Marvel got as far as giving Mia Goth a wig to wear for its 1920s Blade movie idea, before the setting was scrapped and the project was placed on hiatus.

It's not the first time we've heard just how close Marvel's big Blade reboot, set to star Mahershala Ali in the title role, got to being made several years ago, but it is yet another suggestion that whatever happened to cancel the 1920s-set attempt happened very late in the process.

"The furthest that it got with me was... I flew to Atlanta and did a chemistry test with Mahershala," Goth said, speaking on the Josh Horowitz podcast. "I did a costume fitting and a wig fitting. I was very excited in the direction it was going and Mahershala had such an interesting take on it, he was great. And it just unravelled from there, unfortunately."

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are finally both over for this year, which is good news for anyone who already secured a certified bargain, but bad news for anyone who missed out on the best deals.

Thankfully, there are a few top offers that are still holding out as we enter the final month of the year. And, honestly, these are pretty fantastic themselves, especially the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle deal for just $449 at Walmart ($50 off the MSRP, and $80 savings in total).

But, it's not just the immensely popular Switch 2 offer that we have to discuss, as there's plenty more for PlayStation and Xbox fans to get their hands on while the rest of these days remain available.

At least for now! Trust me when I say that these will likely expire very soon, so you'd better get a shift on to ensure you don't miss out (again!).

Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World for $449

GameStop has highlighted its recent payout of more than $30,000 for a rare Pokémon card as evidence that the chain's trade-in program offers fair value — while simultaneously admitting the card had actually been worth at least $3,000 more.

In its latest publicity stunt aimed at getting gamers' attention, GameStop issued a typically jocular statement on social media declaring its record $30,494.70 payout for a PSA 10 Holo Gengar was a "historic" moment for the company.

"Any trolls who publicly claim that GameStop trade-in values are bad are hereby factually and demonstrably incorrect," the chain wrote. "Any prior and ongoing objections to our trade values are now deemed without merit and factually invalid," it continued, while admitting the card had actually been worth $33,883 — several thousand dollars more.

A Statement from GameStop pic.twitter.com/Qho0M7xzko

— GameStop (@gamestop) December 1, 2025

To be fair to GameStop, the chain does not hide the fact it paid $3,388.30 less than what it describes as the "fair-market valuation" for the card. Indeed, the company simply states it handed over its payout "upon completion of all required inspection, verification, and compliance procedures" — processes, the statement appears to suggest, which come at some cost.

But many responses to GameStop's social media post have pointed to the chain still having "shorted" the card's owner, and suggesting the card would have reached a higher value at auction. Others have noted GameStop's own trade-in FAQ page states that the chain has a $1,500 upper limit for trade-in value, something that suggests this particular sale is something of an anomaly. IGN has contacted GameStop for more.

In its post, GameStop states its payout was executed "in accordance with the established terms and conditions governing the Power Packs Buyback Program," an offer that some customers have criticized for allowing the retailer to repeatedly make money from the same high-value cards.

An example of this would be a customer buying a $100 Power Pack (a blind box with a rough value of a $100) from GameStop and finding a card that is indeed worth $100 inside. If it's a card they don't want, GameStop offers an Instant Buyback offer that's worth 90% of the card's value minus an additional 6% commission fee. Here, the card seller gets $84.60 back, while GameStop retains a $100 card, which they can sell again for $100 — and continue to repeat the process.

"They're not speculating on card value," one fan wrote in a reddit thread on GameStop's scheme posted a few months ago. "They control the supply, the pricing tier, and the resale loop. It's vertical integration disguised as a loot box.

"PowerPacks aren't just about cards. The real edge is the buyback loop. On average, GameStop pays less than market for returned cards, then sells them again at full price. Every cycle is a profit opportunity. It's repeatable. Scalable. Efficient. And it doesn't rely on retail footfall or console cycles. PowerPacks might end up being GameStop's most profitable product yet."

Earlier this year, GameStop attempted to turn its high-profile Switch 2 stapler snafu into a social media opportunity by auctioning off the now-infamous piece of stationary that one employee used to puncture dozens of Switch 2 screens on the console's launch night.

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

Arrowhead has released Helldivers 2 update 5.0.0, which makes big balance changes that actually raise weapon damage — but there’s also an incoming message from High Command that has the community worried.

Update 5.5.0 arrives alongside the jungle-themed Python Commandos Warbond, which adds a number of fan-requested weapons including a minigun.

But it’s the incoming message from High Command — an in-universe tease from Arrowhead to the Helldivers 2 community on what’s in store — that has raised eyebrows.

“Super Earth has detected strange signals from previously unmonitored worlds on the Galactic map,” the message reads. “The Ministry of Intelligence is investigating the source of the signals. Helldivers, be vigilant and hold the high ground.”

What does this mean? Players aren’t sure, although speculation is pointing to something Illuminate related, given the mention of “unmonitored worlds.”

As for the patch, it makes a number of fixes, including for audio issues, XP modifiers, and several crashes, as well as more optimizations and improvements. The balancing changes raise weapon damage, and there are much-needed fixes to weapon FOV. The patch notes, courtesy of Steam, are below.

In other Helldivers news, we finally have confirmation that Justin Lin is set to direct the upcoming Helldivers 2 movie. Lin is best known for his work on a number of Fast & Furious movies, and was the director of the series from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006 until Fast & Furious 6 in 2013.

Helldivers 2 Update 5.5.0 patch notes:

Balancing

General changes

Decreased ergonomics penalty on magnifying scopes weapon attachments

• The intent is to make magnifying scopes more a matter of preference by decreasing the penalty they impose on a weapon's ergonomics (low ergonomics makes the weapons muzzle follow the crosshair slower).

Some of the Pistol ammo balance update

• The intent with this change is to make some of the pistol rounds weapons more effective after the last pistol ammo re-balance that did make them more of a close range weapon.
• The pistol rounds re-balance general intent is to make them more effective at close range while not more effective at long range then for example assault or marksman rifles

2x Tube Red Dot

• Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-3) to (-1)

4x Combat Scope

• Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-6) to (-2)

10x Sniper Scope

• Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-9) to (-4)
• APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle is also effected by this change so it will get an increased ergonomics from 26 to 31

Primary weapons

SMG-37 Defender

• Increased damage from 100 to 110
• Increased durable damage from 20 to 22

SMG-32 Reprimand

• Increased damage from 135 to 140

M7S SMG

• Increased damage from 80 to 90
• Increased durable damage from 16 to 18

VG-70 Variable

• Increased durable damage 20 to 23

M90A Shotgun

• Increased durable damage 15 to 20

Sidearms weapons

P-2 Peacemaker

• Increased damage from 95 to 100
• Increased durable damage 30 to 32

P-113 Verdict

• Increased damage from 135 to 140

M6C/SOCOM Pistol

• Increased damage from 110 to 125
• Increased durable damage from 25 to 28

Enemies

War strider

• Decreased force strength on grenade explosion from 50 to 30

Bile Spewer

• Decreased force strength on artillery explosion from 50 to 30
• Decreased force impulse on artillery explosion from 60 to 40

Stalker

• Decreased force strength from 40 to 35 when a tongue attack hits the player

(Force strength is the value that decides if a player or enemy should stagger or ragdoll.)

Gameplay

Keybind options for quick weapon function:

• New, unbound keybind options have been added for quickly swapping weapon functions (like changing fire modes or ammo).
• The intent is to give players better ease of use, especially for weapons with multiple ammo types like the Halt, Autocannon, and the new "One Two" AR.

Updated First Person View (FPV)

• We updated how First Person View (FPV) works with the intention of improving the aiming experience across different FOV settings (Field of view).
• The intent is that the size and distance of the scope will be more consistent with different FOV settings.
• We also updated how ergonomics works in FPV with the intent to make it more responsive.
• Fixed instances of flickering textures in various city locations

Fixes

Crash Fixes & Softlocks

• Fixed a rare crash that would occur when combat music would start
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur during 'Nuke Nursery' mission
• Fixed crash after hotjoining a game that just started where the existing players are using certain stratagems
• Fixed a rare crash when enemies would fall through the ground
• Fix rare crash on mission load

Weapons & Stratagem Fixes

• Fixed an issue with the BR-14 Adjudicator, when aiming with the 10x scope on 200 m setting which would cause the model to disappear
• Fixed a visual issue on VG-70 Variable during the reload animation when aiming down sights
• Fixed a torso clipping issue with the CE-07 Demolition Specialist armor
• Fixed pump-shotguns sometimes not showing a new shell being inserted on reload
• PLAS-45 Epoch now correctly zooms in ADS mode, just like any other support weapon
• Fixed display related to no ammo being shown for Infinite Ammo weapons
• Fixed the VO (Voice Over) line for “no ammo” being played after pressing reload whilst using Infinite Ammo weapons
• Fixed a small bug where supply packs were giving ammo without consuming a charge when dropped
• Fixed a bug that locks stratagems after drowning while holding that stratagem ball
• Fixed the red glow that would happen if the player would empty one or two magazines with MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun, M-105 Stalwart or MG-43 Machine Gun

Enemies

• Factory Striders will no longer be launched to sky erratically when dying
• Hellpods that hit Factory Striders will no longer remain in the air after the enemy dies
• War Striders now detonate mines
• Enemy presence around Cognitive Disruptor Towers is now cleared from the mini-map when the objective is completed
• Chargers no longer speed up when exiting charge
• Fixed Rupture Warriors getting stuck below Sentries
• Added a medium-armored weak spot to the vents on the backside of the Bunker, AA, and Mortar emplacements. This was done so these structures behave similarly to other comparable defenses..

Miscellaneous Fixes

• Fixed the terrain not being affected by explosions and the Entrenchment Tool (PS5 only)
• Fixed a bug where the lights were missing/flickering on the Orbital Gatling
• Fixed a thumbnail glitch in the Acquisition Center menu
• Cryo-pods no longer clip into the Engineering Bay when playing the ship arrival cutscene
• Fixed an armor gap affecting CE-27 Ground Beaker and CW-9 White Wolf whilst using the 'Draw!' emote
• The UI will no longer show inaccurate objective info on the Mission Summary screen if the host has left the game
• Fixed a bug whilst joining a non-host in a cross-play lobby.
• Fixed the NPC technician’s neck sticking through their shirt
• Mini-map fog of war effect while exploring caves no longer persists between missions
• Soon-to-be Helldivers will no longer be stopped from progressing the tutorial if they die in the flag room
• Fixed issue where the automaton grinder sludge would be affected by weathering even though it's sealed behind glass
• Fixed an issue where a missile inside the Destroyer’s hangar was misaligned. This dangerous act of asymmetry has been corrected. The undemocratic ship operator responsible for this disgraceful display of inefficiency has been promptly re-educated in a high-orbit correctional facility. Glory to the Office of Corrective Deployment!
• Helldivers will no longer be locked out of the GATER when trying to get into the driver's seat simultaneously
• Fixed a bug with missing haptics when a controller disconnects or reconnects
• Fixed an issue on a command bunker where there was a lack of collision

Optimizations

• Optimized lights on Automaton VFX
• Optimized physics of rock assets throughout the game to improve performance
• Improved the way environmental effects such as sandstorms, blizzards, and acid storms apply their status effects for reduced impact on performance
• Improved ADS weapon placement and behavior
• Reduced the amount of camera clipping on weapons
• Fixed texture details used for weapons while aiming down sights
• Improved depth of field when ADS and whilst scopes are zoomed in
• Fix for textures sometimes appearing low resolution even when memory is available (PC only)

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.

Death Stranding and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima is well-known for his love of cameos — his games are full of them — but the developer is now making a cameo of his own in a very unexpected place: an animated Disney movie.

According to Mantaweb via Automaton, Kojima will appear in Zootopia 2 as a mole at the Zootopia Police Department. Officer Paul Moledebrandt — to use his full name — will be the director's first animated cameo and appears by way of a direct invitation from movie director and CCO at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Jared Bush.

"I've had many cameo appearances in live-action films and games, but this is my first experience dubbing for an animated theatrical film," Kojima said. "And it’s from Disney, of all places! What’s more, it’s the sequel to my favorite film, Zootopia! On top of that, I received an offer directly from director Jared Bush, so I was extremely honored and accepted without hesitation.

"I only took part in a small scene, but even at the time of recording, the production was incredibly well-crafted. Thanks to the illustrations, the recording went smoothly. I'm usually on the directing side, so I learned a lot from actually experiencing acting. I was reminded of how much attention the voice actors pay to basic things like turning pages in the script and noise."

Paramount has announced a Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off movie that's set to launch in 2028, and fans believe the film will finally see Keanu Reeves' Shadow the Hedgehog step up as its star.

Currently titled "Sonic Universe Event Film," the movie has been given a December 22, 2028 release date on Paramount's upcoming movie calendar, according to Variety.

As Sonic fans will know, Paramount's schedule already includes another upcoming movie for the Blue Blur: Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which is set to debut on March 19, 2027, and properly introduce both Metal Sonic and Amy Rose. So, what will this subsequent spin-off be about?

Fans seem certain that Shadow the Hedgehog (last seen acting as an antagonist in 2024's Sonic the Hedgehog 3) is now getting a movie all to himself, following positive feedback to Reeves' portrayal of the spiny antihero and almost $500 million at the box office for his proper big screen debut.

A movie focusing on Shadow also simply makes sense, rather than one centered on any of the franchise's characters more closely aligned with Sonic. Shadow, of course, also previously starred in his own video game, a 2005 third-person shooter, which featured its own cast of side-characters. So, is this finally where we see Rouge the Bat?

As of now, Paramount is keeping schtum on all things Shadow and Rouge-shaped, perhaps unsurprisingly considering the fact it has Sonic 4 to launch first. Officially, it's yet to be confirmed whether this spin-off will indeed be a Shadow the Hedgehog vehicle, or whether Shadow will also be back for Sonic 4.

Each of the three Sonic films released to date have brought bigger returns for Paramount, with more than $1 billion now raked in for the trilogy. But the trio's box office pales in comparison to the $1.36 billion raked in by Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Movie. Interestingly, Paramount has no Sonic movie set to launch next year, leaving the field clear for Nintendo's sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

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 a recent Japanese interview with Real Sound, Metal Gear series producer Noriaki Okamura discussed what’s next for the franchise after the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.

“Right now, we’re still thinking about what to make next,” Okamura said. “Since we created an opportunity (with MGS Delta) for new players to experience the Metal Gear series, I do want to continue with it.”

He continued: “It could be a remake, or we might challenge ourselves by creating a brand new game. The Metal Gear series is part of videogame history, spanning pixel art to cinematic presentation, and so each title requires a different approach to expressing and remaking it.

“We won’t apply the methodology used to make the recent MGS Delta to all other games in the series — rather we intend to find the best approach for each specific game.”

Okamura also touched on the amount of time it took for the team at Konami to be in a position to remake Metal Gear Solid 3. “Most of the original staff members had left and the team had been reorganized, however we gathered people together and finally arrived at the point where we could make MGS Delta. As a team, we are confident that we achieved a level of quality that not only preserves the appeal of the original but also that modern players could enjoy. We are currently working out concrete plans for what we are going to do next.”

However, when asked about the possibility of a Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots remake, Okamura remained cautious, saying: “the hardware back then required very specific designs to get the most out of the 3D technology that was available at the time, so MGS4 ended up with some pretty unique code. It seems like it would be quite a challenge to bring that into the present day.”

At the moment, 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4, which ties up all the loose ends in Solid Snake’s story, is only playable on PlayStation 3. Based on the original game release order and rumors, a remastered port of MGS4 is expected to be included in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2, however Konami has yet to announce the official line-up for this second anthology of MGS games to be released on current gen platforms.

While Okamoto’s comments address a remake rather than a remaster, his thoughts on MGS4’s unique code may explain why it is taking Konami so long to release Volume 2. Okamura previously said that the team are taking their time on Volume 2 to avoid the performance issues that dogged Volume 1 at launch: “we’re going to do everything we can not to repeat that, but we just have to ask for everyone to give us time.”

Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.

Rockstar co-founder and former Grand Theft Auto writer Dan Houser has likened AI to mad cow disease, and claimed that humanity is being pulled in a direction “by a certain group of people who maybe aren't fully rounded humans.”

The impact of AI has been swift and forceful, with the emergence of tech such as ChatGPT fueling an economic bubble some worry will burst. The way the internet works is being reshaped, too, with the idea of fair use of content for the training of AI models at loggerheads with copyright protection. This has resulted in ongoing lawsuits. Disney and Universal, for example, have sued the AI image creator Midjourney, alleging that the company improperly used and distributed AI-generated characters from their movies. Disney also sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI, warning the startup to stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization.

A Fortnite artist has been forced to defend their work after fans suggested numerous images found within the game's new season are AI-generated, including a suspicious-looking poster showing a character in a hammock with an odd number of toes.

Last night, freelance artist Sean Dove took to Instagram in response to fan claims that his Studio Ghibli-style depiction of Back to the Future hero Marty McFly was the product of AI generation. Dove, a frequent Fortnite collaborator, showed off his manual process for drawing the image. But while he drew the Ghibli-esque main character himself, Dove admitted he may still have inadvertantly included AI elements in the background.

"I guess someone on reddit thinks this was AI," Dove wrote. "I think the culprit is a clock in the background. I grabbed some clocks off image search, collaged them, and halftoned them. The numbers are bad, entirely possible I grabbed an AI clock and wasn't paying attention."

And while Dove has personally responded, Fortnite developer Epic Games has so far remained silent on the topic, as fans on reddit create numerous threads pointing out other examples of images they think show signs of AI generation. (IGN contacted Epic Games for this story, but did not receive a comment back.)

Most egregious, according to fans, is an in-game poster for a location named Mile High Retreat. The image shows a pair of legs sticking out from a hammock, with five toes visible on one foot and four visible on another.

Another in-game poster being scrutinized by fans depicts the game's glassy-eyed Tomatohead character as the host of Sauce Talk, a Hollywood-style chat show. And there's discussion too around a mysterious song, Latata, set to be used in an upcoming emote. The music does not appear to come from a recognizable source, though some fans have suggested the audio has been sourced from stock music, rather than anything specifically AI-made.

Amid all the confusion, and lack of clarification from Epic Games itself, what's clear is that Fortnite fans are keen to push back against the perception of AI art usage within the game. An enormous thread on reddit is tracking every example where players have doubts of images being made by human hands, and searching for more.

"Awful decision," wrote one player. "I hope it gets amended. As others have said, the art and style of this damn game is one of the main reasons we love it. Generative AI has no place in it."

"I thought things like Darth Vader were cool, using AI to achieve something that simply wouldn't be possible without it," another fan wrote. "But, that was the only case so far that I've genuinely found neat. Creating art is something humans, and especially Epic due to their money and resources, are very capable of doing."

Epic Games is no stranger to AI technology, of course, having previously used generative speech technology to reproduce James Earl Jones' Darth Vader portrayal. But despite having the rights and approval of Disney, the character's inclusion proved controversial, especially as players quickly began making Vader say things more aligned with the dark side of the Force.

Last week, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney suggested that Valve should ditch Steam's AI Generated Content Disclosure label for games, as he believes AI use will become so ubiquitous it will make any warning redundant. "Why stop at AI use?" Sweeney wrote on social media. "We could have mandatory disclosures for what shampoo brand the developer uses. Customers deserve to know lol.

"It doesn’t matter any more,” he continued. "The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production.”

Speaking of AI artwork, boot up Fortnite anytime recently and you'll be greeted by a menu screen with dozens, if not hundreds, of user-made experiences that use AI artwork for their thumbnails, something Epic Games has previously said it is pointless to police, as technology rapidly improves to the point where AI images become almost impossible to distinguish.

Indeed, if nothing else, the whole matter has simply highlighted the increasing difficulty in 2025 of being able to tell what is AI-generated, and what is not.

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

Now that the Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness is behind us, we can get back to what's really important. Pokémon cards! Phantasmal Flames is arguably the best first expansion for a new era of the Pokémon TCG, and Mega Evolution was already looking really good.

To make things even better, Amazon has dropped the price on its Phantasmal Flames Booster Box from $299.99 to its lowest price yet, $248.99. That includes 36 boosters to crack open, and is also over $20 cheaper than TCGPlayer's lowest listing right now. Bargain, better catch it before it runs away.

Megabonk may have withdrawn itself for consideration for best indie game at next week's The Game Awards 2025, but it's now long-listed as one of 30 fan-favorite games in the running for the Players' Voice category.

Megabonk was nominated for Best Debut Indie, alongside Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Despelote, and Dispatch. Developer Vedinad, however, withdrew their game from The Game Awards in mid-November, saying it didn't qualify for the category, as Megabonk was not their debut game.

"It's an honor and a dream for Megabonk to be nominated for TGA, but unfortunately, I don't think it qualifies for the category 'Debut Indie Game,'" the developer said at the time. "I've made games in the past under different studio names, so Megabonk is not my debut game."

Shortly after that, The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley shared a statement of his own acknowledging the request and stating that Megabonk would be removed in a Twitter/X post, which it eventually was.

That was seemingly not the end of the story for Megabonk's journey at The Game Awards, however. It's now also been nominated under the publicly-voted Players' Voice category.

30 games are nominated for this section, the shortlist for which will be whittled down across three rounds of van-voting. Megabonk is up against big hitters like Death Stranding 2, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Arc Raiders, Battlefield 6, Hades 2, and Fortnite.

The Game Awards 2025 Players' Voice nominations:

• Arc Raiders - Embark Studios
• Battlefield 6 - Battlefield Studios/EA
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach - Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Delta Force - Team Jade/TiMi Studio Group
• Dispatch - AdHoc Studio
• Donkey Kong Bananza - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
• Doom: The Dark Ages - id Software/Bethesda Softworks
• Elden Ring Nightreign - FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment
• Final Fantasy XIV - Square Enix
• Fortnite - Epic Games
• Genshin Impact - HoYoverse
• Ghost of Yōtei - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Hades II - Supergiant Games
• Helldivers 2 - Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Hollow Knight: Silksong - Team Cherry
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - MachineGames/Bethesda Softworks
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II - Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver
• Mario Kart World - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
• Marvel Rivals - NetEase Games
• Megabonk - Vedinad
• Ninja Gaiden 4 - Platinum Games/Team Ninja/Xbox Game Studios
• No Man’s Sky - Hello Games
• Peak - Aggro Crab/Landfall
• R.E.P.O. - Semiwork Studios
• Silent Hill f - NeoBards Entertainment/Konami
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds - Sonic Team/Sega
• Split Fiction - Hazelight Studios/EA
• Warframe - Digital Extremes
• Wuthering Waves - Kuro Games

"WE'RE SO BACK," Vedinad wrote (thanks, Polygon). "Megabonk is nominated for The Game Awards - Player's Voice!! I withdrew my other nomination due to Megabonk not fitting the category, but with this new nomination we're more back than ever. go vote pls."

We had a good time with Megabonk. In IGN's Megadonk quick review, we wrote: "As far as survivors-likes go, this is a pretty strong one. I'd say it's worth a look if you have an appetite for another one of these that isn't basically just a Vampire Survivors reskin. I just wish there was a little more level variety."

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.

Emmy-winning director Frederick E.O. Toye is on deck to direct the opening pair of episodes of God of War, according to Deadline. Pre-production for the Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM show is reportedly underway now in Vancouver.

God of War has received a two-season order.

Toye joins the much-anticipated project alongside showrunner Ronald D. Moore, a veteran of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Battlestar Galactica, amongst others.

Toye is a prolific TV director with a long list of credits dating back two decades, stretching from episodes of Lost, Alias, and Fringe through to The Good Wife, Person of Interest, Designated Survivor, and Westworld, and to recent high-profile hits like The Boys, Fallout, The Terminal List, and The Terminal List: Dark Wolf. Toye also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for his contribution to the first season of the 10 out of 10 FX series Shōgun.

Little is currently known about the God of War show, which was first revealed to be in the pipe back in 2022. However, it is clear that it will be unsurprisingly based on 2018's God of War (followed by God of War Ragnarök in 2022), which revamped the series and pivoted from being rooted in Greek myth to a focus on Norse mythology.

The original God of War was first released on PS2 back in 2005.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

The original director of Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell remake, David Grivel, has returned to recommence his role as director on the game after leaving Ubisoft in 2022.

Grivel confirmed the news himself in a post on LinkedIn (via GamesRadar).

“Today, I am very, very happy to announce that I’m rejoining Ubisoft Toronto as Game Director on the Splinter Cell Remake!” wrote Grivel, noting the team and project are very special to him.

Grivel previously worked at Ubisoft for just over a decade, from 2011 to 2022. Prior to his brief initial tenure as director on the Splinter Cell remake he contributed as a game designer on a variety of projects, including Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Far Cry Primal, Far Cry 4, and Far Cry 5.

Grivel rejoins Ubisoft after a stint at Ridgeline Games working on the campaign mode for Battlefield 6, until EA abruptly shuttered the studio in early 2024.

The Splinter Cell remake, which was first announced way back in late 2021, has been skulking around in the dark for many years now. Little information about the game has made its way into the light during that time, although we do know the story of the 2002 original is set to be updated to be “more authentic and believable” to a modern-day audience.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

Justin Lin is set to direct the upcoming film adaptation of Arrowhead Game Studios’ Helldivers franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lin is best known for his work on a number of Fast & Furious movies, and was the director of the series from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006 until Fast & Furious 6 in 2013.

It won’t mark the first time Lin has set his sights on outer space, as he also directed Star Trek Beyond in 2016 – and later returned to the Fast & Furious series to direct 2021’s F9 (in which he sent Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson into literal orbit in a 1984 Pontiac Fiero).

The Helldivers movie has been written by Gary Dauberman, the writer of several Annabelle films and The Nun – as well as the co-writer of 2017’s It and the writer of its 2019 sequel, It Chapter Two.

Sony Pictures’ and PlayStation Productions’ Helldivers movie was announced early this year at Sony’s CES 2025 press conference. The project comes in the wake of the immense success of Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, which became PlayStation’s fastest-selling game of all time following its initial launch in February 2024, selling over 12 million copies in its first 12 weeks on sale.

Heavily inspired by Paul Verhoeven’s vision for 1997 sci-fi cult classic Starship Troopers, Helldivers 2 is “the rare modern multiplayer game that does almost everything right” by boasting a ton of freedom and a smart progression system that doesn’t nickel and dime players, according to IGN’s review.

After originally arriving on PlayStation 5 and PC, Helldivers 2 also came to Xbox Series X|S in August, 2025.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

Cyber Monday is hitting its twilight moment, but that hasn't stopped Lenovo from bringing back its best Black Friday gaming PC deal. Right now you can score a Lenovo Legion Tower 5 RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC for just $1,492.49 after you stack two coupons: "EXTRAFIVE" and "LENOVOHOLIDEAL". Free delivery is included. This was the lowest price for an RTX 5070 Ti prebuilt desktop when it first went on sale, and no other deal since then has been able to beat it!

Lenovo Legion RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC for $1,492.49

Cyber Monday is winding to a close, but there's still time to take advantage of great 3D printer deals from AliExpress. Some of the most popular 3D printer brands, including Creality, Anycubic, and Flashforge, have official AliExpress storefronts, and they all have 3D printers on sale. AliExpress is also offering sitewide coupon codes that stack with these discounts. After combining these savings, you could get a 3D printer for as low as $166. All of the printers below are sold by the manufacturer and ship locally for free from the United States so there aren't any tariffs or long shipping times.

Cyber Monday 3D Printer Deals at AliExpress

Flashforge Adventurer 5M CoreXY 3D Printer

Black Friday may be behind us, but the deals bonanza isn't over just yet. If you're looking to upgrade from your outdated gaming laptop, or you want to transition from a desktop computer to a more mobile setup, there are still plenty of excellent deals to choose from for Cyber Monday. Some of these deals are better than Black Friday. I'm not sure which deals are expiring tonight and which are being extended, so if you find a laptop that's perfect for your needs, don't hesitate.

Alienware Aurora Gaming Laptop Deals

Alienware's new mainstream gaming laptop for 2025 is dubbed the "Alienware Aurora" and it replaces the previous generation's x16 and m16 series of laptops. It comes in two models: the 16 and 16X. The 16 is the more economical model, but gamers should definitely opt for the higher-end 16X model. If you're looking for build quality and performance on par with the previous generation m16, then the 16X is its spiritual successor. It features an anodized aluminum lid and base, a higher quality display, a more powerful CPU, and a GPU that isn't throttled for maximum gaming performance.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7 16" Gaming Laptop Deal (RTX 5070 Ti)

Lower than Black Friday price

Over the holiday weekend, Ayaneo announced the Next II, a Windows-based handheld gaming PC. It looks beefy, full-featured and, from here, a whole lot like an overpowered, probably very expensive Steam Deck running a worse operating system.

The Ayaneo Next II features a 9-inch, up-to 165Hz OLED display with a 2400x1504 resolution and a peak brightness of 1100 nits. The company says it's powered by an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chipset – the same powerful chip used by the Asus ROG Flow Z13 gaming laptop, which earned a 9/10 for its impressive gaming performance in IGN's review earlier this year. The Next II has an 85W thermal design power (TDP), or roughly how high its power consumption ceiling is. It's also got dual cooling fans, and a 115Wh battery – a huge gain over the original Next, which had just a 47Wh battery. It also outdoes the 80Wh capacity of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. Whether that translates to longer life between charges remains to be seen, though, especially with that 85W TDP.

Taking a page from Valve's book, Ayaneo put two touch pads on the front of the Next II, which the company writes "support customizable key mapping and intuitive gesture control." Otherwise, the console has two Hall effect joysticks, Hall effect triggers with two-stage trigger locks, four bumper buttons, four face buttons, and four configurable rear buttons. And there's an 8-way D-pad that looks similar to the one Microsoft uses on its Xbox Wireless Controller. It's a lot.

It sounds like Ayaneo is going hard with this handheld – nearly everything about it sounds like the company is trying to one-up every handheld on the market today. Ayaneo didn't say when the Next II is coming out or offer pricing information, but the company isn't shy about pricing premium handhelds like, well, premium handhelds (See the $1,265 starting price of the Ayaneo Next Advance).

By now everyone's probably aware of the two Cyber Monday deals floating around for Apple's new AirPods Pro 3 wireless noise canceling earbuds. They normally retail for $249 but you can get either of these modest discounts:

• $219.99 at Amazon (and other popular retailers)
• $249 at Apple Store but you also get a $50 Apple gift card

But there's actually another way you can get it for significantly cheaper. Quickshipelectronics via eBay has certified open box Apple AirPods Pro 3 earbuds for just $149.99 with free delivery. "Open box" usually implies that these buds are new and unused. There's no mention of an official Apple warranty, however eBay does back this sale up with a 1 year Allstate warranty. Quickshipelectronics itself is a pretty well-known retailer of used or open box goods and its eBay account has nearly 400,00 reviews with a stellar 99.7% feedback rating.

Open Box AirPods Pro 3 Earbuds for $149.99

Update: Now you have to join a livestream to get this deal. You'll need to add a credit card for payment. Click on the little icon with the 3 dots to see all of "Buy It Now" items and scroll down to find the deal.

The AirPods Pro 3 launched on September 19, so it's just over 2 months old and you can already get it for over 30% off. Like its predecessor, this is easily the best earbuds for anyone who uses an iPhone. Although it looks pretty similar to the 2nd gen AirPods, there are some pretty significant improvements under the hood. The most notable new feature is the built-in heart rate sensing, but the AirPods Pro 3 improves in other subtle ways as well, including better audio quality, better noise cancelation, long battery life, and a more weatherproof IP57 shell.

Released alongside the AirPods Pro 3 was Apple's "Live Translation", which is an Apple Intelligence feature that will translate other languages on the fly. This isn't exclusive to the AirPods Pro, however, since it can also be used with the 2nd gen AirPods Pro and the AirPods 4.

If you are interested in other models, pretty much every generation of AirPods is on sale. You can check out our full guide to this year's Cyber Monday sales for more deals outside of the Apple ecosystem.

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

With Cyber Monday deals coming to an end tonight, pretty much all of the best LEGO discounts we've seen will be coming to an end. Many of those deals have already expired as stock has run out for the more popular sets. If you're looking for LEGO Harry Potter sets, however, Target still has some great options available for pretty cheap.

Target's Cyber Monday LEGO sale ends tomorrow, so this is your last chance to pick up one of these sets for a discounted price. These are some of my most recommended Harry Potter gifts for fans of all ages and I don't expect the prices to go any lower than this before Christmas.

Target LEGO Harry Potter Sale

The selection of Harry Potter themed LEGO sets is quite vast and these discounts are only a drop in the bucket compared to what's actually available. There's even a massive multi-set Hogwarts Castle build that has been getting new releases over the years, but don't expect to find discounts on that here. These deals are all on smaller sets that are great for all ages and aren't too expensive.

My top pick from this sale is the Chomping Monster Book of Monsters. I actually had the chance to build this set myself back when it was first released this year and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It's small enough that you can put it together in a single afternoon while also detailed enough to feel like a challenge. Best of all, it actually rolls and chomps once it's all put together. I'd definitely recommend checking it out at this price.

Also included in this sale are a few other sets that are great for display or play. The Knight Bus Adventure set is a recreation of the iconic scene from The Prisoner of Azkaban complete with a little swinging chandelier inside. And a potted Mandrake set looks like it's straight out of Professor Sprout's Herbology class. You can pull it out of its pot and it will actually open its mouth as if to shriek. Either of these sets would look great on a desk or a bookshelf.

The most expensive LEGO Harry Potter set I've featured here is the Sorting Hat. It is unique compared to most LEGO builds in that it can move and talk once you fully put it together. The design has all of the wrinkles and stitches you'd expect and it comes with a single minifigure of Harry Potter from The Sorcerer's Stone. We actually had the chance to build this set ourselves and loved the final product, although we felt the process of putting everything together was overall a bit monotonous.

More LEGO Deals Still Live for Cyber Monday

Throughout Black Friday and the weekend, there were quite a few worthy gaming PC deals from several retailers including HP, Lenovo, Best Buy, and Walmart. For whatever reason, these deals have either sold out or gone up in price. There's really just one retailer that still has its best deals still running for Cyber Monday, and that's Alienware. It's still not too late to score a great deal on a powerful gaming PC, but the clock is ticking.

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $1,750

If you're a fan of IGN, the IGN Plus membership is the best way to make your experience even better. For a limited time, annual memberships are only $29.99, saving you 50%. That equates to only $2.49 a month for the rest of 2025 and the majority of 2026! From free games to an ad-free experience, there's something for everyone. Below we've outlined everything IGN Plus has to offer, as well as how to sign up.

IGN Plus Instantly Levels Up Your IGN Experience

Right away, the biggest perk of IGN Plus is an ad-free experience on IGN. That means no more banner ads, pop-ups, or video ads when you read articles, check out guides, or watch trailers. Plus, this ad-free experience continues across other IGN sites. Additionally, you also get free games available monthly. If you're always on the lookout for new games to add to that ever-growing backlog, this is a great way to check out new games you might have never heard of otherwise.

For platinum trophy hunters and completionists, IGN Plus can make your life easier, too! Your membership includes access to MapGenie Pro, which allows you to check out interactive game maps and tracking tools as much as you'd like. If you're hunting down collectibles or tracking down an NPC, this can save you dozens of hours.

And for collectors, IGN Plus gives you immediate access to exclusive discounts at the IGN Store. You can save on merch, collectibles, game bundles, and more. These discounts are often significant, typically sitting at ~15%. Even the purchase of one major figure can quickly offset the cost of IGN Plus.

Overall, IGN Plus is the best way to support IGN and the content you love for years to come. It's packed with value for every gamer, whether you're a fan of IGN content, a collector, a trophy hunter, or even just a gamer. Each membership helps IGN continue to deliver high-quality articles, videos, reviews, and guides for readers all around the world.

How to Sign Up for IGN Plus

1. Go to IGN’s subscription page and choose a plan - monthly or yearly (annual typically gives the best value per month).
2. Sign up and link your account - once active, the benefits (ad-free, discounted store access, MapGenie, free games) should be available immediately.
3. Browse IGN as usual. Watch for monthly free games / giveaways, check MapGenie for new maps, and keep an eye on IGN Store for member-only deals.
4. If you’re not sure - try it for a few months. Many people find that cancelled subscriptions still return when they want those perks again.

Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.

Are you looking to add a pop of color to your Xbox setup? Look no further than Amazon, where the Heart Breaker Special Edition Xbox controller is available for just $49 for Cyber Monday – that's a new low price. The controller, which Microsoft released in September as part of the new Xbox Breaker series, is usually $79.99.

Heart Breaker Special Edition Xbox Controller Drops to $49

HP is offering an outstanding Cyber Monday deal on its flagship gaming laptop. Right now you can score the powerful OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Laptop for just $1,299.99 with free shipping after $50 off coupon code "STUFFING50". The RTX 5070 Ti is a powerful mobile GPU that should easily handle the newest and most demanding games.

OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Laptop for $1,299.99