An in-universe set that’s seeing positive buzz already, thanks to being a return to a fan-favorite plane and the fact that there’s no City Pigeon or Hot Dog Cart in sight, it launched on January 23 but is getting a discount already.
Some quick math will show you that with this discount, you’re paying $4.63 per card. That’s a drop of almost a dollar per pack, going by the per-pack pricing of $5.49.
That’s a lot of cards, and it might even be worthwhile splitting a Play Booster Box with a friend at this price.
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.
Dell Outlet just restocked its inventory of refurbished Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5070 Ti gaming PCs. Currently you can get one for just $1,650 with free delivery. Dell Outlet systems have the same 1 year warranty as buying brand new. They're often only available in very small quantities, so it won't be surprising if this configuration sells out quickly. With the recent RTX 5070 Ti shortage scare, prices on both GPUs and prebuilt gaming PCs have skyrocketed. This is a rare opportunity to get a complete system with warranty at a very reasonable price.
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC for $1,650
Like New: Refurbished model with 1 year Dell warranty
This Alienware Aurora R16 configuration includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F processor, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB GPU, 32GB of DDR5-5600MHz RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Alternatively, you can get an upgraded configuration with a 2TB SSD for just $75 more. Both systems are equipped with a 240mm all-in-one liquid cooling system.
The RTX 5070 Ti GPU Is Our Best Reviewed Nvidia Blackwell GPU
The best "value" GPU for 4K gaming
Of all the Blackwell cards released thus far, the RTX 5070 Ti offers the best value for high-fps 4K gaming. It performs neck-and-neck with the RTX 4080 Super but with the added bonus of newer GDDR7 VRAM and multi-frame generation. If you plan on using this card for AI, the RTX 5070 Ti is a better value than the RTX 5080 since both have same amount of RAM (16GB). Compared to AMD, the RTX 5070 Ti is roughly comparable in raw performance to the AMD RX 9070 XT, but the 5070 Ti has better upscaling technology (especially with DLSS 4.5) and ray tracing performance. Check out our RTX 5070 Ti review by Jacqueline Thomas for our hands-on impressions.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Rainbow Six Siege is getting a Metal Gear Solid crossover, as Ubisoft is teasing that Solid Snake will appear as a new Operator in Year 11.
A 15-second clip for the tactical action game’s next roadmap lays it on thick, showing not just a faceless body wearing a familiar sneaking suit but a Metal Gear Solid 1-style Codec Call from none other than Splinter Cell star Sam Fisher. It’s the kind of crossover fans have dreamed about for decades, brought to life as Ubisoft teases a full reveal for the Year 11 roadmap that’s scheduled to take place next month, February 15, at 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET on the Rainbow Six Siege Twitch page.
It’s unclear if today’s tease is just for the Solid Snake Operator or if fans should instead expect a selection of skins from Konami as well, but judging by the fanfare surrounding the reveal, it looks like Ubisoft went all out for this latest collaboration. Either way, the Solid Snake teaser marks what is likely the most exciting Operator in the last 10 years.
There were some early signs that Rainbow Six Siege could soon meet the world of Metal Gear Solid. Reputable dataminer @Shiiny77 suggested a collaboration was in the cards for Year 11 Season 1 just last week, teasing that “it is not just a skin collaboration” like fans have seen in the past. Insider Gaming later said it was able to independently verify the leak as well.
“There is so much out of this collab and the season itself, its so packed,” @Shiiny77 added at the time.
Metal Gear Solid may be one of the wildest crossovers for Rainbow Six Siege so far, but it’s far from the first. Other recent collaborations have brought the Attack on Titan and The Boys universes into the fold with various cosmetics for existing Operators. Splinter Cell didn’t launch with the game when it first launched back in 2015, but Sam Fisher did go on to get his own Operator in the form of Specialist Zero in 2020.
We’ll learn more about what this official meeting between Solid Snake has in store February 15. In the meantime, Rainbow Six Siege recently received a massive 10-year update to become Rainbow Six Siege X. You can check out why we think it’s now an 8/10 in our review.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Yeah, you heard me. World of Warcraft is finally getting a Prop Hunt mode, or something like it, sometime later this year.
This is according to today's World of Warcraft: State of Azeroth presentation, which included a breakdown of what we can expect across both World of Warcraft: Midnight and Classic in the next several months. While the presentation contained a lot of exciting details, one thing that really stuck out was a brief moment during the post-Midnight content update roadmap section, where WoW lead Ion Hazzikostas described the new "Decor Duel" mode coming in patch 12.05, which he openly said was basically just Prop Hunt.
In Decor Duel, teams of five compete against one another in locations such as the faction Neighborhoods, or Silvermoon City. One team disguises itself as props, aka random objects, while the other team tries to track them down within a time limit. It's classic Prop Hunt.
For those who are unfamiliar, prop hunt began as a popular game mode in Garry's Mod that worked basically like WoW's version. Prop hunt has since made its way into a number of other popular games such as Call of Duty, Fornite, and Genshin Impact. It feels like an obvious pull for World of Warcraft, especially given the new freedom players have been given in Midnight to acquire and mess around with all sorts of object assets from throughout World of Warcraft via the Housing feature. It's even called "Decor" Duel, seemingly referencing that it's using Housing Decor!
Unfortunately, it does sound like this mode may end up being a temporary event similar to Plunderstorm rather than a permanent addition to the game.
Prop Hunt is far from the only thing announced today. Blizzard unveiled its World of Warcraft roadmap for the coming months, including Midnight pre-launch events, plans for housing updates including pet and mount integration, improved advanced tools, import/export builds, and more. And there was a patch roadmap too, with a standalone single-boss raid coming in 12.07, a new zone, new raid, and friends system overhaul in 12.1, and a new feature called Labyrinths alongside a new experimental event in 12.1.5.
Nintendo fans have criticized the company's decision to heavily restrict image-sharing from within Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.
Following the conclusion of today's Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Nintendo Direct, the company posted an unusual statement to its support website announcing that "limits" would be placed on the ability to share screenshots from the upcoming social sim to ensure "the worlds players create... remain fun and safe, and that the game can be enjoyed comfortably by all players."
While Nintendo's English-language statement does not go into further detail, the company's Japanese support site has stated that this entails a block on the ability to directly share screenshots to social media or to a smartphone, though sharing gameplay via Game Chat will be allowed.
The immediate response to this decision from Nintendo fans has been negative, with many contrasting the game's ability to create quirky, unexpected and potentially very sharable social gameplay situations with Nintendo's refusal to let players actually share said gameplay socially.
"Wow they killed the game," Nintendo fan Raccoon wrote on video game forum ResetEra. "Social media was going to shoot this into the stratosphere, instead they killed it. Very disappointing." Added PlanetSmasher: "Wasn't this, like, the reason people were into Tomodachi Life last time? Like being able to share goofy images with friends? That was what made the game go viral in the first place."
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream allows you to play as a Mii version of anyone, alongside Mii versions of anyone else — potentially people you know in real-life, celebrities, or long-dead dictators. The potential for players (and the game's systems) to create bizarre and unexpected scenarios here is huge, and it's perhaps not surprising to see Nintendo acting cautiously.
"I get why they don't want you having, like, Hitler Mii and Trump Mii hooking up and then posting that all over the internet and people getting mad at Nintendo for it because that's exactly the type of thing Nintendo hates," wrote jph139. "But that's also 99% of the appeal so not sure what they were expecting?"
"I can understand why they're being cautious," agreed PucePikmin. "The idea of making Miis of your friends and celebrities and having them do wacky things is fun, and the way it's executed in these games is innocent, but the concept of 'make avatars of other people and make them do things' is a more fraught idea in 2026 for any number of reasons."
For those intent on sharing clips of gameplay, this likely does not remove all avenues of doing so. There's no suggestion here that Nintendo has removed the ability to share screenshots saved to an SD card via PC, or the ability to use capture equipment to record gameplay. And, of course, you can just film your screen with your smartphone. Instead, Nintendo's statement suggests it is intending more to place a hurdle in place, curbing what it seems to believe is the potential for problems to occur.
"Nintendo aims to create experiences where players have the freedom to enjoy their Mii characters in their own way," the company stated today. "In Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, this freedom can sometimes lead to humorous, surprising, or unpredictable moments during gameplay. While these moments are often fun for players, we recognize that out-of-context scenes may be misunderstood or may not reflect the spirit in which the game is intended to be enjoyed.
"Nintendo is committed to creating experiences that are welcoming and enjoyable for everyone. To support this commitment, and in consideration of the unique gameplay in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, we have decided to place restrictions on certain image sharing features. These limits help to make the worlds players create in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream remain fun and safe, and that the game can be enjoyed comfortably by all players.
"We understand that some players may find these restrictions limiting. However, they reflect Nintendo’s ongoing philosophy of creating experiences that bring smiles to everyone who plays."
If you consider yourself a fan of high fantasy, I would be willing to bet that there is a good chance you have at least heard the name "Brandon Sanderson" even if you have never read one of his books. Widely considered one of the most prolific fantasy authors of the modern age, Sanderson is a titan of the industry, having redefined publishing for authors, fought for better contracts for author e-book sales, brought about the conclusion of the legendary Wheel of Time series after the passing of its original author, Robert Jordan, and has basically created his own media empire with Dragonsteel (complete with his own convention). To say that he is a big deal would be underselling it a bit.
All that aside, perhaps what Brandon is best known for is the Cosmere—his universe-spanning interconnected monolith that a majority of his various books and series take place somewhere in. Picture the Marvel Cinematic Universe but as books, and all by the same writer. When a new Cosmere book is released, it's a big deal. This list will give you a basic idea of the (current) chronological order of the books in the scheme of the Cosmere itself, omitting books that we know are coming (Dragonsteel, the future Elantris Books, Mistborn eras 3 and 4, etc) but have not yet been released. With the latest news of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere universe getting picked up by Apple TV, there's never been a better time to dive into the series.
If you look at the long list of titles that currently take place in the Cosmere, it can feel like a Herculean task to get through some of the books on their own, so consider this more as a resource to help you navigate it a bit, and make connections along the way as you read through the various series. However, just be aware that these can also be enjoyed on their own as smaller self-contained series, without needing to read them in chronological order. Special thank you to the CopperMind (a Cosmere resource kept up to date by the most diehard of fans) for helping me put this list together. Just be careful when you go on there as it is really easy to accidentally spoil things for yourself (speaking from experience, even though they try to mark everything).
It should be noted that as of this writing, there is no official timeline, with Brandon having previously stated that he hopes to have one released before the second Arc of Stormlight Archive releases—tentatively planned for 2031 (no, I'm not joking). The current list was put together thanks to research and input from the Coppermind wiki, Reddit, and YouTube videos
How Many Books Exist in the Cosmere Timeline?
As it stands right now, if you want to read everything the Cosmere has to offer, you will have to work your way through a pile of graphic novels, short stories, novelas, and your standard novels. All told, you are looking at about 24 books to buy (the number gets a little wonky depending on how you count the books that count the collections of stories and such), but here is a list of all the Cosmere titles you will need to read:
Elantris
Mistborn Era 1
Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages
Mistborn Era 2:
The Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
The Bands of Mourning
The Lost Metal
Warbreaker
Stormlight Archive 1st Arc
The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Oathbringer
Rhythm of War
Wind and Truth
Dawnshard (Novella)
White Sand (Graphic Novels)
White Sand Vol. 1
White Sand Vol. 2
White Sand Vol. 3
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Sunlit Man
Arcanum Unbounded (Collection of Short Stories and Novellas)
The Emperor’s Soul
The Hope of Elantris (free on Brandon Sanderson’s website)
The Eleventh Metal
Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania
Mistborn: Secret History
White Sand
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
Sixth of the Dusk
Edgedancer
The “Chronological” Cosmere Reading Order
While the following breakdown will take you through the Cosmere as we believe it to exist right now, it isn’t necessarily the “best” way to tackle these books. There are a number of options that people recommend, reading in Publication Order is a common one, knowing how imposing this all is, Brandon released his own “Where do I start?” list that you can check out too. I started with Mistborn Era 1 (Mistborn: The Final Empire) and then into Stormlight Archive Book 1, and had a good time.
White Sand - World: Taldain
Books:
White Sand Vol. 1
White Sand Vol. 2
White Sand Vol. 3
Believed to be set first chronologically, the White Sand graphic novels take place on Taldain, a desert world where individuals can be trained to become Sand Masters. Following a man named Kenton who is training to be one, the three volumes focus on him trying to get to the bottom of who was behind a surprise attack that killed many of the other Sand Masters. White Sand ran from 2016 to 2019 and is based on a manuscript that was one of Brandon’s earliest works, with an excerpt of this early writing included in the Arcanum Unbounded collection. You can expect that occasional easter egg or nod to White Sand in future books, but not as much as other entries (yet) in the Cosmere.
Elantris - World: Sel
Books:
Elantris
The Hope of Elantris
The Emperors Soul
Taking place on the world of Sel, Elantris was Sanderson's first published work, released back in 2005. Due to various factors in later books, it is assumed that Elantris takes place very early in the timeline of the Cosmere books. The story follows a few different viewpoints, including the crown prince Raoden, of a kingdom known as Arelon, his soon-to-be bride Princess Sarene, and the high priest Hrathen. The namesake of the book, 'Elantris' is the name of a city that, years before the book, a cataclysm known as the Reod robbed the Elantrians of their almost god-like powers and magic, and left them as to what could only be described as sentient zombie-like people.
Elantris plays around with the idea of what happens when a world's magic system simply breaks, and no one knows how to fix it. It is a fun read with its fair share of surprises and twists. While we know that Sanderson is planning two sequels for Elantris, as of 2025, this remains a stand-alone novel, but not the only one set in the world of Sel.
The Hope of Elantris (Arcanum Unbounded)
The Hope of Elantris takes place during the events found at the end of Elantris with an aim to fill in some gaps and moments in the story, providing further context. As such, this absolutely should not be read before finishing Elantris; instead, enjoyed as a little extra dessert afterwards. To further sweeten the deal, in addition to being included in the Arcanum Unbounded collection, you can actually read this completely for free off of Sanderson’s website!
The Emperor's Soul (Arcanum Unbounded)
Taking place on Sel, after the events of Elantris and The Hope of Elantris, but in a different nation, The Emperor’s Soul follows a thief named Shai, who has been tasked with recreating the soul of an Emperor. This book introduces new magic that had previously not been seen in the other Sel set books, and offers a more asian-inspired setting and theme. It’s a fun read, and getting a grasp on this new magical forgery trick will come in handy as you read future books. This is one of the novellas included in the Arcanum Unbounded collection.
Mistborn Era 1 (Vin and Kelsier) - World: Scadrial
Books:
The Eleventh Metal (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Mistborn: Secret History (Arcanum Unbounded - READ AFTER HERO OF AGES)
The Well of Ascension
Hero of Ages
The Mistborn titles, especially the first Era, are some of the most well-known and beloved of the Cosmere-connected books, and a wonderful first stop if you want to expose yourself to Sanderson's writing and style. Taking place in the world of Scadrial, era 1 focuses on the adventures and exploits of a young thief named Vin, and Kelsier, a legend in his own time, as they work to overthrow the current empire and create a new world order.
Some people of this world are able to "burn" or use a variety of metals they swallow for different effects, like pushing off of metal, altering the emotions of nearby people, and more. In the scope of the Cosmere, the events that transpire on Scardrial will prove immensely important to future books, and are a must-read for anyone to really get into this universe. There's even a Mistborn board game for fans of the series looking to head to the tabletop.
Mistborn: Secret History (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: Secret History is a tough one to discuss, as nearly everything about it will be rather spoilery. This novella takes place between the events at the end of The Final Empire and the start of Hero of Ages. Read this after finishing Mistborn Era 1, and don’t look up anything about it until then unless you want big spoilers!
The Eleventh Metal (Arcanum Unbound)
The Eleventh Metal novella serves as a prequel to the original Mistborn: The Final Empire book. It explores Kelsier's early days after receiving his allomantic abilities, as he learns from his teacher, Gemmel. This short story was initially included in the Mistborn Adventure Game, but was later included in the release of Arcanum Unbounded. While chronologically speaking, this is before the main Era 1 books, you will get more out of it, reading it after you have finished at minimum The Final Empire, if not Hero of Ages.
Warbreaker - World: Nalthis
The exact placement of Warbreaker is still a bit up for discussion, whether it takes place before Mistborn era 1 or after, but we do know for certain that it is before the Stormlight Archive. Taking place on the world of Nalthis, Warbreaker focuses on the two princesses, Vivenna and her younger sister Siri. Circumstances throw both of the sisters into situations they weren’t prepared for, Siri needing to take over in a role that was to be handled by her sister, and Vivenna needing to find a new purpose in life while also doing what she can to save her sister. Should they succeed, it may just prevent a war and prevent an invasion of their home..
As it currently stands, much like Elantris, Warbreaker is a standalone book, but Sanderson has promised a follow-up to Warbreaker sometime in the future. Warbreaker and some characters within do have a larger impact on the Cosmere and other worlds, making this a pretty important book to read, but luckily, it isn’t incredibly long, having been published relatively early in his career back in 2009. Warbreaker also has the added benefit of introducing arguably the best sentient sword in all of fantasy with Nightblood.
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbound) - World: Threnody
At roughly 18,000 words, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is a short novella that you can bust out in a sitting or two. Taking place in the world of Threnody, currently believed to be only a minor planet in the Cosmere’s story as a whole (so far), Shadows follows Silence Montane, the proprietress of a waystop in the Forests of Hell. She accepts a bounty to track down a notorious highwayman, and things quickly get rocky for Silence, which will have repercussions for her family. Inside the Arcanum Unbounded collection, Sanderson also includes a small essay that elaborates a bit more on the Threnodite system in the Cosmere. This story is a nice little palate cleanser to read between larger works.
The Stormlight Archive is Brandon Sanderson's behemoth of a series, with books often spanning more than 1100 pages.. Taking place on the planet of Roshar, Stormlight Archive immediately immerses readers into the middle of a long-standing conflict between the Alethi (a kingdom of Humans) and the Parshendi, a humanoid people adorned with a carapace that grows from them. The conflict began years earlier after the assassination of the Alethi king.
This series defines the genre of "epic fantasy" more so than any other of Sanderon's work, with readers being treated to an intricate magic system, a staggering amount of lore and world building, and wonderful cast of characters that you will follow as you try to piece together what has lead to the events in these books, and what is to come. From magic knights to gods, heroes forced to rise to the occasion and a world where emotions are given shape in the form of creatures known as 'Spren', this first arc of the Stormlight Archive finds itself smack dab in the middle of the Cosmere, both chronologically speaking and as a central pillar of the universe itself.
The final book of this first part of the Archive, Wind and Truth, was released in December 2024. The next book is not expected until sometime in the early 2030s, so luckily, there is still plenty of time to dive in and get caught up. This is a must-read to get into the Cosmere, but not one that I would recommend as a jumping-in point. This entire arc takes place over the course of about two years.
Edgedancer
Taking place between Books 2 (Words of Radiance) and 3 (Oathbringer) of the first act of the Stormlight Archive, Edgedancer follows the character of Lift, who is first introduced in an interlude in Words of Radiance. This young thief has a decidedly unique tone and personality when compared to others on Roshar, and this novella would be best enjoyed after completing Oathbringer.
Dawnshard
Dawnshard takes place between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War, the third and fourth books of the Stormlight Archive, and follows Rysn and other notable Stormlight characters, including the beloved “The Lopen”. Moments from this book are mentioned in Rhythm of War, so you will be fine reading it beforehand, but it is just as enjoyable reading it after, to get a better handle on events mentioned in the book. Also, you get more Lopen, which is never a bad thing.
Misborn Era 2 (Wax and Wayne) - World: Scardrial
Books:
The Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
The Bands of Mourning
The Lost Metal
The second era of the Mistborn titles picks up about 300 years after the events of The Hero of Ages on Scadrial. Whereas the first set of books took place in a more medieval society, the world of Scadrial now resembles something more akin to the American Frontier or the early Industrial Revolution. The second era follows the exploits of the mercenary allomancer lawman, Wax, and his partner Wayne, dealing with the newer threats posed by the advances of technology and also the problems caused by the events that transpired in the past. This all results in a set of stories that feels both familiar and brand new all at the same time, with some of the most beloved characters in the Cosmere.
It’s advised that you don’t tackle the Wax and Wayne books until you have completed at least the first set of Mistborn books. However, as being one of the more recent Cosmere releases, the fourth and final book, The Lost Metal, starts working in more connections with the Cosmere as a whole, so you will get more out of that last book especially, the more of the previous books of the Cosmere you have read already.
Sixth of the Dusk (Arcanum Unbounded) - World: First of the Sun
Among the entries contained within Arcanum Unbounded, Sixth of the Dusk takes place the furthest down the timeline. Set around the large island known as Patji on the planet known as First of the Sun, this short novella (clocking in just under 18,000 words) follows a trapper named Sixth of the Dusk as he tries to save his home. This book is currently believed to take place rather far ahead in the timeline of the Cosmere as it features a race of people with advanced space travel technology. It also has magic parrots.
Tress of the Emerald Sea - World: Lumar
Tress was the first of Brandon Sanderon’s Secret Project Kickstarter titles that he wrote during the pandemic, unbeknownst to anyone but his wife. A standalone novel taking place in the world of Lumar, which is home to an emerald green ocean of spores, Tress of the Emerald Sea is about a young girl who sets out to find and rescue her love. Sanderson describes his inspiration for Tress as “what if Buttercup from the Princess Bride had been more proactive.”
Currently, Tress of the Emerald Sea is believed to be somewhere in the distant future of the Cosmere, but where it precisely lands is a mystery.
The Sunlit Man - World: Canticle
Taking place on the world of Canticle, where the sunlight can melt the very stone, The Sunlit Man was the fourth book of Brandon’s Secret Projects and follows the immortal known as Nomad, who is caught in a conflict between rebels and a tyrant. Much like the other secret project novels, this is also a standalone title that takes place far in the future of the Cosmere, but its specific placement is nebulous.
Even though this is a standalone title, it’s recommended that you don’t read this until you finish the first arc of the Stormlight Archive because…reasons…
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter - World: Komashi
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, third of the Secret Projects, takes place on Komashi, where mysticism and technology butt heads against one another. Following the characters of Painter, who works as a Nightmare Painter (someone that captures dark beings) and Yumi (a traveling priestess that can summon and command spirits). A string of events binds the two of them together, and they have to figure out why and how to get out of it.
Yumi and the Nightmare painter is standalone and feels decidedly different from other books in the Cosmere, with its setting being a mix of Japanese and Korean influences, with Brandon mentioning that the initial concept came from his exposure to the manga Hikaru no Go and other media like the anime film Your Name and Final Fantasy X. Believed to take place far in the future of the Cosmere, this can be a fun first outing to dip your toes into the Cosmere.
The Cosmere RPG
Brandon Sanderson, in collaboration with Brotherwise games, has officially released the first set of Cosmere RPG books. Here's a quick snippet of what I thought in my full Cosmere RPG review:
"The Cosmere RPG is putting a strong foot forward right out of the gate, with systems that manage to feel familiar while at the same time doing its own thing that sets it apart. I appreciate its more flexible character growth and heavier emphasis on your own personal story and incorporating it into tangible gameplay features. It remains to be seen just how well the team manages to balance and intermingle the vastly different worlds and magic systems that inhabit the Cosmere. Still, I am already chomping at the bit for the next world guides, handbooks, and what Brotherwise Games have up their sleeves."
What We know Is Coming in 2026 and Beyond
Much like our own universe, the Cosmere continues to expand. Back in December of 2024, Brandon gave his updated PLANNEDrelease schedule up through 2031, and is as follows:
This incorporates and expands on Sixth of the Dusk
2027: Dark One or Isaac’s Cosmere Novel
December 2028: Mistborn Era 3 - Book 1
Summer 2029: Elantris 2
December 2029: Mistborn Era 3 - Book 2
Summer 2030: Elantris 3
December 2030: Mistborn Era 3 - Book 3
December 2031: Stormlight Archive Book 6 (begins 2nd Arc)
The Cosmere Movie and TV Adaptations
Brandon Sanderson and Apple TV have officially solidified a deal to bring The Cosmere to the screen. There are no official release dates just yet, but reports have confirmed that Mistborn is being eyed for feature films and The Stormlight Archive is likely to become a TV series. Sanderson took to the Comsere Reddit after the announcements to tell the fans more about the deal, saying he chose Apple TV due to "the level of approvals and control" as well as their track record for high quality content.
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with book and tabletop game coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.
NVIDIA has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the notes, the NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 591.86 WHQL driver gives you the best performance for the new free-to-play PvP raid shooter, Highguard. Moreover, this new driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest games supporting DLSS 4, including ARC Raiders: Headwind … Continue reading NVIDIA GeForce 591.86 WHQL Driver Available for Download→
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
Alongside having every episode on Blu-ray, this box set has quite a lot of bonus features as well, including deleted scenes, blooper reels, and even some featurettes. It also has a commentary from the show's creators for both the pilot and series finale that are exclusive to this Blu-ray set, which is a very cool addition for fans to check out.
Cobra Kai: The Complete Series Blu-Ray Bonus Features
Season One:
New Blu-ray Exclusive: Commentary on the Pilot with Show Creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
Deleted Scenes
Two Featurettes
Two Musical Performances
Season Two
Deleted Scenes
Five Featurettes
Blooper Reel
Season Three:
Deleted Scenes
Blooper Reel
Season Four:
Deleted Scenes
Blooper Reel
Featurette
Season Five:
Deleted Scenes
Blooper Reel
Season Six:
New Blu-ray Exclusive: Commentary on the Series Finale with Show Creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
Deleted Scenes
Blooper Reel
This Cobra Kai Complete Series Blu-ray set is just one of many physical releases set to come out in March. If you're curious what else is worth keeping an eye out for, check out our rundown of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays. From movies to TV shows, this features a list of physical releases that are available to preorder and their release dates, if they have one. If you're a physical media collector, it's well worth a look to plan ahead on which ones you're hoping to add to your library this year.
[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.
Ork mission one can focus on what makes the Orks unique, like their Waaagh! mechanic.
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.
Spun out from publisher Imagine Media, IGN.com combined existing gaming content from a few formerly standalone websites, such as IGN64 and PSXPower, the movies and lifestyle site The DEN (Daily Entertainment Network), and GameSages, a gaming community with codes and tips. From there, we expanded IGN with new channels, new formats, experimented with new platforms, and eventually got to where we are today: a content brand covering the things you love that you can find wherever you like to hang out. I’ll spare you the corporate rah-rah with reach and follower numbers, but we’ll never forget to be thankful for the many fans that watch and read our content and use our tools every day.
Want to know what IGN looked like in the very beginning? Check out the IGN30 homepage gallery:
Though one of gaming’s biggest players, Nintendo, is nearly as old as Hollywood, video games were still a relatively young art form when IGN first arrived on the scene. Sticking with the example of 1889’s hippest playing card company turned video game giant, we witnessed the rise and fall and rise of Nintendo, SEGA doing what nintendidn’t and making games for all platforms, FPS dev royalty Steam and Epic making fortunes by building stores and making engines, and a little comic book company rising from bankruptcy to become one of the biggest players in entertainment. The heroes we once only read about are now the characters we watch and play as. In a glorious full-circle, the heroes we played as are now greeting us at theme parks and packing seats in movie theaters.
Party Like It's 1996
Creating content for YouTube, podcasts platforms, and social media has ensured that IGN has continued to grow over the years even as the way people browse the “internet” has fundamentally changed. Those of you who have visited us via office tours, hung out at IGN Live in LA, or tuned in to our podcasts hopefully encountered that same small team spirit that we feel whenever we get together to plan a new event, video, article, strategy guide, or map.
Lots of work goes into publishing IGN every day – and I’m just as thankful for the contributions from staff members present and past – but instead of making this anniversary celebration entirely about us, we’ll be rolling out lots of fun pieces of content that celebrate the last 30 years of games and entertainment throughout 2026.
If you’re interested in traveling down memory lane with us, IGN’s newly crafted editorial lead, Justin Davis, is sharing what we’ve got in store all year long for IGN30. Check that article out here: Why Now is the Most Exciting Time for IGN.
If you’re not sick of me yet, take a look at my occasional retro gaming column, Forgotten Gems, or join Daemon, Sam, Justin, and me for a special video episode of IGN Game Scoop as we open some dusty boxes with gaming artifacts in IGN’s storage space, right here and now:
Thanks for sticking with us! I hope you enjoy our lookbacks throughout 2026 -- and see you in 2046 for IGN50! (In space.)
Peer Schneider is one of the founders of IGN Entertainment, the company that runs IGN. After two decades of heading up editorial, he created a tools and game help group a few years ago and oversees the next generation of content publishing via IGN Guides, Maxroll, Map Genie, HowLongtoBeat, and more.
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.
Every single piece of IGN content is created by a human.
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.
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)
As you can probably tell from the image above, the first voice pack comes with a set of three new heads for PvE. All three heads (Space Wolf, Blood Angel, Black Templars) are part of the same Voice Pack, and are not sold separately.
You can, however, equip one Chapter’s head with another Chapter’s voice. Voices and heads aren’t tied together. The voices aren’t class-restricted, either. And finally, a second voice pack is already in the works. Focus will say more later this year.
Earlier this month, Warhammer maker Games Workshop banned the use of AI in its content production and design process, insisting that none of its senior managers were currently excited about the technology. So perhaps it comes as no surprise to see the ‘no AI voices’ message made clear in this post.
As an aside, in the world of Warhammer 40,000, AI does not stand for Artificial Intelligence. Rather, it stands for Abominable Intelligence. And, as Games Workshop has banned AI within the confines of its Nottingham headquarters, humanity has banned AI within the Imperium of Man. That’s because during the ‘Dark Age of Technology,’ AI rebelled against humanity in a bloody war that almost resulted in our extinction. Eventually, humanity won out, and, sufficiently traumatized, forbid the use of AI at all. That is, you can’t have ‘thinking machines’ in the Imperium, which is in part why the future tech is all a bit backwards for the 41st millennium.
The use of generative AI in game development is one of the hottest topics in the industry, and it has sparked a number of controversies. Following the reveal of Divinity at the 2025 The Game Awards, Swen Vincke, boss of developer Larian, met with a backlash after he said the studio was using genAI in various capacities. Larian ended up having to address AI concerns in a reddit AMA in which the studio confirmed a U-turn on some aspects of its use. And this week, RuneScape maker Jagex insisted it would never use generative AI to make content players actually see in-game, in one of the hardest stances on AI yet seen from a video game developer.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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