At the turn of the new year, on January 1, LEGO released a big new Stranger Things set that synced up nicely with the fifth and final season of the show. It’s the Creel House, the large and imposing Gothic manor that played a pivotal role in the endgame. The set is comprised of 2,593 pices and includes 13 minifigures, along with Steve’s car, Will’s bike, and the WSQK radio van. Unfortunately, LEGO Stranger Things: The Creel House sold out almost immediately after it became available and has been unable to purchase – untili now (see it at the LEGO Store).
LEGO Icons - Stranger Things: The Creel House
The set just came back. It's on backorder and will ship in roughly 60 days, but that's better than not being able to purchase it at all. And it's a great-looking set, with tons of interactive and hidden features.
As with many LEGO sets based on buildings, the front shows the Creel House’s exterior, while the back is open to expose the rooms within. Downstairs you’ll find the entryway, dining room, and sitting room. The second floor has the upstairs hallway, along with Alice’s and Henry’s bedrooms. Finally, the third floor has two attic spaces, all of which are big enough to fit minifigures.
You can build the house so the exterior is fresh and new, as it looks to the kidnapped kids, or boarded up and condemned, as it is in the real world. As usual, the set also holds secrets and Easter eggs; for instance, if you pull the corners of the house, you’ll expose Vecna’s interdimensional Mind Lair.
LEGO Minifigures Included
Buy this set, and you’ll also get 13 minifigures based on characters from the show.
Will
Mike
Lucas
Dustin
Vecna
Mr. Whatsit
Holly
Steve
Nancy
Robin
Jonathan
Max
Eleven
This isn’t the first collab between LEGO and Stranger Things. LEGO has released a number of BrickHeadz sets of the characters, including a Demogorgon, plus an awesome (but now sadly retired) set called The Upside Down.
A sizable Nintendo Direct is expected next month — and potentially as soon as next week, according to one report.
Word of a major announcement showcase comes hot on the heels of two other, smaller Nintendo Direct broadcasts dedicated to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (held last weekend) and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (due tomorrow, January 29).
Aside from those, Nintendo is still to lay out the majority of its 2026 Switch 2 release slate — something fans now expect to find out sooner rather than later. Indeed, noted Nintendo leaker NatetheHate, who correctly reported the Switch 2's big reveal date last year, has leant his weight behind the Direct landing next week, likely on Thursday, February 5.
Speak this week via his podcast, the leaker said he expected this year to feature a swathe of smaller Nintendo IPs, before the long-awaited next 3D Mario platformer finally ground pounds onto Switch 2 in time for the holidays.
Will we see a first glimpse of Nintendo's big Mario game next month? So far, no leaker has made that claim. Still, there's a feeling among fans that 2026 will be when it finally debuts, to give the Switch 2 a boost as it enters its sophomore year.
One final expectation among fans touched on by NatetheHate is for Nintendo to discuss more of its plans for Mario Kart World, the Switch 2 launch title it charged $80 for which landed to solid if not spectacular reviews. Many fans have criticized the game's empty open world, and Nintendo has recently begun tweaking parts of it, but there is also an assumption that Nintendo will add major new content to the title over time.
Will this arrive in the form of paid DLC, as with Mario Kart 8? It's possible. But NatetheHate makes the point that pushing the game's total buy-in closer to $100 may ultimately prove unpalatable to Nintendo fans, particularly after many feel the base game is still yet to justify its $80 asking price.
Here's hoping we don't have too much longer to wait until Nintendo does nail down its next major Direct date. Pokémon's big announcement show, meanwhile, is now an annual event taking place on the franchise's anniversary — February 27.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
If it were up to me, I’d watch movies and play games exclusively on a projector. It not only turns any free wall into a cinema-grade screen, but also feels far more immersive than my 55-inch TV. But more often than not, and especially when playing videogames, I reach for the TV’s remote over the projector’s, as it just looks brighter and smoother, no matter the lighting. Xgimi’s new, flagship Horizon 20 Max projector changes that.
The Horizon 20 Max pushes the boundaries of how bright a projector of its size can get. Its triple-laser light engine can project an image as large as 300 inches at a 4K resolution and, more importantly, at an unprecedented 5700 ISO lumens of peak brightness. This means, even against direct lighting, its projection is bright and sharp, unlike other projectors that make you close the curtains in daytime to be at all visible. The rest of the Horizon Max’s hardware is maxed out, too: it’s calibrated for IMAX Enhanced, HDR10, and Dolby Vision, and lets you game at 1ms input lag and 240Hz motion.
How well do these specs translate in real-world conditions? Over the last few weeks, I binged countless movies and played some of the most demanding videogames to find out, and at $3000 , while the Horizon Max is far from affordable, it’s an easy choice for those who are looking for a no-compromise cinematic experience.
Xgimi Horizon 20 Max – Build and Design
The Horizon 20 Max may not look like it, but it’s a hefty projector. Weighing over 16 lbs, it’s a task to pull it out of the carrying case it ships in and set it up on a floor stand. That said, it’s on the lighter side of the spectrum in this category, and its dimensions, also, are fairly compact for its calibre. It features a relatively plain look, which may not seem high-end, but over time, I began to appreciate its refined and clean appearance that’s easy to blend into the rest of a living room’s decor. It’s only available in a single grey finish and comes encased in a leather-like exterior.
Many of its functional elements add further character to the look. The front, for example, is dominated by the Harman/Kardon-tuned stereo speaker grills, while the back features rubberized vents for the cooling fan. Its highlight, though, is that it all sits on an integrated, swiveling stand that makes repositioning the projection a breeze. I also appreciated that the stand has enough friction to remain sturdy at the angle you set and not feel stiff when you try to adjust it.
One glaring omission from the Horizon 20 Max is that there’s no lens cover. Many of Xgimi’s earlier high-end projectors came with a motorized one. Several times, therefore, I ended up cleaning the lens before powering it up.
Other than that, you’ll find a series of ports on the rear, including pairs of HDMI and USB-A slots, another for optical output, and an audio jack. I do wish, though, that Xgimi had included a USB-C and placed the row of ports at the rear bottom instead of the top for better cable management.
The included metallic remote, like previous Xgimi projectors, is a joy to hold and operate. It has all the buttons you’d need, including for launching a custom shortcut, auto-focus, and more. More importantly, the essential ones, like going home or back, are backlit, and thanks to a built-in light sensor, the remote automatically illuminates them in dark rooms. Also fun is the spring-loaded battery tray, which pops out when you press its switch on the back.
Xgimi Horizon 20 Max – Software and Performance
The Horizon 20 Max runs on Android TV 14 and, thanks to its MediaTek quad-core processor and ample 4GB of RAM, it’s one of the snappiest projectors I’ve used. It boots up instantly, and scrolling through the Google TV interface or executing voice commands is smooth, too. The Google TV home screen, where you’ll also find smart TV show and movie recommendations, is infamous for slowing down projectors, but the 20 Max had no trouble there, either.
Similarly, on most projectors I’ve tested, loading files and high-res videos from external storage is often a laggy experience. The 20 Max proved to be an exception here, handling large files without any stutters.
While the Google TV interface it ships with is largely clean and bloatware-free, Xgimi has added a few of its own handy tools. The eye protection mode, for example, automatically pauses the projection when someone passes through its field of view, as opposed to blinding them with lasers. You can also exclusively use this projector as a Bluetooth speaker or connect headphones, courtesy of the built-in Bluetooth 5.2.
In most day-to-day conditions, the Horizon 20 Max remains quiet and cool. However, at max brightness in modes like High Power, its fan does kick in, and you will especially hear its low-pitched thrum when whatever you’re watching isn’t loud enough itself. A couple of hours in this mode can also lead to the projector throwing an overheating warning, but it never shuts down or pauses the projection.
Xgimi Horizon 20 Max – Picture Quality and Speakers
The Horizon 20 Max is the first projector that has convinced me it can replace my TV, and all credit goes to its excellent picture quality. What stands out about the 20 Max is that its output remains consistent throughout conditions and doesn’t appear, for example, washed out in daytime. I don’t have to go through a multi-step process, whether that’s adjusting the image settings or my room’s curtains, to use it anytime other than at night.
The 20 Max’s triple-laser engine produces a bright and vibrant Ultra HD projection in most scenarios. It can push the brightness up to 5700 ISO Lumens, which means visuals look sharp even when played opposite a window. The projector’s software enhancements also actively tune the image’s contrast so that highlights and shadows stay balanced and vivid. Its high contrast ratio also made streaming darker content, like The Batman, appear punchy while retaining its original cinematic nuances.
While the Horizon 20 Max supports the usual picture standards, like HDR10+, it has a few premium, rare certifications, too. The IMAX Enhanced mode, in particular, stood out for me. It only activates automatically for selected, compatible media, and when it does, it can truly upgrade the home cinema experience. It digitally recreates the IMAX quality by further darkening the blacks and switching to a wider aspect ratio to fit more of the otherwise hidden scene in.
With the Horizon 20 Max, Xgimi has improved its suite of image calibration tools, too. In most scenarios, it takes the hassle out of adjusting the projection and intelligently figures out how to avoid obstacles and resize the image to fit a wall or a white screen.
When you do need to take control, there are plenty of options to help you precisely tune it. Two of those stand out: one that’s a first for Xgimi’s home projectors and allows you to shift its lens vertically and horizontally from the settings to reposition the image. Similarly, you can optically zoom in and out to resize it. This meant I didn’t have to physically move the projector to adjust its projection or resort to doing so digitally, which can lead to distortion and quality trade-offs.
In addition, the Horizon 20 Max’s 24W stereo speakers do a decent job of filling the room without making the sound feel concentrated in one corner. I was surprised to discover how clean and rich the audio stays, even at the highest levels, possibly thanks to the integrated deep bass extension. They get decently loud, and I rarely felt the absence of a dedicated home theatre unit.
Xgimi Horizon 20 Max – Gaming Experience
The Horizon 20 Max’s DLP display also makes it an ideal projector for gaming. It supports variable refresh rate (up to 240Hz) and can lower the latency down to 1ms at a 1080p resolution. At 4K, the latency comes up at a still-reasonable 3ms. In my experience, there was minimal screen tearing, and high-res visuals were fluid even after hours of gameplay.
Plus, Xgimi offers a bunch of gaming modes to further boost the projector’s performance, like FPS, RTS, and one called Assassin’s Creed Mode made in partnership with Ubisoft. I had a delightful time with the latter while playing the Ghost of Yōtei, as the projector tuned the picture to enhance the contrast for a more immersive stealth experience.
And that narrative feels right, doesn't it? We've seen prices on everything rise this year, and increasing economic uncertainty especially in the U.S. The Nintendo Switch 2 also didn't have a huge holiday game release (my apologies to Metroid Prime 4) to bolster sales through Black Friday and December. It just makes sense that holiday sales were down.
But there's some nuance to this narrative, and not just because so many people seem to be taking this as a sign of doom for the Nintendo Switch 2. So I kicked off the new year by bugging all the analysts I knew for some further context on Nintendo Switch 2's holiday sales: if they were down, why they were down if so, and what it all means for the Switch 2's future.
Did the Nintendo Switch 2 actually have a bad holiday?
Nah.
Were sales slower than they were earlier in the year? Sure. But that was neither shocking nor concerning to any analyst I spoke to.
Manu Rosier, director of market intelligence at Newzoo, described the Nintendo Switch 2's sales thus far as having a strong initial surge of adoption, followed by "normalization." “There are signs of a Q4 normalization versus the launch window, reflecting a shift from launch-driven demand (scarcity, bundles, pent-up interest) to a more typical, steady-state demand mix," he said. This trend was echoed across the globe, with Rosier and several of the other analysts I spoke to all confirming something roughly similar going on in their respective tracked regions across the U.S., UK, and Europe.
Yes, there was a drop off in sales over the holidays from the initial launch surge. As Joost van Dreunen, NYU Stern professor and author of SuperJoost Playlist explains, "The device is more expensive than its predecessors, for one, and went into the holiday season without a clear blockbuster title to incentivize audiences. Don’t get me wrong, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is well worth your time, but it lacks the cache held by Mario and Zelda titles. More so, everyone who was going to buy a Switch 2 at launch has had a chance to do so, especially since Nintendo had been stocking its new console for months prior to its release in anticipation of tariff-related volatility and potential supply chain issues.”
But as every single analyst I spoke to also said, this was extremely expected and normal, and not really an indicator of anything especially concerning. For instance, Circana's annual report on the U.S. games market had the Nintendo Switch 2 as the best-selling console of the year in both unit and dollar sales. It sold 4.4 million units total for 2025 in the U.S., 94% higher than the Nintendo Switch 1 at the same point in its life cycle.
It is worth noting, of course, that the Nintendo Switch 1 launched in March in its release year, while the Switch 2 dropped in June. This means that the comparison point here, seven months into each console's life cycle, includes the holiday period for the Switch 2, but not the original Switch. And it's true that reporting suggests Switch 2 holiday sales underperformed Switch 1 holiday sales in some markets, especially the UK and parts of the U.S. So it's possible in the coming months we see that difference shrink.
Or, maybe not! The Switch 2 has one heck of a lead, and there's a good reason for it: supply. "Switch 2 sales [in 2025] were expected to be more front-loaded than other consoles historically due to the strong rate of supply early on," says Mat Piscatella, senior director at Circana. "Which, of course, is how the Switch 2 has been able to set the record as the US market's fastest selling console ever over the first 6 months in market. You can't sell units that don't exist, etc etc."
Switches 'Round the World
Additionally, the Switch 2's holiday wasn't on the slower side everywhere. In Asia, Niko Partners director of research and insights Daniel Ahmad says the Switch 2 had a good holiday. "In Japan, sales of the Switch 2 during the holiday period were in line with the Switch 1," he says. "Nintendo’s expansion in Southeast Asia is also paying off, with an official launch in the region earlier this year helping drive sales growth. While there is no official release in China, demand for grey market imports is high."
Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, backs this up too. "In the case of the Japanese market in particular, the numbers are very clear: Switch 2 sold like hot cakes over the holidays."
One reason for that is supply. The Switch 2's initial sales success in the U.S. can be attributed partly to Nintendo ensuring there was an ample supply at launch, which also resulted in U.S. total sales being more heavily frontloaded than they would have otherwise. But the console has been difficult to come by in Japan, Toto says. That was true even over the holiday when supply improved, and he suspects the Japan sales would have been even higher if there had been enough Switch 2s to go around.
Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst and researcher at Ampere Analysis, offered an in-depth take as to why the Switch 2 is in the position it's in right now. For one, the market conditions are different than they were when the Switch 1 came out. Not only is there more stock and fewer massive gamers as the other analysts mentioned, but the Switch 2 is also a "known quantity."
"When the original Switch launched it followed a failing Wii U generation - there was a lot of interest but hype and momentum built up in the run up to the holiday sales at the end of 2017," Harding-Rolls says. "This time around at the Switch 2 launch demand was predictably high because of the success of the Switch. Following a record launch, it’s not surprising that Switch 2 sales have not been able to maintain the same massive sales lead on the original Switch. For the record, Switch 2 shipments in 2025 should outperform the original Switch in 2017 and over a shorter period of time.
"...Then there is the whole macroeconomic situation, less disposable income and higher priced hardware. This may be softening demand to an extent especially as lots of new games are still available on the original Switch."
Put all together, it sounds like there's a lot less cause for alarm(o) than some were making Switch 2 sales out to be.
The Switch in Twenty-Six
But what about the future?
Harding-Rolls continues: "I’m expecting Switch 2 exclusives to become more plentiful in 2026 so this will drive upgrades for those sitting on the fence. Overall, Switch 2 games look pretty strong in 2026 so I remain quite bullish on the performance of the platform this year. Longer-term I don’t expect Switch 2 to outperform the original Switch as there were special conditions - primarily the pandemic - which supercharged demand for Switch later in the cycle and elongated it to an extent."
Everyone else agrees 2026 will be a good year for Switch 2, though with some asterisks related to the broader global market. Toto thinks for the current fiscal year ending March 30, Nintendo will be closer to 20 million units sold than their own forecast of 15 million, contingent on them building a more impressive game line-up. Ahmad predicts that the Switch 2 will sell more than 50 million units by the end of 2027, which would be a similar amount to the Switch 1 over the same time frame. He's predicting a price hike, though, specifically a tariff-related one: "Tariffs were already squeezing margins last year, component costs are increasing rapidly, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo passes those costs on to consumers in one way or another."
Van Dreunen doesn't think we'll see component-related price changes that would discourage sales, saying that Nintendo has already priced those in and that he expects sales in Japan especially to remain strong thanks to regional discounts and a heavy focus on the domestic market. "If it looks like Nintendo is selling fewer consoles in the US, you can look to the current administration for an explanation."
Memory Goes Boom
But hardware pricing is a pretty big sticking point for James McWhirter, senior analyst at Omdia. He provided a fairly detailed breakdown of what he thinks is coming not just for the Switch 2, but for the entire console market, insofar as hardware pricing increases could eventually price consumers out of new purchases.
McWhirter thinks that the big story for all console hardware this year will be the effect that demand for AI infrastructure is going to have on pricing. In his estimation, about six months ago, RAM in a base PS5 accounted for at least a fifth of the bill of materials. But by the end of 2025, that cost will have risen by at least 50%.
"Suppliers obviously have the upper hand with any new negotiations, so it’s only a matter of time until Nintendo – and Sony and Microsoft – run through their inventory of memory and renegotiate at higher prices," he says. "Any rise in the cost of console hardware will be passed on to consumers via multiple means: directly, or via a mix of increased software, services, peripherals pricing.
"But this comes at a tricky time for consoles – we are of course simultaneously seeing the spending power of middle-income households declining. This leaves Nintendo more exposed as they are keen on transitioning their Switch audience onto Switch 2 as quickly as possible, with no more cross-gen releases on the horizon."
It's not just hardware that's impacted, he adds. He expects the "memory boom cycle" to impact Switch 2 software specifically soon, due to physical games shipping on NAND memory. "The rising cost of NAND memory places upward pressure on the cost of Switch 2 Game Cards. Switch 2, like its predecessor, is still a physical-first platform. When including bundled software, Omdia estimates 57% of Switch 2 games sold in 2025 were at retail."
What about Game Key-Cards, you say? Sure, that would help, but they're controversial…and may not be enough anyway.
"The upward pressure on NAND memory prices mean Game Key-Cards will be here to stay - even Nintendo has begun experimenting with them starting with March 2026's Pokémon Pokopia. A publisher recently suggested Nintendo is introducing smaller capacity Game Cards, but the cost savings they provide may be eventually wiped out in future.
McWhirter expects that all of this will likely impact the "middle market" of gaming, people who purchase consoles sometime after their initial launch boom or general non-enthusiast gamers, may not be purchasing consoles in the same volume that they have in recent history. These are the people that pushed the Switch 1 to global sell-through of 151 million by the end of last year, but he's not so sure they're going to show up for the Switch 2, especially if it gets more expensive. He recalls the Nintendo 3DS, which had extremely frontloaded sales (17% of systems were sold in the first year on the market) compared to the Nintendo Switch 1 (9% in the first year). A similar scenario could happen again.
There are things Nintendo could do to stave that off. Switch 2 hardware bundles over the holiday providing a "soft" discount would help push sales. Regional discounts extended beyond just Japan would also probably work. He also posits a future docked-only Switch 2 Lite that would help reduce component costs and pass that savings on to consumers.
What does all this mean? It sounds like, as has been reported, 2025 was overall a fantastic launch year for the Switch 2, and that energy will likely continue for some time to come. But there are a number of hurdles the console needs to overcome in the next few years in order to maintain that success long-term. Some of them are obvious and manageable by Nintendo now: does it have a strong 2026 and 2027 game line-up, or not? But others, such as tariffs and component costs, are harder to predict and will require deft handling on the part of the hardware maker in order to drive the Switch 2 generation to a comparable level of success as its predecessors had.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Silent Hill fans, make some room in your movie collection. If you enjoyed Return to Silent Hill, preorders are already live for the film's 4K steelbook, standard 4K release, and Blu-ray. At the moment, there is no release date for any of these formats since the film only just opened in theaters, but steelbooks like this often sell out. It's worth preordering ahead of time so you can feel content knowing you definitely have a copy on the way when launch day comes around.
Details on where you can preorder these physical versions can be found below. Alongside a lack of release date, no bonus features have been revealed yet, either. However, once they're announced, we'll be sure to add them to this page.
Preorder Return to Silent Hill Amazon Exclusive 4K Steelbook
While Walmart's 4K steelbook for Return to Silent Hill has already sold out, Amazon's offering its own exclusive steelbook right now. It features quite a creepy cover and comes with the film on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. That's not all, though, as this Amazon Exclusive version also comes with a 4x6 collectible lenticular with Pyramid Head on it, which you can check out below.
Unfortunately, the film hasn't quite taken off at the box office. Our own review of Return to Silent Hill found that it "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." However, IGN's Jesse Schedeen notes that it's "ultimately an adaptation that fails to improve upon the source material or do anything particularly new and interesting."
Even so, if you found you liked it, this is a great opportunity to set yourself up with a physical copy for a rewatch later.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
The director of Resident Evil Requiem has said that the game's female staff members worked hard to ensure hero Leon S. Kennedy "would make anyone's heart throb."
Fans have praised Leon's appearance in Requiem, which sees the rookie cop turned grizzled agent sporting stubble, wrinkles, but still a full head of floppy hair. Online, may have dubbed Leon as an "ikeoji" character — an attractive older man that is also referred to as a "hot uncle" — and it's this definition which has now been put to Requiem's director by Automaton.
"We've spent quite a lot of time polishing Leon's visuals," director Koshi Nakanishi said when asked about Leon's ikeoji status. "Leon has many fans among Capcom employees, and women in particular were pretty strict when reviewing his design.
"They would point out and comment on even the finest details like the wrinkles on his neck," Nakanishi continued. "When I mentioned that story in the past, a female fan told me, 'The women developers at Capcom did a really good job' (laughs). Throughout the development process, Leon was thoroughly refined, and I think we managed to come through with a design that would make anyone's heart throb."
Leon was finally revealed for Resident Evil Requiem late last year, following months of teases, rumors and speculation over his appearance. The returning hero of Resident Evil 2 and 4 (and a bit of 6), Leon will feature in action-heavy gameplay that will contrast with the quieter, horror-led sequences that feature series newbie Grace Ashcroft.
How have the years treated Leon? Is he still pining for Ada? Will he be given a happy ending, after nearly three decades fighting zombies? And what is going on with that ominous-looking mark on his neck? All of these are questions that Requiem will hopefully answer, as well as just providing us all with more eye candy.
"Every staff member had their own interpretation of Leon's 30-year-long history, so they would tell me things like, Leon would definitely not act like that in this kind of situation," Nakanishi continued. "So, there were more opinions about what he's like on the inside compared to his looks, and after many discussions, we were able to settle on something that clicked for us. When players see this Leon in the game, hopefully they will be able to find their own interpretation of him as well."
"Do you like tense survival horror? It’s here," IGN wrote. "Wanna go all guns blazing with intense action and a quip-obsessed hero? You get that too. Do you prefer playing RE games in first or third person? Doesn’t matter; you can do either. All these choices, along with my fears of a jarring play experience being mostly squashed, make it easy to believe that Capcom’s bold move to have its cake and eat it is going to pay off in a big way."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
YouTube’s ‘Bando do Gato’ has shared three videos showing what a modern-day remake of the classic SNES game Donkey Kong Country could look like. These videos will definitely put a smile on the face of any SNES fan. And since I’m a big fan of the SNES myself, I had to share them with you. … Continue reading This AI Remake of Donkey Kong Country Will Blow You Away→
Connexion
PC Gamer
IGN
