When the Switch 2 preorders were first going up (and selling out), I wrote about how it's still worth buying a Switch 1. I wasn't planning on picking up the new Nintendo console off the bat, but the incredible reviews of Donkey Kong Bananza convinced me to cave and buy one much earlier than I'd expected. IGN gave the game a rare 10 out of 10 review and people are already talking about how it's giving GOTY vibes barely a week after release. As a lifelong Nintendo fan, the potential of missing out on a Donkey Kong masterpiece for a full year was just enough to push me over the edge.

I was first introduced to Donkey Kong in the Super Nintendo days. Donkey Kong Country was challenging and fun, and my brother and I spent countless hours playing it. Then came Donkey Kong 64, which if I remember correctly, actually required an Expansion Pak to function. It was the first 3D game I'd played that truly felt new and sits comfortably as one of my favorite games from my childhood.

These feelings of nostalgia are definitely what drove me to move up my Switch 2 purchase timeline, but who am I to deny myself a little bit of magic every once and a while? I was pretty worried I wouldn't be able to find a console available anywhere since stock has been pretty spotty since release, but I actually managed to secure a Mario Kart Switch 2 bundle at Target today. We've also been getting reports of folks receiving Switch 2 invites on Amazon.

If you're like me and have decided to pull the trigger on the latest Nintendo console, you can check IGN's ongoing Switch 2 stock updates or try jumping to the links below to see if any are available in your area.

Where to buy Switch 2 Consoles

Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World

Nintendo Switch 2

Why I'm Excited to Start Playing Bananza

LEGO increasingly caters itself towards an adult audience, which begs the question: where are adults going to keep these massive sets after they finish building them? The LEGO Art sets provide one possible answer to this dilemma. There's plenty of wall space in the average dwelling – at least in comparison to the amount of shelf space.

Real-life masterpieces inspired these brick-based works of art. Here are the best LEGO Art sets you can buy in 2025.

Best LEGO Art Sets at a Glance

If you want a blurb-free list of the sets recommended in this article, you can scroll through them above. Otherwise, read on for details about each of them, including dimensions and piece count, as well as why I picked them.

Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night

Hokusai - The Great Wave

Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa

Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers

Robert Indiana - LOVE

Keith Haring – Dancing Figures

Batman: The Animated Series - Gotham City

Star Trek will forever be one of the most influential sci-fi franchises of all time. Born in 1966, the legend of the USS Enterprise still lives on today, and no prop is more iconic than the original Tricorder. This essential item first appeared in 1996 and was used to perform environmental scans, record data, and analyze it. Despite being so iconic and inspiring numerous devices, the original Tricorder has never been released to the public in its true, authentic form. However, that changes today.

The Wand Company, known for its premium prop replicas, has finally completed its nine-year journey to create a replica of the original Star Trek Tricorder. If you're a fan of the legendary sci-fi series, this is an incredibly unique item that will upgrade your entire collection to the next level.

Pre-Order The Original Series Tricorder Today at IGN Store

Christmas is still a ways away, but it's never a bad time to get fun Nintendo memorabilia. Hallmark is dropping a new selection of video game themed keepsake Christmas tree ornaments next week, on July 21. You can preorder them on Amazon now, and there are dozens of other ornaments from other games to pick from, like Minecraft, Halo, and Sonic the Hedgehog that are already available.

The latest batch of ornaments includes characters from notable Nintendo franchises like the Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, and Super Mario.

Hallmark Keepsake Nintendo Christmas Ornaments Are Available Next Week

Hallmark's upcoming Nintendo ornament selection is pretty cool for fans of their games. They're all made of plastic and vary in size but shouldn't stand more than just a couple inches high, making them easy to store away with the rest of Christmas stuff throughout the year. There's a handful of Pokémon
available like Pikachu, Venusaur, and Blastoise, but there's no Charizard. What gives, Hallmark? You can also grab an awesome Elephant Mario from Super Mario Bros. Wonder, one of my personal favorite Nintendo Switch games. The Link from The Legend of Zelda ornament is easily the coolest one, as it not only features his classic NES design, but it plays sounds and music from the games. It's a good Legend of Zelda gift to give someone before Christmas. Other Nintendo themed ornaments you can get are Pikmin, Poké Balls, Cat Mario, Samus Aran, and Isabel from Animal Crossing.

A notable omission is an ornament featuring Donkey Kong. Donkey Bananza on Nintendo Switch 2 just released, so it's odd Nintendo and Hallmark wouldn't try to capitalize on the success of one of their biggest properties. IGN's Logan Plant gave Donkey Kong Bananza a ten, saying "Donkey Kong Bananza is a truly groundbreaking 3D platformer, with satisfying movement, powerful abilities, impressive destructible environments, and clever challenges that all come together in complete harmony to create Nintendo’s first Switch 2 masterpiece."

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

If you're envying the Steam Deck experience or looking for an alternative to Windows 11, you're in luck. You can install the Steam Deck’s operating system, SteamOS, on your gaming PC for free using Valve's official SteamOS recovery image.

While Valve doesn't guarantee support for every PC yet, SteamOS can run on most AMD-powered systems. It only took an hour to get it up and running on my PC and you can do the same.

Before You Get Started

There are a couple things you'll need to install SteamOS on your PC, and a few things you should know before trying this.

For starters, SteamOS hasn't had a full PC release yet, so it's only officially supported on a handful of devices. You can still try to install it on PCs that don't have official support, but as a general rule, SteamOS works best with all-AMD systems. If you have an Nvidia GPU or an Intel processor, you're more likely to run into issues. For this guide, I installed SteamOS on a PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600G CPU and Radeon integrated graphics.

It's also important to note that SteamOS is a distribution of Linux, which means apps that are only available on Windows won't run on it. Most games that require kernel-level anti-cheat aren't compatible, either.

To get SteamOS installed on your PC, you'll need an empty USB drive with at least 8GB of space. I also recommend having a second storage device on hand, whether it's an external hard drive or a USB thumb drive, to back up your PC beforehand.

How to Install SteamOS

1. Backup your PC

Installing SteamOS requires wiping your PC's drive, so I recommend backing up everything on your PC first. I use an external hard drive to back up all my files, but you can use any drive you like, including cloud storage. The important thing is to save your files on a different drive than the one you're planning to install SteamOS on (don't use the USB drive you're going to put your SteamOS recovery image on, either).

If you have multiple drives on your gaming PC and want to make sure data on your other drives isn't wiped while installing SteamOS, it's a good idea to physically remove those drives from your PC.

2. Download the SteamOS recovery image

After backing up your PC, download the official SteamOS recovery image. This contains the default version of SteamOS that ships with the Steam Deck. It's designed for restoring a Steam Deck (or another compatible handheld gaming PC, like the Lenovo Legion Go S) if something happens to your original installation, but you can also use this recovery image for a new installation of SteamOS. After downloading the zip file, extract it.

3. Flash the SteamOS recovery image to a USB thumb drive

The next step is creating bootable media with the SteamOS recovery image and an empty USB drive. Make sure the drive you use has at least 8GB of storage on it and doesn't have any other files (the drive will get wiped in the process of creating your bootable media).

To do this, you need a disk image writing tool like BalenaEtcher or Rufus. I used BalenaEtcher. With the empty USB thumb drive plugged in, I selected "Flash from file" and chose the SteamOS recovery image extracted from the zip file, then selected the USB thumb drive as the destination. It may take several minutes to flash the SteamOS recovery image onto your drive. Once it's done, shut down your PC.

4. Boot into the BIOS on your PC and update your boot priority

Next, turn your PC back on, but make sure you boot into your BIOS (not your operating system). If you don't know the BIOS key for your PC, you can find it by checking the manual for your motherboard (or laptop). Delete and escape are common BIOS keys. As your PC is starting back up, repeatedly press your BIOS key.

The BIOS looks different depending on your PC, but the setting you need to update is your boot priority. This determines which drive your PC boots into first. Make sure you have your USB drive with the SteamOS recovery image plugged in and set it as the first option in your boot priority. Save the changes and exit your BIOS (which will start the regular booting process).

5. Boot into SteamOS recovery image

After exiting the BIOS, your PC should attempt to boot into the drive with the SteamOS recovery image. It can take a few minutes for SteamOS to start up. At first, all you'll see is scrolling lines of text on a black screen – that's Linux going through the SteamOS startup checklist. Once it's complete, your screen will go black, potentially for several minutes, while SteamOS is launching.

Eventually, the SteamOS desktop environment will show up, but this can also take a few minutes, so leave your PC alone while it gets everything up and running. When it's ready, your mouse and toolbar will appear on screen, along with four icons along the top of your screen.

To install SteamOS, double click the icon labeled "Wipe Device & Install SteamOS." You'll get a pop up warning you that this process will permanently delete everything on your device. If you're sure you want to go ahead with the installation, select "Proceed."

6. Allow SteamOS to install on your PC

After allowing the SteamOS installation to begin, a terminal will appear on your screen. Don't close it or attempt to change anything in it – this terminal is running the SteamOS installation. Don't attempt to do anything else in the desktop environment while this is running, either.

When the process is complete, you'll see a pop up asking if you want to proceed with a reboot. Select "Proceed" and let your PC restart. This can also take a few minutes, so don't hit your power button or unplug your system.

7. Reboot and setup SteamOS

After rebooting, you should see the SteamOS welcome screen. Go through the steps on screen to get your PC set up. When you're done, SteamOS will search for updates, download them, and restart again. After that, you should see the Steam sign-in page. Log in and you'll be good to go!

SteamOS will launch in Steam's Big Picture Mode since it's designed for handheld gaming PCs, but you can navigate it with a mouse and keyboard if you want (or a controller). It also has a normal desktop environment outside of Steam where you can install other apps, like Discord, and use your PC for any other normal tasks like web browsing. To move from Steam to your regular desktop environment, select the Menu button in the bottom left, then "Power" then "Switch to Desktop."

Tip: Epic Games and GOG don't have Linux apps, but you can play compatible games from those apps on your SteamOS PC using the Heroic Games launcher.

Can't Install SteamOS? Try These Alternative Linux Distributions

SteamOS doesn't have a full PC release yet, so it won't work on every system. If you can't get it running with your hardware, your best bet is to install a different Linux distribution until SteamOS gets a full release.

The first alternative I recommend is Bazzite. This is one of the best Linux distributions for gaming, especially if you're new to Linux. Bazzite even works on handheld gaming PCs, if you're looking to replace Windows 11 on your handheld.

If Bazzite isn't your cup of tea, beginner-friendly distributions like Fedora, Ubuntu, and Mint are also good options. Due to their popularity, it's easy to find troubleshooting help for these distributions and each can be configured to resemble Windows or macOS if you want a more familiar desktop environment.

Stevie Bonifield is a freelance tech journalist who has written for IGN, PC Gamer, Tom's Guide, and Laptop Mag, covering everything from custom keyboards to gaming on Linux.

Games Workshop’s The Big Summer Warhammer Preview Show 2025 offered a tantalising look at the tabletop wargaming company's upcoming slate, and we’ve rounded up everything revealed to help you catch up in case you missed the livestream.

There were announcements for Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, Legions Imperialis, Warhammer Underworlds, and even a surprise Space Marine 2 reveal.

This live report is now concluded.

The Leagues of Votann

Proceedings kicked of with a reveal for The Leagues of Votann (Warhammer 40,000's take on space dwarves). It's a huge plastic expansion, the biggest since the faction launched, that includes new troops, new artillery, new heroes and new abominable intelligence. There's a new Combat Patrol (an army starter pack or a set to bulk out an existing force) for The Leagues of Votann, and check out Buri Aegnirssen, a specialist Tyranid hunter, below. Yes, that's a Tyranid Prime on top of his head.

Supporting the release is a new Leagues of Votann Codex, packed with lore and new rules.

Warhammer: The Old World

Next up was a reveal for Warhammer: The Old World. Brand new units are coming to the Tomb Kings of Khemri. There are two new Arcane Journals, the first dubbed The War of Settra's Fury, which was described as "a really cool way of looking at the lore of The Old World," the second called Dawn of the Storm Dragon.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar

Moving on to Age of Sigmar, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary, there are two factions from the Grand Alliance of Death on their way with new units, new battletomes and new army rules.

We have the Flesh-Eater Courts Death Battletome, alongside a new mini to support: High Falconer Felgryn. Also coming to the Flesh-Eater army is the Charnel Watch. And there's the Death Battletome for the Nighthaunt, packed with lore and "some significant defensive buffs." Check out the wonderfully-named Lord Vitriolic, below:

Helsmiths of Hashut

Here's a big one: the Chaos Dwarfs faction returns for Age of Sigmar as the Helsmiths of Hashut. This new faction includes the Infernal Cohort with Hashutite Spears, the War Despot, the Dominator Engine, and the Tormentor Bombard war machine. As you'd expect, the set includes a new Battletome.

Warhammer: Underworlds

Games Workshop then revealed the Spitewood Expansion set for Warhammer: Underworlds. Designed as an expansion to the Embergard boxed set, Spitewood contains two brand new warbands, two new Rivals decks, a new double-sided board, and a token board that includes new feature tokens representing deposits of Aqua Ghyranis.

Legions Imperialis

Leaving Age of Sigmar behind, Games Workshop revealed new tanks for the Horus Heresy game, Legions Imperialis, including the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank Squadron, the Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer, and the Mastadon Assault Transport, the latter of which was described as the "30,000 equivalent of a siege tower."

Warhammer: The Horus Heresy

Also coming to the 30,000 setting is the MKII Assault Squad and the Journal Tactica: The Forges of Saturn.

Black Library

The Scouring is confirmed! As fans had speculated, The Scouring period of Warhammer 40,000's long history is getting its own novel series, kicking off with Ashes of the Imperium by Chris Wraight. This multi-book, multi-author series is set to reveal what happens to the Imperium and the Traitor Legions after the end of The Horus Heresy. Ashes of the Imperium will be released later in the year.

Warhammer 40,000

40K is getting five new Space Marine characters: Vulkan He’stan (Salamanders); Darnath Lysander (Imperial Fists); Aethon Shaan (Raven Guard); Caanok Var (Iron Hands); and Suboden Khan (White Scars). It's worth noting Aethon Shaan is the new Chapter Master of the Raven Guard, replacing Kayvaan Shrike, who's decided to step back from the top job and operate from the shadows.

There are a series of Combat Patrols coming to accompany the release of the characters for the Imperial Fists, White Scars, Iron Hands, Raven Guard, and Salamanders.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Games Workshop announced the first ever officially licensed, wearable Space Marine helmet. This is the MKX helmet Lieutenant Titus wears in the Space Marine video game series. The lenses inside illuminate!

Kill Team

Games Workshop announced a brand new Kill Team box set featuring the Necrons versus the Deathwatch, which Games Workshop said is probably the most requested Kill Team release ever. Tomb World sees Kill Team "return to the Close Quarters gameplay pioneered in Kill Team: Into the Dark, this time with an all-new Necron-themed killzone complete with shimmering portals, teleportation pads, and regenerating walls."

The Tomb World Dossier book contains background lore for the two kill teams and the Tomb World of Somneft they’re fighting over, "setting up a decisive showdown between Kill Team Vaskovian and Amhetra’s Cryptoretinue."

And that's it! We've wrapped up everything announced during Games Workshop's Big Summer Warhammer Preview Show 2025. What was your highlight?

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.

Bose just kicked off a new summer sale promotion with 25% off its entire inventory of certified refurbished Bose headphones, earbuds, soundbars, and portable speakers with you apply coupon code "SUMMER25". In all fairness, a few of these deals are slightly higher than the best deals we saw during Prime Day (by slightly I mean by about $10-$20), however those deals have since expired and I don't think we'll see better pricing until Black Friday.

Bose Summer Sale: 25% Off Refurbished Items

With so many great games coming down the pipeline, now's a great time to hop on the Xbox Game Pass bandwagon. If some titles joining the catalog this year have caught your eye and you're itching to join in on the fun, you can choose between one or three month Game Pass Ultimate membership options at Amazon. Unfortunately, there aren't any discount deals available at the moment, but we'll update this when a new one drops.

You can learn more about options for signing up, what's coming soon to Game Pass this month, and the big releases still to come below.

Navigate to:

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

Best Xbox Game Pass Deals

Without any prior warning, Microsoft has today removed the ability to buy movies and TV content on Xbox consoles and Windows devices.

The surprise move was first spotted by fans as Microsoft published a Q&A detailing the changes — as they were already going live.

Previously-purchased film and TV content can still be viewed, and you can still use your Xbox to play media you already own, such as DVDs and Blu-rays. But film and TV fans will no longer be able to add to their digital libraries, won't be able to move content to other services, and no refunds will be given should you want help to rebuild your library elsewhere.

On consoles, the sudden nature of today's store closure is evident by the fact that the Xbox marketplace still features movies and TV sections, though these areas of the store are now completely empty. Presumably these will now be fully removed via a future console update.

Microsoft has not given a reason why it has decided to end the sale of movie and TV content, though with the rise of streaming subscription services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, digital media ownership has been impacted.

For those who do still want to own content outright, meanwhile, collectors continue to buy good old physical media — something that might be cumbersome, but comes without the worry of requiring internet connectivity or long-term service support.

if you try and access the Movies & TV store on Xbox it just errors out after Microsoft's sudden closure today https://t.co/RpCRmx7W9F pic.twitter.com/SbHMSeuOSH

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) July 18, 2025

In a response within Microsoft's own Q&A, the company essentially says similar of its decision — and now simply points users elsewhere.

"The Xbox and Microsoft Store on Windows have other entertainment services that offer the latest home entertainment releases," Microsoft states. "The following transactional services are available today: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, among others."

While perhaps not the most popular method of owning digital content, the sudden nature of the service's closure by Microsoft has raised eyebrows. The change comes just weeks after Microsoft's latest round of layoffs, when around 4%, or just over 9,000 staff, were cut across the company.

Image credit: Adobe Stock.

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

In recent years, GIGABYTE has been at the forefront of advancements in AI-enhanced hardware. It’s made their range of PCs a good fit for all manner of gamers, content creators, and people interested in AI and seeing its growth.

Well, that growth continued with GIGABYTE’s latest laptop models, which integrate AI enhancements into nearly every aspect, improving performance and user experience across the board. Here’s a rundown of some of the most important features that separate the latest models.

GiMATE, the Smart AI Agent

The headliner of the latest improvements is GiMATE, the exclusive AI agent GIGABYTE introduced with its latest lineup. It uses an advanced large language model (LLM) and “press and speak” feature to help you seamlessly control hardware and software. Laptops released in 2025 are equipped with a GiMATE button, allowing users to seamlessly give voice commands or articulate their requirements efficiently.

Want to dive into an intense gaming session? You can press the button, say “I’m going to play a game,” and GiMATE will activate silent fans and overclocking optimization, keeping things cool while still delivering smooth gameplay. You can tell it lots of things — like you’re entering a meeting, need to create something, or want to conserve battery — and it’ll change settings for you. You won’t need to navigate a bunch of menus to manage your settings every time you change activities.

GiMATE comes equipped with powerful AI capabilities, including: AI Power, AI Performance, AI Cooling, AI Voice, AI Audio, and AI Privacy. AI Power optimizes your system settings, adjusting to the most energy-efficient mode while maintaining the best user experience. AI Performance enhances precise overclocking optimization for smooth gameplay, while AI Cooling utilizes Smart Cooling, dynamically adapting fan speed based on system demands. AI Voice recognizes your voice and filters out background noise, ensuring everyone on your video calls can hear you. AI Audio features smart acoustic optimization, which detects the surrounding surface and speaker positions to fine-tune sound output. AI Privacy can detect if someone other than you is looking at your screen and either alert you or activate safeguards.

Next-Level Cooling

WINDFORCE is a powerful cooling system used across GIGABYTE’s models that prevents them from running hot while staying quiet. The highest-tier version, called WINDFORCE INFINITY EX, is featured in the AORUS MASTER 18 and AORUS MASTER 16, offering heat dissipation up to 270W. Combined with a 158-blade Frost Fan design, Internal Blasting, 3D VortX technology, vapor chamber, and Icy Touch, it delivers the strongest and most efficient cooling.

The GIGABYTE AERO X16 features WINDFORCE INFINITY, with heat dissipation up to 95W, dual 12V slim fans with 74 blades, four vents and heat pipes, 3D VortX, and Icy Touch. And the GIGABYTE GAMING A16 has the base WINDFORCE, with up to 80W heat dissipation. All versions are designed to keep the system running cool without distractingly loud fans.

A Cinema-Grade Experience

There’s been a lot of fancy talk about tech specs and what’s happening under the hood of these laptops, but none of that matters without a high-end display and audio output, right? After all, we all want our games and media to sound and look their best. Well, you’re in luck. All models mentioned above are certified with Dolby Atmos®, which provides immersive audio. On top of that, the AORUS MASTER models include dual-force speakers that enhance bass up to 30% and Dolby Vision® HDR, which improves brightness, contrast, color, and depth.

A Range of Options

If GiMATE sounds like something you’re interested in, there’s more good news: It’s been integrated across GIGABYTE’s lineup, so you have lots of options to choose from if you want to experience it. The top-of-the-line options are the AORUS MASTER 18 and AORUS MASTER 16, which both feature the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 Processor 275HX, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, and a 240 Hz refresh rate display. The MASTER 18 features a mini-LED display, while the MASTER 16 comes with OLED, both delivering 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Next up is the GIGABYTE AERO X16, a laptop that’s focused on portability with the latest AMD Ryzen™ AI 300 Series processor and up to GeForce RTX 5070 GPU. It has the power and versatility to handle gaming and content creation, all in a sleek body just 16.7 millimeters thick and weighing 1.9 kilograms. Offering over 14 hours of battery life, it’s easy to take on the go. Designed as a Copilot+ PC, it supports AI-powered multitasking and is offered in two colors: Space Gray and Lunar White.

Last but not least, the GIGABYTE GAMING A16. As its name implies, it’s focused on gaming, but also works well for students and AI newcomers. It has the 13th Gen Intel® Core™ processor and up to GeForce RTX 5070 GPU and a redesigned Golden Curve Keyboard to enhance on-device control. It sports more than 14 hours of battery life, can lie completely flat at 180 degrees, and is also slim and lightweight, checking in at 19.45 millimeters thick and 2.2 kilograms.

And there you have it, some of the most important features of GIGABYTE’s new models. But there’s still lots more to see about each of these laptops, so be sure to check out the website to learn more. You can get into even more nitty gritty details, filter available models by different tech specs, and compare different models side by side to find the right one for you.

If you are in the market for new art supplies or reliable travel charging gear, today’s deals bring a mix of both. Ohuhu’s 216-color and 168-color alcohol marker sets are available at $199.99 and $159.99, both offering refillable ink, smooth blending, and included carrying cases. On the charger front, UGREEN’s 65W USB C Charger Block is down to $29.99, while the CUKTECH No.20 140W Power Bank is available for $122.99. That one packs 25,000mAh capacity with PD 3.1 fast charging and a smart display, making it a solid pick for keeping laptops and phones powered up while traveling.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

You will also find discounts on ACEFAST’s open-ear workout headphones, GOOLOO’s 6000A jump starter, and two GameSir controllers (G7 Pro and the Super Nova) ideal for players bouncing between Switch, PC, and mobile gaming. OneOdio’s Focus A5 headphones round out today’s list with long battery life and LDAC wireless audio support. If you need power, portability, or some new creative tools, this is a good day to check prices.

Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box

Where To Buy Japanese Pokémon Cards

Japanese Pokémon TCG booster boxes have far better odds at pulling chase cards, have far less bulk and are often half the price of English booster boxes. This also mean said chase cards are worth significantly less, but Japanese cards are far easier to get perfect grades in given they're always busting out of booster packs in perfect condition. Want a Pokémon card collection on a budget? Go for Japanese cards.

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Preorders

This is it, the beggining of a new expansion for Pokémon TCG. Best Buy have gone live with their preorder allocation for Mega Evolutions today, which mean Target and Walmart won't be far behind. Here's all the links you need and good luck trainers!

Pokémon TCG Price Updates

I can't believe I'm writing this, but Amazon has quite a bit of sealed Pokémon TCG product for under market value. Whilst that unfortunately means it's still way above MSRP, some of these sets are at the best prices they've been in the last month.

This Weeks Crashers and Climbers

Scarlet and Violet base set prices have been shifting noticeably ahead of the final sets Black Bolt and White Flare, with Psychic-type Illustration Rares like Ralts 211/198 and Kirlia 212/198 each climbing 28 percent this month while Gardevoir ex 245/198 now sits at $54.99 after a 25 percent jump. Miraidon ex and Koraidon ex are both trending upward as well, holding value around $23.99 each. At the same time several cards are sliding down as Fidough 213/198 dropped 15 percent, Armarouge 203/198 is down 11 percent, and Pachirisu 208/198 fell 19 percent. The steepest dips hit Dondozo 207/198 and Starly 221/198, now around $9.99 each after dropping 30 percent and 37 percent respectively, reflecting a market that is narrowing in on long-term playability and collector interest.

Last Weeks Crashers and Climbers

As newer Pokémon TCG sets grab the spotlight, Paradox Rift is seeing its high-rarity SIR ex cards drop in value while several Illustration Rares quietly climb due to shifting collector interest and low inventory. Cards like Altaria ex, Gholdengo ex, and Steelix have dropped between 16% and 25%, while Illustration Rares including Morpeko, Plusle, Minun, Groudon, and Iron Valiant ex are climbing fast, with Morpeko leading at a 43% increase. This mirrors earlier trends where less flashy cards gain traction as availability tightens.

MTG Edge of Eternities Preorders

Magic: The Gathering’s next set, Edge of Eternities, officially launches August 1 with preorders now live on Amazon for bundles including Play Booster Boxes, Commander Decks, and Collector Booster Boxes. Blending Magic’s iconic gameplay with science fantasy themes such as flying space whales and alien races, Edge of Eternities introduces four new mechanics: Void, Warp, Station, and Lander Tokens. Fan-favorite tribes like Eldrazi and Slivers return alongside reprints of coveted Shock Lands. Wizards of the Coast is gradually revealing more details, with a full card gallery arriving July 18 and prerelease events happening July 25 through 31, so now is the time to lock in your preorder if you want first access.

MTG Pricing Updates

It's a bit of a mixed back for Magic: The Gathering prices this week, so it's always worth double checking eBay before TCG Player and Amazon for a last minute bargain. Also, whoever thinks a Theros Beyond Death booster is worth north of $700 needs to have a word with themselves.

ACEFAST AceFit Pro Open-Ear Headphones

Ohuhu Brush Markers (216)

Ohuhu Alcohol Markers Brush Tip: 168

OneOdio Focus A5

UGREEN 65W USB C Charger Block

CUKTECH NO.20 140W Power Bank

GameSir G7 Pro Tri-Mode

GameSir Super Nova Wireless Gaming Controller

GOOLOO 6000A Jump Starter

Berserk Complete 1997 TV Series Blu Ray

Anker Nano Charging Station(100W Max)

JBL Xtreme 3

39 Inch UltraGear OLED

Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD 2TB

Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle

SanDisk® 512GB GamePLAY microSD Express Card

Superman (2025) (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)

USB Type-C to A Cable 5 pack

INIU Portable Charger 10000mAh 45W

TCL - 55" QM6K Series

INIU 140W Power Bank

Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker

Personal Fan with LED Display

9-Outlet Anker 332 USB C Power Strip Surge Protector

INIU USB C Charger Block x 2

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection (Switch)

Superman (Blu-ray + Digital)

Split Fiction (PS5)

Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds

DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake (Switch)

The Lord of the Rings Illustrated (Tolkien Illustrated Editions)

Suikoden I & II HD Remastered (Switch)

No matter which platform you prefer to play on, there's an excellent variety of video game deals to check out right now. Whether you're gaming on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PC, we've rounded up the best offers available at the moment to help you get more for your money.

This includes an excellent 'Build your own Capcom Summer bundle' from Fanatical for PC players and a discount on Elden Ring Nightreign for PS5, but these just scratch the surface of what's available. Have a look through our favorite video game deals at the moment below.

Best PC Game Deals

Humble Choice Games for July 2025

Best Physical Video Game Deals

If you're looking to save on physical games right now, there are plenty of deals worth checking out across PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. We've included just a few of our favorites above, but if you'd like to see more game deals for each platform, check out our individual roundups for these consoles: the best PlayStation deals, the best Xbox deals, and the best Nintendo Switch deals.

Best Nintendo Switch 2 Accessory Deals

If you've already picked up a Nintendo Switch 2 and have been looking to grab some accessories, we're here to help. We've found some great Nintendo Switch 2 accessory deals that are worth picking up right now, from carrying cases to screen protectors and more. The selection above just scratches the surface of what's available, though. Check out our roundup of the best Nintendo Switch 2 deals to see more.

Best Xbox Accessory Deals

Outside of games, there are a few different Xbox accessory deals that are worth your time and money as well. Walmart's offering a nice discount at the moment on the Elite Series 2 controller, while Amazon's got the 1TB Seagate Storage Expansion Card on sale. Woot has a couple of nice accessory deals to check out, too.

Best PS5 SSD Deals

Best Gaming PC Deals

Do you prefer to play on a dedicated PC tower? Navigating the options online can be quite the ordeal. Desk space, portability, and price point are often factors in the decision. However, there are some great PC deals that pop up every now and again that are worth jumping on. One of our favorite deals at the moment is on the Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC (16GB/1TB), which has dropped to $1,999.99. To see even more PC deals, check out our roundup of the best gaming PC deals.

That new Stranger Things Season 5 teaser was jammed packed with insane footage — but as it turns out, apparently none of it is really a spoiler, according to one of the Duffer Brothers themselves.

“Don’t worry about spoilers,” Ross Duffer, the series creator and showrunner alongside brother Matt, explained via Instagram alongside the trailer. “This teaser pulls from every episode except seven, but it’s mostly Volume One and just barely scratches the surface.”

🚨 CODE RED 🚨

THE STRANGER THINGS 5 TEASER IS HERE pic.twitter.com/xklBxyJ11N

— Netflix (@netflix) July 16, 2025

Ultimately, he’s got a point, as the main thing the teaser does show is the time jump from 1987 to the present day of Season 5. That said, the official synopsis does give us a lot more insight into what’s coming:

"Scarred by the opening of the Rifts, our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished – his whereabouts and plans unknown. As the anniversary of Will's disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming – and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before. To end this nightmare, they'll need everyone – the full party – standing together, one last time."

Stranger Things 5 release schedule:

• Volume 1: November 26, 2025 @ 5pm PT
• Volume 2: December 25, 2025 @ 5pm PT
• The Finale: December 31, 2025 @ 5pm PT

What we do know about the final season at this point is that it will consist of eight episodes that will be released in three volumes. The release schedule coincides with some upcoming major holidays, with the first volume dropping for Thanksgiving and the second and third hitting on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve respectively.

The show’s beloved cast returns for Season 5, with Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, David Harbour, Wynona Ryder, Sadie Sink, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, and Caleb McLaughlin all getting back in the saddle alongside a few new faces. The most notable newbie in the cast is undoubtedly Terminator star Linda Hamilton, Sarah Connor herself.

The second (and final) season of the spectacular Netflix series Arcane is officially getting a 4K steelbook. If you're a fan of the show or already own the first season's 4K steelbook and are longing to complete the collection, it's available to preorder right now at Amazon for $59.98 (see here). It's set to be released on October 21 this year, so you won't have to wait too long to add it to your library.

Preorder Arcane Season 2 4K Steelbook

Arcane Season 2 Steelbook Bonus Features

• "Inside The Writer's Room" Featurette
• "The Voices In My Head: Crafting The Performances"
• Artist Breakdowns - Featuring 14 Artists From Fortiche
• "A Sonic Ballet: Music & Sound" Featurette
• Music Video: "Ma Meilleure Ennemie"
• Music Video: "Blood, Sweat & Tears"
• Music Video: "Paint the Town Blue"
• "Going Another Way: Episode 7" Featurette
• Storyboards & Animatics
• Art Gallery

Save Over 60% on Arcane’s Season 1 4K Steelbook

Nightfarers might want to prep and gear up. FromSoftware is sending out its next set of enhanced bosses, the Everdark Sovereigns, for Elden Ring Nightreign at the end of this month.

The next four Everdark Sovereigns will arrive as part of a "new Everdark cycle" in Limveld, starting on July 31. The four bosses up for upgrades this time are Tricephalos, Augur, Equilibrious Beast, and Fissure in the Fog.

For the past Everdark Sovereigns, FromSoftware has adhered to a weekly release schedule. Though it's unconfirmed whether the rollout will be the same again, or which Everdark Sovereign will be the first to arrive, FromSoft's teaser image does show Libra, the Equilibrious Beast fight, ready for battle.

The veil thins, and the Night hungers still.

On July 31, 2025, a new Everdark cycle shall begin; the enhanced Nightlords Tricephalos, Augur, Equilibrious Beast and Fissure in the Fog will soon unleash their darkest powers upon Limveld.#ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN pic.twitter.com/IN71Mm53ux

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) July 18, 2025

I'm curious to see if this affects Libra's Faustian bargain mechanic at all, but even putting aside a deal with a devil, these could be some fearsome fights. Tricephalos isn't exactly a pushover, and the Fissure in the Fog battle already has some pretty strong mechanics that often catch newer players unaware. More powerful versions of these bosses could get interesting.

So far, it seems like the Everdark Sovereigns have been well-received. Though their difficulty levels vary depending on the upgrades and enhancements each one gets, it does seem like FromSoftware has found interesting ways to remix each of the main bosses of Elden Ring Nightreign.

The update cadence for Elden Ring Nightreign has felt akin to Monster Hunter, in that way. Since launch, there's been a steady, even stream of patches and "enhanced" content, gradually raising the difficulty ceiling in the process. It'll be interesting to see what Bandai Namco and FromSoftware's long-term plans for Nightreign are, and when any DLC enters the picture.

We’ve got plenty of Nightreign tips and tricks to help you take down all the eight Nightlord Bosses, and if you’re wondering how to unlock the two locked Nightfarer Classes, check out How to Unlock the Revenant and How to Unlock the Duchess, plus How to Change Characters.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Square Enix has announced it will end Windows 10 support for its MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV this October.

The publisher confirmed in a statement that support will end on October 14, 2025, coinciding with Microsoft's own end-date for security updates and support.

"You will likely be able to play FINAL FANTASY XIV on Windows® 10 systems even after the end of support," the company said. "However, after we discontinue support, we will as a general rule no longer be able to provide support for problems arising as a result of the operating system."

Square Enix said it may responded to requests for technical support regarding Windows 10 issues after the end of support, but this will be limited, on a case-by-case basis, and not guaranteed.

Additionally, the OS and CPU requirements for the Windows version of Final Fantasy XIV will also be updated on October 14. Alongside a shift from Windows 10 64-bit to Windows 11 64-bit, CPU requirements will also bump up.

For Minimum System Requirements, the recommended Intel Core i7-7700 (or higher) will shift to an Intel Core i5-8400 (or higher). The Recommended System Requirements are holding steady on the Intel Core i7-9700 benchmark, though.

Currently, Final Fantasy XIV is building up to its 7.3 patch, The Promise of Tomorrow, due to arrive in early August. Following on from the Dawntrail expansion, patch 7.3 will introduce a new slew of Main Scenario Quests following the aftermath of the expansion and the strange things afoot in Solution Nine.

Additionally, the next leg of Final Fantasy XIV's Final Fantasy XI crossover raid series Echoes of Vana'diel will arrive, with San d'Oria: The Second Walk. Longtime Final Fantasy XI players (who could even still be playing to this day) will likely find some neat easter eggs and references littered throughout the new series of fights.

As for Windows 10 users, the operating system shift still seems to be an inevitable reality. If you're still on Win10, now might be a good time to start considering your options as its end-of-support looms in the distance.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

President Trump has weighed in on the shock cancelation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and said Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, "is next."

Colbert announced the cancelation of his talk show just a few days after he criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, for its $16 million settlement with Donald Trump over the president’s claim that CBS News deceptively edited an interview with the then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. CBS has insisted it was a “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”

The settlement, and the announcement of the end of The Late Show, come amid Paramount’s bid to get its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media over the line. The transaction needs regulatory approval from the Trump administration, and Trump is often the butt of Colbert’s jokes.

Colbert, who has hosted the show for the last decade, called the settlement “a big fat bribe" during an episode aired earlier this week.

We're mere days away from the theatrical release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but Marvel is still keeping its cards close to the vest where Ralph Ineson's Galactus is concerned. None of the trailers have given us a clear glimpse of the towering cosmic villain, leaving it to some leaked promo art to give us our first glimpse of Galactus' face. But as is often the case, a new Hot Toys figure is giving us our best look yet at the MCU version of Galactus.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to see Hot Toys' massive and highly detailed Galactus Jumbo Sofvi Figure, along with the other newly revealed Fantastic Four figures:

This figure makes it clear that First Steps' Galactus is very close to the comic book source material. Ineson's likeness is clearly evident, though the face also has an interesting lined texture that speaks to his otherworldly nature.

The Galactus Jumbo Sofvi Figure is a bit different from standard Hot Toys figures. For one thing, it's quite a bit bigger, clocking in at 70 cm/27.6 inches tall. It's also not nearly as articulated as normal Hot Toys figures, with only limited movement in the head, waist, and arms. No doubt that will help keep the cost down.

Galactus also isn't the usual Hot Toys 1:6 scale. With Galactus being several hundred feet tall in the film, we don't even want to think about how massive a 1:6 scale Galactus would be. The figure does include miniature versions of the FF and Julia Garner's Silver Surfer.

Alongside Galactus, Hot Toys is also releasing more traditional 1:6 scale figures of the entire FF family. The Invisible Woman even comes with a 1:6 scale version of baby Franklin Richards. Meanwhile, both Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic can be purchased in an optional bundle with the helper robot H.E.R.B.I.E.

Will you be adding this gigantic Galactus figure to your collection? What do you think of the MCU version of this iconic villain? Let us know in the comments below.

For more on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, check out the reveal of the Marvel villain played by Paul Walter Hauser.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Minor spoilers follow for “Hegemony, Part II,” which is currently available on Paramount+.

As Star Trek: Strange New World’s third season finally arrives, it comes with a sense of both relief ("Can you believe it’s been almost two years since season 2 ended?") and, well, frustration ("Man, I guess it’s been almost two years since season 2 ended!"). “Hegemony, Part II” is, after all, the follow-up to last season’s big cliffhanger finale, but geez, who can even remember what happened all the way back in August of 2023?

Of course, that’s not fair to the show, which had to wait for the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes to end before it could reveal how the USS Enterprise got out of its latest jam. And yet here we are, so a quick catch-up for those in need: The season 2 finale, “Hegemony,” ended with the crew facing those nasty lizard people the Gorn once again. Anson Mount’s Captain Pike just can’t catch a break: His girlfriend, Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano), winds up infected by the lethal creatures, meaning that she’s facing an Alien-esque eruption of Baby Gorn if Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) can’t figure out a solution. Meanwhile, most of Pike’s command crew – and a bunch of colonists – were beamed up to the Gorn ships where, well, they’re gonna wind up on the dinner menu. Admiral April (Adrian Holmes) commands Pike to retreat, but what’s a captain to do when half the stars of his show will be doomed if he follows orders?

A spinning camera move thrusts us right back into the action in “Hegemony, Part II,” beginning in space as Gorn ships attack the Enterprise, and continuing inside on the bridge as Pike, exhausted and seemingly out of options, rotates in the frame as well.

The fancy technique from episode director Chris Fisher isn’t out of place for modern Star Trek, which can do in one space battle the type of things that Gene Roddenberry only dreamed of in an entire career of Trekkin’. But it’s also illustrative of Pike’s state of mind in this story. Mount and the episodes’ writers, Henry Alonso Myers and Davy Perez, give us a Pike who is seemingly at the breaking point – it’s very un-Captain Kirk of him (which is totally fine, by the way). Even driven to prayer at one point – which Roddenberry would certainly have raised a Spock-style eyebrow at, to say the least – Mount continues to bring a vulnerability to Pike that has proven to be one of the character’s strong suits as far back as his time on Star Trek: Discovery and his trippy realization there that he’s facing an inevitable and horrific future.

What is very Captain Kirk of Pike here is the loophole he exploits to get out of Admiral April’s order to retreat. “Oh, he didn’t say retreat immediately…?” And so, in the opening scene of “Hegemony, Part II,” Pike does two things that only the greatest of Starfleet’s captains do: He breaks the rules and he relies on his crew to make him look better. Calling for ideas on how to track the Gorn ships, it’s ops officer Mitchell (Rong Fu) of all people – she’s not even a series regular! – who comes up with the “tag them with a dud torpedo” idea. Officer thinking, Lieutenant.

Speaking of creative visuals, there’s always plenty of that stuff in this show, but another shot that caught my eye this week involved our shifting perspective of the bridge viewscreen. With the Gorn firing on the ship – at the viewscreen, basically, from our POV – the camera slowly moves from left to right, so from behind the con station to behind Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). As it does so, the perspective of what’s happening onscreen changes and the viewscreen goes out of focus as the camera trains itself on the back of our communications officer instead. It’s just a cool moment, the kind of thing that’s easily missed but which surely took a ton of planning and design work.

Perhaps slightly less effective are the practical effects of the Gorn cocooning chamber, where our pals La'an (Christina Chong), Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) are stuck. It’s not that the set or the gunky pods that the crew are trapped in necessarily look bad, but they do ultimately feel like the modern-era equivalent of the old Planet Hell set from 1990s Trek. It just never feels real.

The team’s efforts to escape their situation and save the (mostly offscreen, conveniently cocooned) colonists is fine, if perhaps the dullest aspect of the episode. The actors are all game, and Chong’s character is positioned as if she’s dealing with the traumatic memories of her dealings with the Gorn from her youth, but there’s unfortunately no emotional payoff there beyond “let’s throw in some quick flashes of the past” here or there. It is fun to see La’an in charge of the landing party, however, and certainly her imperative to save every last colonist is rooted in what the Gorn have taken from her in the past.

The strongest material for any of the characters here belongs to Spock (Ethan Peck) and Chapel, whose developing romance has become a cornerstone of Strange New Worlds. As the pair work to save Captain Batel, teching the tech as it were, it’s the emotional throughline of their scenes that we’re most interested in. To see Chapel have to lay out for the scientific genius Mr. Spock that they are, in fact, broken up is both a) proof that Chapel is a superior human being of the 23rd century who understands that gentle and frank honesty is the best approach in such a situation, and b) one of the saddest moments of a half-human/half-Vulcan heart being broken ever committed to film. Peck and Bush win this episode, guys.

Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:

• Quote of the week: “We’ll just turn it off before we blow up.”
• Martin Quinn, who debuted in the Season 2 finale, is now a series regular as Montgomery Scott. But you know him as Scotty!
• So with Scotty in, how long until Carol Kane’s Pelia is out? I hope it takes a while, because Pelia schooling Scotty on how to give the captain what he wants is a hoot.
• I like Lt. Mitchell but I can’t help but wonder why she’s sitting in Gary Mitchell’s soon-to-be seat. I guess two different ops officers for the Enterprise can just be named Mitchell, eh?
• Ah, so new opening credits this season? Just like TNG did in season 3!
• It’s nice to get the occasional acknowledgment of Discovery’s Klingon war, as we do in this episode.

The Happiest Place on Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney's Disneyland is an illustrated history of the park that turned 70 yesterday, and today IGN can exclusively reveal five pages from the book that showcases an unprecedented look at the creation of the beloved park and a Disneyland that could have had Oz characters like Dorothy, a Thomas Edison square, and more.

This book is now available for purchase and features more than 750 images, previously unpublished documents, and concept drawings of Disneyland that are all organized by the park's original five lands - Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.

Furthermore, The Happiest Place on Earth is written by Don Hahn (award-winning producer of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and more) and Christopher Merritt (former Disney Imagineer for over 25 years) and features a forward by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

“There’s a Disneyland that we experience as a child with our eyes full of wonder at the stories it tells," Hahn told us. "But as we peeled back those layers, we found another Disneyland story; an incredible origin story of unconventional creativity without boundaries, of upset, failure, persistence, and pioneering that gave birth to a new kind of entertainment that still resonates now more than ever. That’s the story we wanted to tell.”

As for the exclusive spreads, we've included them below with quotes from Merritt that explain why these are so important to Disney history and just a small part of what you'll find in The Happiest Place on Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney's Disneyland.

For more, check out our look at the story of how a century of Disney magic began, our chat with Disney Imagineering head Bruce Vaughn about Disneyland's Avengers attraction and more, and 12 reasons to visit Disneyland for its 70th anniversary.

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.

Let's make this simple: You want to know if there are any post- or mid-credits scenes in Superman. The answer is yes. The mid-credit “scene” is really more of a quiet moment of reflection, before a humorous post-credit scene concludes things.

Full spoilers for the movie follow!

Superman has finally hit theaters, acting as the official live-action launch of the new DCU, following the smaller-scale animated series Creature Commandos coming first in terms of release dates. There’s a lot at stake here, with Superman being tasked with laying the groundwork for this new DCU and providing a clean slate for the franchise after the previous DCEU ended in 2023 with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

The film involves Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) releasing information Superman (David Cornenswet) himself never knew about his Kryptonian parents (who intended him to “rule without mercy” on Earth) in order to turn the public against Superman and move forward with his own nefarious plans. So where does the movie leave off as far as setting up what’s to come? And why is its more broad approach to universe-building probably a wise call compared to some of the more blatant sequel-bait we’ve grown accustomed to in comic book movies? Let’s break it all down.

Superman Ending Explained: Luthor Unhinged

Luthor, who has successfully presented himself as someone standing up against Superman’s ominous plans, is able to press forward with his partnership with the president of the country of Boravia to invade Boravia’s neighbor, Jarhanpur – something Superman had put a stop to the first time Boravia tried it.

The third act of Superman involves two crises unfolding in two separate parts of the world. First, Boravia’s next attack is beginning, with the intention of absolutely decimating the people of Jarhanpur. Boravia and Luthor (who has been supplying Boravia with their weapons) intend to split the land between them after they conquer and kill anyone who gets in their way.

But Superman’s attempt help Jarhanpur is curtailed when he’s told by Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) that the world itself is now in danger because of a pocket universe Luthor had created to use as his own private prison (in which he imprisoned Superman himself for a time during the film) that is now causing a physical rift in Metropolis, literally ripping the city apart. And while Metropolis has been evacuated, the rift will continue to grow far beyond the city, endangering countless lives. Obsessed with killing Superman, Luthor ignores the warnings of his own men about what is occurring, sending his agents Ultraman and the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) to fight Superman and Mister Terrific.

In the ensuing fight, Superman is nearly killed by the Engineer, but when he manages to turn the tables on his foes, the mysterious, silent Ultraman is finally unmasked and revealed to be a clone of Superman created by Lex.

Superman and Ultraman have a vicious fight, while both attempt to avoid the black hole the rift has opened up, but ultimately Ultraman is pulled into it, ending his threat. Superman then confronts Luthor in his office, stopping him from escaping, while Mister Terrific is able to use Luthor’s equipment to shut down the rift, sending the split portions of Metropolis back together - albeit inelegantly, since it’s still obvious where things once had been torn in half. With the truth about Lex’s entire plot revealed publicly by the Daily Planet – thanks to Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) sending info to Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) – Lex is arrested and sent to Belle Reve Prison, while Superman’s reputation is restored. Superman and his beloved Lois Lane (Rachel Bronahan), meanwhile, are reunited and share a mid-air kiss.

As for Jarhanpur, just when all hope seems lost for its people, they are saved by the arrival of Mister Terrific’s Justice Gang teammates, Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), along with Superman’s new ally, Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) - all of whom answered Superman’s offscreen request for help. As his army is defeated, the corrupt, genocidal president of Boravia then finds out the hard way that Hawkgirl does not follow Superman’s vow to never kill when she takes him high up in the air and drops him to his death.

What Happened to The Engineer?

The movie leaves one notable loose end where María Gabriela de Faría's Engineer is concerned. When last we see her, Angela is knocked out after Superman outmaneuvers her death trap and crashes back to Earth. At that point, Superman and Ultraman continue their brawl, leaving Angela to recover in the subway. We never learn what becomes of the character after that point.

That's not to say Gunn doesn't have future plans for The Engineer. When the DCU was first announced, one of the projects highlighted was The Authority, a movie about the post-modern team of superheroes who exist as a more proactive and militant alternative to the Justice League (or Justice Gang, as Guy Gardner prefers). The Engineer is a core member of the team in the comics, and presumably, de Faría was meant to reprise her role in The Authority movie.

Unfortunately, The Authority seems to have been put on the back burner as Gunn and Peter Safran prioritize other DCU projects. As Gunn explained, "Honestly, Authority's been the one that's been the hardest, both because of the shifting overall story and because of getting it right in a world with The Boys and a world with all the things that The Authority influenced that came out after it.”

But whenever and wherever she appears next, there's definitely more story to be told with The Engineer. The movie makes it clear she's a firm believer in Luthor's vision for humanity, so what happens when her beloved leader is disgraced and imprisoned. Does Angela carry on the fight without Luthor? Does she soften her stance on Superman after realizing how hard he fought to save the world from Luthor's malfunctioning portal? The time will come for The Engineer to find her place in the rapidly growing DCU tapestry.

The Girl of Steel Arrives… and She’s Plastered!

In the film’s final scene, Superman returns to the Fortress of Solitude, where his Superman Robot assistants, trashed during the earlier break-in by the Engineer and Ultraman, have been rebuilt. They are interrupted by a large crashing sound that turns out to be none other than Superman’s cousin - Supergirl (Milly Alcock)!

It’s not the intro some might expect from a high profile superhero, as Supergirl comes stumbling into the Fortress, asking in a slurred voice “Why did you move the door?” before asking “Where is my dog?” - as we learn the superpowered dog, Krypto, who’s been accompanying Superman for much of the film, is actually Supergirl’s pet. This lines up with dialogue from earlier, when Superman said Krypto wasn’t actually his pet and their dynamic was more of a foster situation.

After allowing Krypto to play with her in an amusingly roughhouse manner -- which is to say, he stomps on her with his super strength, smashing the ground beneath her as she laughs hysterically – Supergirl and Krypto depart, with her exclaiming to her cousin, “Thanks for watching him, bitch!”

Superman then explains to his robots that Supergirl “likes to go and party on other planets. Planets with red suns. Because of our metabolism, we can’t get drunk on a planet with a yellow sun.”

For those who have read the 2021 miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, this will all sound very familiar. That comic first introduces a drunken and foul-mouthed Supergirl sitting at a bar on an alien planet, accompanied by Krypto, having traveled there specifically so she can actually get drunk on her 21st birthday. And this reference in Superman makes sense, because next year’s Supergirl movie is specifically based on Woman of Tomorrow (and until recently was actually titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow). Supergirl’s onscreen outfit in this scene – her usual Supergirl uniform, red skirt included, but with a brown jacket over it rather than any visible cape – also mirrors how she looks when we first meet her in that comic.

So for those expecting or hoping the first movie in the DCU to explicitly set up other DCU movies, it very much does with this Supergirl tease… but is there anything beyond that, specifically for Superman himself?

Does Superman Have a Mid- or Post-Credit Scene?

It has one of both… though calling what happens at the mid-credits a “scene” is wildly overstating things. The initial closing credits play, using the same style and font as Richard Donner’s iconic 1978 Superman film, and backed by the song “Punkrocker” by Teddybears, featuring Iggy Pop - a nod to a scene in the film where Lois and Clark banter about how “punk” someone as seemingly square as Clark could have been growing up, with Clark arguing that maybe his kindhearted approach to life is itself what’s punk these days.

When these main credits conclude, we then cut to a shot of Superman sitting with Krypto. Superman is only seen from behind, as he and his dog – sorry, foster dog – peacefully sit and look at the Earth from the vantage point of the moon, with the two lovingly embracing each other.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen a variation on this image from the film for quite awhile, since it first released as a photo last fall before then serving as the focal point of the IMAX poster for Superman. The moment, in turn, is a big comic book homage, since it’s based upon a page from the 2005 comic All-Star Superman, one of Gunn’s main inspirations for the movie.

It’s a sweet little touch to add to the mid-credits of the film, though it lasts mere seconds and isn’t really a scene as much as a moving snapshot.

The post-credits, though, feature an additional bit of interaction between Superman and Mister Terrific. In the scene, we see the two heroes standing next to each other, looking at one of the many Metropolis buildings that was torn apart by Luthor’s pocket dimension rift, and then brought back together by Terrific when he fixed things.

Superman, however, is clearly bothered by the imperfect nature of the building’s reconfiguration, and when he tells Terrific “It’s just a little off,” Terrific is pissed, replying, “What do you want me to do!? Do you want me to take it apart and put it back together!?” When Superman stammers no, “it’s just…” Terrific replies, “Just what!?” and storms off in frustration.

Superman yells after him, “Hey man, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bum you out! I shouldn’t have brought it up!” But when Mister Terrific continues to walk away, Superman says to himself, “Darn it, I can be such a jerk sometimes…”

It’s an amusing little moment between the two heroes, albeit not an hysterically funny one, but clearly there more as a bit of a slice of life for our clean-cut hero and one of his superpals than anything else. Though, yeah, it will likely lead to some “That’s it!?” reactions from some, who feel if they sat through the credits hoping for an extra scene, it also better be for SOME REALLY COOL THING.

But honestly, that’s asking for something that not only has been done many times but has often proven to be a precarious path, as James Gunn is well aware.

Why It’s OK Superman Functions as a Standalone Story

The lack of an “important” mid or post-credit scene underlines the feel of Superman as a film that is introducing a big new cinematic universe, yes, but also is telling its own self-contained story that’s making a statement in and of itself. Gunn does a deft job of layering in plenty of elements that can be used later in other projects without ever lingering on them or gratuitously highlighting that you should pay attention to this guy or to some doohickey because it’s going to be important in another show or film.

Yes, this film includes characters like Rick Flag Sr., with Frank Grillo reprising the role he originated in Creature Commandos and will continue in Peacemaker Season 2. But for those who aren’t aware of any of that, he’s just a Washington DC power player. Nathan Fillion will reprise his role as Guy Gardner in the Lanterns TV show, but the movie doesn’t go out of its way to name-drop Hal Jordan or John Stewart or belabor that Guy isn’t the only Lantern, it just presents him as the superpowered, arrogant a-hole he is.

This is a Superman film focused on this particular story, and Clark rightfully remains at the center of the movie from start to finish, despite the other superpowered characters in his orbit. It doesn’t repeat the mistakes of some messier superhero films, which often feel preoccupied with various plot threads and characters aiming towards something down the line.

Gunn’s “let this story stand on its own” approach extends to the credits and connects to his overall philosophy on how to craft a superhero universe now that he’s the guy calling the shots. As he recently explained to EW, he doesn’t love the idea of using a post-credit scene to tease a brand new character or storyline without a locked-in specific plan for them down the line. Gunn uses his own tease of Adam Warlock’s arrival in the credits of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as an example, noting that by the time he was actually writing Guardians Vol. 3, Warlock wasn’t an easy fit in the story he was telling, yet now he felt beholden to include him.

Gunn has also stressed repeatedly that no movie will be fully greenlit and produced by DC Studios without a complete script in place, and you can see some crossover with this mandate and why he didn't want to, say, put a scene in the middle of the credits of Superman where we meet Brainiac or General Zod. He’s acknowledged their plans to do more with this version of Superman, of course, but without a specific follow-up already 100% in place (script included), Gunn likely doesn’t want to bind himself to anything that might not actually make the most sense later on. Which is why the movie’s one actual blatant tease, for Supergirl, is the one that he would feel comfortable with - because that movie’s actually been filmed and is a done deal!

The most important goal for Superman, more than declaring “here is the new DCU,” was making sure this was a great Superman movie, and Gunn has excelled in that regard, delivering what is easily the best film for the character since Richard Donner’s beloved version in 1978. The Lois and Clark dynamic is excellent (fueled by the wonderful chemistry between Corenswet and Brosnahan), while the juxtaposition between Clark’s Superman HQ at the Fortress of Solitude and the loving home Martha and Jonathan Kent have given him is expertly defined. Martha and Clark feel like just the sort of salt of the Earth, loving, caring people you can believe raised a man as good as Clark.

This version of Superman is exactly the sort of sweet, kind and perhaps sometimes endearingly naive hero he should be, without feeling like he’s too old-fashioned or out of touch to invest in. The way this Superman goes out of his way to try and save every single life he can, whether it be innocent people targeted by villains, dogs and squirrels (!) in the line of fire, or even a giant kaiju he’s fighting, makes him stand out as someone who truly feels like a person everyone should, yet few do, pattern themselves after. But at the same time, when he needs to go all out in a fight, rest assured, he does so, and it’s awesome - just while making sure to also keep an eye out for anyone in danger as a result of the fight.

The movie is a joy to watch, exuding pure comic book-derived joy in a way we haven’t really seen in live-action since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which is insane considering how many comic book movies have opened since then. When the credits began to roll on Gunn’s film, I knew I’d happily welcome more of this version of Superman, but most of all, I wanted to rewatch this movie as soon as possible (which is probably why I’ve already seen it twice, with a third viewing already planned).

So yeah, Gunn could have moved the Superigirl cameo so that it was the post-credits scene, to leave off on a bigger “here’s what’s next” hype move, but that just wasn’t necessary. Because even if Gunn had removed the Supergirl scene entirely, Superman would still be a joyous, exciting, feel-good movie that doesn’t require any baton passing to feel satisfying.

As Clark himself might say, that’s the darn truth.

Note - this article was originally published on July 10, 2025 and updated on July 18, 2025 with the latest news about Superman.

We’re a little over halfway through 2025, but there’s a strong case for calling the Game of the Year race over, even before the end of summer.

Typically, the time to start thinking about Game of the Year is after all the fall releases come out, and we can take stock of all the great games that came out across the 10 or 11 previous months. And while there are still some exciting games on the horizon, three have made a strong claim on the GOTY crown already, and it’s hard to imagine any of them losing steam anytime soon.

With under half a year left in 2025, let’s look back at our three front-runners and how they each captured everyone’s attention. Can they hold onto their status as this year’s best game? Or will we see an upset in the coming months?

The Front-Runners

There’s a popular consensus, both among IGN staff and in the public, that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from developer Sandfall Interactive, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach from Kojima Productions, and Donkey Kong Bananza from Nintendo EPD are leading the GOTY race in 2025.

Each of these games received rave reviews and captured the popular imagination for different reasons. What’s more, each of them is associated with one of gaming’s “Big Three.” Death Stranding 2 and Donkey Kong Bananza are PlayStation and Nintendo exclusives, respectively. Meanwhile, Expedition 33 launched day one on Xbox Game Pass to quickly become one of the service’s most popular games. So let’s start there…

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Emerges From Obscurity

Marvel has released the first image of Black Bird and Cobrai Kai actor Paul Walter Hauser in his role as a classic comic book villain set to appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Hauser first confirmed his involvement in the film back in May 2024, though said he was not able to say anything about the role he was playing at the time.

Now, with just a few days to go until The Fantastic Four: First Steps' release on July 25, Marvel has finally shown off Hauser in a production photo published by USA Today, fully revealing the character and his costume.

As many fans had previously suspected, Hauser plays Harvey Elder — a villainous character from the Marvel comics better known by his alias Mole Man.

The antagonist's appearance here in First Steps is a fitting one, as he was the first villain the team ever faced off against in the original Fantastic Four issue #1, published back in 1961.

A photo of the character shows Mole Man underground, wearing goggles. It's the same design previously seen in the film's official prequel comic, spotted earlier this month, which fans said at the time was tantamount to confirmation of Hauser's role.

Remedy has outlined what's next for its multiplayer Control spin-off, FBC: Firebreak, promising big changes.

It comes after Remedy posted a candid statement last month acknowledging "not everything had gone well" following FBC: Firebreak's mid-June release.

FBC: Firebreak launched on June 17 as a paid game as well as straight into Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. Calling the launch an "exciting and nerve-wracking time," Remedy told players it had heard feedback "loudly and clearly," and admitted "it's clear there are features that need to improve, and they will improve."

Since launch, the studio has released "four patches that improve the game and partly address [player] feedback. Now that the game is live, our community plays a big part in shaping the future of the experience. This is just the start."

Remedy then warned that the speed at which it releases patches and updates will likely slow down now as it "puts more of our development focus on the first Major Update arriving in late September."

"We’ve seen many players come into the game and leave within the first hour. And that’s because our first hour can be frustrating; you feel ineffective and confused as to what to do. This needs to be improved," it added in an update posted to Steam.

"For many of you already playing FBC: Firebreak, us focusing on the opening experience may seem less exciting, but to keep the game healthy (and your matchmaking fast), we need to bring in more people with a better first-time experience than before."

For this, Remedy is working on helping new players understand the Control universe and your place in it, and balancing that between players who have played Control and those who have not. Remedy thinks better "narrative onboarding" will be achieved by playing an introductory video. From there, there'll be better tutorials to teach you core mechanics and features — as well as leaving some secrets to find unaided — and pop up tips will be introduced in the playable tutorial.

Next is gunplay – "our current upgrades can make guns feel weak early on" — so the plan is to "drop all generic upgrades from equipment and start players with a playable and powerful version of everything a Firebreak needs from the beginning." To do this, Remedy is developing a mod system to let you tweak your weapons — expect more as we get closer to September. There's also a big shake up for Jobs, and the content of them, on the way.

"To accomplish this, we are replacing Clearance and Corruption Levels with pre-made, exciting (you’ll have to take our word for that for now) variations of Job experiences that can still be short or long or filled with Corrupted Items, but also a whole lot more," the team explained.

"We are weeding out our least fun experiences, focusing on our best experiences, and adding brand new modes with plans for adding even more in the future. As part of this change, we’re also reevaluating our matchmaking flow, making it clearer and segmenting player pools more effectively, to ensure more and better matches." We should expect the placement of items like keys and ammo stations to get mixed up, too, to better keep us on our toes.

"As we hope has become clear, we are pushing a lot of improvements and changes into the game for our first Major Update," Remedy concluded. "Some of these ideas were improvements that we weren’t able to add before launch, but all were decided on and developed based on what we heard from you (listening to feedback) and seen from you (looking at data).

"We are extremely excited about these changes and about delivering even more than we’d originally been planning, but changes now also mean changes later. We need to see what’s working for you and to hear from you again before we can be certain that we’re prioritizing the right things. So, while we are still planning on the next Major Update in the winter, and the next one after that, the specific focuses and features are a lot more nebulous. There are a variety of topics that we are discussing and researching, but for now, we are heads down working on the first Major Update."

Despite the launch hiccups, FBC: Firebreak topped 1 million players. "FBC: Firebreak is a compelling co-op shooter that, despite its good looks, doesn’t have the depth to keep things interesting long-term," we wrote in IGN's FBC: Firebreak review, awarding it 6/10.

Remedy recently confirmed its plans for ongoing support post-launch, including two new Jobs (missions) coming in 2025. More updates will arrive in 2026, the developer said. All playable content released post launch, such as Jobs, will be free to all players. Players have the option to buy cosmetics, but none of these items will affect gameplay, and there will be no limited-time rotations or daily log-ins, Remedy insisted.

It's a busy time for Alan Wake developer Remedy, which has a number of projects on the go. As well as FBC: Firebreak, it's working on Control 2 and the Max Payne and Max Payne 2 remake compilation.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.