.

LEGO Bricktales (2022)

LEGO Bricktales is an original, puzzle-based adventure similar to LEGO Builder’s Journey, though on a larger scale. The game takes you to dioramas set in jungles, deserts, cities, medieval castles, and tropical islands. Bricktales was made by ClockStone Studio, the developer best known for its Bridge Constructor series.

LEGO 2K Drive (2023)

LEGO 2K Drive, from prolific sports game developer Visual Concepts, is a racing game set in the open world of Bricklandia. 2K Drive is a robust racing game that features street, off-road, and water races; story, single race, tournament, minigame, and free-roam modes; and a custom car-builder that our review called “excellent.”

LEGO Fortnite (2023)

LEGO Fortnite is a collection of LEGO-themed games housed within Fornite. Epic Games and the LEGO Group have created several LEGO Fornite experiences since the collaboration was launched in late 2023. Among the current ways to play are a survival-crafting game called Odyssey, an online social RPG called Brick Life, and a level designer called LEGO Islands.

LEGO Horizon Adventures (2024)

The franchise’s latest game is LEGO Horizon Adventures, a collaboration between PlayStation’s Guerrilla Games and English support studio Studio Gobo. It’s a retelling of Horizon Zero Dawn, simplified and sanitized for a wider audience, that leans into the combat and platforming mechanics of LEGO action games before it.

During today's Xbox Developer Direct, we got another look at upcoming Xbox RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 along with a release date of April 24, 2025.

In a new trailer, we got more info on the game's story, which we're told doesn't focus on good vs. evil. Rather it focuses on a group of complicated, messy people who all are brought together to defeat that which is a threat to all of them. There's a focus on the relationship between the characters, and while it can get introspective, there are also NPCs whose stories and mechanics are somewhat lighter.

As we've seen in past trailers, the UI and battle menus are exceptionally stylish, channeling Persona a bit in their big energy. The world itself is inspired by French art deco style, with art director Nicohlas Maxson-Francombe explaining in a recent Xbox Wire post that he wanted to avoid doing the same kinds of environments he's seen a million times before. "I just wanted to get out of the stuff that we’ve just seen a million times, – science fiction, to space, or zombies, all that kind of stuff. I just wanted to get my head out of there and see what I can try to come up with that was original for me personally."

And we also got a look at unique character mechanics and customization via skill tree in the trailer, and what seems to be a massive colletion of possible equippable passive effects. There are far more details in the same Xbox Wire post about the combat system and some of the characters' specific moves.

It was also revealed that Clair Obscur will follow in the steps of old-school RPGs and have an actual, navigable world map from which you can access various areas and towns. The world map will also include secrets and even hidden bosses.

Clair Obscur was first announced last summer at the Xbox Games Showcase from Montpellier-based Sandfall Interactive and came as a complete surprise to most. It takes place in a world where an entity known as the Paintress "repaints" the world each year, during which time she also paints a cursed number on a monolith that causes everyone of that age and older to turn to smoke instantly and disappear. Every year, that number ticks down by one, with younger and younger generations dying each time. With the number "33" up next, a group of individuals led by a man named Gustave sets out to try and stop the Paintress once and for all in a turn-based RPG with incredibly stylish battles and real-time elements.

You can catch up on everything shown in today's Xbox Developer Direct right here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

During today's Xbox Developer Director, we saw a new trailer for South of Midnight complete with a release date of April 3, 2025 for those who purchase the premium edition, and April 8, 2025 for everyone else.

South of Midnight is a third-person action-adventure game set in a fantastical version of the American Deep South. In the trailer, we saw a good look at main character Hazel's powers, which blend the traditional craft of weaving with magic to allow her to fight, conjure things, and overcome environmental obstacles. As she fights, Hazel "unravels" enemies to destroy them in action combat, and has some elements of customization in her fighting style that can help her counter different types of enemies.

Hazel's story starts with a massive hurricane that seemingly kills her mother, but also gives her the ability to see a magic world beyond the real one that gives her hope her mother might still be alive. As she hunts for her, Hazel will visit different different regions ruled by magical creatures, each one with a different Southern Gothic history that she'll need to heal by collecting their fragmented memories. In the trailer, we got a look at several of these creatures, including a real big bird and a massive crocodile covered in spikes with giant trees going out of its back. A giant talking Catfish acts as a guide for Hazel as she awakens her new powers.

South of Midnight was first announced at the Xbox Showcase in 2023 as a new game from We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games. It reappeared at the Xbox Showcase last year, and we got a hands-off look at it back in November. In an Xbox Wire post today, it's suggested the game will take between 10-12 hours to finish.

You can catch up on everything shown in today's Xbox Developer Direct right here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

As well as announcing Ninja Gaiden 4, Koei Tecmo has announced a remake of 2008 Xbox 360 action game Ninja Gaiden 2 — and it’s out now.

Announced during Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black shadow-dropped across Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC via Steam and Microsoft Store, and with Game Pass on console, PC and cloud today, January 23. For more, here's everything announced during Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2025.

Here's the official blurb on Ninja Gaiden 2 Black:

In Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, players assume the role of Ryu Hayabusa, a deadly ninja who wields the legendary Dragon Sword while embarking on a global battle against a series of formidable foes. The beautiful and bloody remaster utilizes Unreal Engine 5 to significantly enhance the graphic expression, elevating everything from character visuals to environmental backgrounds. In fact, the stages, characters, effects, and lighting have all been completely redesigned and remastered to fully immerse gamers into the story’s dark ninja world.

Gore elements such as dismemberment and blood have also been remastered to enhance the action experience. The high-speed, violent fights play out in brilliant brutality, utilizing a variety of weapons and techniques including Japanese swords, shurikens, Kusari-gamas, and tonfas. Meanwhile, those looking for a more toned-down experience can simply toggle the dismemberment feature on and off in the Options menu.

In addition, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black includes extra elements from the spin-off titles released after the original game’s debut, including the ability to control three additional characters: Momiji, Ayane, and Rachel. The remaster also includes “HERO PLAY STYLE”, a mode for beginners that provides automatic support in the most difficult situations, making the notoriously challenging title more accessible for those who may not be so confident in their action skills.

In a post on Xbox Wire, Team Ninja boss Fumihiko Yasuda explained the decision to remaster Ninja Gaiden 2.

“This simultaneous announcement and same-day release alongside Ninja Gaiden 4 might have caught some people by surprise,” he said. “The biggest reason for developing Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was to address the concerns of core fans who might be wondering, ‘What’s going to happen to Ryu Hayabusa?’ We also wanted to give players something to enjoy as they wait for the release of Ninja Gaiden 4. We chose Ninja Gaiden 2 because it stands as one of the most solid action games in the series. We added ‘Black’ to the title to signal to fans that this is the definitive version, much like Ninja Gaiden Black was for the first game.”

Yasuda continued: "This version is crafted to satisfy both those who played the original and newcomers discovering it as a current-generation action game. We’ve meticulously incorporated some of the additions of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 while staying true to the challenge and feel of the original 360 version, including its signature gore and violence. We’ve also adjusted the weapon upgrade system to more align with the original release.”

Team Ninja’s infamously challenging Ninja Gaiden series has a long association with Xbox. The developer’s reboot of the action series launched first on Xbox in 2004, propelling master ninja Ryu Hayabusa into the mainstream. Ninja Gaiden Black, considered one of the greatest action games of all time, launched the following year.

Ninja Gaiden 2 came out in 2008 published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. Ninja Gaiden 3 followed in 2012 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Since then, fans have had the critically panned spin-off Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and, more recently, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, a compilation of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge.

Publisher Koei Tecmo revived interest in Ninja Gaiden with the announcement of Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, a brand-new side-scrolling spin-off due out later this year. But the main event is Ninja Gaiden 4, which finally continues Ryu Hayabusa’s story 13 years after Ninja Gaiden 3 came out.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Xbox's big Developer Direct has arrived for 2025 and features some big games headed to Xbox players later this year, including Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the surprise reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4.

You can check out all the news from the Xbox Developer Direct below, and be sure to let us know which game you are most excited for in the comments below!

Ninja Gaiden 4 Announced From Team Ninja and PlatinumGames for Fall 2025

Team Ninja and PlatinumGames have announced Ninja Gaiden 4, which will be the first entry in the beloved franchise in over a decade.

While Ryu Hayabusa will play an important role in the story and will be playable, Ninja Gaiden 4 will star Yakumo, a new character from the Raven Clan.

“A significant amount of time has passed since NINJA GAIDEN 3, and players will find themselves arriving in a gruesomely transformed Tokyo," Ninja Gaiden 4 director and producer from PlatinumGames, Yuji Nakao, said to Xbox Wire. "One of the key themes of this story is the return of the Dark Dragon, which has plunged the city into chaos. Within these unsettling conditions, Yakumo will have to face off against his foes, as well as the formidable Master Ninja himself, Ryu Hayabusa."

Yakumo will not have an easy road through Tokyo, as it has been threatened and changed by the Dark Dragon's miasma rain. Luckily, he'll have some new abilities like being able to travel at high speeds via rail and wire-based actions.

Yakumo will also be able to use his "Bloodraven Form," which is described as a "technique that manipulates the blood of oneself and enemies, transforming it into a massive weapon capable of slicing through multiple foes at once." When "certain conditions" are met, he will also be able to unleash a move called "Bloodbath Kill" which will "instantly bisect enemies in one strike."

Ninja Gaiden 4 will be released in Fall 2025.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Is Now Available Via a Surprise Shadow Drop

We may have to wait a bit for Ninja Gaiden 4, but fans of Ryu Hayabusa can rest easy knowing they can jump into Ninja Gaiden 2 Black right now via Xbox Game Pass as it has had a surprise shadow drop during the Xbox Developer Direct!

Doom: The Dark Ages Will Rip and Tear Its Way to a May 2025 Release Date

Doom: The Dark Ages will will be released on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC on May 15, 2025, and developer id Software gave fans a gory and delightful new look at the game during the Xbox Developer Direct.

Doom: The Dark Ages will serve as a prequel to 2016's Doom and Doom Eternal and will put a huge focus on making your Slayer feel as powerful as possible. Where 2016's Doom was all about run and gunning and Doom Eternal was about making you feel like a "fighter jet," Doom: The Dark Ages wants players to stand and fight with confidence as an "iron tank."

To do so, you will be strafing a lot more than in previous games and utilizing a devastating Shield Saw that can both block incoming fire and destroy foes in your path. Players will also have access to a massive flail, an electric gauntlet, and a spiked mace. Oh, and you'll get to pilot a mech and fly on a giant cybernetic dragon that comes complete with mounted gatling guns.

There will also be many more opportunities for exploration and choosing your path in Doom: The Dark Ages, and your Shield Saw will be very handy in finding hidden paths. id Software also promises the story will leave the codex and will be told in cutscenes.

For more, check out our first preview of Doom: The Dark Ages, who the composers are going to be, and why this entry is ditching multiplayer.

South of Midnight Gets a April 2025 Release Date

We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games not only showed off a new look at South of Midnight during the Xbox Developer Direct, but it also announced that it will be released on April 8, 2025.

In the trailer, Hazel takes center stage and we get to see her impressive powers in action. From weaving with magic to conjuring things to overcoming environmental obstacles, she will have a lot of tools at her disposal to conquer any challenge that heads her way.

Throughout South of Midnight, Hazel will travel to different regions that are run by magical creatures inspired by Southern Gothic history. She'll need to help heal them by collecting their fragmented memories should she hope to emerge victorious.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Will Bring RPG Goodness to Xbox Players in April 2025

Sandfall Interactive's RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be released on April 24, 2025, and it will bring RPG goodness to Xbox players around the world.

We also got an extended look at the game and its story, and we learned it doesn't so much focus on good vs. evil, but instead features a bunch of flawed and unique characters that must work together to stop a looming threat despite their differences.

Alongside an extensive skill tree and unique character mechanics, RPG fans will be delighted to know there will be an actual world map that can be accessed between various areas and towns.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Ninja Gaiden is back in a big way, with Ninja Gaiden 4 revealed as the mystery fourth game shown at Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025. It's due out fall 2025 for Xbox Series X and S, PC via Steam, and PlayStation 5 and is a day one Xbox Game Pass launch title.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is published by Xbox Game Studios and in development at PlatinumGames, creator of Bayonetta and Nier: Automata, with Team Ninja collaborating. Expect a new main playable character, a young ninja prodigy called Yakumo, although previous protagonist Ryu Hayabusa does appear in the story.

It's a direct sequel to Ninja Gaiden 3, but set a significant amount of time since the events of that game in a "gruesomely transformed" Tokyo, Microsoft said.

Meanwhile, Koei Tecmo has shadow-dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, an Unreal Engine 5 remake of the 2008 original, on Xbox Game Pass. For more, here's everything announced during Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2025.

Team Ninja’s infamously challenging Ninja Gaiden series has a long association with Xbox. The developer’s reboot of the action series launched first on Xbox in 2004, propelling master ninja Ryu Hayabusa into the mainstream. Ninja Gaiden Black, considered one of the greatest action games of all time, launched the following year.

Ninja Gaiden 2 came out in 2008 published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. Ninja Gaiden 3 followed in 2012 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Since then, fans have had the critically panned spin-off Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and, more recently, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, a compilation of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge.

Publisher Koei Tecmo revived interest in Ninja Gaiden with the announcement of Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, a brand-new side-scrolling spin-off due out later this year. But the main event is Ninja Gaiden 4, which finally continues Ryu Hayabusa’s story 13 years after Ninja Gaiden 3 came out.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

For all you space fans out there, or fans of space-themed LEGOs, here's an excellent set worthy of your collection. Amazon is offering the LEGO Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit 42179 for only $59.95, a savings of 20%. With this deal, you're paying about 11 cents per brick. This is the lowest price we've seen for this set and matches the best deal during Black Friday. Its interactive design makes it a wonderful kit for both adults and kids.

LEGO Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Oribt 42179

Epic boss Tim Sweeney has spent quite a lot of money fighting Apple and Google over the way they run their app stores. How much? Billions of dollars. That, you’d think, would be unsustainable for most companies. But for Sweeney it’s an investment — a long term investment.

Sweeney’s ongoing battle to get Fortnite back on iPhones and Android phones while avoiding paying store fees is well-documented. The gist is this: Epic doesn’t want to pay the now standard 30% store fees on revenue made on mobile games. Instead, it wants to run the likes of Fortnite through its own mobile store, the Epic Games Store, without Apple and Google getting in the way and gobbling up its profit. Back in 2020, this dispute ended up with Fortnite blocked from release on iOS. In the U.S., nearly five years later, it is yet to return.

After multiple costly legal battles Epic is making some progress, mostly in Europe due to the Digital Markets Act, but hardly in the U.S., where there isn’t even a whiff of a legislation that would support Epic’s cause. In August last year, the Epic Games Store launched on iPhones in the European Union and on Android devices worldwide with Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe, and Fall Guys for mobile. But actually getting the likes of Fortnite up and running on mobile is a nightmare, with various “scare screens” putting up to 50% of users off, according to Epic.

King Arthur: Legends Rise is a turn-based squad RPG from Netmarble that launched for free this week on Steam. You play as the legendary King Arthur in a fantasy world where mankind and the gods are at war.

To gain the power necessary to fight back against the gods, Arthur seeks out the fabled blade Excalibur. Trapped within the sword is the dragon Caliburn, with whom Arthur makes a dark pact to gain the ability to wield it. With blade in hand, you’ll embark on a mission to unite Britain and restore the kingdom of Camelot to glory.

To carry out that mission, you’ll summon allies pulled from the pages of Arthurian legend — iconic characters like Morgan le Fay, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, and more. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, with innate attributes that can define their role in your party and power up certain abilities.

For instance, Arthur is an Attack type, meaning he increases attack-centric abilities. He also has the Bull trait, which improves the accuracy of abilities that inflict status effects. Meanwhile, Guinevere is a classic tank. She’s a Defense type, which increases defense-centric abilities. And she has the Hound trait, which increases those same abilities even more.

Each character can also equip relics that determine their element. There are three elements — flame, frost, and storm — with each being strong against one and weak against another in a rock-paper-scissors system. Enemies also have an innate element (displayed to the left of their health bar), and all three can be present within the same fight, so you’ll want to make sure your party is equipped with diverse relics to stay prepared for anything your enemies throw at you.

Adding another layer to party building is the fact that each character thrives during particular weather. Some prefer the day or night, others perform best when it’s raining, and still others power up when it’s swelteringly hot or during squalls.

Once you’ve decided on your party, you’ll explore a world that fuses the aesthetics of medieval Britain with fantasy elements. As you make your way through the main story, you’ll come face to face with horrific creatures that will test your combat prowess.

Battles are turn-based, and you can see the turn order in the bottom left corner of the screen. Combat uses a vigor system, where each of your heroes has three abilities, and which ones they can access during a given turn depend on their current vigor. Each character has a basic ability that will add one vigor upon use, as well as more powerful abilities that will use two or three vigor upon use. Some abilities attack one foe, others attack multiple, while others support allies with either healing or buffs.

So you’ll need to strategize and think tactically in each fight, taking into consideration elemental strengths and weaknesses, bonuses from current weather effects, and the vigor levels of each of your allies. You don’t want to get stuck needing a healing spell, only to realize your healer doesn’t have enough vigor to use it.

The main story will take you across Britain and see you gather strength and gradually rebuild your home of Camelot. But if you want to take a break from that story, you can make use of Adventure mode, where you can explore the overworld. You’ll find environmental puzzles you can solve to open new pathways, uncover hidden treasures, and find other secrets.

If you’re more of the competitive type, you can battle your fellow players in the PvP Arena, where you can create diverse hero combinations and engage in strategic gameplay based on your opponent’s deck.

Or you can take part in even bigger Clan Wars, a large-scale war system where entire clans of players compete against each other through battles, seasons, and leagues. Clan members deploy their collected heroes and strategically position them within their faction, utilizing structures, gimmicks, and buffs to lead their clan to victory.

To experience all of this for yourself, you can download King Arthur: Legends Rise for free through Steam right now. To celebrate the game’s launch, the developers are offering limited-time packages that provide unique benefits and are only available to Steam users. To get more details about the game and its characters, you can check out the official website. Or join the community on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, or YouTube.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 won't be a PlayStation 6 exclusive despite Final Fantasy 7 Remake originally launching only on PS4 and its sequel Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth originally launching only on PS5, Square Enix has said.

Speaking to 4Gamer and translated by Genki on X/Twitter, Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said the PlayStation exclusivity tradition will be broken amid a wider shift to multiplatform releases.

Sony's PS5 arrived in 2020, seven years after the PS4 arrived in 2013. The same pace would see the PS6 released in 2027, which is the same time Square Enix hopes to release the third and final game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.

4Gamer therefore asked if fans will need to buy a third generation of consoles in order to close out the story, but Kitase said definitively this won't be the case. "No, you can rest assured about the next one," he said.

Hamaguchi said Square Enix plans to release future games on a wide range of platforms so as many people can play them as possible. This comes after both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 were well received but failed to meet financial expectations.

Square Enix has already brought both of these to PC, but Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida has said Square Enix is looking to double down on Xbox releases too. Nothing has been announced regarding Part 3's release platforms but fans should therefore expect a release across PS5 (and maybe PS6), PC, and maybe even Xbox. The franchise is reportedly gearing up for a release on the Nintendo Switch 2 console too.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The holidays and big seasonal sale events may be behind us, but if you're still itching to hop on the Game Pass bandwagon there's still time to save on a membership. Woot's currently offering an excellent limited time deal on three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, dropping its price to $33.99. There's a 10% off coupon "SAVETEN" that drops the price even further to $30.59 with free digital delivery, but keep in mind this coupon only lasts through the rest of today.

You can learn more about that deal, what's coming soon to Game Pass, and the big releases still to come below.

Navigate to:

• Best Xbox Game Pass Deals
• What's Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?
• What Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass?
• Biggest Games Releasing on Xbox Game Pass

Best Xbox Game Pass Deals

Assassin's Creed Shadows is expected to launch March 20, 2025, after multiple delays. The most recent was only by a month, which doesn't seem like much time to change anything significant. So why did Ubisoft push the game?

According to the game director: roofs.

At a recent preview event for Shadows, we spoke with game director Charles Benoit, who confirmed that the month delay was "mostly about polishing" and did not change any big systems. The team did update "a couple of things in progression to make it more engaging, also balancing a bit more." But the main feature that needed extra tweaking was the parkour system, which Benoit says was running up against an obstacle unique to Feudal Japan.

"The Japanese architecture, the roofs [are] super complex," he said. "Probably the most complex thing that I ever worked with if we compared to Odyssey and Syndicate. We needed specific codes and specific animations to support something super fluid, changing the transition of the parkour to make it even more fluid. So that's one of the specific feedback that we heard that we wanted to address, and it really improved since the last few months."

Assassin's Creed Shadow was originally planned for release in November 2024, but was pushed to February 2025 and then again to March, with the company citing player feedback as a main reason for the delay.

You can catch up on our recent preview of Assassin's Creed Shadows. We also learned more today about the long-awaited Assassin's Creed: Infinity, which will appear in Shadows as the Animus Hub.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

In many ways, Assassin's Creed Shadows has been a long time coming. The setting of feudal era Japan has been one of the dream locales that fans and even Ubisoft developers have had for the franchise's jaunt through humanity's secret history, and it's finally serving as the backdrop for the next entry. But Shadows has also been a game that has seen some notable delays to ensure the developers stick the landing. Simply put, there's a lot of anticipation for what's in store for Ubisoft's big return to a massive Assassin's Creed RPG.

After spending several hours playing Assassin's Creed Shadows, the next entry keeps up with the satisfying action and traversal that the series is known for, but it also showcases a sharper eye for worldbuilding, and giving its two protagonists their time in the spotlight. From my time sneaking through fortresses, taking in the sweeping vistas of the open world, and pulling off slick combat finishers, I got to see just how developer Ubisoft Quebec has improved its balancing act of satisfying action, RPG systems, and rewarding open-ended exploration in a captivating new setting that's been long overdue.

Since Assassin's Creed Origins in 2017, the series has stayed comfortably within the realm of the open-world RPG, offering an expanded scope and narrative decisions to alter the course of the story. While this shift led to some growing pains for the series, it has gotten a better handle on the additional layers to gameplay without compromising the fantasy of being an ancient assassin. With Shadows, the latest attempt at an Assassin's Creed RPG shows that developer Ubisoft may have also cracked the code on the role-playing element with its two unique protagonists, something the series has struggled to present in a way that hasn't muddied the narrative waters.

Speaking with creative director Jonathan Dumont, he stated that Assassin's Creed Shadows has an underlying theme about unity. Given the backdrop of Feudal Japan and its period of unification, the game focuses heavily on the bond between the two leads and their growth throughout the game.

"For me, this game has a message about unity, and fighting for those who cannot, which is a responsibility that both of the characters have in the game," he said. "I think that it's about finding your place in that world, and I think both characters represent that and the importance of community and the importance of taking care of each other and going on this journey together through Japan in this period of unrest."

The latest game puts its sights on a new mystery deep within a revamped Animus program. In this new simulation, we focus on feudal era Japan and the secret history of both Yasuke, a historical African slave who became a full-fledged Samurai, and Naoe, a female Shinobi taking up the mantle of her father's legacy. The pair eventually team up to navigate a radically changing 1500s Japan, rubbing shoulders with other historical allies such as Oda Nobunaga and Kuroda Kanbei while taking down a shadowy cabal of warlords manipulating the country's attempt at unification from within.

I spent most of my playtime exploring Harima Province, one of the early zones that featured a questline involving an insidious plot to undermine the region's power structure. The world of Assassin's Creed Shadows is massive, but thankfully not to the ridiculous size of Valhalla. That said, plenty of opportunities were packed in this province, and the viewpoints to observe nearby points of interest helped point me in the right direction. A general theme I found compelling was how Shadows emphasized harmonizing with the open world – a cultural element the developers wanted to highlight with the Japanese setting.

This theme also extends to the side activities and how the world changes over time with shifting seasons that alter the terrain. Shadows ditches the need for hunting, and instead, you can find and draw rare wildlife found in the wild. It was an odd activity at first, but I found them endearing and a surprisingly wholesome change of pace. I soon found myself being taken in by how atmospheric and thoughtful the setting was.

Shadows also emphasizes the dynamic between the two protagonists and their agency within the world after bonding over being outcasts within the country. I really enjoyed their dynamic within the story, and they play well with each other during cutscenes. Yasuke is a gentle giant and wise Samurai enforcer who offers some poignant insights while learning about Japanese culture. Naoe's growth into an assassin with a heavy legacy to uphold shows an early look at the dramatic highs of the main story.

You're free to switch off characters in the open world and during moments in the main story, letting you play as who you want in most key missions. But in an interesting addition, you also have the option of playing in Canon Mode, which presents a defined story without major narrative choices – which was added after developers saw how many fans were debating what the definitive story was for Valhalla and Odyssey.

Yasuke and Naoe also represent the different extremes of Assassin's Creed's combat and stealth experiences, which have also seen clear upgrades across the board in Shadows. For combat, there's a heightened need for dodging and parrying strikes, crucial to piercing through armor to deliver a killing blow. It injects Ghost of Tsushima's offense and defensive style of swordplay, but it also has familiar AC combat skills such as power grabs and the always funny kick move I used plenty of times.

The setting of Japan was a setting that the developers have wanted to make for some time, and according to game director Charles Benoit, they also saw an opportunity to have the series lean further into its stealth-action roots.

"If you look at the brand in general, we had a lot of stealth focus in the first few games, and then with the RPG, we saw a rise more of a rise with combat in Origins, so I feel Shadows is mixing the whole era of Assassin's Creed and bringing about a return to stealth as a focus," he said. "But combat is still very much a core pillar for us, which is why we wanted two characters. With the Japan setting, we have the archetypes of the Samurai and Ninja, and that gives a great opportunity to develop both equally."

I generally felt pleased with the more thoughtful approach to combat. However, it also comes with more challenges, which unexpectedly made some of the encounters in the game feel a bit more difficult. The game also struggled to present fights with multiple foes accurately, and it can be easy to get overwhelmed by enemies coming in off-screen. Still, when the new combat in Shadows hits, it certainly does hit.

What impressed me most with Shadows was the revamped stealth gameplay, which appropriately incorporates elements from Ubisoft's other stealth-action series, Splinter Cell. With the new visibility meter, you can see how open you are. Furthermore, there's a greater emphasis on light and darkness; you can even snuff out candles to add some cover. My favorite addition is the ability to go prone, which, as you can expect, is a game-changer for stealth. Playing stealth with Naoe was so satisfying, and it does well to showcase just how much that gameplay style has improved.

While both characters can combat and stealth, they also have clear limitations. For instance, Yasuke is a formidable fighter and is capable of ambushing enemies, however his large stature is not ideal for advanced stealth. In addition to being incapable of climbing certain areas, he's also not so great at performing the leap of faith.

As for Naoe, she's a skilled assassin with access to a grappling hook and smoke bombs. However, Naoe's nimble combat style is far more reliant on parrying and dodging, and one hit from an elite enemy's heavy strike can take a chunk of her health bar. While pulling off Naoe's combat skills was satisfying, I often had to resist the urge to take out every enemy and run for it when things got out of hand.

Continuing with Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you can manage and upgrade a base of operations. As you recruit allies, they'll head to your hideout to open up shops and offer new side missions that incentivize revisits to previous zones. But Shadows takes this feature a step further by allowing you to build out your custom village in the vein of Animal Crossing.

The town builder mode offers plenty of options to add necessities and some personal touches to the hideout. I spent an unexpected amount of time building more housing and decorating my space with Shinto shrines and pets – such as cats and tanuki. There are also side activities, such as a visually striking meditation mini-game, to help you earn additional perks. It's an unexpectedly cozy side activity for an AC game, and I was quickly taken in by how satisfying it was to walk around a massive village I had made in a reasonably short time.

So far, Assassin's Creed Shadows is shaping to be a solid follow-up to Ubisoft's ambitious Valhalla. Even if the familiar crop of open-world bugs and quirks popped up during my time, I still found a great deal to appreciate with Shadows and its worldbuilding. While this conceit is not an uncommon backup for video games – which can be easy to mess up with insensitive representation – Assassin's Creed Shadows so far does well to justify its take on an open-world RPG set during this culturally rich era, especially in its handling of the two protagonists. With the release coming soon, I'm eager to see how Ubisoft's take on Assassin's Creed's journey to Japan will come together.

Ted Price, the founder and now-former-president of Insomniac Games, is being inducted into the DICE Hall of Fame next month, just after he announced his retirement from the company after 30 years.

Price founded Insomniac Games in 1994 and has remained there ever since. Under his guidance, Insomniac has built major franchises such as Spyro, Ratchet & Clank, and Marvel's Spider-Man, shipping 35 different games and building to nearly 450 employees. The company was acquired by Sony in 2019.

Alongside previews for Assassin's Creed Shadows going live today, Ubisoft offered detail on a new feature for all future Assassin's Creed games called the Animus Hub, which seems to be the previously-reported Assassin's Creed: Infinity.

In a presentation from Ubisoft that IGN attended, Ubisoft revealed the Animus Hub, effectively a starting point from which games such as Assassin's Creed Shadows can be launched. However, Ubisoft was adamant that this was not simply another game launcher, but rather a feature embedded in Shadows that will also be integrated into future games such as the upcoming Codename Hexe or Codename Invictus.

The Animus Hub will be split into a number of sections, one of which will include direct paths to opening not just the main campaign of Assassin's Creed Shadows, but also other Assassin's Creed games if they're owned and downloaded on the system.

There's also a "Projects" section, which will feature ongoing content including new narrative missions tied to the game's new, modern day story, with free rewards baked in for Assassin's Creed Shadows. New content is expected to be released regularly throughout Shadows' post-launch period.

Ubisoft plans to tell an ongoing story through the Animus Hub that will extend into future Assassin's Creed releases and will take place in the "near future" to facilitate that progression. The story begins in Shadows, and is framed by longtime Assassin's Creed villainous organization Abstergo, which in the lore of the game has released a version of the Animus for public use, though the player's "version" of the Animus in the story will involve an expected touch of rebellion.

While this is perhaps a bit different from what we imagined when Infinity was first discussed, it's not entirely dissimilar from what Activision has been doing with Call of Duty, whose hub serves as a platform tying battle royale Warzone to whatever the latest Call of Duty is.

You can catch up on our recent preview of Assassin's Creed Shadows. The game is expected to launch on March 20, 2025 after a recent delay out of February.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

If you're anything like me, you struggle to go anywhere or do anything without either music or an audiobook playing in your ears. Having a great pair of wireless headphones or earbuds is like having a trusty companion with you wherever you go. But sooner or later, like all bits of tech, your headphones will peter out and die, leaving you sub-par sound and decreased wearability leading to an uncomfortable experience all around.

You can't predict when your old headphones are going to need replacing, but you can predict when the best time to grab a new pair is as we head into 2025. If you follow the calendar closely, you'll begin to see the pattern of when you can pick up new headsets for a steal every year, although Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still your best bet.

Best Times to Buy Headphones

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Not really a surprise that we're starting off here. The best time to pick up any piece of tech that you've had your eye on is Black Friday. Most people tend to associate Black Friday with massive savings on TVs and other high-end bits of tech. And while that's certainly true, you can look a little deeper to find savings on any bit of tech that you need.

Trusted headphone brands (more on those later) will all have their flagship products at a slashed price during the year's biggest sales event. Black Friday used to only be a one-day and in-store event, but in recent years it has moved online and expanded rapidly. You can find savings throughout the entire week of Black Friday, but they tend to peak on the day itself.

If you're too busy for shopping on the Friday, then make sure you're alert to any deals on Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is a day purely for online retailers to offer huge discounts as they look to shift the last of their Black Friday stock. Savings on Amazon for Cyber Monday are similar to their Prime Day events, but you'll also find discounts at Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and any other online retailer you can think of. There's really not that much of a difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, so it's generally just a great time to find a discount.

The New Year

It might seem counter-intuitive to be spending money after Black Friday and Christmas have passed, but it's when you'll find deals that will typically fly under the radar. Most headphones will have a life cycle of 1-2 years and manufacturers will begin to lay out plans for their latest models in the early stages of the year between January and March. From this point on, older models will start to see a reduction in price and it could be a great time to get a hold of a new pair. Changes from release to release tend to be minimal so if you don't mind missing out on a few new features, then you can pick up an older pair for a steal around this time.

Springtime

Of course if you would prefer to get your hands on a brand new pair of headphones, then springtime is going to be your best bet. This tends to be when most manufacturers will release their products to the market and you'll see healthy stock levels at most stores that sell headphones. Of course, the old models will still be available too, and perhaps with an even further discount as they make way for the newer models.

Amazon Prime Day

This year Amazon spoiled us. They treated us to not one but two excellent Prime Days. These big sales events and for Prime Memebers only, and they typically run for two days at a time, with one event in July, and Prime Day 2 taking place as a pre-Black Friday event in October.

Outside of Black Friday, this is when you're really going to start seeing some excellent savings on headphones. Sony models in particualr will almost always have discounts, and you can also consistently find deals on AirPods during Prime Day.

Holiday Weekends

If you're shopping away from the big sales events, then it pays to be up to date with the holiday calendar throughout the year. Retailers will often use these holiday weekends as a chance to throw a flash sale and start cutting prices right across the board. They won't be comparable to the savings in the events above, but they're a great chance to catch some discounts when demand isn't so crazy.

Holidays to look out for include:

• President's Day
• Memorial Day
• July Fourth
• Labor Day

Pay Attention to the Product Cycle

Product cycles matter if you want to get the best deal. Paying attention to when certain products are coming out will give you a huge indiction of when the older models are going to get their prices slashed. The headphone product cycle tends to fall in line with the wider tech industry. Products will be announces at the big consumer tech conferences like CES early in the year and will start to be rolled out in the springtime. This is the time to pounce on the older models and save a bit of dough.

What Should You Be Looking For in a Pair of Headphones?

There is no one-size-fits-all model of headphones. What you need depends on what you plan to use it for, and what kind of things you like to listen to. Generally speaking though, there are some things that you should be looking out for and somethings that should be immediate red flags for models to avoid.

Balance

All headphone manufacturers are trying to attain the perfect blend of frequencies. Now, in a studio setting, this should mean that the ideal pair of headphones are aiming for a flat frequency response in which all frequencies and tones come through the headphones equally. This is to give you the best picture of the sound you're listening to.

Consumer heaphones and earbuds, however, tend to be made a little differently. The advent of certain styles of music over the last few decades have lead to an almost zealous pursuit of the purest bass tones going. Some brands of headphones, like Beats, will throw all their eggs in the bass basket, leading to a very bass heavy frequency response. This is great if that's what you're after. If you're looking for something less basy then you might struggle, but if you grab a model like the Sony WH-1000XM4, you can adjust the EQ using their handy app, but it's honestly difficult not to find any consumer headphones designed for bass response nowadays.

Style and Comfort

Do you want over ear, on ear, or earbuds? All of these things affect both the comfort and the performance of your headphones of choice. If you're looking for the best quality sound and immersion, then you're going to want some closed back over ear headphones. If you just want a casual pair that are extremely portable, then some bluetooth ear buds or one of the best wireless headphones will do the trick perfectly well.

Best Headphone Brands to Watch

Sony

Sony's excellent range of consumer heaphones are some of the very best out there. They've got models at lots of different price points and in loads of different styles. The previously mentioned WH-1000XM4s are my current day-to-day over-ears, and the noise cancellation on them is next level. Like most consumer headphones, they tend to lean a bit heavy on the bass side, but their range of smart headphones come with an adaptive EQ that you can fine tune to meet your needs.

Apple

This one is likely to draw the wrath of many an audio nerd, but I'm going to just say it, Apple make pretty decent headphones. And I'm including some of the models before the AirPods were brought in. At a relatively low to mid price range, you get a decent frequency response, they're comfortable, they're clear, they're crisp, they charge fast, and they've got a decent battery life. If you can spare the extra, it's definitely worth going for the AirPods Pro.

JBL

JBL are a stable of the commercial audio world. They make an excellent array of bluetooth headphones that are comfortable, decent quality, and best of all, affordable. They've never managed to absolutely blow me away but when you're in a pinch looking for a nice consumer audio product, they're a safe pair of hands.

Sennheiser

We're straying more into the realm of studio headphones here, and we're definitely starting to stray into the more espensive end of the scale, but, on the whole, Sennheiser tend to deliver. They've got a decent blend of both studio and consumer models. Their wireless over-ear Momentum 4 model is worth a look for a solid pair of bluetooth headphones that will be with you for many years. They've got an impressive 60 hours of battery life and boast adaptive noise cancellation for when you're out and about.

Beyerdynamics

Finally, we'll end with a more specialized brand. These aren't going to be your everyday out and about style headphones. I'm thinking specifically about the DT770 and DT990 models. These are perfect for podcasting, working, streaming, or just listening to your favorite album in stunning clarity. The DT770s are my everyday work headphones for my work as an audio editor, and I don't have a single complaint about them. They would be particualrly excellent if you wanted to plug some headphones into your record player. Just bear in mind that they come with quite a high impedence so you'll be needing an amp if you want to push them.

Budget Gaming Headsets We Recommend

If you're looking for a budget-friendly gaming headset without having to wait around for sales, here are some of our top picks:

Joe O'Neill-Parker is a freelance contributor for IGN, covering sports and tech. Before founding O'Neill Multimedia, he worked as an editor/producer for an international audiobook production company.

The Oscars 2025 nominations are here, and the internet is having its say on all the varioius snubs.

Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, for example, failed to net a single nod, prompting fans to serve up a loud reaction online.

Shortly after the 2025 Oscar nominations were unveiled, Challengers started trending on X/Twitter as fans of the Zendaya-led sports drama shared their dismay over the movie being shut out by the Academy. People expressed their surprise, with most of the confusion spiralling from the film’s score not getting the recognition so many felt it deserved, labelling the snub as “ridiculous” and “a mistake.”

No best original score Oscar nomination for CHALLENGERS’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is ridiculous pic.twitter.com/enLNVu9j94

— Isaac Feldberg (@isaacfeldberg) January 23, 2025

Challengers has received numerous accolades during the current awards season, including four nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, where it ultimately took home the trophy for Best Original Score. The movie appeared in the music category alongside Conclave, The Brutalist, The Wild Robot, Emilia Pérez, and Dune: Part Two, which, bar Denis Villeneuve’s Dune sequel, all earned nominations in the same category at the Oscars.

Zendaya stars in Challengers as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach who gets entangled with her husband and ex-boyfriend both on and off the court. The tennis tale was widely beloved by film fans and critics, including our own. It emerged as one of IGN’s best-reviewed movies at the end of 2024, with Siddhant Adlakha, in his review, calling the love-triangle-drama “one of the sexiest and most electric” of its genre coming out of last year.

Its high praise wasn’t enough to earn it an Oscar nomination, but it wasn’t the only snub on the lineup for the 97th Academy Awards. Dune: Part 2 received a nod for Best Picture, but there was no shoutout for the director in his respective category.

Denis Villeneuve has now been snubbed of a Best Director nomination for both ‘DUNE’ movies. pic.twitter.com/XyHAkYa53V

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) January 23, 2025

Stanley Tucci also missed out on a Supporting Actor nomination for his role in Conclave, while Angelina Jolie got snubbed in Best Actress for playing opera singer Maria Callas in Maria. Selena Gomez also missed out on an expected nod in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in Emilia Pérez.

Other major films that missed out entirely include Blitz, Longlegs, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

angelina jolie, the academy didn’t acknowledge your talent this time and for that i will avenge you. pic.twitter.com/B7z7efgvRo

— gabriel (@atelierejolie) January 23, 2025

There will likely be even more surprises in store when the Oscars commence on March 2, 2025, so stay tuned to IGN for the latest.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @A_AnkersRange.

Warner Bros. Games boss David Haddad is set to leave the company, according to a new report.

Variety said Haddad will leave his role as president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment after 12 years of leading Warner Bros. Games.

The company has had a troubled 12 months, first with the catastrophic release of Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, then the disappointing release of Smash Bros.-style brawler MultiVersus.

Warner Bros. Discovery has said Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s failure contributed to a $200 million hit to its business, and MultiVersus added another $100 million on top. Warner Bros. Games' only new game release during the third quarter of 2024 was Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, which failed to make an impression.

Speaking in a financial call, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav said: "We recognise [the games business] is substantially underperforming its potential right now.”

Since then, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League post-launch content has come to an end with the delivery of its year one roadmap. Warner Bros. has yet to announce Rocksteady’s next game, but it is reportedly helping out on a director’s cut of Hogwarts Legacy. The legendary British studio has suffered a number of layoffs in recent months.

There are also question marks over Mortal Kombat 1’s financial performance, although NetherRealm chief Ed Boon recently announced over five million sales and teased future DLC following the release of the T-1000 Terminator guest character.

During the same financial call, Zaslav said Warner Bros. was doubling down on four games: Hogwarts Legacy (a sequel is already in the works), Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, "in particular Batman." Warner Bros. recently published VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow exclusively on the Meta Quest 3, and has a Wonder Woman game in the works at Monolith Productions.

"We are focusing our development efforts on those core franchises, with proven studios to improve our success ratio," Zaslav added.

According to Variety, Haddad will stay on with Warner Bros. discovery for the next three months as the company looks for his replacement during an apparent quieter release schedule.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.