It's happening people! The house of mouse has kicked off its Black Friday sale with up to 30% off toys, soft toys, clothing, pajamas and even adult loungewear. Of course there's some Christmas goodies thrown in for good measure, and most importantly, a shopping bag. That's right people, this bag for life bargain is going to blow your mind.

Disney Store Black Friday Event

Christmas Deals

Disney Christmas merchandise is always awesome, and you're guaranteed to find something you love to put on your Christmas Tree or put on display this year. Whilst I wouldn't reccomend putting the shopping bag on your tree, it would be on-brand for a Disney Christmas. I'd probably use it to put presents in for Father Christmas to pick up.

There's a full 30% off the Tinker Bell Christmas Tree Topper, coming in hot at £31.50, it lights up too. £12 off the Home Alone Jumper is well worth a spot in your Christmas Jumper lineup this year too. £28 for one of the best quotes in family film history is worth every penny.

If you want something different to decorate your Christmas Tree with, the Mickey Mouse Icon White Snowflake Light-Up Bauble is £13 off, which is a 46% discount down to £15. I thought Disney Store Black Friday was only up to 30% discount?

Well this gorgeous MIckey and Minne 2025 Christmas Glass Droplet Tree Ornament is 30% off at £16.80, down for £24. It's a proper unique decoration or gift, and it'll probably start off a new collecting obsession.
A Lightsaber Advent Calander people, I don't even need to try with that one, that's awesome.

The Muppets Christmas Carol is one of my earliest core memories as a kid, and I also remember crying my eyes out seeing the Ghost of Christmas Future, such happy times. But I'll 100% be picking up the light-up ornament of Kermit and Miss. Piggy, just for the nostalgia alone. And the Gonzo Cushion is ridiculously ugly, which means it's perfect for Christmas time.

Soft Toy Deals

It's such a shame we don't have nationwide Disney Stores anymore, I used to love taking the kids in to pick out a new soft toy every now and again for a treat. But that doesn't mean you can get yours a couple of cuddly treats in time for Christmas Day with these Black Friday deals.

No doubt someone you know is a Stitch and Angel fan, and you can get a 52cm version of each for £20 each at the moment. They feature a "soft feel" finish, which means they're all nice and fuzzy and great embroidered details the kids (and adults) will love. Just to clarify, that a half-meter Stitch teddy bear for 50% off is usual £40 price tag.

Infact most of the soft toys in the Black Friday sale are £20 or below, including the pure evil that is Lots-O-Huggin' Bear from Toy Story. Or you could get a 67cm Mickey and Minnie for £40, guess how much they are each?

Bath Toy Deals

Mums and Dads all know how valuable it is having toys for the bath, it just makes life so much easier. Each of these sets are £14, knocked down from £20 and includes Frozen, Disney Princess, Cars, Moana 2 and Toy Story. They all come in a little bucket to chuck them in after bathtime too, which again is extremely useful for babies, todlers and stumps that can't/won't tidy up.

Toy Deals

Here's where it starts getting good, the toys! Of course Toy Story is dominating this section. Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and all your favorites are here. I remember when the first Toy Story released, that Christmas Buzz Lightyear was the hottest toy on Earth. Luckily my Mum and Dad booked a trip to Disneyland Paris, and their were hundreds of little Tim Allan's.

The Cinderella Doll, Horse and Light Up Carriage toy is a great deal, £21 off or a full-fat 30% down from £70. Every penny saved helps on the run up to Christmas, and this is a fantastic main present for your little princess.

Looking for a budget Disney Princess gift instead? How about Ariels Palace Micro Playset for £14, down from £20. Remember Polly Pockets? Think that but with Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian.

Kids Costumes

I can't make it any clearer that these are childrens costumes and you all need to calm down. With the exception of Spider-Man, it seems that ever sindle Disney Princess costume has been knocked down to £24.50 from £35 , which is a cheeky £10.50 saving that can go towards Cinderellas Glass Slippers or Elsa's boots for example. Even Belle is flogging her flippers in this Black Friday sale.

Kids Pajama Deals

Christmas isn't Christmas without new Pajamas, and that goes for the adults too (more on that next). If you've never got a set of jammies from the Disney Store before, they'll last until they grow out of them, and they're always so soft and cosey, perfect for this time of year. They're all down to £14 or lower from around £20, including Spider-Man, Lightning McQueen and Frozen, although I'd try defrosting them before making you kids wear them. I should look for a job writing Christmas cracker jokes, I'm wasted here...

Adult Loungewear

Oodies are expensive, but these Oversized Lounge Hoodies aren't, £28 knocked down from £40 by Goofy (The one with severe anger issues that Walt killed and replaced with the daft one). And and you want to be ridiculously cosey this Christmas, you'll also have to get the Fantasia Weighted Throw, It's only £38.50 down from $55 and it counts as a lifting session at the gym. Stay swole this Christmas with Disney's Black Friday deals!

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

Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers have revealed the four episodes they recommend rewatching ahead of the release of Season 5 on Netflix.

Ross and Matt Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter that the four episodes, below, are key to understanding where the story goes in Season 5, which kicks off on November 26.

The four Stranger Things episodes are below:

• Season 2, Episode 4, “Will the Wise”
• Season 2, Episode 6, “The Spy”
• Season 4, Episode 7, “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”
• Season 4, Episode 9, “The Piggyback”

Matt Duffer told THR that Season 2 “is when we really started to build out the mythology and started to dive into everything, and how this was going to be an ongoing [series]. That’s where we started to really plant the seeds for the mythology, and I think probably that’s why that is as relevant as it is.”

Ross pointed towards the Season 4 episode, The Massacre at Hawkins Lab, which “starts unveiling some of the Upside Down mythology and starts giving some answers, and, of course, all the stuff with Henry (Bower) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) continues to resonate throughout Season 5.”

Earlier this month, the Duffers promised fans that Season 5 would finally answer one of the biggest questions left hanging since Season 1 made its explosive debut a decade ago.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things follow:

This isn’t about an explanation for what the Upside Down is; Matt and Ross Duffer have already said the fifth and final season will reveal all on Stranger Things’ hellish alternate dimension. This is about the kidnapping of Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp.

Stranger Things began with the mysterious disappearance of Will, and Season 5 will finally answer why he was kidnapped and brought to the Upside Down in the first place. ‘Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers’ is the first episode of Stranger Things and the first episode of the first season. It was written and directed by the Duffer Brothers and premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016, along with the rest of the season.

For years fans have theorized about why Will was kidnapped, rather than simply killed like so many others. What happened to him when he was in the Upside Down, and to what end? The first five minutes of Stranger Things Season 5, which Netflix has released, starts to answer those questions. We see a de-aged Will terrified in the Upside Down and running for his life from the Demogorgon. While Will puts up a valiant fight, he is eventually dragged to the lair of Vecna himself. It’s here that things get strange, as Vecna summons vines to prop Will up. Vecna then pumps some sort of substance through a tendril and into Will via his mouth. Will does not look like he’s enjoying the experience.

Clearly, whatever is inserted into Will is designed to take him over in some capacity and potentially become a part of the Upside Down itself. It’s all part of Vecna’s master plan, of course. “At long last,” Vecna says, menacingly. “We can begin. You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together, William. Such beautiful things.”

If you’ve watched Stranger Things you’ll know that Will's mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Chief of Police Jim Hopper (David Harbour) eventually find Will and bring him back to our world, although he is much changed. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ross Duffer said that fans should go back to Season 2, Episode 6, called ‘The Spy,’ to help them understand what’s going on. This is, Ross said, “the most important episode,” and shows Will “working, in a way, for the Mind Flayer.”

In The Spy, Will is brought to Hawkins National Laboratory. At one point, a severed tendril from the tunnels is burnt, causing Will to experience pain. Will later points soldiers in the direction of a place the monster doesn’t want him to see, which turns out to be a trap. Will says "he made me do it" because "they upset him." Will, it seems, is the spy.

Season 5 begins in the fall of 1987, near the anniversary of Will’s disappearance in the Upside Down. “So much of the season was built around the idea of coming full circle, answering many of the questions that were posed all the way back in Season 1,” Matt Duffer told EW. “I think the two biggest questions that we didn’t really answer in Season 1 that we do answer this season is ‘what is the Upside Down, truly?’ and ‘why was Will taken?’”

“We reveal really everything about the Upside Down, all of which was planned out in season 1,” Matt added. “It was fun to finally pull back the curtain on all of that.”

Here’s the official blurb on Stranger Things Season 5:

The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.

Stranger Things Season 5 debuts on Netflix in three parts, with the first four episodes arriving for the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26. The next three episodes premiere on Christmas, and the series finale will debut on the streamer and in over 350 theaters nationwide on New Year’s Eve.

Stranger Things Season 5 release dates:

• VOL 1 - November 26, 5pm PT
• VOL 2 - Christmas, 5pm PT
• THE FINALE - New Year’s Eve, 5pm PT

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

A fresh update for the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy app has added a new startup Easter egg, alongside the arrival of several more retro titles.

Switch Online subscribers can now update their Game Boy app to Version 3.0.0, which adds the ability to view the original boot screen of your preferred Game Boy title when loading up a game.

If you've set your app to play the game as if on Game Boy, then it's the OG Game Boy startup screen that you'll see. If you've selected Game Boy Pocket, then you'll see that instead. Finally, if you're playing with your app set to Game Boy Color mode, you'll get that startup screen — colors and all.

So, how to see this Easter egg for yourself? Well, it's as easy as holding the left control stick on your Switch console when loading the app. Sound familiar? Yes, this is the same Easter egg and unlock mechanism that Nintendo previously added to the Switch Online's Game Boy Advance app.

(And yes, Switch 2 owners, if you want to view all the GameCube startup noises, you can also unlock those too.)

Finally, today's latest regular Switch Online catalogue update adds four more games to the service for subscribers, listed below.

• Battletoads (NES)
• Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES)
• Bionic Commando (Game Boy)
• Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy)

Anything take your fancy?

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

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

I probably could have held off on writing this until what I like to call "Black Friday proper", on Nov. 28. But I've already seen several top offers fall into the shadow realm, never to return. And, I've got a sneaking suspicion that my top Black Friday picks will soon meet a similar fate.

Don't get me wrong, there's still some brilliant offers up for grabs, with some of 2025’s best games dropping to $30 or less, while plenty of other big PS5, Xbox, and Switch releases from the past couple of years are also heavily discounted right now (at least for now).

That's been massively helped by Walmart, which has stocked up on some of the best Black Friday discounts going this year. Yet, with retailers like Amazon and Best Buy still refusing to auto price-match most deals, once Walmart sells out, we likely won't see some of these low, low prices again for a while.

So, writing this article, I am.

You might have already seen my $20 or less roundup, which is still packed with heavy hitters from the last few years, and perfect if you want maximum bang for your buck. Some are so good, they even feature in this article as well. But, I've also tried to keep things as fresh as possible for returning readers.

I've also got you covered if you're looking for a more comprehensive roundup of the best video game deals for Black Friday. With that out the way, my advice is to snap up the following games up ASAP, cause once they're gone, they're gone.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Artwork for Fortnite's new Chapter Seven era has seemingly teased a crossover with LEGO Ninjago, and confirmed a return for the game's dreaded Cube.

While LEGO already has a deep integration with Fortnite, the addition of Ninjago characters into the game will prove interesting — as it remains to be seen whether the characters will appear as non-LEGO versions. Indeed, this teaser simply shows a set of golden nunchuks belonging to Ninjago hero Jay, without the character himself being present.

Lego Ninjago's characters are, obviously, LEGO minifigures — but in Fortnite, playable characters always have a regular (non-LEGO) skin version as well. Perhaps we'll see a full, human-like version of Jay make its debut? Or perhaps fans will be allowed to run around Fortnite's battle royale as over-sized LEGO figurines (this seems less likely).

The final reckoning is finally headed to streaming. Tom Cruise’s supposed final outing as Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, will be available to stream exclusively on Paramount+ on December 4, just in time for a big holiday watch.

Alongside Cruise, the film stars returning cast members Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell, Shea Wigham, Angela Bassett, Ving Rhames, Eassi Morales, and Pom Klementieff. Several new folks joined the fray as well, including Tramell Tillman, Hannah Waddingham, Katy O’Brien, Nick Offerman, and Holt McCallany.

The film, which is the eighth in a 29-year-franchise that began with Brian de Palma’s Mission: Impossible in 1996, picks up after the end of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning and continues to follow Hunt and his associates as they try to destroy the Entity, an immensely powerful AI program, before the bad guys nab it.

Final Reckoning premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in an out of competition screening and then made its way to theaters days later on May 23. Interestingly enough, the last time Cruise attended Cannes with a project before that was for Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, so it’s kind of funny (in a great way) that his latest appearances at the prestigious film festival were for high-octane commercial action projects.

Chris McQuarrie directed the film from a script he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. McQuarrie directed the three previous installments of the franchise — 2015’s Rogue Nation, 2018’s Fallout, and 2023’s Dead Reckoning — so it was fun to see him take the helm for Cruise’s last outing as an elite spy.

IGN's Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning review returned a 6/10. We said: "The action thrills, but the soapy tone keeps greatness just out of reach for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning." Be sure to check out IGN's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Ending Explained article to find out if this really is the end of Tom Cruise's M:I series.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

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

“GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION,” reads the X / Twitter post from the Zap Actu GTA6 account. The supposed gameplay clip of Rockstar’s upcoming surefire blockbuster is brief, but, if true, a shocking leak indeed.

Of course, it’s not true. It’s not a leak. It’s not even real gameplay. It’s yet another AI-generated GTA 6 “leak” video viewed by millions that remains live across social media, which seems unable to do anything about it beyond the odd community note.

The tweet below, published yesterday, November 25, has gone viral, securing 8 million views in just over 24 hours. Below it, a community note warns against its authenticity, but that appears to be doing little to dull its impact. And it is far from the only one. The same Twitter account responsible for this “leak” has published a number of similar clips in recent months, some of which which have a huge number of views, all in a desperate bid for followers and Discord members.

🚨🚨 GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION 🚨🚨

A new and highly disturbing leak has just surfaced on TikTok before being taken down only minutes later — but the damage is already done. The video allegedly showed a real gameplay moment where the player is controlling Lucia,… pic.twitter.com/iSD4duGEPu

— Zap Actu GTA6 (@zapactugta6) November 25, 2025

Based on the replies, many Twitter users are taking these leaks at face value. It’s a problem GTA 6 has faced for some time now, which probably comes as little surprise given the intense excitement and thirst for new information on what is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. But it is far from the only video game to suffer from this problem. Indeed, video games are not alone in this, either.

Last month, IGN reported on physicist Brian Cox, who went public with complaints about YouTube accounts that had used AI to create deepfakes of him saying “nonsense” about comet 3I/ATLAS. Similarly, Keanu Reeves recently hit out at AI deepfakes of the John Wick star selling products without his permission, insisting "it's not a lot of fun." In July, it was reported that Reeves pays a company a few thousand dollars a month to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to take down imitators.

In 2023, Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI version of his likeness was being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan. Last year, Morgan Freeman thanked fans who alerted him to AI-generated imitations of his voice online after a series of videos created by someone posing as his niece went viral. And in May this year, Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to appeal to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an Instagram post because she couldn’t get the company to pull an AI-generated ad that featured her likeness for “some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse.”

What is the solution here? In July, YouTube was said to be preparing to update its policies to crack down on creators’ ability to generate revenue from “inauthentic” content, which is made easy to produce on a massive scale with generative AI. While propelled forward by the great YouTube algorithm, you've probably stumbled across a fake trailer or two. The hope was that YouTube would be able to crack down on the channels that pump out this sort of low-effort content, but a cursory glance at YouTube shows this has yet to happen.

Without legislation forcing content built by generative AI tools to include labels clearly marking it as such, or laws preventing deepfakes without permission, fans will continue to be misled by bad actors. And as generative AI technology improves, so it will become harder to distinguish between the fake and the real.

Can anything meaningful be done? Last month, the Japanese government made a formal request asking OpenAI to refrain from copyright infringement after Sora 2 users generated videos featuring the likenesses of copyrighted characters from anime and video games.

Sora 2, which OpenAI launched on October 1, is capable of generating 20-second long videos at 1080p resolution, complete with sound. Soon after its release, social media was flooded with videos generated by the app, many of which contained depictions of copyrighted characters including those from popular anime and game franchises such as One Piece, Demon Slayer, Pokémon, and Mario. Despite the prostetations of the Japanese, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared Sora 2 videos using copyrighted characters "interactive fan fiction."

Zap Actu GTA6, meanwhile, doesn’t seem bothered by any potential backlash, and is posting even more fake GTA 6 “leaks.” Their latest, published just a few hours ago at the time this article went live, already had 220,300 impressions. In their Discord, which is slowly gaining new members, one person who joined today questioned everything they were doing, saying: "If it's AI, that's disrespectful to the fans, friend @ZapActu." ZapActu has yet to respond.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Oni Press' Hobtown Mystery Stories series of graphic novels has developed a cult following in recent years, as these books essentially ask the question "What if Stranger Things were produced by A24?". These supernatural mystery tales all center around the small city of Hobtown, a place where cults, conspiracies, and curses are just a daily part of life.

With the third volume in the series, The Secret of the Saicer, out in bookstores and comic shops now, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of the book. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

The Secret of the Saucer is written by Kris Bertin and drawn by Alexander Forbes, with colors by Jason Fischer-Kouhi. Here's Oni's official description of the book:

In Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Secret of the Saucer, the lines between conspiracy and reality become intertwined like never before during the town’s highly contested mayoral election. There’s the arrival of an unexplained, unidentified flying object, a chaotic and unhinged Ape Lord, and an outbreak of literal backward thinking. The high school Teen Detective Club should be at the forefront of the case but is rife with conflict and its own crisis of leadership as the sleuths become increasingly paranoid. Is there anyone they can trust?

“Imagine if A24 re-made Stranger Things and you begin to understand the ambition of the strange and surreal story that Kris Bertin and artist Alexander Forbes have undertaken,” said Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn in a statement. “There’s a multi-generational mystery, a supernatural mini-man, and a ragtag group of teen detectives. I genuinely love this series. Hobtown Mystery Stories just might be the best-kept secret in comics. These graphic novels are a personal obsession for me and soon they will be for you, too.”

Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Secret of the Saucer is available in stores now. You can order a copy on Amazon.

In other comic book news, find out who dies in Marvel's One World Under Doom finale, and learn about Dark Horse's new ongoing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series.

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

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy has a new gameplay trailer that shows off an Ogryn called Cogg, one of a number of companions players will have at their disposal during the events of the upcoming cRPG.

Developer Owlcat Games is following up its well-received Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader with the promising Dark Heresy, due out across Windows PC (Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store) and consoles (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S). This time you play an Inquisitor who battles heresy and corruption. Expect intricate investigations, a turn-based combat system, and choices that carry grave consequences. Like Rogue Trader, Dark Heresy gives Warhammer 40,000 Baldur’s Gate 3 vibes.

Cogg is an Ogryn, hulking brutes who are so dull-minded that they don’t even get to be one of the tools in the box, sharp or otherwise. They are intensely loyal to the Emperor and his Imperium of Mankind, however, so can usually be relied upon to smash things when the Astra Militarum point them in the right direction.

Cogg, however, isn’t your typical Ogryn. He’s been fixed with a rare cortex implant which makes him what’s called a Bonehead, capable of following complex orders and even showing flashes of intelligence. That’s for the best, given he’s one of your companions in Dark Heresy.

Here’s the official blurb on Cogg:

Cogg is a member of the Abhuman subspecies called Ogryn: sturdy, strong, and not very intelligent, these mutated giants are fiercely loyal to the Imperium of Mankind. While still not the brightest bulb in the gothic chandelier, Cogg is a quicker thinker than most of his brethren thanks to his Biochemical Ogryn Neural Enhancement (BONE) and cranial implant. He served in the Astra Militarum shock troops as an unstoppable killing machine, impervious to obstacles or injury.

After a tragic incident he is left stranded in Hive Sibellus — doomed to fade away until the Inquisitor steps in to bless his life with new purpose.

The Warhammer: 40,000: Dark Heresy alpha launches on Steam on December 16, so you’ll be able to give Cogg a whirl for yourself. He’ll be fully voiced upon release, Owlcat said, although his voice actor has yet to be revealed. Players can join the alpha by contributing to the development process and becoming a founder on the Owlcat Games website. Alpha access is one of the rewards included in the $79 tier and the $289 Collector’s Edition.

Other companions include loyal Imperial subjects such as a veteran Guardsman from the death world of Catachan and a bird-like Kroot mercenary.

It’s a busy time for Owlcat and Warhammer 40,000 video games generally. Owlcat recently announced a Nintendo Switch 2 version of Rogue Trader. There are ongoing updates for Darktide and Space Marine 2. Looking further ahead, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II, Dawn of War 4, and Space Marine 3 are all in the works.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch 2, is steadily building a library of amazing games, but which are the best? Well, here are what we think are the 15 most essential games to spend your time with on the handheld/home console hybrid.

As for our criteria, we’ve chosen not to go with just any game that is available on the Switch 2, and instead have selected only those that have been specifically created for Switch 2 and were not previously available on the original Nintendo Switch (well, with one single exception). Basically, we’re not counting upgrades of years-old Switch 1 games, such as Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, or Kirby and the Forgotten Land, etc, but you will find the odd multiplatform in this list that’s arrived on Nintendo hardware for the first time

Does that make sense? I do hope so. Anyway, let’s get on with it and reveal our picks for the Top 15 Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games.

15. PowerWash Simulator 2

PowerWash Simulator 2 is very much a sequel that abides by the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. A relaxing set of levels that are ever-expanding in size and complexity, scrubbing and soaking this new bunch of impossibly grimy vehicles, buildings, and furniture is the perfect way to spend a relaxing evening in with your Switch 2. It’s just good, clean fun.

14. Pokémon Legends: Z-A

With Legends: Z-A, it finally feels like Pokémon is really finding its feet when it comes to adapting the series’ classic template for a 3D world. Not just another monster-battling RPG, Z-A makes the bold decision to remove turn-based combat completely and replace it with a much more dynamic real-time system. It may take a little getting used to, but it is a genuine evolution of the now 30-year-old formula that is more than welcome. With improved performance thanks to the Switch 2’s superior power, the best way to play this latest Pokémon adventure is on Nintendo’s latest console.

13. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Koei Tecmo returns for another bite of the Hyrule Warriors apple, following up 2020’s Age of Calamity with Age of Imprisonment, which serves not only as a muso action spectacle, but also a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Its story may not reach the heights of the best of the Zelda series, but the satisfaction found in its combat is undeniable, and this time the hardware can keep up with the action. All that makes it one of the best Switch 2 exclusives so far.

12. Ball X Pit

Brick-breakers are practically as old a video game genre as you can find, but none have ever quite done it like this. Ball X Pit borrows from the kaleidoscopic pixel mayhem action of Vampire Survivors and translates that score-chasing sensation into a selection of superpowered balls of wild variety that can be bounced off against enemies until they all fall down and clear the path along its steadily scrolling screen. Throw a light bit of settlement management into the mix, and you’ve got one of the hardest Switch 2 games to put down.

11. Kirby Air Riders

A sequel to 2003’s Kirby Air Ride certainly wasn’t on our Switch 2 bingo card for this year, but perhaps even more surprising is that it's genuinely great. Perhaps that shouldn’t come as a shock, though, due to legendary Kirby creator and Smash Bros. supremo Masahiro Sakurai being behind the wheel of this combative racing game that borrows as much from Smash as it does Mario Kart. Looking for a bit of chaos? Try out Kirby Air Riders on your Nintendo Switch 2.

10. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

A cosy combination of action-adventure RPG and life sim management, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time hits a perfect sweet spot for the Nintendo Switch 2 in the absence of a brand-new Zelda adventure or Animal Crossing town to spend time in. We’re going to bend our rules ever so slightly here, as it did first release on the original Switch and other consoles on May 21, 2025, before making its way to Switch 2 as a day one game with enhanced visuals, but we think it's worth it to shout out a treat of a series that has been criminally underplayed.

9. Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World takes some risks as it barrels out of the confines of the series’ familiar circuit surroundings and out onto open roads for the first time. A mixture of colourful and expansive courses and open-world time trials and challenges, World changes up the Mario Kart methodology in the most impactful way since Double Dash hit the GameCube. A day one Switch 2 release, it's destined to be one of the console’s most-played games for the rest of its lifespan.

8. Split Fiction

Hazelight Studios has become the go-to place for co-op games over the past few years thanks to A Way Out, It Takes Two, and, now, Split Fiction. You and a friend take control of authors Mio or Zoe, who dive in and out of sci-fi and fantasy worlds conjured from their creative imaginations. It's a feast of varied gameplay design and a true test of teamwork. Available to play both online and locally, it’s a great fit for the Switch 2 and its pair of detachable Joy-Con controllers.

7. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

Being able to play CD Projekt Red’s dense and detailed sci-fi RPG on a Nintendo handheld seems like it should almost be illegal, and yet you can do exactly that. Now a far cry from the state it arrived in during the rockiest of launches, Cyberpunk 2077 has been retooled and refined into the fantastic open-world action RPG that it is today, with the vibrant Night City playing host to a tale of underworld revolutions and corporate-level betrayals. When you also throw in the magnificent Phantom Liberty expansion as part of this ultimate edition, then you’ve got one of the greatest RPGs of recent years in the palm of your hand, whenever and wherever you want it on Switch 2, even if it may not run quite as smoothly or look as stellar as it does on other platforms.

6. Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake takes two classic RPGs and brings them into the modern age to beautiful effect. Both games are given a welcome facelift here, but successfully retain the retro magic that made them both so beloved when they were first released way back in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Nearly four decades on, they’ve never been more playable, and are among the best games you can now play on your Nintendo Switch 2.

5. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

A remaster of 1997’s Final Fantasy Tactics, 2025’s The Ivalice Chronicles has recently become the definitive way to play one of Square’s most acclaimed RPGs. Its tactical battling system is as tight as it ever was, with some welcome tweaks only making it kinder to engage with, along with a graphical boost that still captures the charm of the PlayStation original. Now fully voiced-acted, its story full of intrigue and conspiracy is ready to be enjoyed by a whole new generation of players, and is a perfect fit to be enjoyed in the Switch 2’s handheld mode.

4. Deltarune

A chapterised follow-up to Toby Fox’s beloved cult-classic, Undertale, Deltarune picks up where its predecessor left off in terms of subverting the RPG genre and delivering something wholly singular. Heartfelt and often hilarious, its story captivates from start to finish, with its unorthodox approach to battling just one of the many ways it surprises through inventive gameplay systems. To say much more would be a spoiler. With more chapters still planned to be released as free updates, Deltarune promises not only to be one of the Switch 2’s best games right now, but long into the future, too.

3. Hollow Knight: Silksong

It was also going to be difficult to live up to the hype that built up during Hollow Knight: Silksong’s long, long development, but somehow, developer Team Cherry didn’t disappoint. Hornet’s snaking metroidvania world is littered with unwelcoming locations filled with even less inviting enemies and pesky platforming, but it is one that also begs to be explored. Yes, it’s punishing, but equally as rewarding, with secrets lurking in hidden corners and behind every challenging boss fight. The satisfaction found throughout is nearly unparalleled on the Switch 2.

2. Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza finally gives Nintendo’s most famous ape a 3D platformer that can proudly sit alongside its Mario counterparts. In turn, it also gave Switch 2 owners one of the very best games to play on their new consoles. A delectably destructive smashathon, DK Bananza borrows elements and ideas from Super Mario Odyssey, but breaks them down and reshapes them into a Donkey Kong context brilliantly. With numerous worlds begging to be sculpted in your image, and hundreds of precious bananas to be uncovered, platformed, and puzzled their way to, it's a real showcase for what this new generation of Nintendo can look like, while never once forgetting to root itself in that decades-old wild creativity.

1. Hades 2

A Switch 2 console exclusive, Hades 2 somehow manages to improve on its masterful predecessor as developer Supergiant Games evolved the idea of its narrative-led roguelike action to God-tier levels. Melinoë’s journey to the depths of the underworld and the heights of Mount Olympus is layered with detail, whether it be in its intricate weapons and skill systems, or the majesty of its striking art direction that pops both on a big TV screen or on the Switch 2’s handheld display. The peak of its genre, Hades 2 is hard to tear yourself away from, and, simply put, the most fun you can have on your Nintendo Switch 2 right now.

And those are our picks for the best Switch 2 games that you can play right now. What have been your favourites so far? Let us know in the comments! Hungry for more Nintendo? Then check out our list of the Top 100 Best Nintendo Games of All-Time.

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

Macaulay Culkin isn’t just open to a new Home Alone movie, he has a killer idea for it.

The 1990 Christmas movie classic is one of Hollywood’s most enduring films. It starred a 10-year-old Macaulay Culkin as the quick-thinking Kevin McCallister, who defends his home from thieves by setting dastardly traps that tore Joe Pesci’s Harry and Daniel Stern’s Marv to bits in Tom & Jerry style comedic violence.

The similarly successful Home Alone 2: Lost in New York followed two years later and saw Culkin, by this point a child star, reprise his role as Kevin. But he skipped the subsequent, less well known sequels: 1997’s Home Alone 3, 2002’s Home Alone 4, 2012’s Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, and 2021’s Home Sweet Home Alone.

Now, over 30 years since he last played Kevin, the 45-year-old Culkin has expressed interest in returning to the world of Home Alone, and has even revealed his idea for the sequel. Speaking during his “A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin” tour, as reported by Variety, Culkin confirmed he “wouldn’t be completely allergic” to returning as Kevin in a Home Alone sequel, insisting “it would have to be just right.”

Then, the pitch:

“I kind of had this idea. I’m either a widower or a divorcee. I’m raising a kid and all that stuff. I’m working really hard and I’m not really paying enough attention and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me and then I get locked out. [Kevin’s son] won’t let me in… and he’s the one setting traps for me.”

So, instead of Kevin defending his home from robbers, he becomes the robber in a role flip. Culkin added: “the house is some sort of metaphor for our relationship.” In the movie, Kevin would have to “get let back into” his son’s heart. “That’s the closest elevator pitch that I have,” he said. “I’m not completely allergic to it, the right thing.”

But will Culkin get the chance to make this pitch? In August, Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Home Alone movies, said he didn’t want Hollywood to return to the series.

“I think Home Alone really exists as, not at this timepiece, but it was this very special moment, and you can’t really recapture that,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I think it’s a mistake to try to go back and recapture something we did 35 years ago. I think it should be left alone.” Also in August, Columbus issued his verdict on which is best, Home Alone or Home Alone 2?

In the shorter term, Culkin voices Cattrick Lynxley in Zootopia 2, and is set to star in Fallout Season 2 on Prime Video.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage.

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.

NBA Jam has remained one of the most iconic basketball video games since its release in the ‘90s, but Tim Kitzrow, the actor behind its announcer, says he only made “like $800-and-change” when recording his lines.

The voice behind “boomshakalaka” opened up about his history as a sports gaming voice actor during a recent conversation with The Escapist. Kitzrow’s career includes voicework for NFL Blitz, MLB Slugfest, and even themed pinball machines, but it’s his work on the over-the-top NBA video game that many believe has stood the test of time.

While many lines from his play-by-plays likely still ring in the minds of ‘90s gamers who dropped coins into the original arcade experience, it’s “boomshakalaka” that is remembered by most today. Despite its staying power, Kitzrow looks back at the string of syllables as more of “a gift from the gods” than a carefully considered quote.

“A fellow in the studio, John Carlton, was listening to Sly & The Family Stone,” he explained. “The song I Want to Take You Higher. The chorus is ‘boom shaka-laka-laka, boom shaka-laka-laka’.”

Kitzrow continued: “He goes, ‘Hey Tim, say boomshakalaka’. Now, me being a basketball guy – I watched every game on TV with Marv Albert – I’d never heard anyone say ‘boomshakalaka’. I’m just trying to get the reference, like, ‘What the hell are you talking about? This is not a basketball term.’ I said, ‘What is this?’ He goes, ‘Just say boomshakalaka… like that.’”

Now, 32 years later, boomshakalaka is still the kind of celebration basketball fans love to quote. At the time, though, Kitzrow’s work on NBA Jam seemed like any other voice acting gig. Without an agent and his pinball work usually netting “a few hundred bucks at best,” he says his work on Midway’s sports video game seemed like any other job.

“It was $50 an hour,” Kitzrow said. “Same as the pinball. I’d go in, do a couple of sessions – maybe 15 hours total – and that was it. I wasn’t smart enough, savvy enough to know the business, to go, ‘Gee, these games make a lot of money, maybe I should make more than $50 an hour.’”

It wasn’t until after NBA Jam launched to tremendous success that Kitzrow realized he may have been denied an easy layup.

“When the game came out and I found out it made a billion dollars, that’s when I realised I’d made like 800-and-change, maybe something like that,” he said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m probably being underpaid. I might want to raise my rate.’”

NBA Jam went on to receive numerous re-releases on various platforms. The series eventually saw releases from Acclaim Entertainment and EA, too, including 2003 and 2010 reboots, in addition to its Midway run.

Kitzrow returned to provide his work as one of the most excited announcers in games in many of the offshoots as they arrived through the years. He also managed to bring back some of his most iconic lines for a sports-themed Easter Egg in Bethesda Softworks’ Rage 2. Next, football fantasy fans can expect to hear him in Mutant Football League 2, which leaves early access with a full launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S December 10.

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).

Paris-based game developer Reissad Studio has launched the first major update for its Unreal Engine 5 FPS, Bodycam, since its 2024 early access launch.

The team, which has grown to include more than 100 people, detailed all of the changes included in the new update in a post on its Steam community page. It marks the first major update for the multiplayer shooter since launching for PC two summers ago and aims to improve performance and stability while fleshing out the Zombie Mode with new content.

Reissad says it spent recent months gathering feedback in hopes of tackling a “massive amount of bug fixes,” as well as other performance improvements across the board. The goal is to set a more solid foundation with more updates going forward, with the last year mostly focusing on smaller updates and hotfixes. Other talking points – such as servers, anti-cheat, and a “full UI rework” – are in the works for the future and “remain very high priority.”

“We know that optimization and stability were non-negotiable for our community, and this update represents the first major fulfillment of that promise," Reissad studio director Luca Dassier said in a statement detailing the company's commitment to continuous development. "By migrating to Unreal Engine 5.5 and establishing a dedicated internal QA team, we have fundamentally strengthened our development foundation. This structural growth, supported by additional staffing, ensures we can consistently deliver high-quality, game-changing updates throughout the Early Access period. We are actively listening and committed to making Bodycam the ultimate visceral FPS experience."

Bodycam players will notice the major update also comes with Village, a new location the studio calls its “biggest Zombie map to date,” along with Zombie spawn and behavior tweaks. Though Reissad says it still sees Zombie Mode as secondary to the core multiplayer offering, players are told to expect more Zombie content in the future, with today’s update also adding a new crossbow weapon. The new CQB Powergun multiplayer map, meanwhile, is based on a real-world airsoft location in France.

Bodycam dropped into Steam Early Access June 7, 2024, as a tactical multiplayer FPS with what Reissad calls a “true body-camera view in Unreal Engine 5.” We gave it a 5/10 review upon its launch.

“Bodycam’s early access version is an interesting proof of concept for a good looking, GoPro-view shooter, but has little else to offer once the novelty wears off,” we said at the time.

You can see the Bodycam November 2025 update patch notes below.

Bodycam November 2025 Update Patch Notes

Patch Notes (Summary)

PERFORMANCE & OPTIMIZATION

• Migrated from Unreal Engine 5.2 → 5.5, fully adapted to Lumen and Virtual Shadow Maps (VSM).
• Optimized GPU and CPU usage across all major maps.
• Reduced draw calls, dynamic render targets and shadow complexity on multiple maps.
• Cleaned redundant sublevels, merged meshes and lowered texture streaming overhead.
• Improved shader complexity and light culling to reduce overdraw.
• Reduced Slate tick in the Play Menu frontend from 4.3 ms → 0.66 ms.
• Lowered Play Menu memory usage from 250 MB → 180 MB.
• Optimized asynchronous texture loading and streaming for both UI and environments.
• Part of our team is now dedicated to GPU optimization to ensure we improve the rendering pipeline.
• Efficiently integrated Virtual Shadow Maps across all maps (CQB, Rome, Bomb House, Airsoft, etc.).
• Switched around 90% of textures to Virtual Textures with proper LODs and compression settings.
• Improved texture grouping, compression and global texture memory usage.
• Re-baked lighting passes across all maps to align with VSM + Lumen.
• Optimized post-process effects and volumetric fog for better visibility and depth.
• Improved load times and streaming consistency overall.
• Polished props, materials and set dressing for better visual cohesion.
• Improved settings management and input responsiveness.
• Continued cleanup of legacy systems and deprecated logic.
• Achieved higher and more consistent frame rates on Paintball, Logistics, Hospital, CQB, Public Pool, Airsoft, Bomb House, Russian Building, Shooting Range, Rome.
• Fixed FSR 3 so it now applies the correct screen percentage.
• Enabled FSR Frame Generation when DLSS is active, without requiring FSR 3.

BUG FIXES & STABILITY

• Fixed the lobby crash when hosting or loading a game after a friend invite (previously the most common crash).
• Fixed Bodycam friends detection (green squares) not displaying correctly.
• Fixed several cases of incorrect scores shown on the TAB scoreboard.
• Removed duplicate players appearing in the friends list UI.
• Fixed Steam invite issues preventing disconnected clients from rejoining sessions.
• Resolved softlocks during map loading on certain maps (for example Paintball and Hospital).
• Fixed a UI bug that could show "Defeat" after actually winning a match.
• Restored missing sections in the server list and improved friend visibility in lobbies.
• Fixed spawn bugs, stuck players and invalid collisions across multiple maps.
• Fixed several map collision issues and player stuck spots.
• Resolved a voice chat initialization crash.
• Fixed replication errors when the host or client disconnects: clients now properly return to the lobby.
• Fixed weapon switching and camera issues when cycling between weapons.
• Resolved an infinite loading bug in the locker shop.
• Fixed round win or loss desync in online matches.
• Fixed multiple input rebinding issues introduced during the engine migration.
• Fixed missing bomb sounds and invalid event triggers in multiplayer logic.
• Fixed bots being immobile on certain maps (Airsoft, CQB, etc.).
• Fixed bots that never reloaded their weapons.
• Fixed multiple map vote issues: black screen, players kicked out, host stuck in freecam, etc.
• Fixed freecam spawns on Rome in Team Deathmatch and Bodybomb.
• Fixed unbalanced teams when hosting with friends in Teams mode.
• Fixed all issues related to end of round and match screens:
  • "Victory" incorrectly displayed as Defeat for clients.
  • Score or result not appearing at the end of a round.
  • Wrong label "Round Lost" despite a victory.
  • "Round" displayed instead of "Match" on the end screen.
• Fixed a ragdoll issue where some players stayed stuck in ragdoll and never switched to spectator.
• Improved handling of two player games to avoid weird edge cases in team assignment.

GAMEPLAY & SYSTEMS

• Added the Crossbow, first introduced in the new Zombie Village map.
• Expanded Zombie spawn and behavior systems with improved wave pacing, loot areas and special enemy types.
• Added a map voting system at the end of matches.
• Updated Sprint to work as a toggle instead of requiring the key to be held.
• Comprehensive fixes to the input binding system:
  • Keys already in use now properly display a warning message.
  • The "Reset inputs" and "Clear / Reset" buttons work as expected.
  • It is once again possible to bind the O key.
  • The Pause Menu now opens correctly with Escape in both packaged and standalone builds.
  • Fixed an issue where a night vision message could pop up when rebinding certain keys.
• Improved zoom and camera navigation in several interfaces for smoother, more natural movement and focus.
• Limited weird player rotations when turning the head too far to the sides or looking too high or too low while opening certain interfaces.
• Posthumous grenade kills (kills after you die) now award the correct points.
• Adjusted bomb timer to avoid rounds ending too quickly.
• Bots now defuse the bomb correctly after the player dies.
• Fixed and validated several achievements or trophies and their in-game tracking.

ZOMBIE MODE

• Fixed zombie audio replication so clients hear the correct sounds in online sessions.
• Fixed a severe FPS drop when zombie sprinters spawned.
• Sprinters are now easier to identify by sound, with an increased audio range.
• Added and tuned a specific audio cue for both sprinters and the scarecrow.
• Reworked Mystery Box SFX for a more satisfying feel.
• Fixed an issue where sprinters might fail to spawn correctly during the first wave.
• Fixed multiple cases where zombies got stuck or despawned incorrectly on Village (windmill tower, doors, specific areas).
• Fixed a crash related to explosions on the Village map.
• Adjusted the zombie clothes system and several end of wave sounds (for example bells firing multiple times).
• Fixed a bug where snow could appear incorrectly on players.

MAPS & ENVIRONMENT

• Added the new Village (Zombie) map.
• Added the new CQB Powergun multiplayer map.
• Airsoft: a few fixes plus a new staircase to improve flow.

Multiplayer maps (CQB Powergun, Paintball, Public Pool, Rome, Russian Building, etc.)

• CQB Powergun
  • Large optimization and polish pass (Tech Art, collisions, lighting).
  • Fixed bots getting stuck on CQB.
  • Fixed footstep sounds on metal surfaces such as stairs.
• Paintball
  • Fixed a broken wall material.
  • Completed a full Tech Art validation and fix pass.
• Public Pool
  • Fixed a Hardpoint that was inaccessible to players.
  • Completed a Tech Art validation and fix pass.
  • Corrected overly dark starting lighting.
  • Polished Hardpoint locations for a better gameplay flow.
• Russian Building
  • Fixed walls and environment elements.
  • Fixed a sky that was too bright at night.
  • Corrected a Hardpoint that did not function correctly.
  • Fixed a starting state where the map could be too dark.
  • Restored the characteristic blur effect, now applied consistently across all maps for visual cohesion.
  • Fixed a spot where players could get stuck when reentering via a wooden plank.
  • Removed a leftover "trailer bot" that spawned by mistake on the map.
• Warehouse
  • The map is no longer locked in debug mode without bots and is playable again.
• Worn House, Hospital, Asylum, Bomb House, Shooting Range, The Backrooms
  • Full Tech Art passes (collisions, materials, lighting, readability).
  • Added or fixed missing Hardpoint locations on several maps.
• Airsoft
  • Fixed bots that were immobile on the map.
  • Completed Tech Art validation plus a post process polish.
• General
  • Fixed several stuck spots for players across different maps.
  • Improved Village and background areas with more foliage and visual detail.

UI / UX

• Integrated full aspect ratio scaling and partial controller support for all menus.
• Optimized Play Menu performance using asynchronous texture streaming.
• Added new Play Card visuals and data assets for map and mode selection.
• Implemented a functional Pause Menu with proper layering and back navigation.
• Redesigned the input rebinding interface for Unreal 5.5's Enhanced Input System.
• Optimized font scaling and unified global UI visuals for consistency.
• Fixed scoreboard, map voting and match end displays so they are consistent and reliable.
• Fixed scaling issues on non standard resolutions and aspect ratios.
• Fixed a bug where the rank UI appeared blurry due to the blur effect.
• Fixed player nameplates not correctly following players.
• Improved global visibility by fixing eye adaptation issues that could break player visibility.
• Fixed the Bodycam detection icon (green square) so it displays correctly again.
• Improved the overall behavior of the Escape key, menus and global navigation (map list, back button, etc.).
• Long player names (for example from Steam) no longer break UI layouts.
• The Score Tab now shows clearer information about the match state (time left, win conditions, etc.).
• Fixed the Back button that could break navigation and clear the map list.
• In the shop, when scrolling, the first item of the newly visible area is now automatically selected for smoother navigation.
• When editing a class, the camera no longer zooms out to the full weapon and instead stays focused on the edited element.
• Additional eye adaptation fixes were made to further improve visibility.

AUDIO & VFX

• Integrated new footstep, impact and melee sound effects.
• Removed looping bird and ambient noise clutter on several maps.
• Balanced the global audio mix and adjusted sound occlusion, especially on Village.
• Added end of wave audio cues and new voice lines for zombie spawns.
• Fixed greybox VFX that appeared after the Unreal 5.5 migration.
• Updated Niagara particles for blood, muzzle flashes, debris and impacts.
• Reworked blood decals and improved their reflections in the lighting.
• Enhanced post process visual feedback such as motion blur, depth of field and chromatic aberration.
• Added the Main Zombie Theme.
• Rebalanced:
  • Global reverb and environmental ambience to make maps feel more coherent.
  • Footsteps and surface variations.
  • Bullet impacts, fly by and ricochet audio to boost immersion.
• Improved environmental ambience and audio on Village.
• Adjusted wind sounds while turning and restored several blood related particles to get a feel closer to the previous versions.
• Fixed audio parameters that were not applied correctly on some sounds.

NETWORKING & MULTIPLAYER

• Improved the host to client disconnection flow: clients now consistently return safely to the lobby.
• Fixed incorrect game mode transitions in some cases.
• Enhanced replication performance and reduced lag spikes during player updates.
• Improved lobby and matchmaking flow with better state synchronization.
• Optimized server travel and reduced session recreation times.
• Fixed disconnected clients that could not join a new host.
• Fixed duplicate entries for a single player in the lobby.
• Fixed an issue where map voting could kick players and put the host into freecam.
• Fixed a bug where joining or rejoining a lobby could cause an infinite loading loop.
• Fixed several issues with player names displayed in the TAB score and end screens.
• Completed VOIP QA checks to stabilize and validate voice chat behavior.
• Fixed nameplates replication so they track players correctly for all clients.
• Adjusted edge cases where two player matches could behave strangely with team assignment.

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).

The Black Friday streaming deals have officially arrived, but there's a significant shortage of sports streaming services participating in this year's discounts. The lack of deals comes after a rather tumultuous month for live sports streaming. Disney and Google got into a bit of a legal battle over ESPN channels, and YouTube TV subscribers had to deal with an outage for almost half of November before an agreement was reached.

Disney's ongoing battle for supremacy in the world of sports streaming isn't new, and it has only been further amplified since it launched ESPN Unlimited earlier this year. The new direct-to-consumer ESPN service has had a big draw so far, largely because the price is actually really good. Even months after launch, the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited bundle price is still the best sports streaming deal around.

ESPN Unlimited Black Friday Deal

As a major new update adds fresh story to Assassin's Creed Shadows, including the game's first proper dollop of Isu content, Ubisoft has defended the game's microtransactions and attempted to set expectations among long-term fans for the game's post-launch plans.

Shadows is notable among Assassin's Creed entries for featuring next to no mention of the Isu, the franchise's mysterious precursor race who pop up in pretty much every game (and who played a huge role in the story of the preceeding Assassin's Creed Valhalla). Instead, Shadows is a different beast — treating its Japanese setting with an unusually straight face, and avoiding anything in its core narrative that's too sci-fi or mythological.

But, finally, a new quest changes all that. Available now in-game, players can pick up the fresh story chapter A Puzzlement, which sees heroes Naoe and Yasuke meet up again with a pair of poachers (you'll have forgotten about them, but they were in the game's intro). Interestingly, new players will have this quest inserted into the game's flow early on, as it also helps better flesh out Naoe and Yasuke's relationship.

A Puzzlement is designed as a fun extra story with Naoe and Yasuke learning more about each other (and in a nice touch, completing the quest will unlock a fresh skill for each character based on the other's abilities). But the new mission will also set players on a much longer path — one that will see them, many hours later, opening up a mysterious Isu door and exploring a secret vault within.

Assassin's Creed lore fans have long been awaiting the addition of Isu content into the game, but Ubisoft has notably decided to set expectations of what this vault actually holds — without spoiling its contents directly. (If you really want to know, well, we'll get into all that further below.)

"Don't expect a full Isu Temple and a crazy two hours adventure in here," Assassin's Creed Shadows associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois told Access the Animus. "That's not what it is. It's a vault that you need to open and there's some cool stuff and reveals in it.

"It's not side content, but it's deep lore for people who appreciate that content," he continued, stressing that A Puzzlement's story chapter featuring Naoe, Yasuke and the poachers was intended as "the main event."

Following the launch of its first paid expansion Claws of Awaji, Assassin's Creed Shadows has returned to offering monthly free updates that have offered a mix of additional quests and quality-of-life changes, as well as new crossover events such as this week's other big addition — an Attack on Titan crossover.

At the same time, Shadows' in-game store has been kept topped up with optional cosmetic items, something that Assassin's Creed has offered for almost a decade, but some fans continue to criticize in a full-priced game.

"Microtransactions, for all the flak it gets, it allows us to do the Isu stuff, the quest stuff, the parkour updates, all of it," Lemay-Comtois said, arguing that post-launch support for Shadows required some level of ongoing funding.

Intriguingly, the developer also confirmed the decision to belatedly add Isu content into the game was not something that had always been on the cards. "Oh, yeah. It's a post-launch decision," Lemay-Comtois added. "Soon as no one's looking, I'm putting Isu in the game."

So, what does that Isu cave contain? For those who don't want to spend dozens of hours trekking across Shadows' map finding hidden glyphs in order to unlock its secrets, well, the answer to it all is of course already up on YouTube — or we'll get into the details below.

Warning! Spoilers for Assassin's Creed Shadows' new Isu content follow.

As Lemay-Comtois stated, the Isu cave is indeed just a small location, though it provides fresh First Civilization weaponry for both Naoe and Yasuke (a tanto dagger and a naginata) in chests.

The cave is clearly Isu in origin, with the race's familiar glowing technology running through its walls. But, more excitingly for fans, the cave has been used far more recently — by immortal Assassin's Creed Odyssey heroine Kassandra. Various weapons and objects from her Greek home country can be seen, as well as what looks like an Egyptian item.

Most obviously, the cave is filled by a giant statue of Kassandra (it's a bit weird she had that made, but sure) which you can add to your Shadows hideout. And among the notes from Kassandra you can read, there's also one new dialogue line — which plays as a surprise to Naoe/Yasuke as they leave the cave. Is this a tease for more Kassandra in the future? The fan-favorite did return in Valhalla in a major post-launch quest, after all. Or, perhaps, this is designed as Shadows' equivalent. Time will tell.

In the meantime, Assassin's Creed Shadows is currently half price in Amazon's Black Friday sale. And in other news, the co-star of Netflix's upcoming live-action Assassin's Creed TV series has reportedly been revealed, with British-born Australian actor Toby Wallace set to play an unnamed Italian character.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

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

The works of William Shakespeare are so ingrained within the popular consciousness that it can sometimes be difficult to remember that they were in fact written by a man as human as the rest of us. He had a life and a job and a family much like any other, and the dizzying amount of influence he would have on the world after his death is likely something he had no knowledge of during his life. It’s impossible to know for sure what Shakespeare was thinking and feeling when he wrote his plays, but Hamnet – both the film and the Maggie O’Farrell novel it’s based on – tries to guess at what could have influenced the Bard to compose his most acclaimed work. It’s a highly fictionalized take on his life with a heavy focus on his wife Agnes (she’s more commonly known as Anne, but the movie opts for the former) and the tumultuous family life they shared.

The creator of the original Thomas the Tank Engine mod for Skyrim has now put Thomas in Morrowind, apparently in defiance of legal pressure from Mattel.

Really Useful Cliffracers, a recently released mod for Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, replaces cliff racers (flying creatures found in Vvardenfell) with Thomas the Tank Engine. It’s the work of modding superstar ‪Trainwiz‬, who created the infamous 2013 Thomas the Tank Engine mod for Skyrim that spawned a meme that endures to this day.

Recent comments from ‪Trainwiz‬ both on Nexus Mods and social media suggest that Thomas the Tank Engine owner Mattel has applied legal pressure, but Trainwiz‬ has modded Thomas into Morrowind anyway.

Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch has said he knows when he'll back as Marvel's caped sorcerer — suggesting an imminent return may now be on the cards.

Cumberbatch's name was mysteriously absent from Marvel's big chair reveal confirming the main stars of Avengers: Doomsday. But fans have long suggested the multiversal character has to be in the movie in some capacity, even if he is being kept under wraps. (And, certainly, there's been suggestion that other, spoilery MCU stars have also returned without being announced.)

Now, Cumberbatch has said in an interview that his character is indeed "coming" back to the MCU, and knew when this would be. But the actor stopped short of saying whether he knew because he had filmed fresh scenes as Strange already, or whether he had simply been booked to shoot something in future.

Avengers: Doomsday has now wrapped its principal photography ahead of its release on December 18, 2026, but it's expected the movie will get Marvel's standard package of additional shooting at the start of next year, ahead of Avengers: Secret Wars principal photography beginning after that.

So, even if Cumberbatch hasn't filmed anything yet, there's still a chance he'll pop up in Doomsday — and it's hard to believe Marvel won't give him at least a cameo. As one of the MCU's characters with the best knowledge of multiversal shenanigans, you'd expect he'd be at the forefront of sorting out whatever Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom is up to.

But perhaps that's why he's not being given a front seat — as he'd sort it all out too quickly. Story-wise, Marvel may feel it better to save Strange for a post-credits scene in Doomsday, or even just for Secret Wars entirely.

"I have more than a sense, but I can't share it," Cumberbatch told Collider, when asked if he knew when audiences would see Strange again. "He's coming. At some point you definitely will."

Cumberbatch was last seen in the MCU battling the Scarlet Witch back in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which already feels like some time ago. The film ended on a couple of cliffhangers, with Strange inexplicably sprouting a third eye, then being whisked off by Charlize Theron's Clea to fix another multiversal incursion — and that's the last we've heard of him since.

The actor's answer is similar in tone to the knowing response recently given by Wolverine star Hugh Jackman, who was also asked about a return for his fan-favorite clawed character. "I am never saying 'never' ever again," Jackman quipped, while holding firm on the details. As of yet, there's been no suggestion he'll appear in Doomsday either.

But clearly Marvel already has a good sense of who it wants to include in Secret Wars, too, since a recent report tipped Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink as also appearing in the 2027 sequel, reprising her mysterious role that she's set to debut in next year's Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

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

A PC version of Death Stranding 2 looks set for an announcement soon, after a listing for the game was spotted on the Entertainment Software Rating Board website.

Gematsu reported that the publisher listed on the PC rating for Death Stranding 2 is Sony Interactive Entertainment. The PC version of the first Death Stranding game, which arrived eight months after the PlayStation 4 release, was 505 Games.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launched exclusively on PlayStation 5 in June this year, so we could be set for a similar timeframe for the expected PC version, or perhaps a little sooner this time. Perhaps the port will be announced at next month's The Game Awards.

Death Stranding launched on PS4 in November 2019, then hit PC in July 2020. The Director’s Cut came out on PS5 in September 2021, with a PC version following in March 2022. Mobile versions followed, as did a version for Xbox Series X and S in November 2024.

IGN’s Death Stranding 2 review returned a 9/10. We said: “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a triumphant sequel that emphatically delivers on the promise of its original.”

It’s a busy time for developer Hideo Kojima and the world of Death Stranding. Earlier this month, an all-new original animated series based on Death Stranding was announced for Disney+. Death Stranding Isolations' story will be told through "a traditional, hand-drawn 2D animation style," with some of Japan’s top "animation talent at E&H production [...] working to bring the series to life."

Elsewhere, there’s a Death Stranding live-action movie in the works, which Kojima and director Michael Sarnoski have confirmed will tell a new story instead of retelling the events of the games. In other words, those hoping to see some of Death Stranding's real-life movie stars reprise their roles for the live-action film may be out of luck. There's also a separate Death Stranding animated film called Death Stranding: Mosquito.

And away from Death Stranding, Kojima is busy working on a number of new projects, including horror game OD for Xbox Game Studios. He revealed the first trailer for it last month, sparking speculation that it is connected to P.T. in some way. The mysterious game will star Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' Sophia Lillis and Euphoria's Hunter Schafer, with the trailer showcasing Lillis' character in a spooky house, lighting candles before meeting a malevolent figure.

And then there’s Physint, the upcoming PlayStation action-espionage video game often described as a spiritual successor to the Metal Gear series.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Plans are already underway for the future of the Wicked franchise, following the smash-hit debut of Wicked: For Good.

Apart from the obvious money-making oppurtunities on offer, Universal Pictures' marketing chief has said that the clear strength of the Wicked fandom meant the studio had "almost a responsibility" to deliver more — even though the story of the Wicked musical had now well and truly been told.

"Because of Wicked's success but also the fanship, we have almost a responsibility to figure out how we can continue in this universe," Universal chief marketing officer Michael Moses told Vulture.

Exactly what kind of franchise continuation might be possible, however, Moses seemed less sure. "Have we figured it out yet? No," he added. "But there are things underway."

Across the two Wicked movies, the 2 hour 30 minute musical's story has already been expanded to almost five hours. But the musical itself is based on just the first of a series of Wicked novels. Later stories largely follow a fresh generation of characters, including Elphaba's son Liir.

"I think the Glinda and Elphaba story feels complete — but there are other aspects that could be explored," Wicked's original composer Stephen Schwartz recently told The Ankler. "Gregory Maguire, the original Wicked novelist, has several books, for example."

Still, having built the success of Wicked around the friendship of Elphaba and Glinda, it would be hard to see any follow-up ignoring those familiar characters completely — something Schwartz apparently agrees with. (And anyway, we still need to find out what Ariana Grande whispered at the end of the movie.)

"There's another idea that Winnie [Holzman, Wicked and Wicked: For Good co-writer] and I are discussing: not a sequel, but an adjunct. Let me put it that way," Schwartz teased.

Could fans get yet another version of Wicked's story, this time perhaps told from the perspective of another character — the Wizard himself, perhaps, or Nessarose? How about another story set in Shiz University, where Glinda and Elphaba are students? Or, could the Wicked team just be considering the obvious — a musical version of the original Wizard of Oz, now incorporating the story elements that Wicked introduced? Maybe we'll finally see Dorothy's face on screen, after the actress playing her in Wicked was deliberately kept out of focus.

One thing's for certain — Universal is keen to replicate the huge box office success of both Wicked and this year's follow-up. After just its opening weekend, Wicked: For Good has brought in $226 million globally, defying the gravity of a string of other Hollywood disappointments in recent weeks. Indeed, the movie has conjured a bigger debut than Superman and The Fantastic Four, and is behind only this year's live-aciton Lilo & Stitch remake, Jurassic World Rebirth, and A Minecraft Movie.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

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

The creator of Skibidi Toilet and the boss of the company now in charge of its YouTube channel have each issued statements presenting a united front amid recent concern over creative control of the web series.

Skibidi Toilet is a series of web shorts created by animator Alexey Gerasimov using Source Filmmaker, Valve’s 3D computer graphics software. Some assets used in the series are taken from video games such as Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source, which form the basis of the Garry's Mod physics sandbox.

Fans have for some time now worried about Gerasimov’s apparent lack of involvement with the ongoing production of videos on the DaFuq!?Boom! YouTube channel, which has 46.9 million subscribers. And in recent days those concerns were exacerbated when an X / Twitter account published online messages attributed to Gerasimov that, it was claimed, showed he had lost creative control over Skibidi Toilet and the YouTube channel to a company called Invisible Narratives. The initial tweet making those claims has had over 5 million views.

Netflix's upcoming live-action Assassin's Creed series will star British-born Australian actor Toby Wallace and be set in Italy, it's been reported.

Wallace will play one of the show's two leading roles, Deadline has reported, without further information on who exactly this might be.

Still, word that the series will be filmed and set in Italy has unsurprisingly sparked a mountain of speculation among Assassin's Creed fans, many of whom still see dashing Renaissance hero Ezio Auditore da Firenze as the long-running franchise's star.

The holiday season is here and AliExpress is kicking off its Black Friday Sale with some incredible deals on hundreds of its locally shipped products, including best sellers like electric bikes and scooters, gaming handhelds, imported Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 consoles, brand name 3D printers, and more. These deals are roughly 10%-20% cheaper than previous lows thanks to a combination of coupon codes and a Retailmenot cash back offer. All the products listed below ship from a local US warehouse, which means you don't need to worry about tariffs or obnoxiously long shipping times.

AliExpress Coupon Codes (Tested and Verified)

Most of these deals are made better by using one of these tiered coupons:

• AEUS04 ($4 Off Orders $20+)
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Extra 15% Cash Back at RetailMeNot

Imported Nintendo Switch 2 Consoles, Controllers, and Games

If you still haven't yet picked up a Nintendo Switch 2 because it's too expensive, there is an opportunity to get one at a discounted price. AliExpress is offering a Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World console bundle for as low as $435 (normally $500). It ships free locally from the United States (which again, means no tariffs or long wait times).

Note that the console is a Hong Kong import. All international Switch consoles are region unlocked, meaning they can be used in the US without any problems and without any modification. Likewise, all Switch 2 hardware (like controllers) and physical games are also region unlocked.

1,000W Electric Bikes Starting at $276

350W Electric Scooters Starting at $109

Arzopa Portable USB Monitors Starting at $50

A portable USB monitor has many practical uses, such as a secondary display for your laptop or a travel-friendly screen for your Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck handheld gaming PC. Ahead of Black Friday, Arzopa is hosting some big markdowns on its popular lineup of portable USB monitors via its official AliExpress storefront. Combined with some general AliExpress coupon codes, these deals are the lowest prices I've seen all year long. All of the portable monitors listed ship free from the United States as well.

3D Printers Starting at $163

Power Stations Starting at $88

With the winter season approaching, you should seriously consider picking up a power station in case of emergencies. Fortunately for you, the best time to score a great deal on a power station is during Black Friday. AliExpress has already come out of the gate early with the lowest prices I've seen all year on several power stations from trusted brand names like Allpowers and Bluetti. The deals I've listed above are sold by the manufacturers' official seller accounts, so you're sure to receive a genuine product with full warranty. These power stations also ship free from a local US warehouse.

Sofirn SP36 Pro 8,000-Lumen EDC LED Flashlight

Portable Gaming Handhelds

AliExpress is widely regarded as the best online store to pick up a portable gaming handheld at an outrageously low price. These portable gaming handhelds feature small 3.5" displays, 32-bit or 64-bit processors, and usually run off Android or Linux. Despite the low price, these gaming handhelds are well built and feel like a professionally engineered product.

Licensed JoyToy Warhammer 40K Figures

Lenovo's most powerful Legion gaming PC just dropped to a new price low. The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 gaming PC equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor and RTX 5090 graphics card is marked down to $3,399.99 after you stack two coupon codes "EXTRAFIVE" and "LENOVOHOLIDEAL". This is currently the least expensive RTX 5090 prebuilt I've seen so far for Black Friday. The Alienware Area-51 from Dell Outlet comes close, but it's a refurbished product.

Lenovo Legion Tower 7 RTX 5090 Gaming PC for $3,600