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The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Graphics Card Drops to the Lowest Price of the Year Ahead of Black Friday

AMD's best graphics card of 2025 has dropped to the lowest price of the year ahead of Black Friday. Walmart (via Newegg) currently has the ASRock Steel Legend Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB Graphics Card for just $619.99 shipped. The 9070 XT offers the best value for gamers looking to upgrade to a 4K monitor. It performs on par with Nvidia's popular GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and yet costs $100 less at retail price.

ASRock Steel Legend Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB GPU for $620

The Radeon RX 9070 XT Received a 10/10 at IGN

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the only 2025-released GPU that we gave a 10/10 score. Even though it costs $150 less than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, the 9070 XT beats it out in several of the games we tested. In a few benchmarks, the results aren't even close. The 9070 XT approaches the performance of the $1,000 RX 7900 XTX but with better ray tracing and upscaling performance than its predecessor. This is the least expensive graphics card from either AMD or Nvidia that I would comfortably recommend for playing the latest and most demanding games in 4K at 60fps or higher framerates. Check out our AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT review.

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.

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This $15 Cordless Tire Inflator and Air Compressor Belongs in Your Car Emergency Kit

Every car absolutely needs a tire inflator as part of an emergency kit to be readily available at any time. If the only reason stopping you is the cost, then this deal should give you no more excuse. Ahead of Black Friday, Amazon is offering Prime members the Aneson cordless tire inflator and air compressor for just $14.99 after you apply $15 off coupon code "QVWFJ6XS" during checkout. Any brand of tire inflator you find on Amazon at around this price point was probably made from the one of few overseas factories. They might not have as many fancy features as other more expensive models, but they get the job done and that's what matters.

Aneson Cordless Tire Inflator and Air Compressor for $15

The Aneson tire inflator and air compressor features an internal lithium-ion battery. Cordless inflators are much more convenient to use because they don't need to be plugged in and can be charged with a standard USB Type-C cable. The compressor is rated for a maximum pressure of 150 PSI and can refill a 195/65 R15 tire from 29 to 36 PSI in about one minute. It also has an essential auto-stop feature to prevent you from dangerously overfilling your tires.

Like most tire inflators, this model can also be used as a cordless compressor to inflate other things as well, like bicycle tires, balls, inflatables, and more. The digital display is easy to read and can switch among four different units of measurements: psi, kpa, bar and kg/cm². It's also equipped with a USB Type-C output so that it can also be used as a power bank to charger your phone or mobile electronics in a pinch.

Most people will get this tire inflator to keep their tires toppoed up, however it will come in handy during the real emergencies when you get a flat. Keep in mind though that If your tire has a puncture, there's no point filling it back up if it's going to leak again. So make sure you also have a tire patch kit on hand.

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.

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The 2025 77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED TV Drops to Under $2,000, Plus Get a Free Soundbar and Wall Mount

Ahead of Black Friday, the official LG Store just dropped the price on a current generation LG OLED TV. Right now you can order a massive 77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED Smart TV for $1,999.99 with free delivery, which also includes your choice of free stand setup or free wall mounting. LG is also offering a free LG S40T 2.1ch soundbar and TV wall mount when you add them to the same order. If you can't wait until Black Friday, this is a great deal on a 2025 OLED TV.

Purchase this TV (77" LG Evo C5) between November 6 and December 7, and you can receive an extra $200 virtual gift card (prepaid Mastercard) simply for writing a review. Details here.

77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED Smart TV for $1,999.99

Free LG S40T 2.1ch soundbar and wall mount (must add to the same order)

LG's OLED TVs have been our favorite TVs for console gaming for three years running thanks to their outstanding image quality, low input lag, and high refresh rate. The 2025 C5 uses LG's proprietary Evo panel, which is significantly brighter and offers a wider color gamut than traditional W-OLED TVs. Aside from higher production costs, there's no downside to this technology; the C5 boasts the near-infinite black levels, near-infinite contrast ratio, and near-instantaneous response times you'd expect from any OLED TV This is easily the best TV for streaming 4K HDR content in its intended glory.

The LG C5 has the necessary gaming features as well, including a native 120Hz panel that can be pushed to as high as 144Hz, HDMI 2.1 inputs for running PS5 games in 4K at up to 120fps, variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM). The C5 is also lightweight for its size because the rear cabinet housing is made of a composite fiber; for example, this 65" model weighs only 36 pounds without the stand, making it much easier to wall mount.

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.

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GMKTec Evo-X2 Mini PC Review

It wasn’t long ago that getting a mini PC meant trading performance for size. Shrinking things down to a machine that you could easily carry in a backpack or hide behind your TV meant settling for sluggish or outdated processors, and gaming performance that topped out at emulating retro games – if you were lucky. There are still plenty of those PCs out there, but as Intel and AMD have released new processors, the performance potential of these tiny systems has left the glass ceiling in shards.

The GMKtec EVO-X2 is exactly such a system. Compact enough to hold in the palm of your hand, this system packs seriously powerful hardware, including the AMD Ryzen 9 AI Max+ 395 processor and 64GB to 128GB of memory. It was designed for AI, but with its integrated Radeon 8060S GPU, it’s also a capable little mini gaming PC.

GMKTec EVO-X2 - Design and Features

Measuring in at only 7.6 x 7.3 x 3.03 inches (2.75L), the EVO-X2 is designed to disappear on your desk. It can slide behind most monitors or, as I did, hide underneath a riser shelf. The tiny design is part and parcel of what the EVO-X2, and the majority of manufacturer GMKtec’s product line, is all about. It’s a PC for people that don’t want the footprint of a full tower or laptop, be those the space-constrained people looking for a media PC to tuck behind their TV or projector screen, or those looking to easily transport their main system between different locations.

But the EVO-X2 breaks the mold in a few different ways. First off, you’ll find that it is ever so slightly larger than many other systems in this category. But its extra height allows for improved ventilation, which is definitely necessary considering its specs.

It’s still boxy, but GMKtec also made good use of that added height with the more stylish design of its case. Its top half is smaller with one corner removed to make way for a dedicated fan mode button. The top is also removable to add an extra full-size M.2 SSD if you need it.

Note that the unit I was sent for testing came with a 1TB SSD and 64GB of memory. Any unit shipped to customers will have a minimum of 2TB and 64GB but can be configured all the way to 4TB and 128GB.

While most mini PCs have lower performance processors only suited for basic productivity tasks, the EVO-X2 is better specced than many pre-built laptops. It’s even designed for easy storage upgrades, which isn’t always possible with ultra-compact form factors. Due to the design of the motherboard with its Ryzen 9 AI Max+ chipset, memory is non-upgradeable, so be sure to think into the future when considering how much memory you’ll need.

The star of the show is its Ryzen 9 processor. AMD’s Ryzen 9 AI Max 395+ is one the highest performance AI mobile processors available to consumers today. It’s a 16-core, 32-thread multitasking beast able to hit a top speed of 5.1 GHz – a key factor in how well it’s able to run games and applications. It has a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) for accelerated AI tasks that’s able to reach 50 TOPS of performance on its own and brings the system to 126 TOPS overall.

More important for gaming is the integrated Radeon 8060S graphics that come with the AI Max 395+. For integrated graphics, it’s on the absolute cutting edge of performance. Built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, it’s one of the first integrated GPUs that’s actually able to compete with full gaming laptops with dedicated GPUs – albeit, just not the latest.

It’s important to remember that this is still an integrated graphics chip. When I reviewed the Asus ROG Flow Z13, also using the same chip, it delivered in-game frame rates roughly in line with an Nvidia RTX 4050 to 4060. While that might not seem that impressive from a gaming laptop perspective, there is no dedicated GPU in this system, the one processor is handling everything. That means less weight, less power draw, and that the EVO-X2 can act as a dedicated gaming PC if you’re willing to play at 4060-level settings.

And since it’s also built on AMD’s latest graphics standards, it’s able to take advantage of its latest performance enhancers, like FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and frame generation. Together with the native performance on offer, there is more gaming and graphic potential in this system than we’ve ever tested in a mini gaming PC. That’s exciting. And while it’s not the only system of its kind to offer this chip now, it is still one of very few that you could actually use as a gaming PC.

Its port selection is also generous. On the front, you have two 10 Gbps USB Type-A ports and a USB 4 Type-C for much higher speed transfers and connection bandwidth (GMKTec doesn’t disclose whether it’s 20 Gbps or 40 Gbps). There’s also a headphone jack, a full-size SD card reader, a Performance Mode button that increases the available wattage to the CPU, and the power button. Just above the power button is the aforementioned fan mode switch and a large vent that also shows the fan’s RGB.

Around the back, there are three more USB Type-A ports (two USB 2.0 at 5 Gbps and the third USB 3.2 Gen2 10 Gbps), a second USB4, a second 3.5mm audio jack, and a 2.5G gigabit ethernet port. Video connectivity is also located on the back panel with full-size ports for HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, and the USB 4 port can also support video input. The system’s power brick also connects back here.

The EVO-X2 comes ready to use out of the box. There’s a full Windows 11 installation activated for use and a lack of bloatware. It’s almost a completely stock Windows install except for GMKTec’s AI suite which provides direct access to several downloadable LLMs (large language models) and AI tools. You don’t need to use this, however, and system TDP is controlled with the Performance Mode button, the Windows Power presets, and whatever options you configure yourself through the BIOS or supporting software.

Performance

The EVO-X2 is the most powerful, high-performance mini-PC I’ve personally tested and, by virtue of there not being many that feature the same chip and GMKtec’s unique improvements, it’s one of the best available today. I used it for both work and gaming, swapping out my employer-provided laptop and my usual gaming laptop (until the release of Battlefield 6, anyway).

When it comes to productivity, the EVO-X2 is overkill. The hardware far exceeds most PCs designed for work and there isn’t much it can’t do. Its massive memory capacity and fast processor make everything from the Microsoft Office suite to running Chrome with a few dozen tabs open and the Microsoft Office suite completely reasonable.

Blending together my day job with writing, I often find myself needing to create short photo and video projects using tools like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro, as well as online tools like Photoshop’s online version, Photopea, and Canva. Like many work provided PCs, the systems provided to me just can’t handle all of these tasks. While downloading on that system is out of the question anyway, even running the web version of Photoshop drags the system to a crawl. Multitasking is out of the question.

With the EVO-X2, I was able to render a 1440p video in the background while working on a long Google Doc, bouncing to a multi-tab Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and barely noticed more than the fan ramping up. While it can get noisy, it's still quieter than your average gaming laptop capable of similar performance.

When it comes to gaming, the EVO-X2 is a mini-PC powerhouse. Performance still approximates an RTX 4060 laptop GPU and, while close to the Asus ROG Flow Z13 I reviewed with the same processor, did manage to stretch its legs a bit more.

In the chart above, you can see that even with everything running at max settings, all of the games tested were playable at 1080p. While I wouldn’t advise dropping the resolution below 1080p on anything but a small portable monitor with this system, you could easily dial back some settings to push every game in this line-up to near or above 60 FPS.

Because the system is using AMD’s latest graphics technologies, you’ll also be able to use frame generation to close the gap further. Developers have to support this, but an increasing number of games do. Between balancing frame-gen and adjusting settings, I was able to keep games like Borderlands 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 running smoothly above 60 FPS at high settings and looking great. Just be aware that enabling frame generation on games where you’re not already getting around 40 fps can lead to problems.

That doesn’t mean the system will run everything and, no, it definitely isn’t going to compete with much higher than an RTX 4060. Battlefield 6, for example, just wouldn’t run well without dropping everything to its lowest settings. This is still an integrated graphics chip, even if an impressively capable one.

The system is ostensibly designed for AI use and running local models, which isn’t something I generally do. That said, a couple of my favorite AI dictation applications, SuperWhisper and SpeechPulse, offer support for local models, so I took each for a spin. The challenge here is that it obfuscates what the LLM is actually doing and any true metrics on its processing speed behind each program’s UI. But, the processing time and reliability were both excellent with local models, so it clearly didn’t struggle with GPT 4.1 while I also researched and worked in the background.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

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Battlefield 6 Update 1.1.1.5 to Finally Fix Infamous Sledgehammer Drone Exploit and Deliver Weapon Dispersion Tweaks

EA and Battlefield Studios have published update 1.1.1.5 patch notes for Battlefield 6 and REDSEC, delivering a variety of quality-of-life changes for weapons and vehicles and, at long last, a fix for the sledgehammer Recon drone glitch.

The team behind last month’s new Battlefield game detailed everything arriving in the new update in the patch notes posted to social media today. It comes with a full breakdown for tweaks related to weapon accuracy, vehicle countermeasures, and other bug fixes before update 1.1.1.5 rolls out for Battlefield 6 and REDSEC tomorrow, November 11, at 1 a.m. PT / 4 a.m. ET.

Topping the list of changes is a fix for one of the most notorious bugs to arrive since the launch of Battlefield 6: the drone glitch. For the uninitiated, players have figured out that standing on top of a friendly XFGM-6D Recon drone and smacking it with a sledgehammer causes the device to fly upward. It began as a goofy activity for those looking to add a dash of comedy to their matches and quickly evolved into an annoying exploit, as players eventually learned it could be used to reach otherwise inaccessible vantage points.

The Battlefield 6 sledgehammer drone glitch will finally be laid to rest tomorrow, but it’s far from the only change on the way. Update 1.1.1.5 will also introduce a few tweaks to how vehicles operate. Both ground and air vehicle users will be happy to know the glitch affecting the use of countermeasures like flares has been fixed, which should result in more reliable protection against lock-guided missiles. A bug tied to incorrect vehicle spawns in Breakthrough and Conquest will also be fixed with tomorrow’s update.

In addition to general fixes for battle royal match flow as well as progression, audio, and UI, infantry will notice less dispersion when aiming down sights after sprinting. It, as well as other fixes related to player movement and shooting, should have players feeling more accurate when they’re on the move.

Battlefield 6 launched October 10 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S. It’s since received a waterfall of updates as EA and BF Studios continue their attempts to keep up with fan feedback amid regular seasonal drops. Recent highlights include an overhaul for progression that reduced requirements for many of the tougher challenges, as well as toned down colors for one of Battlefield’s most controversial skins ever.

While we wait to see how the Battlefield 6 and REDSEC community will respond to update 1.1.1.5, you can read about how some dedicated fans measured nearly 15 years of multiplayer maps and why another group of players started creating their own Portal Conquest maps. You can also check out our 7/10 REDSEC review and our 8/10 Battlefield 6 multiplayer review.

You can see the full patch notes below.

Battlefield 6 Update 1.1.1.5 Patch Notes:

We’re rolling out a Quality of Life update on 11 November at 09:00 UTC, bringing refinements to vehicle countermeasure reliability, weapon accuracy, Battle Royale match flow, and overall gameplay stability.

Major Updates for 1.1.1.5:

  • Fixed an exploit allowing players to ascend and access unintended areas when standing on a XFGM-6D Recon Drone by hitting it with the Sledgehammer.
  • Fixed an issue where Lock-Guided Missiles did not get countered as expected when met with enemy countermeasures such as flares.
  • Fixed an issue where vehicles did not spawn correctly in Breakthrough and Conquest.
  • Fixed multiple Battle Royale issues affecting match flow, squad revives, and End of Round transitions.
  • Addressed progression, audio, and UI issues, improving overall clarity, reliability, and immersion.

CHANGELOG

PLAYER:

  • Fixed an issue where dispersion would be higher than intended when going from sprint to firing in ADS.
  • Fixed an issue where dispersion would incorrectly scale with movement speed and always assume the player is moving at maximum movement speed for the stance.
  • Tuned landing animation to reduce excessive camera and weapon movement when aiming down sights, improving visual stability during and after landing. This update also resolves instances where the ADS aim could be displaced when sliding.

VEHICLES:

  • Fixed an issue where Lock-Guided Missiles did not get countered as expected when met with enemy countermeasures such as flares.

GADGETS:

  • Fixed an exploit allowing players to ascend and access unintended areas when standing on the XFGM-6D Recon Drone by hitting it with the Sledgehammer.

MAPS & MODES:

  • Fixed an issue where vehicles did not spawn correctly in Breakthrough and Conquest.
  • Fixed an issue where matches sometimes would start with all sectors and objectives active at the same time.
  • Fixed an issue in Strikepoint on Siege of Cairo where destruction did not reset at halftime.

UI & HUD:

  • Fixed an issue in Vehicle Customisation locked Anti-Air Vehicle presets did not display their unlock criteria as intended.

PROGRESSION:

  • Fixed an issue where the shotgun weapon challenge “Kill 5 Enemies With a Shotgun Without Reloading” did not complete properly.
  • Fixed an issue where progress for the “Engineer Specialist 3” Assignment did not save correctly.

PORTAL:

  • Fixed an issue where “SpawnLoot” would not spawn Ammo or Armor.
  • Fixed an issue where players with community creations privileges set to Block could still access user-generated Community Experiences when the party leader hosted a match.

AUDIO:

  • Fixed an issue where activating the BF PRO Radio Channel through the Commorose did not play any sound.

REDSEC

PLAYER:

  • Fixed an issue where Battle Royale (Quads) matches did not end after the last team was eliminated.
  • Fixed an issue where being killed immediately after a mobile respawn completed could result in the squad being eliminated instead of reviving remaining teammates.
  • Fixed an issue where players could become stuck in a top-down view of the map after redeploying.
  • Fixed an issue where players retained their Second Chance after redeploying and did not transition to the End of Round screen after their next elimination.

UI & HUD:

  • Fixed an issue where all squad members displayed the same highlighted stat on the Squad Placement screen.

PROGRESSION:

  • Fixed an issue where the “Battle Royal Master Challenge 4” did not track progress correctly.

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

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8 Online Shopping Tips for Black Friday Deals Season

Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping season is the best time of the year to find discounts on just about everything. Whether you're looking for big-budget items like TVs or gaming consoles, or want to pick up holiday gifts at lower prices, This is the time of year to make those purchases.

That being said, it can be a bit intimidating to make big purchases all at once. Shopping Black Friday deals can be a great way to save money, but if you aren't careful you can easily spend more than you want on things you probably don't need. So if you're looking for some general tips for shopping the rest of Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday 2025, don't sweat it; we've got you covered right here.

1. Set a Spending Budget

If you're still shopping or planning to shop for holiday gifts or just looking to buy a few items you've been needing, budgeting is perhaps the most important thing you can do. Online retailers like Amazon and Walmart set up their pages to ensure you spend as much money as possible, and if you aren't careful, your cart can quickly become a lot fuller than you originally planned. Deciding how much you can realistically spend during Cyber Monday and beyond is a great way to limit yourself.

2. Make a List of What You Want to Buy

One of the biggest dangers of deals shopping is that the deals tend to be quite tantalizing. One second you're browsing the Amazon Black Friday sale for a new TV or headphones and the next second you're buying a whole pile of discounted socks. This can quickly become really expensive if you aren't careful, so making a list of things you want to buy ahead of time is a great way to combat this. And if the things you want don't go on sale, you can decide whether or not you should still buy it at full price.

So for example, Nintendo has announced its Black Friday sale without any mention of Switch 2 discounts. So if that's at the top of your wish list this year, you'll need to budget it in at full price.

3. Keep Track of Sale Dates

The holiday sale events have started to get a bit out of control this year as many of the bigger retailers are splitting up their sales into different chunks. Most retailer sales, including Best Buy's Black Friday sale, kick off about a week before Black Friday. Keeping track of when the upcoming sales are happening is a good way to ensure you don't miss them, especially when things start selling out quickly.

4. Compare Sale Prices

One of the dangers of shopping Cyber Monday (and Black Friday) sales is that not every deal is necessarily a good deal. Just because something is currently discounted doesn't mean it isn't cheaper somewhere else or won't drop in price later on. You can usually compare prices on products across various retailers with a simple Google search. Most of the major retailers also price match if you can find it cheaper somewhere else. We try to do this research for you in our roundups of best deals by category!

5. Don't Hesitate on a Great Deal

Black Friday can be a fairly competitive time for consumers, which is resulting in a ton of early sales this year. Although there are some deals and sales that stay consistent throughout Black Friday season all the way through Cyber Monday, many of the biggest discounts can be snatched up quickly. If you see a really good deal on something, you should try to snatch it up before it's gone, especially on games and consoles. This is especially true for certain Black Friday video game deals that tend to go pretty quick. Target has even gone so far as to offer a price match on things you buy now if they end up going on sale at the store later in the month, so there's no need to wait if you see something good.

6. Do Your Own Research

If you have a general idea of what you want to buy on Black Friday but don't know specifically what brand or product to get, it's very important to take the time and do your own research. This can be done fairly with a few simple Google searches such as "best TV for gaming" or "best budget gaming laptop". From there you should be able to narrow down the brands and models that fit your needs best. You should apply this same thinking once you find a decent deal on a product by looking up professional reviews of those products. This will usually give you a better idea of what you're buying versus relying on Amazon reviews that are built into the shopping experience.

7. Follow a Trusted Source on Social Media

There are many deals that come and go fairly regularly, and unless you plan on keeping tabs on all of the major retailers ongoing, you may end up missing out on some great discounts. It may be overwhelming to keep up, but one way to avoid this is to follow a trusted deals source on the social media platform of your choice. This can help you stay up to date on the latest deals without having to constantly dig for them yourself. We suggest following IGN's Black Friday coverage to stay on top of all of the video game and tech deals we find.

8. Shop Safely Online

What do we mean by "shop safely" exactly? When you're busy adding things to your wish lists and to your online carts for Black Friday and beyond, you may be eager to quickly check out and move onto the next thing. Before you make your online purchases, here are some safety tips to consider:

  • Ensure there's a secure connection in your browser's URL field, especially if you're on public and/or free Wi-Fi. (In Chrome, there's a locked icon for example to the left of the URL 🔒).
  • As always, be cautious of new phishing and spam emails landing in your inbox. Don't trust any email that looks off to you whatsoever, and avoid clicking any links in emails that appear even somewhat spammy. It's getting harder to recognize what's real from what's a scam, so be careful, especially during popular deals seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
  • Another piece of advice when online shopping is to ensure your auto-populated passwords and your security settings are up-to-date in whatever browser you use. As a Google user, you can manage your passwords and strengthen your security at Passwords.Google.com, which we'd definitely recommend doing before you get to shopping! You can also consider selecting "Sign in with Apple" or "Sign in with Google" when relevant for creating accounts so you don’t have to create yet another new login. Lastly, there's always 2-Step Verification, a proven way to protect your Google account when logged in and keep the internet safer from cyberattacks in general.
  • Another autofill-related tip is to try using virtual card number (in Chrome), which allows you to use your autofill payment card information when checking out. Google will allow the option to generate the unique virtual card number which keeps your actual payment card number hidden. This can be especially important when making a transaction on a new site you haven't visited prior.

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The Liquid Cooled iBuypower Y40 Pro GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming PC Drops to $1,950 for Black Friday

As part of its early Black Friday sale, Best Buy currently has the best deal on an RTX 5080 equipped prebuilt gaming PC. Starting today, the iBuypower Y40 Pro gaming PC equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X processor and RTX 5080 graphics card is on sale for $1,949.99 shipped. An RTX 5080 gaming PC priced at under $2,000 is a rare find, and this particular model is generously equipped with liquid cooling and plenty of memory and storage.

iBuypower Y40 Pro RTX 5080 Gaming PC for $1,949.99

The iBuypower Y40 Pro is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X processor, GeForce RTX 5080 16GB graphics card, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X CPU has a max turbo frequency of 5.6GHz with 12 cores, 24 threads, and a 64MB L2 cache. In terms of gaming performance, this CPU is neck and neck with the Intel Core i7-14700K according to Passmark benchmarks. With a high clock speed and a decent number of cores, this is a great CPU for both gaming and productivity use and is a good complement to the RTX 5080 GPU.

The GeForce RTX 5080 GPU will run any game in 4K

Performance-wise, the RTX 5080 is no slouch. It's one of the fastest cards on the market, bested only by the $2,000 RTX 5090 and the discontinued $1,600 RTX 4090. This is a phenomenal card for playing the latest, most demanding games in 4K resolution at high settings and ray tracing enabled. The RTX 5080 supports DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation, which means you can push even more frames out of games that support the technology with minimal visual compromise. Recent games that support it include Doom: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Borderlands 4, Stellar Blade, and Battlefield 6. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 FE review for our hands-on impressions.

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.

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'Trey and I Are Attracted to That Like Flies to Honey' — South Park Creators Explain Why the New Season Ended Up Being Pretty Much All About Mocking Donald Trump

The creators of South Park have broken their silence on the show’s recent focus on mocking Donald Trump, revealing they were attracted to “new taboos” and a fear of speaking out against the administration.

South Park has enjoyed big ratings and sparked much debate ever since the Donald Trump-skewering Season 27 opener in July. While the Comedy Central show has featured a number of subplots in recent months, the overarching Season 27 and now Season 28 storyline revolves around Trump and Satan having a baby together. The Season 27 opener, which you can read the details of here, roasted Trump to such an extent that it sparked a rebuttal from the White House.

Now, in an interview with The New York Times, creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker revealed they only decided to create the Trump plotline a few weeks before the season began, and that they thought the Trump character would be a one-off.

Those plans changed though when, according to Stone, the creators found a “vein of comedy” in the first episode. They said they sensed a fear of speaking out against the Trump administration and “new taboos,” and wanted to take it all head-on.

Stone said: “Trey and I are attracted to that like flies to honey. Oh, that’s where the taboo is? Over there? OK, then we’re over there.”

So, when will the Trump mocking end? Parker admitted the pair will eventually get “sick of” the Washington storyline, but for now it remains.

“You know, next year will be different,” he said. “If there’s one thing we know, it is that our show will be a lot longer than theirs. So, we just got to do this for now.”

Comedy Central had delayed the Season 27 ender just hours before it was due to air, with Parker and Stone insisting the blame lay at their door. “Apparently when you do everything at the last minute sometimes you don’t get it done,” the pair told Variety. “This one’s on us. We didn’t get it done in time. Thanks to Comedy Central and South Park fans for being so understanding. Tune in next week!”

Parker and Stone create each episode week-by-week, which makes for a chaotic production but topical shows. But they had switched to a biweekly schedule for Season 27, with the elongated production time allowing the pair more room to work on each episode, something Paramount was reportedly happy with.

It’s worth noting that during their San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel, which took place the day after the Season 27 opener aired, Parker said the pair were unsure what the next episode would be, revealing the decision was “super stressful.”

We're now into Season 28 after the surprise decision to bring South Park Season 27 to an end after just five episodes. The final three episodes of Season 28 air every two weeks through December 10 (November 12, November 26, and December 10).

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.

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Nintendo Announces Black Friday Sale on Switch Games and Accessories

Nintendo has announced its plans for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025. While the Mario company will not offer a discount on Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, it will drop prices on a handful of first-party original Switch games and Switch 2 memory cards. Specifically, you’ll be able to buy games like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Luigi’s Mansion 3 for $29.99, and get a $20 discount on a 256GB microSD Express card. Those deals represent about as much as Nintendo ever knocks off of prices these days.

Nintendo's Black Friday 2025 Plans

Nintendo's Black Friday game sale runs November 23–29. Here’s the full list of games we know for sure are getting the $29.99 sale price:

  • Nintendo Switch Sports
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Remake
  • Splatoon 3
  • Princess Peach: Showtime
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
  • The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe

The sale on these titles will be available at the digital Nintendo eShop, as well as on digital and physical copies at participating retailers. These kinds of deals generally happen at places like Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and Walmart, to name a few.

Nintendo's Cyber Monday 2025 Plans

Getting $20 off a microSD Express card is a decent Cyber Monday deal. If you buy any games digitally, it's likely that you'll run out of on-board storage on your Nintendo Switch 2 at some point. To add more storage, you'll need to buy a microSD Express card. These are different from the standard microSD cards the original Switch uses. In fact, hardly any devices at all required microSD Express cards until the Switch 2 came out, meaning nearly everyone who wants to upgrade their Switch 2 storage will need to buy a new card. So it's nice to see an offical Nintendo-branded one get a Cyber Monday discount.

What About Switch 2 Console Deals?

One notable omission from this announcement is the lack of a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Nintendo Switch bundle. For most of the Switch 1’s life cycle, you could bet your entire fortune Nintendo would offer that same Black Friday bundle deal, and you would've been right. But now that the Switch 2 is available, those halcyon days are over. And, unfortunately, no Switch 2 bundle appears to be taking its place this year.

That said, while Nintendo isn’t offering any console discounts of its own, it’s possible some other retailer could offer a Switch 2 deal. Since Switch 2 stock shortages ended back in July, there ought to be plenty of hardware to go around this holiday shopping season.

For more help planning your holiday gaming purchases, check out what Black Friday deals we expect from PlayStation and Xbox.

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

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'It's Only Cool if the Journey There Is Equally Worth Taking' — Is Predator: Badlands Director Dan Trachtenberg Building Towards a Larger, Avengers-Style Team Up?

Now Predator: Badlands is out in the wild and has left us with that cliffhanger to speculate about, fans are starting to ask the question: is director Dan Trachtenberg building towards a ‘Predator Cinematic Universe?’

Trachtenberg, who directed franchise reviver Prey and the animated film Killer of Killers before the record-breaking Predator: Badlands, is clearly building towards something, with characters from previous films in the franchise popping up in cameo form across his various Predator projects. Indeed, at the end of Killer of Killers we see Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic Predator character Dutch in stasis, just begging to be thawed for an all-star team up at some point in the future.

While Trachtenberg is keeping his cards close to his chest in terms of his next Predator movie, he told Variety in a recent interview that it is his intention that each Predator movie is “a complete thought,” and has learnt a valuable lesson from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“It can all go out the door once we start putting pen to paper on stuff, but I’ve looked as far as I could to feel comfortable about what I’m doing,” Trachtenberg said. “Every movie is a complete thought, not that much unlike the early Marvel stuff before the first Avengers movie, where it’s like, those are great movies, and lo and behold, we’re actually setting up that things could come together in a delicious way. But they weren’t like, ‘See how everything’s interconnected like crazy all of a sudden!’ So I’m trying to learn that lesson and make sure that any of these movies that we do are awesome ideas for movies on their own.”

Variety then pressed Trachtenberg on the possible of tying all his threads together to form an Avengers-style payoff, since be brought the movie up.

“It’s hard,” he responded. “It’s fun to geek out and think, ‘Oh my god, wouldn’t it be cool if…,’ even on a movie that you’d never expect that to happen in. But it’s only cool if the journey there is equally worth taking.”

Check out IGN’s Predator: Badlands Ending Explained to find out what’s next for the series.

In the shorter term, Predator: Badlands looks like a hit after it secured the biggest global opening ever for a Predator movie — including the Alien vs. Predator films — at the box office. Disney said Predator: Badlands opened to $40 million domestically and $40 million internationally for a global opening weekend total of $80 million. That’s the biggest debut for a Predator movie ever at current rates. For context, 2018’s The Predator opened to $73.5 million.

Predator began with 1987’s much-loved Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Predator: Badlands, which arrives nearly 40 years later, is less sci-fi horror, more mainstream sci-fi action. For the first time ever the Predator is the protagonist, with a Yautja called Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) out to prove himself to his father by killing a monster on a death planet. Along the way, he meets a Weyland-Yutani synth called Thia, played by Elle Fanning, in an Alien / Predator crossover.

It's a big swing for Predator and for Dan Trachtenberg, but he was uninterested in essentially remaking prior Predator movies for this new sequel. In a recent interview with IGN, Trachtenberg said he was inspired by Terminator 2 when it came to making Badlands. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day was like a movie my mom could watch," he said. "So that was a part of it for me, like how to make something that was bold and visceral but also emotional."

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.

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Best GPU 2025: Pick the Best Graphics Card for Your Gaming PC

When you’re setting out to build or upgrade your gaming PC, the best graphics cards are often the first thing that comes to mind. There’s a simple reason for that: When it comes to PC games, GPUs are the most impactful component in determining your rig's raw frame rates. Quite simply, most of the time, a better graphics card directly results in better performance – at least up to a point.

TL;DR: These Are the Best Graphics Cards

These days, GPUs have legitimately become a luxury good. With graphics cards like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 costing upwards of $1,999, you can expect to pay top dollar for top performance. Prices are still way higher than they were when the GTX 970 blew my mind in 2014, even when adjusted for inflation. However, if you temper your expectations, you can still get a solid gaming experience for a fraction of that price, especially if you're OK with gaming at 1440p or 1080p.

I’ve been reviewing graphics cards for the last four generations, and I’ve personally benchmarked, built with, and played games using every GPU on this list. However, if none of these strike your fancy, feel free to comment below what kind of gaming experience you’re looking for, and I’d be happy to help you find the perfect card for your build.

What to Look for in a Graphics Card

While it would be easy to just tell you to get the most powerful graphics card on the market for the best gaming experience, the truth is that picking a GPU is something you need to put a bit more thought into. Not all graphics cards are created equal, and everyone is going to need something a little different out of their PCI-E brick.

Decide on your resolution first

This is because a graphics card that's great at 4K isn't exactly going to translate to an amazing 1080p graphics card. Just take a look at the Nvidia RTX 5090. While the new flagship flies at 4K, it can actually be slower than much cheaper graphics cards at 1080p due to CPU bottlenecking. Instead, if you're playing at 1080p, something like the Intel Arc B580 is going to be a much better fit. You're still going to get solid gaming performance, but at a much lower price, which you can use to, well, buy more games.

Set your budget

Price is also a huge concern, and graphics cards are only getting more expensive these days. It would be awesome if everyone could afford an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, but that's just not the world we live in. These days, the floor sits around $200-$250. For that price, you can get a solid 1080p graphics card without having to go back to a previous generation. If you have a bit more cash, something like the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT will unlock most of gaming's bells and whistles.

If you really want to go all out, you can get an amazing graphics card for around $1,000. Both the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 will provide an awesome 4K gaming experience, and the one you choose should ultimately depend on how much you care about ray tracing. For most people that just want raw gaming performance, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is a better option, as it's a more affordable card that can still handle 4K, and it even comes with FSR 4, which is the first time AMD can really go toe-to-toe with Nvidia's DLSS.

Luckily, it looks like this generation of graphics cards is going to make 4K gaming much more accessible. When I reviewed the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti, I found that it had no problem breaking 60fps in even demanding games like Black Myth Wukong. However, more expensive and powerful cards like the RTX 5080 and 5090 are going to give you more breathing room for future PC games.

Check your power supply

With more expensive graphics cards, however, power is going to be a big concern. You're going to want to make sure you check which power supply you have against the power requirements for the graphics card you're looking at. Something like the Intel Arc B580 can get away with a 450W PSU, but you're going to want to make sure you have something much more powerful for the Radeon RX 7800 XT, for instance. You don't need to go overboard and fork over the cash for a power supply that offers twice the recommended power – just make sure you have enough juice to keep your GPU going.

1. AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

The Best Graphics Card for Most People

For the last few years, high-end graphics cards have been getting more expensive than ever before. In just a few generations, the top-end Nvidia graphics card went from being $699 for the GTX 1080 Ti to $1,999 for the RTX 5090, far outpacing inflation. And while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT isn't quite the most powerful graphics card on the market right now, it still provides an excellent 4K gaming experience at a much lower price than the RTX 5070 Ti it directly competes with.

In my testing, I found that the $599 RX 9070 XT often beats the $749 RTX 5070 Ti, sometimes by double digits. Even in games like Cyberpunk 2077, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has no problem maintaining 71fps at 4K with the Ray Tracing Ultra preset, only trailing the RTX 5070 Ti by 4fps. That's a marginal difference and only goes to show that while AMD graphics cards still trail behind Nvidia GPUs in ray tracing, they've come a long way since the RX 6000 generation introduced RT to Team Red a few years ago.

This new generation of AMD GPUs also brings an improvement I've been begging AMD for: AI upscaling via FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4. This new upscaler doesn't necessarily provide better performance than FSR 3, which is based on a traditional temporal upscaler, but it does provide much better image quality, especially in scenes with fine detail that can get muddied up by less elegant upscaling solutions.

The only downside is that because AMD isn't its own version of this graphics card, the market is completely made up of third-party cards that could see much more volatile pricing. However, if you can get a Radeon RX 9070 XT at or around its MSRP, it's easily the best graphics card out there for most people.

2. Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

The Best Mainstream Graphics Card if You Want to Spend a Bit More

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is a lesson in pricing. At its suggested price of $749, it is one of the best bang-for-your-buck graphics cards of this entire generation. However, with the graphics card just having launched recently, it remains to be seen how available it will be at that suggested price. It is distinctly possible that the only RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards that are available will cost much more than the suggested price, which will make it much harder to recommend.

If you can find the RTX 5070 Ti at $749, or even up to $800, it is one of the best 4K graphics cards for most people. When I reviewed the 5070 Ti, I found that it stayed within reaching distance of the RTX 5080, consistently sitting just 13-15% behind it, while having a 33% lower asking price. It's not hard to see why it's the best value high-end graphics card of this generation, so far at least.

The elephant in the room, however, is Blackwell's tepid generation-on-generation improvement over the RTX 4000 graphics cards. The Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti has the best generational gain out of any of the RTX 5000 cards, and its still limited to being just 11% faster than the RTX 4070 Super and 21% faster than the original RTX 4070. That's not a huge jump, but its still a bigger improvement than the RTX 5080, which is just 15% faster than the RTX 4080 in the same test suite.

3. Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090

The Best Nvidia Graphics Card

There's no way around it: The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is the most powerful graphics card on the market right now. Full stop. While it doesn't mark the same kind of generational growth that the RTX 4090 or even the RTX 3090 did, there's no getting around the fact that it provides the best gaming performance you can get right now – especially when you take DLSS multi-frame generation into account.

Not only is the RTX 5090 bigger than the 4090, now coming with 21,760 CUDA cores and 32GB of GDDR7 memory, but it also has a much higher power budget. When I reviewed the RTX 5090, I found the next-gen graphics flagship would peak at a staggering 578W, a huge increase from the 448W of the RTX 4090. With all that extra power, Nvidia needed to find a better way to dissipate heat, and introduced a new cooler for its Founders Edition. Instead of doubling down on the triple-fan design of the last couple of generations, Team Green actually found a way to slim the design back down to a dual slot cooler, something I haven't seen in a flagship Nvidia graphics card since the RTX 2080 Ti.

The company was able to do this by shrinking down the circuit board where the GPU is located, placing it at the center of the card. Each side of that PCB is bookended by pass-through heatsinks, where fans pull cool air through the bottom of the card, and shoot it straight through to the top of your PC case. The thermal engineering of it all is a bit more complicated than that, but even with all that extra power, I only ever saw the RTX 5090 reach up to 87°C. That's a high temperature, but its still low enough to game at full blast.

On average, I found the RTX 5090 to be about 26% faster than the RTX 4090, when looking at 4K games and synthetic 3DMark benchmarks. That number does diminish at lower resolutions, of course, and you really shouldn't be forking over the $1,999 (or more!) for this GPU if you're not going to play at 4K. Even at 4K, there were certain games that simply didn't have much of a performance uplift due to the limitations of the CPU – and I used the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. For better or worse, then, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 shines in the exact kind of workload it's designed for. No holds barred, everything maxed out at 4K, and with minimal upscaling. Gone are the days where DLSS on 'Performance' mode is necessary at 4K – at least for this beastly GPU.

4. AMD Radeon RX 9070

The Best AMD Graphics Card

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 launched in a weird place. At $549, it's theoretically just $50 cheaper than the excellent 9070 XT at $599. And while the performance lines up pretty perfectly with that price difference, it can be hard to justify opting for the 9070 when you can just spend $50 more and get one of the best GPUs in years. However, get past that, and the RX 9070 makes a lot of sense if you play games at 1440p.

When I reviewed the AMD Radeon RX 9070, I found that it outperformed the Nvidia RTX 5070 – another $549 GPU – in almost every test by an average of 12%. Considering both are current-generation cards that launched just a day apart, that's a huge difference at the same price point. There are some games where AMD's lead is less pronounced, of course, particularly in ray tracing-heavy games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth Wukong, but the RX 9070 still pulls ahead in those games, too.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070, like its XT sibling, also introduces FSR 4, bringing AI upscaling to AMD graphics cards for the first time. Just like with the 9070 XT, this upscaling solution isn't necessarily faster than the temporal upscaling of FSR 3, but it is much more accurate, producing cleaner images with less ghosting and artifacting.

5. AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT

The Best GPU for 1080p

However much I love using a 4K monitor, the simple fact is that 1080p displays are still the most popular way to play PC games. You do not need an expensive RTX 5090 to power one – but the Radeon RX 9060 XT is the perfect GPU for the job.

In a perfect world, the Radeon RX 9060 XT is a $349 graphics card that can tackle pretty much any game at 1080p, even with ray tracing – something AMD cards have historically struggled with. For some reason, AMD decided to launch both the 16GB model that I reviewed along with a 8GB model for $50 less. The only fundamental difference between these cards is the video memory, but it's a pretty substantial change, and one that you shouldn't consider.

When I reviewed the 16GB model, I found that it had no problem keeping up with some of the most demanding games in my suite, including averaging 80fps in Cyberpunk 2077, putting it neck-and-neck with the more expensive RTX 5060 Ti. There are a few games where the GPU struggled, namely Black Myth: Wukong and Assassin's Creed Shadows, but even those games will run better once you start tweaking with quality settings. (I test everything at maximum settings, after all.)

Being part of the same generation as the Radeon RX 9070 XT that tops this list, the Radeon RX 9060 XT also gets access to FSR 4. This new version of AMD's upscaling tech adds AI upscaling to AMD cards for the first time, and gets close to DLSS in image quality. There are only a few games that support this new AMD tech so far, but that number will surely grow over the last few years.

These GPUs Didn't Make the Cut

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060

The RTX 5060 is a 1080p graphics card, which is of course fine, but the problem is that it's competing with better options from both AMD and Intel. For less money, you can get the Arc B580 with slightly less performance but more VRAM, or you can spend a little more and get a Radeon RX 9060 XT with 16GB of VRAM. There are plenty of games out there that won't require more than 8GB of video memory, but for more demanding modern games like Assassin's Creed Shadows, you'll certainly feel the lack of frame buffer – I certainly did when I reviewed it.

Upcoming GPUs

Now that all the new graphics cards have been out for a while, it begs the question: When are we going to get something new? Given that both the RTX 50-series and the Radeon 90-series were launched back at CES 2025, it's extremely likely that we're going to get some kind of GPU announcement at CES 2026 in January. Don't get too excited, though; this probably won't be the RTX 6080 or anything.

Instead, we're probably going to see Nvidia launch a mid-generation refresh, which is typically labeled "Super." Last generation, the RTX 4080 Super ended up being essentially a price drop, coming in at a lower price and slightly better performance when I reviewed it in 2024. It's not guaranteed that we're going to see an RTX 5080 Super at CES, but given how small the generational performance uplift was with this series of graphics cards, it would be nice to squeeze a little more performance out of the architecture. Either way, I'll be on the ground at CES and I'll update this guide if it looks like Nvidia will actually launch its Super cards.

Best Graphics Cards FAQ

AMD or Nvidia? Or Intel?

When it comes to which brand of graphics card you should get, it ultimately comes down to your personal preference – even if each brand has its own unique advantages. Intel graphics cards are the most affordable option on the market right now, but its graphics cards aren’t exactly the fastest in the land. On the other hand, Nvidia makes the most powerful GPUs around, but you’re going to have to pay out the nose for that performance.

AMD graphics cards strike a pretty good balance between the two, but while the company loves to use open-source graphics APIs, it means you don’t get access to some of the exclusive features that Nvidia owners enjoy, like DLSS (and the new DLSS 4). AMD has alternatives for literally every Nvidia software feature, but some of them simply aren’t as good. See our guide to AMD vs. Nvidia GPUs for more info.

What power supply should I get?

Graphics cards, especially high-end ones, are sucking up more electricity with every passing year. If you’re looking to build a new gaming PC, or even upgrade from an older graphics card, you should really consider upgrading to one of the best power supplies.

Some of the graphics cards out there right now can take upwards of 450W of power by themselves, so you may want to consider a 1,000W power supply.

GTX vs. RTX

Nvidia has both an RTX, or Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme, and GTX, Giga Texel Shader eXtreme graphics cards series, with the RTX offerings being newer, more powerful, and more expensive.

That boosted performance is thanks to the architecture of RTX cards, which offer both Tensor and RT cores alongside CUDA cores for better graphics and rendering. Tensor cores enable AI and high-performance computing tasks bringing support for DLSS tech to help with upscaling and sharpening. RT cores are dedicated to ray tracing, allowing for more realistic lighting and shadows in scenes. Nvidia’s GTX graphics cards have a much simpler architecture and don’t offer Tensor or RT cores. Though they still work for budget builds, GTX cards will soon be obsolete.

Jacqueline Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. When she's not helping her friends and family buy computers, you can usually find her tinkering with her own PC.

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The Alienware 16X Aurora Gaming Laptop Boasts Premium Build Quality and Performance at a Great Price

Alienware's new mainstream gaming laptops for 2025 - the 16X and 16 Aurora - are discounted today as part of Alienware's early Black Friday sale. They replace the previous generation's Alienware x16 and m16 laptops. Of the two, the 16X Aurora is the model I would recommend for most gamers. It has a higher price tag but the upgrades - like a fully aluminum body, higher quality display, and more powerful CPU and GPU - more than make up for the price.

Alienware 16X Aurora Gaming Laptops

Alienware Aurora 16 Gaming Laptop

Gamers should go with the Alienware 16X Aurora model

The Alienware 16X Aurora is the model that serious gamers should consider over the 16 Aurora and that's pretty obvious when you compare the specs. Just look at the all of the upgrades:

  • Better display (2560x1600 240Hz G-Sync vs 2560x1600 120Hz)
  • More powerful CPU (Intel Core Ultra HX series vs Intel Core H-series)
  • Higher GPU TGP rating and thus better performance
  • More premium materials (metal alloy lid and chassis vs lid only)
  • RGB keyboard vs white-only backlighting
  • Thunderbolt 4.0 port

Compared to other Alienware laptops, the 16X Aurora is designed to look less like a gamer's laptop. It boasts a sleek, understated design with the absence of extraneous visual-only embellishments or unnecessary RGB lighting outside of the keyboard illumination. This is a solidly built machine with a metal (magnesium alloy) chassis and anodized aluminum lid and bottom shell. Under the hood, the 16X Aurora packs a punch with powerful components and Cryo Chamber cooling.

Both RTX 5070 and 5060 mobile GPUs are great options

The mobile RTX 5060 is about 15%-20% more powerful than the RTX 4060 that replaces, making it a perfectly capable GPU for most games at up to 1600p. It performs even better in games that support DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation. If you're playing older or less demanding games, then the RTX 5060 is more than capable of handling your needs.

The mobile RTX 5070 performs about 5%-10% better than the RTX 4070. If you want to play the latest games with more demanding requirements, then the RTX 5070 is a worthy upgrade to maintain a consistently frame rates on the display's enhanced 2560x1600 resolution. You'll also have a more future-proof system for unreleased games down the road.

Check out more of the best Alienware deals.

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

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Clash Royale Codes (November 2025)

Clash Royale is a PvP strategy game where you go head-to-head against other players, using cards to deploy units to attack your enemies’ base while defending your own. Below, you’ll find a list of all the Clash Royale codes currently available, and their rewards.

Active Clash Royale Codes (November 2025)

Below are all the working Clash Royale codes we know of, and what you can get for redeeming them. We've tested these codes and confirmed they work at the time of publication, but they may expire and stop working at any time.

  • REINABARRIGA: Snoring Dragon banner set

How to Redeem Clash Royale Codes

You’ll need to redeem Clash Royale codes on the official Supercell store. Log in using your Supercell ID, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for ‘Redeem a Store Code’ and enter your code below.

You must have a Supercell ID to redeem codes, so if you don’t already have one, open up Clash Royale and click the menu icon (3 horizontal lines). At the bottom of the menu, you’ll see a yellow button that says Supercell ID. Create your ID and then head over to the Store to redeem your code.

Once you’ve successfully entered a code, you’ll be able to see the associated rewards and the account you’re redeeming them to. Head back to Clash Royale to receive your reward.

Clash Royale QR Codes (November 2025)

In addition to promo codes, there are also Clash Royale QR codes you can scan to obtain rewards. You’ll need to scan these QR codes using your device, or click on the QR codes on this page using your device’s browser to automatically open the rewards page in your app.

The Clash Royale QR codes currently available are:

67 Emote

Royal Ghost Boo Emote

That's all we've got for Clash Royale codes at the moment, but keep checking back for new ones!

Jen Rothery is a Deputy Editor on the IGN Guides team looking after live service games, and we assume her favorite hobby is playing PEAK and falling down the mountain over and over again, because she does it a lot.

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What’s New in Enshrouded’s Latest Update, Wake of the Water

Survival action RPG Enshrouded released in Early Access last year and became an instant hit, reaching more than a million players in four days and currently sitting at “Very Positive” on Steam with nearly 75,000 reviews. Developer Keen Games has consistently updated the game in the months since, and its newly released Update 7, titled Wake of the Water, is its biggest to date.

If you’re not familiar with Enshrouded, it’s a mix of lite survival, exploration, action RPG combat, and base building in a world you can completely terraform. An all-consuming fog known as The Shroud corrupts everything it touches, and you must scavenge for materials you can use to craft gear to survive the unforgiving environment and the mutated monsters it creates.

You can play solo or with up to 16 players in co-op, and voxel-based building allows you to create a home that’s only limited by your imagination and willingness to put in the work. Construction can be shared across servers from around the world, so you can visit them yourself, and there are some truly staggering player builds to see.

Take German YouTuber Kontreck and his community’s build, which you can see here. They fully re-created Isengard from Lord of the Rings, a feat that required more than 22 million voxels and 54,000 decoration items with nearly 4,400 hours of work and 61 days of building time across 15 players. And all the materials were farmed by hand, with no mods or cheats used.

The Wake of the Water’s biggest splash (that’s the only water pun, we promise) is the introduction of swimming and new water-based gameplay. Most of what you can do on land you can do underwater, with new animations. That includes opening treasure chests, collecting plants and other loot, pushing buttons to solve puzzles, and using an underwater mining tool to gather ore. There are also floodgates and new water-based puzzles where you can fill rooms to reach previously inaccessible levels, as well as traps that will try to drown you.

The main thing you can’t do underwater is fight, which is why the new enemy faction of lizard people presents a problem. Called the Drak, they can pursue you underwater with spears drawn, so you always need to be aware of your surroundings and how to get back to the surface quickly. The Drak can fight on land too, but at least then it’s a fair fight.

The other headlining addition in the update is Veilwater Basin, Enshrouded’s first water biome. This being a new type of environment, it brings a lot of other new things with it. That includes quests and lore journals, as well as points of interest ranging from settlements to temples to Shroud Roots and Elixir Wells. There’s also a bunch of new materials and resources for crafting and base building, so many that we couldn’t possibly list them all here. Trust us, there are a lot.

As we all know, you can’t have a water biome without fishing, so that’s been added too. You can now automatically collect worms when terraforming dirt, which can be used as bait. Other types of bait include moths, fireflies, and frogs. There are five fishing rods of varying quality, and casting your line in a body of water will begin a minigame. Fish will bite at a random time, then try to flee to either the right or left. You need to pull your rod in the opposite direction, then reel it in when the fish is tired. Do this repeatedly until it’s caught, and the difficulty of the minigame will depend on what fish is on your line and the quality of the rod you’re using.

If you’re more focused on building up your base, then good news: Water can move dynamically and be used as a source of plant irrigation or to power new parts of your base. You can dig irrigation channels to run water to your plants, which will grow faster in watered soil. And some new plants (like rice and algae) will only grow if submerged.

There’s a new buildable water wheel, which will rotate when in contact with flowing water. And you can connect it to an advanced grinding wheel if the flow of the water is strong enough to power it. There’s also a new watering can, which you can fill up manually at lakes or water barrels, and you can use it to fill pools or water plants at your base. What wild and creative ways to use moving water will the community figure out? Only time will tell, or maybe you can become the trendsetter.

On top of all the water-focused additions, there are also refinements to gameplay and quality-of-life improvements. New spells and skills have been added, stats have been rebalanced on several pieces of gear, wands have more inherent mana regeneration, customizable UI labels for chests and signs have been added, and lots more.

Like we said, there’s a ton here to keep players busy for a long time. For more info on Enshrouded or the Wake of the Water update, you can check out the official website or follow the game or developer Keen Games on Twitter or Discord.

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Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Preview: It's a Whole Vibe, and the Combat’s Not Bad, Either

Sometimes, you go into a game not really knowing much about it. I knew exactly three things going into Seven Deadly Sins: Origin: one, it is based on the popular Seven Deadly Sins manga/anime; two, it is an action-RPG; and three, that I could play it on PC or PS5. I looked at it long enough to decide that it could be up my alley, and then dived into its closed beta test blind. And I’m happy I did. Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is an impressive game, even with its gacha mechanics, and I enjoyed hanging out in its world and spending time with its characters. Oh, and the combat? That’s not bad, either.

Seven Deadly Sins: Origin follows Prince Tristan of Liones and Tioreh. After stumbling upon a strange cave inside a tree (that’s not a typo), our heroes discover a mysterious pendant called the Book of Stars that seems to have mystical powers neither of them fully understand. When they emerge from the cave after a knock-down, drag-out brawl against a surprisingly large and hostile golem, our heroes discover that the world is a little different than when they left it. The topography’s changed, creatures that are supposed to be extinct are running around in living color, and Hawk – everyone’s favorite flying ham – was being chased by a dragon. He’s not really sure how he ended up here – he could have sworn he was in Purgatory – but he’s down to clown with Tristan and Tioreh while they figure out what’s going on.

Oh, and this weird black corruption is springing up all over, long-dead heroes are showing up to cause problems, and there’s this mysterious scholar named Clotho who seems to know both everything about the Book of Stars, which can magically restore broken things, and where Tristan and Tioreh are going to be before they get there. Time travel shenanigans? Multiple timelines? Something funky’s going on, y’all, and our intrepid crew are going to get to the bottom of it.

What sells The Vibe™ of Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is how it looks. It’s absolutely stunning.

The story here is fun (and very well-acted, though there was no English dub in the beta, so everything I heard was in Japanese), but what sells The Vibe™ of Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is how it looks. It’s absolutely stunning, but what impressed me most was how well-animated everything was. There’s a particularly great scene where Tristan is trying to hand over the Book of Stars, only to find it’s stuck to his hand, that had me rolling, but there’s a lot of really great moments here. Seven Deadly Sins: Origin has a story to tell, and you can tell its developers have taken that responsibility seriously.

But there’s a solid action game here, too. Origin is an action-RPG at heart, and there’s meat on this combat’s bone. In addition to a standard defensive dash (the only way you’ll be blocking in Origin is with your face), each character comes with a standard combo, a couple of special attacks, and an ultimate that can range from calling in some fireballs to transforming into a demon. These distinctions are what gives each character flavor, and I really enjoyed playing around with them, whether I was buffing my standard fire attacks with Tioreh or using Howzer’s wind-based strikes, and everything in-between. And yes, characters like Diane are here, too. Just… smaller than you might figure.

Since each character’s abilities are associated with an element, it’s good to have a balanced team. You can have up to four characters traveling with you at once, and switch to them on the fly. Play your cards right, and they’ll even come in with an attack. The twist is that your whole team shares a health bar; there’s no switching characters when you’re running low on health to save the day.

Combat is about managing your cooldowns, landing hits when you can, and most importantly, not getting hit. Origin is kind enough to show you where large attacks are going to be ahead of time, and smaller hits generally have enough windup so that you can get out of the way if you’re paying attention and not just mashing buttons. This isn’t Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, but there’s some juice here, and combat feels good.

This isn’t Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, but there’s some juice here, and combat feels good.

But it’s not all about hitting things with all manner of sharp and blunt objects. You can also collect materials in the world and use them to craft potions to keep you alive in a pinch, cook a delicious meal, or upgrade your characters with permanent stat buffs.

There’s also a lot to explore. Soon after meeting Hawk, I could ride him around, and like seemingly every video game released since The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you can climb on objects in the environment if you’ve got the stamina for it, and glide down from high places. All of this is good because the world of Britannia is absolutely massive. You can teleport around if you activate the fancy fast-travel stones scattered around the environment, but that means you gotta find ‘em first. So, you know, be prepared to do a little walking. Or pig-riding.

But spending time in the world means you’ll get to do Origin’s sidequests. They’re simple stuff, and, as you’d expect, not nearly as well-produced as the story beats, but I enjoyed trying to help out a crying kid and got a kick out of a castle worker who was so lazy that I had to deliver food for her. Stuff like that makes the world feel more lived in.

If there’s one thing about Seven Deadly Sins: Origin that gives me pause, it’s the gacha-ness of it all. I’m inherently wary of gacha and other reward systems built on gambling, and Origin is one of those games. It seems fairly easy to get enough currency to roll the dice, but the beta throws currency at you, and it’s hard to get a sense of the economics of something when that happens. Whether or not that will be true in the full game remains to be seen. The UI also feels designed for a mouse and keyboard in a way that makes it awkward to navigate on a controller, especially when you’re managing a lot of gear. It’s not gamebreaking, but it’s something I wonder about when it comes to a full release.

I spent about five hours with Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, unlocking several characters, opening up the ability to party up with other players, and taking the main quest far enough that Tristan and Tioreh got to the point that they’d demonstrated enough skill to be trusted to head to the Fairy King Forest. That seemed like a natural place to stop, but before I did, I wanted to take on one of the beta’s optional bosses. In my case, it was a red demon who belched fire and had a thing for belly flops, and another weird looking thing with arms that were doubling as legs. I couldn’t beat either, mostly because I just wasn’t doing enough damage. My choices were clear: level up, get more gear, and play more gacha to Get My Numbers Up, but I opted out. I’d seen the fights, which were fun enough that I wanted to play them again if I jumped in at release, and I was tired of fiddling with the inventory screen. End on a high note.

Sometimes, going into a game blind can be the best thing you can do for yourself. I enjoyed spending time in Seven Deadly Sins: Origin’s world, hanging out with its characters, and riding around a flying hog. And yeah, the fighting stuff part was pretty solid, too. I’m always wary of gacha elements in games, but the core of Seven Deadly Sins: Origin got my attention. The only question is whether it can hold it when it comes out next year. I wouldn’t mind a rematch with a couple of those bosses, but I’m not in a rush. They’ll be there when I return to Britannia.

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Latest The Simpsons Fortnite Short Sees Homer Rain Donuts Down on Springfield and Turn Professor Frink Into a Banana, as Long-Term Fans Celebrate The Return of The 'Omniverse'

The Simpsons' second Fortnite short sets the stage for the game's next update, due tomorrow, which will see giant donuts rain down on Springfield in-game.

Released today, "Sugar High" follows Homer as he continues to "improve" reality using an all-powerful Zero Point shard. The short begins with Homer being given some useful exposition from resident The Simpsons scientist Professor Frink, until Homer turns the scientist into new version of Fortnite banana Peely (soon to be available as a skin to battle pass holders).

As Homer causes a rain of giant donuts to fall down from the sky — something players will experience this coming week in-game — Springfield's residents turn against Homer. The second half of the short then seemingly sets up next week's Fortnite theme, where Homer manages to clone himself and somehow create a form of zombie army.

Fortnite plans to release a further two Simpsons shorts which will be available online or via Disney+ across the latter half of its Springfield mini-season, which is due to culminate in a big in-game live event on November 29. Reaction to the crossover has been positive from fans, and developer Epic Games has celebrated a notable uptick in players when compared to the game's previous battle royale season.

Fans of Fortnite's in-game story have also had cause for celebration, as repeated teases have signalled the imminent return of The Seven — the game's much-missed band of heroes who once drove Fortnite's storyline forwards, and who were played by a starry cast that included Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Brie Larsen, Joel McHale and Rahul Kohli.

The last time the word Omniverse was ever mentioned in Fortnite's Storyline was in Fortnite X Marvel: Zero War Issue #5.

And the last person that said it was The Foundation. pic.twitter.com/hhfF9qJAnk

— Rezztro (@Rezztro) November 10, 2025

While the characters are not expected to return before the end of the current The Simpsons season, Fortnite fan and loremaster Rezztro has pointed out that today's short film references the "Omniverse" — in Fortnite lore, essentially the game's term for its multiverse of multiverses. It's a term introduced in previous Fortnite comics starring The Seven, and last mentioned by Dwayne Johnson's in-game character The Foundation back in 2022.

Also spotted in today's teaser: further confirmation that Simpsons character Moe will be purchasable as an in-game skin, alongside an original character with a donut for a head.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

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Deals For Today: Up to 50% off Pokémon TCG at Amazon

This has to be one of the best days I've had covering deals. Up to 50% off Pokémon TCG products thanks to AMEX and Discovery discount codes, with the possibility of getting products for free if you grab the instant $60 Amazon Gift Card when you successfully get a store card.

How about Audible Premium Plus for under $3 for 3 months? That's another banger for today, or a 77" best-in-class LG TV that's half off and comes with a free wall mount and 2.1 sound system? Jeez i'm treating you all today.

TL;DR: Deals for Today

Need a smaller TV? I've also got a 2025 model Samsung 65" 4K TVs that's currently 53% off, not to mention some epic gaming goodness with 14% off RTX 5080 Alienware Aurora R16 rigs. Fancy a cheap Nintendo Switch 2 and Pro Controller? I've got you covered there with some sweet deals from AliExpress. They're import models, but everythings region free so no worries there. Let's get into it:

Up To 50% off Pokémon TCG

You might want to check if your AMEX and Discovery is eligibe for up to 50% off Pokémon TCG on Amazon right now. All you have to do is add sealed product to your basket sold directly by Amazon, use your AMEX or Discovery and pay either $1 or use 1 loyalty point to apply the discount. You could also be extra savvy and get a $60 Amazon gift card by being accepted for an Amazon Store Card. Of course, none of this is financial advice, and if you're going to struggle not spending on credit and store cards, make the right choice.

Audible Premium Plus

Nice and simple, sign up for a zero commitment Audible Premium Plus sub and get your first 3 months for 99c a month. That's 3 months of top tier access for under $3, it's worth doing just to try the service out!

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PCs

Here's two 4K gaming beasts that will stay that way for a long time. If you're just focused on having a RTX 5080 for now with a view to upgrade in the future, go for the $2099.99 build. If you can stretch the extra $650, you're getting a far better processor, double the DDR5 RAM and double the M.2 SSD space. Either way, you win with a cheeky 14% off.

LG Evo C5 4K TV Bundle Deal

Need a beast of a TV that can handle proper gaming performance and the thanksgiving foorball game in style? 77" should do the job, and this is LGs C5 4K 2025 model that's half-price. You'll also save over $300 snagging the S40T Soundbar and Subwoofer combo alongside a slim wall mount. This is one of the best Black Friday deals and we're only in early November.

Samsung S84F 4K OLED Smart TV

At 53% off, this 2025 model Samsung TV is a bargain thanks to it's 4K OLED panel with all the bells and whistles you'd come to expect from one of the biggest TV manufacturers.

Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World Console Bundle

Who wants a Nintendo Switch 2 for less than MSRP? Yeah, it's a silly question, right? These consoles are brand new, just from a different region and work exactly the same as a US model. They're region free and AliExpress has a massive discount code to bring this deal home.

Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller

It's the samer deal with this new Switch 2 Pro Controller, except you save over MSRP. This is also one of the best controllers out there today full stop, with clickier buttons and even better erganomics.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

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Speaking Amid Jimmy Kimmel's Suspension, Oscar Isaac Said He'd Only Return to Star Wars if Disney Did 'Not Succumb to Fascism'

Star Wars actor Oscar Isaac has suggested that his return to the franchise was contingent on Disney not succumbing to "fascism."

Isaac made the remark in a newly-published GQ interview conducted during the four-day period in which chat show host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by the Disney-owned ABC.

Kimmel's suspension came after comments made by the host discussing the activity of some MAGA supporters following the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Kimmel was subsequently pulled off air and his show put on indefinite hiatus — only for it to return the following week amid mounting pressure from celebrities and a spike in Disney+ subscription cancellations.

Isaac has spoken in the past of being keen to return as Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, a role he played in all three of the Disney-era Star Wars sequels. Indeed, with lead character Rey currently set to return in at least one future Star Wars film, fans had expected other sequel-era characters to also put in an appearance — with Isaac seemingly onboard.

But when asked the same question about returning to Star Wars during Disney's brief suspension of Kimmel, Isaac gave a notably more cautious response.

"Yeah," he said back in September. "I mean, I'd be open to it, although right now I'm not so open to working with Disney. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great… if that happens, then yeah, I'd be open to having a conversation about a galaxy far away. Or any number of other things."

Only a month before, Isaac had told Variety he'd "be [in] Star Wars again if there was something good to do with that," raising fan hopes that plans were afoot for Poe's return.

Numerous Hollywood stars spoke out against Disney's decision to suspend Kimmel, including Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill. Marvel actors Mark Ruffalo and Pedro Pascal also backed Kimmel, as did She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany, who told her followers to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions in order to send a message.

While plans for Disney's return to Star Wars sequel era remain nebulous, the company has said it is working on a New Jedi Order movie with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy that will see Daisy Ridley continuing her journey as a Jedi following the events of Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. Before then, the crowd-pleasing Mandalorian & Grogu are headed to the big screen on May 22, 2026, while the Ryan Gosling-fronted Star Wars: Starfighter will follow on May 28, 2027.

Image credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SCAD.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

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Exclusive: First Look at the Doctor Strange-Themed Sanctum Lounge on the Disney Destiny

The Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City is one of Earth's biggest lines of mystical defense in the MCU, and now the Disney Destiny has that same protection thanks to its Doctor Strange-themed Sanctum lounge, which IGN is so proud to exclusively reveal the first look at.

IGN was invited to Papenburg, Germany, to learn how the Disney Destiny was built at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in August, and we got to see The Sanctum under construction. Just yesterday, we were invited on board Disney Cruise Line's newest ship ahead of its Maiden Voyage on November 20 to see and reveal the finished space for the first time, and you can see it for yourself in the video and pictures below.

A Lounge Worthy of a Sorcerer Supreme

To learn more about this space on this Heroes and Villains-themed ship, we spoke with The Sanctum's creative director, Beth Burkhardt from Walt Disney Imagineering, and she shared why this lounge is such a big deal for Disney Cruise Line.

"This is the first time we've ever had a Marvel lounge on board a Disney ship before, so that in itself is very exciting," Burkhardt said. "This is an inspired-by space. So, we took a lot of the color palettes from the film and wanted to show off the best of New York's Sanctum, including the Cloak of Levitation and details from the Chamber of Relics.

"We wanted it to feel like The Sanctum was kind of hidden in plain sight. So, a lot of the more specific details you'll see on the bar side of the space, and the area where we have a lot of entertainment is a bit more subtle, but the architectural details and color palette carry through."

Speaking of the bar, the most striking piece is a recreation of the iconic window with the Seal of Vishanti symbol right in the middle. It lights up with a beautiful purple color accented by oranges and whites, and those lights bleed into the rest of the lounge, creating a really cool mood and vibe throughout the space.

At the end of the bar is the Cloak of Levitation, which was designed after the one Doctor Strange wore in his first solo film. It's always a joy to see items from films brought to life, but a part of me was waiting for it to fly over and recognize me as a powerful sorcerer. Oh well, maybe next time!

To the left and right are more private seating areas that are circular booths. Alongside design motifs taken straight from the Doctor Strange films, they also have items fans will recognize right away, including the Eye of Agamotto, three Wands of Watoomb, daggers, Sling Rings, and much more.

Just across from the bar is a recreation of the Ancient One's private collection of spell books from Kamar-Taj, where Doctor Strange first pulled out the Book of Cagliostro in his first film. And yes, I did ask if the Darkhold was present. Burkhardt told me with a laugh that it was not as they really wanted to focus on the heroic parts of Doctor Strange. There's also the fact that Loki will be wandering the halls of the Disney Destiny, and one could only imagine what mischief he would get up to with that in his arsenal.

Before we jump to the other side of The Sanctum, we have to talk about the drinks. While I didn't get to try any yet, they did have some of the glasses on display that will add a bit of magic to this lounge. These glasses were a collaboration between Disney's food and beverage team and Imagineer Daniel Joseph, who also helped bring the fantastic Haunted Mansion Parlor to life, and they are pretty spectacular.

The first one I saw was literaly levitating and spinning, with the lights hitting the glass in a beautiful way that spread sparks of light all around the base.

The second was for an alcoholic tea drink called the Eye Opener that was made of glass and featured a ring to place the teapot that let it appear to be floating.

Lastly, we got to see the electric glass the Mirror Dimension cocktail will be served in, and it even reacts to your touch in an really fun way the feels as though your are controlling the lightning inside.

This was all made even better as they let me try on a model Sling Ring that the bartenders may use from time to time, and I truly hope they let guests try that out or sell it in a gift shop one day because I'd love to add it to my collection and... you know... create portals to other places and dimensions!

As for the menu, you can check it out below;

The Subtle Touches that Make a Space

As Burkhardt mentioned, the other side of the bar is a more subtle space for guests to relax and enjoy a cocktail, mocktail, or even some Mystic Waffles while watching entertainers perform, learn how to draw your favorite character, and more.

There aren't any big movie recreations here, but that doesn't mean there aren't things fans will love to discover. Lining the side of the stage are glass cases with artifacts that honor the fact that sorcerers can come from anywhere.

"The sorcerers are from all different time periods and places, and we wanted to have props that honored that idea in here," Burkhardt said. "So, you'll see influences from all around the world, including from Nepal, where Doctor Strange studied at Kamar-Taj."

In another nice touch, behind the artificats are beautiful mirrors, which Burkhardt told me were a nod to the Mirror Dimension from the films. These nods can be seen elsewhere, as the geometric patterns on the wall coverings are pulled from the movie, there are designs on the carpet that look like a spell being cast, and many of curtains and chairs are the same blues and reds you associate with Doctor Strange himself.

There are even fun things to find on the outside of The Sanctum, and two of my favorites are the 177a Bleecker Street plaque and a custom piece of art that is made of painted string that is meant to give you the feeling of of three-dimensional depth that happens when a spell is being cast.

The Sanctum Is But One Story Waiting to be Told on the Disney Destiny

The Sanctum isn't an overwhelming space, and I think that's a good thing. It is a special place right near the Grand Hall and just steps away from the Haunted Mansion Parlor that's great to hang out at and relax with those that mean the most to you.

We come to these spaces to feel as though we are part of the stories we hold closest to our heart, and this is another example of Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Cruise Line providing that for us. It's also just one part of the story.

We'll be aboard the Disney Destiny for the next few days and will be covering all of its biggest spaces right here, including Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King, the Broadway-style Hercules show, the Incredibles' themed Edna À La Mode Sweets, the 101 Dalmatians-themed piano bar called De Vil's, the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Cask & Canon pub, and much more from the ship all about Heroes and Villains.

For more from the world of Disney, check out our ultimate guide to the Disney Treasure, what it was like visiting the real-life Parr House from Incredibles 2 at Disney's first Storyliving Community called Cotino, and our thoughts on Disney Parks first step into Fortnite.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.

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End of an Era: Nintendo's Long-Running Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Black Friday Bundle Is No More

After seven straight years of providing the most consistent good deal on a brand new Nintendo Switch system annually around Black Friday, Nintendo appears to have finally discontinued its traditional holiday bundle of a Nintendo Switch 1 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for $299.99.

No Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Black Friday bundle this year, the end of an era. https://t.co/jLcw3Rupku pic.twitter.com/bhYAvFLTrQ

— IGN Deals (@IGNDeals) November 10, 2025

This comes from the announcement of Nintendo's Black Friday deals today, which include various Nintendo games marked down to $30 and a $20 Cyber Monday discount on a microSD Express card for Nintendo Switch 2, but notably no discounts on any consoles.

The Mario Kart 8 Nintendo Switch bundle has been a staple of Nintendo's Black Friday offerings for seven years running, beginning in 2018, the second year of the Nintendo Switch's life, and reappearing annually ever since.

Its disappearance from this year's lineup is indicative of several recent trends. Most obvious is just that this is the first holiday for the Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo understandably wants to sell lots of those rather than direct people to a cheaper version of a system that's rapidly becoming obsolete.

On top of that, there's also new Mario Kart in town: Mario Kart World. If Nintendo isn't interested in inadvertently cannibalizing Switch 2 sales, it's definitely not into the idea of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe stealing sales of Mario Kart World. And given that the Switch 2 just released a few months ago, it's far too early to expect to see a Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle at a discount this holiday. Sorry, maybe next year.

It's also true that Nintendo just raised the price of a retail Nintendo Switch 1 to $339.99 from $299.99 in the U.S., as well as prices on its OLED and Lite variations, the Alarmo, and Joy-Con 2 controllers. The company warned at the time that price hikes on the Nintendo Switch 2, physical and digital games, and Nintendo Switch Online memberships "could be necessary in the future."

Though Nintendo didn't explicitly call out tariffs as the reason, multiple analysts IGN has spoken to throughout the year have pointed directly at ongoing increased U.S. tariffs on countries that Nintendo uses for hardware production as a likely reason for this choice. Which could also explain why Nintendo isn't interested in discounting its hardware around the holiday this time around.

All that together makes perfect sense of the idea that Nintendo has officially retired its ever-popular holiday bundle. Will we see a Nintendo Switch 2 variation on this bundle in future years? With games and systems getting increasingly expensive, one can only hope so.

Keep an eye on IGN for all our Black Friday 2025 coverage, including the best discounts on games, systems, and basically everything.

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

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Todd Howard Reveals Why He Thinks Fallout 4's Divisive Dialogue System 'Really Did Not Resonate'

Todd Howard isn’t a big fan of talking about his video games, but in a new interview he has discussed Fallout 4’s divisive dialogue system — and where he thinks it went wrong.

Fallout 4 — which turns 10 today, November 10, alongside the release of an Anniversary Edition — broke away from what the post-apocalyptic role-playing game franchise had done in previous entries and gave the playable character a voice.

Not only that, but Fallout 4 shifted the traditional first-person, zoomed in camera perspective for dialogue in favor of a dynamic, third-person camera perspective more in keeping with a cinematic, Mass Effect style.

Meanwhile, Fallout 4 dialogue is typically determined by a handful of short summaries, usually lining up with positive, inquisitive, sarcastic, and negative responses. It is not possible to select exact answers, and some players criticized the dialogue choices for not having a meaningful impact on the outcome of conversations, quests, or events either way.

While Fallout 4 went on to become a hugely successful release for Bethesda, with 12 million copies shipped to retailers within the first 24 hours representing $750 million in revenue, Fallout fans never really warmed to its dialogue system, and indeed there are a number of mods available that make significant changes to it.

Now, in a new interview with GQ (the one where he reveals The Elder Scrolls 6 is still some way away), Bethesda development chief Todd Howard singled out Fallout 4’s dialogue system as something from one of his games that failed to “resonate” with fans.

“We spent forever on the dialogue system in Fallout 4,” Howard said. “How do we do an interactive conversation in an interesting way? How do we make that gamey? But it really did not resonate. It was also hard on our designers to write that way. Players want to role-play more and we had a voiced protagonist. The actors were phenomenal, but a lot of players were like, ‘That's not the voice I hear in my head.’”

It was telling that for 2023’s Starfield, Bethesda reverted to a silent protagonist with lines of dialogue the player could choose from and the first-person perspective seen in The Elder Scrolls games and pre-Fallout 4 entries in the Fallout series. It seems likely that Bethesda will leave Fallout 4’s dialogue system behind, so I don't expect to see it in the upcoming The Elder Scrolls 6, for example, or indeed Fallout 5, whenever it gets around to making that game.

On a more positive note, Howard said he thinks Fallout 3 has the best opening of any game he’s worked on (I agree!), Starfield has the best gunplay and “gameplay in areas” (agree on the gunplay bit, not sure on the gameplay bit), while the varied landscape of Fallout 76 is “really good” (yep, I'll give him that). Skyrim is, “tonally and player agency-wise… really good,” Howard added, and I doubt anyone would argue with that.

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.

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Add The Emperor’s New Groove on 4K to Your Physical Media Collection – Now Available to Preorder

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, The Emperor's New Groove is set to get its own 4K physical release this year. Fans don't have to wait very long to get it, either, as it's set to be released on December 9.

For those who can't wait to add it to their physical media collection in this format, it's currently available to preorder at Amazon for $45.99 (see here). It's worth keeping in mind that preorders like this one can sell out fast, so it's better to be quick to pick it up now than wait it out.

Preorder The Emperor’s New Groove on 4K

This release of The Emperor’s New Groove comes with a 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and digital copy of the film. At the moment, it doesn't look like there are any bonus features available with it, but if they're revealed later on down the line we'll be sure to add them in.

The 4K release of The Emperor’s New Groove is one of many new releases set to come out in December. If you're looking to add more options to your library, have a look through our breakdown of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays to see if anything coming out throughout the rest of this year catches your eye.

If you're in a general shopping mood with the holidays right around the corner, the good news is Black Friday is on the horizon. This is an excellent opportunity to stock up on discounted 4Ks and Blu-rays, whether you want them for yourself or to gift to someone else this year. Have a look at our breakdown of Black Friday 2025 for more information on when the sale event kicks off this year and which retailers will be participating.

Some have even started dropping deals early (don't miss out on The Criterion Collection Black Friday sale, which is now live), so you can have a look at what's currently available.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

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Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another Gets a Digital Release Date Amid Its Theatrical Run

The battle is officially coming home — even though it’s killing at the box office. Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film One Battle After Another has officially received a digital release date, and it’s sooner than you think.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Warner Bros. film will arrive on Apple TV, Prime Video, and Fandango at Home on Friday, November 14. But that’s not all we know when it comes to release dates for this exciting film. The movie is set to be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD on January 20, 2026. Plus, fans can look forward to an epic collectable steelbook in 4k UHD in the spring of next year, which will include exclusive special features curated and produced by Anderson specifically for the steelbook release.

Interestingly enough, One Battle After Another is set to hit shelves as physical media just two days before the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards are announced — and it’s fitting, because this film has been widely received as one of the biggest Oscar contenders this year. Anderson has been nominated a whopping nine times across the writing, directing, and Best Picture categories over the years, but he’s never managed to cinch a win for himself, believe it or not. There’s a good chance he might see his first victory in one or more of those categories this year.

Anderson isn’t the only one being praised for One Battle After Another, though. Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, newcomer Chase Infiniti, and musician-actress Teyana Taylor are being looked at as frontrunners for the lead and supporting acting categories respectively. That said, the competition is fierce this year, so it remains to be seen who will even make the nominations cuts in these competitive categories, let alone who will take home the wins.

One Battle After Another is still playing in theaters nationwide, including in 70mm and VistaVision at select locations.

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

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Apple AirPods 4 Drop to a New All-Time Low Price Ahead of Black Friday (Today Only)

Here’s some good news for anyone in the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds: Apple AirPods 4 are on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $84.99. That’s a great deal on Apple’s entry-level earbuds, considering the MSRP is $130. It’s also a new all-time low price, beating the previous low by $5, according to Camelcamelcamel. Since this is Best Buy’s top Deal of the Day - and Amazon is simply matching the price – the sale will end at midnight tonight. So grab them soon if you want them.

Apple AirPods 4 Wireless Earbuds for $84.99

AirPods 4 is the latest iteration of Apple’s wireless earbuds. They come in a new design aimed at delivering all-day comfort. They offer a number of other features like personalized spatial audio, water and sweat resistance, and up to 30 hours of battery life. They come in a USB-C charging case that re-charges your earbuds between uses.

They have improved sound and call quality compared to the previous iteration, thanks in part to Apple’s H2 chip. It offers better voice isolation for improved call quality when you’re in a noisy environment. If you have them connected to an iPhone, you can also access Siri at any time by saying “Siri” or “Hey Siri.”

As for the features, personalized spatial audio works when you pair your AirPods with recent Apple devices, like an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook. It makes the audio from your music, TV shows, movies, and games sound like the it’s coming from all around you. Apple says this creates a “theater-like listening experience.”

The AirPods are IP54 dust, sweat, and water resistant, making them perfectly safe to use while exercising, as your sweat won’t seep in and damage them. The 30 hour battery life refers to the total amount of listening time when your AirPods and case are fully charged. The earbuds themselves get up to 5 hours of listening time before you have to put them back in the case to recharge.

This model is not to be confused with the identical-looking AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancelling (see at Amazon). The noise cancelling feature is certainly nice, but it comes at a cost. You can check out our AirPods 4 with ANC review for more details on that model.

The big question, if you don’t need these immediately, is whether to buy now or wait for Black Friday. I’d say it’s possible these AirPods will drop to an even lower price during the shopping holiday, but I wouldn’t count on it. They only dropped to $109.99 last year.

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

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