Marvel has denied using AI to create posters for The Fantastic Four: First Steps after fans spotted one image that includes what appears to be a man with just four fingers.

Marketing for The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicked off this week with a teaser for its debut trailer, as well as a series of posters published to social media.

One of these posters, below, raised eyebrows after fans noticed the man holding the largest Fantastic Four flag on the left appears to be missing a finger.

MultiVersus will shut down when Season 5 ends in May, but the sweeping changes to combat speed that were introduced in a new update have fans enjoying its gameplay now more than ever — and even sparked a #SaveMultiVersus trend on social media.

The community for the Warner Bros. platform fighting game woke up ready to dive into its fifth and final season when it launched yesterday, February 4, at 9am PT. Developer Player First Games had spelled out plans to shutter the project last week, teasing that the update would include DC’s Aquaman and Looney Toons’ Lola Bunny as its last playable characters. What was poised to be a somber sendoff for MultiVersus actually brought on extensive movement changes across the board, resulting in a much faster-paced experience overall. It’s a fundamental adjustment that players have begged Player First to implement for years, and it arrives just as things are coming to an end.

“#SaveMultiversus” https://t.co/xZAfif5XAe pic.twitter.com/CfDAJ13erF

— Mlick (@Mlickles) February 5, 2025

Players first took notice that combat in Multiversus had been sped up after Player First published a Season 5 Combat Changes Preview video on X/Twitter. For those who have played the free-to-play Warner Bros. fighting game in the past, the differences are impossible to ignore, as characters can be seen chaining together combos and moving across the screen faster than ever before. It’s a substantial shift away from the floaty gameplay fans criticized during the MultiVersus beta test in 2022, and it’s even faster than what was seen when it relaunched in May of last year.

Season 5 update patch notes reveal that the increase in combat speed comes as a result of a reduction to hitpause “across most attacks in the game.” It means stringing together combos will be faster than you remember regardless of who your main is, with a handful of specific characters receiving additional adjustments to their speed, too. Morty, LeBron, Iron Giant, Bugs Bunny, Black Adam, and many more feel especially quick thanks to changes that allow them to fast fall when using certain aerial attacks. Garnet, meanwhile, now has stronger ringout potential on the ground and weaker ringout potential in the air to help level out her impact as an already fast character.

>game dies

>they finally start doing clever marketing

>they actually improve the gameplay

Yeah sounds about right https://t.co/2375drzNCU

— Bring Back Banjo (@BringBackBanjoK) February 3, 2025

MultiVersus Season 5 turns the nearly one-year-old fighting game into something almost completely different, and those diving in already are finding far more to enjoy than just two new characters. The problem is that this... is it. Just as Player First finds its footing with an update that delivers long-awaited gameplay changes, MultiVersus will completely shut down come May 30. Its demise will bring the end of seasonal content drops as well as its removal from digital storefronts as Warner Bros. Games guts online play from the experience entirely, leaving only offline modes for fans to experiment with.

Now, fans are left feeling shocked and powerless as MultiVersus becomes the experience they’ve always dreamed of just in time for it to completely shut down. X user @PJiggles_ commented on the changes, calling MultiVersus “the most interesting bad game in existence,” referring to its beta rollout, 2024 relaunch, and sudden combat speed increase. Professional Super Smash Bros. player and content creator Jason Zimmerman (a.k.a. Mew2King) replied to a Player First post to ask why movement speed was increased now and not earlier.

“I know everybody's been playing the blame game when there likely isn't a single individual or even group who deserves the entirety of the blame,” one Reddit user said, “but man, if this was how the relaunch started off we could’ve really had something. (Apex Legends) is probably one of the worst monetization schemes out there but it lasted so long because it nailed the fundamentals at the start.”

It’s painful, especially as players gather not only to mourn the game’s demise but to celebrate such a drastic leap in quality. Reddit user Desperate_Method4032 said the Season 5 update fixed “every issue I had with the game,” explaining that things like touched-up shield animations helped turn MultiVersus into an experience that looks and feels far more polished. Although the gameplay shakeup follows confirmation of shutdown plans, they said the “potential” has them hoping Warner Bros. could reverse course.

“I'm not naïve,” Desperate_Method4032 said. “Just a fan with tons of love for the characters showcased in this game. But is it so wrong to have just LITTLE bit of hope that the game will make a comeback? There's just far too much potential to let things end like this. Not when the game finally feels like it found its footing.”

Sooooo

You announced the game was shutting down but then fixed the thing that made players quit

What https://t.co/YfvGsOiEv5

— Colin (@IntroSpecktive) February 4, 2025

Unfortunately, while some are expecting the worst and hoping for the best, Player First and Warner Bros. show no sign of backing down from their plan to cease service this summer. MultiVersus game director Tony Huynh took to X earlier this week to share a few closing thoughts while addressing long-unanswered player questions and concerns. Warner Bros. also disabled real-money transactions as of January 31, leaving players unable to purchase content without using previously earned in-game currency. The Season 5 premium battle pass has been made free for all players as one final gift.

MultiVersus will go dark, for good this time, at 9 am PT on May 30. While Warner Bros. has already initiated its shutdown plans, players are finding some joy by creating and sharing memes. It’s a bittersweet moment for the fighting game community as they relish a game that finally lives up to their expectations just before it meets its end.

This is what it feels like seeing everyone playing S5 #MultiVersus #SaveMultiVersus pic.twitter.com/7DS03efXCg

— Spider-Man For MultiVersus #SaveMultiVersus (@SpiderManForMVS) February 4, 2025

Multiversus dropping good gameplay while on its death bed https://t.co/gnxRAegeeO pic.twitter.com/r2QGcE6W6x

— Sho (@Shoyoumomo_) February 4, 2025

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor 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).

2025 looks like a stacked year for triple-A video games. Not only do we have the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and its exclusive games to contend with, but we’ve got a long list of big hitters set for later in 2025, such as Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, and Ghost of Yōtei. And then there’s the inevitable new Call of Duty from Activision, no doubt set for October or November.

But the big one is Rockstar’s guaranteed behemoth Grand Theft Auto 6, which is still down for release in fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Will it be delayed? Parent company Take-Two is so far sticking to the fall 2025 release window, but it’s that uncertainty coupled with all the other huge shooters coming out that means EA’s Battlefield may face a tricky job carving out some space for itself.

EA has the next Battlefield down for its 2026 fiscal year, which means before April 2026. That’s prime GTA 6 territory right there, and maybe even prime Call of Duty and Borderlands 4 territory. So, how much does EA have to consider release dates from competing games when it comes to working out when to launch Battlefield?

A fair bit, EA CEO Andrew Wilson admitted in a recent financial call — and it may even be willing to delay Battlefield if it has to.

“Certainly we exist in a competitive marketplace,” Wilson said in response to a question from an analyst on this exact topic. “I've had the great fortune to be in this company for 25 years and we have done a great job of competing with all of our great franchises over time.

“That being said, we've invested more in this Battlefield than any Battlefield before. We have four studios. We've had a meaningful amount of time. We're looking for this to be the biggest Battlefield we've ever made. And we of course want to make sure that we launch that into a window where we can deliver on the fullness of the promise of what Battlefield can be and grow the community to a level that is commensurate with the size of the game that we're making.

“I do believe that this year might be a nuanced year relative to competition. There may be some things happening in the year that may cause us to think differently about our launch timing. We have an FY 26 launch window that the team is targeting. We believe the game will be great and ready at that time, but if we got close to that timeframe and believed that this wasn't going to be a great window for us, then we would take a look at what an alternate window might be that would give us the appropriate time, energy, and player acquisition opportunity for this Battlefield to be all that it needed to be.”

As it stands, the new Battlefield will be out before April 2026. Let’s say November 2025 (Battlefield 2042 came out November 2021 and Battlefield 5 came out November 2018). What if GTA 6 launches in or around then? Perhaps EA will, in response, push Battlefield back to the first quarter of 2026, still making its fiscal year.

But what if it intends to release Battlefield Q1 2026 already, and then Rockstar announces a GTA 6 delay to Q1 2026? Could EA bring Battlefield forward? Or maybe it would, in that case, push Battlefield out of the fiscal year and into the next. That would be a big decision, but based on Wilson's comments, something EA is prepared for.

You can see why EA, and, we’ve heard, many other third-party publishers are holding their breath as they wait for Rockstar to announce the news the entire industry is hanging on: the GTA 6 release date. Once that’s out in the open, whether it’s for this fall as planned or a delay into 2026, all the other pieces will fall no doubt into place.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket developer Creatures Inc. has gifted players 1,000 Trade Tokens — enough for just two significant trades — as it continues to investigate ways to fix the controversial mechanic.

Players logging in today will find the Trade Tokens in their Gift menu with no message, but Creatures Inc. posted on X/Twitter to thank fans for their feedback and patience. The developer was last week called "hilariously toxic," "predatory," and "downright greedy" after finally introducing trading to the trading card game.

Alongside the standard Pokémon TCG Pocket mechanic that restricts players from opening packs or Wonder Picking or, now, trading too much without spending real world money, the feature was also introduced with these Trade Tokens as an extra restriction. Players criticized the high cost of obtaining these, as they essentially had to delete from their collections five cards before trading one of the same rarity.

It's now been eight days since Creatures Inc. released trading to the incredible backlash, but it did have a heads up that fans weren't impressed when it outlined the feature almost three weeks ago. "Your concerns are seen," it said at the time. "Once this feature becomes available, I'd like to invite everyone to try it and provide feedback."

This made many players believe things would be better than expected, but this wasn't certainly the case. Creatures Inc. eventually responded by admitting "some of the restrictions put in place are preventing players from being able to casually enjoy" trading.

It also promised to alleviate complaints by introducing required items as rewards in upcoming events but has already failed to do so as the Cresselia ex Drop Event released February 3, includes none.

Fans complained trading is fairly clearly being implemented as a means of increasing revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which is estimated to have made $200 million in its first month, before trading was possible.

This is also evidenced by the inability to trade cards of 2 Star rarity or higher, as if players could immediately trade for their missing cards, they wouldn't need to spend $10 or $100 or more for a random chance of getting them. It cost one player around $1,500 just to complete the first set, for example, and the third in three months arrived last week.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

As you’d expect, EA is eyeing the Nintendo Switch 2 as a platform for its games. In a recent financial call, CEO Andrew Wilson was asked directly about Nintendo’s next-gen console, and he replied to suggest the company has plans to release many of its games there.

Wilson singled out EA's money-spinning sports franchises, Madden and FC, as potentially finding “real energy” on Nintendo Switch 2, and also pointed to The Sims as a game that could do well on the console.

“Anytime a new console comes into the marketplace that's of a benefit to us, it gives us the ability to access and acquire new players,” Wilson said. “Typically, we've had franchises perform very well on Nintendo platforms. Certainly our expectation is that products like FC and Madden and others might find real energy on the platform as they have done in the past.

“When you think about something like The Sims and the My Sims cozy bundle, which performed well ahead of our expectations, 50% of all players were new to EA. That represents a great opportunity for us.

“So again, nothing in our models at this juncture, but our expectation is that anytime a great new console comes in the marketplace that gives us access to new players and new communities, that we have the IP that will benefit from that.”

While it comes as little surprise to hear the likes of Madden and FC will be released on Nintendo Switch 2, fans will be wondering what version of those games they can expect on the console. Historically, EA has released what it calls “legacy” versions of FIFA on Nintendo Switch, but in recent years it has aimed for feature parity for the rebranded FC franchise. Given the Switch 2 will be a more powerful console than its predecessor, perhaps FC 26, say, will be closer to the FC 26 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

Now Nintendo has announced the Switch 2, we’re starting to build a picture of what to expect on it in terms of games. There is a long list of rumored third-party titles coming to the console, and in an interview with IGN, Civilization 7 developer Firaxis called Switch 2’s apparent Joy-Con mouse mode "definitely intriguing." French video game and accessories maker Nacon, publisher of the likes of Greedfall 2, Test Drive Unlimited, and RoboCop: Rogue City, has said it has Switch 2 games ready to go. The long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong is also rumored to be set for Switch 2.

As for Nintendo, we know it’s working on a new Mario Kart. Expect to find out more at a Nintendo Direct in April.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Star Wars Celebration 2025 will feature an official appearance from Sequel Trilogy star Oscar Isaac, sparking rumors of Poe Dameron's return to the galaxy far, far away.

The official Star Wars Celebration Instagram announced Isaac's appearance at the event, which takes place in Tokyo from April 18 to 20. Rey actress Daisy Ridley appeared at Star Wars Celebration 2023 and announced she would appear in a new film, so fans are wondering if Isaac will do the same.

The Sequel Trilogy wrapped up in 2019 with the infamous Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker, and Isaac has gone through the motions of sharing his distaste for appearing in Star Wars to being open to a return.

He said in 2020 he would only return to the franchise if he needed "another house or something" but had changed his mind by 2022, telling Variety he had "no real feeling one way or another" and was therefore "open to anything."

Isaac has otherwise criticised Star Wars owner Disney for turning down his proposal of a romance between Poe and John Boyega's Finn, saying the "overlords were not ready for that." Boyega similarly came away from the Sequel Trilogy with negative feelings towards Disney and the franchise but also made comments about being open to any roles later.

Speculation is therefore brewing over a potential return of all three main characters in the Rey film, which will take place roughly 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker as she looks to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Ridley has already expressed her desire for Boyega to return alongside her, and with Poe making up the final part of the Sequel Trilogy's main trio, his return could make sense too. Definitive answers could come at Star Wars Celebration 2025, but fans will otherwise be waiting a while to see what comes together.

This is because Disney has delayed the impending Star Wars films again and again despite having more than a dozen announced. The Rey film, which is directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, hasn't been locked in as of yet but its earliest potential release date is now December 17, 2027.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

As Respawn’s battle royale Apex Legends nears its sixth birthday, EA has said it’s failing to do the business for the company, and outlined plans for what it called Apex Legends 2.0.

Speaking in a financial call on its third quarter results, EA said that Apex Legends net bookings (revenue) were down year-over-year, but performed in-line with the company’s expectations.

During a question and answers session with analysts, EA CEO Andrew Wilson was asked for an update on the performance of Apex Legends, and his response was clear: Apex Legends is a huge game with millions of players, but it’s simply not making enough money for EA.

“Apex is probably one of the great new launches in our industry over the last decade and has been loved by that core cohort and we've had over 200 million people play the game,” Wilson began. “However, the trajectory of the business of that franchise has not been headed in the direction that we have wanted for some time. We have been trying, tuning, and testing many things in the context of the ongoing support of the community.

“As we think about Apex today, I really think about the development happening across three core vectors. The first is how do we continue to support this incredible community that plays the game day-in and day-out, which numbers tens of millions of people, and that's both quality-of-life, anti-cheat, and all of the things that make the core experience great as well as the creation of new content for that community.

“And we continue to try and test and develop more and great content for that community. And I would say we have seen some progress in that, but probably not as much as we would have liked.”

So, what’s EA going to do to turn Apex Legends around in financial terms? Wilson said it’s working on a major update to the game, what he called Apex Legends 2.0, that sounds designed to reinvigorate the franchise, bring more people into the game, and, yes, make more money.

However, Wilson said he doesn’t want to release Apex Legends 2.0 on top of the next Battlefield, which is due out before April 2026. It’ll come out after that, so, probably, at some point during EA’s 2027 fiscal year ending March 2027.

“We do believe there will be a time where we need to do a more meaningful update of Apex as a broad game experience, and the team is diligently working on that,” Wilson said. “You should imagine we probably wouldn't drop that on top of a Battlefield launch. And so from a timing standpoint, our thinking right now is that that would exist post-Battlefield.

“And then on a longer-term time horizon, again, these franchises that exist at this level and have this much fan love don't come along all that often. What I think we've demonstrated as a company is an ability to build franchises that last 10, 20, 30 years and growing.

“Our expectation is that Apex will also be one of those franchises and that sometime on a longer-term time horizon, there will be an even bigger, more meaningful update to that broader game experience, an Apex 2.0, if you will. This will not be the final incarnation of Apex.

“So the team remains incredibly committed. We continue to invest behind the core community who continues to play, that numbers in the tens of millions of players. We do believe that there should be a more major update that will probably happen after a Battlefield launch just in terms of timing, and the team is diligently working through what that would be.

“And then longer-term, our expectation is that we'll continue to expand what this franchise is and how we support a core community of highly competitive players and new communities that want to come and experience all the greatness that Apex has to offer.”

Apex Legends 2.0 sounds a bit like what Activision tried with Call of Duty battle royale Warzone, which rebooted somewhat with a 2.0 version in 2022. The jury is still out on whether that was the right move, with fans of the free-to-play shooter often reminiscing about Warzone as it was in the first two years of its life. The situation with Apex Legends is different, of course, but EA will be mindful of how its competitors in the battle royale market have fared as they work to grow its player base.

Speaking of which, Apex Legends remains one of the top-played games on Steam via concurrent player count (Microsoft and Sony do not make player numbers public). However, it is well past its peak on Valve’s platform, and is on a trajectory to hit record lows.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has commented on the financial failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, saying it failed to "resonate with a broad enough audience."

Last week, EA restructured Dragon Age developer BioWare to focus on Mass Effect 5 only, meaning some who worked on The Veilguard were moved to projects at other EA studios, while other staff were laid off.

The decision followed EA’s announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had underperformed on its expectations for the long-awaited action RPG. EA said Dragon Age "engaged" 1.5 million players during its recent financial quarter, which was down nearly 50% from the company's projections.

IGN has chronicled some of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s development challenges, including layoffs and the departure of several project leads at different stages.

According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, BioWare staff believe it was a miracle Dragon Age: The Veilguard released a complete game “after EA forced live-service into it, then reversed course.”

Now, speaking in an investor-focused financial call, Wilson suggested its role-playing games need to have “shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives.”

“In order to break out beyond the core audience, games need to directly connect to the evolving demands of players who increasingly seek shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives in this beloved category,” Wilson said in prepared remarks.

“Dragon Age had a high-quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played. However, it did not resonate with a broad enough audience in this highly competitive market.”

Reading between the lines, Wilson is suggesting that if Dragon Age: The Veilguard had “shared-world features" and “deeper engagement,” it might have sold more copies. But it’s hard to understand that position when you consider EA backed BioWare’s major reset of Dragon Age. As IGN has reported, this reboot saw Dragon Age shift from the skeleton of a multiplayer game with repeatable quests, a tech base, and the outline of a story, to a full-blown single-player RPG.

Fans are already saying EA has learnt the wrong lessons from Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and are pointing to the enormous success of single-player only RPGs that have been released recently, including Larian’s all-conquering Baldur’s Gate 3. Either way, it seems Dragon Age is now dead, at least for the foreseeable future. But what does this all mean for Mass Effect 5?

EA CFO Stuart Canfield touched on EA’s decision to restructure BioWare to focus on the next Mass Effect, which has reportedly involved cutting the 200-person studio down to less than 100 people.

“Historically, blockbuster storytelling has been the primary way our industry bought beloved IP to players,” Canfield said. “The game's financial performance highlights the evolving industry landscape and reinforces the importance of our actions to reallocate resources towards our most significant and highest potential opportunities.”

It’s worth noting that single-player only games make up a tiny portion of EA’s overall revenue. The bulk of the company’s cash comes from live service (74% in the last 12 months). Ultimate Team is doing the heavy lifting here, but there are live service contributions from everything from Apex Legends to The Sims. The upcoming Skate is a live service, and the next Battlefield will inevitably be treated as such, too.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Fellow bargain hunters and gaming connoisseurs, rejoice! Today's finest deals have landed, and as per usual, I'm here to sift through them. Whether you’re a platforming aficionado, a hardcore shooter fan, or a lover of social-calendar-destroying RPGs, there’s something for everyone. Let’s stop yacking and start saving.

In retro news, I’ve whipped up a wumpa fruit-flavoured cake for Crash Bandicoot 2's 26th birthday. I can vividly recall getting my arse handed to me at launch as I tried to jump, spin, body slam, slide, duck, and "death route" conquer my way to every gem needed for its secret ending.

I also have fond memories of a Simpsons pisstake of this franchise deployed around the same year. Apparently, "Dash Dingo" needed to find and devour "seven crystal babies" in the "Down Underverse" lest he spend eternity trapped in deep didgeridoo. Frankly, I'd rather play Knifey Spoony: The Video Game.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

Aussie birthdays for notable games.

- Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS) 1999. eBay

- XCOM 2 (PC) 2016. Get

Table of Contents

• Nintendo Switch
• PC
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• LEGO

Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch

• Joy Con Comfort Grips (-50%) - A$10
• FAR: Lone Sails (-90%) - A$2.25
• Yoku's Island Express (-80%) - A$5.40
• Worms W.M.D (-80%) - A$9
• NEO: The World Ends with You (-60%) - A$33.98

Expiring Recent Deals

• What Remains of Edith Finch (-75%) - A$7.49
• Suikoden I&II HD Remaster (-14%) - A$69
• SteamWorld Quest (-90%) - A$3.79
• Trials of Mana (-60%) - A$31.18

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

Back to top

Purchase Cheap for PC

• Battlefield 1 (-95%) - A$2.49
• Resi 4 Gold (-49%) - A$37.09
• Resi Village (-66%) - A$19.38
• Nioh 2 Complete (-50%) - A$36.47

Expiring Recent Deals

• RPG Maker VX Ace (-100%) - FREE
• CoD: Black Ops 6 (-30%) - A$76.96
• Logitech Pro Mechanical keyboard (-14%) - A$197
• Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 (-90%) - A$6.49
• Logitech G733 Lightspeed Headset (-50%) - A$149

Or just get a Steam Wallet Card

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Exciting Bargains for Xbox

• WWE 2K24 (-59%) - A$24
• F1 24 Champ Ed. (-80%) - A$27.99
• Ninja Gaiden Black (-50%) - A$7.47
• XCOM 2 Col. (-90%) - A$13.02

Expiring Recent Deals

• Dying Light 10th Bndl. (-100%) - FREE
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (-28%) - A$79
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (-19%) - A$89
• Cyberpunk 2077 (-53%) - A$41.97
• The Crew Motorfest Del. (-70%) - A$38.98

Or just invest in an Xbox Card.

Back to top

Pure Scores for PlayStation

• DualSense Sterling Silver (-30%) - A$84
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (-37%) - A$79
• Spyro Trilogy Reignited (-30%) - A$49
• WWE 2K24 (-59%) - A$24
• Crisis Core: FF7 Reunion (-22%) - A$64.58

Expiring Recent Deals

• Dying Light 10th Bndl. (-100%) - FREE
• Witcher 3 Complete (-80%) - A$15.59
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (-37%) - A$69
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (-19%) - A$89
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Gold (-7%) - A$139
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (-37%) - A$79

PS+ Monthly Freebies
Yours to keep from Feb 4 with this subscription

• Payday 3 [PS5]
• High on Life [PS4/5]
• Pac-Man World Re-Pac [PS4/5]

Or purchase a PS Store Card.

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Legit LEGO Deals

• Harry Potter: Hedwig (-37%) - A$19
• Batmobile vs. Mr. Freeze (-36%) - A$22
• Animal Crossing: Nook’s Cranny (-34%) - A$79
• Hogwarts Castle: Charms (-28%) - A$29

Expiring Recent Deals

• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Castle (-32%) - A$205
• DC: Bats and the Batpod (-32%) - A$81.94
• City: F1 Race Cars (-27%) - A$22

Back to top

As a PC gamer, sometimes you just want to crank up the graphics settings. But certain compromises need to be made with handheld gaming PCs and modest laptops. Filling that void in power is the goal behind the Ayaneo AG-01, a starship-inspired graphics dock that combines a docking station with a dedicated AMD Radeon 7600M XT graphics card to instantly boost the performance and expand connectivity on your Windows gaming handheld or notebook. It’s not the only dock to offer such features but it’s easily the most interesting and while it’s still expensive at $600, it’s reasonably priced compared to the competition with similar feature sets.

Ayaneo AG-01 – Design and Features

The Ayaneo AG-01 is probably the most unique external GPU available today. While it covers the basic features you would expect from a product like this, namely that it includes a dedicated graphics card with easy connectability to your handheld or underpowered notebook, Ayaneo has invested considerable effort in its aesthetic – making it look like a spaceship. Or, as Ayaneo puts it, a “graphics starship.”

Strange? Maybe a bit. But if there's one thing you can give to the company, it’s that its products always stand out. A clear line can be drawn from the retro theme of Ayaneo’s handhelds to much of its catalogue over the last year and this is certainly in a similar vein. The chassis of the dock is a mix of red and black (and is also available in gray). There's a knob on the left side that acts as a power button and performance selector between 100W and 120W, indicated by an RGB ring encircling the knob. The right side has the company name, product name, and GPU branding embossed in silver. There's also a small “Remake” badge that is reminiscent of the VHS era and a magnetic nameplate carrying the name of Ayaneo's founder, Arthur Zhang. Maybe I spend too much time considering PC components, but I also think it looks an awful lot like a desktop graphics card without the fans.

There’s more than pretty looks at play here. The chassis is made of metal to better help dissipate heat generated by the GPU. There are also prominent vents traced across its top and sides and active cooling to blow that heat out and keep performance high. That’s especially important here because, like all eGPUs, you’ll also be facing bandwidth limitations compared to if that card were natively installed in your system via PCI-E.

Around the back, you'll find its connectivity options. This is also where it becomes apparent that while it is a docking station in the traditional sense, it is much more targeted toward graphics in particular. For example, it includes both a USB4 Type-C port as well as an AccuLink port to connect to your device. You can also connect external monitors using either of its two HDMI 2.1 ports or its DisplayPort 2.0 outputs.

In addition, it features a single USB Type-A port, a gigabit ethernet connection, and a single pole jack for its power adapter. Around the left side, beneath the thruster vents, there is a removable panel that reveals an SD card slot for quick expandable memory for your device. Additionally, if you flip the unit over to the bottom, you'll find a quick-release plate opened with a locking knob that reveals an M.2 2280 SSD port to easily add larger, faster storage. This is perfect if your device has limited capacity and you want to maximize your transfer speeds and minimize loading times, though it runs at PCIe 3.0 USB speeds. In my testing, this was typically around 800 MB/s for both read and write.

The GPU driving the experience is the AMD Radeon 7600M XT. The "M" in its name indicates that this is actually a laptop chip that has been repurposed as a small-footprint eGPU (the entire unit measures 9.45 x 4.65 x 2.01 inches and weighs just over two pounds). The chip uses the RDNA 3 architecture and includes 32 compute units and 2,048 stream processors on a 128-bit memory interface. It also includes 8 GB of GDDR6 video memory, running at 18 Gbps, leading to a total memory bandwidth of 288 Gbps.

Looking for a new gaming system to take on the go?

Be sure to check out our guide on the best handheld gaming PCs!

If you are new to the world of eGPUs, it's important to note that you shouldn't expect the same level of performance from this chip as you would if this card were plugged or integrated directly into the motherboard. How a GPU connects to a system will have a direct impact on the performance and frame rate you can expect. When connected over USB4, you have a maximum bandwidth of 40 Gbps. However, the real world performance of USB4 is typically less. Connected over OCuLink, the maximum bandwidth is 64 GBps and does translate to higher FPS pretty much across the board.

USB4 offers some great features, however, like reverse 100W charging. If you connect using both OCuLink and USB, you can charge your device while playing. Ayaneo notes that the ethernet, USB, and SSD ports all share the same 10 Gbps of bandwidth, however.

Depending on your gaming needs, the knob on the top can swap between 100W and 120W power modes, feeding the GPU more juice to maximize frame rates. The fans can become quite audible but no more than a normal gaming laptop, and it wasn’t distracting when wearing a pair of headphones – and to me, the trade-off to get better frame rates was worthwhile.

Another thing that I like about the AG-01 is that it's self-enclosed. You really don't need to worry about software and instead can just plug it in and go. When so many devices rely heavily on software customization, including most Ayaneo products, it’s refreshing to have a device that’s ready to go out of the box.

It makes more sense to think of the AG-01 as an upgrade kit.

The final point worth remarking on is its cost. Initially, I was a bit taken aback by its $600 asking price. However, this is largely in line with competing devices and is in fact a bit cheaper than a number of others. A near-identical dock from BOSGAME is nearly $100 more, even with its $100 coupon, as is the ONEXGPU from ONEXPLAYER and the GPD G1. The only 7600M XT graphics dock I could find that costs less was the Minisforum MGA1 which lacks ethernet, a second HDMI 2.1 port, and any kind of expandable storage. If you don’t need those things, however, its specs make it a competitive value at less than $500 as of this writing. With this feature set, however, the Ayaneo AG-01 is competitively priced.

Ayaneo AG-01 – Performance

The AG-01 delivers on its promise: It instantly enhances the performance of compatible gaming handhelds and notebooks. It's simple and intuitive to use and just works. Well, with a couple of small caveats. First, while you can hotswap with the USB4 connection seamlessly like a Switch dock, OCuLink requires a full shutdown and restart to function. Second, you need to connect through OCuLink in order for the dock’s expandable storage to be recognized.

I was able to test the dock with both my Ayaneo Kun handheld which runs on an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor and Radeon 780M integrated graphics. For some quick OCuLink comparisons, I used the GPD Duo laptop, which features an AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 processor with Radeon 880M graphics and a newer RDNA 3.5 architecture. What’s impressive is that the AG-01 via OCuLink is better every time, and would continue to be so even on two identically specced systems. But no matter which connection method you choose, you can count on a big increase in gaming performance compared to integrated GPUs currently on the market.

Note that I conducted my tests using the 120W power mode and the benchmarks below reflect that. Given that the dock will be plugged into a wall outlet when in use, it doesn't make much sense to limit graphics power to only 100W unless volume levels are a primary concern. I also used a locked 1080p resolution to keep comparisons consistent.

Ayaneo AG-01 Benchmark Results

These are very good results – in most cases, turning on the external GPU versus just using a system’s built-in processor bumps performance anywhere from 50% to almost double what the integrated GPU is able to provide. Of course, the amount of uplift will depend on which APU your system is currently running, however, it's unlikely that you'll experience anything other than a significant performance uplift when paired with what’s available now.

Throughout my tests, I generally tried to dial up the settings to something that would look great on an external monitor. To my surprise, this also improved performance compared to using the built-in display on the Ayaneo Kun. It was usually around five to ten fps, but it’s nice to know that you can have an even better experience when moving to a larger display.

If you happen to be in the market for a multi-purpose external GPU, it’s worth considering.

If your device supports it, OCuLink should be your connection method of choice. In my testing, it typically offered anywhere from 30% to 50% increases in average frame rate at the same settings. Some of this is due to the newer processor in my test system but it certainly doesn’t take all the credit. The higher bandwidth makes a meaningful difference and lets the AG-01 shine.

I also outfitted the dock with a Team Group M.2 SSD. Due to the USB connection, it didn’t offer the same kind of speeds you would expect if it were installed directly into a motherboard. The SSD itself is rated for 1,800 MB/s read speeds and 1,500 MB/s for writing data, and as I mentioned above, both typically hovered around 800 MB/s due to bandwidth limitations. If the goal is to use an SSD to minimize loading times, however, it’s perfectly fine and is an exceptionally easy way to increase the storage of your device.

These days, pretty much any thin, light, and reasonably powerful laptop is considered an ultrabook (apart from gaming laptops). The term "ultrabook" may have been born out of Intel's marketing team to describe high-end, premium laptops, but it is not limited to just Intel-powered ultrabooks anymore. At its core, an ultrabook should deliver outstanding productivity performance while also being slim, lightweight, and highly portable. It's a reliable laptop that won't weigh you down or force you to carry a charger everywhere you go.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Ultrabooks:

The best ultrabooks available today can be downright suprising with just how capable they are given their size and weight. Our overall best pick right now, the Asus Zenbook S 16, competes with high-end desktops all while sipping the smallest amount of power and running exceptionally quietly. From budget-friendly offerings to powerful workhorses capable of editing 4K video and beyond, these are the best ultrabooks you can buy right now.

1. Asus Zenbook S 16

Best Ultrabook in 2025

2. HP Pavilion Aero 13

Best Budget Ultrabook

3. Razer Blade 14

Best Ultrabook for Gaming

4. Microsoft Surface Laptop 11

Best for Students

5. Asus Zenbook S 14

Best for Business

6. Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max)

Best Ultrabook for Creatives

How We Chose the Best Ultrabooks

To find the best ultrabooks, we first define what qualities an ultrabook needs to have to, a) be an ultrabook instead of a normal, if lightweight, laptop; and, b) be one of the best choices you can buy today. Any ultrabook needs to be thin, light, and have extended battery life. It needs to be dedicated to high-performance productivity, and if it can play games, that’s icing on the cake.

To form our list, we first evalutate the ultrabooks that we’ve reviewed and spent time with. With those early contenders written down, we consult other expert sources from across the web and look into major offerings from noteworthy brands (an ever-growing list). Critical impressions from industry experts are important, especially as they relate to our first criteria, and benchmark scores and real world impressions are all considered. We then turn to the community, poring over user reviews, Reddit recommendations, and cautionary tales to find the ultrabooks that are enhancing the lives of real users on a daily basis.

After compiling a list of the best choices, we break that down into key categories to help recommend the best ultrabook to you, no matter what kind of user you are. Whether you’re a work by day, game by night kind of user, a student, or a business professional that needs a dependable notebook to carry them through the day without weighing them down, we have the best picks, right here on this list.

Things to Consider When Shopping for an Ultrabook

Buying an ultrabook is not a minor investment, so you shouldn’t rush when making your decision. Before looking at ultrabooks, you’ll want to set your maximum budget – this means you won’t exceed what you can afford, allowing you to configure the right ultrabook to suit your needs. If you’re on a lower budget, you may need to sacrifice more powerful specs. Rather than looking at ultrabooks with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, for example, you could drop down to 8GB of DDR5 or even DDR4 RAM to save a bit of money.

Similarly, if you’re not fussed about using your ultrabook to play AAA games, integrated graphics like Intel Iris XE Graphics or Intel Arc Graphics will be plenty suitable. Rather than splashing out on an Nvidia RTX GPU, you can spend your money elsewhere on other components and features.

However, if you do have the budget to go big, then you’ll want to choose an ultrabook that’s more futureproof. With the latest generation of hardware, your ultrabook will last longer and won’t have to be upgraded as often. A 14th Gen i5 or i7 CPU or an AMD Ryzen 7000 or 9000 series processor with RTX 4000-series or AMD Radeon 7000-series GPU is a great place to start.

FAQs

What is an ultrabook laptop?

Intel coined the term “ultrabook” back in 2011 to describe laptops that are exceptionally thin, light, and use powerful hardware. These days, the term gets thrown around a bit more broadly to encompass laptops that aren’t necessarily the most powerful, but are exceptionally portable and are powerful enough to easily accomplish day-to-day productivity tasks with ease. Most ultrabooks also offer extended battery life so they can reliably get through a full eight-hour work day without dying on you.

Is a MacBook considered an ultrabook?

While a MacBook isn’t technically an ultrabook because it’s made by Apple, it could be considered a type of ultrabook. MacBooks are powerful yet lightweight laptops running on Apple’s macOS.

Are ultrabooks good for gaming?

Ultrabooks are not gaming laptops, so if fragging enemies or gaining levels is your bread and butter, you would be better suited with one of the best gaming laptops. With that in mind, if you’re willing to play at lower graphics settings or resolutions, it’s certainly possible to play games on many newer ultrabooks. Intel and AMD have made strides with the built-in gaming capabilities of its processors. Cloud gaming is another viable option that tends to work very well on ultrabooks, but requires a subscription to Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, or other related game-hosting services.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. He is the current subject matter expert on laptops for IGN, personally covering most laptop reviews. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

If you're searching for your next new game to play, Humble Choice February is now live, and this is the perfect bundle to discover something new! This month, Immortals of Aveum headlines the bundle, with seven other games like Total War: Pharoah Dynasties, Fabledom, and more included. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars to grab these games individually, you can get all eight games for just $11.99 at Humble Bundle for this month only.

Humble Choice Games for February 2025

The latest Capcom Spotlight and the Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase have arrived and they revealed a ton of new details for a wide array of Capcom games. Alongside a new story trailer and Open Beta 2 details for Monster Hunter Wilds, we were also treated to more details on Onimusha: Way of the Sword, an Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny remaster, a release date for Capcom Fighting Collection 2, and much more.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword Gets a Bunch of New Details

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is currently in development for a 2026 release date and Capcom gave us a few more exciting details on what fans can expect from the franchise's return.

When creating this new entry, the team is focusing on three core aspects, including creating compelling characters, a new protagonist, and engaging enemies. They are doing all they can to recreate the setting of Kyoto, which is "brimming with historical, real-life locations." Lastly, the team wants to create the "ultimate sword fighting action" game with the "visceral satisfaction of slicing through enemies."

While we didn't learn much about this new protagonist, it was confirmed Onimusha: Way of the Sword will be set in the Edo Period and will see us fighting off against evil creatures known as Genma. Due to a "twist of fate," our protagonist will wield an Oni Gauntlet and use it to dispatch any foes in his path and feed it souls in return.

The game will be challenging, but the team doesn't want it to be "impossibly difficult." Instead, it wants it to be a game that action fans of all skill levels can enjoy to its fullest.

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny Is Getting a Remastered Version in 2025

2002's Onimusha: Samurai's Destiny will be getting a remastered version in 2025, and Capcom hopes it will help with the wait for Onimusha: Way of the Sword in 2026.

Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta 2 to Feature Flagship Monster Arkveld

Monster Hunter Wilds' second Open Beta test is almost here and Capcom has pulled back the curtain on what will be different from the first beta. The biggest addition will be that players will be able to take on the new flagship monster, Arkveld, in an advanced quest that will test the skills of all who take it on.

There will also be a Gypceros Hunt, a training area to explore, and some online features like Private Lobbies and Online Single Player mode for players to try out. The Private Lobbies won't appear in searches and are perfect for those who want to just play with some friends. Online Single Player will let players jump in without joining a lobby. While they won't see other players in their Base Camp, they can use and S.O.S. Flare to switch to multiplayer when they need a little help.

Players will be able to transfer their data from the first Open Beta test for this new one, and also returning will be Character Creator, Story Trial, and the Doshaguma hunt.

Monster Hunter Wilds will be released on February 28 and the second Open Beta test, which will feature Cross-Play, will take place during the following times;

• Thursday, February 6 at 7pm PT to Sunday, February 9 at 6:59pm PT
• Thursday, February 13 at 7pm PT to Sunday, February 16 at 6:59pm PT

Players will be able to transfer their character data to the full game, but no game progression will carry over. Those who try it out will earn a special Pendant as a bonus for participating.

Monster Hunter Wilds Reveals Iceshard Cliffs and New Enemies Just Waiting to Be Fought

The Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase gave fans a look at a new story trailer for the game set to be released on February 28, and it took us all the to frozen locale known as the Iceshard Cliffs. Inhabiting this snowy place will be the quirky Wudwud known as Rove, the Hirabami - Leviathan, Nerscylla - Temnoceran, and the ferocious Gore Magala. And yes, we do get to learn more about the flagship monster known as the Arkveld.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Launches on May 16

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 will officially launch on May 16, 2025, and will bring with it a collection of fighting games that include Capcom vs. SNK Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, Capcom Fighting Evolution, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Power Stone, Power Stone 2, Project Justice, and Plasma Sword: Night of Bilstein.

Street Fighter 6 Adds Fatal Fury's Mai on February 5

Street Fighter 6 is set to add Fatal Fury's Mai to its roster on February 5, and she will be the second-last character Year 2 character following M. Bison and Terry. Elena will be the final character added in this group, and more details on her will be revealed in the future.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Long-running anime-inspired pirate adventure Grand Piece Online is kicking off February with a mini update that adds in the Turtleback Cave island, Kira fruit, and more for Roblox players to enjoy.

Developer Grand Quest Games published patch notes for the relatively smaller content update, revealing a handful of treasures to keep adventurers entertained while they wait for the next major release. While that does mean there are only a few tangible additions, such as that new island and fruit, the team made sure to include a solid group of balance adjustments to help keep its swashbuckling Roblox experience smooth across the board.

The best FreeSync gaming monitors ensure that your monitor’s refresh rate syncs with your compatible graphics card, resulting in reduced input latency, screen tearing, and stuttering. AMD makes some of the best graphics cards out there, such as the Radeon RX 7800 XT with high frame rates, even at 1440p. (The next generation of AMD GPUs announced at CES this year, the RX 5070 and RX 5070 XT, will release sometime this March, although the exact date and price range is still TBA.)

For your monitor to keep up with the demands of a power-hungry graphics card, you'll need the right tech in place. Our top pick is the Gigabyte Aorus FO32U, a beast of a gaming monitor at a reasonable price. But if you’re looking for something else, we’ve got a host of awesome FreeSync gaming monitors for you to consider.

TL;DR – These Are the Best FreeSync Gaming Monitors:

All of the best gaming monitors should have FreeSync support, but if you’re unsure, this list will definitely tick the right boxes. Gaming PCs should have the best hardware and peripherals to suit your needs, and that includes the type of monitor you choose.

If you have an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, you may find that some of these monitors even double up as a screen that will work perfectly with your consoles.

Additional contributions by Kevin Lee, Georgie Peru, and Danielle Abraham.

1. Gigabyte FO32U2

Best FreeSync Gaming Monitor

2. Lenovo Legion R27fc-30

Best Budget FreeSync Gaming Monitor

When it comes to 4K gaming monitors, the LG UltraGear 27GN950-B – which I've tested and reviewed – is my favorite, and it just so happens to come with FreeSync support. It's not just any FreeSync either, but FreeSync Premium Pro, ensuring you're guarded against tearing, stutters, and latency while gaming in HDR. This monitor is good to go on the HDR front as well. It's using an IPS panel that can cover 98% of the DCI-P3 color space and achieve high brightness levels to make the most of HDR10 content or games.

When you're gaming, you'll get some serious sharpness on account of the 4K resolution packed into the 27-inch panel, but LG doesn't make you trade speed for resolution. This panel can run at up to 144Hz, letting you go all-in for speed as well. You may not always hit that full speed at 4K, but that's where FreeSync is ready to back you up.

For 1440p, it's hard to top the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP, which I've reviewed. This gaming monitor offers an incredible 480Hz refresh rate, which allows it to offer class-leading motion clarity. Combined with its screen size and resolution, it offers great pixel density too, so you'll never miss an important detail that could come in clutch in your next competitive match.

The PG27AQDP doesn't come cheap, but if offers a premium feature set and top-tier performance to match its price tag. It's WOLED panel is fantastically bright, reaching 1,300 nits in highlights. Even in SDR, it will impress you with how great it looks. Its colors are rich, and though perhaps not as tightly out-of-the-box accurate as its QD-OLED counterparts, it's still close enough to use for content creation. In fact, I can confidently recommend this display for just about anything you would like to use it for, short of professionally color-critical work.

It's also an excellent choice for pairing with the current generation of gaming consoles. It features two HDMI 2.1 ports so that you can run both your PS5 and Xbox Series X at their maximum 240Hz refresh rate while you take advantage of its enhanced clarity and enjoy its immersive picture. Gaming with a controller doesn't have to mean sacrifice!

When it comes to ultrawide FreeSync monitors, the AOC Agon Pro AG456UCZD, which we've reviewed, is an absolute monster. Coming in at 45 inches with a 21:9 aspect ratio, this ultrawide becomes the absolute centerpiece of your gaming setup.

Size isn't all it has going for it, though. This monitor also features a fast and vibrant OLED panel that gets plenty bright in HDR and clocks in with a 240Hz refresh rate. Paired with the native 0.03ms response time of OLED itself, the Agon Pro offers pristine clarity, even during rapid motion.

You should know, a 45-inch ultrawide isn't for everybody. It's imposing. But then again, ultrawides themselves aren't for everybody, and if you're the kind of gamer that needs extra screen real estate – and let's be real, who doesn't – the AG456UCZD is tops. While most 21:9 monitors extend their width without offering additional vertical space, the Agon Pro does exactly that, offering more usable space than competing FreeSync monitors.

It also offers next-level immersion thanks to its deep 800R curve. It's not common to see monitors with such a deep radius, but the AG456UCZD is designed to wrap into your peripheral vision as you play, drawing you into the experience. This does have an impact on text clarity, so I'd recommend sticking to a shallower curve if you plan to use it for productivity.

The next Battlefield game is expected to launch during EA’s fiscal year 2026, the company said today.

Reporting its financial results for the third quarter of its current fiscal year ending March 2025, EA said the new Battlefield has an “expected fiscal year 2026 release.”

That means it’ll launch at some point between April 2025 and March 2026.

This week, EA released a first official look at the new Battlefield game as part of an announcement around player testing and its development set-up.

The brief glimpse at pre-alpha Battlefield gameplay came as part of a video revealing what EA calls Battlefield Labs, and an accompanying call to arms for playtesters.

"EA unveiled Battlefield Labs, a new initiative allowing player-driven testing and innovation ahead of the franchise’s expected fiscal year 2026 release," EA said in its financial report.

Meanwhile, EA revealed Battlefield Studios, the umbrella branding for the four studios it has working on the new Battlefield. These are the series’ main Stockholm, Sweden-based developer, DICE, Dead Space remake and Star Wars: Squadrons developer Motive (which is also working on an Iron Man game), U.S. studio Ripple Effect (formerly known as DICE LA), and UK studio Criterion, whose work on Need For Speed has now come to an end.

DICE in Sweden is building the multiplayer for the new Battlefield. Motive is working on single-player missions and multiplayer maps. Ripple Effect is working on bringing in new players to the Battlefield franchise. And Criterion is working on the single-player campaign.

EA said its collective Battlefield Studios teams are now entering a “critical” phase of the development cycle, and want player feedback on what to prioritize, improve, and refine before release. To that end, Battlefield Labs will see EA test almost everything but not everything players see will be complete. Participants will have to agree to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before getting in.

“Even in pre-alpha, we are proud of where the game is at,” EA said. “We tirelessly playtest, but your feedback will supercharge our development as we strive to hit that perfect note between form, function, and feel.

“This is an unprecedented moment for Battlefield. We will start by testing the pillars of play, like core combat and destruction. Then transition to balance and feedback for our weapons, vehicles and gadgets, ultimately leading to where all these pieces come together in our maps, modes, and squad play.

“And yes, we will be testing Conquest and Breakthrough, the heart and soul of our all-out warfare experience, but BF Labs will also be a place to explore new ideas and fine-tune and improve Battlefield pillars like our class system (Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon) to create deeper more strategic play.”

It’s worth remembering that while EA is devoting four entire studios to Battlefield, last year it shut down Ridgeline Games, a Seattle-based developer that was working on a new supposedly standalone single-player Battlefield game with more of a story focus, and laid off all its staff.

In September, EA revealed fresh details on its untitled Battlefield game alongside its first concept art. IGN also confirmed that Battlefield will return to a modern setting after stints in World War I, World War II, and the near future. The concept art suggested ship-to-ship and helicopter combat will be part of the new game, and that it will feature natural disasters like wildfires.

At the time, Vince Zampella, Head of Respawn & Group GM for EA Studios Organization, referenced Battlefield 3 and 4 in an interview with IGN. "I mean, if you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it's that Battlefield 3... Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern,” he said.

“And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we'll see where it goes from there. But I think for me, it's that peak of Battlefield-ness is in that Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it's nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even. Those are kind of the heyday… although I would say 1942 also."

The return to the modern setting represents a course correction for the series after Battlefield 2042, which eventually found its footing but was otherwise widely panned for features like Specialists — characters that made it seem as if Battlefield was trying to be a hero shooter. Its ambitious 128-player maps also proved unpopular with fans who preferred a more focused experience. Battlefield 2042 eventually went back to supporting 64 players per map, and the next Battlefield plans to stick to that approach. Specialists are also out this time around.

The pressure on the next Battlefield is on after 2042’s missteps. EA CEO Andrew Wilson has called it one of the "most ambitious projects in [EA's] history," and based on the sheer number of studios involved, it’s a significant investment. The Battlefield Studios tagline is, “We’re all in on Battlefield.”

"Yeah, it's definitely betting bigger on Battlefield,” Zampella told IGN in the interview from 2024. “It's going in and expanding what Battlefield is. We have to have the core. The core Battlefield players know what they want. They've been with us forever, they've been amazing supporters. We need to earn their trust back and get them back on our side. And then it's expanding out and getting more players into the universe and seeing what we can do, so when you want a different experience, you don't have to leave Battlefield. You can experience more things within the Battlefield universe. So we're expanding the offerings that we're giving."

EA has yet to announce launch platforms or a final title for the new Battlefield.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

After some San Diego Comic-Con early preview footage, fun teaser imagery, and other sneak peeks, the first actual teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has arrived.

Fantastic Four is the 37th (!) MCU movie, which is a bit ironic, considering the FF are often called “Marvel’s First Family” because 1961’s Fantastic Four #1 marked the official launch of Marvel Comics – a re-naming of a company that had been around since 1939 – and the kick-off of a massive run of successful superhero debuts. But with the Fantastic Four movie rights finally back with Marvel Studios, following multiple FF films from 20th Century Fox, we at last have the gang that started it all in the MCU! …Except that sure doesn’t look like the MCU?

Days of Retro Future Past

As teased by those earlier images, the First Steps teaser fully reveals the 1960s-inspired, retro- futuristic world the film is set in. Clearly this isn’t the prime MCU (or “Sacred Timeline,” to use TVA terminology) we’ve been following for 17 years now, since that universe pretty much looks like our own, just with a lot more superhero battles. As with last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine, we’ve got a new MCU film not really set within the MCU - this one introducing an entirely new universe. We’re not sure what year it is for the First Steps gang, but it’s very likely it’s simply 2025 or thereabouts, just in a reality where the visual style has stayed firmly rooted in what we’d consider the past.

In the teaser we see Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) showing a guest around their kitchen, which boasts a midcentury modern look that would have been right at home in the era when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the Fantastic Four. Despite the 1960s also introducing Marvel mainstays like Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil and the X-Men, there’s always been something more innately throwback about the FF, thanks to many elements from the original comics. This included going so big (often literally) on Reed’s incredible inventions, the wholesome family element of this team, and the idea that they were local celebrities, much of which is referenced in the teaser.

This is probably why the idea of a period piece Fantastic Four movie has always sounded appealing - and indeed was the approach director Peyton Reed, eventual director of Ant-Man, and screenwriter Mark Frost (co-creator of Twin Peaks) were going to take with the FF when Reed was going to direct the film back in the early 2000s. At this point, the history of the MCU is way too established to say the Fantastic Four were running around New York as celebrity superheroes in the 1960s, but the multiverse approach allows the film to still maintain this feeling.

First Steps’ director, Matt Shakman, already has some great experience doing this kind of throwback style within the MCU, having directed every episode of the TV-era-jumping WandaVision.

Of course, as optimistic and cheerful as the Fantastic Four can be, that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of any angst, which the teaser hints at via the moment where Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) sadly looks at footage of himself before he was transformed, silently lamenting his inability to change back to human - a core aspect of the character’s plight in the source material.

Fantastic Four and Other Decades’ Influence

While the primary aesthetic of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is inspired by the 1960s, a couple of elements in the teaser come from later eras in the team’s history.

Among a small group that includes the likes of Harley Quinn and Firestar, the helpful robot H.E.R.B.I.E. stands out as a comic book character originally created not for the comics themselves, but for a previous adaptation - specifically the late 1970s animated series, The New Fantastic Four. But while there was probably some R2-D2 influence at work when H.E.R.B.I.E. debuted in the wake of Star Wars, the idea of a cute robot buddy certainly works for the 1960s as well.

And then there’s the Fantastic Four costumes in the film. The FF have almost always worn some variation of a blue team uniform, though there have been many redesigns over the years. The classic 1960s suits were dark blue with black trim, before John Byrne gave the team their biggest overhaul to date in the 1980s, with larger white trim replacing the black.

It’s clearly the Byrne uniforms the First Steps costumes are most inspired by, albeit with some tweaks, including the white stripes going down the arms of the costumes for The Thing and Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), while the Invisible Woman uniform is closest to the exact Byrne look. Here though, the entire team is wearing a much brighter blue than in the comics, reflecting the film’s cheerful, upbeat vibe.

Outer Space, Dimension-Hopping and More

The teaser indicates that the Fantastic Four are already very well known during the film, rather than this being a straightforward origin story, as we see not just their fame but also hear Reed say “Before we went up the first time” when mentioning the mission to space that gave them their powers - clearly indicating they have been back to space since. This very much matches the FF’s comic book adventures, which frequently have them traveling to other worlds, whether they be via spaceships or dimension-hopping.

And of course we know they’ll be facing a decidedly big threat from the space in First Steps via Galactus (played by Ralph Ineson), a giant cosmic entity who literally consumes worlds. The one previous live-action depiction of Galactus, in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, infamously turned Galactus into a cloud rather than a giant human-like alien, so seeing that distinct helmet of the character here is a great way to let comic book fans know we’re going to get a more classic Galactus this time.

We don’t see the Silver Surfer in the teaser, though we know Julia Garner is playing this universe’s version, who is an alien woman known as Shalla-Bal. However, we do get one shot of John Malkovich, who’s playing a mystery character. There are a couple of possibilities that leap to mind though, including the Red Ghost, a supervillain who has a similar look with long white hair in the comics, albeit with no beard. And then there’s Philip Masters, AKA Puppet Master, the father to the blind Alicia Masters, the longtime love interest to Ben Grimm, the Thing. With both Malkovich and Natasha Lyonne in First Steps in unspecified roles, it feels like they could be playing Philip and Alicia.

To Be Continued… in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars?

Though it feels doubtful Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will have a large role in the FF movie, it also feels like a rather safe bet that the actor will at least appear in a concluding scene or credits scene to introduce the character before we see him play a huge role in the next two Avengers movies - which are also going to feature the Fantastic Four.

The comic book Secret Wars storyline involves different universes colliding, with Doom playing a central role, so it always made sense he’d be a part of that story in the MCU. Presuming we meet him in First Steps, it’s easy enough to establish him as Reed’s rival in brilliance, who for some reason sets out on a path that will take him – and his enemies – across the multiverse.

Because obviously the Fantastic Four retro universe is going to somehow cross over eventually with the regular “Sacred Timeline” of the MCU that we all know. If the films follow the comics version of Secret Wars, that may be more of a “crash into” than a “cross over”...

And though it’s understandably not getting any of the attention, it is amusing to note that Robert Downey Jr. isn’t the only actor who played a well-established role in the MCU who will now be playing someone else entirely too, as Ebon Moss-Bachrach, playing the Thing here, also played Micro in Season 1 of The Punisher. So while we’re all assuming characters like Peter Parker and the Avengers will gasp seeing Victor Von Doom’s face, how about we get a scene where Frank Castle gasps seeing The Thing change into Ben Grimm?

Okay, that’s probably not a priority…

This review is based on a screening at the 2025 Sundnace Film Festival.

A horror movie taking place in the shadow of its central metaphor, The Thing with Feathers adapts a poetic novella steeped in maudlin black comedy into a 104-minute slog. While it boasts a strong central performance from Benedict Cumberbatch as a grieving father, it also severely misuses the actor’s skillset. But that’s just the most noticeable of its many major problems.

The film begins with Cumberbatch’s unnamed character comforting his two elementary-school-aged sons (played by siblings Richard and Henry Boxall) after their mother’s funeral. The sudden loss of his spouse sends him into a tailspin faster than he can pick up the pieces of their lives, and his grief eventually manifests as a giant, humanoid crow. (The thing with feathers in the Emily Dickinson-indebted title of the source material.) Embodied by Eric Lampaert and voiced by David Thewlis, the immaculately designed creature torments Cumberbatch’s widower at night with frank barbs about his failures.

Director Dylan Southern has a keen eye for individual moments, but they often fail to coalesce into a satisfying whole. Scenes that flash back to the father discovering his wife’s body create the sense that the past and the present are unfolding at once via matching movements and framing – yanking bygone trauma into the here and now. However, these subtle emotional ripples are quickly cast aside in favor of rote jump scares born of disconnected dream sequences. Whenever the giant crow rears its head in the family’s apartment, it’s presented in oddly matter-of-fact fashion, allowing for few instances of reaction or realization as its presence sets in. The bird is an astonishing creation, but the way it’s shot and edited makes little impact.

The father in Porter’s story was an academic, but here he's a gothic comic artist who gets lost in his sketches of black, feathery creatures, which more directly connects the dots between his coping mechanism and the way his grief takes hold. However, the crow ends up fulfilling the opposite function of what’s intended: While it appears at inopportune moments, as something that must be confronted no matter what, its arrival robs the film of all weight and tension. On paper, it’s meant to be an antenna for the family’s sorrow. In practice, it’s a distraction from it – no matter how many verbose explanations of its own purpose and meaning Thewlis delivers.

As the film goes on, switching narrators and points of-view in segmented chapters, Southern’s visual approach becomes increasingly ill-fitting for Cumberbatch’s presence. Every actor in the film (especially the young Boxall boys) performs in a tremendously natural fashion, which cinematographer Ben Fordesman echoes through his free-flowing camera. However, Cumberbatch’s presence sticks out sorely, perhaps through no fault of his own. He’s utterly emotionally committed, but his movement and posture in each scene feels too rhythmically calculated for a film unwilling to match an approach perhaps better suited for an expressionistic form of theater like Noh or kabuki. In short: The Thing with Feathers doesn’t know how to contain him. Opposite the Boxalls, Cumberbatch’s animalistic transformations feel at worst comedic, and at best, severely out of place.

The Thing with Feathers wears its underlying meanings on its sleeve, but for a story that unravels slowly, that’s hardly a good thing. Its messages and motifs are made crystal clear early on, after which it spends the vast majority of its runtime – which, in spite of its slightness, still feels like an eternity – retracing its steps and repeating itself while adding few new dimensions. Meanwhile, it acts as a reminder of other, better films (like The Babadook) which have executed similar concepts with far more finesse.

Most of us know playing the best board games with friends and family can be a great way to spend your free time. But what about turning to board games when you find yourself alone and looking for something to pass the time? It's not as strange as it may sound, because many board games these days are designed to be played solo, or at least have a fun single-plyaer mode. From strategy games to roll-and-write board games and everything in between, there are many options available for solo play. Below, we'll take a look at some of the best board games that can be played alone, giving you a chance to relax and unwind while still engaging your mind.

TL;DR: These are the Best Solo Board Games

War Story: Occupied France