The complete series of Cobra Kai is making the jump to physical Blu-ray this year with a massive new box set. Featuring all six seasons of the show - a grand total of 65 episodes - it's now available to preorder for $119.99 (see it here at Amazon). Eager fans don't have to wait too long for it, either, as it has a release date of March 3 this year. Head to the link below to secure it for your library.

Preorder Cobra Kai: The Complete Series on Blu-Ray

[Editor's Note: Watch the video version of this preview below, if you're interested.]

The campaign has always been my favorite part of Dawn of War, putting its RTS action in context of the wild, over-the-top, operatic drama of the far future. But when I got to go hands-on with the first bit of Dawn of War 4's grim story, it was a bit less opera and a bit more party rock, with the Ork faction leading the way. And as straightforwardly brutal as they are, there's an interesting twist this time with a bit of intra-faction rivalry between the biggest boyz.

BOSS MODE

There is a brief, two-mission tutorial when you first load up Dawn of War 4 featuring the Space Marines and the Imperial Guard. But in terms of the main meat of the campaign, each of the four factions has their own story with a specific spot in the larger, unfolding narrative. And the Orks come chronologically first, with their campaign setting the stage for everything that comes after it. And that just kind of works, really. If you want to kick things off with a bang and make a lot of messes others are going to have to clean up later, I can think of no one better to serve as the opening act.

As you may know if you've seen the CGI trailer, the inciting action of the entire game is a Blood Ravens battle barge getting invaded by orks under recurring Dawn of War big baddie, Gorgutz. This guy is hundreds of years old at this point and has been leading his boyz across the stars in conflict after conflict. So when he decides to crash his rok down on Kronus to pursue the Astartes, he has every expectation of being in charge.

That's not exactly how it plays out, though. In the first mission, called Da Beastboss, we're introduced to a younger and scrappier leader, Guzcutta. He's native to the planet Kronus, at least in as far as the Orks can be native to anywhere considering they're technically an invasive species of fungus… look, it's a long story, okay? We could be here talking about 40K deep lore for hours. But the point is, he's only ever known Kronus as home and the band of Orks living here already view him as their leader.

If Gorgutz is the surprisingly clever old war dog, Guzcutta is kind of a rebellious teen coming into his own. Gorgutz favors huge war machines and ridiculous firepower to get the job done, while Guzcutta relies on the beasts his boyz can tame and ride into battle for a little bit more of a low-tech approach. Both warbosses will eventually get access to all the same units, of course. And this initial bit is really just an introduction to Guzcutta and the Orks' main faction mechanics.

MAKE IT ORKY

Since the tutorial focused on how to move units, attack, use abilities, and things like that, Ork mission one can focus on what makes the Orks unique, like their Waaagh! mechanic, which you can learn more about in our faction deep dive. Your enemies for the early campaign are mainly the machine men of the Adeptus Mechanicus, occasionally supported by other Imperial auxiliaries, which forced me to focus quite a bit on mobility and flanking.

See, these spindly Skitarii can't stand up to a proper Ork in melee combat, but if they have the benefit of cover, their deadly ranged attacks can hold off a frontal assault for quite a while. Luckily, speedy Squighog Riders can simply run right around their emplacements and hit them from behind. And if that isn't working out, Stormboyz with their definitely not OSHA-approved jetpacks can leap right over them.

This is also where the Beast Snagga Boyz came in handy, because they're a little bit tougher than your standard Ork infantry, so they can draw fire for a decently long time without getting completely disintegrated. I wouldn't say it takes a mastermind to play this faction, as it shouldn't, but there is quite a bit to chew on tactically if you want to get the most out of them. Relentless aggression is rewarded in multiple ways, including growing the size of your squads with experience to become a proper horde. But combine that with a little cleverness, and now you're really dangerous.

CRASHDOWN

But if mission one was all about letting you get to know Guzcutta and his little neighborhood, mission two, Da Biggest Boss, is about how his life got flipped turned upside down. Remember Gorgutz demanding they "crash faster" in the trailer? Well, his ominous pile of scrap has finally touched down in a huge explosion and Guzcutta's boyz are eager to find out what happened. This is another fairly low-key intro mission with the goal of making it to various piles of wreckage left by the rok's impact and finding clues. But the AdMech are also interested in it, and I had to fight my way through them to get answers.

The mission culminates in the first meeting between the two bosses, when you come across Gorgutz' landing party – or at least, the ones who survived the crash – under attack by the AdMech. If you hear Gorgutz' version, of course he would have been fine. But from Guzcutta's perspective, he totally saved the day. Regardless, the main tension of the campaign has now been established, as both big Orks believe they should be the boss on Kronus. And neither of them are about to back down.

You will get to pick between them eventually, which is where the whole campaign branches. But for now, we spend a little more time with Guzcutta. He's the one I ended up picking anyway. I just like his style. And the next mission, Da Race, is a thematically appropriate contest to see who the better boss is by who can destroy the AdMech base fastest.

This is one of my favorite missions in Dawn of War 4 so far and one that really doesn't let you rest on the natural strengths of the Orks alone. While you're making your way up the left side of the map, Gorgutz is clawing up the right. And that means it's not enough to simply overwhelm the humies eventually, which has been easy enough to do up until now. You have to be efficient with your units alongside being relentless and get to the end before your rival does. This kind of scenario design is what I think separates a good RTS mission from a just-okay one.

There's even a bit of a strategic choice built in here, since you can send forces over to engage Gorgutz and slow him down. Ultimately, I found that this delayed me making progress on my side too much and it was better to just let him get bogged down with the AdMech. But it's certainly another way to do the mission if you need to buy yourself some extra time. Flanking him while he's already engaged is especially effective.

A TALE OF TWO BOSSES

Proving yourself here isn't enough, though. Once the Ork campaign branches off, you'll get multiple choices of which mission to take on next, with each one tipping the balance of power toward Gorgutz or Guzcutta. On one mission, you might be collecting scrap to assemble deadly Deff Dreads. I particularly liked one involving the taming of a savage Squigasaur, which becomes Guzcutta's mount and changes his playstyle for the rest of the campaign.

I didn't get to see how this boss brawl ends, or how its outcome might shape the campaigns that come after it. But simply having multiple possible endings for the first of four campaigns is exciting. Especially because I've never liked Gorgutz. It's about time he got knocked down a peg, you know? And Guzcutta's not exactly a knight in shining armor, but I can respect his disdain for authority and yee-haw philosophy on life and war. An Ork after my own heart, if there ever was one.

IGN is celebrating its 30th Anniversary on September 29, 2026. Before it was later rebranded IGN64, our first site, N64.com launched the same day the Nintendo 64 came out in the US back in 1996.

While we didn’t found the company, IGN Entertainment, until February 1999, IGN’s first article – a news story about Howard Lincoln commenting on the decision to drop the N64’s launch price from $249 to $199 – is dated September 23, 1996 and published a few days before IGN’s first site launch: N64.com.

A Celebration of 3D Gaming

IGN's story began with the advent of 3D console gaming and the desire to go beyond the monthly magazines with long lead times and share daily content about N64, PlayStation, and Saturn for our favorite pasttime. Content preservation wasn’t a big thing in the ‘90s, but many of the original articles are still online, along with prelaunch damage control like “Why is the site so slow?”, early examples of story formats that now dominate the internet (like text-and-image-only unboxings), and previews of games that would never see the light of day. Other content is lost to the ages, victims of media server migrations gone wrong, or someone not confirming with the content team that yes, we would like to keep the articles written on Saturnworld.com after merging them all into the new site, IGN.com, in 1999.

IGN is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and I couldn’t be more excited to give you all a sneak peek at the year-long festivities we have in store. From deep dive retrospective interviews with the biggest names in entertainment, to an in-person celebration in downtown Los Angeles, we’re inviting you to celebrate 30 years of pop culture with us.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

It’s fitting we’re celebrating this milestone now, at such an incredible time for games, movies, and streaming. Super Mario is now a huge movie franchise. The Last of Us and Fallout are smash-hit shows. Netflix now hosts an ever-growing collection of video games. And in turn some games, like Dispatch, look and behave a lot like Netflix shows. Thanks to the rise of collab culture in general, fans of everything from Stranger Things to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn can show off their fandom in Fortnite. You can get Dwight Schrute as a Magic: the Gathering card.

Crucially, it isn’t just the megabrands that have benefitted. At this same time, the expansion of digital distribution platforms like Steam and streaming have empowered formerly niche communities to reach new heights as well. If you like chill, cozy games, they’ve never been bigger. Or if you’re like me and want to optimize conveyor belts and production chains, automation games are also having a moment. On the streaming side, we all have a friend that has found some amazing new subtitled show no one is watching but them, but might blow up into the next big thing (looking at you, Peer). Nowhere is this feeling more prevalent than the incredible growth of anime and manga over the last three decades.

In other words, whatever you’re into, pop culture has evolved to allow you to go deeper into your passions, or discover something amazing and new you didn’t even know you were interested in.

In short, it’s an exciting time to be a fan of…. just about anything.

At IGN, we’re privileged to have been right in the middle of this all for 30 years. IGN Entertainment company co-founder Peer Schneider has published an image gallery from the very earliest days of IGN you have to see.

"I am what I choose to become"

In some ways the entertainment landscape has been completely transformed from what it was in our earliest days. One somewhat startling fact is that IGN has been around longer than YouTube, Netflix, and Xbox, just to name a few. But in other ways, everything old becomes new again. In 1996 we were dreaming about what Zelda would look like on the Nintendo 64. In 2026, we’re dreaming about what Zelda will look like in theaters. Tomb Raider made its debut in 1996, and now in 2026 we’re excited to be covering both the new show and the duo of upcoming games. It’s like poetry… they rhyme.

But it’s these rare periods of more rapid transformation - like the one we’re in right now - that have always fascinated me most. I joined IGN in 2011 as Mobile Games Editor, reviewing games like Angry Birds Star Wars and Infinity Blade (bring it back you cowards!). I spent another couple years running features, and had a lot of fun (and headaches) shepherding insane projects like the Top 125 Nintendo Games. I recently moved into a role overseeing IGN’s absolutely amazing editorial team.

After more than 15 years, the thing that excites me most about working here is still the same: it’s the moment when someone says “...what if we tried this?” when thinking about how to solve a tricky problem.

Around 20 years ago, a little website called YouTube was just taking off. More video game fans were interested in watching videos about their favorite games and movies, and not just reading about them. IGN adapted quickly, and we now have 35 million subscribers watching more than 2 billion videos every year.

Around 10 years ago, Snapchat was the biggest thing on the planet, with TikTok and Instagram reels hot on its heels. IGN got on board, and now has more than 60 million social followers watching more than 5 billion vertical videos annually.

A decade later, we’re now in the midst of another transformative moment. In an online landscape increasingly dominated by text, videos, and entire people that were created at the click of a button, authenticity, transparency, and helpfulness are more important than ever.

You’ve seen a little bit of this from us already, and we’re excited to double down across the rest of 2026 and beyond. As one small step, we’re now including an extended discussion with our critics at the end of most reviews, to learn more about the reviewer’s specific tastes, history with the genre or franchise, and more.

Every single piece of IGN content is created by a human. We will give you more opportunities to get to know individual creators’ quirks and tastes in ways beyond just our stable of podcasts, including more letters from the editor like this one. (Seriously - hit me up if you’re playing any new factory automation games).

We’re also doubling down on making ourselves as helpful to all of you as possible, in big ways and small. HowLongToBeat does exactly what's in the name: work with the community to log data on exactly how many hours it takes to clear any video game. Tools like Maxroll and Mapgenie have also joined the IGN family in recent years, serving as complement to our human-powered cultural commentary, helping you get the most out of your games.

Finally, just as we want to find more opportunities for you to get to know us, we’re also excited to connect with and open a closer conversation with all of you more directly, as well. Again, this isn’t something brand new. Among other things, our annual Reddit AMA gives us a chance to chat with you all directly and hopefully demystify how IGN works a bit. The AMA has been one opportunity for us to remind everyone that IGN reviews have never and will never be paid for - every once in a while it’s important to restate the obvious.

But for me personally, IGN Live is the most exciting way we show up for our audience, and it’s been amazing to see so many of you show up for us, too. The (for now) once-a-year event kicked off in 2024, with attendees getting to play dozens of unreleased games, and to see live on-stage interviews with head of Xbox Phil Spencer, the cast of Critical Role, film director Eli Roth, and plenty more. We grew to a second floor in 2025. And in 2026 we’re excited to share more soon about what we have in store. But it may not surprise you to hear it's not just going to be a look ahead at this year’s biggest games, shows, and movies, but will double as a massive celebration 30 years in the making.

I’d love to see you there this June.

A Year-Long Celebration

In addition to IGN Live, you’re going to see special 30th anniversary-themed content on IGN all year long.

In IGN30: Icons, we’re conducting deep dive, longform interviews with industry luminaries from across gaming and entertainment to learn more about what they were doing in 1996, get their take on the last 30 years of groundbreaking changes, as well as their look ahead at the next 30 years.

1996 was an incredible year for games, featuring the debut of Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and Pokemon Red & Blue, just to name a few. And although we didn’t want too much of our IGN30 celebration to just be pure nostalgia, we couldn’t pass up this opportunity to revisit those all-time greats. So this year we’ll be producing special IGN30 editions of Art of the Level, Is It Still Fun Today?, and more. IGN Cinefix is also joining in on the fun, with Art of the Scene: IGN30 Edition.

This year we’re getting you involved in the celebrations too, via interactive face-offs, polls, and brackets to help settle some of the greatest and most storied characters, games, and consoles from the past three decades.

Finally, IGN Store and Humble Bundle will be getting in on the IGN30 celebrations, with throwback merchandise and a best-of-the-best game bundle.

I want to close with a genuine thank you, whether you’re here with us every day, or if this is your first time back in a while. I grew up poring over issues of EGM, and then just a few short years later obsessively checking websites like CheatCC, AICN, The GIA and yes, ign64.com (among so many others). So to have the opportunity to talk about the games, movies, and shows I love for a living is truly a dream come true.

It’s an honor and a privilege to have you here with us at all, and on behalf of everyone at IGN, I’m so excited to celebrate with you this year.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is getting the first of a number of planned voice packs at the end of February, each sold for $4.99.

The first voice pack, which is not included in the Season Pass and thus has upset some players who believe it should be part of the premium DLC package, drops alongside Patch 12 (the one that adds the long-awaited Techmarine class), and includes over 450 voice lines per Chapter, dubbed in the seven audio languages Saber Interactive’s explosive third-persion action game already supports.

This means you get unique lines based on the Chapter, and your Space Marine will shout these new lines. New lines are also in the Social Wheel emote. In a community update, publisher Focus Entertainment used the example of a Space Wolf (the Space Wolves are among the most popular chapters in all 40k), who will shout “For the Allfather” instead of the usual “For the Emperor."

Focus made a point of confirming that none of this voice work is the result of generative AI. “And for those who may be wondering: we’re happy to confirm that each and every one of this Voice Pack’s 1,300+ total voice lines were performed by a real voice actor, as our commitment to quality remains absolute,” Focus said.

The voice actors in English are:

• Thomas Mitchells (Blood Angels)
• Andrew James Spooner (Space Wolves)
• Kris W. Laudrum (Black Templars)

Xbox has been having a hard time selling consoles lately, and it didn't get any better over the 2025 holiday quarter. Microsoft has just reported its Q2 2026 earnings, including the news that hardware sales were down 32% year-over-year, after quarter upon quarter upon quarter of hardware declines.

Though we don't have actual numbers to tell how much revenue is being lost out on here, we can get a sense of how grim this is for the hardware by looking at past quarters. Last quarter, Q1 of 2026, hardware declined 29% year-over-year. The quarter before that, Q4 of 2025, hardware was down 22%. The quarter before that? Down 6%. Before that? Down 29%. And before that, 29%, in Q1 of 2025, which was July - September of 2024. Going back even further through Microsoft's earnings reports, the prior year quarters saw declines of 42% (woah) in Q4 of 2024 and 31% in Q3. In fact, you have to go all the way back to Q2 2024, which was October through December of 2023, to find the last time Xbox's hardware revenue was better during that period than it was the year before - it was up a whopping 3% over the holiday quarter.

And yes, it was down 7% the quarter before that, 13% before that, down 30% before that, down 13% before that, and finally up 13% year-over-year in Q1 of 2023, or July - September of 2022, at which point the numbers start finally showing consistent improvement year-over-year, largely due to proximity to the launch of the Series S and X.

Now, look. It's extremely normal for a six-year-old console to not be selling as well as it was in the first few years after launch. That's to be expected. Early adopters tend to buy up consoles in large quantities at launch, distributers run out of stock, more is produced, people continue to buy until the vast majority of enthusiasts who want the console already have one, and then sales slow down as the console gets older. But it...usually takes a bit longer to get to that point! For comparison's sake, we have evidence that neither the PlayStation 5 nor the Nintendo Switch have had this much trouble on this scale selling systems at this stage in their respective life cycles, and certainly not as far back as less than three years after launch. There's maybe a reason why we have hard unit sales numbers of Switches and PS5s from Nintendo and PlayStation, but no official numbers whatsoever from Xbox on the Series S and X.

None of this is surprising to anyone who's paying attention. We've been reading headlines about the strugglines of the Xbox Series consoles for the last several years now. In the U.S., Xbox console sales hit an all-time November low in 2025, after several years in a row of declining hardware sales in what is usually the busiest retail month with Black Friday.

These more recent struggles are likely tied as well to the two spikes in Xbox console prices just this year, which saw the least expensive Xbox rise to $400, and the most expensive to an unimaginable $800. Its recently-released ROG Ally launched last year at a whopping $1000. And because much of the high prices are tariff-related, the U.S. - Xbox's biggest market - is primarily impacted here. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella speaking to us last December, the average price per Xbox unit in the U.S. has risen 30% year-over-year in 2025.

Xbox seems to be well-aware that its console business is seriously suffering. While it's promised a new, next-gen console to follow the Series, it's also said such a console would be a "very premium, very high-end curated experience." And even though there have been rumors it's considering backing off about its hardware plans recently, Xbox is still denying them, even as a former Xbox founding member says that "Xbox hardware is dead."

While the hardware declines were the most noteworthy figure from Microsoft's earnings yesterday, it's not like software was doing a whole lot better. Content and services revenue dropped 5% year-over-year, and overall gaming declines caused revenue in the More Personal Computing segment of Microsoft to drop 3% year-over-year. In the investor presentation, CFO Amy Hood said that the revenue drop was "driven by first-party content with impact across the platform," suggesting that its first-party games (perhaps Call of Duty?) didn't do as well as they expected them to.

All-in-all, another real rough one for Microsoft's gaming department.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Nintendo has confirmed it will feature a diverse range of options for your character's gender, voice and dating preferences in its upcoming social sim Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, after a previous backlash to the series a decade ago.

In today's just-finished Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Nintendo Direct broadcast, the company began by showcasing the process with which players will create their Mii character, picking options for their gender, dating preferences and even a detailed range of setings for their voice.

While not specifically mentioned, the message here was clear: that Nintendo has made good on its promise made back in 2014 to make the next Tomodachi Life game "more inclusive, and [something that] better represents all players."

In #TomodachiLife: Living the Dream, you can create Mii characters from scratch or by answering a series of questions! Once you’re finished with their look, pick their gender and adjust their dating preferences and personality. pic.twitter.com/eVQAWhuq9m

— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) January 29, 2026

When Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launches for Switch consoles this year on April 16, it will be 13 years since the arrival of the series' previous entry arrived on 3DS. Shortly thereafter, Nintendo found itself embroiled in a major controversy after Japanese fans alleged that Nintendo had initially developed, then removed, same-sex relationship options for in-game characters.

Nintendo's Bill Trinen commented on the issue to IGN at the time, and stated that while Nintendo had indeed updated the game, the update's intent had been to fix a data leak issue when importing characters from a previous game. Separate to this fact, Trinen said, some players had been using the same feature to import male Mii characters that could then be designated female, allowing for the appearance of two Mii characters of the same sex to marry and have a baby.

"Nintendo never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of Tomodachi Life," Nintendo then said in a statement, which did little to stop the growing backlash. "The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that all of our fans will see that Tomodachi Life was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary."

As fan complaints grew, a fan petition for "Miiquality" was launched, and the situation caught mainstream attention — including a high-profile skit by late night TV host John Oliver, who broadcast a skit featuring Mario and Link snogging.

Nintendo then issued a further statement with an apology for "disappointing many people" — and it was here that the company made a "pledge" to make a title that "better represents all players" should it release another Tomodachi title in future.

"We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life," Nintendo said at the time. "Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game’s design, and such a significant development change can’t be accomplished with a post-ship patch. At Nintendo, dedication has always meant going beyond the games to promote a sense of community, and to share a spirit of fun and joy. We are committed to advancing our longtime company values of fun and entertainment for everyone. We pledge that if we create a next installment in the Tomodachi series, we will strive to design a game-play experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players."

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream allows players to create Mii versions of themselves, their friends, fictional characters and love interests and get them to all interact on a fantasy island. Clearly aware of some of the potential uses of this, Nintendo followed up today's Direct broadcast with a vague statement that said it would "place restrictions on certain image sharing features" for the game. Nintendo's Japanese support website states that this relates to the ability to share images directly to a smartphone or social media, though sharing via Game Chat is still possible.

For more, check out our roundup of everything announced at the Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Nintendo Direct.

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

Bungie’s next game after Destiny 2 is Marathon, an extraction shooter that’s set to release on March 5. To celebrate the occasion, Sony is releasing some Marathon-themed PS5 accessories. There’s the PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller - Marathon Limited Edition for $84.99 (see it at Amazon) and the PULSE Elite Wireless Headset - Marathon Limited Edition, which costs $169.99 and is exclusive to PlayStation Direct. Both accessories will release March 5 alongside the game.

PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller - Marathon Limited Edition

PULSE Elite Wireless Headset - Marathon Limited Edition

Marathon Collector's Edition

With Crimson Desert just a handful of weeks from release, developer Pearl Abyss has released a 15-minute video showing everything from the story to the open world, alongside fresh gameplay.

This video shows main character Kliff and the continent of Pywel, which promises to be a seamless open world. Expect “sprawling wilderness, bustling cities, ancient ruins, and diverse regions, all set against a backdrop of escalating conflict and supernatural danger,” Pearl Abyss said.

Kliff is a warrior of the Greymanes, a faction from the northern region of Pailune. The story begins in the aftermath of a peace being shattered, and Kliff must reunite the Greymanes and reclaim their homeland. You end up discovering that the entire continent is involved.

The threat comes from the Abyss, a mysterious realm that’s sending fragments crashing into Pywel. Some want to exploit these fragments. You’re trying to restore balance to the Abyss and stop those who are exploiting it.

Crimson Desert’s huge open world has been a topic of debate recently. Pywel is divided into five distinct regions: Hernand; Pailune; Demeniss; Delesyia; and the Crimson Desert itself. The main quest revolves around Kliff’s journey, but you’re free to explore the world in any order, taking faction-driven quests, large-scale battles, fortress sieges and smaller, character-focused missions.

Pearl Abyss confirmed that as the story progresses, two additional playable characters become available, each with unique combat styles, skills and weapons. Exploration is a big part of the game — you travel on horseback, climb terrain, glide across distances, and later access advanced traversal options such as a missile-firing mech and a dragon. Pearl Abyss said the world is filled with hidden treasures, ancient mechanisms, puzzles and points of interest “designed to reward curiosity and discovery.” As for combat, expect to face enemy soldiers, sorcerers, beasts and machines.

Earlier this month, Pearl Abyss called Crimson Desert’s open world “absolutely massive,” bigger even than that of Bethesda’s Skyrim and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2.

Speaking on the Gaming Interviews YouTube channel, Pearl Abyss’ Will Powers said that describing the size of Crimson Desert’s world in terms of numbers doesn’t do it justice, because doing so fails to capture the scope and scale of the game. But he did go as far as to compare it to two of the biggest open world games around.

"I don't think numbers really do it justice because, how big is that in terms of scope and scale?” he said. “But what we can say is that the world's at least twice as big as the open world, the playable area, of Skyrim. It's larger than the map of Red Dead Redemption 2."

Powers went on to insist that the size of Crimson Desert’s open world won’t determine its quality. Rather, what you actually do in it is the key factor.

"The continent of Pywel is absolutely massive, but size doesn't really matter if there's nothing to do,” he said. “Open-world games are about doing things, having activities, having distractions. So we wanted to create a world that's not only massive, but is also incredibly interactive."

Unlike Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption 2, in Crimson Desert you can fly around on a dragon, so despite the size of its world, you’ll be able to get about quickly. And don’t expect RPG elements in terms of decision-making and choice and consequence as it relates to your character, either. The sheer amount of things to do in the world will facilitate the role-playing part of Crimson Desert, which players will form through “head canon.”

“You choose the type of character you want to play as in terms of your progression within the systems in the game,” Powers explained. “And then through head canon you’re having this very different experience than other players because of the scope and scale of the game. You’ll be distracted by something, you’ll go on this quest line, you’ll have an experience that’ll be radically different than someone else, even though they’re playing the same game and the same canonical storyline that you both are going through.”

Crimson Desert has gone gold, locking in its global release date of March 19, 2026. That’s across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Mac.

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.

Looking to expand your Switch 2 library? Best Buy is here to help. At the moment, as part of its Deal of the Day, the retailer is offering Pokémon Legends: Z-A for Nintendo Switch 2 for $55.99 (see it here). Overall, this saves you $14 off its usual price of $69.99, but it won't stay at this price for long.

Deals from this section of Best Buy last for one day, and one day only. If you've been itching to boot up Pokémon Legends: Z-A on your Switch 2, now is the time to grab a physical copy and save while it's still on sale.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Nintendo Switch 2) for $55.99

Magic: The Gathering has a busy 2026 planned, but the last set to be revealed was a crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yes, it marks our second trip to New York in less than a year, thanks to last year's Spider-Man set (seriously, there are infinite dimensions we could travel to!), but the Heroes in a Half Shell are doing things a little differently.

Not only does it offer our first Universes Beyond Commander Deck since Final Fantasy, but there are some new product types, too. Here's everything you can preorder, including more than a few sealed products that already have some tidy discounts.

MTG x TMNT Preorders in a Half Shell

As you can probably imagine, there are more products coming than you can shake a Bo Staff at launching on March 6, with pre-release a week prior from February 27 to March 5.

The foundation, as expected, is Play Boosters, and Amazon has a box for $124.99 right now - which is a massive saving.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is Getting a Commander Deck

UK Preorders

I can’t remember the last time a set came with a single Commander precon. In 2025 alone we’ve had sets with no precons (Spider-Man, Avatar), sets with two (Aetherdrift, Edge of Eternities), a set with four (Final Fantasy) and a set with five (Tarkir Dragonstorm).

Why just the one? I honestly can't complain. Even at my age, picking my favorite turtle is serious business, so having the whole gang in one, 100-card boxed product means I don't have to make any tough choices.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

Today's dedicated Nintendo Direct has revealed new details on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, the next title in Nintendo's social sim series headed to Switch and Switch 2.

Hosted by long-term Nintendo producer Yoshiaki Koizumi, the 20-minute broadcast introduced a look at the latest entry in the Tomodachi series — the first in over a decade. Within the first few minutes, Nintendo answered one of fans' big questions of the game: whether it would cater to same-sex relationships, following a previous controversy.

Nintendo makes good on promise for Tomodachi Life to become more "inclusive"

Players will be able to set their Mii character's "dating preferences" with a combination of three options: Male, Female and Non-binary. The game notes that players "can pick one, more than one, or none." Your character's gender can also be set with the same three options, and there are a series of options and sliders to customize your Mii's voice, based on its speed, pitch and more.

Memorably, the series' previous game Tomodachi Life experienced a backlash over its lack of same-sex relationships, something Nintendo was forced to comment on after rumors spread online that they had been cut from the game, prompting commentary from late night TV host John Oliver — who broadcast a skit featuring Mario and Link snogging. Notably, Nintendo then promised that if it did make another Tomodachi Life game, it would make it "more inclusive, and [something that] better represents all players."

In 1978, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler did something that both scientists and other mountaineers considered impossible: they climbed Mount Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen. After reaching the summit, they split up for the descent, and it took Messner nearly two hours to reach base camp. When he did arrive, he was suffering from snowblindness. Later, a reporter asked him why he went up there knowing he could have so easily died. “I didn’t go up there to die,” Messner, who would return to complete the first solo ascent (also without supplemental oxygen) of Everest two years later, responded. “I went up there to live.”

It’s a sentiment that would resonate with Aava, the protagonist of Cairn. “All I ever wanted was to touch eternity for an instant,” she tells us at the outset, her eyes to the stars, “To reach one of those rare moments of bliss where everything seems in its place, and you feel you’re part of a whole.” But her mountain isn’t Everest; it’s Kami, a fictional peak no one has ever summited, and she is determined to be the first. Cairn is her story, and like both the mountain she is challenging and the climb itself, it is an incredible one.

Cairn is a game about the climb, about choosing the right route up the mountain, finding the right handhold, taking a chance on the outcropping that seems slightly out of reach, pulling yourself up to a ledge just before your strength fails. Your path to Kami’s summit is up to you and you control each of Aava’s limbs independently (with some optional assistance on by default); each part of the climb is yours. The summit is the goal, but it is enough to make it to the next Bivouac, a tent in which you can sleep, to retape your fingers, cook food, and repair pitons damaged in the climb. There are meters in Cairn that track Aava’s temperature, hunger, hydration level, and overall health, and you’ll need to manage each if you want to survive. Cairn holds you accountable for your choices (if you don’t feed Aava, she will be weaker and climbing will be harder), but it’s rarely overly punishing, and managing your limited resources based on what Kami asks of you is both challenging and rewarding.

What doesn’t have a meter is Aava’s stamina, how strong her grip is at the moment, or how well she is maintaining the position you’ve taken. For that, you’ll have to watch her: the way her arms and legs tremble on an unstable hold, the way she breathes, how she whimpers and winces as she’s about to lose her grip. These tells work great, but they can be subtle, especially at first, and you have to pay attention until you learn what to look for and how to position Aava properly as she moves up the mountain. Aava is incredibly strong, but she’s also human. She cannot hold onto smooth rock for long, nor scurry up a sheer cliff through sheer force of will. Shaking out a tired limb and refocusing while on a semi-stable hold will buy you more time, but you cannot scale all of Kami that way.

Salvation, and progress, are found in the small divots she can grab onto, tiny ledges where her feet can find purchase, a crack on the cliff face she can wedge her toes into. Sometimes, there will be nothing, and you will have to take a risk, to brace Aava’s leg against a flat surface in the hope that she can pull herself up before her strength fails or sidle across a small ledge, her hands pressed against smooth stone.

If the rock is suitable, she can drive a piton into Kami and build a belay, clipping herself to a loop of rope in order to rest. If she falls and you’ve been smart about using pitons, her Climbot helper will catch her, and you can climb the rope back to the belay, or use it to rappel down to an area you might not otherwise reach. But even here, it’s possible to make a mistake and realize you need a belay before Aava has time to drive the piton home, or twist it as it’s going in, ensuring Climbot can only recover part of it rather than the whole thing the next time you’re on solid ground. If the stone is too dense, you’ll have to make the climb unaided. These are Cairn’s most memorable moments. You are going to fall. The only question is whether or not it will kill you, and how much time you’ll lose if the mountain claims you.

You can pull the camera out for a bird’s eye view of your location at any time (and see the route you’ve taken to get there, including failed past attempts), which is crucial for planning the next leg of your ascent. There are no wrong answers. Sometimes, the route is clear, but slower; other times, it’s faster, but more difficult, and requires more risk. Often, it’s somewhere in between, and you’ll have to choose where and how the route challenges you rather than if it will. And then there are the times where you’ll think you’ve found a good route only to reach a section without a clear answer, then check the map again and see that there was another, easier path available. Sometimes, you can tough it out with smart choices, chalk (which increases your grip strength), and a few well-placed pitons. Other times, it’s best to adjust your path.

Climbing Kami is exhilarating, and I often found myself gazing up at the path before me wondering how I would manage it, only to look down and realize I had a short time later. There is joy in planning out a route, in securing a piton at the last second before Aava falls, in finding the right handhold or wedging Aava’s feet into a crevice that unlocks a path that seemed impassible, in chalking up and daring to persist a difficult section in the rain instead of waiting it out on a belay, in seeing the path you chart in your head becoming the route you’ve taken, in finally pulling yourself onto a ledge after a particularly difficult climb when the night is falling and your visibility is failing and Aava is dehydrated and hungry and tired, in beating the mountain through sheer, dogged determination. The act of climbing doesn’t change much throughout Cairn’s runtime (my playthrough took me 19 hours, but I was very thorough), and occasionally Ava’s limbs may spider in strange directions or she may fall through the mountain, but I was so invested it hardly mattered.

As I play, Kami exists as something without end, taller than I could possibly imagine, something I will never complete, and the mountain I am scaling, all at once. It is a remarkable balance, and something Cairn never loses. I will never summit Kami; my victory is inevitable. Each time I make it to a Bivouac (which doubles as a save point), I feel like I’ve done the impossible.

But inside, there is always more to do. I need to tape Aava’s hands, scarred and covered in blood from the climb. I need Climbot to craft new pitons from the scraps I saved. I need to cook a meal, rehydrate. Aava brings supplies to the mountain, but her backpack can only hold so much. Each time I eat a chocolate bar or drink some milk or tape Aava’s hands, I know I am using up a resource I might not get back. Each time I sleep, I know she will wake up hungry. Kami forces me to make compromises. Climbing at sunset is dangerous because I can barely see; climbing at night is nearly impossible, something I only do if I have no other choice. Sometimes, I rest not because Aava physically needs to, but because there is no way to keep going until sunrise.

But it is not all hardship. When I need something, Kami provides. In caves, on ledges, I find dandelions, perfect for tea. Raspberries. Fresh, clear water. Fish. I am always teetering on collapse, never there. There is always just enough, if I’m smart. Climbot recycles used plastic and bottles and makes chalk. Each part of my journey feeds the other.

I learn the mountain’s story. I find the remains of a cable car and its station, of smashed-open vending machines, flyers and advertisements. Tourists walked here, once. Companies offered anyone the chance to see the mountain until it wasn’t profitable anymore, until it failed, until the mountain pushed back. I find the remains of the troglodytes, a civilization built on Kami, beautiful cities carved into the mountain, great statues. I explore. I learn of their resentment of climbers like Aava, the way civilization came for them, encroached on them, eventually forced them down. The remains of what they built are marked by pitons and covered in climbing rope. “My mountain belongs to everyone,” Aava tells a goat that attacks her. But in climbing it, I realize it isn’t true. By being here, I am profaning something sacred. I am walking through the graveyard of a culture people like Aava helped kill.

And I am reminded of the cost of what I am attempting. Sometimes, the hints are subtle. Bear-proof boxes full of supplies. Abandoned backpacks. Other times, they are less so. Dead bodies. “Sometimes you come for the mountain,” Aava says gently, kneeling over someone who shared a dream with her. ‘Sometimes the mountain comes for you.” Abandoned campsites. I learn of a group tracking bears on the mountain, and I wonder what happened to them, and about what I might run into as I ascend. I find the corpse of one-half of a climbing team, two orphans who promised to conquer Kami together, and a letter saying the other has gone on in search of a mystical flower with healing properties, hoping to save his partner. I find markings and letters from a couple who scaled Kami together, getting a little higher each time they attempted it. A broken Climbot still receiving messages because maybe that means the climber it belonged to still is, too.

These stories, and others, recur and build on themselves as I climb, and I find them moving. I explore, go out of my way, to see them. Cairn is not just about Aava; it is about Kami, and everyone who has attempted to climb it. There seem to be two outcomes: either they turn back, or they die. Kami remains unconquered. The mountain always wins.

As I ascend, I also learn about Aava, about the kind of person she is, about who someone driven to do something like this must be. Climbot relays messages she receives as she climbs. From her agent, Chris, who goes from begging her to send him photos to appease their sponsors to just begging her to let him know she’s all right. From her friends, who sing her happy birthday. From her partner, Noami, who does not understand why she is doing this, who reminds her of the cost of what she’s attempting. Aava mostly ignores them. Sometimes they make her smile, make her sad. Sometimes, she is angry with Climbot for playing them.

She meets other people on the mountain. A climber named Marco, who is a fan, grew up reading about her exploits. She is terse with him, occasionally unkind, though she does not mean to be. The quest for the summit may drive her, but she is running away from the world on the ground as much as she is climbing toward Kami’s peak. For everyone else, there is a life at the bottom of the mountain. All they have to do is give up and come down. For Avaa, the climb is all there is.

Cairn never gives us the whole story; everything comes in pieces, in hints, in what’s left unsaid, and in small comments, like the one she makes to Marco when he mentions her father, himself a climber, who put Aava on her first climbing wall when she was three years old. “Great guy,” Marco says, impressed. “So they tell me,” she responds. Like the mountain itself, Aava is complicated, complex, imperfect. And like the mountain, she is incredible. How I felt about her changed as I climbed, but I always understood her. As long as she faced Kami, so would I.

At the end of Cairn, Aava must make a choice about who she is, what she is willing to sacrifice, and how the experience of climbing Kami has changed her. It is a remarkable fusion of gameplay and storytelling, of everything you have seen and done on the mountain. Each choice leads to a different ending. Neither is wrong. I have seen both paths, and in either case, the last couple hours of Cairn are something I will remember for a very long time.

Doom fans will want to keep an eye out for the latest exclusive collectible from Dark Horse Direct. The company is releasing a new statue of the Doom Slayer from 2025's Doom: The Dark Ages in all his shield-slinging glory.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at this imposing and very cool statue:

The Doom: The Dark Ages - Doom Slayer Statue is a collaboration between Dark Horse Direct, id Software, and Bethesda Softworks. The statue was sculpted by Bigshot Toyworks and painted by J.W. Productions.

This massive collectible measures 14 inches tall and stands atop a 9.5-inch diameter metallic base. The statue depicts the Doom Slayer holding both a bloody chain flail and his trademark Shield Saw.

The Doom: The Dark Ages - Doom Slayer Statue is limited to 500 units worldwide and is priced at $319.99. It'll be sold exclusively on the Dark Horse Direct website, with an estimated release window between October and December 2026.

In other collectibles news, Hot Toys just unveiled a trio of new KPop: Demon Hunters figures.

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

Check out the reveal of Huntdown: Overtime, the upcoming over-the-top pixel-art roguelike prequel to Huntdown. This one's set in New Detroit in the year 2084, and you play cybernetic rogue cop John Sawyer, who's out to clean up the city's scumbag-filled streets. It's in development for PC and due out in Steam Early Access in Q2 2026.

Interestingly, Overtime doubles down on having just one playable character, versus the original, which had three. But perhaps this will prove to be more effective in a roguelike loop as you attempt to take down goons and eventually the exaggerated '80s-style bosses. Watch the reveal trailer above and check out the first screenshots in the gallery below.

Huntdown: Overtime is being developed by original Hundown developer Easy Trigger Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing. Wishlist it on Steam if you're interested, and/or play the demo!

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our semi-retired interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Magic: The Gathering is set up for a rather busy 2026, with Lorwyn Eclipsed just releasing last week, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in March, and plenty more to come, such as Secrets of Strixhaven and Marvel's Superheroes, both of which went up for preorder recently.

But, there's also nothing wrong with looking back at one of the most exciting releases from last year: Avatar: The Last Airbender. Considered one of the better "Universes Beyond" sets, Avatar was a mighty big release, and well worth checking out in my opinion.

Now, here's the reason why we're talking about it, as its Beginner Box is discounted at Amazon right now, and has dropped to its best price ever.

Kozo Shioya, the Japanese voice actor behind Majin Buu in Dragon Ball Z and the Dragon Ball video games has died aged 71. As announced by his agency Aoni Production on Wednesday and reported by Oricon, Shioya passed away on January 20 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Shioya was the Japanese voice for all appearances of Majin Buu across the Dragon Ball anime and games, with the exception of the genie-like villain’s mini version in 2024’s Dragon Ball Daima, who was voiced by Shiho Amuro.

Fellow Dragon Ball VA Ryo Horikawa, who plays Vegeta, tweeted that he was “utterly shocked” to hear the news of Shioya’s passing, adding that “he was someone that I knew since the very beginning of my voice acting career. We would often go out drinking with everyone after recording. I have nothing but fun memories of him.”

Kozo Shioya, the Japanese Voice Actor for Majin Buu has passed away at the age of 70. Rest in Peace 🙏 pic.twitter.com/IQ4QMdNOri

— Hype (@DbsHype) January 28, 2026

Prolific voice actress Noriko Hidaka recalled working with Kozo Shioya many times, but that voicing One Piece’s Bell-Mère alongside Shioya’s Genzo was “particularly memorable.” She described the fellow actor as like “an older brother,” and that he was a reassuring presence when they were recording.

As well as voicing Majin Buu in Dragon Ball and Genzo in One Piece, Shioya voiced characters across a wide range of anime and game series. This included recurring roles in the Sengoku Basara franchise, in which he played Yoshimoto Imagawa and Xavi. He was also the Japanese language VA for characters in Mobile Suit Gundam, Bleach, Naruto, and Metal Gear Solid (playing Fatman in MGS2 and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev in MGS3).

To commemorate the legacy of Kōzō Shioya, let's remember Majin Buu's most emotive moment in Dragon Ball Z ❤️‍🩹 pic.twitter.com/unq7S1crSX

— Dragon Ball Perfect Shots (@DBPerfectShots) January 28, 2026

Very sad to hear about the passing of Kozo Shioya. When I first swapped to the Japanese version of the show well over a decade ago now, his performance as Majin Boo was one that really stuck with me. He truly made that character terrifying in ways I'd never experienced before. pic.twitter.com/M61FEw8vZK

— Ajay (@AnimeAjay) January 28, 2026

Dragon Ball recently announced two new anime series and a new game project, Age 1000. If you missed it, here’s a rundown of all the reveals made at the series 40th anniversary event, Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri, last Sunday.

Image credit: Aoni Production.

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.

Return to Silent Hill may have only released in theaters last week, but director Christophe Gans has already confirmed that a longer Director’s Cut exists.

According to a fan who attended a premiere and Q&A with the filmmaker last week and shared some highlights on Reddit, Gans described the alternate version "as longer and allowing [the story] more room to breathe." This includes the death scene of a prominent character from the game that only briefly appeared in the movie.

"Gans said he struggled to find the right place for it in the edit," the fan wrote. "It is unclear whether [the scene] would appear in the Director’s Cut, though he expressed a desire for audiences to see it someday." He also told attendees that he had been instructed by the producers to keep the movie under two hours long. There is no indication, however, that this Return to Silent Hill Director's Cut will ever be released.

Return to Silent Hill debuted to a dreadful reception last week, with just $3.2 million coming in from North American theaters. Despite Konami resurrecting its horror franchise with two well-received games, Silent Hill 2 Remake and Silent Hill f (as well as the divisive Silent Hill: Ascension and upcoming Silent Hill Townfall), the third Silent Hill movie had the lowest domestic box office opening of all three Silent Hill films; 2006's Silent Hill generated $20.2 million, and the painfully poor follow-up Silent Hill: Revelation just $8 million — which is still more than twice Return to Silent Hill's domestic opening.

IGN's Return to Silent Hill review returned a 5/10. We said: "Return to Silent Hill isn’t completely without merit. It’s certainly a better follow-up to Cristophe Gans’ original 2006 film than 2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation, one that finds some success drawing on the creepy imagery and sound design of the games. But it’s ultimately an adaptation that fails to improve upon the source material or do anything particularly new and interesting. Those craving a truly great psychological horror experience are better off booting up a version of Silent Hill 2."

Gans recently said that despite receiving death threats over adapting the horror series for the big screen, he would be open to bringing another instalment to life, insisting: "I will adapt another chapter because there are some that are extremely good, something very different from the first film, and now Return to Silent Hill. I like this world, and I can see that plenty of people are thinking I’m doing a pretty good job."

The question is, will he get the chance to make another Silent Hill movie? Perhaps working in Gans' favor is the fact Return to Silent Hill carries a modest production budget of $23 million.

You can find out more about what was and wasn't changed in the Silent Hill 2 movie adaptation right here. We also have a handy list of all the video game movies and TV shows coming in 2026 and beyond.

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.

James Gunn has defended The Brave and the Bold screenwriter Christina Hodson amid fan concern following news she will write the DC Universe’s Batman movie.

Last week, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Christina Hodson was writing The Brave and the Bold, which will be the first Batman movie in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe. Hodson is best known for writing 2018’s Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, 2020 DCEU movie Birds of Prey, and 2023’s ill-fated The Flash. She also wrote the infamous Batgirl movie Warner Bros. canceled after it was ready for release.

The backlash has a number of components to it, one of which is The Flash itself. 2023 superhero movie The Flash, starring Ezra Miller, was a critical and commercial flop, pulling in just $271 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Both it and the entire DCEU are now defunct.

Gunn responded to one person on social media who said Hodson was getting “unjust hatred,” suggesting The Flash fans saw in theaters wasn’t The Flash Hodson outlined in her screenplay.

“I will only say anyone maligning Christina Hodson's screenwriting skills has almost certainly never read an actual screenplay by Christina Hodson — she's one of the writers who was with us early in the DCU planning stages,” Gunn said. “I don't think you can judge my writing based on films others directed, as massive liberties are sometimes taken.”

In October, The Flash director Andy Muschietti defended his box office bomb, insisting people “like to talk s***” about films they haven’t seen. In an interview with The Playlist to promote IT prequel series Welcome To Derry, Muschietti insisted The Flash was a good movie, and some of the criticism it suffered came from people who hadn’t even seen it.

“A lot of people did not see it,” he said. “But you know how things are these days — people don’t see things, but they like to talk s*** about it, and they like to jump on bandwagons. They don’t really know. People are angry for reasons that are unrelated to these things.”

Muschietti then acknowledged the impact of Ezra Miller’s off-screen controversies on the movie. “Of course, we had a publicity crisis with Ezra that is undeniable,” he said. “And I’m not questioning that. But yeah, we love the movie. And actually, we really recommend it.”

He continued: “And again, we love the movie. We, you know, we gave it our blood, sweat, and tears all the way to the end. And I watched it, like a week ago, and loved it again.”

In January last year, Muschietti said The Flash failed at the box office because "a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character."

Muschietti said the film failed to appeal to "the four quadrants" — a movie industry term meaning to appeal to everyone — enough to justify its $200 million budget.

"The Flash failed, among all the other reasons, because it wasn’t a movie that appealed to all four quadrants. It failed at that," Muschietti said. "When you spend $200 million making a movie, [Warner Bros.] wants to bring even your grandmother to the theaters.

"I’ve found in private conversations that a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character. Particularly the two female quadrants. All of that is just the wind going against the film I’ve learned."

The four quadrants, as defined by Hollywood, are males under 25, males over 25, females under 25, and females over 25.

Woot has plenty to offer right now in its latest 'Video Game Mega Sale!', which is back with some truly excellent discounts, including on a wide variety of Nintendo Switch games.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder are just a few of the games on sale that are worth considering, but there are so many more to check out as well. Have a look through more of our favorite picks from Woot's sale below, and if you're curious to see everything that's discounted, head to the Mega Sale landing page here.

Nintendo recently confirmed a release date for Super Mario Bros. Wonder's expanded Switch 2 Edition, which makes it my top pick in the sale right now. The Switch 2 Edition will be available to purchase separately, or existing Switch owners of the game can alternatively purchase an upgrade pack, which costs $19.99.

So with the $46.99 cost, plus that extra $19.99 to upgrade, you're looking at $66.98 instead of $79.99, so around $13 savings in total, if you don't already own the game. This is the best and most affordable way to play on Switch 2 with the full upgrades and additional content.

Arriving on March 26, the upgraded release will include a suite of new minigames and the ability to play as Rosalina, ahead of her big screen debut in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

An important thing to keep in mind is that all Nintendo Switch games are region-free, so if you come across a game deal from Woot's sale that says it's the 'International Version', it will still work just fine on your console.

What's especially nice about these deals is that certain games, such as Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Breath of the Wild, can be upgraded to their Switch 2 versions for a small fee.

At these prices, you can buy the Switch 1 version and upgrade to the next-gen version for less than it costs to buy their Switch 2 editions. Even a game like Animal Crossing: New Horizons is worth buying now at this price, with its $5 upgrade pack now available, compared to dropping the $64.99 on its boxed Switch 2 edition.

Robert Anderson, Senior Commerce Editor, and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.

This article contains contributions from Hannah Hoolihan.

Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has assured fans that he is "not going to abandon Haunted Chocolatier," saying: "it's taking a while to finish the game," and "that's okay."

In a new blog posted to the official Haunted Chocolatier website, Barone dispelled a number of myths and rumors that have popped up about him and his work on the upcoming game, admitting: "I know, I know, I shouldn't have announced the game so early. But I had my reasons." He added that Haunted Chocolatier will release "when it's done."

Responding to reports that the game will be abandoned entirely and possibly folded into Stardew Valley, Barone shut that down completely, writing: "No. First, I am not going to abandon Haunted Chocolatier. But even if I did, I am not going to add it to Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier are separate games. It doesn’t even make sense from a technical perspective, as Haunted Chocolatier is written from scratch, it’s not the same 'engine' as Stardew Valley. You can’t just copy and paste Haunted Chocolatier into Stardew Valley."

Last summer, Barone admitted that he "didn't want to just be the Stardew Valley guy," explaining that was why he's currently working on Haunted Chocolatier. He's been clear that we shouldn't expect a release date anytime soon, though — there's "still a lot to be done," particularly as he feels it's "got to be better" than Stardew Valley. But that doesn't mean he's using Stardew to test ideas for Haunted Chocolatier, or vice-versa.

"When working on Stardew Valley, I’m not thinking about Haunted Chocolatier, and vice versa. I wouldn’t 'test something out' in Stardew Valley because that would be unfair to Stardew Valley, and also I don’t want to spoil ideas for Haunted Chocolatier by adding them first to Stardew Valley. Also, Stardew Valley is a different game, so you can’t really 'test something' for Haunted Chocolatier in it in an accurate way."

Barone also insisted that at no point did he intimate that the new game wouldn't be out until 2030, writing: "I was asked in 2025 if it would come out within the next five years, and I said 'I hope so.' This is very different than saying 'it’s coming out in 2030.' The bottom line is, I don’t want to give a release date. The game will come out when it’s done. Anyway, the only thing that really matters is that I keep making progress on the game and release it. So I’m gonna get back to doing that now.

"TLDR: I’m alive, the game is still in development, and it will come out when it’s ready. Thank you for your patience."

Talking of Stardew Valley: as fans continue to wait patiently for the previously announced 1.7 update, Barone dropped a couple of small, vague, yet exciting hints just before the holidays about what said mysterious update might entail, including a new farm type, and "more character/social stuff."

As for why Barone's working on a Stardew Valley update at the same time as Haunted Chocolatier? "I’m working on a new Stardew update because it’s a very popular game with a large, ever-growing playerbase, and I still have additional ideas for how to improve it."

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.

Nintendo has added health bars to Splatoon 3 more than three years after the game's release, prompting a mixed reaction from fans.

This week, Nintendo dropped an unexpected update to its inky shooter threequel, which originally launched for the original Switch back in September 2022. Alongside a new "Aura Flow" feature and other tweaks, the patch has notably added health bars — something which has come as a huge surprise to fans of the franchise.

In patch notes published alongside the game's 11.0.0 update, Nintendo announced that it would now be possible "to see an opponent's remaining health when they've been hit. Previously, you could only see how damaged an enemy was by looking closely at how much ink they were covered in – not so easy to do in the heat of battle!"

Apart from the surprise of such a major change being made so late in Splatoon 3's life, it's that latter sentence that has left fans with confusion. Splatoon has always featured a visual representation of damage without the need for health bars — how splattered in ink a character is — and health pools in general are typically quite low, with most weapons splatting foes in three or four hits.

Combat is an important part of Splatoon gameplay, of course, but only one component — as matches revolve around coating maps with ink to establish territory control.

"You'll also be able to see the health bars of your teammates if they've taken damage," Nintendo continued. "Keeping an eye on these health bars is a great way to support your allies or chase down weakened foes – even if you've teamed up with Inklings and Octolings you're not familiar with."

adding a health bar after the games update cycle finished like a year ago was certainly a choice https://t.co/glOvo4bme6 pic.twitter.com/P1ZMDIA022

— sunny 🍓 corbeau posting (@sunnydr0pdraws) January 27, 2026

"Health bars are even funnier when you consider Splatoon came up with a unique way to have health bars diegetically - by having the enemy getting covered in ink, that's the stuff that makes the game special," wrote one fan, EIectroDev. "Correct me if I'm wrong but it really took the Splatoon developers three games and over ten years to add visible health bars," noted Thinginator90. "The minds of Nintendo devs never cease to amaze."

"This health bar is so ugly im so sorry i hope we can toggle it off," added candy_draws_o_o, one of many fans to complain about how basic the health bar looks. (And no, you can't toggle it off.)

This week's update also added "Aura Flow," a gameplay feature that rewards competitive play — splatting multiple enemies in quick succession — with a burst of area-covering ink, plus a 30-second buff to speed and other stats.

"I hates this and the health bar update," said KidaToAsobou. "It just makes Splatoon a more aggressive/competitive game. [Splatoon 3] already did that by making the maps smaller forcing players to fight more but this only further incentivizes people to attack the enemy team rather then inking."

It's perhaps unsurprising to see a negative reaction to such changes from fans who have become used to playing Splatoon 3 a certain way for so long. But this only further begs the question of why Nintendo is adding these features now, years after launch. By way of an answer, several fans have suggested the possibility that Nintendo is now testing ideas it is experimenting with ahead of a new iteration of Splatoon, examining feedback and using Splatoon 3 as live gameplay environment to see how player behavior is impacted. "Testing splatoon 4 features I reckon," wrote pejic839, "like when they added online to Super Mario party as a test for Superstars."

Next up for the Splatoon franchise will be Switch 2 single-player spin-off Splatoon Raiders, which will expand the series with a more story-orientated entry. As for Splatoon 4, while another game in the franchise feels inevitable, there's no word on that yet.

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

Amazon is releasing Fallout Season 1 for free on YouTube ahead of next week’s Season 2 finale.

Fallout Season 1 episodes are dropping on the Prime Video YouTube channel daily, with Episode 1, called The End, and Episode 2, called The Target, live now.

It’s a welcome addition for non-Amazon Prime subscribers and a move that will surely build even more interest in the show, with Season 2, Episode 8 set for broadcast next week.

As someone who is up to date with the Fallout show, it was interesting to put Season 1, Episode 1 on YouTube for a few minutes, given recent comments from Cooper Howard / The Ghoul actor Walton Goggins.

Warning! Spoilers for Fallout follow:

In a recent interview, Goggins teased that Episode 8 will finally resolve one of the burning questions fans have had since Fallout hit Prime video back in 2024: how did his pre-war character, Cooper Howard, come to be at that birthday party with his daughter, right as the bombs fell?

"I mean, the whole first seven minutes of this experience in Season 1 was about [Cooper being] a guy at a birthday party,” Goggins told Entertainment Weekly. “Well, how did he get to that birthday party? What happened? It's all leading somewhere."

Rewatching Episode 1, I also picked up on something that passed me by before: during the party we hear a radio news bulletin that tells us the White House still has no comment on the whereabouts of the U.S. president.

Why is that of interest now? This week’s episode revealed the President of the United States, played by Clancy Brown, in a Fallout franchise first (he’s been talked about in the video games before, briefly, but never turned up in the flesh until now). In Fallout lore, ‘The Last President of the United States’ is working for The Enclave, the faction fans suspect to be pulling the strings in the TV show’s overarching storyline. He ditches the White House and relocates to Control Station Enclave off of the coast of San Francisco (we see this in Fallout 2). Based on how things go in Season 2, Episode 7, Cooper Howard is about to find out just how dastardly the U.S. president is for himself.

If you are up to date, it's worth checking out the Fallout co-showrunner's tease about Season 2, Episode 8, which sounds like it will have a significant impact on The Ghoul, Lucy, and Maximus. After that, be sure to check out IGN’s Fallout Season 2, Episode 7 review.

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.

One of the showrunners of the Fallout TV series has discussed the fate of Mr. House as we approach the Season 2 finale, and explained how the show has still managed to avoid making a New Vegas ending canon.

Warning! Spoilers for Fallout Season 2 follow:

Last month, the creators of the Fallout TV show told IGN that Season 2 avoids making any New Vegas ending canon by taking what they call "the fog of war approach." Fans of the Fallout video games had wondered how Season 2 might reflect the various endings of Obsidian’s much-loved Fallout New Vegas, given the show is canon and is set 15 years after the game.

A quick reminder of where we’re at in the Fallout timeline: the Fallout TV show is set in 2296, nine years after the events of Fallout 4 and 15 years after the events of Fallout: New Vegas. We’ve already seen a debate about which Fallout 4 ending should be considered canon, if any. But what about New Vegas?

Depending on the choices the player, aka The Courier, makes throughout the course of the game, New Vegas can end with victory for the player during the Battle of Hoover Dam, which drives out all factions including Mr. House himself, a victory for Mr. House in which he remains in control of New Vegas and takes over Hoover Dam, a victory for Caesar's Legion, or a victory for the New California Republic.

In Episode 7 of Season 2, The Ghoul meets Maximus, and he uses the Cold Fusion diode that Maximus stole from the Brotherhood to power up the machine we saw back when Cooper met House in a flashback on the top floor of Lucky 38. The big terminal boots up, House appears on screen and says: "Well hello, old chum."

This led to a theory that New Vegas’ "The House Always Wins" ending was canon because that’s the only ending House survives. But in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet said that’s not the case because what we’re seeing here is yet another version of House that needed the diode to exist.

"It did seem to us like a version of himself powered by cold fusion would be sort of the ultimate possible incarnation of Robert House," Robertson-Dworet explained. "And as someone who is interested in robotics and artificial non-biological versions of selves, it made a lot of sense to us that this would've been something that he would've developed and sort of be the ultimate version of him. I've always seen it as something that allows for many players' experiences to have happened, but still Robert House had this other version of himself, that he was always ready to create and what he needed was the diode."

Entertainment Weekly then asked if this is in fact House's final final form, and Robertson-Dworet declined to properly answer. "That's an interesting question,” she said, keeping her cards close to her chest. “I'm not answering that, but I'm very intrigued by the question.”

Robertson-Dworet did go on to tease The Ghoul’s bargain with House, which Episode 7 sets up, and its impact on the much-loved character’s future. "He's just given House what he wanted after 200 years,” she said. “He's finally given him the thing that he's most desired. And the question, of course, is what will he get in exchange? He obviously is looking for his wife and daughter, and what will he find?"

Meanwhile, Walton Goggins teased that Episode 8 will finally resolve one of the burning questions fans have had since Season 1, Episode 1: how did his pre-war character, Cooper Howard, come to be at that birthday party with his daughter, right as the bombs fell?

"I mean, the whole first seven minutes of this experience in Season 1 was about [Cooper being] a guy at a birthday party,” he said. “Well, how did he get to that birthday party? What happened? It's all leading somewhere."

All eyes are now on the final episode of Fallout Season 2, which, given Season 3 is already confirmed, will no doubt pose just as many questions as it answers. While you wait, be sure to check out IGN’s Fallout Season 2, Episode 7 review.

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.