Warning: this article contains full spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 9! Be sure to check out IGN's review of the Season 1 finale.

Daredevil: Born Again has just ended its first season on Disney+, and the finale is quite a doozy. We’ve seen Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock brought low several times over the years, but this might be the bleakest ending yet for old Hornhead. Suffice it to say, MCU fans are in for a very interesting Season 2 when the show makes its return in 2026.

As the dust settles from the latest clash between Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, let’s break down the dramatic ending to Season 1. Who’s still standing, and how does it all set up Season 2? And what about that recently announced Punisher special? Here’s what we learn from Born Again’s season finale.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Ending Explained

All season long, Born Again has been exploring the question of whether a person can permanently and fundamentally change themselves. Can Matt Murdock just be a lawyer, free of the burden of acting as a vigilante and defying the law he’s sworn to uphold? Can Wilson Fisk truly live on the right side of the law, or is he simply talking a big game when he claims to be looking to make his city a better, safer place?

By the events of the finale, the answer appears to be a resounding “No.” Matt has been called back into action as Daredevil, spurred on by his clash with Muse and his renewed feud with Fisk. Not that this is necessarily presented as a failure on Matt’s part. He’s been forced to accept that there’s no point in adhering to “the system” when there are many whom the system simply doesn’t protect. As much as he’d like to believe otherwise, the city still needs Daredevil.

As for Fisk, at one point, he may have had genuinely good intentions in running for mayor, but we know what they say about those with good intentions. Repeated clashes with disloyal underlings and contemptuous billionaires - as well as his desperate desire to rekindle Vanessa’s (Ayelet Zurer) love for him - have caused Fisk to retreat into his old persona. By this point, Fisk has fully reverted to Kingpin mode and has surrounded himself with an army of cops proudly wearing the Punisher skull and operating completely above the law.

Again, the odds are stacked against Matt like never before in the finale. No sooner does he begin to recover from literally taking a bullet for Fisk than Fisk attempts to remove him from the board permanently, reasoning that a martyred hero can only further his mayoral agenda. Fisk’s first big move is to shut off power to the city and turn his army loose on the looters, justifying the need for martial law.

It’s here that the wounded, desperate Matt finds two badly needed allies in Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle and Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page. Karen has called in a favor with Frank (building on their long shared history in both the original Daredevil series and The Punisher spinoff), forcing Frank to take action even though he claims to be disinterested in the chaos sweeping the city.

After a bloody showdown that leaves Matt’s apartment in shambles, Matt, Frank, and Karen regroup and plot their next move against Fisk. Matt and Karen know that the key to taking down the Fisks is to find the legal motion Foggy (Elden Henson) was preparing to file before his death. They find that motion tucked away in Foggy’s storage locker. Frank stays behind, again feigning disinterest in the fight against Fisk and his army of “fanboys.” But that facade breaks, and Frank eventually confronts the corrupt cops, killing several before being captured.

Daredevil and Karen prepare to storm Fisk’s compound at the Red Hook port, but even Matt can’t deny that the odds are too stacked against them. He won’t be one-shot hallway fighting his way out of this predicament. Instead, the two retreat to lick their wounds and gather what allies they have to fight another day.

And that’s basically where the series leaves things at the end of Season 1. Fisk is triumphant, having extended his grip over the city and imprisoned or killed most of his enemies. Costumed vigilantes are now strictly outlawed in the city. Evil wins, for now. But that doesn’t stop Matt from delivering a rousing speech about the importance of resistance and the enduring strength of New York in Josie’s Bar. The tone has been set for Season 2. Matt has once again embraced his Daredevil persona and is ready to fight for his city by any means necessary.

Does Daredevil: Born Again Have a Post-Credits Scene?

Like so many MCU projects before it, Daredevil: Born Again does indeed have a post-credts scene (or a mid-credits scene, to be specific). That scene revisits Frank Castle, who after enduring a savage beating at the hands of Fisk’s fanatically loyal cops, is now imprisoned in Red Hook alongside the city’s billionaire elite. Frank wastes no time cozying up to the guard, who makes the mistake of shaking hands with The Punisher. One savage bone breaking later, Frank is free and ready to resume his campaign of vengeance.

Does that mean we can expect Bernthal to reprise his role in Season 2? Possibly, but Marvel appears to have other plans in mind for The Punisher as well. We’ll get to him in a bit.

What to Expect From Born Again Season 2

Marvel doesn’t have a strong track record of following up their various Disney + shows with second seasons. On the live-action front, so far only Loki has returned for Season 2. Given that Born Again effectively ends on a cliffhanger, it would be pretty frustrating if the series met with the same fate. Luckily, fans needn’t worry about Born Again becoming trapped in limbo. Season 2 is definitely happening.

Marvel originally announced Born Again as being an 18-episode series. Plans have shifted somewhat since then, but now we can expect an 8-episode second season to follow up on this initial batch of 9 episodes. Dario Scardapane will again serve as showrunner of Season 2, and directors/producers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson are also returning. Best of all, the new season is already in production, making a 2026 release very possible.

In a roundtable interview with IGN, D’Onofrio revealed that he’s read the scripts for Season 2 and had a very emotional reaction.

“There's already information about what we're about to start shooting in the second season that I had to have a little cry about,” D’Onofrio tells IGN. “So it's quite something. This show can be quite intense as an actor.”

Based on how Episode 9 ends, we have a pretty good idea of the tone and direction of Season 2. Expect an even darker pivot next time around. Fisk has successfully installed himself as the all but untouchable monarch of the city. He’s outlawed costumed vigilantes, which gives his militant police force carte blanche to target anyone rioting or protesting against the government. Daredevil has a few allies - Karen, Clark Johnson’s Cherry, Ruibo Qian’s Detective Kim, etc. - but he’s still just one man staring down the void of facism and systemic rot.

From pixel-perfect platformers to deep, sprawling RPGs, my Wednesday bargain bin is loaded with gold. Across many storefronts, publishers are slashing RRPs like a Buster Sword through butter, and there’s never been a better excuse to finally tackle that backlog (or cram a few more in).

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm celebrating three things: the 26th birthday of Ridge Racer Type 4 plus a weird and wonderful bunch of Namco-built controllers supported by it. The game itself? Well, it was an incredibly stylish arcade racer with ludicrously exaggerated drift mechanics, a "car-PG-lite" GP mode, and a banger soundtrack. Sadly, it was massively overshadowed by the original Gran Turismo, but it's well worth a low-cost look on the PlayStation Store today.

However, by taking that modern digital route, you'll be missing out on two novel ways to play, as Ridge Racer Type 4 was at its best when controlled by either the NeGcon or JogCon controllers (which I eBayed for retrospective testing purposes). The former peripheral has you twisting its two halves and provides a remarkably precise cornering experience. I rated the JogCon higher with its pretty rad force feedback, which delivers the tug of torque steering, collisions, and turning feedback through its central dial. All in all, two fascinating evolutionary dead ends of input.

Aussie bdays for notable games

- Ridge Racer Type 4 (PS) 1999. eBay

- Painkiller (PC) 2004. Get

- Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (PS3,X360) 2009. eBay

- Trials Fusion (PS4,X360/O) 2014. Get

Contents

• Nintendo
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• PC
• PC Gear
• LEGO
• Headphones
• TVs

Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch

On Nintendo Switch, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is down to just A$19 (-75%), a tactical romp born from a surprising Ubisoft–Nintendo crossover that was so heartfelt, Shigeru Miyamoto personally endorsed it. Meanwhile, Superliminal (A$10, -60%) plays with forced perspective in clever, reality-bending ways. It was inspired by optical illusion artists like M.C. Escher and a desire to “break brains without breaking controllers.”

• Hogwarts Legacy (-46%) - A$49
• EA Sports FC 25 (-62%) - A$34
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (-33%) - A$53
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• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (-75%) - A$19

Expiring Recent Deals

• Sonic Frontiers (-53%) - A$47
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Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

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Exciting Bargains for Xbox

• 40K Space Marine 2 (-27%) - A$79
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Xbox One

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Or just invest in an Xbox Card.

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Pure Scores for PlayStation

• Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (-41%) - A$44
• Lords of the Fallen (-72%) - A$30
• Persona 5 Royal (-42%) - A$55
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (-50%) - A$57
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• What Remains of Edith Finch (-75%) - A$6

PS4

• Red Dead Redemption (-49%) - A$36
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (-57%) - A$49
• Crisis Core FF7 Reunion (-30%) - A$59
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• Split Fiction (-16%) - A$59
• The Last of Us Part II Rem. (-21%) - A$59
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• Need for Speed Unbound (-82%) - A$20
• Helldivers 2 (-27%) - A$44
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PS+ Monthly Freebies
Yours to keep from Apr 1 with this subscription

• RoboCop: Rogue City | PS5
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Or purchase a PS Store Card.

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Purchase Cheap for PC

On PC, RoboCop: Rogue City (A$10, -86%) delivers pure cybernetic justice voiced by the original RoboCop himself, Peter Weller. And Slay the Spire (A$12, -66%) continues to dominate the roguelike deckbuilder scene, inspiring countless copycats but never losing its crown.

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Or just get a Steam Wallet Card

Laptop Deals

• Apple 2024 MacBook Air 15-inch (-12%) – A$2,197
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Desktop Deals

• HP OMEN 35L Gaming (-10%) – A$2,799
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Monitor Deals

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• Samsung 57" Odyssey Neo Curved (-22%) – A$2,499

Component Deals

• MSI PRO B650M-A WiFi Motherboard (-41%) – A$229
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Legit LEGO Deals

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Hot Headphones Deals

Audiophilia for less

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Terrific TV Deals

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Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 9!

The first season of Daredevil: Born Again has been quite the rollercoaster in terms of quality, but boy does it end on a high note. The dueling storylines of Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk have finally crashed together, exploding into numerous devastating developments that fundamentally change the trajectory of the show. Originally, Born Again was envisioned as one season with 18 episodes, but it’s been cut into two seasons instead, so it’s not a surprise that this finale ends on a cliffhanger. Yet with New York City now in Fisk’s clutches and Daredevil faced with his most impossible challenge, what a cliffhanger it is.

In an episode with several incredible highlights, my favorite has to be the reunion of Daredevil and Punisher. They are two polar opposites, with one showing his worst enemies mercy and the other making sure the bad guys meet the most gruesome end possible. And Frank Castle calling out Matt Murdock for saving Fisk’s life? Amazing. The apartment fight scene between the two heroes and Fisk’s task force is one of the most brutal ever put to the screen by Marvel. After so many episodes of buildup, it felt extra satisfying to watch.

Helping to balance out the rift between those two is Karen Page, whose return is most welcome. Her intimate connection to both Frank and Matt makes her the perfect person to reset tensions and refocus their efforts on what matters most. Matt listening to her heartbeat to intuit her true feelings was a very nice, very Daredevil touch, too.

Last episode, Murdock figured out it was Vanessa who arranged to have Foggy Nelson killed after he stumbled upon the Fisks’ plans for Red Hook. Getting to see how Vanessa manipulated Benjamin Poindexter by taking away his support systems, just like her husband did, adds the last piece of the puzzle to this season-long mystery. Best of all, Bullseye isn’t treated as just a gun for hire and is finally given back the nuance that made him such a fascinatingly tragic villain back in season three.

Fisk’s master plan to turn New York City into his own personal city-state is the kind of audacious supervillain scheme I can get into. It’s a dastardly plan comic-book fans have seen before – like when Bane did the same thing to Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises – but this version feels like it has one foot in reality, making it all the more scary when we see how Fisk is able to threaten and brute force his way to ultimate power. I especially enjoy how Fisk has taken to wearing his signature white suit when making public appearances. Mayor Fisk and the Kingpin of Crime are now one in the same, and he’s no longer trying to hide it.

In fact, Fisk is so confident in his position of total control and feels so immune to consequences that he has no problem grabbing the head of the rebellious commissioner and squishing it like a melon. Gross! Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane had teased “There’s a moment in this [show] that is just absolutely batshit,” and he wasn’t kidding! That moment may very well go down as the most unbelievably violent act ever shown in the MCU. And I thought Matt breaking that dude’s knee back in episode five was bad!

As the episode wraps up in poetic fashion, it’s hard to imagine a way Daredevil could ever hope to win back the city. Murdock always had the law on his side, but what’s he to do when Fisk is able to bend and corrupt the law so that everything he does is legal? That’s the question we’re left with as we eagerly await season two. However, I do sincerely hope Daredevil recruits a few more notable faces for his “army.” As he waxed on about how the city without fear needed to resist, rebel, and rebuild, it felt like it was leading to a big reveal. I was expecting to see some of the Defenders such as Jessica Jones or Luke Cage, or maybe even Spider-Man or the new Hawkeye, since New York City is their home, too. But it ended up being just a few cops and allies, the same ones who just failed to stop Fisk.

Other Thoughts

• As if there weren’t enough crazy awesome moments in this episode, at long last the Punisher confronts Fisk’s task force and lets them know what he really thinks of them co-opting his symbol. On one hand, it’s key to hear Frank voice his disapproval by calling them a bunch of clowns. But I wish he would’ve gone one further and really hammer home why they fundamentally misunderstand what that skull represents.

It's never a bad time to get into reading the Batman comics, but 2025 is an especially great year to do so. With multiple ongoing series, spin-offs, and sequels to older legendary runs, the Caped Crusader has never been more popular. We have you covered with the best way to read the Batman comics online, and breakdown some of the best series to check them out. For a full list of upcoming comics, check out our guide for every upcoming Batman single issue comic and graphic novel releasing in 2025.

Where to Read Batman Online

Start For Free on DC's Website

Not everyone is the DIY type. If you're in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of the best brands we'd recommend. Alienware desktops and laptops feature solid build quality, top-of-the-line gaming performance, excellent cooling (further improved on the newer models), aggressive styling, and pricing that is very competitive with other pre-built options. Best of all, there are plenty of sales that happen throughout the year, so it's not difficult to grab one of these computers at considerably less than their retail price. This page includes all of the best deals that are currently available.

Dell and Alienware Coupons

Dell and Alienware Gaming PC Deals

Dell and Alienware Gaming Laptop Deals

You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. See below for our favorite picks.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Prebuilt Gaming PCs Are Available

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5070 Gaming PC

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptop Is Now Available

Alienware m16 Gaming Laptops

Razer's new 2025 lineup of gaming laptops are now up for preorder... again. The Razer Blade 16 and Razer Blade 18 had been up for preorder starting early March, but Razer recently took down both listings after the new tariffs went live in April. Fortunately, Razer has quietly relisted the Razer Blade 16 and without any additional price markup, although several configurations are already selling out.. The Razer Blade 18, unfortunately, is still unavailable.

The new Razer Blade 16 is equipped with the latest Ryzen AI 9 365 processor and the new RTX 5000-series mobile GPUs in your choice of two variants: RTX 505080 and RTX 5090. Preordering will also get you some bonus accessories depending on the model. Razer Blade laptops are well known for their impeccable build quality. The chassis is built from a single piece of aluminum and is designed to be exceptionally thin and light for a gaming laptop. In order to get away with the svelte form factor, Razer employs its own proprietary cooling design which incorporates a vacuum sealed, liquid filled, copper vapor chamber to effectively whisk away the heat. Much like Apple MacBook Pros, a lot of engineering goes into a Razer Blade laptop, which is why they command a premium price compared to other mainstream brands.

Razer Blade 16

Available again

J.C. Lee, the daughter of legendary Marvel creative Stan Lee, has spoken out for the first time in an interview with Business Insider to deny past allegations that she committed elder abuse toward both her father and her mother, Joan.

The accusations against J.C. Lee first began circulating in 2017 following the death of her mother, with the most damning portrait appearing in a 2018 The Hollywood Reporter piece. The report alleges that, under pressure from three other individuals connected to the Lees, J.C. Lee frequently pressured her parents for money and control of assets. It claims that she engaged in screaming matches with Stan Lee and had what the article describes as a "powder-keg" relationship with him, with claims including verbal arguments and at least one alleged physical altercation. THR was provided photos of a bruise on Joan Lee’s arm and included detailed accusations that J.C. Lee has denied.

Now, in the Business Insider interview, J.C. Lee says that the accusations were all "a lie." She says she did not make a public denial at the time of the initial THR piece under advisement from people around her. "You think I haven't regretted it to this day?" she said. "They are all lies. That photo is insane. I never did it."

J.C. Lee acknowledged that she did often get into screaming fights with her parents over money, but says it never became physical. "I never ever touched my parents," she said.

Stan Lee died of a heart attack in 2018 at the age of 95.

The full interview with J.C. Lee in Business Insider recounts her struggles growing up as the child of the famous Stan Lee and her ongoing troubles with money, being manipulated by others, loneliness, creativity, and living with her father's legacy.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Blogroll image credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

Lenovo has opened up preorders for its new-for-2025 Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 gaming laptop. This laptop has all the bells and whistles, including the latest and greatest Intel processor and Nvidia graphics card, a gorgeous high-resolution OLED display, and plenty of RAM and SSD storage out of the box. Although Lenovo still lists this model as a preorder, the laptop is already starting to ship out with delivery as soon as late April.

New Release: Lenovo Legion Pro RTX 5080 Gaming Laptop

DC’s All In publishing initiative gives powerhouse creators the chance to write some of the label’s most iconic heroes without the constraints of a pre-established continuity. Spearheaded by comics legend and Batman veteran Scott Snyder and longtime Flash writer Joshua Williamson, part of All In is the Absolute Universe, the culmination of and follow up to the Absolute Power arc from the end of 2024. This new, ongoing arc begins a new status quo for our favorite trio of heroes Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and will subvert all expectations if you’re familiar with these characters.

Absolute Universe has been going strong since October, but with multiple ongoing titles in the event it can be hard to keep track of just what is going on, when it’s happening, and with who. So, we’re here to break down DC’s Absolute Universe’s chronology and reading order in 2025.

The Reading Order

For all ongoing series, start with our recommended reading order, then read subsequent issues in release order. All of the main Absolute series will have a six-issue run and will be collected in trade paperback editions in the future.

1. DC All In Special #1 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Wes Craig, and Daniel Sampere

More than five years after Steve Rogers passed his vibranium shield to Sam Wilson, Anthony Mackie's Captain America has finally taken center stage. The hero returns alongside both new and familiar heroes, likely setting up the new generation of Avengers that will take the lead in Doomsday next year. Critic Tom Jorgenson’s review of Brave New World for IGN notes some frustration with "recycled MCU plotlines," though he also describes how “Mackie brings each side of Sam’s personality to life well against seasoned scene partners like Harrison Ford, Carl Lumbly, and Tim Blake Nelson.” Are solid performances enough to save the day? We'll leave that to you to decide.

If you're planning to watch Brave New World, check out the details below. For an in-depth, spoiler-filled breakdown of the events leading up to Brave New World, you can also check out IGN's Captain America Recap: The Messy Marvel Timeline That Led to Brave New World.

How to Watch Captain America: Brave New World - Streaming Release Date

Brave New World came out in theaters on Feburary 14 and will eventually stream on Disney+ instead of Netflix or Hulu. In 2024, both Deadpool & Wolverine and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 were in theaters for a little over three months before landing on Disney+. Assuming Brave New World follows a similar timeline, the new Captain America movie should be available to stream around May or June. If you can't wait, Captain America: Brave New World is now available to rent on digital VOD platforms like Prime Video.

Looking to catch up on the MCU? The entire franchise is streaming on Disney+. While it might be a little overwhelming to navigate the entire timeline, some of the best Marvel movies are the original Captain America's. To get started, feel free to check out our guide to the Captain America movies in order.

Captain America: Brave New World Cast

Brave New World was directed by Julius Onah. It stars the following cast:

• Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America
• Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres/Falcon
• Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph
• Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley
• Xosha Roquemore as Leila Taylor
• Giancarlo Esposito as Seth Voelker/Sidewinder
• Liv Tyler as Betty Ross
• Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/Leader
• Harrison Ford as Thaddus "Thunderbolt" Ross/Red Hulk

Captain America: Brave New World Rating and Runtime

Captain America: Brave New World is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some strong language. The movie runs for a total of one hour and 58 minutes.

The Secretlab Easter Sale is happening now with savings of up to $119 off the popular Titan line of gaming chairs, Magnus gaming desks (including the Magnus Pro electric standing desk model), and accessories like the Secretlab Skins upholstery covers, desk mats, cable management, and more.

It's no secret that we love our Secretlab gaming chairs. Two of the six chairs in our best gaming chair roundup are Secretlab models. Of all the gaming chairs we covered in our "Budget to Best" roundup video earlier this year, my colleague Akeem Lawanson considered the Secretlab Titan Evo to be the most comfortable. No good chair comes cheap and Secretlab chairs definitely cost a premium, but we think the craftsmanship, materials, and customizability are worth it.

TL;DR - The 7 Best Secretlab Deals

You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. For more information on each product and why they are worth your consideration, read through below.

Secretlab Titan Evo

Secretlab Titan 2020

Secretlab Titan Evo Lite

Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen Edition

Secretlab Titan Recliner Add-On

Secretlab Magnus and Magnus Pro

We just found a great deal for anyone looking for an inexpensive pair of earbuds that are a perfect fit (pun intended) for sports, exercise, or fitness activities. Right now Amazon is offering the Baseus Bowie MC1 Open Ear Clip-On Earbuds for just $39.49 with free shipping after you clip a $20 off coupon on the product page and apply a $10.50 off coupon code "P2XMEPBB" during checkout. That's a 44% price drop from its original $70 list price.

Baseus Bowie MC1 Open Ear Sports Earbuds for $39.49

2025 has already delivered some truly great comics, and Oni Press might just have another release worth adding to your reading pile. Hey, Mary! is a heartfelt coming-of-age graphic novel about a troubled teen trying to reconcile his Catholic faith with his burgeoning sexuality and turning to some of history's greatest religious figures for help.

IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of Hey, Mary! Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

Hey, Mary! is written by Andrew Wheeler (Cat Fight, Another Castle) and illustrated by Rye Hickman (The Harrowing, Bad Dream). Here's Oni's official description of the new book:

Mark is a good Catholic boy. He goes to church, he says his prayers, and he spends too much time worrying about hell. When Mark realizes he has a crush on another boy in his school, he struggles to reconcile his feelings with his faith as the weight of centuries of shame and judgment—and his fear of his parents' response—presses on his shoulders. Mark seeks advice from his priest, as well as a local drag performer, but also receives unexpected input from key figures in Catholic history and lore, including Joan of Arc, Michelangelo, St. Sebastian, and Savonarola. Ultimately, only Mark can answer the question: Is it possible for him to be both Catholic and gay?

"Hey, Mary! is a story about the tensions between queerness and Catholicism explored through the teen angst of one boy, Mark," Wheeler tells IGN. "If you are queer and Catholic, you might already know that those tensions reverberate through centuries of art and expression, so channeling that through the experiences of one teenager hopefully makes it a lot more accessible! This excerpt sees Mark getting a very secular art history lesson from his artsy friend (and crush) Luka -- and a fantastical intervention from a bona fide queer Catholic icon. It's fun and educational and opinionated!"

"Shoutout to Hank Jones, our amazing colorist, for the colors on those turtles on the first page of this preview!" Hickman says. "There's art history nods scattered around Hey, Mary! like some kind of glorious sequential easter egg hunt. Not just saying that because I'm a nerd about it, but because religious iconography through the ages is one of the Catholic Church's areas of biggest impact. Whether it be The Pietà or an uncredited wood carving of Jesus on the cross, Catholic imagery is evocative, figural, and emotionally intense-- and sometimes, sexually charged in a way that can be hard to reconcile."

Wheeler adds, "Putting the Catholic art references into the work was great fun and I really love Rye's execution! The references are there if you know what to look for, but if you don't, they just enrich the visual storytelling."

Hey, Mary! is available now in bookstores and comic shops. You can order the book on Amazon.

In other comic book news, Mike Mignola is returning to the Hellboy universe this summer, and we chatted with the creative team behind Spider-Man & Wolverine.

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

Larian Studios has published its Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 patch notes along with a farewell message to players who followed the journey for the last few years.

Details on everything included in this final major Baldur’s Gate 3 update found their way to the project’s official website today. Its launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S players today marks a bittersweet moment for fans who have patiently waited for Patch 8 to add long-desired features like crossplay, Xbox Series S split screen, and photo mode as the team at Larian moves on to what’s next.

“Outside of minor bug fixing, Patch 8 will be the last game patch to introduce new content,” the studio said. “That means we won’t be adding any new narrative content or significant changes to storylines, Origin characters, or companions. We’ve told our stories the way we needed to tell them, and tried our best to make them impactful and engaging, and we’re continuing to get better at handling our own chaos so that we can continue to create more chaos in the future.”

Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 is the last major update, so it makes sense that Larian is sending off its Game of the Year-winning 2023 hit with loads of other goodies. Some highlights include Steam Trading Cards support for PC players and a modding update that gives modders partial level editing tools. There are, of course, also 12 new subclasses for those looking to explore the Dungeons & Dragons experience from a fresh perspective. And Patch 8 also comes with a list of bug fixes and minor gameplay tweaks.

“From the start, your feedback has been incredibly important to us, and will continue to shape our future projects,” Larian’s message added. “As [Larian CEO Swen Vincke] said during the Baldur’s Gate 3 retrospective panel at PAX West in August of last year, it’s time for the team to go back to our cave and hang the armour on the wall while we focus on bringing you our next project.”

Patch 8 was revealed as Baldur’s Gate 3’s final major update in November of last year. It’s always been positioned as one of the RPG classic’s biggest content drops, which is why the months-long wait has felt particularly long. Things got more complicated when the update unintentionally found its way to PS5 in late January, giving fans a surprise shadow drop before Larian quickly moved to fix the error.

For more on Baldur’s Gate 3 and Larian, you can read up on Vincke’s thoughts surrounding the status of single-player gaming. You can also learn more about how Larian is preparing for its next mystery project now that work on Baldur’s Gate 3 has largely come to an end. Finally, you can read up on the full Patch 8 patch notes below.

Baldur’s Gate 8 Patch 8 Patch Notes

Well folks,

This is it. Our final major game patch for Baldur’s Gate 3.

You’ve helped us make BG3 a bigger success than any of us could’ve ever hoped for, and that passion could keep us tweaking things and making changes until the end of time. But then we’d never be able to create something new.

Outside of minor bug fixing, Patch 8 will be the last game patch to introduce new content. That means we won’t be adding any new narrative content or significant changes to storylines, Origin characters, or companions. We’ve told our stories the way we needed to tell them, and tried our best to make them impactful and engaging, and we’re continuing to get better at handling our own chaos so that we can continue to create more chaos in the future.

From the start, your feedback has been incredibly important to us, and will continue to shape our future projects. As Swen said during the Baldur’s Gate 3 retrospective panel at PAX West in August of last year, it’s time for the team to go back to our cave and hang the armour on the wall while we focus on bringing you our next project.

If you’re already feeling nostalgic, you can click here to watch our last Baldur’s Gate 3 panel, where we looked back on Baldur’s Gate 3, from early access through to release, and answered some of your questions.

From patching in a way to change your appearance with the Magic Mirror, introducing Honour Mode for those of you looking for a hard time, and giving you new ways to make out with your romanced companion, to new cinematics for your most evil runs, and handing you the tools to create your own supported mods, Patch 8 now rounds off with cross-play, Photo Mode, and 12 new subclasses for you to enjoy.

To help us close the door on our last major patch, the party are back with their final animated short in collaboration with Spud Gun Studios - with a special appearance by the man in metal himself: Swen in his animated debut!

Patch 8

Now let’s talk about what's new with our final patch!

Steam Trading Cards

Baldur’s Gate 3 now supports Steam Trading Cards! And you thought you’d never get them.

Collect the unique trading cards to craft badges, and unlock exclusive profile backgrounds and emoticons to use anywhere on Steam! Speaking of Steam, Baldur’s Gate 3 is now on sale with 20% off until April 21st:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1086940/Baldurs_Gate_3/

Cross-Play

Players on PC, Mac, Xbox, and PlayStation 5 will now all be able to enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3 multiplayer, with full cross-platform progression and cross-play.

Using the Larian Network, you can now join and create cross-play lobbies to take on your adventures together.

Cross-Play & Mods

You’ll be able to continue to enjoy creating chaos with mods in cross-play, but it’s important to note that all players joining the lobby must have the same version of mods installed. When joining a host’s game, you’ll be prompted with the Mod Verification window to enable, upgrade, downgrade, or install any missing mods.

If you are a PC player creating a cross-play lobby, keep in mind you can use the “Available on Console & Mac” tag to browse mods that will be compatible with consoles and Mac, and that the mod limit on consoles is 100. Third-party mods cannot be used on consoles.

Using Cross-Play

How to join another player in multiplayer via cross-play:

1. On the main menu, select “Multiplayer”.
2. Select the “Cross-Play” tab.
3. Join the other player’s lobby.
4. If you or the host are using mods and there are any discrepancies, the Mod Verification window will open to inform you of which mods need installing, uninstalling, or updating.

How to create a cross-play multiplayer lobby:

1. Access multiplayer.
2. Select “Cross-Play”.
3. Select “Create”.
4. Customise your options and select “Launch”.

Get started with cross-play by following our video guide!

Photo Mode

Position and pose your party, play around with camera settings, and whack a few stickers on there. Photo Mode is now yours to explore with Patch 8!

Getting Started

To test out Photo Mode, toggle it on or off by pressing down on both analog sticks if on console, or by pressing F9 if on PC. You can also enable Photo Mode by clicking on the Photo Mode icon on the HUD minimap.

Exploring Camera Settings

When you’re adventuring with your party, you’ll be able to alter their positioning and try different facial expressions and poses, while making the most of the camera, lens, and scene settings, even during combat encounters.

While you won’t be able to change the position of your party or camera angle during dialogues and cinematic scenes, you will still be able to enjoy a range of post-processing effects, including colour-grading settings, frames, and stickers.

Photo Mode & Modding

Speaking of stickers, Photo Mode already includes more than 300 stickers, but keen modders out there will be able to create and upload their own via the BG3 Toolkit!

Finding Your Screenshots

Capture your favourite moments forever and find them saved in your respective media galleries for Xbox and PlayStation, and in C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Larian Studios\Baldur's Gate 3\Screenshots for PC, or ~/Pictures/Larian Studios/Baldur's Gate 3/Screenshots for Mac.

We know budding photographers will already be plotting the ways in which you can take photos of your companions in compromising positions, so if you’re looking for some tips and tricks to get started using Photo Mode, check out the video below!

New Subclasses

One new subclass for each playable class is now available, featuring new abilities, animations, VFX, unique summons, powerful cantrips, and voiced dialogue for the Oathbreaker Knight for those playing as the Oath of the Crown Paladin subclass!

Packed with new ways for you to play, whether you want to roleplay the God of Thunder by using Elemental Cleaver, imbuing your Path of the Giant Barbarian’s hammer with shocking damage and flinging it out for it to come back to you, or as a drunken monk, with truly homebrewed abilities that will enhance your next playthrough, there’s surely a subclass for you!

• Path of the Giant Barbarian
• College of Glamour Bard
• Death Domain Cleric
• Circle of Stars Druid
• Arcane Archer Fighter
• Way of the Drunken Master Monk
• Oath of the Crown Paladin
• Swarmkeeper Ranger
• Swashbuckler Rogue
• Shadow Magic Sorcerer
• Hexblade Warlock
• Bladesinging Wizard

Unlocking The New Subclasses

Each new subclass can be selected once you have reached the level required to unlock it. This varies depending on your chosen class. Check out the table below to see when subclass selection becomes available for each class!

Level 1 – Cleric, Sorcerer, Paladin, Warlock

Level 2 – Druid Wizard

Level 3 – Barbarian, Bard, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue

Channel From Hell

For a more detailed breakdown of each subclass and to help you settle into Patch 8, check out the videos in the below playlist. While this might be our final major patch, it’s certainly not the last time you’re going to hear from us! Tune into Twitch tomorrow to watch our first live stream hosted by Aoife Wilson, featuring a guest appearance from Senior Systems Designer, Ross Stephens, where we’ll be taking a closer look at Patch 8, including the new subclasses!

There will be more to come as we welcome you behind the scenes of Baldur’s Gate 3, sharing some secrets and introducing the developers who helped make it, with a new stream every Wednesday from 1pm UTC. Hopefully that’ll keep you occupied until we can reveal what comes next… we promise we’ll share more on that when we can.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Modding

Baldur’s Gate 3 Toolkit

As well as Patch 8, the Baldur’s Gate 3 Modding Toolkit is receiving an update, which means mod authors will now be able to explore partial level editing! Whether you fancy creating your own NPC, dropping a metric ton of carrots across every existing level just for the sake of it, pledging your undying love to Shadowheart by turning all wolves into bunny rabbits or by moving them to the House of Hope, you’ll now be able to use the Toolkit to add or override certain template types in existing levels.

Partial level editing means that what you won’t be able to do with the official Baldur’s Gate 3 Toolkit is add dialogues or change the static parts of the world like buildings, scenery or terrain. You can, however, create your own interactive objects like a chest that teleports away every time you get close to it - no one will touch your belongings ever again! Including you. Or you could make a salami statue that you can put in your pocket. The world truly is yours.

Modding Guidelines Update

To support the new realm of possibilities with the latest Toolkit update, we have now updated the modding guidelines with new information, and will continue curating mods for console. As part of this update, we have reviewed technical requirements, and unfortunately, mods that introduce new playable races are unable to be curated for console. If you’re a mod author, we suggest giving the guidelines a read by clicking here.

UI Functionality Improvements

We have been continuing to work closely with mod authors to ensure there are fewer conflicts between game mods and new patches, particularly for those that have ImpUI as a dependency. While the ImpUI mod isn’t currently being maintained, to help keep things running smoothly and to support the creative passion of those in the modding community, we’ve introduced minor changes to how some functionalities are handled in the Toolkit. Now, mod authors will be able to make changes directly for mods that rely on UI tweaks during Character Creation.

The changes now supported natively in the Toolkit include:

• Action Resources
• Racial spells at LevelUp
• Race passives
• UI scrolling for Heads, Passives, Equipment, Class, Subclass, and Origin selection
• Feat passives
• Radial customisation and descriptions

Thank you to Djmr for their incredible work on this mod and for keeping in contact with us while we resolved the conflicts and introduced this functionality, as well as Caites, both who have been particularly helpful, and whose names now lie firmly in the Baldur’s Gate 3 game credits, along with the mod authors who have been helping us test Toolkit functionality!

Mods In Patch 8

As Patch 8 begins to roll out, please remain patient and respectful of those in the community who put work into creating their mods. Some things might not work immediately after a new update and it might take a little while before a mod can be updated. If you can’t wait to dive in but are worried about your mod list, we recommend starting a new playthrough to enjoy the new subclasses and to try out photo mode.

Patch Notes

Along with the new additions, Patch 8 also tackles a range of bugs, like fixing Shadowheart’s penchant for hair dye while skinny dipping, Cerys will stop getting involved in combats with Minthara from across the region, and we’ve resolved an issue with the moving platform in the Gauntlet of Shar that has accidentally proven harder to survive than, well, the actual Gauntlet of Shar.

SPOILERS - Please bear in mind some of the entries below might contain spoilers, proceed at your own risk

HIGHLIGHTS

• Photo Mode
• 12 brand new subclasses – one for each class, including: Path of the Giant Barbarian, College of Glamour Bard, Death Domain Cleric, Circle of Stars Druid, Arcane Archer Fighter, Way of the Drunken Master Monk, Oath of the Crown Paladin, Swarmkeeper Ranger, Swashbuckler Rogue, Shadow Magic Sorcerer, Hexblade Warlock, and Bladesinging Wizard
• Cross-play
• Xbox Series S split screen

Gameplay

• Fixed containers inside inventories not scattering their contents when they get destroyed, which could potentially lead to key quest items getting lost for good.
• Fixed an issue where picking up items from the ground in multiplayer could then block movement via the controller stick.
• Fixed the Wild Shape: Panther's Prowl action and Prowling condition not working correctly.
• When you succeed a Perception check, the spotted item will now ping on the minimap and be listed in the combat log.
• Fixed an issue where the special abilities of some of your allies weren't properly provided at the end of the dialogue with them at High Hall.
• Scrolls and potions inside unlocked containers in your party inventory can now be used when rolling in dialogues.
• Neutral and friendly NPCs will no longer become hostile when, outside of combat, they walk into surfaces created during combat that trigger passives (like electrified surfaces triggering Thunderbolt Strike). Take it easy, lads.
• Fixed Freecast being reset when any condition is applied.
• Fixed characters getting stuck when pathfinding via a ladder that's already in use by another companion.
• Fixed a bug with the moving platform in the Gauntlet of Shar that would sometimes leave you behind, causing you to plummet to your death.
• The Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar will now offer a proper challenge to those using modded classes.
• Fixed an error when joining a game via a friend invite on Xbox.
• Fixed War Magic being active before Extra Attack, forcing the player to use a bonus action before getting access to other Extra Attacks.
• Eldritch Knights now properly use free Extra Attacks before their War Magic attack.
• Fixed Valiant Damage not triggering properly.
• Fixed an issue with Shadow Blade spells and the Knife of the Undermountain King dagger not granting Advantage against an obscured target.
• Fixed a bug where moving the controller sticks in specific directions wouldn't register any input.
• Fixed Jhannyl's Gloves not correctly triggering the Defy Villainy passive that casts Lesser Restoration.
• Updated Elemental Weapon to allow all damage types at all spell levels and include upcast benefits at Levels 5 and 6.
• Examining in-world surfaces with the 'Pin Tooltip' keybind now correctly displays the tooltip.
• Fixed a bug causing keyboard input to block if you spam the Level Up button and the Esc key.
• Fixed a potential blocker causing mouse input to get disabled when clicking an enemy's portrait as they die.
• Fixed a blocker when a follower or summon used the Scrying Eyes in the Iron Throne.
• Fixed a blocker when you tried to use any item while your character was Knocked Down.
• Fixed the game freezing when dragging items while trading or bartering.
• Fixed a multiplayer issue where the host would get a black screen for 15 seconds when transitioning to a crime dialogue.
• Fixed an Honour Mode issue at High Hall where all party members would die when reaching the top of the stem if anyone in the party was being dominated by an enemy, causing a Game Over.
• Fixed the skiff at the Morphic Pool sometimes appearing in the wrong spot or floating in the air.
• Fixed body type 1 duergar incorrectly receiving halfling stats instead of dwarf stats.
• Fixed Gimblebock getting stuck if his attack triggered a Reaction.
• Fixed characters not being able to pick up any items if an invalid pickup request was, somehow, stored in the savegame.
• Fixed a bug causing non-Dark-Urge avatars to say Dark Urge lines. You're not all obliged to be wretched things with headaches.
• Fixed a bug where difficulty and game settings wouldn't save properly when adjusted after experiencing a Game Over in Honour Mode.

Combat

• Fixed an issue causing neutral NPCs to trigger combat for seemingly no reason.
• Cerys will stop getting involved in combats with Minthara from across the region. An eager beaver no longer.
• Fixed a bug causing damage riders to be added multiple times in Honour Mode.
• Fixed Sneak Attack not activating for actions that spawn additional projectiles, like Curving Shot.

Modding

• Fixed an issue causing you to get stuck at a 0% loading screen when attempting to join a multiplayer session that uses mods.
• The Mod Verification window will now trigger regardless of where the request to connect to a multiplayer game is coming from.
• Replaced the third-party mod warning with clearer messaging.
• Fixed a mod issue preventing some modded classes and subclasses from levelling up.
• Fixed a bug causing the Mod Verification window to appear empty and preventing you from closing it if you get a warning about insufficient storage before it opens.
• You can now navigate between the left and right columns of the Installed tab in the Mod Manager with a controller.
• Improved Character Creation functionality for modded games.
• The Mod Verification window will now also appear on PC for console-related mod issues to account for cross-play.

Performance and Options

• The Steam Deck's default FSR setting is now FSR 2.2 on 'Quality'.
• Fixed the ruleset selector not appearing on the 'Alter Custom Mode' screen when accessing the ruleset settings via the multiplayer lobby.
• Improved server performance in the Adamantine Forge.

Scripting and Flow

• With 12 new subclasses arriving in Patch 8, we’ve rechecked some achievements, including ensuring the armed version of Stunning Strike no longer counts as an unarmed attack for the Fists of Fury achievement, and its unarmed variant now does.
• Monks' Unarmed Strike bonus action now also correctly counts toward the Action Surge achievement.
• Fixed an issue where you could tell Astarion that Gandrel has been looking for him even if Gandrel refused to tell you the name of his prey.
• Fixed a savegame issue where you wouldn't get the appropriate amount of Umbral Gems for the Gauntlet of Shar.
• Halsin will now show up to your camp in Act II as long as you saved him, even if you happened to skip the celebration with the tieflings at camp.
• Minthara now comments on the Emperor's reveal.
• Reminded Minthara that 'knocked out' does not mean 'dead', so she'll more reliably appear in Moonrise Towers.
• You can no longer teleport out of Moonrise while controlling Minthara unless you tell her to stay put.
• Minthara is now willing to talk to you after you tell her to wait in the torture chamber.
• Minthara no longer gets stuck babysitting Thaniel in Act II.
• Fixed an issue where you could talk about Art Cullagh as though he's alive even if he isn't.
• Your character will no longer think Shadowheart is dead if she isn't when talking to Viconia.
• Characters who were in a relationship with Gale when he sacrifices himself in the endgame to defeat the Netherbrain will now receive a tonally appropriate (read: lovey-dovey) letter that was missing.
• Fixed a dialogue issue preventing Avatar Gale from talking about the orb to Lae'zel after consuming a magic item.
• You should no longer be able to ask Shadowheart about her Shar worship after recruiting her at the Goblin Camp if you don't know about her faith.
• Shadowheart's wound flare during the Arabella scene in the Emerald Grove will not be considered to have triggered when Shadowheart wasn't present in the dialogue.
• Fixed various Background Goals that weren't triggering.

Animation

• Added dance animations for some creatures that didn't have it, like ettercaps, kobolds, and harpies.

Art

• Fixed an issue causing the Flaming Fist armour to clip and generally freak out a bit.
• Fixed some clipping and textural issues with the Barbarian starting armour when worn by body type 1 gnomes.
• Fixed the Cleric starting armour bouncing around a little too much when worn by body type 1 characters.

UI

• Discovered and available (non-hostile, alive, etc.) traders are now shown on the world map regardless of how far away you are from them.
• Fixed button or keyboard shortcut inputs in the UI sometimes not working.
• Fixed some Reaction tooltips like Divine Allegiance not showing some values correctly in the description.
• Fixed a bug causing the UI to lock up when rapidly switching between keyboard and mouse input and controller input.
• Fixed a bug where opening the Main Menu on controller wouldn't automatically select the 'Resume' option at the top of the menu.
• Fixed a bug where you'd have to deselect your current passive when respeccing a character before selecting a new one. Now, you can just click the new one.
• Mentioned the damage that Corrosive Spit deals in its condition tooltip.
• Updated the names of the condition tooltips for the Dilophosaurus wild shape's Corrosive Spray spell, adding 'Dissolving' and 'Dissolved' for clarity.
• The Tides of Chaos passive tooltip now correctly states that it only works for ability checks.
• Updated the Lifedrinker tooltip to match functionality; it does not require Pact of the Blade.
• Rephrased the Hexblade's Curse tooltip to prevent the technical text '+ProficiencyBonus' from appearing in Character Creation and Level Up.
• The Acolyte of Nature passive tooltip now shows up in the Character Sheet as expected.
• Fixed the controller UI not accurately showing when you're logged into your Larian Account, which could cause cross-play connection issues.
• Fixed the multiplayer session manager panel not populating properly for players that connected while the panel was open.
• Fixed a bug where if a user tried to join your session while you were filling out a user report, cancelling the request would close the report window in the background instead of cancelling the request.
• Fixed the body type slider sometimes skipping through a choice on controller.
• Fixed the 'No savegames available.' message showing up in the background while the game is loading the list of saved games on controller.
• Updated the credits to include developers who have worked on the game since release, playtesters, moderators, and Baldur’s Gate 3 Toolkit testers. Also updated the order of the voice actor credits to prioritise larger roles at the top.
• Fixed a bug causing an empty text-input panel to pop up and block gameplay.
• Fixed an '%%% Empty' passive feature appearing for rogues during Character Creation.
• Fixed a 1-frame glitch where swapping between two party members' Inventories would briefly show the first character's equipment in the inventory of the second character.
• Fixed the tooltips for the combat log not consistently appearing on controller even if you have the tooltips toggled on.
• Fixed a bug preventing you from pasting special characters into the password form when logging into your Larian Account.
• The filters in the multiplayer lobby now filter properly.
• Fixed the generic icon for some passive features missing from their tooltips in the Character Sheet.
• Fixed visual issues with the white translucent VFX that appears over portraits in the Party Line, caused when dragging one character's portrait over another's.
• Fixed the character tooltips that appear beside character portraits on the Party Line not showing up correctly on hover.
• Fixed a tooltip bug while trading where hovering over any equipped item would display a faulty tooltip, but trying a second time would magically fix it. The tooltips now populate correctly the first time around.
• Fixed a bug causing the sliders in the Gameplay options to autoscroll continuously when the left stick is flicked to the left or right.
• Fixed an issue causing the game to freeze for a second when switching between two characters with the Character Sheet open.
• Fixed a bug on controller preventing you from scrolling through the spells in the Replace Spell UI when levelling up.
• Fixed the footwear slot in the Character Sheet deciding to just not show up.
• Fixed the ‘Venture Forth’ text shaking during Character Creation while the button is held down on controller.

Sound

• Added a new spot where the easter egg song plays. Happy hunting!
• Restored some of the original music from the scene with Ansur before its rework.

Cinematics

• Shadowheart has agreed to stop repeatedly changing her hair colour during certain intimate moments.
• Tidied up and improved some cinematic animations for characters of different heights if you kiss during the evil ending.
• Fixed the VO getting cut off prematurely for githyanki and drow characters entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands for the first time.

Writing

• Fixed a duplicated dialogue option and the wrong version of another dialogue option appearing in Minthara's main party dialogue.

Multiplayer

• Fixed a crash on the client's end when a local host attempts to start split screen.
• Fixed a bug preventing you from logging back into your Larian Account after losing internet connection.
• Fixed a bug preventing a host from inviting a client whose game is suspended to the multiplayer lobby. The client would instead get a persistent 'Please wait...' message.
• Fixed an issue causing random session time-outs and disconnects for multiplayer clients.
• Fixed a loop on PS5 that would keep taking you back to the PlayStation Plus upgrade screen if you try to join a lobby without permissions.

CRASHES AND BLOCKERS

• Fixed a crash when trying to start a game from a lobby multiple times.
• Fixed several crashes and freezes related to the UI.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when balancing a trade offer.
• Fixed a potential crash when starting a Custom or Honour Mode game.
• Prevented a crash that could occur when loading an invalid savegame.
• Fixed a potential crash when levelling up.
• Fixed a potential crash when trying to load a savegame.
• Fixed a potential crash on split screen when trying to cast a projectile spell on a very distant target.
• Fixed a potential crash when trying to drop items on the ground.
• Fixed a bug where you could get stuck in the map when creating a map marker and then teleporting in quick succession.
• Fixed a potential crash on startup on Xbox when there's a corrupted save in the system.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when loading into another region.
• Fixed a potential crash when dragging items of clothing from a trade straight into your equipment slots.
• Fixed a potential crash when dropping a drag-and-drop item.
• Fixed a potential crash when right-clicking an empty equipment slot.
• Fixed a potential crash when loading a modded savegame with those mods disabled.
  Fixed a crash when switching between keyboard and mouse and controller in Character Creation.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when the game was reloading the UI.
• Disabled the 'Smooth' split screen animation option when DLSS is enabled, which was, in fact, not smooth.
• Fixed a rare and random crash related to materials.
• Fixed a UI-related crash.
• Fixed a potential softlock related to the HUD remaining on screen when loading into a savegame made right at the start of a cinematic.
• Fixed a potential crash related to the Rewards UI after finishing a dialogue.
• Fixed a potential crash for the multiplayer client when the host accepts the client's request to join a game and then immediately enters Photo Mode before the client starts to load in.
• Fixed a crash when taking custom avatars out of Withers' Wardrobe in multiplayer.
• Fixed a potential crash on PS5 when the game is left idle.
• Fixed a crash when switching to keyboard and mouse while in the Map UI on controller.
• Fixed a crash while browsing the quest journal on controller.
• Fixed a potential crash when trying to spawn an item while a region is loading.
• Fixed a potential crash related to summons.
• Fixed a potential crash related to tooltips.

COMBAT AND BALANCE

Across Acts

• The Potent Spellcasting passive now affects Bursting Sinew and Toll the Dead.
• Fixed the Owlbear's Rage condition clearing when it's hit instead of lasting the intended duration.
• Fixed the Owlbear's Rage condition clearing after the owlbear loses its Temporary Hit Points.
• Updated Storm's Fury to deal Lighting damage as intended, not Thunder.
• The Absolute Consumption condition no longer stacks.
• Fixed the Icy Cloud formed via Wall of Ice dealing 5d6 instead of 10d6.
• Fixed the Slayer's default attack being Relentless Lunge instead of Slay.
• Ghouls and ghasts should no longer be able to paralyse drow characters.
• Updated Wild Strike so that it can work with the War Priest extra attack.
• The 'Fierce Perilous Stakes' Illithid Power can now only be targeted at allies, as specified in the tooltip.
• Fixed the Displace condition appearing on characters who didn't take Falling damage.
• Warden of Vitality can now be cast with Level 4, 5, and 6 spell slots (with no additional benefit).
• Flying Ghouls' Devour action can now correctly target characters affected by Eyebite: Asleep.
• The teleport portion of Mobile Flourish can now be used on creatures killed with the initial attack.
• Healing Vapours no longer immediately makes creatures Wet in addition to creating a Water surface.
• Freedom of Movement will now correctly preserve against Haunted Approach.
• Tavern Brawler works with Wild Shapes in Honour Mode again.
• Tiger's Bloodlust will no longer target items (like the bloody remains of already-dead creatures).
• Specified more accurately whether Wild-Shaped owlbear, dilophosaurus, and panther attacks are magical or non-magical, depending on the type of druid you are.
• Fixed a bug causing the upcasted version of Grasping Vine to cost an Action instead of a Bonus Action.
• The Forbidden Knowledge passive now works with Wisdom Skill Checks as well as Wisdom Saving Throws, as intended.
• Updated Mind Sanctuary and Grease to not target items through walls.
• Fixed Harper Skywin having Strength-based stats, which wasn't appropriate for her Dexterity-based build.
• Fixed an Undead Harper in the Shadow-Cursed Lands looking like Harper Skywin's identical twin. Nothing to see here, move along.
• Fixed some of the creatures summoned at higher levels missing the Hide action.
• Fixed Evasive Footwork only working against melee weapon attacks. It now works with any melee attacks.
• Fixed an infinite NPC spawn-despawn loop in combat if all the party members are Invisible at the end of a combat round.
• Fixed area-based spells like Lightning Bolt and Sunbeam not working on the redcaps in the Blushing Mermaid.
• Updated the Wild Shape rules for myrmidons to merge the myrmidon's proficiencies with the character's.
• Fixed an animation bug causing Way of Shadow monks to be able to apply the damage roll of Shadow Strike twice.
• Glyph of Warding now works correctly with item effects, like those granted by the Spellsparkler, Mourning Frost, and Winter's Clutches.
• Fixed some issues with Uncanny Dodge: it will now trigger correctly, it will no longer trigger multiple times per round, and rogues can no longer somehow still use it even if they're Incapacitated.
• All Wildheart rages now give bonus damage to off-hand melee weapon attacks as intended. Wildheart rages should now also deal the improved damage past Level 9.
• Updated War Magic to make sure it works with Extra Attack if you trigger War Magic during an Extra Attack.
• Shadow Blade, granted by the Shadow Blade Ring, no longer requires Concentration.

Act I

• In Honour Mode, the papa owlbear will now correctly gain Owlbear's Rage when the mama owlbear or their cub dies.
• The Sussur Antimagic Field will now also prevent you from casting spells like Shield via reactions.

Act II

• Balthazar can now cast Shield in Tactician Mode.
• Gave the Shadow-Cursed Shambling Mound some bifidobacteria-rich yoghurt to regulate its Digestive Juices. The condition now makes the target Vulnerable to Bludgeoning damage as advertised.
• In Tactician and Honour Mode, Malus Thorm will now use his Multiattack at 70% HP instead of 40%.
• In Tactician Mode, increased the spell level of Kar'niss' Sanctuary spell from 4 to 5.
• Fixed a bug related to fleeing from the combat with Ketheric. You now have to leave the Moonrise Towers region in order to successfully flee.
• Bumped the debuff of Spindleweb Skepticism from -4 AC to -6 AC.
• Fixed Susdera's summons not entering combat when she's in combat.

Act III

• In the Knights of the Shield combat, the Gate Masters will no longer bring reinforcements after the portals are closed. The infinite supply of githyanki spawning from nowhere was a little disconcerting.
• While in Slayer Form, Orin's Immutable Form passive will no longer apply twice.
• Surprising Orin in the Temple of Bhaal will no longer cause the Boon of Bhaal to take its turn at the same time as her.
• Gortash's Manifestations of Tyranny now have an appropriate Unarmed Attack.
• Fixed Black Gauntlets being able to target characters under Sanctuary with Phantasmal Killer.
• Gortash was overenthusiastically using Tyrant's Bindings, so we made him less eager about it when other actions would make more sense.
• Fixed a bug causing Gortash to react with Invoke the Black Hand every time he gets damaged.

GAMEPLAY

Across Acts

• Reminded enemy NPCs that it's okay to kill the unconscious party after they commit a crime.
• Fixed a bug where pressing the left bumper on controller during a dialogue or trade would open the Action Radial Menu in the background and make it seem like you were stuck in the dialogue or trade afterwards.
• Fixed a bug causing alchemy recipes to not unlock when you pick up the ingredients from within a container.
• The 'Summon Us' item is no longer tradeable.
• Fixed Jhannyl's Gloves not doing what they say on the tin. They'll now make the wearer cast Lesser Restoration to clear negative conditions.
• Fixed some instances of the party not being able to load into another region with no clear reason.
• Greater Invisibility stealth checks now get progressively harder in Honour Mode.
• Prevented Fast Travel - like going to camp via the hotbar - while on moving platforms like the cable car up by Rosymorn, which could cause your characters to plummet to their death in the interim.
• Fixed a potential soft-lock where using a melee attack on something in the environment that's too high to reach (like a wall turret or a dangling cocoon) could block your movement until the action was interrupted.
• Fixed an issue causing the Attack of Opportunity arrow to not be visible on Mac.
• Fixed reflected damage knocking out player characters when non-lethal damage is toggled on.
• Fixed an issue where you couldn't use Sneak Attack again on your next turn if the enemy before you in the Initiative Order was killed.
• Clients should now be able to join a multiplayer session while the host is snoring away during a Long Rest as long as there is a free avatar.
• Looting many items at once is now about 15 times faster, so the game will no longer lock up for some time when you do so.
• Fixed the screen turning black for several long seconds on multiplayer when a dialogue is interrupted by another player's action.
• You can no longer Long Rest while in the Astral Plane after meeting the Emperor. This led to the portal back to the Material Plane sometimes disappearing when you ended your Long Rest.
• A couple of chests will no longer unlock things as though they're keys.
• The Everburn Blade will no longer consume weapon coatings that don't apply to it anyway.
• You now have to actually have a shovel in your inventory in order to start digging with it.
• You can now Dash with Actions and Bonus Actions with Ranger's Companions.
• Fixed another (all together now!) trade exploit. This one let you take items from traders by moving them from a bag in their inventory to a corpse in your inventory. No more packing dead squirrels with goods.
• The Purple Worm Gullet now has an in-world item label.
• Fixed Shield, granted by the Amulet of the Harpers, not reacting to Magic Missile or reducing its damage to 0.
• Fixed certain Illithid Powers becoming unusable after you've been Polymorphed.
• Fixed some of the Sentient Amulet's lines not appearing overhead (even though the audio was playing just fine) when it was sitting in your inventory.
• Fixed the ESC key closing the container that was opened first instead of the one that you're currently focused on.
• Fixed the Traveller's Chest remaining open when you leave the camp while it's open.
• Fixed a data mismatch error appearing on the launcher in a case where it shouldn't.
• Fixed some lighting bugs on split screen related to how in-game light was showing up in cinematics and in different locations.
• Fixed an issue where when a local player would drop into the game, the lighting would fade in very slowly for them. This was apparent in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, which resulted in washed-out colours for a few seconds after joining.
• Prevented Movement from being consumed when you enter Turn-Based Mode on controller.
• Fixed a split screen bug where clouds wouldn't show up for Player 2.
• Fixed Lathander's Light resurrecting characters it shouldn't have resurrected.
• Added a check for when you suspend the game to buy the Deluxe Edition from the Xbox store during gameplay so that it detects it without you having to restart the game.
• Fixed the environmental fading system (that makes walls fade out so you can see through them, for instance) not working properly when loading a split screen savegame created while in Turn-Based Mode with the players on different floors.
• When playing on split screen, if the screen is merged and one player moves to a different terrain level, it would cause the ground to fade and appear invisible for the other player, making it hard to navigate. The game will now dynamically split the screen if both players are on different floors or there's enough of a terrain height difference between them.
• Fixed a bug where hurling a healing potion as a rogue in what is presumably an attempt to heal a target would trigger Sneak Attack and sometimes damage or even kill the target.
• Fixed a potential bug causing the class names in dialogue options being replaced with 'Rare' when loading a savegame.
• Fixed a bug causing targets of the Seeming spell to briefly appear naked or have invisible equipment.
• The Gloves of Battlemage's Power now correctly grant Arcane Acuity.

Act I

• Fixed an issue in a particular corridor in the Crèche that could cause the camera to turn black when enabling Tactical View.
• Fixed an issue with NPC neutrality on the nautiloid at the start of the game, causing characters to sometimes turn hostile when they shouldn't.
• Alfira will now join in on your performance of the Deluxe Edition songs.
• Fixed a bug where interacting with the Ceremonial Battleaxe would cause the Guardian of Faith at Rosymorn Monastery to initiate combat with you even if you were way out of his range.
• Fixed a chasm in the cave beyond the Apothecary's Cellar that you couldn't shove NPCs down.
• Fixed a bug causing Fighters to appear unarmed when starting a new game.
• Tweaked the drop table for Derryth Bonecloak so she doesn't conveniently sell the Timmask Spores and Tongue of Madness you need for the 'Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite' quest.

Act II

• You'll now need to deal with a healed Ketheric & Co. if you Long Rest during the assault on Moonrise. The passage of time heals all!
• You can no longer use Silence to keep the protective dome over Last Light from collapsing if Shadowheart kills Nightsong.
• You should no longer get stuck in combat on the roof of Moonrise Towers if there aren't any enemies left.
• Wild-Shaped druids are no longer instantly arrested by the army of the Absolute when following the road to Baldur's Gate from the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Act III

• Those who own the Digital Deluxe game version will now find that we have fixed Kiam Goda's Kilat Drum not playing the Digital Deluxe songs like other Hand Drums.
• Fixed an issue with Shadowheart's parents that would cause them to sometimes turn hostile when they shouldn't.
• Added some fallback Countermeasures for the combat Atop the Netherbrain in case of modded subclasses.
• Fixed a bug where killing hostile NPCs in Wyrm's Rock with non-lethal attacks on would be too confusing for them and they'd become unresponsive.
• Steel Watchers can no longer get Drunk.
• Fixed newly-spawned Flaming Fists sometimes spawning with just the name 'Fist'.
• Fixed a missing screen fade when transitioning to the Upper City region on split screen.
• Fixed a flow issue in the epilogue letting you say 'My home is with Gale' to Jaheira even if you were never in a relationship with him.

FLOW AND SCRIPTING

Across Acts

• Fixed a bug where ignoring Gale and his mirror image at camp would lead to his double hanging around in the morning.
• Saved some players who were stuck sleeping at camp.
• Fixed some repeating overhead dialogues across the game to reduce combat log and audio spam.
• Fixed Gale's body not moving at all while he delivers a line about Voss.
• Jaheira no longer trades items at camp as though she's a merchant while she's still in the party - this led to strange interactions at camp. If you engaged in trade with her and left items on her, you can get them back by just taking them out of her inventory the normal way.
• Fixed an issue with the Shadowheart vs Lae'zel fight night where the defeated character could still survive the night and would hang around without being able to join the party.
• Fixed some cases where the night would literally never end (careful what you wish for) because a party member not in the active party was in a dialogue while everyone else was snoozin'.
• Fixed some characters who were stuck in Wild Shape form.
• Fixed a dialogue flow issue where asking Shadowheart about the fight with Lae'zel would make her talk about Astarion. Focus, Shadowheart.
• Fixed a case where the non-summoned version of Scratch had no dialogue at camp. Balance is restored.
• Fixed an issue where some of Shadowheart's incurable wound flare-ups would block later flare-ups, blocking off some later content.
• Fixed a bug where Origins that were resurrected for camp nights during region transitions and died outside of camp were not sent back to camp.
• Fixed Sceleritas sometimes referring to the Dark Urge using the wrong pronouns when talking to other party members. Also fixed him sometimes repeating his lines.
• Fixed companions talking about being in the swamp from Act I even if they're not. It's rude to call people's homes 'stinking swamps', Astarion.
• Gale should no longer tell you to join Elminster at camp if you're already at camp.
• You no longer need to interact with Nightsong and Isobel at the end of Act II to receive their Gather Your Allies ability.
• Fixed a voice line not being audible when the cursed monk possesses the corpse of Shirra Clarwen.
• Fixed some cases where the cursed monk inhabiting the amulet would fail to comment on certain areas while the amulet is equipped.
• Fixed the game displaying an empty Strength check in the dialogue that happens after you use Heal on the Dark Urge.
• Fixed a multiplayer issue where if one avatar had enough approval with a companion for a romantic scene to trigger but wasn't available for it, and none of the others had enough approval, the romantic scene would still trigger.
• Gale will no longer demand to eat your magical trinkets if you don't even have him recruited to the party.
• Minthara no longer insists on repeating herself about the Emperor's illithidity.
• Fixed a bug where being spotted by a guard while committing two crimes at the same time, with one crime being trespassing, could lead to a soft-lock. For example, a Wyrm's Rock prison guard could spot you in a forbidden area immediately after you destroyed the door leading to the main part of the prison.

Act I

• Shadowheart should no longer bang on the chapel door while talking. That's manners.
• Fixed an issue where you wouldn't receive the locket from Arabella's parents after dealing with the Shadow Druids.
• Fixed a bug where approaching the goblins at the windmill with a non-avatar character would cause both avatar and companion to be addressed. This could unnecessarily cause combat to ensue.
• Fixed a bug causing Shadowheart to appear dead when loading older saves should she have been killed in the showdown with Lae'zel. This fix prevents the bug from happening in new playthroughs.
• Fixed a bug where if you killed Gekh, then used Glut's Animating Spores to resurrect him, then dismissed Glut, both Spore Servant Gekh and Glut could become hostile towards you. It would also cause Gekh to try to stop you from using the raft to cross the lake.
• Fixed multiple Oath of Vengeance dialogue options not appearing in Act I dialogues.
• Fixed a bug allowing Glut to travel outside the Underdark if you used a waypoint from within the camp. Back in your cave, Glut.
• Fixed an issue where Halsin would join the fight but not take his turn if you decided to fight Elminster at the camp in the Rosymorn region.
• Sceleritas will no longer refer to your artful handling of the poor bard's carotid artery if you didn't 'take care' of her yourself.
• In rare cases where the illusion concealing the true nature of the hag's servants is broken but the illusion concealing the general area is not, the dialogues will now reflect that.
• Interrupting Nere's dialogue after rescuing him from the cave-in should now correctly cause him to become - and remain - hostile when necessary.
• Fixed a bug where talking to Baelen for the first time while he's in the middle of picking up his backpack could cause him to not teleport beyond the bibberbang field. If this already happened to you, you'll need to talk to him again to make him go to the Myconid Village. He's forgetful, you see.
• Fixed the goblins from the Goblin Camp sometimes joining combat in the Emerald Grove when they shouldn't.
• Meli now actually pickpockets Barth.
• Removed a particular overhead line in the Adamantine Forge that suggested the hammer was just starting to move when it, in fact, had just stopped moving.
• The healing potion Auntie Ethel gives you in the Emerald Grove now correctly applies the healing effect.
• Fixed an issue where Sovereign Glut could join the party as follower after being killed and refuse to leave.
• Fixed a bug that was preventing Wyll from commenting on the fact Astarion held a blade to your throat during Astarion's recruitment dialogue by the beach.
• Halsin is a little more reliable when it comes to joining you at camp when he says he will.
• The sleeping bugbears in the Goblin Camp will now more consistently react to you choosing to attack them via the dialogue UI.
• Fixed Auntie Ethel's double sometimes appearing again after her death. Surprise!
• Lae'zel will no longer name-drop Ketheric before he's ever mentioned when you speak to her after meeting Voss at camp.
• Raised the attitudes of some characters from the Emerald Grove when Minthara is defeated.
• Sazza will now walk off near Priestess Gut when you save her by killing Minthara and her would-be executioner.
• Added a missing dialogue option to leave the dialogue with Bex and Danis a little earlier if their repulsively adorable chatter about getting a pet is too much for you.
• Fixed a multiplayer issue where instead of Lae'zel confronting the avatar that goes inside the cave in the Astral Prism, the game would incorrectly choose Lae'zel's avatar instead of her for the dialogue, resulting in a buggy dialogue between two avatars.
• Sazza will now follow another character if the character she was already following is dismissed to camp.
• The hag will no longer start her menacing speech if she spots someone in her lair while someone else is close enough that she won't be able to finish the speech due to combat triggering.
• Fixed a soft-lock where you could get stuck in the Enclave Library if you sent the Key of the Ancients to camp.
• Fixed a bug where unlocking the Emerald Grove Environs waypoint before triggering the cinematic at the front gate of the Emerald Grove would cause Memnon and Arka to forgo mourning Kanon.
• Fixed a duplicate dialogue option about the grove being nature's beating heart when talking to Halsin.
• Fixed a bug causing three of the goblins at the Goblin Camp to get stuck in front of the Collapsed Corridor instead of following all the other goblins to the Emerald Grove.
• Fixed a bug causing Sazza to get stuck cowering after battle is over.

Act II

• Hostile Last Light Inn residents will now become neutral again when the hostility is caused by an erroneous reaction to Minthara.
• Added some fallbacks so you can still confront Oliver after destroying his Nightdome even if you and/or Oliver are Silenced.
• Shadowheart will no longer immediately turn hostile and act like you committed a crime in the Shadowfell if you tell her 'You want to fight? Fine.' While she's not afraid of a good brawl, she'll finish saying what she has to say first.
• Fixed a dialogue option specific to sorcerers in the conversation with Dolly Thrice causing the Moonlantern to not work.
• The Moonlantern crafted at Moonrise Towers will now protect you from the shadow curse as intended.
• Fixed an issue where attempting a skill check against Kar'niss could occasionally cause the dialogue to end abruptly.
• Fixed an issue causing avatar Origin characters in a party with a Dark Urge character to potentially turn hostile along with other companions during a Dark Urge event at night in Act II if the Dark Urge character fails to persuade them that they are not responsible for the murder. Also fixed avatars that were broken in this way, including dead avatars that can't be resurrected.
• Fixed an issue where a dead Shadowheart could still trigger a dialogue at camp with Nightsong.
• Fixed a rare bug where being arrested by the marching army when trying to get to Baldur's Gate for the second time could lead to player characters who were present during the first arrest, but not during the second arrest, to still be teleported into the prison cell in Moonrise Towers.
• Minthara will now continue to want to speak to you after you tell her to wait.
• Fixed an issue where sending Gortash's Netherstone-Studded Gauntlet directly to camp instead of picking it up wouldn't give you his Netherstone until you went back to the Traveller's Chest and retrieved the gauntlet from it. Now sending the gauntlet to camp results in you getting his Netherstone immediately to prevent you from losing track of it.
• Minthara and Halsin will now more consistently choose to remain in the Shadow-Cursed Lands when you load into another region.
• Z'rell will no longer fail to do her duties - namely fighting back when she's attacked - when she's in her office.
• Characters at the bazaar at Moonrise Towers will no longer continuously catch unwelcome visitors and leave it up to the guards to determine who's welcome and who isn't.
• Fixed His Majesty and Thaniel sometimes becoming hostile under the wrong circumstances.
• The Harpers returning to Last Light after the ambush will now be appropriately hostile or friendly, depending on the state of the area.
• Fixed a bug where Halsin could trigger a trespassing crime from within Moonrise Towers even if he was outside.
• Fixed a bug where the surviving Harper scouts could sometimes turn hostile at Last Light if their leader died fighting the drider.
• Fixed your character addressing Shadowheart after deciding Nightsong's fate when Shadowheart isn't there.
• Minthara's Speak With Dead dialogue options now make more sense if she dies in Act II before joining the party.
• A certain plaque in the Thorm Mausoleum now correctly mentions who the coffin belongs to.
• Party members will now comment on the area below Moonrise Towers if they fall through either entrance in the prison.
• Fixed one of Karlach's lines not playing when you talk to her when entering the Colony in Act II.
• Fixed the cutscene for deciphering one of the Engraved Githyanki Discs not triggering.
• Prevented Minthara from being replaced in her escape-from-Moonrise dialogue by an avatar or another character.
• Fixed a couple of flow issues in the dialogue between Lann Tarv and Karlach.

Act III

• Fixed a dialogue flow that repeated multiple times in the Szarr Palace.
• Fixed companion Shadowheart not interjecting with Shar-related lines in an endgame dialogue.
• If you're playing as Karlach, you'll no longer miraculously come back to the Elfsong after burning out or going to Avernus after defeating the Netherbrain when you have multiple romantic partners.
• Fixed a bug causing you to get stuck in the Elfsong camp.
• Fixed a flow issue where if Halsin was your romance partner and you chose to go with him at the end of the game, during the epilogue he would act as though you didn't.
• Fixed a wrong check issue that would prevent Shadowheart from saving her parents if given the opportunity.
• Fixed a bug where Scratch could escape the kennels by the Sword Coast Couriers through the power of fetch. Look, a bug is a bug, okay?
• Fixed an issue where, on some older savegames, Kith'rak Voss would not be present in the Sewers in Act III.
• Fixed a rare case in which unconscious characters would get stuck in permanent combat with the turrets in Ramazith's Tower that would never kill the character, preventing the portal connected to the shop from opening again, which in turn cut off characters outside of the tower.
• Fixed a bug where Orin's version of the Netherstone dagger failed to swap to the player version of the dagger when you equipped it directly from her corpse in a specific circumstance.
• Fixed an issue where Flaming First Madigan could get stuck in an infinite dialogue loop, desperately trying to send you back to prison.
• Fixed a flow issue in the Investigate the Murders quest where some players had their quest log update to say they'd learnt the passphrase to enter Candlehallow's Tombstones even if they hadn't. We've reverted this quest step update so you can continue the quest as normal.
• You no longer need to manually progress with spacebar or mouse or by pressing 1 to continue through Karlach's scene in Avernus with Wyll.
• Fixed the cinematic where Minsc bursts out of a mimic not starting when you enter the vault shapeshifted.
• Fixed Minsc getting stuck in the Counting House vaults.
• Fixed a flow issue where if you were playing as Gale and you didn't become the God of Ambition, you could still find yourself looking and acting pretty godlike in the epilogue.
• Fixed an un-interactable Oskar recovering from unconsciousness after a Long Rest before Kerri's portrait is destroyed if his possessed condition was removed using the Protection from Evil and Good spell.
• Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause Zanner Toobin to just stand in the doorway to the Steel Watch Foundry if you walked out of the building while he was your follower. He will now always return to the office and wait for you to come back. Guess he likes it in there.
• Fixed a very rare bug where you could break up with your partner but still be unable to date Halsin.
• If Allandra concluded the funeral and returned to her office, the waveservants will no longer stop you if you want to finish the 'Avenge the Drowned' quest.
• Fixed a bug causing Ravengard to die when exiting Wyrm's Rock Fortress after loading a save in which he was broken in a very specific way. Note that if he had died as a result of this bug he will not be resurrected when loading this patch.
• If one of your companions is abducted by Orin with the Mysterious Artefact on them and then sacrificed at the altar, the artefact will now be returned to a party member.
• Lae'zel will now respond more appropriately after you kill Voss in the Sewers if she is loyal to Orpheus.
• Fixed the Emperor thinking you don't have all the Netherstones if one of them is in a camp chest.
• Fixed a few issues with Minsc greetings when talking to him after dealing with Gale and the Crown of Karsus, and after making a choice regarding Orpheus.
• Warning Cora Highberry about the wine if you have the Sage background will no longer incorrectly grant the 'Crossing's Namesake' Inspiration Point.
• Hope should now correctly acknowledge that Korrilla is alive, if she is, when you ask her what she'll do next.
• Fixed an issue preventing you from reporting to Lucretious that you've found a piece of Dribbles before you'd found every single one.
• Zevlor's follow-up scene at High Hall now plays correctly.
• Withers will no longer let you ask if you can dismiss your hirelings at High Hall, given that he doesn't actually offer that service in dangerous areas like that.
• The Emperor now joins the Gather Your Allies moment when your rousing speech doesn't ignite the fighting spirit you were expecting.
• Fixed an issue preventing Aelis Siryasius from speaking after you talk him out of fighting you.
• Fixed some rare cases where you could trigger the alarm at the House of Hope after you'd already left.
• If you meet Devella before solving Father's Lorgan murder in Rivington, when you come back after solving it, the dialogue option about being sent by Valeria will now be more appropriate.
• Fixed Halsin repeatedly bringing up Astarion's relationship with him in overhead dialogues under certain circumstances.
• Roger Highberry will no longer follow Cora's corpse to mourn in front of it if you move it outside the boundaries of the wine festival. This will prevent Roger from, for example, appearing at your camp if you move Cora's corpse to your Traveller's Chest.
• Fixed an overhead dialogue about Gale triggering even if he's not in the party.
• The courier informed us that he found a lost letter from the Grove that was meant to arrive at an important party. It's now been sent on its rightful way.
• The Steel Watchers at Baldur's Mouth no longer sometimes slack off on their security duties if you've killed Gortash.
• Minsc will no longer mention the Zhent taking over the Guildhall in the epilogue when Nine-Fingers is still in power. Silly Minsc seeing into alternate timelines.
• You'll no longer say you recognise the Armbrust family if you never met them.
• Added a quest reward for bringing the Zhent shipment to the Zhent at Guildhall.
• Carrion's heart will now properly teleport from Thrumbo's corpse to the basement of Philgrave's Mansion if the dialogue was triggered by dropping Thrumbo's body in front of Mystic Carrion.
• Fixed a rare issue that caused Dame Aylin to not join the fight with Lorroakan in Ramazith's Tower and then become uninteractable afterwards.
• Fixed some of the vampire spawn not reacting to you attacking them after Cazador dies.
• Fixed the Counting House's restricted area not responding to trespassing in some rare cases.
• Lae'zel will no longer have trouble deciding whether she recognises Avatar Astarion in some greetings if he's disguised.
• When talking to Jaheira about her Rite of the Timeless Body, you could tell her your race lived longer than hers, regardless of facts or logic. Now this only applies if your race does, canonically, live longer.
• You can now ask Barkeep Severn about Cheeky Nora after the Guildhall coup is resolved.
• There were two copies of Taming Hope: Part Two in the House of Hope. The second copy of that book has now rightfully been replaced with Taming Hope: Part Three.
• Fixed a rare case where Yurgir wouldn't appear in the House of Hope, which could lead to you not being able to leave the House of Hope after combat.
• In the cinematic with Beorn Wunterbrood at High Hall, Jaheira or Halsin will now speak up before Withers does when appropriate.
• Wyll's greeting after entering the city will now be more appropriate to your Attitude rating. If it's below 20, no more Mr Nice Guy.
• Gale should now have a slightly different response when faced with the endgame choice after Orpheus has been freed.
• Fixed the duel between Sir Penghyst and Lord Jeth triggering twice if you choose to attack them both via the dialogue.
• Other characters should no longer show up during Gale's contemplations about surviving the end of Act II after departing.
• If you accepted the runepowder bomb from Wulbren in Act III, Wyll would disapprove. Now, you can now gain Wyll’s approval if you refuse it.
• Ringmistress Lucretious may now join your fight against 'Dribbles' & Co. at the circus.
• Animal tamers at the circus should no longer open the beast cages before the clown joins the fight. The beasts used to just run away without their leader in combat.
• Fixed the abrupt transition between two sitting animations for Lord Shattershield's Bodyguard.
• Fixed a Perception check that could let you spot a key inside Crimson Draughts through the roof.
• In the Devil's Fee, you can now close the hatch by using the bust again. The bust itself will always be available for use.
• Fixed a bug blocking off a dialogue option in Halsin's epilogue dialogue about him being modest about his achievements.
• Fixed a bug preventing overhead dialogues from playing when throwing Boo. Behold! The last little cheeks you will ever see!
• Fixed a bug in the 'Find the Nightsong' quest causing Rolan to die after a Long Rest if Nightsong and Lorroakan are killed.
• Fixed a bug preventing your kuo-toa allies from showing up in the endgame.

Journal

• The journal will now close the 'Free the Artist' quest after you defeat Kerri and will no longer will tell you to go get a portrait from Oskar if he and Jannath split up, since he won't make one in that case.
• Fixed the 'Avenge the Drowned' quest not closing correctly if Redhammer didn't initiate conversation with you after all the waveservants were defeated.
• Ensured that the 'Steal a Githyanki Egg' quest isn't left open in the journal if you pass a point of no return and can't return to the Crèche to complete it.
• 'Rescue the Druid Halsin' and its parent quest 'Find a Cure' now resolve properly once you load into the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
• Fixed the journal not updating when you ask Mystic Carrion for a cure for Oskar's possession.
• Fixed the journal not detecting whether you already have the Torch of Revocation when you learn its purpose.
• Fixed a bug causing Minthara to continue asking you to kill the tieflings even if they're all dead, blocking quest progression on the 'Raid the Emerald Grove' quest.
• Tweaked a journal update in the 'Raid the Emerald Grove' quest to avoid suggesting player involvement in cases where it wasn't possible.

MODDING

• Fixed the Mod Manager not being accessible after disconnecting a local player on Xbox.
• Made overall improvements to the Mod Verification window to improve user experience.
• Fixed the Next/Previous Mod button allowing you to cycle through the empty Mod Details pages of third-party mods.
• Updated the search filter options in the Mod Manager to ensure accuracy.
• Fixed mod thumbnails sometimes not showing up in the Mod Loading Order section of the Mod Manager.
• Fixed a bug in the Mod Manager where downloading a mod via the browser and then going to the Mod Details page wouldn't let you uninstall it via the 'Uninstall' button.
• Fixed a FileSystem error showing up and requiring you to close and reopen the game to update or uninstall mods used in the current game session.
• Fixed various issues with mod thumbnails, like pixellated images or inconsistencies between the thumbnails and the title photos.
• The Memory Used widget should now be more accurate on PS5 when uninstalling a mod.
• Fixed a bug causing some mods to get stuck loading at 25%.
• Enabling a mod in the Mod Details window will now give you visual feedback that its dependencies have also been enabled.
• Whenever you log into mod.io, you'll now automatically get subscribed to all your currently installed mods. Also fixed a bug where the UI wouldn't update from 'Installed' to 'Subscribed' when appropriate.
• Fixed a bug letting you access the Mod Manager on split-screen even if one of the players doesn't have the correct permissions on PlayStation 5.

BALDUR’S GATE 3 TOOLKIT

• Enabled editing of existing levels for the following template types: Items, Characters and Triggers (add/override).
• Added an option to reuse the base game shaders when creating materials.
• Added limited support for importing existing mods.
• Added a TranslatedStringKey editor. You can now create/edit strings in your own mods, and view translated strings in dev mods for reference.
• Added 'reloadUI' and 'reloadLoca' debug commands.
• Added a label to show when the Material Editor is in read-only mode.
• Added localisation for certain fields in the Tag Editor.
• Items Editor no longer displays items that can't be picked up in the 'available items' list.
• Validation Errors should no longer disappear when switching between tabs inside the Project Settings window.
• Fixed TextureResources not importing correctly.
• Fixed inability to change a project back to its original name.
• Fixed an Exception Error due to the Dependency list not updating after renaming a project in that list.
• Fixed the horizontal scroll bar not adjusting to text width in the Story Editor.
• Fix a validation error when trying to restore previous mod name if the mod hasn't been saved after renaming.
• Fixed the 'Render Equipment Icons' process in the Toolkit sometimes causing a deadlock.
• If you override an item's parent value in the Stats Editor via the Sidebar, you'll now see the orange diamond icon, as expected, indicating that the value has been overridden.
• The Project Browser will no longer generate a crash dump if there was no crash and you closed the Project Browser window normally.
• Disabled the 'Save' button in the Project Settings window for modders while in developer mods.
• Fixed a bug that could get you stuck in a save-overwrite loop in Toolkit by moving the publishing of .paks to AppData/../Local Mods instead of the /Data folder.
• To prevent a crash, you can no longer input unsupported characters when renaming using the Rename/Move tool.
• Forced Effect Resources to be inside /Data/Public/Assets/Effects when using the Rename/Move tool so that they don't disappear from AllSpark when you rename them.
• Fixed a potential crash caused by the UUID Editor letting you save while in Game Mode.
• Fixed potential data corruption caused by saving tech names with whitespaces in them.
• Added the Patch 8 content that was missing from the Toolkit in the Stats Editor and UUID Editor.
• Added an option to automatically update mod dependencies to include GustavX.
• Moved the Photo Mode section in the Toolkit to where the other base components of the game are so that it can't be edited via the Stats Editor.

PERFORMANCE AND OPTIONS

• The game will now remember the changes made to the audio settings after you click the 'Reset' button.
• Improved the performance of Voice Chat during loading screens on console.
• When you agree to reset tutorial pop-ups during Character Creation, the tutorial pop-up setting in the options will now also get re-enabled.
• Fixed instances of 'Savegame Error 544' on PS5 when you have long, multibyte avatar and savegame names. The savegame name length is now limited according to the length of the avatar's character name.
• Fixed the 'Restore Defaults' button in the Difficulty settings not working when you access it while you're already in gameplay.
• Added a Terrain Texture Quality option to the Video options. Previously controlled by the Texture Quality option, this now controls the texture quality of all terrain. Changing the terrain texture quality doesn't require a game restart for the changes to apply. The terrain texture quality can also be modified on DirectX 11, where previously, terrain textures would always be loaded at the highest resolution.
• Fixed an issue where adjusting your Texture Quality would secretly reset the value to Ultra the next time you opened the game. The setting no longer has a mind of its own.
• Removed the outdated God Rays setting from the Video options, which is now effectively covered by the Fog Quality setting.
• Fixed a potential memory corruption issue when loading out of a level while a player character is being confronted for a crime.
• Fixed screen tearing on Vulkan when VSync is disabled or set to Triple Buffering.
• Optimised the performance of inventories, particularly with lots of items in them.
• Optimised fog rendering when Fog Quality is set to Low.
• Optimised the combat AI.
• Improved performance related to in-game lights.
• Improved the Discord rich presence by adding things like in-game location and the ability to request to join the game.
• Optimised terrain shaders.
• Improved some sluggish performance when navigating through the radial menus on controller.
• Improved potential performance dips related to switching between keyboard and mouse input and controller input.

UI

• Added an error message that'll take you back to the Main Menu when the game can't load Honour Mode files properly.
• Fixed character abilities sometimes being duplicated on the Character Sheet after loading into a new region.
• Fixed the equipment slot filter showing all items instead of items specific to that slot the first time you open it up in Party View.
• Fixed the Inspiration UI sometimes displaying the incorrect XP value.
• Fixed Ability Point bonuses not influencing the number of prepared spells in Character Creation.
• Updated the Movement Speed tooltip to show remaining movement more precisely.
• The Spellbook will now correctly display the spells you've unlocked through feats when playing on keyboard and mouse.
• Items and characters in your inventory that you can't throw will now show up in the Throw menu but will appear disabled.
• Fixed the in-dialogue UI buttons overlapping the text on some screen ratios.
• Fixed the model of the Arcane Turret not being centred in its Examine panel.
• Fixed the Character Sheet tabs sometimes missing their background image and being slightly misaligned.
• Fixed particularly long NPC names in Japanese sometimes overlapping with gold values in the Trade UI.
• Fixed particularly long custom map marker names in Japanese exceeding the bounds of the textbox.
• Fixed some grid-like artefacts showing up on the character models in Character Creation when switching between them.
• Fixed the context menu sometimes displaying the context menu of the last container you interacted with.
• Fixed the wrong error message showing up in the main menu when activating split-screen after trying to create a multiplayer lobby without permissions.
• Fixed a bug on split-screen preventing you from selecting modifiers during an active roll in dialogue.
• Fixed the dice animation missing when quickloading a save made during an active roll in a dialogue.
• The Bhaalist Armour's Aura of Murder tooltip now displays the correct aura radius (3m).
• Fixed the UI missing for a couple of frames when the screen is fading in or out.

Tooltips

• Fixed the tooltip for the Hunted condition not linking out to the Blinding Ambush tooltip when you hovered over it.
• Improved the Attack Bonus and Damage tooltips that link out from the Character Sheet, which weren't always updating to the correct values.
• The tooltip for the Obliging Assistant spell that the sisters at the House of Healing have will now show the correct healing values.
• Fixed some tooltips, like Paladin's Healing Radiance, not showing the proper calculations in Character Creation.
• Fixed Fireball missing its upcast description when upcast to a Level 4 spell slot.
• Fixed the description of the Nightdome's Cursed Vengeance passive in Tactician Mode.
• Fixed the Strength increase not showing up correctly in the Bolstering Brew tooltip.
• Fixed the Bane's Wrath tooltip showing the wrong damage values.
• Fixed the incorrect damage amount in the tooltip for Curriculum of Strategy: Artistry of War.
• Fixed the tools wielded by the sisters at the House of Healing having '1d6' in their tooltips where they shouldn't.
• Fixed comparison tooltips sometimes missing the player name.
• Clarified that Pact Weapon and Hexed Weapon use Charisma as the modifier in their respective tooltips.

Icons and Portraits

• Updated the icon for the Shadow Blade to better match its visuals.
• Fixed the Reward UI sometimes not displaying the icon of the rewarded item.
• Fixed the wrong variant of the Barbarian class icon appearing in Character Creation.
• Fixed the Lesser Hellboar's portrait, which had a golden outline.

Controller, Multiplayer, and Split Screen

• Fixed the wrong controller rumbling when updating the rumble settings with two controllers plugged in.
• Added a 'Move To' option to the context menu on controller while in combat or Turn-Based Mode.
• Added a Forced Split Screen option on the Gameplay tab of the options menu for controller.
• Fixed the HDR Calibration preview not showing up correctly on controller or when switching to or from controller mode.
• Fixed a visual bug when active roll bonuses first fade in on controller.
• Fixed a couple of missing button prompts in the controller tutorials for Pickpocketing and Sneaking.
• Fixed an issue where if you reduced the number of slots in the multiplayer lobby and this caused a player using a secondary controller to be kicked (because they were assigned to one of the removed slots), that slot would become permanently unavailable and the UI wouldn't update properly either.
• Fixed a split screen bug where one player's open tooltip would close when the other player updated their selected item via the equipped items pop-up.
• Removed the voice chat UI for non-console games.
• Added player names to the main Multiplayer Settings UI on keyboard and mouse.
• Fixed a bug on split screen causing the text that indicates whether a container is open or closed to be inaccurate when a container is opened by one player and another player is also highlighting it.
• Fixed the Traveller's Chest UI not closing when you select 'Close' from the context menu on split screen.
• Fixed a bug causing split screen to merge into one screen if one player is in a dialogue and the other player enters Turn-Based Mode.
• Fixed a split screen bug where adding a second controller and character during Character Creation would create a character that can't be edited.
• Fixed a split screen bug on Xbox where Player 2's in-game environment would reload when Player 1 entered the Level Up screen.
• Fixed the 'Sell' and 'Select' buttons in the Trade UI being mapped to the same button on controller when you open a container within a trade and try to multiselect items. The 'Sell' option is no longer available while you still have that container open.
• When you highlight a tooltip on controller, the outer border will now appear beneath the item's icon.
• Fixed a bug on split screen causing the inventory context menu on another player's item to get stuck temporarily.
• Fixed a bug where the in-game custom dice UI would require you to press controller buttons twice instead of once to navigate through them.
• Fixed a split screen bug where Player 1 would become invisible from Player 2's perspective if Player 2 disconnected from the session while in a cinematic.
• Fixed some overlapping button prompts on the Report UI in the Mod Manager.

LEVEL DESIGN

• Added a Memorial Portrait to the streets of Rivington.
• Tweaked some rocks and bookcases to improve the appearance of the cutscene at camp where Lae'zel attacks you, depending on where it happens.
• Fixed some lopsided and upside-down chairs letting you sit on them anyway.
• Fixed a gap in the wall near the Verge of the Shadows.
• Fixed some terrain that was protruding from the ground in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
• Moved an unreachable Blue Dye in Carm's Garms.
• Fixed some black planes in the background of the first cinematic with Yurgir in the Gauntlet of Shar.
• Tweaked some curtains in the Szarr Palace that could interfere with cinematic shots when talking to Vilhelm.
• Moved an old bottle in the Blighted Village to make it reachable. Keep those lootin' fingers limber.
• Grounded some floating rocks in the Ruined Battlefield.
• Moved the hirelings' spawnpoints to prevent them from spawning in Shadowheart's tent.
• Removed a teeny tiny itty bitty untextured cube that was hiding beneath the bridge to Wyrm's Fortress.

ART

• Fixed some low-resolution textures on Flaming Fist outfits.
• Tightened He Who Was' belt so it fits him better around the chest. We're pretty sure he could have tightened it himself, but he insisted someone else do it.
• Fixed female dragonborn rogues missing the belt from their starter outfits.
• Adjusted the Selûnite Robe on all races so that gloves now correctly hide the sleeves when worn.
• Fixed a rogue occluder in the Hollow, letting you see the waters beneath the earth at certain angles.
• Fixed Morgan's sleeves clipping through her gloves.
• Adjusted the Dark Justiciar Half-Plate for female characters, which, when worn without underwear underneath it, was letting the nips peek through.
• Gave Bunny and Blossom - two very much human children in the Lower City - clothes fit for humans. Without tail holes.
• Updated several boots that were making githyanki knees disappear when equipped.
• Updated the Teal Slimfit Outfit to correctly show a tiefling body instead of a human body when equipped by tieflings.
• The colors of the Strapped Choker Leather Ensemble should now display correctly after you switch from a visual with the same mesh but different colours.
• Fixed the colour of the Oath of Devotion's default tunic. It was appearing ruddy red instead of the intended blue.
• Fixed the glass around one of the lamps in the Arcane Tower not aligning properly with the light itself.
• Fixed the back of some posters in the sewers' Abandoned Cistern missing their texture.
• Adjusted Eye Make Up Style 7 so the colour no longer also appears on the character's neck.
• Adjusted the icon and loot item of the Shade-Slayer Cloak to reflect the model used when it's worn.
• Adjusted the Adamantine Scale Mail armour on female dwarves so it better hides the chesticles.
• Fixed some clipping on Boris and Jacob, the skeletons at the circus.
• Fixed lip colours not showing up on Head 8 for male humans.
• There was a discrepancy between the facial spots on the female githyanki Head 1 character model and UI icon. They now have the same spots.
• Fixed some stretching on the Emblazoned Plate of the Marshal.
• Fixed some clipping on the starting armour for paladins when worn by male githyanki.

ANIMATION

• Fixed clipping on some of the starting armour across classes and races.
• Fixed some stretching on the Armour of Persistence when worn by male githyanki characters.
• Fixed the Scale Mail stretching on female gnomes' legs.
• Fixed the Flaming Fist Half Plate Armour clipping into characters' thighs.
• Fixed Lae'zel's hair looking like it was badly crimped in a romantic scene with Gale.
• Fixed some clipping and stretching issues with the Emblazoned Plate of the Marshal.
• Fixed one of the tendrils of the jester hat vibrating ominously when worn by female dragonborn characters. Also fixed all the tendrils standing up stiffly when worn by dwarves.
• Fixed Popper's loincloth clipping into his thigh.
• Fixed Auntie Ethel's trousers clipping through her tunic when she bends forward.
• Fixed the Fireforge Tassels beard clipping and stretching in some cinematics with the Dream Visitor.
• Fixed Oliver's limbs sometimes getting all stretchy during Hide and Seek and looking a little too Slender Man for our liking.
• Fixed the cloth on the Half Plate Armour +2 clipping on female thighs.
• Fixed some clipping and stretching issues with the Cerebral Citadel Armour.
• The instrument on your back will no longer hover mid-air behind you when you change into your camp clothes if you had previously been wearing a cape.
• Fixed the missing animation when using Sneak Attack with pole-type weapons like The Dancing Breeze.
• Minthara will now correctly plot her plans on her map in her idle animation.
• Aligned Remira's bow with her hand.
• Fixed Tugelnhorn's shirt clipping through her waistcoat.
• Fixed an untextured gap in the Solemnity Outfit when worn by female humanoids.
• Fixed Bhaal Horriss' belt clipping into his trousers.
• Fixed some minor clipping on the halfplate Wulbren wears.
• Fixed clipping on the clothes of the Bhaalist cultists in Bloomridge Park.
• Fixed clipping on the clothes of cambions.
• Fixed one of the medallions on Duke Ravengard's belt clipping into the belt.
• Fixed Charl Baragezian's shirt clipping into him.
• Fixed Ramona Flintsplitter's shirt and hat clipping into her.
• Fixed Droona Shveitz's red shirt clipping into her.
• Fixed Otterdance Fenton's shirt clipping into him.
• Gelled down a few strands of Shadowheart's hair that were sticking out and stretched funny.
• Fixed Chain Mail +1 stretching into a dangerous-looking shard of fabric when combined with gloves.
• Fixed Nightsong's Armour clipping through thighs.
• Fixed the Linebreaker Boots and the barbarian Leather Boots looking all stretchy when worn by a character with Invisibility.
• Fixed the tentacles on the Netherbrain not playing their squirmy dance animation for Otto's Irresistible Dance.
• Fixed a bug where, upon attempting to attack a target with a Quarterstaff while Raging from a few paces away, the attack animation would swap to a different one mid-lunge.
• Reminded the Spectator that its rays should come out of its eyestalks, not its mouth.
• Fixed the Armour of Agility clipping into several gloves when worn by halflings.
• The belt buckle on the Mighty Cloth will no longer float mid-air when worn by male githyanki.
• Fixed some clipping on the Protecty Sparkswall on female body types.
• Fixed clipping on several Half Plate armours when worn by female gnomes.
• Fixed the shoulder of one of the skeletons in the Chapel crypt poking through his clothes.
• Fixed some clipping on the Society of Brilliance robe when worn by dwarves.
• Fixed some clipping on Pritt Yellowbreath's clothes.
• Fixed some clipping on Chef Roveer's clothes.
• Fixed some clipping on the Chain of Liberation and Slippery Chain Shirt.
• Fixed the starting armour for female half-orc rogues clipping while they move.
• Fixed some clipping on Blurg's robe.
• Fixed some clipping and stretching on the Dark Justiciar Half-Plate and Gloves of the Balanced Hands.
• Fixed some stretching on the Elven Chain armour when worn by male githyanki.
• Fixed a bug causing Ketheric to sport Mizora's hair.
• Fixed Marcus' thigh clipping through his tabard in the scene where he drops menacingly from the sky.
• You'll no longer be able to literally see through the hips of large female characters when they're wearing Shadowheart's camp clothes.

SOUND

• Fixed some missing SFX on Mama Owlbear when she's enraged after you kill her cub.
• Fixed some spells' preparation SFX not ending when you deselect the spell.
• Fixed an inappropriately dramatic music change in the endgame cinematic after Gale sacrifices himself and the githyanki depart.
• Fixed Raphael's combat music not triggering if you load a savegame made during a particular dialogue in the House of Hope.
• Fixed the combat music failing to trigger if you initiate the combat with the Entombed Scribes in the Dank Crypt by trying to pick them up, presumably to cradle them in your arms.
• Fixed the SFX missing when Sorn Orlith snaps his fingers.
• Fixed Valeria sometimes missing her flapping sounds.
• Fixed the music changing when it shouldn't on the ship docked on the Western Beach at Wyrm's Crossing.
• Added missing UI sounds on the Inventory filter lists.
• Fixed some missing music and SFX in the evil ending cinematics when playing on split screen.
• Fixed the SFX missing when Grasping Vines prepare to cast Grasping Pull.
• Added some music that was missing during Orin's transformation reveals.
• Fixed a split screen sound playing when loading a region or savegame and switching from keyboard and mouse to controller.
• Fixed some missing SFX when casting Speak with Dead on the mind flayer in the Shattered Sancrum.
• Fixed the music during the portal combat by Last Light being too quiet.
• Fixed the environmental music stopping abruptly when you leave the little chapel in the Lower City camp.
• Fixed the environmental music stopping abruptly when you leave the myconid colony.
• Fixed a rock in the Shadow-Cursed Lands camp that would make the environmental music stop playing if you walked on it and then off it again.
• Fixed the main menu music dropping in volume slightly when you open the Options menu on controller.

VFX

• Fixed some missing Detect Thoughts VFX in the dialogue with the Archivist.
• Fixed a big black rectangle appearing in the dialogue with Glut if you skip through the dialogue.
• Fixed Shadowheart's wound missing its SFX and VFX in the dialogue with Thulla.
• Fixed avatar genitals sometimes showing up during Astral lovemaking with Gale when they shouldn't.
• Added some missing Detect Thoughts VFX when probing Cordula Eltan's mind.
• Fixed Karlach's VFX momentarily disappearing in her scene on the pier at the end of the game.
• Fixed the explosions from traps in the Apothecary's Cellar appearing visually much smaller than their actual impact.
• Fixed the position of the VFX for Spiritual Weapons' Concussive Smash spell.
• Cleaned up some blue VFX that could lead to odd lighting in the dialogue after you confront Oliver.
• Fixed missing VFX on Shadowheart's wound when you ask her about her faith.
• Fixed the Countercharm VFX showing a spectral human playing a dying animation when casting a secondary instance of Countercharm in the area.
• Fixed a potential broken frame showing the bridge explosion in Act I before the cinematic begins.
• Fixed some VFX misalignment when the Restless Myconid is communicating telepathically.
• Fixed the flowing VFX from the ritual symbols on the ground in the House of Hope sometimes clipping through your character in a cinematic.
• Fixed some flickering on the Memory Shard in the scene that triggers when you interact with it.
• Fixed a bug causing Lae'zel's astral VFX in the epilogue to disappear mid-dialogue.
• Optimised the VFX in the scene where you sit on the throne atop the Netherbrain.
• Fixed the in-game Moonlight Glaive VFX appearing in cinematics even when the glaive itself isn't visible.
• Fixed some inconsistent lighting on a Justiciar Avenger when it rises up from the ground in a cinematic.
• Fixed the Warden of Vitality VFX flickering on Oathbreakers' hands.
• Fixed some white graphical artefacts on the outline of the Mountain Pass transition if you hover your cursor over it and then move the in-game camera.
• Fixed the Level Up VFX playing on both sides of a split screen game even if it's just one player levelling up.
• Fixed a bug causing Orin's dagger to turn solid red.
• Fixed a bug where body type 1 and 3 characters' chests would clip through their armour in the spectral preview that appears when preparing to cast certain spells.

WRITING

• Updated the spell and condition tooltips for Owlbear's Rage to account for the Constitution and Temporary Hit Points gained when using the ability.
• Made the description of Mage Hand Legerdemain more accurate, by removing the mention of carrying out 'additional tasks'.
• Updated the description for Bend Luck to make it clear that the spell only affects Ability Checks.
• Fixed an incorrect additional description showing up in the Oil Flask tooltip.
• Fixed a discrepancy in the damage type of Storm's Fury.
• Removed repeated text in the Warding Bond tooltip description.
• Fixed the Knock Unconscious tooltip displaying a developer's comment instead of the correct description.
• Fixed some technical text appearing in the Shield Steward Interrogation Log tooltip.
• Clarified the description of Phantasmal Force.
• Clarified that Unarmoured Defence doesn't stack with Mage Armour.
• Removed some superfluous information about the recharge time of the Quickspell Flinger feature to align with other tooltips.
• Updated the Mapped Terror tooltip descriptions to clarify that they affect followers.
• Clarified in the Animate Dead: Flying Ghoul tooltips that, although Flying Ghouls can fly, they specialise in melee combat.
• Updated the Owlbear Cub's Skittish tooltip to clarify that it becomes Frightened.
• Fixed the Dread Ambusher tooltip incorrectly indicating that the associated weapon attack is a Bonus Action.
• Removed repeated text in the Caution Before the Seelie item description.
• Corrected several misspellings of Oskar Fevras' name.
• Fixed an unfinished sentence in the description of the Delicately Constructed Outfit.
• The Temporary Hit Points mentioned in the Armour of Agathys condition tooltip will now scale appropriately when upcast.
• Fixed several minor mismatches between subtitles in cinematics and the voice over.
• Fixed several typos across the game.
• Updated the text on the Crash Reporter screen in Brazilian Portuguese.
• Removed the outdated 'and do nothing else' part of the description for Command: Drop when cast at higher levels.
• Removed the erroneous mention of Versatile weapons in the 'Duelling' Fighting Style tooltip.
• Updated the name of the catch-and-redirect portion of Deflect Missiles to 'Deflect Missiles: Redirect' to reduce ambiguity.
• Fixed the tooltips for Arsenist's Oil incorrectly saying that it replaces Fire Resistance with Fire Vulnerability, instead of just stripping Resistance.
• Fixed an error in the tooltip descriptions of toxins, and clarified that the damage is applied at the end of the target's turn.
• Fixed a mismatch in the name of the passive and the reaction granted by the Unflinching Protector Amulet to avoid ambiguity as they're referring to the same thing. They're now both called Unflinching Protection.
• Updated the tooltip description for Aura of Protection to clarify that it disappears if you fall Unconscious, like the other paladin auras.
• Clarified that Crusader's Mantle affects the caster as well as any nearby allies.

CINEMATICS

Across Acts

• Improved camera shots, mocap animations, character staging, and facial expressions in many dialogues across the game.
• Fixed pops, jitters, and clipping in many dialogues across the game.
• Improved camera angles for characters of different heights in cinematics across the game.
• Fixed some alignment issues when smooching Lae'zel as a male githyanki.
• Fixed several visual bugs, like odd camera shots and clipping, in the camp scene with Dark Urge characters if they spare Isobel.
• Fixed some small pops in Shadowheart's main dialogue.
• The camera now cuts to Gale in a timely manner when he responds after you dismiss him from your party.
• Fixed an issue where you wouldn't be looking at Wyll at the beginning of his main dialogue, as well as some animation pops.
• Fixed some pops on Shadowheart in her main dialogue.
• Adjusted some cameras to prevent dragonborn horns from obscuring Karlach's face when talking to her.
• Added some more camera angles to avoid pops between lines when talking to Halsin.
• Added an additional head animation for Scratch so he continues to hold his ball correctly in his mouth. Whosagoodboy!
• Fixed Karlach's hands clipping into her hips when she tells you she sees a bit of colour in your cheeks.
• Fixed the Sentient Amulet's chain looking stiff in cinematics.
• Asked Jaheira to kindly look at Lae'zel when she's talking to her.

Act I

• Fixed larger player characters briefly sliding slightly upwards in the dialogue with Wroot after freeing him from the windmill.
• Fixed some mocap pops on Voss at the Mountain Pass chokepoint.
• The owlbear no longer blips out of existence during the dialogue with Krolla about the chicken chase.
• Pooldripp no longer suddenly shifts position mid-cinematic.
• Improved camera angles for shorter races and facial expressions in Wyll's recruitment dialogue.
• Fezzerk's head no longer pops mid-sentence when he turns around.
• Fixed Karlach's body popping when Origin Wyll confronts her for the first time.
• Fixed your character popping out of place when the dragon spits fire onto the nautiloid at the start of the game. Also fixed your character's hand clipping into the transponder.
• Fixed a camera shot aimed at no one at all when you lean in to give the mind flayer on the beach a little kiss.
• Fixed one of Shadowheart's lines getting cut off before she'd finished speaking in her confrontation with Lae'zel.
• Fixed one of Rath's lines getting cut off prematurely.
• Barcus no longer clips into the ground and slides around from side to side in the dialogue by the windmill.
• Female gnomes who choose to slap Gale's hand away at the start of the game will now actually slap his hand instead of swiping confidently at the air.
• Fixed Gale looking in funny directions and popping when you're with him in the secluded grove at night.
• Fixed Crusher getting partially blocked off from view by taller player characters when he's grovelling on the floor.
• Fixed camera and mocap pops after healing the bird Nettie is tending to.
• Fixed Fezzerk popping out of place between two of his lines at the windmill.
• Fixed an animation pop when Chock recoils from being hit by Fank at the schoolhouse in the Blighted Village.
• The camera now correctly shows Karlach when she chimes in during the dialogue with Auntie Ethel at the teahouse.
• Fixed some character placements in the cinematic with one of the Sacrificed Cultists on the nautiloid to fix dragonborn characters clipping into the chair.
• Improved the camera shots and fade-ins and -outs in the dialogue with Sazza and Olak.
• Fixed Lae'zel popping between two lines when talking about the tadpoles at camp.
• Fixed the sails of the raft in the Underdark popping while unfurling.
• Fixed a shot in Gale's recruitment dialogue where, if you decided to draw your weapon, you'd act it out very threateningly but not actually be holding anything in your hands. Gale always took your game of make-believe very seriously, though.
• If you successfully pull Phalar Aluve out of its rock, your hands will now grip it more convincingly.
• Fixed a fallen statue obscuring a shot when talking to Yerle in the Shattered Sanctum while playing as a short race.
• Fixed Auntie Ethel's body animations sometimes stopping mid-line while talking to her in the Emerald Grove.
• Fixed Shadowheart twizzling her head from left to right when you try to recruit her in the Emerald Grove.
• Companions' heads will no longer violently snap towards you when you choose to sacrifice one of them to BOOOAL.
• Fixed a bug causing you to abruptly crouch down before approaching Minthara for the romantic night in Act I.
• Fixed Voss' sword clipping through your head as though slicing through soft butter in a scene at camp.
• Fixed Priestess Gut's hand clipping through her potion bottle.

Act II

• Fixed the Spear of the Night sometimes magically teleporting to Shadowheart's back after she throws it into the Shadowfell.
• Fixed a small animation pop and a line of dialogue getting cut short in the scene with Minthara at Moonrise Towers.
• Your hand will no longer clip into the wall when you're elbow-deep in the Cracked Wall at Moonrise.
• Fixed Gale's interjection getting cut off prematurely by your Dream Guardian when you go digging for gods-know-what in the Cracked Wall at Moonrise.
• Improved several animations and movements when you grab Karlach's hip in her Act II romance dialogue.
• Fixed your character dramatically whipping their head to the side at a dangerous speed in the dialogue with Astarion, Petras, and Dalyria in Wyrm's Crossing.
• Fixed the weapon covering Gale's face when he offers to sacrifice himself during the Chosen Three cinematic.
• Fixed a minor pop on your character when you first pick up the tankard Thisobald offers you.
• Barcus is no longer Mike Wazowski'd by various items like cauldrons and bottles, blocking him from view when you talk to him at Last Light.
• Fixed a bug where githyanki players who lose the duel against Lae'zel would later overlap with Lae'zel's body during a tender moment.
• Fixed the wrong animation sometimes playing when you're convincing Jaheira to let you through to Last Light.
• Fixed a couple of shots where Yurgir's crossbow was clipping into his hands.
• Fixed one of Minthara's lines at camp getting cut off prematurely.

Act III

• Fixed some mind flayer tentacles looking a little stiff and clipping into armour in an endgame cinematic after you choose to betray the Emperor.
• Adjusted some camera shots to better suit shorter races in Karlach's final scene on the pier.
• Fixed Astarion sometimes casually reappearing beside the party again after he flees from the sun on the docks.
• In the cinematic with Ansur, the smoke is no longer obscured by silhouettes of terrain in the background, and Ansur's eye no longer floats around his head.
• Fixed some camera shots (facing the wrong direction or blocked off by things in the environment) in the dialogue where you evolve with the Astral-Touched Tadpole.
• Fixed companions or multiplayer party members sometimes blocking the camera during the cutscene before arriving at the Morphic Pool.
• Fixed companions' lines getting cut off prematurely after Gale sacrifices himself alone at the end of the game.
• Fixed a pop on the Archivist at the House of Hope after selecting a particular dialogue option.
• Raphael will now fully complete his transformation during the cinematic before it transitions to gameplay at the House of Hope.
• Fixed one of Skittle's paws clipping into the ground.
• Fixed some clipping, awkward camera angles, and character placements in the dialogue with your allies at High Hall.
• An animation issue causing Halsin’s eyes to shift to the left during dialogue after choosing to embrace an illithid form has now been fixed.
• Wild-Shaped companions will no longer turn invisible during some endgame cinematics.
• Fixed a pop on mind flayer Karlach after the events at the end of the game.
• Fixed some visual bugs, like illithid tentacles flapping all over the place, in one of the evil ending cinematics.
• Scratch is now visible in the cage as intended if you choose to give him back to Mar'hyah.
• Minsc's armguards no longer magically disappear mid-dialogue.
• Improved some shots of betentacled Wyll if he takes the evil path at the end of the game.
• Fixed your character playing their crouching animation twice in a row in the dialogue with the Dying Stone Lord Thug if you choose to make him suffer.
• Popped Mirkon's shoulders back into their sockets when you talk to him in Rivington.
• Fixed Akabi's body popping out of place when he yells at you to drown him in coin.
• Fixed a moment in Wyrm's Crossing where Lae'zel would look at you when she should have been looking at Voss.
• Fixed one of Cheeky Nora's lines not having subtitles.
• Fixed some severe tentacle clipping in the dialogue immediately after the first confrontation with the Netherbrain.
• Fixed an issue so that Lae'zel's eyes no longer appear totally emotionless before stabbing Orpheus. She didn't even look her usual level of angwy.
• Fixed some awkward head angles and pops and hid the sword in the endgame cinematic with Lae'zel and the dragon.
• Fixed female halfling and dragonborn characters' eyes clipping through their eyelids in delight while getting jiggy with Mizora.
• Fixed shorter races sometimes being blocked by props in some of the cinematic shots when making your way to the Iron Throne.
• Fixed some camera angles on short characters in Karlach's scene after Gortash dies.
• Fixed some missing SFX when Astarion taps the bottom of Cazador's staff on the ground after the Black Mass.
• Cleaned up some mocap to fix Shadowheart jittering and popping when addressing Viconia in the Cloister.
• Fixed Shadowheart's mum's hand clipping into her neck when they hug.
• Fixed Wyll popping out of place when addressing the Dark Urge in the evil ending.
• Fixed Karlach's head popping and lip sync being slightly off when she addresses the Dark Urge in the evil ending.
• Fixed Astarion's forearms looking like they've detached from his body in the dialogue at High Hall.
• Fixed some characters not being lit up correctly in the dialogue with Beorn Wunterbrod at High Hall.
• Fixed the placement of characters when you skip through an endgame dialogue with Astarion if he was your romantic partner.
• Fixed some clipping in the dialogue with the Highberrys.
• Fixed some long pauses at the end of the lines in the Monk's Manifestation's overhead dialogue when you interact with Shirra's sarcophagus.
• Fixed your avatar party members possibly floating mid-air when you enter the Astral Portal after surviving the githyanki ambush at camp at the start of Act III.
• Fixed several pops and clips in the dialogue at High Hall where your allies commit to supporting you.
• Fixed several visual bugs, like your character floating above their bedroll, during the first night at the camp overlooking Wyrm's Crossing.
• Fixed one of Gortash's Speak with Dead lines getting cut off prematurely.
• Fixed Mizora snapping her head around like a bobblehead if you reject her when she's enticing you with the pleasures of the Hells.
• Fixed Shadowheart popping out of place in the dialogue with Nocturne.
• Fixed jittery mocap for the Inquirer of Grief (before her reveal).
• Fixed Shadowheart's father's hand clipping into her camp clothes during a family hug.
• Wulbren no longer suddenly pops onto the screen out of nowhere in the scene after you blow up the foundry, nor does he suddenly appear further away from his two Ironhand lackeys.
• Fixed one of Toobin's lines getting cut off prematurely.
• Fixed a bug where choosing to hug Minsc in the epilogue as a large-bodied character, like Karlach, would cause you to repeatedly attempt to hug him, even if you miss the mark.
• Fixed one of Karlach's lines getting cut off prematurely when discussing the Supreme Tadpole.
• Made sure Shadowheart won't be wearing a helmet when she asks you what you think of her new hair. Kinda makes it difficult to give an opinion.
• Fixed a bug causing Wyll to lose his horns when talking to Hope in the House of Hope.

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).

Niantic Spatial, the tech company that remains of Niantic after it sold off its games business to Scopely last month, just laid off 68 people following the roughly $3.5 billion transaction.

This news was spotted by Game Developer via a California WARN Act report, shows that at least 68 individuals are losing their jobs effect May 20, 2025. CEO John Hanke confirmed the news by sharing an email distributed to employees today.

In it, he said that the layoffs came as a result of Niantic Spatial needing to "operate as a startup organization, focused on the road ahead", for which "some roles would not be required given our new focus." It's worth noting that Niantic was formed in 2010 under Google as Niantic Labs, and became independent in 2015.

"These decisions are never easy; they in no way reflect the individuals’ performance, and we understand their impact on people’s lives," he continued. "We deeply appreciate the talented individuals who helped us get here and for their many contributions, and will support them as they transition to new opportunities."

These layoffs impact Niantic Spatial, which is the portion of Niantic that was spun off following the sale of Niantic's games business - including Pokemon Go, Monopoly Go!, and other games - to Scopely last month for over $3.5 billion. Niantic Spatial's focus is on using geospatial artificial intelligence to develop new technology and products, something Niantic was already been doing for a while both outside of and with the help of its games.

Niantic Spatial was funded with $250 million of capital, $200 million from Niantic's balance sheet and a $50 million Scopely investment. Upon its announcement, the company said its intention was to "accelerate and scale even more rapidly".

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Two things that seem to have been eternally popular since their inception are The Lord of the Rings and cooperative card games. Now, Tolkein’s legions of fans can enjoy both at once by playing their way through the first book of his trilogy, working together, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game.

The traditional set of playing card rules used in trick-taking has a lot of weight to carry on its narrative backbone to support Tolkein’s storytelling, but this sturdy little box tries its best to bear the burden.

What’s in the Box

While The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game comes in a small box, as befits a card game, it has immediate appeal with its stained-glass style art and shiny, gilded box-front ring. Opening the trove reveals more treasures: the box is divided into three compartments, each with a chapter ribbon, two of which start out sealed while the third contains the cards and counters you’ll need for your initial plays.

The cards themselves are a delight, featuring a rich art style reminiscent of stained glass that doesn’t feel like an immediate fit for Tolkien’s universe, but which grew on me over time. This combination gives the game its own distinctive style, while still managing to conjure beloved characters from the LotR novel.

Rules and How It Plays

This is a trick-taking game, so it riffs on classic playing card folk games like Whist and Bridge. For those unfamiliar, this means the first player plays a card, and following players have to play a card of the same suit, if possible, with the highest-value card of the initial suit winning the hand. Rather than the familiar suits of a standard playing card deck, these cards are divided into forest, hill, mountain, and shadow, which run from one to eight, and rings, which run from one to five. Many games have a trump suit which will beat the initial suit if played, but here there’s only a single trump card, which appropriately enough is the one of rings.

The other major departure from the trick-taking formula is the fact that this game is cooperative, so you’re working together to achieve a set of goals rather than trying to beat the other players. The game is broken down into chapters, which reflect important sequences from Tolkien’s masterwork, and each player takes the role of a character from that chapter, who has their own goals. Frodo is almost always one of the characters, his goal is always to win ring cards, and whoever is dealt the one of rings has to play as him. Other players get to choose their characters from the selection available for the chapter. As you go through the game you’ll encounter other members of the fellowship alongside more minor characters from the book like Farmer Maggot.

All the character powers and goals have a vague connection to the source material, but given the abstract nature of translating an adventure narrative into a trick-taking game, these are often pretty tenuous. Gildor the elf, for example, shows his elvishness by having to play a forest card in the final trick of the game while Pippin, whose card is delightfully sub-titled as “fool”, has to win the fewest tricks. But for many other characters, such as Gandalf and Bilbo, the goal is wholly divorced from their role in the story, often equating to winning a particular number of tricks.

The other major departure from the trick-taking formula is the fact that this game is cooperative.

Initially, working together to win particular tricks for particular players can feel odd, especially if you’re used to the rhythm of traditional, competitive trick-taking games. There’s also a rule forbidding players from talking about what’s in their hands – the game would be too easy otherwise – which might take a bit of getting used to. But after a few tries you should be able to establish the basic tactics needed and the game will begin to unfold. It’s a nice balance of strategy and luck: there are occasions where the deal will just not give players the cards required, but the ability to choose your character, and the ability many characters have to exchange cards with others, gives you extra levers to increase your chance of success.

Just as you think you’ve gotten comfortable with the way the game works, it throws you a curveball by adding in some new rule concepts and character goals. There are eighteen chapters in total and the game keeps coming up with creative and surprising ways to modify its mechanics to keep you on your toes. Many of them manage a better tie-in with the story than the character cards. It would be a shame to spoil too many but the barrow downs chapter, for example, recreates the omnipresent fog of that dreadful place through the simple expedient of removing a slew of random cards from the deck to confuse things. Other villains that put in an appearance include Old Man Willow, the Ringwraiths, and the Balrog.

Veteran gamers may, by this point, have realized that The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game shared quite a lot of DNA with another cooperative trick-taking game, the excellent The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (Amazon), a perennial in our list of the best board games for families. And indeed the flow and feel of both games are broadly similar, with trick-taking being adapted into a group goal by giving each player certain objectives in the tricks that they win. However, the Tolkein adaptation has several slender advantages over its older relation.

Most notably, while the theming of the game might be weak, the story is so familiar – and indeed the fact there’s a story at all – gives the game a better sense of progression than The Crew’s vague march through difficulty levels. It’s still a slow climb through various challenges, of course, but the familiarity of the tale and the lovely artwork make that progress come alive in a way that The Crew just can’t manage. There are also some little mechanical flourishes, too: the single trump of the one of rings is more interesting than the standard trump suit in The Crew, and the objectives are more varied and thematic.

Surprisingly for a trick-taking game there’s also a solo mode and, even more surprisingly, it works pretty well. You play four characters at once, but you only start with about half the cards dealt, with replacements coming at random off the deck as you choose which cards to play. This is an effective stand-in for the uncertainty of not knowing what’s in other player’s hands, and even when you know what cards are available, trying to coordinate your character’s goals across four different hands at once is a stiff challenge.

Where to Buy

• Get it at Amazon

See more Lord of the Rings board games

If you want a gaming PC that can follow wherever you may roam, a gaming laptop is likely your best bet. While desktop parts will usually still beat out a gaming laptop, the best of them offer excellent performance in the latest games. Best of all, some models are able to offer peak performance while still remaining thin and light, like the Razer Blade 16, which is my pick for the all-around best gaming laptop of 2025 so far. As of April 15, these are back in stock after Razer had briefly taken down the direct link to buy the Razer Blade 16 and other laptops, replaced with "Notify Me" buttons, ahead of when tariffs were supposed to kick in.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Laptops:

The first thing I always recommend to people hunting for a new gaming laptop is to consider is what PC games they actually hope to play. The second is what settings they hope to play them at. These two questions can guide your purchase to higher- or lower-end hardware and what trade-offs you're willing to make. Now more than ever, gaming laptops come in every shape and size, from thin and light devices to moderately heavy powerhouses like the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16. Larger performance-driven laptops (like the ones that come with a 4K display) achieve their enhanced performance with more powerful, and power-hungry, components, which means sacrificing on portability, battery life, and fan noise.

There are countless to choose from a ton of different gaming laptop brands, and finding the best for you can be more than a little daunting. I've tested dozens over the years, and I have a deep understanding of what it takes for a laptop to ascend to greatness for different types of gamers and can confidently say: These are the best gaming laptops of 2025 so far.

Looking for discounts on laptops like these? Check out our guide to the best gaming laptop deals.

1. Razer Blade 16 (2025)

Best Overall Gaming Laptop

Let's get this out of the way: The Razer Blade 16 isn't the most powerful RTX 50-series laptop. Instead, this notebook earns my top pick because of sum of its parts. See, the team at Razer understood that a huge crosssection of laptop gamers carry their machines with them every day, and flat-out making it nicer to use while also being powerful can dramatically enhance the use experience. And, as an extra, if you're willing to invest in Razer's laptop cooling pad, you can unlock the full wattage for performance that goes toe-to-toe with other RTX 5090 laptops.

Make no mistake: The Razer Blade 16 is still a gaming beast. In my review, I threw everything and the kitchen sink at it and there was nothing it couldn't run well on its crisp 1600p OLED screen. While running those games and benchmarks, the system stayed surprisingly quiet. This is a gaming laptop you could use in a school library without attracting attention.

It's true that a high-powered RTX 5080 like the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 also recommended in this guide will get you similar, if not better, performance. What most other laptops can't offer, though, is the Blade 16's level of portability and noise.

Measuring just 0.59 inches at its thinnest point, it's a marked improvement from its predecessor and, well, most gaming laptops with such powerful hardware. It also weighs only 4.7lbs; you won't forget it's there, but it won't leave your back and shoulders sore from lugging it around every day. That portabilty makes it more appealing as a daily carry, so I didn't second guess taking it with me every day even when I might not actually need it.

The Blade 16 does a great job of feeling like the premium product it is. The chassis is milled from a single block of aluminum and feels solid and robust. It also helps with heat dissipation, but solid engineering ensures that the keyboard never gets more than warm while gaming. Its screen is also excellent with impressive factory calibration and multiple professional color modes that allow it to be used for creative applications straight out of the box. It's per-key RGB keyboard is completely programmable, complete with SOCD (Snap Tap) and macro support to better emulate a dedicated gaming keyboard.

On top of that, it also offers great battery life while gaming. Thanks to the new advancements in how the RTX 50-series handles power management, you can play games for around two hours instead of one or less like last generation.

The Razer Blade 16 is an excellent laptop that, while pricey, is something special in this space. If you want a great gaming laptop that will impress you with its portability, look no further.

2. MSI Thin A15 AI

Best Budget Gaming Laptop

3. Gigabyte Aorus Master 16

Best High-End Gaming Laptop

4. Asus Zenbook S 16

Best Work/Gaming Laptop

5. Asus TUF Gaming A14

Best Gaming Laptop for Students

How to Pick the Best Gaming Laptop

Gaming laptops have come a long way in relatively little time. Power, portability, and price have all seen dramatic improvements in just the last five years, and somehow gaming laptops are getting thinner and adding even more features.

Portability and Form Factor

Where will you be taking this gaming laptop? If you'll be taking it out every day, you’ll want something portable, such as a 15-incher or even smaller. Users who just want a laptop to live at home as more of a desktop replacement should go for a 17-inch rig or bigger for the larger screen size and greater power.

Weight is another consideration if you'll be carrying the laptop around all day. Anything more than 5lbs is going to be very noticeable. This can be an issue because gaming laptops have a tendency to be a bit bigger than competing options that don't need larger and more advanced cooling solutions. It's not impossible to find thin and light gaming laptops with great performance, but you should definitely take the time to consider what you're comfortable with and if you're willing to trade performance for portability.

With integrated GPUs, with the integrated graphics on modern processors getting to be so good, it's also possible to find gaming laptops in form factors that just didn't work before. The ROG Flow Z13 is a prime example; it is essentially a 2-in-1 gaming laptop that can double as a tablet for artists and students, but offers impressive gaming performance thanks to its AMD Ryzen AI MAX processor.

The point is, you don't need to limit yourself to bulky clamshell designs in the same way you used to. Depending on your budget and performance needs, there are more options than ever out there.

Power

The newest gaming laptops come equipped with the latest Nvidia RTX or Radeon RX graphics chips. These mobile chips are nearly as capable as their desktop version, plus they support the latest ray tracing, DLSS, and frame generation technologies.

On that front, it can also be important to consider what games you plan on playing, their minimum and recommended specifications, and what advanced features they might support. If the game is equipped with the latest version of Nvidia's DLSS, for example, and supports frame generation, you can probably get away with a lower-powered, lower-cost graphics card since the tech will improve your frame rate even on a cheaper card. As you get into higher tiers of laptop GPUs, prices skyrocket quickly.

Choosing the latest processor isn't quite as necessary, but it's nice to have and can help ensure that it doesn't bottleneck the potential performance of your GPU. If you're looking at a laptop with an Intel processor, be sure that the processor isn't more than a couple generations behind. Both Intel and AMD offer gaming processors with built-in neural processing units for enhanced AI performance. For Intel, these are referred to as Core Ultra processors while AMD dubs its lines AI and AI MAX. Both can offer great gaming performance.

If you only plan to take part in light gaming, a recent Core Ultra or AI Max processor can also take the place of a dedicated graphics card and save you hundreds in the process. Both of these chips feature powerful integrated graphics, and so long as you're willing to adjust settings and resolutions, can deliver playable frame rates. They're also great if you plan on streaming your games through the cloud through services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or GeForce Now.

Price

If you're set on a gaming laptop and just need to decide which one to get under a certain price point, then your choices will be narrowed down based on your maximum budget. If that's you, you'll probably want to explore our full list of cheap gaming laptops we'd recommend instead, but here's our top budget pick right now:

Most gaming laptops are only as portable as the nearest electrical outlet. All that power comes at a price, though. The general rule of thumb about gaming laptops is that their battery life stinks. In general, you should plan on plugging in your laptop before loading a game. Playing on battery power typically lasts an hour or less and also delivers worse performance due to the power limits the laptop imposes on the graphics card and processor. It's just not ideal, but may still be better than lugging around a heavy power brick, depending on what you're playing.

One recent exception to this is Nvidia's RTX 50-series laptop GPUs. These new chips feature enhanced power management features, so you can count on closer to two hours instead of one.

Another consideration when choosing a gaming laptop versus a gaming desktop is its price. It costs quite a bit more to stuff all those components (i.e. the built-in trackpad, keyboard, speakers, and display) into an easy-to-carry shell.

Depending on how tech-savvy you are, You can save some money by choosing a laptop with less memory and storage at checkout and upgrading these components yourself. It's usually much cheaper to do so. However, you'll want to research carefully to ensure that both are upgradable at all and, if so, are easily accessible. Some laptops hide components inside, beneath others, making them especially difficult, if not impossible, for anyone other than an expert to access. Bear in mind, however, that a laptop in general is much less upgradable than a desktop gaming PC. Outside of memory and storage, changing out other components likely means buying a whole new PC.

Gaming Laptop FAQ

Should you buy a gaming laptop or a gaming PC?

When considering a gaming laptop over a gaming desktop, ask yourself: Is the premium price worth it for the luxury of portability? In virtually every case, you'll pay more for a gaming laptop with similar on-paper specs to a well-matched gaming desktop. It doesn't stop with the cost: Just because two graphics cards have the same name doesn't mean that they're the same in all circumstances. Laptop versions of same-name GPUs usually offer reduced performance due to their thermal and power limitations. Gaming desktops provide more bang for your buck, are less expensive to upgrade and repair, and last longer before they go obsolete. See our guide to gaming PCs vs. gaming laptops for a deeper comparison.

Is the CPU or GPU more important in a gaming laptop?

Both are important, but you should consider the graphics card more than the processor. Even though a slow processor can throttle the graphics card and lower your fps, usually this is much less of a concern than simply having an underpowered GPU. Remember, it's the graphics card that renders your games and is the single most influential component to gaming performance.

Do I need a dedicated graphics card in my gaming laptop?

Not always. This depends on what you're hoping to achieve. If you're interested in running the latest games at high graphics settings and resolutions, you definitely need to invest in a laptop with a great graphics card. If you only plan to do light gaming, enjoy older games that aren't very demanding or stream your games from the cloud. A modern processor with integrated graphics can also be a good way to save some money. With that in mind, relying on an integrated graphics card hasn't always been as possible as it is today. As such, I would recommend this only for gaming laptops with AMD Ryzen 7000-series or Intel Core Ultra processors.

Do you need a laptop cooling pad?

Many modern gaming laptops come with ample cooling solutions baked into the chassis. But given their much smaller form factor than traditional desktop gaming PCs, thermal throttling can occasionally be an issue. If you are experiencing a downgrade in performance or your device seems a little too hot to the touch, a laptop cooling pad could be a simple, affordable solution. Laptop cooling pads often feature fans and ventilation slots or mesh for better airflow than when your laptop rests on a gaming desk or your lap, helping to ensure your device is working to its full potential and can even increase its longevity. If you're looking to keep your gaming laptop cool on the cheap, the Havit HV-2056 is an excellent option.

Christopher Coke has been a contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology for more than a decade. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs to gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

Image Credit: Annalee Tsujino is a multi disciplinary designer and illustrator. Check them out on Instagram @antsu_illustrations.

I noticed Pokémon 151 booster bundles are back on Amazon, and I’d love to say that means good news for collectors. But when the price is more than double the MSRP, it's more of a raised eyebrow than a celebration. Amazon is listing the bundle for over $60, despite its actual retail price being $26.94. I guess we're calling that a "deal" now. Still, given how fast this set sells out, I can't entirely write it off.

Pokémon TCG: 151 Booster Bundle Is Back In Stock For A Premium

Ubisoft is plotting a course to make Skull and Bones Year 2 the pirate multiplayer game’s biggest yet thanks to major content additions like new modes, ships, a Kraken, and something fans have begged for since launch: land combat.

Ubisoft opened its treasure chest of plans for the next year of updates during a special Year 2 showcase that premiered yesterday. Its presentation was packed with content to look forward to, but it’s Season 3: Guts and Glory that promises the land combat feature players have hoped to see included since Skull and Bones originally launched last February.

During Season 3 this fall, Ubisoft will finally allow players to take the action away from the sea, meaning you’ll be able to swordfight and even draw your firearms against others. It’s all part of Season 3’s Rogue Warlord additions, which will see players setting foot on sandy beaches and damp caves to rescue skilled crewmembers known as Officers. A video teasing the feature showed a bit of what players can expect, but it’s clear we’ll have to wait until later this year to see how it all works.

While land combat is by far the biggest addition coming with Skull and Bones Year 2, the presentation had plenty more to keep players digging throughout 2025. Season 1 sets sail today, April 15, with Ascent into Chaos, which adds a loot-enhancing item ascension feature, challenging World Tiers, a new Schooner medium ship, and the team-based Death Tides PvP mode. Season 2: Oaths of War, which launches summer 2025, includes highlights such as Megaforts and the gargantuan Frigate large ships, with Season 4: Eye of the Beast set to introduce the Kraken, Hunter’s Guild, and Corvette large ship this winter.

If everything you’ve heard sounds enticing enough to dive in, you’ll be happy to know Skull and Bones will launch a free weekend in just a few days. From April 17 – 21, players can raise sails to try out pirate PvP for themselves and also purchase the game at a reduced price (which has yet to be announced).

Skull and Bones launched February 16, 2024, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S (we gave it a 7/10 in our review). Although Ubisoft has been reluctant to share official sales stats for its latest pirate adventure game, it did tease that it managed to bring in “record player engagement” shortly after its release. Interestingly, the launch of Skull and Bones also coincided with a 200% increase in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag players.

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).

Hasbro's Star Wars The Black Series Force FX Elite Electronic Lightsabers are some of the higher-end, more faithful replicas of the iconic blades used by the Jedi and Sith. They're not cheap, usually retailing for $250, but right now Amazon is offering the Yoda Force FX Elite Lightsaber for just $118.79 shipped after a savings of over 52% off. The marketplace vendor "Collector's Expedition" has an 84% positive feedback with 570 ratings in the past 12 months.

Update: Switched marketplace vendors ("CaveGamers" raised its price to $129.99)

Star Wars The Black Series Yoda Force FX Lightsaber for $119

In the mid-2010s, three seasons of Daredevil introduced audiences to the underbelly of Hell's Kitchen for one of the best-reviewed Marvel series of all time, which why it was such a shock when Daredevil was canceled by Netflix in 2018.

While Charlie Cox's Daredevil has made brief appearances in more recent, lighter MCU projects, namely She-Hulk and Spider-Man: No Way Home, few people expected the supe to get another installment of his own solo show. Well, we were wrong. The hero has, in fact, been born again, and while he may returning be on the relatively chaste Disney+, Marvel has promised more grit and action than ever – and it hasn't disappointed.

If you're wondering where to stream Daredevil: Born Again online or want a full look at the episode release schedule, check out the details below.

Where to Stream Daredevil: Born Again

Max is home to some incredibly high-quality films and shows, including House of the Dragon, Succession, The Penguin, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us, which just started season 2. You can read our spoiler free The Last of Us season 2 review to see our thoughts.

If you've been hoping to start up an account to dig into that library, we're here to help. We're keeping track of the best price right now for Max subscriptions, along with any deals as they appear. This includes bundle deals like the Max, Hulu, and Disney+ bundle, which is one you absolutely don't want to miss out on. This mega bundle starts at just $16.99/month, which is an astonishing price to have three very popular streaming services right in the palm of your hand. You can learn more about that bundle deal and Max's subscription plans below.

How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle

The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle can be purchased on any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. If you're looking to cut down on streaming costs and currently own all three of these, this is an excellent bundle to invest in. It'll save you quite a bit compared to what you'd pay for the three of them separately per month – 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

To learn more about how to get started with this bundle as a new or existing subscriber, head to our guide on how to get (or switch over to) the Disney+/Hulu/Max streaming bundle. It's worth signing up for this right now as well, given Hulu and Disney Plus have increased their prices, so you'll ultimately be saving money with this bundle.

Students Get 50% off Max Basic With Ads

Xbox has locked in its second wave of Game Pass games coming to the subscription service in the back-half of April 2025. It's an interesting mix of virtual worlds, from big names to indie darlings, and even a notable new role-playing game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a big highlight here, as a brand-new role-playing game and the debut effort from studio Sandfall Interactive. The RPG sees a team of Expeditioners on their last legs, sailing to the ends of the world to stop the Paintress, who erases anyone as old as the number she writes on the horizon. It's available day-one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC on April 24.

Towerborne's Game Preview also heads to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC on April 29, bringing some action gameplay to the lineup for Game Pass in April. A few heavy hitters of years past are also on the way, including Grand Theft Auto V's return to Game Pass today, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 arriving on May 1, and horror-fishing gem Dredge surfacing on May 6.

For some deeper cuts, keep an eye on Tempopo, a cute puzzle game about rescuing musical flowers across different sky islands. It's from the team behind the narrative moving sim Unpacking, which drew quite a bit of attention for its clever use of literally unpacking boxes to tell an effective, emotional story. Tempopo goes to Game Pass for Cloud, Console, and PC on the day of its launch, April 17.

Also, if you missed the speedrunning shooter hit Neon White, its heading to Game Pass Standard for consoles on April 16. Picture the movement and technique of a speedy shooter infused with a heavy dash of Toonami style, and you've got Neon White. Fans of time trials should make time for it.

Check out a full list of everything coming to Game Pass in the back half of April, stretching into May 2025, below.

Xbox Game Pass April 2025 Wave 2 Lineup

• Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud, Console, and PC) - April 15
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Neon White (Console) – April 16
  Now on Game Pass Standard
• SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 16
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Crime Scene Cleaner (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – April 17
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Tempopo (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 17
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – April 24
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Towerborne (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – April 29
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Far Cry 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 30
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Anno 1800 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 1
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 1
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Dredge (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 6
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

Some games are also leaving the Xbox Game pass service, too. This batch of games will be departing the Pass on April 30, so make sure to either roll credits or otherwise hit a good stopping point before the end of the month rolls around. Here's what's leaving Xbox Game Pass on April 30:

• Have a Nice Death (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Kona II Brume (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Sniper Elite 5 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• The Last Case of Benedict Fox (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Thirsty Suitors (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• The Rewinder (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Dell announced the return of the venerable Alienware Area-51 gaming laptop back in CES 2025, and starting today it is finally available to order. It comes in two size variants: the 16" model starts at $3,199.99 and the 18" model starts at $3,399.99. As expected from Alienware's new flagship laptop, the Area-51 is equipped with current generation components, including the latest and greatest Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and NVIDIA Blackwell GPU. Orders are expected to ship out starting April 30, so get your reservation in now to prevent any additional delays.

Update: The Alienware Area-51 gaming laptop prices have dropped back down to original launch levels. They had previous gone up by around $300 to $450 in response to the tariffs.

The Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptop Is Now Available

Former Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida was recently asked for his thoughts on the Nintendo Switch 2's reveal, and his response was...well, not entirely exuberant!

This comes from Easy Allies, which recently interviewed Yoshida about, among other things, his reaction to the Switch 2 reveal. Here's his response in full when asked about it:

"To me, it was a bit mixed message from NIntendo. In a sense, I think Nintendo is losing their identity, in my opinion. For me, they are always about creating some new experience, like designing hardware and games together to create something that [is an] amazing new experience. But Switch 2, as we all anticipated, is a better Switch, right? It's the larger screen, more powerful processor, higher resolution, 4K, 120 fps, they even have a hardware person starting the stream, like other platforms do, right? And because it's a better Switch, the core premise of the whole Switch 2 is, you know, 'We made things better'. And that's something other companies have been doing all the time."

Special guest Shuhei Yoshida gets real about the Switch 2 pic.twitter.com/CzZYPnTtue

— Easy Allies (@EasyAllies) April 14, 2025

Yoshida went on to talk about how if you only game on Nintendo hardware, the Switch 2 is great, because it lets you play games like Elden Ring that haven't been available before. But for those who game on other platforms, it's a bit less exciting.

"Publishers must have known that that show, last week, would be one of the most-watched shows this year. Millions and millions of people watched. It's amazing to announce and launch your new game, if you have a chance, but most of the games were ports from past generations. I don't know if this is Nintendo's direction or third parties' choice. But one game I reacted strongly [to] was Enter the Gungeon 2. That looks amazing. They did a great job announcing that there."

Yoshida also praised Drag x Drive for being "very Nintendo", then went on to talk about the system's pricing and the differences in pricing between Japan and the rest of the world. He concluded as follows:

"Anyway, with some of the things Nintendo is doing, with the camera or mouse controls, creating new experiences, that's great. But other than that, I was personally a bit disappointed, because they didn't disappoint everyone. Because everyone wanted that better Switch."

As the discussion went on, Yoshida acknowledged that the Nintendo Switch 2 was a good business decision, with technical improvements likely made by very intelligent, talented designers. The takeaway seems to be similar to one that's gone around the internet for a while now, and that we've written about here: the system plays it safe in certain ways, and maybe that's the right move, but it's kind of a bummer if you're a fan of Nintendo's weird side. Though there's still mouse controls and a few other functions demonstrating that Nintendo's goofy, playful developer nature is in there somewhere.

Though Yoshida talked at length about the Switch 2's pricing in his chat with Easy Allies, we're still waiting to find out how much the system will actually cost here in the U.S. Nintendo paused North American pre-orders due to news of new tariffs being implemented literally the day the system was announced. With the Switch 2 launching globally on June 5, the clock is ticking for Nintendo to get all this straightened out in time for the system's release.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

It's easy to look at the best gaming laptops and think you'll never be able to afford them. After all, some top-end specs (like a 4K display) can easily cost upwards of $4,000 these days. However, you can get a solid portable PC gaming system without shelling out thousands of dollars; you just need to know what to look for. While there are so many sub-$1,000 laptops out there that are labeled as "gaming" laptops, those are a minefield of shoddy manufacturing, old specs, and used gaming laptops.

TL; DR – These Are the Best Budget Gaming Laptops:

I picked out gaming laptops that can actually play games, starting at $2,000 and working my way down, focusing on devices that are more affordable than top-end laptops but still deliver a premium PC gaming experience. Just keep in mind there are a few things you're probably not going to be able to find in a budget gaming laptop.

Premium display technologies like OLED and Mini-LED are probably the first thing to go out the window with a lower price tag. When you buy a gaming laptop from a manufacturer's website, downgrading to a 1080p display is the fastest way to shave some cash off the price of entry. And let's be real here: You really don't need a 4K display on a gaming laptop, even if you're shelling out for one of Nvidia or AMD's latest GPUs. Opting for 1440p will save you money without sacrificing much noticeable detail at all.

Speaking of, keep in mind that just because a budget gaming laptop has a GPU with the same name as a desktop graphics card, you're not going to get the same level of performance. Mobile GPUs consume a lot less power just by virtue of needing to operate on battery power, and thus typically deliver much less performance. So, while an RTX 4070 Super can deliver solid 1440p gaming performance in a gaming PC, you're going to want to limit yourself to 1080p gaming with the laptop version – trust me.

Additional contributions by Georgie Peru, Danielle Abraham, and Jacqueline Thomas

1. MSI Crosshair 16 (2025)

Best Budget Gaming Laptop

While $1,400 might stretch the definition of "budget," I think you'll agree that the MSI Crosshair 16 HX is a fantastic value for what you're getting. It's designed to offer outstanding performance, great battery life, and overall impressive specs, making its asking price quite reasonable for what you're getting.

Truth be told, I was surprised to find that MSI priced this laptop so affordably for what it's packing. It comes with a 14th Gen Intel processor, complete with 16 cores and 24 threads for killer multitasking performance. It also features a top clock speed of 5.2GHz, which directly translates to more frames per second.

This goes hand in hand with its RTX 4070 GPU. In conjunction with its FHD screen, this graphics card and processor combo is custom tailored to keep your frame rate in the triple digits (at least in many games). The RTX 4070 is designed to offer great performance in the mid-range and is often found in gaming laptops with higher resolution screens; 1200p still looks great here and is easier to run, allowing the RTX 4070 to shine.

And don't forget: Because it's running an RTX 40-series GPU, it can also leverage DLSS and frame generation to push performance even further. While multi-frame generation is limited to the RTX 50-series, you aren't likely to need it here with how well-matched its hardware is.

Its potent component combo doesn't end there. MSI has also equipped it with 16GB of fast DDR5 memory and a 1TB NVMe SSD. This system offers snappy performance even while multitasking and is even up to the task of streaming if you dream of becoming the next Twitch all star. On top of all that, it also comes with a 90Wh battery to keep you up and running all day long (though for the best gaming performance, you should still plan on plugging in like any other gaming laptop).

The trade-off here is weight. Coming in at 5.51lbs, the Crosshair 16 HX isn't light and is also fairly bulky at 1.1 inches thick. In other words, it hews much closer to a traditional gaming laptop than the thin and light designs that have been in vogue lately. Still, in virtually every other way, it blows the competition out of the water and well earns its $1,400 price point.

2. XPG Xenia 15G

Best Gaming Laptop Under $1,500

3. Acer Nitro V ANV16 (2025)

Best Gaming Laptop Under $1,000

4. Steam Deck OLED

Best Gaming Laptop Around $500

5. Gigabyte G6X

Best Gaming Laptop with 32GB of RAM

Budget Gaming Laptop FAQ

What makes a great budget gaming laptop?

A great budget gaming laptop has to offer the right components at the right price. If you’re searching for an affordable gaming laptop, chances are you’re not going to be getting a machine with the latest CPU and graphics card. However, you might find something close enough that means you can play the latest games without spending a minor fortune.

Many people tend to opt for gaming laptops over gaming PCs because laptops generally take up less space, are more portable, and can be more affordable. For this reason, it’s important to take into account the weight and size of the laptop you’re prepared to lug around.

Ultimately, it’s about finding the balance. Spend a little more and you could quite easily move from playing games on medium settings to max settings by stretching your budget just tad. If you’re not interested in the latest AAA titles, then you can save well-earned dollars and choose a laptop with DDR4 RAM instead of DDR5 RAM, for example.

Are budget gaming laptops worth it?

It depends on what you want to use your budget gaming laptop for. If you want to play casual games on the go and use a laptop for productivity, then you can easily pick up an entry-level gaming laptop. For more demanding games, you’ll need to spend a bit more. The difference between an entry-level gaming laptop and a great gaming laptop could be a generation jump in CPU, faster and better RAM, and of course, a dedicated GPU that can handle what you throw at it.

Should you buy a PC handheld instead?

That’s really a personal preference, but when comparing the Steam Deck to a gaming laptop, quality gaming laptops still edge out the best PC handhelds in overall performance.

If you’re looking for ultimate portability and convenience, a PC handheld, like the Steam Deck OLED or the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, is much lighter, more compact, and easier to use than a laptop. PC handhelds can also be cheaper, but gaming laptops offer better value thanks to their versatility – you can do a whole lot more than just game. Plus, they support a wider gaming library, have more included features, and are just more powerful overall.

Gaming laptops come in different configurations to best suit your needs, be it better graphics, a larger display, or more memory, while PC handhelds are much more limiting. You can also often upgrade components of a laptop down the road to improve performance. That’s not to say PC handhelds are at all bad – just very different from a gaming laptop, so what you choose boils down to your needs.

When is the best time to buy a gaming laptop?

Even some of the cheaper gaming laptops are expensive purchases, but there are a few times throughout the year where you can find amazing gaming laptop deals. The most obvious times are Prime Day and Black Friday when major gaming laptop brands have the majority of their sales, but the summer is also a great time to find back-to-school sales. Check out our guide to the best times to buy a laptop for more information.

How much should you spend on a budget gaming laptop?

We're in the middle of huge price jumps across the PC market, whether that's gaming laptops, PCs or components. Unfortunately, that's made a huge impact on what a budget gaming laptop even is. Decent gaming laptops with a recent GPU start at around $1,000 and go up from there. There's some wiggle room below that, but then you start entering the territory of non-traditional gaming laptops like the Steam Deck OLED – which isn't a gaming laptop, but it's a portable gaming device that'll play your PC games, so it's close enough in my book.

Regardless, when you're spending less than $2,000 for a brand-new gaming laptop in 2025, you're going to need to make compromises, which can be hard to do if you don't know what to look for. Generally, you should figure out what resolution you want to play games at and how much graphics and CPU horsepower you need to actually drive that resolution.

For screen resolution, a 1080p and some 1440p displays hit the sweet spot between price and required GPU beefiness. It is really the only option for a value-oriented gaming laptop. Even if you could score a cheap laptop with a high-resolution 4K panel, the GPU inside won't be able to run games at that resolution, so prepare yourself for 1080p and some 1440p gaming.

When it comes to storage, try to steer clear of laptops with a lone solid-state drive. Heck, even a model with a 256GB SSD offers barely enough space to keep multiple games installed and at the ready, so you might be stuck getting a system with a slower, yet much more spacious, spinning hard drive.

One more thing: Just because it's a laptop doesn't mean you need to take its name literally. The best experience with a laptop usually isn't on your lap but at a desk. Do yourself a favor and check out our guide to the best gaming desks to find one to suit your needs – and perhaps a laptop cooling pad to boost your performance – and don't forget to check out our favorite gaming chairs to sit in with your new laptop.

• If laptops aren't your speed, check out the best gaming PC deals to save on a tower.

MacBooks vs. Gaming laptops

MacBooks are exceptional laptops that excel in many areas with their powerful Pro models focused on professional and creative use, but when it comes to gaming, Apple isn’t there yet. That said, the latest Apple-developed silicon in MacBooks is mighty powerful and graphically capable. Gaming laptops, on the other hand, are meant for gaming first and foremost, so these rigs are equipped with beefy GPUs, CPUs, and RAM ready to tackle all the action. There’s also much more choice in hardware and features when it comes to laptops.

While you can play some games on a Mac, one of the biggest drawbacks to MacBook gaming is MacOS’ lack of support for many of the most popular gaming titles, which often run on the Windows platform. Apple has introduced a porting toolkit to bring more PC games to Mac along with “Game Mode” on MacOS Sonoma. Apple is making strides in the gaming world, but at the present moment, gaming laptops still reign supreme. See our guide to gaming PC vs. Mac for more info.

Gaming laptops vs. Gaming PCs

Of course, gaming laptops are a whole lot more portable than a gaming PC, but there are plenty of other features that differentiate the two. To start, a gaming PC is much easier to upgrade and repair, while you’re often stuck with the internals of your laptop. That means a desktop delivers more bang for your buck and has a longer lifespan before going obsolete. Though laptops and PCs may appear to offer the same CPU and GPU, the hardware is slightly different with PCs coming out ahead in terms of performance. Check out our gaming PCs vs. gaming laptops guide for more info.

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. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

Here’s an almost obscenely good deal for anyone who likes curling up with a doorstopper of a fantasy novel. Humble has a new ebook bundle that gets you Robert Jordan’s entire 14-book Wheel of Time series, plus the prologue novel and a couple of companion books, all for just $18. That’s a whole lot of fantasy saga for not a lot of money.

Purchased separately at their normal prices, the total would be $173. The books come in epub form, which means you can read them on any ebook reader, phone, tablet, or laptop you have on hand.

And if you’re not ready to take on that many hundreds of thousands of words, you can choose the first tier of the bundle, which gets you the first book in the series, The Eye of the World, for just $1.

The Wheel of Time Book Bundle Contents

• The Eye of the World (1990)
• The Great Hunt (1990)
• The Dragon Reborn (1991)
• The Shadow Rising (1992)
• The Fires of Heaven (1993)
• Lord of Chaos (1994)
• A Crown of Swords (1996)
• The Path of Daggers (1998)
• Winter’s Heart (2000)
• Crossroads of Twilight (2003)
• Knife of Dreams (2005)
• The Gathering Storm (2009)
• Towers of Midnight (2010)
• A Memory of Light (2013)
• A New Spring (1998)
• The Wheel of Time Companion (2015)
• The World of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time (1997)

Robert Jordan wrote 12 of the main books (including the prologue A New Spring), and provided detailed outlines and notes for the rest. He died in 2007 before he completed what was intended to be the final book in the series, but his estate hired Brandon Sanderson, who brought the series to a conclusion in three installments.

The third season of the Prime show based on the series was recently released to glowing reviews. The book series is epic in every sense of the word, so the show has had to compress and downsize the story in many ways to bring it to the screen. If you want the full story in all its unabridged glory, reading the novels is the way to go.

As with all Humble Bundles, a portion of the proceeds go to a charity. In this case, the charity is the ACLU which, to quote its stated goals, works “in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.”

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

If you bought a brand new TV over the holidays and you're looking for an inexpensive audio solution to pair it with, then check out this oustanding deal from Woot (owned by Amazon). Right now the certified refurbished Bose Smart Soundbar 550 with 1 year Bose warranty is selling for just $169.99, a huge 66% discount from its original $499 list price. Amazon Prime members get free shipping, the rest of us pay $6. It's easily one of the best soundbars you can get at this price, especially if you're looking for Dolby Atmos support, and you get the same warranty as buying new.

60% Off Bose Smart Soundbar 550

I’ve been patrolling the skies and shooting down hostile aircraft in flight sims since the 1980s, all the way back to blazing away at single green pixels in the original Sublogic Flight Simulator for Apple II. Since then, I’ve whipped the Kilrathi aboard the Tiger Claw, crushed the Rebellion in TIE Fighter, gunned down the Red Baron in, well, The Red Baron, and buzzed my own apartment in Microsoft Flight Simulator. So I was pretty tickled by the opportunity to spend several hours with G-Rebels, an in-development game that combines several things I dearly love: aviation, Blade Runner, and open-ended approaches to gameplay. This amalgam of design influences produces something that is curious, ambitious, and dripping with potential, but which I’m not sure has yet been tuned enough to find its footing.

G-Rebels is set after a climate disaster wipes out most of the world. You’re now a member of one of many factions piloting armed aircraft called Skyblades between the skyscrapers of what appears to be off-brand Blade Runner LA. You search the air for enemies, traffickers, and rogue replicants. Yes, they’re actually called replicants... I’m no expert on copyright law so don’t ask me how.

Now, vehicle-oriented games have to fulfill a very specific requirement to succeed: the vehicle has to be fun to pilot through the environments provided. And that’s where the problems begin for G-Rebels: flying around is more often a chore than a thrill. Sometimes, it’s even a bore.

G-Rebels refers to your Skyblade as a glider, but that description isn’t really accurate. Its closest real-world analog is a helicopter, as you have the ability to hover in place practically anywhere. But unlike a real chopper, there’s no constant dance of hands and feet necessary on the part of the pilot to keep things stable most of the time. Only cornering or changing altitude rapidly puts much strain on the pilot. Instead, your Skyblade effortlessly hovers, scoots, and strafes up, down, and side to side like some flying first-person shooter avatar. If you’ve ever played the ancient FPS Descent, things will feel eerily familiar.

Yet it takes a long time to get a real hang of the X-Type Skyblade, weirdly because it is such a forgiving vehicle. Compared to a flight sim or even an arcade shooter like Star Wars Squadrons, there’s very little sense of momentum or gravity at work. You can stop and shift your velocity from forward to straight upward in a second, but everything feels weirdly underpowered. Your Skyblade has the handling characteristics of a sci-fi Nissan Versa: slow, reliable, predictable, anemic, and utterly boring. I already drive a Nissan Versa in real life, and I don’t need to carry its steady, value-conscious banality into my fantasy worlds.

Upgrades help somewhat, especially in regard to the punch of your guns and your straight line speed, though I still felt like I was merely updating my flying sedan into a flying minivan. In the end, the problem with G-Rebels is that while the vehicle style fits the Blade Runner aesthetic, the controls and capabilities are a bad match for the near-constant canyon flying. More consideration needs to be given to proximity warnings and spatial awareness, a problem compounded by the mission design. The campaign is quite simply front-loaded with escort duties and timed waypoint challenges, anachronistic designs that sap much of the richness from the environment.

G-Rebels takes place above a flooded world where skyscrapers rise from synthetic islands and inhabit the narrow space between thundering waves and near-persistent clouds. Within that space hover other Skyblades – some benign, others piloted by nefarious foes. Mission design is pretty straightforward: go to waypoints, look around, find targets, and blow them up without dying yourself.

There’s a story, a plot, characters and such, but not a lot that I cared about. Voice acting was hammily scripted and badly delivered, and the tones of other pilots had a soulless ring to them that led me to believe they were likely AI generated... which a look at the Steam page appeared to confirm. That’s deeply disappointing.

I shouldn’t go much further talking about G-Rebels without pointing out its greatest sin: the presence of tightly-timed waypoint-to-waypoint-to-waypoint dashes. I thought that we as a species had collectively agreed to discontinue these terrible sections in games after Superman 64, but apparently G-Rebels’s developers disagreed. Why anyone thinks sprinting to five waypoints over and over in a fairly graceless vehicle that I’m just learning to fly is a good gameplay experience is beyond me.

What doesn’t disappoint is the gunplay, which feels like one of the most-realized aspects of G-Rebels. Fans of flight sims and arcade flight shooters are going to be pretty familiar with the base modes available: a short range gun mode useful for dogfighting, and a much longer range guided missile system capable of hitting targets from vast distances with an electronic lock-on. Both are thoughtfully designed. I found that following my brain’s now near-instinctual flight-sim programming worked very well. Slightly leading turning targets at close range usually ended in solid hits. and adjusting my lead at distance worked just as it should. The missiles were potent, but the guns were so much fun I largely stuck to them, poking in and out from behind the megalithic buildings to snipe.

Your control panels and HUD are a triumph of form over function. Dashboard screens can make the relative positions and altitudes confusing, and seem to alternate between providing too little or too much information. Instrumentation feels like it was designed more to create pretty preview captures than to quickly provide the info a pilot might need when flying an antigravity tank between tall buildings in a thunderstorm.

You don't get a lot of the conventional dogtails and energy tactics you’d expect from a flight game set inside a planetary atmosphere. Gravity really isn’t much of a factor, so dogfights are less chases and jousts than shootouts between flying tanks. There are strategies to learn and employ, but most of what you’ve learnt in other flying games doesn’t really apply here. Usually, shooting first and fastest is the best guarantee of victory.

The city itself has potential, but in its present form largely fails to deliver anything especially characteristic. The buildings are decently-rendered enough, but very little of what you see really feels distinct, much less lived-in or real. It feels more like a set or a stage made for a video game than any real living, breathing world.

G-Rebels might become something really entertaining, but right now it's still very much a work in progress. It’s cool, but it’s not yet consistently fun. Missions and aircraft handling design have a long way to go before it hits that. You can see the potential for something enjoyable, but the parts haven’t quite come together yet into a compelling formula. I haven’t yet seen an official release date for G-Rebels, but I’m hoping it’s far enough out that the team has time to refine its ambitions and create the carefully-tuned flight combat experience they’re so obviously lovingly laboring to realize.

Jared Petty is a former IGN editor who likes writing about how wonderful and silly video games are. You can find him at Bluesky as Bluesky as pettycommajared.

The PS5 disc drive price drop has kicked in after being announced by Sony yesterday, now available for only £69.99 at PlayStation Direct.

This came with the news of a surprising price hike of select PS5 SKUs across different parts of the world. In the UK's case, the digital edition of the PS5 slim has become more expensive, increasing from £389 to £429.00, a hefty £40 bump.