Elden Ring Nightreign's status as a co-op PvE excursion introduced a fresh mechanic for previously solo players in revives. Those who fall in battle hit the ground and can get picked back up, if their teammates wail on them hard enough to knock out the purple bars of their circular dial.
I'm probably not alone in feeling like, sometimes, this mechanic seems to get more arduous as players fall more often. If you fall once, it's only one pip on the bar; but by third death, you've got the whole radius covered in purple, and it can feel quite difficult to chip that much purple bar down while a Nightlord is attacking you.
As it turns out, there are some hidden mechanics that may be helping or hindering your efforts to pick your teammates back up. YouTuber Zullie the Witch has been on the Elden Ring Nightreign beat, and recently put up new video in which they try to understand how revives work. (Thanks for the spot, PC Gamer.)
Per Zullie's investigation, the first time a player falls in battle, they get one bar at a total of 40 HP. But as they continue to fall, this escalates at a surprising rate, with 45 per bar at second death and a whopping 80 per bar at three, for a grand total of 240 HP total if you're on three bars.
Hitting the player who's downed chips away at those totals, but if they're left alone for 3.5 seconds, the death timer around their dial resumes (unless you're in a Night boss fight) and the gauge starts to refill. The fill time also speeds up as you gain more bars, going from 2-per-second at one bar to 40-per-second at three bars.
That's a lot of math to say: the more you fall, the harder it gets (exponentially so) to pick you back up. There is some good news though, as penalties gradually wear off over time or whenever one visits a Site of Grace.
Zullie also highlights some hidden math in how weapons work on the revive bars, too. It's about what you'd expect, compared to regular attacks; giant weapons, like Halberds, Reapers, and Greatswords have more impact on the revive bar than Claws, Daggers, Torches, or Fists on a per-swing basis.
In fact, Revenant's Cursed Claws make for uniquely effective revival tools in this regard, as they have the same base numbers as a Greatsword. Revenant mains can effectively play both White Mage and Summoner, I guess?
Zullie's video goes into even more math around the revival numbers, but for the average Elden Ring Nightreign player, the solid takeaways are that higher bars get increasingly harder to clear as Nightfarers fall. Honestly, it makes certain characters like the Revenant even more valuable as teammates, when they have both summons to help out and an ultimate that will pick teammates back up regardless of their bar's status.
Are you ready to return? We finally have a release date for the upcoming sequel film Return to Silent Hill — which means we’re just one step closer to getting back to the town that started it all for many horror and gaming fans.
The third installment to the Silent Hill film franchise, which will be produced by Terrifier producers Cineverse, is set to arrive in theaters on January 23, 2026. The film is set to star Hannah Emily Anderson and Jeremy Irvine in a story that will probably be recognizable to those who know the games.
The film will follow “James (Irvine), a man broken after his relationship with the love of his life, Mary (Anderson), ends. When a mysterious letter from her calls him back to Silent Hill, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil. While James desperately searches for Mary he encounters terrifying creatures and begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to the town.”
Previously, the folks behind the film revealed that they think the film will be as true to the games as possible. “Silent Hill is one of the best video game franchises, period,” Brandon Hill, executive director of acquisitions for Cineverse, told Variety last month. “And Christophe Gans did a phenomenal job capturing the atmosphere of the games once again with Return to Silent Hill.”
“I am delighted to partner with Cineverse, which has shown a genuine understanding of fanship,” director Christophe Gans, who also directed the original 2006 Silent Hill, told the outlet. “Return to Silent Hill is an adaptation created out of deep respect for a true masterpiece of a game, Konami’s iconic Silent Hill 2. I hope fans will enjoy and be fulfilled with the experience this new film has to offer."
This will be the third film in the franchise, with Silent Hill: Revelation following the original installment in 2012.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
Titan Comics has become the place to turn for new stories featuring beloved barbarian hero Conan of Cimmeria. Now Titan is kicking off its big 2025 Conan event comic, Scourge of the Serpent, and we've got an exclusive look at the first issue.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer glimpse of Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1:
Conan: Scourge of the Serpent spins out of the pages of Titan's FCBD 2025 special. This new four-issue limited series is the first to pit Conan against the legendary snake god Set, as Set's grim plans for humanity finally come to fruition. The series is written by Conan veteran Jim Zub and illustrated by Ivan Gil (Berezina). The first issue features covers by Roberto De La Torre, John McCrea, Geof Isherwood, Matias Bergara, and Chris Stevens.
Here's Titan's official summary of the series:
Spinning out of the pages of the Free Comic Book Day Special, the new Conan epic starts here!
CONAN OF CIMMERIA has encountered Stygian sorcery and snake-sent creatures many times in his grand adventures, but he has never faced the true unspeakable power of SET... until NOW.
The serpent god's influence coils around the Hyborian Age and every other age linked to it. Three stunning supernatural stories will weave together to answer a chilling question of past and present - What is Set's grand plan for humanity and, now that it's begun, can it be stopped?
Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1 will be released on September 24, 2025. You can find preorder links to each cover below:
Game developer Artur Łączkowski has announced Bleak Haven, a new Unreal Engine 5-powered first-person survival horror game that Łączkowski says is heavily inspired by the Resident Evil series as well as The Ritual. It's a story-driven, cinematic single-player experience with puzzles, weapon crafting, and brutal combat. It's in development for PC.
Playing as Tyler, the player seeks out his missing brother after a phone location leads him to a foggy remote island where (spoiler alert) bad things happen. Combat is promised to be fast, complete with finishing moves you can perform when your enemy is sufficently weakened or surprised. Guns are limited; you'll primarily be using whatever melee weapons you can scrounge up – or craft.
Łączkowski says he hopes that Bleak Haven is the first in a series of horror games. For now, though, you can wishlist Bleak Haven on Steam if you're interested.
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.
The 2025 NBA Finals are currently underway between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, with both teams seeking their first-ever NBA championship trophy. While you can catch the games on local TV, you might be curious where to watch if you're strictly a streaming household.
One of the best options for streaming live sports is Hulu + Live TV. It combines everything from the standard Hulu subscription with a wide range of live channels, including major sporting events like the NBA Finals, along with popular entertainment and news.
Read on for details about the NBA Finals schedule, where to stream, and how to activate Hulu + Live TV’s free trial.
Upcoming NBA Finals Games Schedule
Every NBA Finals game airs exclusively on ABC, so you’ll need either access to local channels or a live TV streaming service that includes ABC in its lineup. Here's the remaining 2025 NBA Finals schedule:
Game 3: Thunder at Pacers (Wednesday, June 11 at 5:30 PM PT)
Game 4: Thunder at Pacers (Friday, June 13 at 5:30 PM PT)
Game 5: Pacers at Thunder (Monday, June 16 at 5:30 PM PT)
Game 6 (if necessary): Thunder at Pacers (Thursday, June 19 at 5:30 PM PT)
Game 7 (if necessary): Pacers at Thunder (Sunday, June 22 at 5:00 PM PT)
To get started, click the link below. After the trial ends, your subscription will automatically continue until you cancel.
How to Watch Hulu + Live TV - Available Platforms
You can enjoy Hulu + Live TV on a variety of digital platforms, including Apple TV (4th generation or newer), Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Sticks, select Roku models, Chromecast, select smart TVs from Samsung, LG, and Vizio, and popular consoles like a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S. You can also watch on mobile devices as well as Hulu's website on your PC or laptop.
Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
American rock band Alien Ant Farm have said it was a "bummer" not to be included in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 soundtrack, after their track Wish originally featured in the series' fourth game.
A selection of songs from the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Pro Skater 4 have been brought back for the remake's music playlist, such as Motörhead's Ace of Spades, but many others have not returned, and instead been replaced by new additions.
Now, Alien Ant Farm has been asked by BBC News (thanks, VGC) about a sad face emoji the band's social media account posted in response to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 soundtrack reveal, after it was confirmed the band would not be returning.
"Is it a bummer that we weren't invited, or that they didn't include us? Absolutely," said guitarist Terry Corso. "We understand that they're trying to bring some new stuff onto these releases, and if you've gotta make cuts, you've gotta make cuts. I don't know why it had to be us, I feel like our song was really good on there and it did really well."
"I kind of get it, that skating feels a little more punk [and] we're not a punk band," added lead vocalist Dryden Mitchell, "but I think that's what makes a cool soundtrack, is a collection, being different."
Reaction to the soundtrack's reveal among fans was mixed, with some celebrating the return of tracks by CKY and Iron Maiden, while others said they would miss bands such as Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Zebrahead.
Responding on Instagram, Hawk has taken personal responsibility for the remake's choice of soundtrack, and said he had deliberately decided to include an element of discovery, as players got to know new tunes as well as old favorites.
"It was my choice to pick some different songs by the same artists featured in THPS3+4 OST," Hawk said. "I'm hoping that discovery is half the fun, and a big reason that these soundtracks resonated in the first place. So listen and enjoy the ride."
With Blumhouse’s next Five Nights at Freddy's film releasing this December, there’s no better time to play through the Five Nights at Freddy’s games. Created by Scott Cawthon, the first Five Nights at Freddy's game launched back in 2014 and has since garnered an incredible fan base. The horror hit has been followed with a wide variety of sequels; from mainline games to plenty of spinoffs.
For those interested in taking on the night shift against these killer animatronics, we’ve detailed how to play each of the mainline FNAF games in both chronological and release date order below.
There are 12 main FNAF games in total, which we’ve covered below. As far as spin-offs and more challenge-based games go, though, there are 4 additional FNAF games that fall in this category. These are Five Nights at Freddy’s World, Freddy in Space 2, Security Breach: Fury’s Rage, and Ultimate Custom Night.
Which Five Nights at Freddy's Game Should You Play First?
We recommend starting with Five Nights at Freddy's, the series' first entry from 2014. It's the ideal way to familiarize yourself with the series' mechanics, as newer entries build on that original formula. It's also a safe way to begin from a narrative perspective given how convoluted the chronology has become over the last decade.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Games in Chronological Order
For those looking to play through the Five Nights at Freddy’s games in chronological order to get the full story, we’ve done our best to arrange them in story order. If you have different theories about this franchise’s order, though, share them in the comments!
1. Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic (2025)
Available on: PC, PS5
The newest FNAF game happens to be the earliest-set game in the series so far. Secret of the Mimic, from what we can gather from various hints in-game, takes place in 1979, several years before the official opening of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The Mimic was originally introduced in the Ruin DLC for Security Breach, and plenty of theories have been thrown out there about who (or what) The Mimic really is.
Secret of the Mimic dives into these questions. The player takes on the role of a Fazbear technician named Arnold who's tasked with retrieving the Edwin Murray's inventions from a particularly unsettling Costume Manor. When power goes out at the manor, Arnold begins to notice signs he may not be alone. Secret of the Mimic uses first-person view, leaning into the survival horror genre with subtle hints about the killer animatronics (and their creators) we encounter later in the series.
2. Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 (2015)
Available on: Android/IOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 takes place in 1983. This is assumed because of an easter egg during one of the post-Night minigames that can be seen by interacting with a TV in the living room. After hitting it enough times, it’ll eventually bring up a still for a commercial for a show called Fredbear and Friends, which appears to have aired in 1983, given that’s the date beneath the title.
Compared to its predecessors, though, FNAF 4 has a different setting. This time, you play as a young child in their bedroom rather than as a security guard in an office. Throughout the night, you’ll need to run from your bedroom doors to your closet (and even check behind you on your bed) for a variety of terrifying enemies, but mainly nightmare variations of the original animatronics: Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. Listen out for them and keep your flashlight close to scare them away.
3. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2014)
Available on: Android/IOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is next in a chronological playthrough and brings players to the newly-opened Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza to work the night shifts as a security guard. FNAF 2 also introduces new animatronics in the mix alongside updated versions of its classics. These new additions are The Puppet and Balloon Boy, so you’ll have more to watch out for on the cameras.
This time around, you’re also given a Freddy Fazbear head to wear in case the animatronics happen to reach your office. With it on, most of the animatronics will have a harder time recognizing you and leave, which’ll buy you some more time before the crack of dawn. You also have a music box that you need to keep wound up to keep The Puppet away. This animatronic won’t be fooled by your sneaky little fake Freddy head, so make sure to keep the music box going.
We’ve placed this game as second in line for a chronological playthrough, as it’s set in 1987. This can be assumed from the paycheck you receive at the end of Night 5, which is dated for that year.
4. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location (2016)
Available on: Android/IOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
In a departure from the previous game, and as its title may point to, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location takes place at a different spot called Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, which features its own animatronics as well. This time around, you play as a technician working night shifts with a series of tasks to complete alongside surviving the animatronics.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location is actually a bit trickier to place on the timeline, and many fans still debate when it could be set. The reason we’ve chosen this slot is because of a line HandUnit says at the beginning of the game: “Due to the massive success, and even more so, the unfortunate closing of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, it was clear that the stage was set, no pun intended, for another contender in children’s entertainment.” This line could be referencing when Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza closed down in ‘87 following FNAF 2, which is also brought up by Phone Guy in FNAF 1 during Night 1. So, for now, having Sister Location between the two seems like a good fit. Let us know your theories in the comments below, though!
5. Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014)
Available on: Android/IOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The one that started it all. Five Nights at Freddy’s was the first game that had players taking on the security guard mantle to keep watch of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza for five night shifts. Mainly, you need to keep an eye on the animatronics there: Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, and of course, Freddy Fazbear. Their behavior has become a bit unpredictable lately, and they like to roam around freely at night… just make sure they don’t roam into your office.
Alongside the cameras that need to be checked, players can also close the security doors near them if the animatronics get too close during the night. Keep in mind, though, you only have limited amounts of power to use. Once it’s gone, goodbye doors and lights!
Five Nights at Freddy’s takes place a few years later than the previously mentioned games, likely sometime in the early ‘90s. This can be assumed from Phone Guy’s dialogue during Night 1 where he says that the animatronics used to be able to walk around during the day, “but then there was the bite of ‘87.” This helps place it after FNAF 2 and before FNAF3, which we’ll get to next.
6. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit (2024)
Available on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Into the Pit, the latest game in the series, is a point-and-click adventure based on the Five Nights at Freddy's book of the same name. The story is split between two time periods: modern day and 1985.
It's uncertain where Into the Pit's modern storyline fits into the series' chronology, or if it exists within the ongoing narrative at all, though assuming it does, we're confident it takes place around the time of Five Nights at Freddy's 3. We've placed it ahead of FNaF3 given several items found in Jeff's Pizza, the setting of Into the Pit, can be found at FNaF3's Fazbear's Fright, which was said to be decorated with remains from the original restaurant, which later became Jeff's Pizza.
7. Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 (2015)
Available on: Android/IOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
According to Five Nights at Freddy’s 3’s Steam description, this game is set “Thirty years after Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closed its doors,” which would put it after the events of FNAF 1, given that’s when Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza closed for good, and, if we’re going with the early ‘90s, would set it sometime around the 2020s. It brings players into a brand new location as well… Fazbear’s Fright: The Horror Attraction. Yes, this new attraction is based on the terrifying events that happened in Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, and they even have old animatronics from it to really keep you on your toes!
Once again, you step into the shoes of a security guard keeping watch of the attraction and its “great new relics” that have been picked up. Like before, you’ll have security cameras to monitor, but this time you also have a maintenance panel to reboot systems that go offline and close off vents to prevent those creepy animatronics from crawling toward your office space.
8. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (2017)
Available on: Android/IOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
If you’re feeling tired of working security or maintenance, why not make the jump into running your own pizza place? In Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator, you get to do just that. But don’t worry, this game isn’t without its frights. You’ll still need to keep the animatronics away from you when in your office, and there’s plenty to monitor when you’re in there as well.
Not only do you have a computer near you to keep tabs on everything and complete your tasks, but you’ll need to watch the vents on both sides of you for anything that could be crawling through. However, both your computer and the vents make quite a bit of noise, so you’ll have to take turns shutting them off to hear your surroundings.
Throughout the game, you’ll salvage animatronics as well. One of these is Springtrap, whose first appearance in the series was in FNAF 3, which places this game sometime after it in a chronological playthrough.
9. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted (2019)
Available on: Android/IOS, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest, PSVR, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted was the franchise’s first step into VR - and later came out on PC and consoles. Developed by Steel Wool Studios in collaboration with Scott Cawthon, in Help Wanted you can play through a variety of mini-games that feature familiar animatronics and experiences from earlier games in the series.
But where does this game fit into the timeline? During the opening ‘Welcome’ message for the game, HandUnit states that “Fazbear Entertainment has developed something of a bad reputation over the last few decades, [...] That's why we have recreated many of these completely fictitious scenarios (lies) that you've been fed over the last several years into a hilarious VR game.” And given that Help Wanted recreates situations from previous games in the timeline up to FNAF 3 on our list, it makes sense to place it after that game and near Pizzeria Simulator.
10. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Special Delivery (2019)
Available on: IOS/Android
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Special Delivery is an Augmented Reality game that was released on mobile devices just a few months after Help Wanted. Much like how Help Wanted immersed you into FNAF in VR, Special Delivery did the same by bringing the animatronics home to you. In this game, you have to keep an eye out for them on your mobile device as they stalk around the room, utilizing a flashlight and controlled shock to stop them.
Similar to Help Wanted, Special Delivery involves its own branch of Fazbear Entertainment. Here, the Fazbear Funtime Service is what’s sending the animatronics to your house and, when it comes to the franchise’s timeline, it would make sense that they’d create something like this around the time of The Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience in Help Wanted. Given how HandUnit explains at the start of Help Wanted that, “Fazbear Entertainment is excited to join the digital age, and what better way to do that than with an edge-of-your-seat virtual reality experience,” it sounds like that was their first endeavor, and this would be their second outing into it.
11. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach (2021)
Available on: Google Stadia, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Security Breach is the second game in the franchise to be developed between both Scott and Steel Wool Studios, following Help Wanted. It’s a free-roam survival horror where you play as a young boy named Gregory who gets trapped at night in Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. Throughout the night, he’ll need to survive the various animatronics, but with a surprising helpful hand along the way.
In a chronological playthrough, this game comes in last. This can largely be taken away from the fact that Freddy Fazbear’s has now grown into a Mega Pizzaplex, but there’s also a moment in one of the endings that helps confirm that it’s set after one of the previously mentioned games. However, so as to avoid spoilers, we’ll let you uncover that ending on your own!
Available on: PlayStation 5, PC, PSVR2, Steam VR, Meta Quest
Once again developed by Steel Wool Studios in collaboration with Scott Cawthon, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 is pretty similar to its predecessor, featuring a wide variety of minigames for you to dig into. But where does this game land on the Five Nights at Freddy’s timeline?
Help Wanted 2 takes place between Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach and its DLC, RUIN. That makes it the last full game in the lore’s current timeline, but not quite the very final event. This slightly complicated placement is due to one of Help Wanted 2’s endings, in which your character becomes the Maskbot that gives the V.A.N.N.I mask to Cassie, the protagonist from the RUIN DLC. This interaction with her happens towards the start of RUIN, meaning the events of Help Wanted 2 start sometime before that DLC.
In keeping with its older sibling, Help Wanted 2 is also a VR game! It’s available on PSVR 2, Steam VR, and Meta Quest. And for those who don’t want to be fully immersed as a Fazbear employee, a flat version of the game was also released on June 20 for PlayStation 5 and PC.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Games in Release Order
If you’re interested in playing through the main Five Nights at Freddy’s games in their release order, you can find them listed as such below:
Secret of the Mimic launched on June 13. There's no official word on new Five Night's at Freddy's games in development, though we're sure they exist. In the meantime, a sequel to the Five Nights at Freddy's movie starring Josh Hutcherson is also on the way, planned for release on December 5, 2025.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
Elden Ring Nightreign Patch 1.01.3 is live now on all platforms, and while it just hits a few distinct bullet points for tuning and bug fixing, players seem appreciative of the changes that have been made.
The patch only makes one balance adjustment: "Increased the chance of obtaining weapons with the madness status ailment." Madness is a status effect that can be built up and inflicted on enemies, and can be particularly effective in some cases, as a full affliction causes enemies to take significant damage and literally make flames spill out of their eyes.
Notably, one of the pursuable Nightlords, Libra, is weak to Madness. But while this seems like a helpful upgrade for those trying to take the goat demon down, players on the r/Nightreign subreddit seem a little skeptical over how much this will change their runs.
They've noted that very few weapons have Madness effects in the first place; it's mostly incantation seals and Vyke's Spear. Plus, not every enemy can be afflicted with Madness. In fact, it seems like only a relatively small subset can be, compared to other status effects or elements.
"I got an incantation once but that's it. Hopefully this means regular weapons can sometimes roll madness on them now, even if just from madness camps," one user said. "Since you can get the same weapon with different statuses/elements of the other types already, madness shouldn't be so rare when it's mainly useful against one specific boss."
The more exciting update for most, it seems, is one of the bug fixes: "Fixed a bug where players would lose a battle after being revived from near death against a Nightlord or other Night bosses." This apparently caused some grief for players who were trying to clear a Night boss and had their revival effects kick in.
"Happened to me like 20 times," said one player. "Was like psychological horror."
Those, along with general quality-of-life updates like adjusting the Whirlwind skill effect visibility for Guardian players with a certain Relic equipped, all seem like small but meaningful tune-ups for Elden Ring Nightreign. There is one in-demand request unaddressed, though.
Players who have cleared the final boss are eagerly hoping for a fix for Shifting Earth events. For those unaware, Shifting Earth events can appear randomly and change parts of the usual Nightreign map, adding new mini-dungeons to explore and plunge for treasure. They are part of getting the trophies for Elden Ring Nightreign, and manydifferentpeople in the thread and on otherthreads have expressed frustration with how they can become exceedingly rare after clearing the game.
So while there are still aspects Elden Ring Nightreign players would like to see addressed, this patch at least managed to hit a couple quality-of-life fixes that should make Nightfarer's expeditions a little easier.
More content is expected soon too, as FromSoftware has cryptically teased that "enhanced" versions of its current Nightlord roster are expected to arrive sometime this month.
Elden Ring Nightreign – Patch Notes Version 1.01.3
General balance adjustments
Increased the chance of obtaining weapons with the madness status ailment.
Bug Fixes
Adjusted the Whirlwind skill effect visibility when the Relic Effect “[Guardian] Increased duration for Character Skill” is active.
Fixed a bug where the Demon Merchant would spawn near the Night's Tide when the Demon Merchant curse event was encountered.
Fixed a bug where damage dealt to some enemies when destroying weak points created by Ironeye’s "Marking" skill was higher or lower than expected.
Fixed a bug where the Lightning Damage received from enemies would be nullified when affected by the Passive Effect "Power of the Great Ancient Dragon" of the "Bolt of Gransax" weapon.
Fixed a bug where the Ultimate Art gauge was filled more than expected when attacking some enemies.
Fixed a bug where the Relic Effect “Switching Weapons Adds an Affinity Attack” did not properly reflect the attribute when applied to Bows and Crossbows.
Fixed a bug where the amount of Runes needed to purchase Uncommon weapons from merchants incorrectly calculated.
Fixed a bug where players would lose a battle after being revived from near death against a Nightlord or other Night bosses.
Fixed a bug in some Multiplayer battles against a Nightlord where the camera would not display at the correct angle when not targeting an enemy.
Fixed a bug where lingering character phantoms did not appear in Limveld.
Added staff information in the game’s credit.
Steam-only adjustments
Fixed a bug where the game might freeze momentarily or for an extended period in some environments.
I really admire the retro throwbacks Atari is doing these days, whether it’s something like Wayforward’s utterly gorgeous and charming Yars Rising or the underrated Lunar Lander Beyond. These games imagine the world around the Atari originals that inspired them, using them to build a base for a new game while celebrating what came before. It’s a neat idea, and something I wish other publishers would learn from. Needless to say, when I got an invite to sit down with their latest retro revival, I took it, even if I didn’t know what it was.
What I got was Adventure of Samsara, a new take on the Atari classic Adventure on the Atari 2600. Adventure was before my time, but it’s remarkable to go back to because of how simple it is. That doesn’t mean it’s not interesting, though. Seriously, go look up a playthrough of Adventure if you’re unfamiliar; it’s amazing what you can convey with very simple graphics and a little imagination on the part of the player.
That’s not what Adventure of Samsara is, though. This game is stunning, with simple yet evocative pixel art that is some of the most visually striking I’ve ever seen; I didn’t appreciate how much it captured the visual vibe of the original game until after I went back and saw it, but once you’ve seen them both, it’s easy to see how Adventure of Samsara understands its visual roots. My demo started with a beam of light striking a planet, resurrecting a fallen hero, and covering him in golden armor. The first thing I had to do was help a guy named Ombro out of a cage. “But Will,” you might be wondering, “how do you translate a game like Adventure into the modern era?” Well, dear reader, I’m glad you asked. The answer, of course, is that you make it a metroidvania with soulslike elements (resting at golden anvils restores your healing flasks and respawns enemies). I know, I know, but hear me out. This actually works pretty well.
This game is stunning, with simple yet evocative pixel art that is some of the most visually striking I’ve ever seen.
See, the original Adventure was about navigating a world and finding the way forward, whether that meant solving a maze, finding a key to open a locked door, or bringing the right thing to the right place. There was a good deal of backtracking and learning how to navigate your environment. Sounds like a metroidvania, right? Well, 45 years later, here we are.
Anyway, I had to get my guy Ombro out of his cage, but I didn’t have a sword. So I went into a shining room behind me (Ombro was basically like, “Hey, check out that room back there”), grabbed a sword and shield, and came back. And in between, I got my first taste of Adventure of Samsara’s combat. I wouldn’t call it slow, but it is deliberate. Moving, jumping, dodging, and swinging your sword are weighty experiences, and once you commit to an action, you’re going to be stuck doing it until you finish. When you’re in combat, you want to make sure you’re doing the right thing.
Adventure of Samsara also has a parry, but again, this animation is pretty long, so if you attempt a parry at the wrong time, you’re going to get hit. Get it right, though, and you’ll be treated to one of the most satisfying parries you’ve ever seen, as the Solar Champion (that’s you) uses their sword to knock your opponent back before bringing your own sword down in a giant arc that deals massive damage to stronger foes and kills your basic mooks in one shot.
Once I’d used my fancy new sword to bust Ombro out, he told me that our people, the Orphics, were under attack by Necromancers. No biggie, just a regular Tuesday. Sounds like a Solar Champion problem, so I set out for the nearby village.
As you might expect, this is where I spent most of my time with Adventures of Samarar’s demo. Aside from the combat, which kept me on my toes because of how deliberate each choice was, I was mostly jumping from ledge to ledge (holding on is something you can do manually, which allows you to do some more complex platforming), finding new ways to get to places, and discovering hidden secrets, such as Data Cubes (think pixely murals) that referenced the original Adventure. At one point, I had to help Potisto, the Orphic Crypt Keeper, who was also in a cage (noticing a pattern here?) get a Spoiled Elixir, which meant finding it in a nearby chest. Once I did, he gave me a key to the next area.
I was mostly jumping from ledge to ledge, finding new ways to get to places, and discovering hidden secrets.
Shortly after that, I fought my first boss. The Fleshless Giant was a good test because I couldn’t just rely on my parry to beat him. I could parry two of his three attacks (the third was a magic spell I had to avoid), but only parrying one of those actually did damage. Parrying the other let me avoid damage, but knocked me backwards. The trick was finding spacing where I could avoid that attack and set myself up to parry the other one. It wasn’t a complicated fight, but finding the right spacing felt good. And better yet, I didn’t have to play it that way. I could have just dodged and whacked away at him. I just wanted to try it.
Once the big fella went down, I got to get down to the whole “finding the Orphic Village” thing, so I went exploring. I found an ability that let me manipulate a ball of fire to light hi-tech torches (that’s one of the fun things about Adventure of Samsara; you wield a sword, but there are automated metal doors and elevators scattered around) and burn away overgrown plants. I got spells that let me push enemies away and teleport back to the last golden anvil I used. And I ran into more enemies. Spiders that ran into me instead of attacking, so I couldn’t parry them! Flying dudes I had to jump to deal with! These really annoying ground worm things that spat poison! No matter what new thing I got, I had to stay on my toes.
I did eventually find the Orphic Village, and met more Orphics. I only saw an early segment, but I did come to appreciate Adventure of Samsara’s writing as I played it. Each character speaks with a unique voice, and you’d never mistake one of them for the others. Whether I was learning about the Orphic’s sacred tree that I could help nourish to upgrade my flasks (I see you, video game mechanics), learning about the Blacksmith’s lost friend, or just getting the key to the next area, exploring the town was interesting. Other Orphics even made jokes about how I was the strong, silent type. It’s just nice when people really see you, you know?
But maybe the most interesting thing in my demo happened at the end. After I left the village, I ran into what appeared to be an astronaut with a jetpack fighting a dragon that looked suspiciously like one of the ones from Adventure, just… you know, way more detailed. I got a couple of hits in to help out, but we didn’t get him. He vanished, and the jetpack astronaut warned me that he (and the dragon) was from another world. They weren’t supposed to be here. I needed to be wary of ambushes. My demo ended shortly thereafter, but I had no shortage of questions, and that’s where you want to be when a preview wraps up.
Bringing a 45-year-old game into the present era is a challenge. I’ve just scratched the surface of what Adventure of Samsara has to offer, but it feels like it’s doing a good job of staying true to Adventure while guiding it into a new era. I knew nothing about it going in, but I came out fascinated by both the original game and this spiritual successor (and if this sounds cool to you, there is a demo on Steam right now). But that’s the magic trick of a game like this, right? You’re always torn between the present and the future, balancing what you’re seeing with what comes next, wondering what's around the next corner. The only thing left to do now is see if developer Ilex Games and Atari can hold onto that feeling for an entire adventure.
In the early 2000s, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean introduced moviegoers to one of the decade’s most iconic film characters: Johhny Depp’s quick-witted pirate lord, Captain Jack Sparrow. On the back of Depp’s performances, the quintet of swashbuckling adventures earned $4.5 billion USD at the worldwide box office — good for a spot among the most-lucrative film franchises of all time.
Ahead of the planned Pirates of the Caribbean 6, we’ve created a guide to help you navigate the series’ story for all of the movies. Scroll down to find out how to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean films in order, by narrative chronologically or release date.
How Many Pirates of the Caribbean Movies Are There?
There are five feature-length Pirates of the Caribbean movies and one short film. Several other Pirates stories have been told through novels, comics, and video games. However, this list exclusively covers the film series.
Where to Stream Pirates of the Caribbean
All of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are streaming on Disney+, which starts at $9.99 as a standalone subscription and can also be bundled with Hulu, Max, and ESPN+. If you're not interested in another streaming subscripion, the Pirates movies are also available as physical releases.
Pirates of the Caribbean in Chronological Order
These blurbs contain mild spoilers, including characters, settings, and broad plot points.
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code – Wedlocked (2011)
Released between the fourth and fifth movies as part of a Pirates Blu-ray/DVD box set, Tales of the Code – Wedlocked is a short film set before The Curse of the Black Pearl. Vanessa Branch and Lauren Maher reprise their roles as Giselle and Scarlett for the short, which centers around the two women both believing themselves to be betrothed to Jack Sparrow. Alas, they were fooled, and the duo becomes the object of a rowdy auction.
It's not essential to the wider chronology, though if you're looking for the complete Pirates experience, it's an easy watch with a 10-minute runtime.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
From this point on, the release date and narrative chronologies of the Pirates movies align. The Curse of the Black Pearl, the series’ first movie, takes viewers back to the early 18th century during the Golden Age of Piracy. The debut film introduces us to the series' main characters: Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), and Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).
A young Will Turner is rescued from a shipwreck with a gold medallion around his neck. The medallion is linked to a curse that afflicts the pirate crew of Jack Sparrow's former ship, the Black Pearl, with tortured immortality. The crew is now led by the mutinous Captain Barbossa.
Will and Jack set aside their differences to rescue Elizabeth Swann, who was taken by Barbossa along with the medallion. Jack’s allegiance flip-flops and then flips again. The trio survives the encounter and ultimately lifts the curse, though the movie ends with Jack wanted for piracy.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
Jack, Will, and Elizabeth return for another seafaring adventure in Dead Man’s Chest. The series’ second movie introduces Naomie Harris’s priestess Tia Dalma, Stellan Skarsgard’s Bill Turner (Will’s father), Tom Hollander’s Cutler Beckett, and Bill Nighy’s Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman ghost ship.
Jack, Will, Elizabeth, and James Norrington (Jack Davenport) all, with different motivations, set out to find the Dead Man’s Chest and Davy Jones’s heart within: Will seeks freedom from the law and for his father; Elizabeth seeks freedom for herself and Will; Jack seeks to escape his debt to Davy Jones; and James seeks to have his status as a navy officer restored.
Swashbuckling and backstabbing once again ensue, and only one escapes with Davy Jones’s heart, granting them control of Jones and therefore the seas. As for Captain Jack, he ends Dead Man’s Chest dragged to the depths of the sea by the Kraken. Tia Dalma, meanwhile, resurrects a familiar foe from Black Pearl to lead the rescue mission for Jack.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
The third Pirates movie is an action-packed adventure that pits the franchise’s heroes against Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman, now controlled by Cutler Beckett. The heroes first team up to rescue Jack from Davy Jones’s Locker and recover the Black Pearl. After doing so, the crew’s varying motivations lead to the usual plotting and backstabbing. Along the way, we discover Tia’s true identity and meet Jack’s father, the pirate captain Edward Teague (Keith Richards).
By the end, Elizabeth comes into power, Will and Jack defeat Davy Jones, and a new captain takes control of the Flying Dutchman. A pregnant Elizabeth and Will part ways, while Jack and the revived Hector Barbossa set out separately to discover the Fountain of Youth.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
On Stranger Tides is the first Pirates film without Will/Orlando Bloom and Elizabeth/Keira Knightley. Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz stepped into the vacant supporting roles as the father-daughter duo Angelica and Blackbeard — the former being an ex-lover of Jack Sparrow.
The film’s overarching plot is a race to discover the Fountain of Youth between the English, Spanish, and multiple pirate crews. A treasure hunt involving secret maps, Mermaid tears, and the ship of renowned Spanish explorer Ponce de León ultimately leads each party to the Fountain. Barbossa settles an old score with Blackbeard and Jack uses the last of the Fountain’s power to save an ally.
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
The most recent Pirates film sees the return of Jack and Barbossa alongside Henry Turner (the now-grown son of Elizabeth and Will, played by Brenton Thwaites) and a new antagonist in Javier Bardem’s undead pirate-hunter Armando Salazar. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley reprise their respective roles as Will and Elizabeth for cameo appearances.
Dead Men Tell No Tales features another treasure hunt, the object of which is the Trident of Poseidon. Henry seeks the Trident to free his father from a curse and teams up with Jack and newcomer Carina (Kaya Scodelario) to do so. The trio, eventually with the help of Barbossa, must overcome Salazar’s opposition. One of these four heroes dies along the way. Jack takes his rightful place back aboard the Black Pearl and the other surviving heroes enjoy a family reunion.
A post-credits scene then sets up the return of Davy Jones.
There have been two future Pirates of the Caribbean movies in discussion: the sixth mainline movie and a Margot Robbie-led spinoff. Unfortunately, the Margot Robbie project seems to be dead in the water, but a sixth Pirates movie is certainly on the way.
The next mainline movie was expected to be a proper reboot, though franchise star Johnny Depp is once again said to be in the mix, so we'll have to wait and see about the actor's potential involvement and its impact on the film's direction. According to a Variety report published in December, two versions of the script are being developed, "one that could bring Depp back into the fold if the actor and Disney can reconcile."
Franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer seemed to confirm at least some of the returning cast, with Orlando Bloom saying in an interview earlier this month that "I think they're trying to work out what it would all look like... I personally think it'd be great to get the band back together."
Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.
While frequent sell-outs and scalping are still regular problems in the Pokémon TCG Community, Walmart is seemingly trying to find a way around by making early access to the White Flare & Black Bolt sets only available by having a paid Walmart+ membership.
Preorders for a variety of the usual TCG products for White Flare and Black Bolt, including Elite Trainer Boxes, Poster Collection Boxes, and Booster Bundles, will go live on June 18 at 9 PM ET. For the first three, however, only paid Walmart+ members will be able to place preorders while stocks last.
Then, if any are left, non-Walmart+ shoppers are able to buy from the set themselves. While the Walmart+ hub page does state there's a 30-day trial available, each early-access item's product page, like the $60 Black Bolt Trainer Box, also mentions that only paid members are eligible to purchase preorders during those early hours.
Standard Walmart+ memberships are available for $12.95 per month, or $98 annually, which equates to $8.17 per month instead.
While it is a pain that you have to subscribe to a service just for a better guarantee you'll get a preorder in, Walmart+ does have added benefits too, including free delivery without minimums, a free Paramount+ membership, savings on fuel and Burger King, free tire repair, free pharmacy delivery, and more.
The annoying part of the Walmart+ subscription process, if you want to buy early access items right away, is that you're only given the initial option to claim the 30-day trial. However, you can get around this by starting your free trial, cancelling it, and resubscribing for paid access.
If you're a student or college graduate, then you're in luck, because you can get a membership at 50% off, $6.49 a month, or $49 for a year, with all of the same benefits as a standard subscription. As part of the verification process, previous student emails should qualify you.
If you're also a previous member of Walmart+, we've seen reports of users getting a limited-time offer that you can rejoin for just $1, making getting early pre-order access to White Flare and Black Bolt, with all of those other bonuses a great steal.
Our Black Bolt & White Flare preorder guide for Pokemon TCG players also notes that the sets have been popping up at other retailers like Amazon and Best Buy as well. Stock won't always be available, but it's a good page to bookmark for when you want to click through to each product page quickly on the fly.
Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.
All You Need Is Kill will open in theaters at a date TBD. This review is based on a screening at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Hiroshi Sakurazaka and Yoshioshi Abe's light novel All You Need Is Kill has previously provided the basis for a manga andthe Tom Cruise-Emily Blunt movie Edge of Tomorrow. Now Ken’ichirô Akimoto makes his feature directorial debut with a new version that gives the “live, die, repeat” story the visual splendor only animation can provide. It also gives its main character an emotional arc unlike that of any other previous take on the story.
From the get-go, this All You Need Is Kill presents itself as a very different adaptation. There is no world on fire, no squadron of elite soldiers fighting alien creatures. Rather, it's a movie made for the post-COVID world, where the arrival of a massive alien plant, thereafter known as Darol, causes havoc when it spreads its roots across Earth, emitting electromagnetic surges that plunge the world into chaos. One year later, on the anniversary of this historic event, most of humanity has simply learned to ignore the giant alien flower and go about their day as usual.
Except, on this day, things are different. We follow Rita (a different take on the character played by Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow), a young, ordinary woman working in a huge complex designed to study Darol. When thousands of creatures suddenly sprout from the plant’s giant stalk, Rita is killed instantly – only to wake up and relive the events of the anniversary day. Then she’s killed again, and the same thing happens. And so on, and so on.
This change ups the stakes of All You Need Is Kill. Rita desperately tries to warn her co-workers of their impending doom, but nobody listens because nothing bad has happened during the year they’ve lived with Darol. The editing, which contrasts Rita's constant deaths with the screams of nearby scientists and the eventual quiet of the cafeteria where Rita always wakes up, is striking.
Despite this being his first time directing a feature, Akimoto commands the screen, leading the team at Studio 4°C through a stunning, cell-shaded movie full of vibrant colors and dazzling POV shots. Even though the story is quite small-scale and intimate – since we’re only viewing it through Rita’s attempts to stop her time loop – the animation gives All You Needs Is Kill a sense of scope. Even when she meets a fellow time-looper, Kenji, the action remains focused on the two of them rather than whole armies battling it out. Adding to the unique look are the mechanical suits the characters wear, with elongated limbs that give them a Digimon-like appearance.
But Rita's story is the heart of this adaptation. She’s our eyes into the alien attack, and it ends rather quickly. As she learns to improve her fighting skills, the focus is entirely on her experience and how her loneliness in the time loop reflects what she'd been feeling for years before Darol landed on Earth. This is the first time any version of All You Need Is Kill has focused on Rita's perspective, and as it dives into her existential isolation, it finds a rather moving tale about seeking meaning in chaos and trying to move forward from tragedy.
All You Need Is Kill feels like a big, cinematic roguelike.
Not that there isn't action: Akimoto and team double down on the video game vibes of the source material. Indeed, it feels like a big, cinematic roguelike in which Rita both trains to be better at using certain weapons and has to memorize every movement of her enemy, each new loop bringing her an inch closer to her objective. The fighting itself is dynamic, the movements fluid.
And yet, All You Need Is Kill stumbles hard in the third act, to the point where the whole movie is nearly derailed. The story leaps forward too far and too hard, and in the blink of an eye delivers its climax minus much build up and plus some odd, unexpected plot twists. Worse yet, its attempts to veer off from any previous ending of All You Need Is Kill renders Rita – who’s been our entrypoint into this saga all the way up to now – a passive observer. Thankfully, there's still plenty to enjoy and marvel at before that ending. Maybe it’s just best to declare game over once you make it to the final boss fight.
Dune 3 has reportedly cast two roles that will come as no surprise to fans of Frank Herbert’s sprawling science fiction book series, but their confirmation veers into potential spoiler territory for others.
Warning! Potential spoilers for Dune 3 follow.
According to Deadline, Jason Momoa’s son, Nakoa-Wolf Momoa, and Silo‘s Ida Brooke are set to play Leto II and Ghanima, the twin offspring of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya). Legendary declined to comment.
In the Dune books, Leto II and Ghanima were born on Arrakis 12 years after Paul’s ascension to the role of Emperor. Neither child knows their mother, Chani, who at the end of Dune: Part Two is seen ditching Paul after he makes his intention to marry Princess Irulan and cement his claim to the throne clear.
We know that Dune 3 is set to tell the story of the second book, Dune Messiah, which itself is set 12 years after the events of the first book. For Dune 3, that means picking things up amid Paul's devastating jihad, which has conquered the universe. However, what is unclear is how director Denis Villeneuve will handle Leto II and Ghanima's childhood in the third film in the trilogy.
Leto II was named after his paternal grandfather, Duke Leto Atreides (who was murdered on Arrakis by Harkonnen and Sardaukar forces during the events of the first book and film). Leto II goes on to become God Emperor and, well, all sorts of weird things happen. It’s worth noting that in the books, both twins were pre-born, which means they have centuries of ancestral knowledge in the womb, and inherit Paul’s powers.
The casting news comes just a few months after Jason Momoa himself confirmed his return for Dune 3. In 2021’s Dune, Momoa played Duncan Idaho, swordmaster and mentor to Paul. His character dies following the Harkonnen invasion of Arrakis, and does not appear in Dune: Part Two.
However, in the Dune novels, specifically 1969's Dune Messiah, Duncan Idaho returns in clone form (a ghola) as a gift to Paul, now the Emperor. Dune Messiah is the basis of Villeneuve’s Dune 3, so it makes sense that Momoa would return to play the character.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Indiana Jones once famously declared that objects of public importance and history belong in a museum, but what do you do when they don’t? In the case of Relooted, you can put Indy’s mentality to the test by reclaiming relics of sub-Saharan Africa back for their homelands in this sleek and fascinating 2D heist title.
Relooted puts the player in control of a team of Robin Hood-like thieves that have dedicated their talents to the cause of reuniting items of cultural significance with their home countries. The group gets together upon discovering that a museum is hiding their ownership of multiple antiques in a vault, not even providing a reasoning of public education, but opening them up to having nowhere to report a theft.
“Ironically, this idea started when my mother visited the British Museum,” states Nyamakop Creative Director Ben Myres. “We met up later and she was wild with rage talking about this one element where the whole front of a temple from the south of Turkey was literally moved to the museum. She said, ‘You should make this into a game.’”
The developers wanted to ensure that Relooted uses only real-world examples of items countries have been trying to reclaim.
Myres thought about the mechanics of stealing a building from a museum and work on Relooted began. A year after, Marvel’s Black Panther released in theaters, and provoked a conversation about the idea of reclaiming a country’s history from elsewhere through less official means.
Nyamakop brought on full-time researchers and 3D modelers for all of the very real artifacts in the game that had been stolen from Africa. The developers wanted to ensure that Relooted uses only real-world examples of items countries have been trying to reclaim.
“We were never worried about not having enough relices,” Myres explains, “but rather which ones are we not going to be able to fit in?”
In the demo that I played, the group hatches a plan to visit the “House of Horrors,” a mansion that contains the body of Ethiopian Prince Alemayehu, who died while in England 150 years ago and has never been returned home. After a briefing at the base, it is explained that the priority is getting the remains out of the mansion and grabbing some optional items on the way out. This is where the planning aspect of Relooted begins.
Each level is a series of different rooms that have their own entrances and exits and potential hazards to blocking your way out, like shutters that threaten to close as soon as the alarm goes out. Before the heist begins, players decide where and how the team should be distributed: should you put the acrobat with the hookshot on the roof to aid you in rappelling down? In theory, the hacker locksmith should go where you suspect a security door will close, right?
There are indeed wrong choices, but there could also be off-the-wall decisions that may facilitate the retreat in ways not explicitly intended.
If the player put items under the shutters prior to the escape, there should still be a gap to free-run under them when it's time to get out.
Once the player grabs one of the artifacts, the alarm goes off and the escape begins, surfacing a timer in which you can get the other items and get to the getaway vehicle at the far end of the stage. Here is where all your planning comes to fruition; if the player put items under the shutters, there should still be a gap to free-run under them. That is, of course, assuming you placed items that your character can move through. A safe is a big, bulky item but it does not do much good if it is still closed and locked.
The level ends as the player makes their way into the van, with promises of many more capers to come. The story promises to expand with not only interesting new heists, but BioWare-style choices along the way to shape the story. I came away from Relooted feeling like it is one of the freshest, most interesting games at Summer Games Fest and I cannot wait to play the full title.
Nintendo has revealed new Donkey Kong Bananza gameplay details in today's Nintendo Direct, which has also confirmed that Super Mario Odyssey's Pauline will be your sidekick character in the game.
Here, Pauline can use her singing talents to temporarily transform DK into several new forms — a charging zebra, or a flying ostrich that can drop egg bombs. Pauline can also be controlled by a second player, turning Bananza into a co-op experience where Pauline's vocals become explosive blasts, which can be aimed via the Joy-Con's mouse controls to help DK with his destruction.
Using GameShare, this co-op offering can be played on multiple local Switch consoles — including Switch 1 — without your co-op partner needing a copy of the game themselves.
Other new gameplay features confirmed today included the ability to skate around on pieces of the environment that DK has torn out of the ground, and even stick them together to form new structures such as bridges. And then there's DK Artist, a mode that lets you get creative with Bananza's destruction effects, and carve your own statues out of stone.
Eagle-eyed viewers will likely have spotted returning classic characters Cranky Kong and Rambi the Rhino, but did you also spot Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong? They're included, though what their roles will be remains uncertain.
Speaking of other familiar elements, today's Nintendo Direct also featured a fresh version of the iconic DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64 that's set to feature in Bananza. (Here's hoping composer Grant Kirkhope is credited for this version, after previously complaining he had been left out of the Super Mario Movie credits.)
And speaking of credits, one notable omission from the Nintendo Direct was any confirmation as to which Nintendo development team is behind Donkey Kong Bananza. Fans had previously speculated that the game is the work of the company's talented Super Mario Odyssey crew. Whether Pauline's reappearance here is another clue remains to be seen.
Accompanying the game, Nintendo also announced a new Donkey Kong Bananza amiibo figure featuring DK and Pauline. This will be available alongside the game and grants a costume for Pauline earlier than you'd otherwise unlock it. All other amiibo figures are also compatible, and will spawn helpful pieces of terrain material.
"Bananza is on track to be one of the most gorgeous Nintendo games I’ve seen," IGN wrote in our Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on preview. "It really does take advantage of Switch 2's hardware – the environments are beautiful and DK’s animations are wonderfully expressive, and I left feeling like the next generation of first-party Nintendo games had truly arrived."
Donkey Kong Bananza launches July 17, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
It feels like a lifetime ago since the Trump Administration announced sweeping tariffs on global trading partners before abruptly pausing them for nearly every country. While the tariff situation may be confusing for many as it seems to change frequently, the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" are on pause until July 8, with the significantly higher tariffs against China on pause until August 12.
While it’s still unclear how the final tariff policy will shake out, one thing seems certain: prices are likely to rise. So if you’ve been eyeing a new controller, headset, or other gaming gear, now may be the best time to buy. To help you make the most of the current prices, we’ve rounded up eight essential accessories to consider before all of the tariffs return in full force.
Gaming Headsets
If you enjoy playing online multiplayer with friends, you're going to need a proper gaming headset to communicate. Picking out the best gaming headset depends on a variety of factors, including sound quality, comfort, weight, and available connectivity features.
You'll also want to decide whether wireless or wired headsets better suits your setup. Wireless headsets are more convenient and often double as Bluetooth headphones for your phone, but they do require regular recharging based on their battery life.
It's worth noting that most major gaming accessory brands like SteelSeries, Razer, and HyperX manufacture their gaming headphones in China, which is likely to be hit the hardest by tariffs if things don't change.
Fortunately, there are still plenty of excellent controllers available at or below their suggested retail prices. Whether you're shopping for a great PS5 controller, Xbox controller, Nintendo Switch controller, or PC controller, there's an endless stream of options that cater to every player.
Gaming Chairs
A good gaming chair is often one of the most overlooked accessories for gaming. But for extended gaming sessions, having a comfortable space to park your rear is essential. Finding the best gaming chair often comes down to comfort, size, and type of materials used. Oh, and aesthetic, of course. Some people prefer a sleek, unobtrusive chair, while others may opt for something that screams "I'm a gamer!" to everyone on their Zoom call.
Like many products on this list, gaming chairs are often manufactured and assembled in China, so chances are likely that the prices will only go up if you wait. Secretlab, for example, is likely to be heavily affected by tariffs on goods manufactured in China.
Gaming Monitors
If you spend most of your time at a desk, whether for PC gaming or work, it's worth investing in a good monitor. After all, you can't do much on your computer if you can't see it clearly. The best gaming monitors feature high-resolutions, fast refresh rates for smooth performance, and adjustable stands. Some monitors even feature ultrawide or curved displays to further immerse you in your content.
Most gaming monitors are made in China, although some manufacturers have shifted production to Vietnam or Mexico in recent years. Either way, if you've been thinking about upgrading, now is a great time—monitor prices have dropped considerably in recent years, but that could change quickly when tariffs return.
Gaming Keyboards
Gaming keyboards come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you prefer a full-size keyboard with a number pad or want a tenkeyless mini design to free up desk space, there's a lot to consider when picking out the best gaming keyboards.
One of the most important factors is the type of switches it uses. Mechanical switches are a popular choice for gamers, offering a satisfying, tactile feel when pressed. Some switches are clicky and loud, while others—like linear switches—are smooth and quiet, ideal for fast-paced gaming or shared spaces.
The vast majority of gaming keyboards are manufactured in China, so there's very little to find outside of some niche brands or custom kits. If you're looking to upgrade your current keyboard, you'll likely want to do that before the tariffs resume to get the best price.
Gaming Mice
If your current gaming mouse isn't cutting it, then it's probably time to upgrade. Some of the best gaming mice available today feature lightweight designs, additional buttons, and comfortable ergonomics.
Different mice excel in different games, though. If you're into competitive shooters where quick reflexes are key, then you'll want to grab a lightweight wireless mouse to stay ahead of the competition. For MMO players, wired mice with extra buttons will allow you to bind your hotbar to physical buttons and never worry about running out of juice in the middle of a raid.
Most gaming mice are manufactured in China, although many Corsair and Logitech products are made in Taiwan, which will likely have lower tariffs overall. It's best not to wait too long, though, as prices are likely to go up across the board, with some brands more than others.
Microphones
Whether you're streaming on Twitch, recording a podcast, or just chatting with friends on Discord, a good microphone can make a big difference. Many of the best microphones typically offer much better clarity and range than the built-in mics on most gaming headsets, helping your voice come through louder and cleaner.
Even if you're not creating content, upgrading to a standalone microphone can elevate your audio quality during gameplay or calls. While microphones are manufactured all around the world, many of them come from China and may be subject to upcoming tariffs. Brands like RODE and Elgato, which produce hardware in other countries, could be less affected. But, it's worth locking in prices now while they are potentially at their lowest.
Soundbars
Soundbars are one of the easiest ways to upgrade your home entertainment setup, delivering dramatically better audio than your TV’s built-in speakers. Whether you're watching movies or diving into a new game, the best soundbars can enhance the experience with rich sound and features like Dolby Atmos, wireless subwoofers, and smart connectivity options like Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay, or Google Chromecast.
Like microphones, soundbars are manufactured all around the world. While many come from China, brands like Sonos, Bose, Samsung, and Klipsch have manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico, and other parts of Asia, so the impact of tariffs may vary by company.
Amazon Prime Day Is the Final Major Sale Before Tariffs Resume
One of the biggest shopping events of the year, Amazon Prime Day, is right around the corner. Amazon has confirmed that Prime Day 2025 will take place between July 8 and July 11. Aside from Black Friday, this is the biggest sale opportunity of the year, and just so happens to take place right before the increased tariffs against China resume in August. If you've had your eye on any of the gaming accessories above (or any products, really) then Prime Day may be your last chance to score some deals on gear for the foreseeable future.
Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
With action-packed gunplay, an innumerable quantity of badass guns to loot, and some of the most crass humor in gaming, the Borderlands games have held a special place in my heart since way back in 2009. But it’s also a series that practically invented the looter shooter genre, then saw itself fall behind the curve as a renaissance of RPG-infused multiplayer shooters dominated the space. With Borderlands 4, the team at Gearbox seems eager to take some big swings in hopes of reclaiming the throne of firearms and shell casings they themselves built, and whether it’s the greatly improved shooting mechanics, an interesting revamp to RPG mechanics, an entirely fresh setting, a slew of new characters, or a more grounded tone in its story, the handful of hours I played left me fairly confident that I will find myself pulled back into this wonderfully weird world of psychopaths and extremely irritating robots.
I Need Guns
There’s a whole heck of a lot of novel things Borderlands 4 tries, but the first thing that immediately jumped out at me was the focus on movement. I counted no fewer than five additional ways to keep your vault hunter in motion while hunting for treasure and blasting wild animals, including double jumping, gliding through the air, dashing from side to side, pulling yourself around with a grappling hook, and even swimming – which is especially great, because dying every time one of my toes got wet was always pretty annoying in the previous games. Each of these traversal options added an interesting dimension to navigating arenas while sniping mercenaries and lobbing explosives in the faces of the local fauna, and also went a long way to speeding up how quickly I could close distance between me and the baddies in my path. That was a welcome change, because I’d always found myself frustrated by how slowly I move in old Borderlands entries. If there’s anything worrisome about all these extra ways to get around, it’s that there are so many of them I often forgot to use them. Being able to double jump, glide, and grapple hook across a room all in the same motion honestly feels like too much power, at least in the hands of a rookie like me who only had a few hours to familiarize myself with it all. By the end of the demo, though, I felt a lot better about my ability to keep myself in motion while bringing my arsenal to bear upon swarms of monsters, but it definitely feels like it’ll take some getting used to.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Borderlands game without the promise of a bottomless cache of weapons to discover, each designed to inject a little anarchy into combat. While I only got a small sampling of what’s in store, there honestly weren’t a ton of things I wasn’t expecting, even with the additional weapon manufacturers introducing some new stufft. One of the new gunmakers, Ripper, seem to have a lot in common with the COV weapons from Borderlands 3, as they need to spin up before they can be fired, but then pile on a heaping helping of lead into enemies, while Daedelus reminded me a lot of the Dahl weapons that offer multiple ammo types to switch between. The only distinct new type I got to try out was called The Order, which have an alternate firing mode – like a pistol I found that could create gravity wells instead of shooting normal bullets. Most of what I played was from pretty early in the campaign, and I only found a single legendary weapon during my travels, so it’s fairly likely there are more surprises I haven’t seen, but at least on the surface I wasn’t too shocked with what I found in that regard.
Get Built
What seems significantly more distinct are the new buildcrafting options, including a healing item, called a Repkit, that can be used in addition to the usual pickups you find in chests and pick off the sorry corpses of slain foes. These add an interesting dimension to defining your build, as you could just play it safe and equip the item that offers the most healing with the shortest cooldown, but bolder vault hunters might instead favor one that intentionally offers lesser healing benefits to instead grant some other effect every time the item is used. For example, I found one that caused a large explosion of cryo to explode around me whenever I used it, versus another that restored significantly more health and could be used twice before it needed to be cooled down.h Depending on how risky you want to play it, or the specific strategy behind your build, I could see this opening up a lot of doors for clever min-maxers to do some pretty fun stuff.
Each Borderlands has a different roster of vault hunters to play, and this entry is no different. I got the chance to try out Vex, the magical siren whose main focus (at least with my setup) was in summoning NPC companions to help me fight off mobs, and Rafa, a soldier who had a bunch of high-tech gadgets to unload onto anyone stupid enough to get in his way – including some melee blades that made short work of anyone within arm’s reach, or some shoulder-mounted cannons that automatically helped me lather folks in lead. It’s al ways hard to tell just how awesome each of these bonafide badasses is going to be after just a few hours, but I was already very much heartened by the number of interesting options to pick from, and I already felt myself transforming into an armed-to-the-teeth instrument of death, even as low-leveled as I was. Also, some of the perks I saw on those trees looked downright spicy, like the ability to disconnect Rafa’s shoulder-mounted turrets to convert them into a stationary battle station, so consider me pretty hyped to try out a late-game build.
Story Time
Another interesting change coming with Borderlands 4 is the new, clearly darker setting and story. Taking place on a new world called Kairos, the world has been dominated by an oppressive, immortal being known as the Timekeeper, who controls the population using cybernetic implants. But naturally, the actions of the vault keepers in recent Borderlands entries (which I won’t spoil here) has ruined the perfect, unjust order on Kairos, throwing the place into chaos, and opening the door for you and your friends to shoot everything in the face and score some sweet new loot. Noice.
The change in tone is pretty clear, and even though you’ve still got the usual cheeky characters, sexual innuendos, and over-the-top gore, there’s also quite a bit of darkness and the beginnings of what seems to be a significantly more grounded story in play, which will hopefully wash away some of the shallowness found in Borderlands 3 – specifically where the antagonists are concerned. It’s also worth noting the intentional shift away from Pandora to focus on this new world. This, combined with the fact that a lot of the cast is entirely new (at least in the sections I played), makes things feel a bit like a soft reboot that gives a fresh start to tell new stories compared to prior games that have mostly leaned pretty heavily on the locations and characters established in their predecessors.
Borderlands 4 feels a bit like a soft reboot that gives a fresh start to tell new stories compared to prior games that have mostly leaned pretty heavily on the locations and characters established in their predecessors.
I’m all for this shift, honestly, because although Borderlands was my addiction for many years, it’s also pretty clearly been on its backfoot as a series, as the looter shooter space has both evolved and become more crowded, especially where its ongoing live-service peers are concerned. To be clear, I don’t want to see Borderlands chase the GaaS model and fundamentally change what it is, but it’s nice to see that Gearbox seems willing to take some sizeable risks in pursuit of evolving the series, because I genuinely think it needs to do so if it wants to keep the attention of longtime fans like myself.
That’s not to say that there isn’t a ton of good, old fashioned Borderlands goodness inside Borderlands 4 – quite the opposite. I still spent ludicrous amounts of time dabbing on loads of enemies who shouted expletives at me after running out of darkened spawn points, watched colorful loot explode out of enemies like fireworks, and ran doglike enemies over with my vehicle, which is now very awesomely available to be summoned anywhere on the map, rather than having to be picked up at a designated spawn point (thank God). There are also perilous vaults to be raided and massive, badass bosses to take down in the name of loot, XP, and bragging rights – which I unfortunately can’t show you today, because of some unfortunate restrictions on what I’m allowed to showcase at this time. But I can say that the one boss I fought a number of times is perhaps the most mechanics-heavy and interesting enemy I’ve encountered in Borderlands, and if it’s at all representative of the level of quality we can expect from Borderlands 4, then we’re in for quite a treat.
After several hours dipping my toes into what is sure to be a massive looter shooter, I’m much more optimistic about Borderlands 4’s odds of recapturing my affections after years apart. Stay tuned in the coming days, when I’m allowed to show off some later game footage and a boss fight that I took down a number of times in an effort to grind out some unique weapons – old habits die hard, I guess.
What questions do you have about Borderlands 4? We’ll do a follow-up video soon based on the questions you leave in the Comments below. And for more on the biggest upcoming games, check out our recent previews of Resident Evil Reqiuem and Ninja Gaiden 4, and for everything else keep hunting for vaults with IGN.
Fans of the classic '90s cartoon Spider-Man: The Animated Series have been clamoring for a revival, especially since the arrival of X-Men '97 in 2024. While a new animated series doesn't appear to be on the horizon (Marvel is instead moving full-steam ahead on new seasons of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man), Marvel will finally continue this Spidey saga in comic book form with Spider-Man '94.
Spider-Man '94 is a four-issue limited series that picks up where the show's infamous cliffhanger ending left off in 1998. The series brings Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson back to New York and promises to pit the wallcrawler against two iconic villains who will be making their debuts in this animated universe. The series is written by long-time Spidey veteran (and a writer on the original animated series) J.M. DeMatteis, with art by Jim Towe (Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse) and covers by Nick Bradshaw, Ron Lim, and John Tyler Christopher.
Check out the slideshow gallery below to see cover art for the first issue of Spider-Man '94:
Here's Marvel's official summary of Spider-Man '94:
After searching to the ends of the Multiverse, PETER PARKER – the AMAZING, the SPECTACULAR, the RADIOACTIVE Web-Head himself – A.K.A. SPIDER-MAN, swings back into the streets of New York City with his beloved Mary Jane WATSON in tow! But what’s this? One of these villains is not like the others: Witness this universe’s debut of not one, but TWO of Spider-Man’s greatest villains from the comics!
Legendary Spider-Scribe J.M. DeMATTEIS and rising star artist JIM TOWE bring you the return you’ve all been waiting thirty years for! And you’re never going to expect the twists and turns ahead for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Break out your action figures, and post up in front of the TV as we bring you back to the greatest era of animated super hero television in history!
"The 1990s Spider-Man animated series has become a beloved part of Spidey lore—it was the introduction to Peter Parker and his universe for an entire generation—and I’m delighted to be diving back into that universe," DeMatteis tells IGN. "We’re treating this as the next season of the show, which means introducing new villains, new challenges, new adventures for Peter—while doing our best to remain true to the creative spirit that John Semper and Company established with the original show."
Spider-Man '94 #1 will be released on September 3, 2025.
There are a lot of benefits to the portability of gaming laptops, but they usually come with trade-offs when it comes to sheer power. But what if there was a laptop that didn’t hold back? What if the manufacturer ignored the guardrails and threw everything it had at it, roping its component partners in to do the same to deliver pure, no holds barred, mobile gaming decadence? That’s exactly what MSI did with the Titan 18 HX AI: it’s big, it’s heavy, and it’s ridiculously expensive. But it’s also the closest example of a mobile desktop I’ve seen in years and is definitely about more than just gaming.
MSI Titan 18 HX AI – Design and Features
The MSI Titan 18 HX AI is a beast. With its 18-inch display and near-eight pound weight (more if you carry the charger), it’s the antithesis of thin and light and clearly doesn’t care much for portability. It’s the laptop to choose if you want the ability to take your gaming PC from place to place but don’t plan to do it often. You’ll feel it in your shoulder after a single commute.
Often in these reviews, I remark on portability, but here that goes right out the window. Know that going in, and understand that its lack of portability, combined with its high price (our model costs about $5,800) firmly position this as a halo product not intended to be openly accessible. It’s the kind of laptop you aspire to, and if you’ve arrived in life, may finally be able to achieve. To be fair, there are other situations where you may want something like this, but for a lot of people, the Titan 18 HX AI is going to fall into “maybe someday” territory.
Understanding that it packs some top-tier hardware and that portability wasn’t going to be a concern with this release, MSI went all-in with an 18-inch display and a thick chassis to promote airflow. The design is overall pretty tame, a far cry from the Norse Myth version that comes with an embossed dragon’s eye on the lid. Here, we have an illuminated MSI logo on the back, some blue stripes along the rear I/O and venting and the per-key RGB mechanical keyboard. If its size doesn’t attract attention, its sci-fi inspired styling certainly will.
Webcam: IR FHD type (30fps/1080p) with HDR and Physical Shutter
Battery: 99 wHr
Dimensions: 15.91" x 12.11" x 0.94-1.26"
Weight: 7.94 lbs
Despite massive capacities like 64GB of RAM and 6TB of storage, it's important to note that this is actually only the mid-level version of the Titan 18 HX AI. If you want to spend less, you can drop to an RTX 5080 for $5,199. On the other hand, if you’re keen to upgrade, you can also spend $6,200 and net yourself 96GB of memory.
It seems almost ludicrous to sell a gaming laptop with 96GB of memory. 64GB is still double what most high-end laptops offer. But between that and the massive SSD storage space, it’s clear that this system is aimed to be a high performance PC for everything. Running local LLMs is no problem on this system and you’re not going to find much that’s more capable for rendering and other heavy workstation tasks.
Targeting gamers with such an above and beyond system, however, highlights just how high-spec it is. If you’re a gamer with this system, you’re making a statement about how invested you are in the hobby. Assuming everything is implemented well (and it is), this is a system that sits as king of the hill among gaming laptops from the big brands.
Putting that to the side, let’s dig into the details starting with the display. At 18 inches, it’s big and delivers that “big screen” laptop experience with ease. It’s also delightfully high-spec, coming in with a 3,840 x 2,400 resolution: 4K in a 16:10 aspect ratio. It clocks all the way up to 120Hz with G-Sync support and is rated to cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color space.
The display uses a still-uncommon mini-LED backlight for superior brightness and contrast. At its peak in HDR mode, it’s able to reach over 1,000 nits of brightness while also delivering deep blacks thanks to its uncommon mini-LED backlight. It supports K-Zone local dimming, which is a fancy way to say that it has around a thousand local dimming zones across its 18-inch diagonal span. This allows the laptop to pinpoint areas of darkness with precision and deliver an exceptional dynamic range that was, for the most part, free of haloing around bright objects.
This display does have some puzzling omissions, however. The biggest is that it lacks G-Sync, which is shocking and disappointing. How a flagship, RTX 5090-packing laptop ships without this is beyond me. Technically, it still features adaptive sync, but only when you’re using the iGPU, so it’s still out for games. The second is Advanced Optimus. MSI Center allows you to switch between and discrete graphics and the iGPU but you’ll need to reboot to make the change.
With such a high resolution, you need powerful hardware to drive any kind of AAA gaming experience. This model features Intel's new HX series of its AI-centric Core Ultra 200 processors and, combined with its RTX 50-series GPU, it delivers.
This model in particular is one of the first to feature the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 HX CPU. For gaming and a whole lot else besides, this processor is an absolute banger. It features a total of 24 cores, including 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. The efficiency cores are able to clock up to 4.6 GHz, but the performance cores, which will come into play with gaming and heavy workloads, can spin all the way up to 5.5 GHz. This gives a direct boost to in-game frame rates, but with a core count and division like it offers, it's able to devote large amounts of processing power to games while still handling less intensive tasks in the background without breaking a sweat.
The GPU is equally high-performance no matter what model you choose. The lowest spec graphics card you can get with this laptop is an RTX 5080, so it's ready to offer excellent frame rates in modern games all on its own. With such a high-resolution, high-refresh-rate display, however, the RTX 5090 is the best fit if you want to turn up all of your graphics settings. Even then, you'll probably want to leverage DLSS 4 and frame generation, or multi-frame generation, whenever possible.
The memory and storage are almost as impressive. The base memory configuration of 64GB is enough for any game available today, and the memory is fairly fast at 6400MHz (though the wired-in memory of AMD's HX and AI series processors still tops it, with the best examples hitting 8000MHz). It's enough to run any demanding game available today and intense multitasking in the background. This memory pool also makes it much more capable for video editing, digital arts tasks, as well as the aforementioned local AI models.
Coming with a base configuration of 6TB of storage is a bit mind-boggling and highlights how multidisciplinary this laptop is truly supposed to be. That's enough where you won't need to delete a game for ages, and you'll still have space left over. MSI splits this storage across three NVMe SSDs and then links them together in a RAID configuration for insanely fast transfer speeds of a rated 18,000 MB/s. What's more, there’s even an extra M.2 slot, so you can add a fourth drive if you need more storage over time.
Keeping all of this cool would be a task for any laptop, accomplishing that here with a whopping 270W power output (175W with the GPU and 95W with the CPU), is an even taller order. MSI takes that on with a new vapor chamber cooler with two fans and four exhaust ports, two each from the back and sides. The bottom of the laptop is also designed to elevate the system for easier airflow through the bottom.
Temperatures will still peak at 100C for the CPU in its highest performance mode before it throttles speeds down to prevent overheating, but it did achieve its boost clock of 5.2 GHz reliably in my testing. When it throttled, it hovered between 4.7GHz and 4.9GHz. In games, this only amounted to three to five fps on average.
The fans run at full speed under heavy load, which can get pretty loud. It doesn’t sound like a wind tunnel like some laptops I’ve tested but at full speed, I recorded a peak noise level of 64dB. The National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) places this at about the level of a conversation overheard from 3-5 feet away. So, not roaring, but you’ll still want to plug in a pair of headphones and use it away from anyone that might be trying to focus or watch TV.
Opening the laptop, you'll find a logo for both SteelSeries and Cherry. That's the very same Cherry behind the popular line of mechanical keyboard switches. Both SteelSeries and Cherry partnered with MSI to develop the keyboard used in the Titan 18 HX AI. The keyboard uses Cherry’s recent ultra low-profile mechanical switches, with a number pad to the right and per-key RGB backlighting. The lighting is controlled with Steelseries’ GG software, which also lets you remap keys and assign macros for gaming.
The keyboard is tactile and feels great to use. Like a full-size mech keyboard, the keys have a cleanliness to each press that’s satisfying and snappy. Interestingly, not all of the keys are mechanical. The numpad, arrow keys, and function row all use standard scissor switches. That’s disappointing, for sure, but the remaining keys are very good in their own right with great tactility and travel. Since the laptop as a whole is fairly large, the keyspace also doesn’t feel very cramped, which is usually the case when manufacturers jam in a numpad and try to make everything fit.
The touchpad is super interesting. It’s fully integrated into the palm rest, and if you turn the lighting off, it’s invisible. With the lighting on, its entire surface illuminates. Since there are no edges, the lighting is especially important, but don’t worry: if you find it to be a bit much, you can customize how the lighting appears and make it only activate when you’re actually using the touchpad. Using it is as easy as it is reliable with haptic feedback clicks that actually work well and a large enough size that it is perpetually under the thumb. This does mean accidental activations from time to time, but that’s the case for all over-sized touchpads. Give a little, get a little.
The size of the laptop has another benefit: sound quality. While most gaming laptops feature two speakers, MSI has managed to fit six into this laptop. This includes a pair of 2-watt woofers and four individual 2-watt speakers. It's one of the rare gaming laptops that's actually able to offer a decent listening experience. Its two dedicated woofers definitely beef up the sound and lend it a fuller low-end than most of its competitors. You could use this for gaming, watching movies, or listening to music and have an enjoyable experience. A quality gaming headset or pair of speakers will still outperform it, but these aren’t bad!
One of its most disappointing qualities is its webcam. It has a physical shutter, which is nice, and can be used for Windows Hello biometric login, thanks to its IR sensor, but the picture quality is pretty mediocre. I found it to be overexposed and soft out of the box. With some tweaking in the Windows camera settings, it can be improved, but it is never more than okay, despite being 1080p resolution.
Returning to the positives, the Titan 18 offers a generous selection of ports along its right side. You have the audio combo jack, a USB 3.2 Type-A port, and two Thunderbolt 5 USB Type-C ports that support video and Power Delivery 3.1. On the opposite side, you have an additional USB 3.2 Type-A port, as well as a full-size SD card reader and a Kensington lock. Around the back is the port for the power adapter, a full-size Ethernet jack, and a full-size HDMI 2.1 port.
All of this hardware is only possible with a wealth of power. To that end, it comes with a monster 400W power brick. While you can technically game without being plugged in, the highest performance mode is blocked off without the official adapter. For light gaming and normal use this is fine, but even with my 100W PD adapter plugged in, the battery still drained in about an hour playing Karma: The Dark World. According to the spec sheet, it actually supports PD up to 140W which might prevent that, but I didn’t have one on-hand for testing.
As you would hope for such a high-powered device, it sports a 99wHr battery, the biggest you can legally take on a plane. Just don’t expect it to last very long. If the RTX 5090 is enabled, it will deplete in less than an hour. If you enable Eco-Mode and just rely on the iGPU of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 HX, as well as take other steps, like lowering brightness and using Energy Saver, you can stretch battery life out quite a bit longer. In our Procyon battery test, it lasted four hours and 36 minutes. Realistically speaking, though, you’ll want to be plugged in for the best experience.
MSI Titan 18 HX AI – Software
The MSI Titan 18 HX AI uses MSI Center for most of its configuration options. Blessedly, this now works with optional applets for different features and functionality out of the box, including basics like adjusting performance modes, and its screen calibration tool, True Color. It’s more streamlined and lightweight than Dragon Center, MSI’s old configuration tool, and it’s worth applauding that these applications aren’t bogged down with features you may not be interested in.
There are three performance modes to choose from: Extreme Performance, Balanced, and Eco-Silent. You’re also able to opt into an AI-managed performance mode called MSI AI Engine, but the presets are straightforward enough that most people should be able to infer which setting is best for them in the moment and set it accordingly in the software or using the keyboard shortcut.
Somewhat confusingly, the keyboard’s lighting cannot be controlled at all using the Mystic Light utility that’s available in MSI Center. It's understandable that you would need to use SteelSeries' GG application to do so, since the keyboard was designed in collaboration with them. But entering into the Mystic Light utility, there's really no indication that the keyboard isn't compatible. Any lighting changes you make will only apply to the logo on the back of the lid.
Thankfully, SteelSeries GG is quite good. If you've never used a keyboard configuration tool before, there will be a bit of a learning curve as you navigate between sections for programming keys and controlling the lighting, but it's fairly intuitive with just a little bit of investigation.
Controlling lighting is significantly more in-depth than most gaming laptops offer, and there are tons of different presets to choose from, as well as the ability to set your own custom color scheme. This applies to both the keyboard and the trackpad, mind you.
Bafflingly, there is no brightness control built into the software anywhere. It may be the only keyboard lighting tool I've used that doesn't have brightness controls. Instead, you'll need to use the keyboard shortcut, but that was also confusing because it adjusts the keyboard and touchpad at one point and the touchpad is significantly brighter than the keys. There is no one or the other.
I also had some trouble with the TrueColor tool skewing accuracy pretty terribly and harming picture quality rather than enhancing it. I’ll talk more about that in the performance section, but I can only recommend it be avoided.
All in all, I'm rather pleased with the software offerings. They're not perfect, but the fact that you can largely ignore them is an asset. MSI Center does offer MUX switch capability (manually toggling between the processor's integrated GPU and the RTX 5090), but most of the time, I found leaving it on hybrid mode and simply toggling performance modes with a shortcut was sufficient. SteelSeries’ GG may need to be opened more often if you like to record macros. If all you care about is lighting, however, it allows you to bind your favorite lighting presets to hotkeys, so you don't have to revisit it very often either. This makes the software feel much less intrusive and necessary than it might otherwise be, while still providing the necessary options at your fingertips.
MSI Titan 18 HX AI – Performance
I’ve been able to spend several weeks with the Titan 18 HX AI so far and, putting the lack of G-Sync aside, it has been a pretty fantastic experience for the most part. Getting the obvious out of the way first, this is absolutely not a laptop I would choose to travel with. The days that I chose to carry it with me through the day, it felt straight up heavy and was so big that my co-workers routinely commented on its massiveness. If you want killer gaming performance on the go, the Titan will get you there, but it’s much better suited for use in one place.
The keyboard is excellent. The entire keyset really should be mechanical, but with all of the letters and numbers using mechanical switches, that’s what I found myself using most of the time. In fact, I didn’t even realize the whole keyboard wasn’t mechanical until a couple of days in. It’s one of those things that you never un-notice, though. And, again, six thousand dollars and we can’t make all the keys mechanical?
The touchpad has been hit or miss with users so far, but I like it. I didn’t experience many misclicks at all and the haptic feedback worked well. I just wish there were separate brightness controls for it and the keyboard because the touchpad stands out much more.
The display is great, sans G-Sync. It’s bright, colorful, and fast. Playing games at such a high resolution really benefits from upscaling and frame-gen, even with the RTX 5090, but it’s plenty powerful to run many games without it below its 120Hz refresh rate.
There’s one caveat here. Avoid the True Color calibration tool. It may just be my sample, but any of the other presets, including those for reference modes like sRGB, actively worsened the picture. And I’m not saying that subjectively. Measured with my colorimeter, both reference modes were measurably less accurate than just keeping the standard picture mode enabled.
Let’s dive into measurements. Starting with accuracy, the Delta-E average was 2.46, which isn’t far off at all. In fact, it was really only teal that was too high, which I believe is what made the display look off during my first impressions. Swapping picture modes only makes things worse, so if the picture isn’t to your taste, I would recommend making adjustments straight through your graphics driver.
Continuing through the DataColor SpyderPro colorimeter’s assessment, the display performed mostly well. Its gamma mapping was a bit off, but not terribly so. Its color gamut coverage was great with 100% of the sRGB color space, 99% of DCI-P3, and 93% of Adobe RGB included. If you do have access to a colorimeter, you can dial in its accuracy very well. With a 10ish minute calibration, my color accuracy was down to an average of 1.52, which is perfectly fine for creative work.
Brightness is also impressive. Plugged in using the included power brick, I measured peak SDR brightness at 694 nits. On battery, or even using a 100W GaN charger, that drops to 498 nits. In HDR, peak brightness reached 1,113 nits in a ~10% window. After running through my colorimeter’s calibration, HDR mode looked good, but I was surprised to find that Windows HDR Calibration tool didn’t work correctly. The white and black test patterns simply didn’t adjust at all, which made the resulting picture very inaccurate.
Once it’s dialed in, it looks stunning and provides a big part of what makes gaming on it so much fun.
Moving into performance, note that generally we test all of our games at maximum settings and use DLSS upscaling unless otherwise noted. For 1080p/1200p resolution, we set DLSS to Quality. At 1440p/1600p, we use balanced. At 4K/2400p we use Performance mode. We also use a mix of 3DMark’s gaming benchmarks and Procyon to get a broad overview of each system’s capabilities.
Considering how new the RTX 50-series laptops are, we're still gathering data. I did have two other competitors to compare against for this review, however: the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 and the Razer Blade 16 (which also has a recently launched 18-inch version). It’s not exactly apples to apples, however. The Aorus Master 16 I reviewed came with an RTX 5080, not a 5090, and the Blade 16 operates with less wattage: 160W instead of 175W like the Titan 18 HX AI. Still, these comparisons are salient because all three are very expensive, high-end options from their respective manufacturers… and the results may not be as far apart as you might think.
Beginning with synthetics, the Titan performs admirably and achieves wins across the board. I would expect this from the 3DMark gaming tests given its higher CUDA core count and wattage, but the massive lead it achieved in Procyon’s Office Productivity benchmark impressed me most. The Aorus Master 16 is built around the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and is only a single step below the 285HX included here. The Blade meanwhile utilizes the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370. Both CPUs feature NPUs, but the Core Ultra 9 285HX just smoked it in this test.
Moving onto gaming, I started testing our game roster using the laptop’s native resolution, the 16:10 version of 4K, 2400p (3,840 x 2,400). This is a demanding resolution: the Titan is driving almost a million more pixels than a 4K gaming monitor and doing so with a GPU that is roughly equivalent to a desktop RTX 5070 Ti. That GPU is typically considered the best fit for 1440p, so how does the RTX 5090 mobile fare with its larger 24GB pool of VRAM?
Not bad, actually. Without any frame generation we see a range from 41 to 104 fps. Turning on frame gen – and this is standard 2x, not even the multi frame generation that debuted with DLSS 4. It does highlight that you’re not going to hit 120 fps without taking advantage of frame gen or multi frame gen. Even though the Titan is a beast of a laptop, 4K+ with all the bells and whistles and path traced lights with triple-digit fps is still a pipe dream on gaming laptops without a helping hand.
At 1600p, the Titan comes into its own. Compared to the Blade 16, it’s simply no competition. The additional wattage and higher performance Intel processor simply blow it out of the water in every single example. Now, the Blade 16 is quieter and, well, actually works as a laptop you can easily carry every day. That’s the trade-off. That and about $1,300. The Aorus competes well and has the expected performance differential, except in AC: Shadows where it pulls a surprisingly large lead.
Rounding out with 1200p benchmarks, the Titan 18 HX AI echoes the results we observed at 1600p. It easily hits triple digits in multiple games and will easily hit 120 fps with FG or MFG in certain games. With that in mind, I don’t see anyone spending nearly $6,000 on a laptop to turn down the resolution so much that everything looks noticeably softer.
The last thing I wanted to test was MSI’s claims of incredible transfer speeds with its SSD RAID array. While I didn’t hit the promised 18,000 MB/s, I did hit around 16,000 MB/s early on in my testing, though I regretfully neglected to take a screenshot. I wasn’t able to re-achieve that in the drafting days for this review, but did grab the results above. There’s a big difference between read and write speeds, which is to be expected with a RAID setup, but even at 14,444 MB/s for read speeds and 8,901 MB/s for writes, it’s still a very fast storage setup.
MSI Titan HX AI – Who Is It For?
With all of the testing and daily use impressions out of the way, it begs the question of who this laptop is really for. The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of options that cost significantly less if all you’re interested in is gaming. But I think that only tells part of the tale. Let me know in the comments below, but to my knowledge, the Titan 18 HX AI is the only laptop of its type that goes quite this “kitchen sink” with what it’s offering. For gaming, you don’t need all of that. Three SSDs packing 6TB of nVME RAID storage and a base config with 64GB of memory are overkill for gaming.
Instead, this is a system you choose when you want to be decadent and truly get closer to a desktop level gaming experience. The combination of its features are what elevate it to being just so good. In sheer fps, it beats the Razer Blade 16, but that’s what you would expect from a bigger, higher power laptop, with more room for cooling. Put it against a more evenly matched RTX 5090 gaming laptop and you’ll find that its performance lead closes significantly. But when you bring all of its features together, from its big and bright mini-LED screen, to its mechanical keyboard and next-gen touchpad, solid speakers, and great programmability, the experience as a whole feels like you’re trading less for its portability.
That’s one side. The other is for the technically minded and demanding sort that want this level of top-shelf componentry and expandability straight out of the box. If you’re a 3D artist or video editor, this system is more than up to the task of rendering your models with its fast CPU, high CUDA core count, and huge frame buffer. Its large memory capacity and four M.2 storage slots also lend this system an edge for that kind of non-gaming, high-performance workstation use.
This isn’t a laptop for the every-gamer. And though MSI is clearly targeting it toward gamers broadly, it’s honestly a terrible value for pure gaming. The fps boost just doesn’t make a big enough difference to justify how much more it costs on that factor alone and the memory and storage are overkill for gaming alone. The HP OMEN MAX 16 drops the memory to 32GB, storage to 1TB, and swaps the screen for a 1600p OLED for only $3,200. The Razer Blade 18 will set you back $5,200 and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 $4,500 for similar size and specs – and both offer G-Sync support.
So, the Titan HX AI occupies a unique spot. You have to want those four M.2 slots and higher memory capacity and be willing to pay significantly for it.
A poster for Predator: Badlands released ahead of San Diego Comic-Con 2025 has revealed a first proper look at the new Predator's armor and mask, what is perhaps an Aliens reference — and might even contain a spoiler for the film.
Warning! Potential spoilers for Predator: Badlands follow:
Predator: Badlands, from Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers director Dan Trachtenberg, revolves around a new Predator called Dek. Dek is described as an underdog Yautja “runt” in the protagonist role. Predator movies typically feature Yautja (the name given to the race of alien hunters) in antagonist roles. Dek selects his hunting ground, a “Death Planet” called Kalisk, and it’s here he fights to prove his worth to his father and for acceptance within his own clan.
Predator: Badlands is Dek’s story, but he’s not alone on Kalisk. He also works with a character called Thia, played by Elle Fanning, who as IGN has discussed very much looks like a synth from the Alien franchise.
The poster, reported on by the unofficial SDCC blog, reveals Dek armored up and carrying Fanning’s character on his back. Look closely and you can see that Fanning appears to have suffered significant damage of a kind that rekindles memories of the iconic scene in beloved 1986 action sequel Aliens where Lance Henriksen’s Bishop (also a synth) is torn in half by the xenomorph queen. In the poster, tendrils of synth innards appear to hang from Fanning’s torso, as they did from poor old Bishop all those years ago.
Trachtenberg has said the on-screen relationship between Dek and Fanning’s character was inspired by 2005 PlayStation masterpiece Shadow of the Colossus.
“As inspired as I am by movies, I’ve been very inspired by video games [like] Shadow of the Colossus, where you have a protagonist paired with someone else who provides color and connection,” Trachtenberg explained.
“There’s a thing with a horse in Shadow of the Colossus that’s devastating when you play the game. And so [Predator: Badlands] was a little bit inspired by that in terms of wanting to see the Predator with someone else, this character who’s the opposite of him. He’s very laconic, [Fanning] is not. She’s capable in ways that he is not. Physically, she’s got a real thing that I’m so excited for you guys to see. But I want to let eventually some of that speak for itself.”
It looks like this poster has teased what Trachtenberg was saying here (“physically, she’s got a real thing that I’m so excited for you guys to see”). But as fans have already noted, there were hints at Fanning’s character suffering this injury in the debut Predator: Badlands trailer, where we see her crawling away from what may be a ship crash. Interestingly, we do not see Fanning below the waist in the trailer, either.
There are a number of other Alien references in the Predator: Badlands trailer, as well in the recently released animated film Predator: Killer of Killers, which had sparked speculation Trachtenberg is setting up Aliens vs. Predator 3. Trachtenberg was, as you’d expect, tight-lipped on those Alien connections and Fanning’s character’s nature. “There’s a unique hook to her character that is exciting in the pairing of [her and Dek],” Trachtenberg teased.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Pokémon Go will continue its summer events plan by driving a big red truck around seven cities in Europe, beginning in the UK next month.
Manchester will host the tour's first stop, before subsequent visits to London, Paris, Valencia, Berlin, Den Haag in the Netherlands and finally Cologne, just in time for Gamescom.
Players who make the trip to a host city will get an array of bonuses around the truck location, including Phanphy, Venipede and Wooloo spawns with boosted Shiny rates, plus raids for a costumed summer Pikachu with the possibility of a Location Background. Timed Research, meanwhile, will offer up a Varoom — the engine-like Pokémon. Plus, of course, you get to look at the big red Pokémon Go truck.
Across the host city, other bonuses will be activated — including 3-hour lures and up to 5 Special Trades per day. Nationwide, meanwhile, Timed Research advertising the upcoming arrival of the Road Trip will award the same summer costumed Pikachu.
Earlier this week, Pokémon Go announced an unprecedented $20 event pass featuring the game's first Golden Bottle Cap item — something that will allow players to increase a Pokémon's stats until they are a rare 100%. Ahead of the item's introduction, fans expressed concern the feature could see the game straying into pay-to-win territory, something director Michael Steranka discussed at length in our exclusive interview.
Separately, IGN also chatted with Steranka about this year's biggest change — that Pokémon Go is now owned by Monopoly Go! maker Scopely, a company backed by the Saudi-founded Savvy Games. How will the change impact the game? IGN put that question to Steranka as well.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Prime Day 2025 is fast approaching, officially kicking off on July 8 and lasting a whole four days through to 11:59 PM PT on July 11. That's the biggest Prime Day event since its inception around a decade ago.
To celebrate the big event, Amazon already has a healthy selection of early deals that are worth checking out before the big day(s). That includes some discounts for Prime members, alongside a few cheeky discounts for those who aren't currently under the boot of Bezos and Co.
TL:DR: Best Early Prime Day 2025 Deals
I kid, and joke, and josh. Fairly sure Bezos isn't even running things anymore, and I'm hardly going to tell cheap deals are a bad thing (unless you want me to, IGN overlords).
Anyway, to get me to stop rambling, I'm going to run through the 12 big ol' early Prime Day deals that you'll actually want to shop before the event officially kicks off.
But, the better deal is entirely for the young crowd through the "Amazon Prime for Young Adults" scheme, which offers the same benefits, including fast delivery and access to Prime Video, with a few additional features like 5% cashback every day on tech, or 10% during Prime Day, and zero food delivery fees on Grubhub.
This version comes with a six-month free trial, followed by a 50% discount on the standard membership price, reducing the cost to $7.49 per month or $69 per year until the customer turns 25 (or your knees start to ache when you bend down).
3 Months of Audible Premium Plus for $0.99 Per Month
The seasonal Audible deal has returned. Starting now and running through July 31 (including Amazon Prime Day), you can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus for just $0.99 per month. Premium Plus is Audible's highest tier plan and normally costs $14.95/mo.
As a additional subscription perk, you get a free audiobook of your choice for each of those three months and you get to keep them indefinitely.
Anyone who doesn't currently have an active Audible membership should be eligible. That includes new subscribers as well as existing members whose subscriptions have since expired.
There's always a small your-mileage-may-vary disclaimer with these types of promotions, but fortunately it's easy to check if you qualify: log into your account, and if you see the $0.99/mo banner right on Amazon's Audible page then you're eligible for this promotion.
Kindle Unlimited - Get Three Months Free
Kindle Unlimited is a great service if you read a lot of books, but only really if the books you like to read are actually included. There are a lot of great reads on Kindle Unlimited at any given time, but it certainly doesn't include everything.
Just like Audible, popular new releases like Sunrise on the Reaping and Onyx Storm, for example, were not included with the subscription and needed to be purchased separately. That being said, if you mostly read LitRPG books like I do, Kindle Unlimited is an incredible value, especially with the early Prime Day deal going now.
Prime Members Can Grab Six Free PC Games Ahead of Prime Day 2025
The Tomb Raider I-III Remastered collection comes as no surprise, since Amazon owns the publishing rights for the next Tomb Raider game. Still, it’s a collection of three games in one that only came out last year, so it’s a pretty good free game.
However, so are others in the collection, like Saints Row 2 and Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, two of the best-received games in the franchise.
Star Wars: Rebellion is a nice little bonus too, as it’s a fun little 1998 RTS game set in the franchise’s expanded universe. It wasn’t received amazingly upon release, but it seems to have found new life in the modern community, getting a “mostly positive” rating on its Steam page.
Beyond Audible and Prime Gaming, you can also find some excellent deals that may not be "Prime Day" exclusive, or branded for that matter, but that are that good that they are worthy of inclusion and discussion.
Switch 2 Accessory Deals at Amazon
We've seen the official Nintendo Switch 2 case and it could be better for the price. It fits the console well enough, but the build quality and protection is lacking and it looks boring for a $40 case.
If you want something that protects your Switch 2 while looking a lot nicer and still maintaining a slim profile, I'd suggest getting the tomtoc Slim Nintendo Switch 2 Carrying Case. In fact, it currently costs $36.99 on Amazon, which is a few dollars cheaper than the official case.
That's not all, however, as you can find plenty more great Switch 2 accessory deals at Amazon right now as well, including his JSAUX 3-pack of Switch 2 screen protectors is $4.99 with promo code SWITCH2GO. That's a mega discount, and well worth picking up.
Used: Like New PlayStation Portal for Under $150 on Amazon
Right now you can pick one up for only $148.81 with free shipping. It retails for $200 new, so that's 26% in savings. A Sony warranty may or may not be included, but Amazon Resale items still get a 30-day return policy.
Save 33% Off the Apple AirPods Pro, the Best Noise Canceling Earbuds for iPhone
The next step down, the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC (active noise cancelation) is down to $148 (normally $179). Finally, the value-packed AirPods 4 without ANC drops to $99.99 (normally $129).
Aetherdrift, one of the latest expansions from 2025, is the main focus of the sale, but you can also pick up products from other sets like Tarkir: Dragonstorm and Bloomburrow, or even check out new deals from Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy.
Silver Buffalo FRIENDS Central Perk Black Ceramic Mug
What more can I say? It's a Friends MUG, and it's just over $6! And it's MASSIVE! Why haven't you already bought five of them? Apparently it's also great to use for soup. Unreal, I want mine to arrive already.
Should You Wait Till Prime Day Proper?
Or even just shop the 4th of July sale? My answer is going to be a reasonding, and unsurprising: do all of the above. Waiting until Prime Day is the smart choice for most things you're looking to buy between now and July 8.
Unless I say otherwise (such as the early deals above that likely won't get any better). Prime Day is hot for discounts on everyday items like batteries, command strips, and everything else you might be interested in like games and tech, so wait it out and find yourself with even more savings.
4th of July weekend sales are also incoming soon, but will likely feature a selection of different deals at other retailers like Walmart and Best Buy. These probably won't be anything amazing, but there does tend to be a few more deals on gaming monitors and TVs during the July 4th sales compared to Prime Day every year.
Will There Be Switch 2 Stock During Prime Day?
While it remains unconfirmed whether Amazon will stock the Nintendo Switch 2 during Prime Day, signs suggest the retailer may finally be preparing to offer the console directly.
The product listing for the Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle, previously non-existent, and then dominated by dubious third-party sellers, has now been stripped back and reset to a simple “Currently unavailable” status.
Notably, Amazon has also resumed selling first-party Switch 2 games, a shift that could indicate a broader return of official Nintendo stock to the platform. With Prime Day approaching, it's worth monitoring the listing closely for any movement.
Nintendo Switch 2 consoles are currently sold out at every major retailer. While launch day stock was solid, helping the console shift over 3.5 million units in just four days worldwide, it's been tough to come by ever since. But, there's hope yet with Amazon now almost certainly set to stock the console in the coming weeks.
One possibility is that Amazon could restrict Switch 2 availability to Prime members during the sale, a move that would align with the event's exclusivity model, and give subscribers early access to one of the year’s most in-demand consoles.
James Gunn has moved to clarify comments he made in a recent interview where he said Disney “killed” Marvel by demanding an increased output for the Disney+ streaming platform.
Gunn, who directed the hugely successful Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy of films for Marvel Studios before becoming co-CEO of DC Studios, told Rolling Stone that Disney’s mandate to increase Marvel’s output for the launch of Disney+ — a move Disney CEO Bob Iger has since admitted "diluted the focus and attention of fans" — “wasn’t fair” and “wasn’t right.”
“And it killed them," Gunn added.
Some took this “it killed them" comment as Gunn declaring the MCU dead for good, but in a follow-up post on social media, he clarified that that was not what he was saying at all. Rather, he’s saying the Disney mandate “screwed” Marvel at that time, but it has since managed to recover after the “insanity” died down.
“To be clear — & as IS clear in the context of the interview — I didn't say ‘it killed them’ like they're over but they were screwed by the situation they had no control over,” Gunn said in a post on Threads.
“They're on the other side of that now, which is good. The sacrifice-everything-for-streaming craze killed many good things by forcing a demand for ‘content’ that couldn't possibly be met, putting movies on TV before they had a proper theatrical run & much more. The insanity has died down & balanced out everywhere. Thank God.”
In a subsequent post, Gunn called what was asked of Marvel “an impossible task.”
Marvel’s post Avengers: Endgame struggles are well documented, and MCU movie box office numbers since that record-breaking phase-ender came out in 2019 have been relatively poor, save for breakout hits such as the billion dollar Deadpool & Wolverine.
At the same time, the sentiment is that MCU’s output following Endgame hasn’t met the quality bar set by prior phases. Again, there are exceptions to this, with the likes of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and Gunn’s own Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 proving a critical and commercial success.
Marvel currently releases far fewer movies and TV shows, with just three MCU movies (Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolds* / The New Avengers, The Fantastic Four: First Steps) out in 2025. 2026 currently has just two MCU movies in the books: Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday.
The pressure is now on Marvel Studios to deliver with a ‘less is more’ philosophy, and after the box office stumbles of Captain America and Thunderbolts*, all eyes are on The Fantastic Four to see if the MCU can rekindle its money-making magic. For what it's worth, last month Disney boss Bob Iger bigged up Thunderbolts*, insisting it was “the first and best example” of Marvel’s new commitment to quality over quantity.
In the Rolling Stone interview, Gunn said DC Studios is under no such pressure from parent company Warner Bros. to crank out a certain number of movies and TV shows each year.
“So we’re going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality,” Gunn explained. “We’re obviously going to do some good things and some not-so-good things, but hopefully on average everything will be as high-quality as possible. Nothing goes before there’s a screenplay that I personally am happy with.”
To that end, the rebooted DCU kicks off with July’s Superman, with Supergirl set to follow next July, and Clayface currently down for September 2026. Peacemaker Season 2 comes out this August, with Lanterns due out at some point early 2026. Batman, though, is causing Gunn more than a few problems.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Remember when retail giant GameStop ruined the launch of Switch 2 for hundreds of customers by stapling receipts through the screens of Nintendo's new console?
Well, GameStop certainly does, as its latest Nintendo Switch 2 advert leans into the snafu to advertise the next wave of console stock arriving in its stores.
"Staples not included," states the advert, posted to GameStop's social media account. "Find a Switch 2 restock at GameStop today." An accompanying image shows the Switch 2 console and a red stapler — with the words "Do Not Use On Box" scribbled on it.
While some fans have reacted to the advert with humor, others suggested it was odd for the retailer to be doubling down on its expensive error that ruined stock worth thousands of dollars.
Impacted customers told IGN they discovered their damaged consoles after returning home to unbox and begin playing their new purchases — only to find their console screens punctured where stapers had been used to affix receipts onto the Switch 2's thin cardboard box.
"Replacements have been offered," GameStop wrote, alongside a GIF showing a scene from 1999 comedy film Office Space where a clueless employee has their office equipment taken away. "Staplers have been confiscated."
Responding to GameStop's latest stapler reference, one customer wrote: "Yall better had replaced every Switch 2 that got those staples in the first place." GameStop replied to say it had now done so. "Auction off the stapler that ruined everything," said another customer, to which GameStop responded with a thinking emoji.
While GameStop has characterised the issue as an unfortunate mistake made by one specific store, IGN has been contacted by customers of other retailers who have experienced similar screen damage due to their Switch 2 boxes being stapled. Indeed, fans have questioned Nintendo's choice of packaging for the Switch 2 in general — with the console's screen positioned facing outwards, leaving it liable to damage.
IGN prevously contacted Nintendo about the issue, though the company simply referred us back to GameStop's own acknowledgement.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Magic: The Gathering keeps churning out set after set, and 2025 is no different. From mainline sets like Aetherdrift and Tarkir: Dragonstorm, to remasters like Innistrad, and Universes Beyond Final Fantasy, it’s a stacked year—and that’s just the first half of it.
With so much to look forward to, the company has still planned a whole host of Secret Lair card drops throughout the year, and it’s getting pretty tricky to stay on top of everything coming as a result.
It’s been a busy year for Wizards of the Coast’s limited-time mini-sets, and while the company sold out of all three Final Fantasy drops in record time (leaving many disappointed), you can still get them via third-party sellers... if you're willing to pay the inflated costs, that is.
Before we start, it’s worth pointing out that you won’t find Secret Lair drops at the same price as you’d find them directly from Wizards of the Coast (standard $30 nonfoil, $40 rainbow foil), with most being listed anywhere between $80-$150 or above.
This is a huge markup, so if you're looking to buy, be sure you're 100% informed of what you're paying for. You can buy them from eBay, but we’ve always found TCGPlayer, while still eBay-owned, to be the most secure and trustworthy way to nab Secret Lair drops post-release.
There are a trio of Final Fantasy Secret Lair sets, Weapons, Grimoire, and Game Over, each offering unique art and names for Magic: The Gathering cards. Everything is available in standard and foil, alongside the Japanese variants as well.
Here’s how you can grab each, what’s included, and all the key info you need to help you decide whether you still want these to add to your collection via third party seller listings selling at a premium.
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Game Over (Jun 9) - 5 cards
Spira’s Punishment (Day of Judgement)
Absorb into Time (Temporal Extortion)
Merciless Poisoning (Toxic Deluge)
Unseat the Usurper (Praetor’s Grasp)
Meteorfall (Star of Extinction)
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Grimoire (Jun 9) - 5 cards
Yuna’s Holy Magic (Prismatic Ending)
Hope’s Aero Magic (Cyclonic Rift)
Noctis’ Death Magic (Damn)
Vivi’s Thunder Magic (Lightning Bolt)
Aerith’s Curage Magic (Heroic Intervention)
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Weapons (Jun 9) - 5 cards
Yuna’s Sending Staff (Staff of the Storyteller)
Clive’s Invictus Blade (Blade of Selves)
Cloud’s Buster Sword (Umezawa’s Jitte)
Gaia’s Dark Hammer (Colossus Hammer)
Tidus’s Brotherhood Sword (Sword of Truth and Justice)
Where You Can Still Buy Secret Lair Drops
With each Secret Lair drop being particularly limited in its availability, your best bet is naturally to look on the secondhand market.
While some can be found at Amazon and other generalist stores, these don’t have the same level of quality assurance as specialist retailers like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom, Magic Madhouse, and others.
So what's been popular in 2025 besides Final Fantasy? As things stand, the most notable heavy-hitters from this year so far include Deadpool, Spongebob, and our furry friends. Here's where you can still buy the sets at market price.
There’s also a good chance you may need to buy cards individually, rather than in predetermined Secret Lair sets, so consider picking them up piecemeal if the opportunity presents itself.
If you’re lucky enough to have a local game store that’s offering a large collection of Magic: The Gathering singles, it’s worth taking a look—you might end up finding a Secret Lair card lurking in a binder or loose in a box somewhere (perish the thought!).
Secret Lair Release Schedule for 2025
We’ve got the full list below for every Secret Lair drop already released in 2025, alongside the best places to buy each set, or even the individual cards. Let’s dig in.
Animar and Friends - February 3
This five-card set includes art from Jack Teagle for Mulldrifter, All Will Be One, Benevolent Hydra, Forgotten Ancient and Animar, Soul of Elements.
Artist Series: Jesper Ejsing - February 10
This Secret Lair drop includes four cards with artwork from Danish illustrator Jesper Ejsing, including Sun Titan, Deflecting Swat, Llanowar Elves and Breeches, Eager Pillager.
Lorwyn Lightboxes - February 10
Still available from Wizards at the time of writing, Lorwyn Lightboxes are stylised versions of Ancient Ampitheater, Auntie’s Hovel, Gilt-Leaf Palace, Secluded Glen and Wanderwine Hub.
City Styles 2: Dressed to Kill - February 10
Giving an urban theme to Karmic Guide, Ninja of the Deep Hours, Captain Sisay, Selvala, Explorer Returned and Veyran, Voice of Duality, this Secret Lair is long gone.
Arcade Racers - February 10
With gorgeous pixel art, arcade theming, these versions of Big Score, Final Fortune, Heat Shimmer, Roiling Vortex, and Wheel of Misfortune are eye-catching and still in stock.
Aether Drifters - February 10
Aping the design of Hot Wheels packaging, these Aether Drifters include reversible cards for six vehicles including Mechtitan Core and Smuggler’s Copter.
Featuring: Mitsuhiro Arita - February 10
This collection offers four Magic The Gathering cards from longtime Pokemon illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita. Murktide Regent, Lightning Bolt, Shorikai Genesis Machine and Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice look incredible.
Cats vs Dogs - March 17
This double drop pits canines against felines. Both include Escape to the Wilds, Titanic Ultimatum, Rip Apart, Arcane Signet and Basilisk Collar, but with art to signify your chosen species.
Spongebob: Squarepants - March 24
With Spongebob and pals taking cardboard forms, collectors can grab 7 individual pieces, including Plankton, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and, of course, Patrick Star and Spongebob SquarePants himself as part of the Legends of Bikini Bottom set.
There’s also a Lands bundle for the Nickelodeon favorite, and a meme-focused set of spells, too.
Twisted Toons - March 24
A little Spongebob-adjacent, these full-art, Toon-inspired cards give us Cuphead vibes.
Tragic Romance - March 24
Following a ‘Romantasy’ theme, these cards include Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, Master of Cruelties, Angel of Despair and Kaalia of the Vast.
They Grow Up So Fast - March 24
This Dragon-centric drop has five cards, each with two versions of Dragonlords like Atarka and Dromoka. Both versions are the same card, but with a young and mature version of each dragon.
Pick’em and Stick’em - March 24
This intriguing set is still in stock, and offers cards and accompanying stickers for players to customise them with. Clever Impersonator, Hedron Crab, Pitiless Plunderer, a Treasure Token and Thalia, Heretic Cathar are included.
Garden Buds - March 24
Billed as the last remnants of an Ashaya, Soul of the Wild Commander deck that was lost to time, these seed-style cards include Harrow, Elvish Reclaimer, World Shaper and Horn of Greed with art from Jordan Crane.
Oishi! Tokens - March 26
Inspired by Japanese food packaging, this set includes four Food Tokens, and is sold out.
Secret Lair x Marvel’s Deadpool - April 1
The Merc with a Mouth’s Secret Lair has sold out, but it’s well worth a look if you can find it on the secondhand market. Fourth Wall-breaking versions of Deadly Rollick, Saw in Half, Blasphemous Act and Vandalblast are here, as well as Deadpool, Trading Card.
Adventures of the Little Witch - April 22
This adorable set has Secret Rendezvous, Serenity, Esika’s Chariot and Realms Uncharted, all with Heikala’s inimitable artwork and use of color.
VROOOOOMMMMMM - April 28
Toru Terada lends his incredible art to Lava Dart, Monastery Swiftspear, Soul-Scar Mage, Underworld Breach, and Mishra’s Bauble. Still available, too.
Everything Is On Fire - April 28
This set is all about bringing the heat, with spicy new art for Chain Lightning, Dragon’s Rage Channeller, Lava Spike, Rift Bolt and Skewer the Critics.
Featuring: Jay Howell - April 28
Jay Howell’s Secret Lab set includes cartoonish versions of Marchesa, the Black Rose, Uncivil Unrest, Treasonous Ogre, Priest of Forgotten Gods and Agent of Treachery, all from the guy who designed the cast of Bob’s Burgers.
Secret Lair X KEXP: Where the Music Matters - April 28
This set of Land cards includes two of each basic land type for a total of 10 in the set, and is inspired by the independent radio station KEXP.
Secret Lair X KEXP: You Are Not Alone - April 28
Another KEXP collab, this one has a series of colorful card varients that lean into a “group-hug” deck theme. Cultural Exchange, Folio of Fancies, Concordant Crossroads, Rites of Flourishing and Font of Mythos are included.
Everyone’s Invited! - May 12
This double rainbow foil Secret Lair drop is still available (for $200, we might add) and includes Shapeshifters, Dryads, Elementals, Faeries, Slivers, Cats and more. Ten foil cards, four foil tokens, one foil display card and 90 reprints.
Slay the Day - May 19
The latest set at the time of writing includes Marwyn, the Nurturer as well as Liesa, Shroud of Dusk, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, and Slythis, Harvest’s Hand.
Final Fantasy - June 9
What is Secret Lair?
Secret Lair is a limited-time drop of cards that are usually offered as bundles for a day or two at the most before they sell out.
They’ve had some wild theming in the past, but with Magic: The Gathering channelling its inner Fortnite, the crossovers are becoming more and more frequent (in fact, Fortnite has had its own Secret Lair set because, of course, it has).
The cards have new artwork, but are based on existing cards in terms of gameplay functionality, so you can expect to use them in competitive play, so long as the original card is still in the standard rotation.
As of the debut of Final Fantasy’s Universes Beyond set, that list of Standard rotation sets runs until Brother’s War.
Lloyd Coombes is Gaming Editor @ Daily Star. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay. He's also a tech, gaming, and fitness freelancer seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, IGN, and more.
All the big summer presentations are now complete, which means we now have a pretty clear picture as to what games we’ll be playing over the next year or so. Across IGN’s Summer of Gaming we’ve seen plenty of exciting reveals, from the debut of Resident Evil Requiem as part of Summer Game Fest (arriving next February!) to the big Clockwork Revolution trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase (which launches… when it launches.)
With more than a dozen presentations held over the last few weeks, there has been at least a little something for everyone. Cozy gamers found games to love among the trailers featured in Wholesome Direct, fans of the grimdark future got excited about Warhammer Skulls, and first-party devotees feasted on PlayStation’s State of Play and the Xbox Games Showcase. But with everything now out in the wild, it’s time for the hard work: to rank the biggest reveals.
We’ve selected the 25 biggest games of the season, based on a multitude of factors (including trailer and page views, social media chatter, and staff excitement) and entered them into a Tier List. Where each of those 25 games sits on the Tier List is up to you. S rank is for the most exciting, D rank is for the games you think show little promise, and then there’s space for everything else in between.
Among the 25 games are many that have an easy shot at hitting S rank. Resident Evil Requiem proved itself as the biggest, most-watched trailer of the season, and our hands-on preview suggests it's certainly one to watch. And how about Invincible VS, which looks like a fantastic tag-team fighter as well as a pitch-perfect adaptation of the beloved comics? Then there’s 007 First Light with its cinematic first trailer – but will the Bond film vibes be matched by worthy gameplay?
Other games are tricker to rank. We finally, after years of waiting, saw Capcom’s Pragmata, but does it look as exciting as you’d hoped it would? How about the announcement of the Silent Hill remake? We’ve not seen a second of it, but it is being developed by Bloober Team, who knocked it out the park with its Silent Hill 2 remake. And then there’s sentient lighthouse simulator Keeper, Double Fine’s long-awaited return, but its debut trailer seemed to keep at least a few cards close to its chest. Where will all these games (and more) rank? It's up to you to decide.
Disney has hidden a sneaky hint to the real villain of upcoming Black Panther spin-off show Ironheart in the show's newly-confirmed episode schedule, fans believe.
The episode schedule for Ironheart, shared on Marvel Studios' social media accounts, confirms the its six-episode run will arrive in two batches, with the first three episodes available June 24. But it's the second set of episodes, available July 1, which fans are most interested in.
Here, the series' penultimate episode, Karma's A Glitch, includes the letter M written in red ink — something fans say suggests that this is when Mephisto himself will appear.
Mephisto is a red demonic character referred to in Marvel comics as The Devil, and he has a long history of making villainous appearances opposite characters such as Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch.
The character has long been expected by fans to eventually make an MCU appearance, with many believing he would debut in Wandavision, or last year's Agatha All Along. But multiple reports by Deadline have pegged Ironheart as the character's place of debut — and stated that Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen is playing the role, in a mix of live-action and CGI.
While Ironheart follows the further adventures of tech genius Riri Williams, introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a trailer released last week delved more into the upcoming series' magical side — and revealed the heroine would wear a magic-powered Iron Man-style suit.
Fans say that the show's blending of technology and magic hints at something more fantastical bubbling under its MIT-set surface, and while earlier trailers have focused on Williams' relationship with the magically-gifted Parker "The Hood" Robbins (Hamilton's Anthony Ramos), this character is likely just a gateway to the series' true magical source.
While not part of Ironheart's officially-announced cast, Deadline reported in late 2022 that Baron Cohen had filmed scenes for Ironheart in a secret role, believed to be that of Mephisto. For now, Disney is keeping quiet about the actor's involvement — though it seems we know when to expect his arrival.
Ironheart is the next chapter of the MCU set to debut, following the big screen launch of Thunderbolts*/New Avengers earlier this year, and the highly-anticipated arrival of The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25, 2025.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Nintendo has issued an update to Mario Kart World that fixes a number of in-game issues, including instances where the game would crash.
Available to download now, and applied automatically when Nintendo Switch 2 owners next load the game, Version 1.1.1 is the first Mario Kart World update to arrive since the racer's day one update landed two weeks ago, unlocking online play on Nintendo's new console.
Fans have spent the past fortnight discovering all manner of Mario Kart World secrets, from unlocking Rainbow Road and Mirror Mode to discovering several Nintendo Easter eggs. But some fans have experienced issues — which today's patch now seeks to address.
Fixes in Version 1.1.1 include the possibility for Mario Kart World to crash when watching replays or after an Online Play race.
There's also an update to the DK Spaceport track, patching up the problem where players could slip through a wall right before the finish line. The full list of patch notes lie below.
Latest update: Ver. 1.1.1 (Released June 17, 2025)
Fixed Issues
Fixed an issue where items were no longer able to be used.
Fixed an issue where sometimes controls were inoperable when selecting a character and trying to start Free Roam from the “Free Roam” map.
Fixed an issue where sometimes the game shut down when watching replay after a race.
Fixed an issue where sometimes the game shut down after a race in “Online Play.”
Fixed an issue where rate fluctuations were sometimes displayed incorrectly in “Knockout Tour” and “Online Play.”
Fixed an issue where it was easy for a communication error to occur when trying to join Friends playing “VS Race” or “Battle” in “Online Play.”
Fixed an issue where you sometimes slipped through the wall before the finish line of “DK Spaceport.”
Fixed an issue where you sometimes couldn’t return to correct position after falling of the course between “Airship Fortress” and “Bowser’s Castle” while gliding.
So, what's next for Mario Kart World? Nintendo hasn't said. But as players work to increase their online ranks, and complete yet more P-Switches in the game's Free Roam world, fans are now keen to hear how the game might be expanded in future with new costumes, missions — or even all-new tracks and areas.
"Mario Kart World may not make the most convincing case that going open-world was the boost the series needed, but excellent multiplayer racing, incredible polish, and the thrilling new Knockout Tour mode still more than live up to its legacy," IGN wrote in our Mario Kart World review.
Mattel has revealed three new exclusive toys being sold at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, and there's a definite theme to this year's lineup. It's all about girl power, whether you prefer the high-speed antics of Mario Kart's Pauline or the dark energy of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at all three SDCC exclusives, and then scroll down to find out how you can acquire them for your collection:
Joining Mattel's growing lineup of Mario Kart toys, Pauline depicts the iconic mayor of New Donk City riding her pink Badwagon kart. The toy comes packaged inside a special display box.
Elvira, meanwhile, is the latest addition to Mattel's popular Monster High line of dolls. The Monster High Skullector Elvira comes with a faux-leather dress and is based on the likeness of actress Cassandra Peterson. You can even see Peterson posing with the doll in the gallery above.
Finally, also joining the Monster High line is Sweet Screams Twyla. This doll includes an appropriately cotton candy-themed outfit and even comes with a cotton candy-scented bunny companion.
“This lineup of collectibles salutes the fearless, fashion-forward and cherished female characters that continue to break boundaries,” said Nick Karamanos, senior vice president, Mattel Creations & Entertainment Partnerships at Mattel, in a statement. “From gothic glam to gaming icons, these collectibles honor the fan-favorite heroines from the franchises our fans know and love.”
All three items will be sold at SDCC 2025, which runs from July 24-27. Mattel will have an exhibit at Booth #3029, though the toys themselves can be purchased at Mattel merchandise booth (#2945). Select quantities of Pauline and Twyla will also be made available on the Mattel Creations website after the show, but Elvira will strictly be sold in-person at SDCC.
Shipping is expected for next week, from June 25 onwards for the Mario Kart World Bundle, and June 30 for the standard Switch 2.
These will likely continue to get pushed back while more orders pile in, and Amazon will try to manage the huge demand of the console while it's still in stock.
This is the first major restock at a UK retailer since the console launched, and sold over 3.5 million units worldwide in just four days.
Stock was fairly available on release day, but promptly sold out and has been rather elusive ever since. But now with Amazon's latest restock, it's good news for anyone seeking out the Switch 2.
Nintendo's Exclusive Pokémon Legends: Z-A Switch 2 Preorder Bundles
My Nintendo Store UK has finally opened preorders for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and it’s offering the biggest range of preorder bonuses so far for the upcoming Switch 1 and Switch 2 RPG.
Every version of the game includes a free Partner Figurine featuring Tepig, Chikorita, and Totodile posed together.
Beyond that, three separate preorder bundles are available, priced between £56.99 and £78.99, each packed with exclusive Pokémon merchandise. The standout is the Mega Evolution Bundle, which includes a Z-A starter Pokémon pin set in a collector’s case, plus two detailed figurines of Mega Charizard X (8 x 10cm) and Mega Charizard Y (8 x 8cm).
Other UK retailers already have preorders live too. Amazon’s listing sits at £52.95 for the Switch 2 version and remains one of the cheapest, while Pokémon Center UK is bundling plush toys of the game’s starter Pokémon.
Where to Buy Switch 2 Games and Accessories (UK)
You can also currently place orders on the vast majority of games, controllers, cases, additional storage, and extra gadgets to add to your Nintendo Switch 2 order and complete your set-up.
Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza also aren't currently showing within the complete collection via Nintendo's Amazon page, but each is still available to preorder for £74.99 and £64.99, respectively.
While the hub page for the NSO Memberships does mention the service does have a 7-day trial available for those who have never subscribed, it also specifically states that said trial cannot be used to purchase premium items like the Switch 2.
Among all of the other retailers, we have found Amazon UK's to be the best in terms of default pricing and delivery, since you not only do not have to pay until dispatch, but you'll also get free delivery with Amazon Prime.
Meanwhile, while Argos only allows you to pay immediately, you can connect your Nectar card to earn points to redeem for money off future orders.
Nearly 3,000 Switch 2 consoles have been reported stolen from a truck transporting stock between Nintendo of America's headquarters and a Texas GameStop store.
Police investigating the Nintendo Switch 2 theft, discovered while the driver was mid-route in Colorado, said the value of the lost consoles amounts to $1.4 million, per local ABC News affiliate Denver 7.
Tracking down the culprit, or culprits, may not prove easy, however — as investigators say they are currently unsure exactly where the theft took place along the driver's 1,332-mile journey.
Was this a planned operation, with the truck tracked from Nintendo's headquarters in Redmond, Washington and targeted specifically? Or was this a random theft? Police say multiple pallets of Switch 2 stock were shifted from the truck's trailer — suggesting at least some level of organisation.
If caught, police say those responsible could face multiple felony charges for theft. The driver, meanwhile, has said he wasn't aware he was transporting stock of Nintendo's new console.
Local police have asked for any information about the crime, with a tip line available on 720-874-8477.
Nintendo Switch 2 finally launched worldwide earlier this month, and went on to sell 3.5 million consoles over its first few days on sale. Despite early fears over stock shortages, Nintendo has managed to keep its new console relatively available — though incidents such as this won't help.
Still, thieves have been targeting expensive video game stock for years. Back in 2020, around the launch of PlayStation 5, Sony's in-demand new console was being stolen from moving vehicles in the UK via a technique known as the 'rollover'. The Times reported that British gangs had used the technique dozens of times to swipe PS5 consoles from trucks while on the road, with other vehicles used to box in the truck while a thief attached to a rope climbed aboard at speeds up to 50mph, and used cutting tools to get inside.
Director of the upcoming Elden Ring Movie, Alex Garland, is on his seventh playthrough of FromSoftware's epic fantasy RPG, and has revealed the boss he found the toughest to take down.
Speaking to IGN ahead of the release 28 Years Later — the zombie apocalypse film he has written 23 years on from penning the first movie in the franchise — the Ex Machina and Civil War director revealed which of all of the famed foes in Elden Ring that he has settled on being the most difficult: Malenia, Blade of Miquella.
“It's Malenia who's the tough one”, Garland explained. “I'm now on my seventh playthrough of that game. I've leveled up, I've got lots of juice, and a cool sword, and stuff like that, and I just throw myself at them again, and again, and again, and again.”
“That was the technique I learned with Dark Souls," he continued. “It's not that you get better, it's more like monkeys and typewriters. You just keep doing it, and eventually, one day they're dead.”
But it turns out, Garland never had quite the trouble with Starscourge Radahn, instead offering his very own game help guide on how to take down the gravity magic-harnessing horseman.
“Radahn's really easy”, stated Garland. “I thought Radahn was quite easy, because as long as you sort of activated the people who can assist you in that fight, they get on with fighting him, and they take off whatever it is, half his energy, and you finish him off. It's all about activating those little summon signs dotted around.”
Can we expect either of these bosses to appear in A24's upcoming Elden Ring film adaptation? Well, as you may expect, Garland gave us no details on what he plans to do with the project. Indeed, we know next to nothing about the Elden Ring movie, which is in the works from Garland as writer and director, Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco, and A24. Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, who helped create the original Elden Ring, is attached as a producer on the movie, as is Vince Gerardis. DNA’s Peter Rice will also produce, along with Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich from DNA. There’s no word yet on how involved FromSoftware or game director Hidetaka Miyazaki will be.
What do you think the story of the Elden Ring movie should be? I, for one, think it would be smart to tackle a prequel based on the events of The Shattering, rather than the story of the game itself. Got your own idea? Let us know in the comments below!
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
If you’re making a Terminator video game, you ideally want to be able to include Arnold Schwarzenegger in all his glory. That, however, isn’t always possible. Why? The developer of an upcoming Terminator video game has offered an explanation.
Terminator 2D: No Fate, due out this September, is a retro game based on 1991 action masterpiece Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It features iconic characters from the movie, such as John and Sarah Connor, the T-1000 and the T-800. Check out gameplay and comments from the developers at Bitmap Bureau in the video below.
But while Terminator 2D: No Fate does feature the T-1000 and the T-800 characters, it does not feature Arnie’s likeness. Speaking to IGN, publisher Reef Entertainment explained why, and in the process lifted the lid on how licenses like these tend to work for video games.
Reef, with the Terminator 2 license to play with, has the rights to use the characters from the movie such as Sarah and John Connor, and on top of that, it has image rights for certain actors who have provided those rights to Studio Canal, which owns the rights to the first two Terminator films, as part of the agreement.
But the rights to use the Terminator itself does not include the rights to use Arnie's likeness. That’s why Terminator 2D: No Fate uses the endoskeleton for character artwork, rather than Arnie’s likeness.
As well as all that, Reef got in touch with Michael Edwards, the actor who played General John Connor in the iconic opening of Terminator 2, to do a likeness deal for the video game. Terminator 2D: No Fate includes gameplay that sees the player control future war John Connor in a fight against the machines, fleshing out that brief opening scene in the movie into an entire section of the video game.
In the movie, you only see Edwards’ John Connor for a few seconds, but those seconds are memorable indeed; his heavily scarred face and steely gaze looking out over the battlefield tell us he’s seen and done all sorts in humanity’s desperate struggle for survival against the machines. So Reef reached out separately to the 80-year-old actor to do a deal.
(It turns out that in 2021, Edwards reprised the role of John Connor in a fan-made Terminator film called Skynet.)
In short: there’s a difference between signing the Terminator 2 license and having the agreement to use the characters, compared to the actor’s likeness, which is separate.
This isn’t to say it is impossible to get Arnie’s likeness for use in video games. After all, Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm has managed it multiple times, most recently for Mortal Kombat 1’s DLC character Conan the Barbarian. Before that, NetherRealm managed to get Arnie for the Terminator T-800 DLC character in Mortal Kombat 11. But there’s a gulf between the scope of a game like Terminator 2D: No Fate and the Warner Bros.-backed Mortal Kombat series.
And it’s worth noting that while NetherRealm’s Arnie likeness is in, a soundalike voice actor (Chris Cox) was used for his lines. It doesn’t look like the 77-year-old Schwarzenegger is in the business of doing video game voice work.
Here’s Reed Entertainment’s comment to IGN on how all this works in full:
Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't in the game it’s just a T800. We didn't have his license, unfortunately. But for the rest, you have to ask each actor individually to use his portrait.
What we have is the right to use the characters. So like Sarah, John, T1000, T800, and then certain actors will also provide image rights to Studio Canal, which is included in the agreement. For example; Linda Hamilton is Sarah Connor, which is why you can see Linda at the beginning of the trailer. Whereas our right to use the Terminator itself, it doesn't include Arnold. When you see the character artwork for that, you'll see it's like the Terminator itself rather than Arnold. It's basically the endoskeleton that we have the right to use.
Michael Edwards played the future war version of John in the opening of T2. You see him, he lowers his binoculars, he's looking over the battlefield. Someone like that, we reached out separately to him to include his likeness. There's a definite difference between signing the T2 license and having the agreement to use the characters compared to the actor's likeness, which is separate.
Photo by CBS via Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Relics are the potent items that can give your Nightfarer an extra boost on every run of Elden Ring Nightreign. There is also, as it turns out, a limit on just how many you can have stored up in your hideaway.
One user on the r/Nightreign subreddit posted an image from their Elden Ring Nightreign game today, with a special message appearing over their attempts to start an expedition. "Cannot launch expedition: Too many relics in possession," read the message. "Please use the relic rite menu to sell off spares."
The user u/Scufozzover1 didn't specify exactly how many they had, only ball-parking an estimate of "upwards of 1000 maybe." It's easy to theorize this might be related to a general 999 item limit, but unless you'd like to grind out that many relics, it's unclear where the limit actually is.
There are plenty of reasons to clear out your relic storage, mostly for resources. Though if you're just playing run after run of Elden Ring Nightreign I could see losing track of just how many you've accrued.
Comments in the thread have brought up an old critique of Elden Ring Nightreign: the need for relic management. As more relics flood in, it can become a little difficult to keep track of what's what, or adding additional filters that could better sift through the pile.
It's already a bit of a hassle for me now, as I've built up a decent stockpile of basic relics, so I can't imagine what it's like for this Redditor and their apparent hundreds upon hundreds of relics. Maybe this won't be an issue for most players now, but as the weeks and months of Nightreign roll on, it might be worth keeping an eye on. At the very least, it's a good reminder to clean out your unused relics every now and then.
The sales bin is bursting this week, and if you listen closely, you might even hear the cling of cartoon loot being pinched under moonlight. From modern epics to reimagined classics, there's a grab bag of deals that stretches across platforms and genres. No matter your console of choice, there’s something here worth adding to cart before the savings vanish like a stealthy pickpocket.
This Day in Gaming 🎂
In retro news, I’m lighting a 34-candle cake for the arcade version of Bonanza Bros., the split-screen stealther I played the pins off of on Mega Drive. This side-on heist ‘em up from 1990 put players in control of Mobo and Robo, two suave, bug-eyed burglars with a knack for lootin’, lockpickin’, and layin’ cops out by violently opening doors into them.
Back then, Bonanza Bros. stood out for its co-op gameplay and comical visual style, which blended slapstick with high-stakes thievery. It was part sneaking, part shooter, and entirely charming. The way it merged Metal Gear-style infiltration with arcade-speed reflexes gave it a distinct identity; one that would quietly echo in everything from Sly Cooper to Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine decades later.
Over on Switch, Super Mario RPG drops its price like a Thwomp, making now a great time to revisit the Squaresoft and Nintendo collab that first introduced timed hits to Mario combat. Also worth a look is It Takes Two, the only game to win Game of the Year with mandatory co-op and a scene-stealing book voiced by Josef Fares himself. That's the same man who once flipped off the Oscars live on stage, just in case you'd forgotten.
Xbox Series X players can snag RoboCop: Rogue City for less than a servo meat pie, and its lead, Peter Weller, actually returned to voice the character after years away from the role. Meanwhile, Tekken 8 throws down with a story mode that, in true Mishima tradition, involves volcanoes, shirtless grudge matches, and at least one betrayed family member.
On PS5, Elden Ring rides back into relevance, hot on the heels of its Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. Also worth a look is Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, which restores concept art from the late and great Warren Spector’s original dark Disney vision.
And if you’re on PC, you can’t beat free. Especially when it includes Tomb Raider I–III Remastered, which faithfully preserves Lara’s polygonal charm, swan dives and all. Pair that with a 100 percent discount on Saints Row IV and you've got the perfect combo of spandex and silliness.
Amazon is having a pretty big sale on Magic: The Gathering sealed sets right now, and you can pick up a wide variety of Aetherdrift packs, collector bundles, and Commander decks at great new low prices, and these contain some awesome rare and expensive cards worth the chase.
After covering the big sale, I decided to go a bit further with my coverage and collect 10 of the most valuable cards available in play boosters and collector boosters, so you can track the best and most expensive chase cards from the set while ripping open your new boosters.
TL;DR: 10 Most Valuable Chase Cards From Aetherdrift
Aetherdrift has dozens of borderless, Fracture Foil, First-Place Foil, and Showcase editions of main set cards, but these are the 10 most valuable.
From a competitive standpoint, not many of these see much play, although Ketramose, the New Dawn is the face of a hot new Modern combo deck.
And for you Commander players, this is a great chance to nab the elusive Radiant Lotus Fracture Foil or the Aetherspark First-Place Foil.
The original Kaladesh mono-colored Gearhulks were Standard powerhouses, and these new two-color bad boys are powerful in their own right. Brightglass Gearhulk is the best of the five, and is currently sitting at a market value of $57.05. Find it as low as $42.
9. March of the World Ooze (Showcase Fracture Foil)
This is a pretty neat, if a bit high-cost, anti-control card that can turn your little mana dorks or tokens into beefy 6/6 creatures. Market value is $63.09, but can be picked up for as low as $14.79.
8. Mimeoplasm, Revered One (Showcase Fracture Foil)
I love this as a fun graveyard strategy in Commander, and of course that art is something to behold. It's market value is $67.91, but can be found as low as $23.60.
7. Mu Yanling, Pathfinder (Showcase Fracture Foil)
Another one with gorgeous art, I wouldn't be surprised to see this slotted into a blue artifact-focused Commander deck like Urza, High Lord Artificer. It's currently at a market value of $70.57 and available as low as $26.96.
6. Cursecloth Wrappings (Showcase Fracture Foil)
This is right at home in any Zombie deck. Personally, it's going into my Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver Commander deck. It also has some of the coolest art of any of these cards. Grab it for $83.73 market, or as low as $36.99.
5. The Aetherspark (First-Place Foil)
The Aetherspark is one of the most mechanically-unique cards I've ever seen. It's both an Equipment and Planeswalker, with some powerful Loyalty abilites to boot. It's currently sitting at a market value of $96.92, but you can grab one for as low as $80.
4. Ketramose, the New Dawn (Borderless First-Place Foil)
The First-Place Foil is awesome (better than its regular printing art, in my opinion), and this is one of the most played chase cards from the set. It's currently at $98.54 market value, but can go as low as $75.
3. Chandra, Spark Hunter (Showcase Fracture Foil)
This version of iconic Planewalker Chandra Nalaar has great synergy with Vehicles and other artifacts, and is currently sitting at a market value of $136.60. However, you can find it for as low as $31.
2. Loot, the Pathfinder (Showcase Fracture Foil)
Loot is undeniably adorable, but you'd be hard-pressed to see this showing in many decks due to its mana cost and slow set up. Still, you can grab it for $209.63 market or as low as $58.87.
1. Radiant Lotus (Showcase Fracture Foil)
This might be one of the prettiest Magic cards I've ever seen. It's currently sitting at a staggering $275.86 market price, but some vendors have it for as low as $99 if buying singles is more your bag than gambling on cracking packs.
Which Aetherdrift Sealed Products Should I Get?
If you're looking to chase these valuable cards by cracking packs, I'd recommend picking up an Aetherdrift collector booster box. It's currently 42% off at Amazon, setting you back $174.99.
We've featured it as part of the best early Prime Day deals, since we're unlikely to get better deals on Magic cards between now and Prime Day on July 8-11.
Moreover, for the keen collectors out there with maybe a little too much money, we've also recently covered the ins and outs of finding Final Fantasy x Secret Lair cards after they sold out when buying directly through Wizards of the Coast. It's set to be one of the biggest Secret Lair releases of the year, and fairly hard to come by without resorting to the secondary market.
More Magic: The Gathering Deals
Aetherdrift isn't the only expansion getting discounts. Seemingly random products across older expansions, including pre-release kits and play booster boxes, have also gotten price drops on Amazon.
Keep in mind that older expansions may not be legal in current Standard play, so it's worth doing some research based on whether you're buying cards for a personal collection or competitive play.
Warner Bros. Games is restructuring its interactive entertainment endeavors to focus on four key franchises: Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter, DC, and Game of Thrones.
Details on the company-wide overhaul come from Variety, which says the changes involve a leadership shake-up but will not result in any layoffs or the exit of any executives. Instead, three key Warner Bros. Games names have been promoted as the gaming branch shifts its focus to its more reliable brands.
Warner Bros. Games Montreal studio head Yves Lachance now serves as senior vice president, development and will watch over games based on the Harry Potter and Game of Thrones franchises. Meanwhile, NetherRealm Studios’ Shaun Himmerick is taking on the senior vice president, development role to maintain the company’s Mortal Kombat and DC Universe efforts. Finally, Warner Bros. Games New York’s Steven Flenory has been promoted to senior vice president, central tech & services and will manage game and publishing technology, customer service, quality assurance, and user research.
"Our company is home to some of the biggest franchises in the world, and we are optimizing our team structure to develop long-term franchise roadmaps to delight players and fans of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat and DC games.
“Our company is home to some of the biggest franchises in the world, and we are optimizing our team structure to develop long-term franchise roadmaps to delight players and fans of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat and DC games,” Global Streaming & Games CEO J.B. Perrette said in a statement. “We are very fortunate to have a strong stable of development and technology talent, and Yves, Shaun and Steven are respected leaders with excellent track records in their areas of expertise. I’m looking forward to working closely with them and the team as we work to make the best games possible for our key franchises.”
Time will tell how the Warner Bros. Games restructuring will affect the company after its worrying start to 2025. It began January 23 when it was revealed that boss David Haddad would be leaving the company following noteworthy failures that include the troubled launches of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus.
Shutdown plans for the latter followed only one week later, with an even more substantial blow arriving in February as Warner Bros. Games announced plans to shutter Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros. San Diego alongside the cancelation of its Wonder Woman game.
Today’s restructuring does line up with a strategy Warner Bros. outlined late last year. At the time, it admitted its games business “is substantially underperforming its potential right now,” and would soon shift to lean on titles like Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, and Game of Thrones. DC was included in its refreshed plans as well, with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav specifically mentioning Batman of particular importance.
Changes at Warner Bros. Games fall in line with other smaller and larger shake-ups at the company. Just weeks ago, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would soon split into two media companies: Global Networks and Streaming & Studios. On the streaming end, audiences will soon notice that Max will revert back into HBO Max in the coming months.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Amazon has officially revealed the dates for Prime Day 2025, and it's the first time Prime Day will be longer than two days. Running from July 8-11, it's the longest Prime Day since the sales event began 10 years ago. With tariffs on the horizon and prices on the rise, many shoppers (including myself) will be looking forward to this to find some of the best deals of the year. With a longer sales event, we can likely expect more deals this year – right?
Well, not necessarily. Amazon had its longest-ever Memorial Day sale earlier this year by starting it a full week before Memorial Day weekend, but the deals didn't really get any better just because shoppers had more time to browse them. While I don't know for sure that the same will be true for Prime Day this year, I can't help but think the extra two days won't actually have any sort of impact on how many good deals there are.
Still, having extra time to shop a sale that takes place in the middle of the work week is definitely a welcome change. There might also be a few other benefits to having those extra days that we can potentially look forward to.
A Longer Prime Day Could Mean More Lightning Deals
The one major benefit of having more Prime Days is that it opens up the door to more lightning deals, which are already where you'll find the best overall discounts during sales events like these. The downsides are that they can be fairly inconsistent, sell out quickly, or simply expire. Some lightning deals are time-based, meaning they only last for a specific window before they disappear. Others are set up with a limited number of products available at that discount before the deal is removed.
Having two extra days could potentially mean more or lightning deals, but it also means more slots for Amazon to fill with discounts on things nobody will really care about. You'll just need to consistently check Amazon's deals page to see what new flash sales Amazon has dropped each day, which is understandably a chore. Though there's no guarantee you'll find something good just because it's being marketed as a Prime Day deal. Amazon already has new lightning deals every day, regardless of whether a sale is happening or not.
Most of the best deals drop early, though
It's worth noting that outside of lightning deals, the best overall Prime Day deals on Amazon tend to drop either before or on the first day of the event. These are things like discounts on Amazon devices, Amazon subscription services, TVs, and video games that aren't on any sort of timer or limit. So having more time to decide if you should buy some AirPods or get yourself an Audible subscription is great, but it doesn't change the discount at all.
A Longer Amazon Sale Could Mean More Competing Sales
Another potential benefit of a longer Prime Day is an extension of a recent trend. With Amazon's sale taking place in July every year since 2015, other major retailers have started kicking off competing Amazon Prime Day sales of their own. Major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy have consistently offered some sort of "Prime Day" counter-sale sale over the last few years and 2025 shouldn't be any different.
With Amazon extending its sale, other retailers will be forced to compete with the online retailer in the same time frame. This will hopefully mean that retailers outside of Amazon will have different deals or lower prices on some items during July, but that's not necessarily guaranteed. Amazon tends to match whatever prices other retailers have at any given time anyway, so price drops anywhere online tend to benefit Amazon shoppers regardless of where they came from. These types of discounts also tend to be available for those without a Prime membership as well.
Will Amazon Prime Day 2025 Be Worth Shopping?
Although a longer Amazon Prime Day may not be a reason to rejoice, I do think it is still going to be one of the best times of the year to shop. Tariffs on imports that were threatened then paused are supposed to resume in early August, which means prices are only going to go up this year if those go into full effect. Prime Day has consistently been a good time to find deals, and I expect 2025 will be largely the same. Even if prices aren't incredible, there's no guarantee that they are going to be any better during Black Friday this year. With that in mind, I'd definitely recommend shopping Amazon's sale this year.
There also aren't that many other big sales events on the horizon after Prime Day. There will be some Labor Day sales and October Prime Day, but other than those smaller events Black Friday is the next time you'll be able to save money on most things.
If you're looking for an OLED gaming monitor with a 4K native resolution and a 40" or greater screen size, your options are limited. Fortunately, this rare deal just popped up today and might be right up your alley. Amazon is currently offering the 42" LG Evo C4 4K OLED Smart TV for just $699.99 with free shipping. This is the best price I've seen for this particular size model. Although it's technically a TV, the 42" Evo C4 also doubles as an excellent gaming PC monitor.
Update: Prime Visa cardholders get an additional 10% cashback (normally 5%).
42" LG Evo C4 4K OLED Gaming TV or PC Monitor for $699.99
The 42" is LG's smallest OLED TV. It performs just as well as its larger sized siblings as a gaming TV, but where it really shines is as a gaming monitor for your PC. Whereas most TVs are simply too big for your desk, the 42" is a perfectly manageable size; the smaller screen size combined with the native 4K resolution offers up a respectable 104ppi pixel density. It has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support refresh rates up to 144Hz at 4K. Other gaming features include variable refresh rate, 0.03ms response time, and G-Sync compatiblity, and 4:4:4 chroma sampling for clear, sharp text.
The C4 is the 2024 model in LG's mid-range C-series OLED lineup. Compared to non-OLED TVs, an OLED TV offers superior image quality, near-infinite blacks, near-infinite contrast ratio, and near-instantaneous response times. Because of these advantages, the Evo OLED TV excels at displaying 4K HDR content in all of its intended glory. The C4 uses LG's proprietary Evo panel, which offers higher brightness level and contrast ratio compared to traditional W-OLED TVs (similar to QD OLED panels on Samsung TVs). The LG brand is especially popular because LG OLED TVs have been out for years and benefit from several generations of updates and optimizations.
Looking for more options? Check out all of the best TVs of 2025.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
The Star Trek franchise is resurrecting William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk for a new comic book series called Star Trek: The Last Starship. Building on a plot point introduced in the live-action series Star Trek: Discovery, The Last Starship sees Kirk take command of a new ship in the Federation's darkest hour.
The Last Starship is set in the aftermath of The Burn, the 31st Century disaster which involves the destruction of every active warp core in the galaxy and the deaths of trillions. With the Federation in shambles and space becoming a truly lawless No Man's Land, the mysteriously rejuvenated Kirk will have to assemble a new crew to keep the fire of Starfleet burning.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at the first issue of Star Trek: The Last Starship:
The Last Starship is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, who recently wrapped up the Star Trek: Lore War crossover at IDW. The series features art by Star Trek veteran Adrián Bonilla and colors by Heather Moore (Doctor Strange). The first issue features covers by Francesco Francavilla, Skylar Patridge, Michael Cho, and Malachi Ward.
This isn't the first time the Trek franchise has resurrected its most famous captain. 1994's Star Trek Generations bridged the gap between the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation by briefly pairing Shatner's Kirk with Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard. Though Kirk dies in Generations, Shatner himself resurrected the character again via a series of non-canon novels that have since been dubbed "The Shatnerverse." But this time, The Last Starship's Kirk appears to be the more youthful TOS version.
"Forget everything you know about Star Trek,” said Lanzing in a statement. “The Last Starship is a new crew, a new era, and a completely different tone; our aim is to be literary, intense, innovative, and most of all, accessible. We're bringing you into the Federation's darkest hour through the brilliant, noir-soaked lens of artist Adrián Bonilla with zero homework required.”
Lanzing continued, “Longtime Trek fans will have a deep and fascinating reading experience, to be sure - this is a pivotal moment in Trek history that's never been even glimpsed before - but above all, The Last Starship is a dark and complex sci-fi you can hand to anyone. We’ve spent the last eight years celebrating all that Trek has ever been. Now, it's time to rebuild it from scratch and discover all it can be."
“The only familiar face is the one you’d never expect to see in this era: Captain James T. Kirk,” said Kelly. “William Shatner’s iconic performance transcends borders - Kirk is one of the great characters of the modern fiction canon with a timeless actor to match. He was also the first Star Trek character we ever wrote - a leader and warrior poet with boundless tragedy and contradiction. Now, we’re honored to be taking this character into truly uncharted, groundbreaking territory in The Last Starship - as the Federation’s greatest pioneer must face down the inferno that threatens to consume his entire legacy.”
Star Trek: The Last Starship #1 will be released on September 24, 2025.
Connexion
