Jim Butcher has been writing The Dresden Files books for over 25 years now. I first started reading this series back in the early 2000s and found myself immediately enamored with story and overall vibe. It's got magic, it's got mystery, and it's all wrapped up in a neat little detective format that is hard to put down. If you're looking for some contemporary fantasy to binge read, I highly recommend diving into this series.
As of January 20, 2026 The Dresden Files has 18 novels in the series. The latest title, Twelve Months, has finally arrived almost six years after the previous entry.
I would consider myself a fan of The Dresden Files but I'll be the first to admit that I don't really remember what happened back in book 17. This six year gap between books is the longest break we've ever had and it has me seriously considering starting the series all over again before reading Twelve Months. Whether you're new to the series or just diving back in after a while, here's a quick rundown of the series reading order so far:
Unfortunately, The Dresden Files books are not currently available as part of a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
For those who don't remember where exactly we are in Harry Dresden's story for Twelve Months, you can check out the official synopsis from the Penguin Random House website:
"One year. 365 days. Twelve months.
Harry Dresden has been through a lot, and so has his city. After Harry and his allies narrowly managed to save Chicago from being razed to the ground, everything is different—and it’s not just the current lack of electricity.
In the battle, Harry lost people he cared about. And that’s the kind of loss that takes a toll. Harry being Harry, he’s doing his level best to help the city and his friends recover and rebuild. But it’s a heavy load, and he needs time.
But time is one thing Harry doesn’t have. Ghouls are prowling Chicago and taking out innocent civilians. Harry’s brother is dying, and Harry doesn’t know how to help him. And last but certainly not least, the Winter Queen of the Fae has allied with the White Court of vampires—and Harry’s been betrothed to the seductive, deadly vampire Lara Raith to seal the deal.
It’s been a tough year. More than ever, the city needs Harry Dresden the wizard—but after loss and grief, is there enough left of Harry Dresden the man to rise to the challenge?"
Although we had to wait almost six years for book 18, it's looking like there's going to be less of a wait for book 19. We don't yet have a release date for the next entry in the series, but we do already have a title from the author himself. According to the upcoming works section of Jim Butcher's website, the next title in the series is Mirror Mirror. The Goodreads page for the book says it's expected at some point in 2027, which may mor may not be accurate.
That's currently all that's planned for this series as of right now. As much as I'd like a redo of the absolutely terrible Dresden Files TV show that came out back in 2007, it doesn't seem like any such thing is in the works.
Sony's InZone Buds have a lot going for them: they're good-looking, lightweight and designed to deliver immersive sound when gaming on PlayStation 5 and PC. These Buds aren't cheap, typically priced from $150 to $200 a few years after launch, but that could be worth it for a great pair of cross-platform, low-latency and truly wireless in-ears. Unfortunately, there are some (small) red flags here too - including restrictive Bluetooth support that prevents use with some popular phones and a charging case that lacks some creature comforts. The overall package is competitive, though, and these Buds still rank among the best gaming earbuds we've tested.
They're very Sony, aren't they? Their shiny white coating, overengineered corners and severe angles could only belong to gaming earbuds, and while I don't adore the aesthetic I admire the boldness. They're made for using at home, so why play it safe?
The case is chunkier than for most earbuds but given they're gaming buds you shouldn't be transporting them every day, and they will still fit in your pocket when needed.
It feels disappointingly cheap: the buds and receiver dongle wiggle even after they've snapped into place inside the case, and the lid is a bit wobbly, as if the hinges need tightening. Nothing fell out, and it won't open of its own accord, but I'd expect something sturdier at this price.
The same applies to the USB-C transmitter dongle, which you plug into your PC, PS5, Switch or Steam Deck. It worked wonderfully for low-latency audio and it never dropped connection (more on that later in the review), but it feels thin and flimsy.
When plugged in it will move side to side if you nudge it, and I was constantly scared I'd accidentally knock into it and snap it. That's less of an issue if it's plugged into your PS5, but could be a problem on handheld consoles or on a PC that's not tucked out of the way.
Thankfully, the InZone Buds redeem themselves when you put them in your ear.
The fit is slightly looser than most earbuds because they don't extend far into your ear canal, but they never felt like they were going to fall off, and it makes them comfortable. The tips never irritated my ear, even when I took them off and put them on repeatedly. I wore them constantly, including for six hours at a time, without once needing a break – an excellent sign.
The whole point of these buds is low-latency audio when you're gaming, avoiding the normal delays of Bluetooth. They deliver wholeheartedly: I couldn't notice a delay, even a small one, between what happened on screen and my ears. It's something of a novelty to have low-latency wireless audio, and for me that novelty doesn't wear off.
The buds never dropped connection to the USB dongle, and always paired instantly.
And these earbuds sound great whether you're gaming or listening to music. The audio is balanced and rich: on music and podcasts, vocals sounded natural and nothing was overemphasized. Bass thumps without overwhelming you.
They house the same drivers as the Sony WF1000XM5, some of the best-sounding earbuds money can buy – if I'm picking nits, then these buds sounds slightly less precise and immediate because of the looser fit in your ear, but it's a negligible difference. You won't get the same immersive soundstage as high-end over-ear headphones, but they're more than good enough for most people.
I played Arc Raiders and Fortnite on PC to test directionality and clarity, and both Astrobot and Ghosts of Tsushima on PS5, to see how cinematic they sounded while gaming.
No matter what I was playing, I loved what I was hearing: in Arc Raiders, explosions were deep and booming, and I could easily distinguish between multiple sets of footsteps, door breaches, and gunshots happening at the same time. The cutesy plink-plink of Astrobot's sound effects was lively and crisp, and the background music of Ghosts of Tsushima was urgent, enveloping, atmospheric.
I was particularly impressed with their directionality in shooters: in Arc Raiders I could always tell exactly where a nearby enemy was from their footsteps.
The active noise cancelling was just fine. It blocked out quieter sounds around my house, like the hum of my dishwasher. The looser fit, however, allows more sound to passively leak in compared to, say, Sony's E9 In-Ear Monitors, which I recently reviewed. But ultimately I only noticed when I was wearing them with no sound, and it didn't make me enjoy the InZone Buds any less because when I loaded a game and turned the volume up, I felt like I could slip into my own world.
The ambient sound mode – a transparency mode – is supposed to let in background noise, which to me is more important than noise cancelling for at-home earbuds. When I'm gaming I might want to listen for the doorbell, or hear somebody call for me in the next room. But even when I turned ambient noise up to maximum using the InZone Hub, I couldn't hear somebody talking 10 feet from me when I was playing a game at 50% volume.
It's annoying but, on balance, a minor gripe in the context of the excellent low-latency audio.
These buds' battery life is one of their biggest strengths. Sony advertises 12 hours before they need to return to the case and I got close to that, hitting more than 11 hours each time. In wireless earbuds terms that is a marathon, longer than every other device on our best gaming earbuds list.
They lack both fast and wireless charging, and the case itself holds less charge than competitors – but the single-charge lifespan makes up for it. Whenever I finished a long session, I plugged in the buds and knew they'd last as long as I needed them to next time.
For software, the InZone Buds are supposed to work with two different programs: the InZone Hub on PC and the Sound Connect app on smartphones. I say "supposed to" because I couldn't get the app to work on my phone.
The buds connected to my Android phone via Bluetooth LE fine, and I enjoyed watching YouTube and listening to music, but for whatever reason Sony's app couldn't find them, so I couldn't adjust EQ levels or tweak any settings. I reinstalled the app and reset the buds with no joy. Sony's online support isn't much help and it's all badged with "Headphones Connect" – a previous name for the app, which doesn't give me much confidence.
And as I mentioned in the intro, regular Bluetooth is not supported, so they'll only connect to your phone if it supports Bluetooth LE. They also won't connect to your Switch or Steam Deck without the dongle, which is annoying: I'm fine playing more casual games, such as Balatro, with a bit of Bluetooth latency, but that's not an option with the InZone Buds.
The PC-only InZone Hub is intuitive and packed with options, giving you more customization than most earbuds. The equalizer presets seem smart (I mainly used one that boosts footsteps and gunshots), and you can tweak the dynamic range to make quieter sounds easier to hear.
The "Spatial Sound" is designed to give you a 3D effect and I played with it on at all times. I felt it gave me a slight advantage knowing where my opponents were, without compromising the audio quality.
Sound field personalization and sound tone personalization tune your audio through hearing tests and photos of your ears. For me they sounded different, but not noticeably better – although I can't begrudge Sony layering more customization onto buds that are already generous in their settings.
Lastly, you can adjust your microphone volume and even let it adjust automatically based on what else is happening. The mic was loud by default and all my teammates could hear me clearly, but my voice was slightly cracklier than with a dedicated microphone. That's to be expected with earbuds.
Sadly, you cannot use the InZone Hub anywhere other than PC, which makes them feel like PC-first earbuds, although the default set-up still sounded good on my PS5, Steam Deck, and Switch.
Samuel is a freelance reporter and editor specializing in longform journalism and hardware reviews. You can read his work at his website.
Ever consider replacing your gaming headset with a pair of earbuds? Here's a chance to do so on the cheap. For a limited time, Steelseries has dropped the price of its blemished box Steelseries Arctis Gamebuds for PlayStation 5 or PC to just $125.99 with free shipping (normally $200 new) after you apply a 10% off coupon code "EXTRA10". This is lowest price I've seen for the best dedicated gaming earbuds of 2025, even beating out Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
I don't see as many gaming-specific earbuds as I do gaming headsets. In fact, this is Steelseries' first product release in the category. The package includes a wireless 2.4GHz USB-c dongle that you plug into your PC or gaming console for reduced latency compared to using standard Bluetooth earbuds. Each earbud contains a 6mm neodymium magnetic driver that can simulate bass and spatial audio effects. No headset is complete without a built-in microphone, and the Gamebuds has a decent one, although not nearly as good as an extendable boom mic.
Previously, only PC gamers could take advantage of custom audio presets through the Steelseries GG software, but now console gamers can do the same through the Steelseries Arctis Companion mobile app.
The Gamebuds can be used outside of gaming, of course. Like any good pair of in-ear buds at this price point, the Gamebuds features Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and active noise cancellation. Three different sized eartips are included for a more customized fit. The battery lasts about 10 hours and the charging case extends it to 40 hours.
I have a pair of these myself and quite like it. I prefer these over standard headphones on hotter days, because my ears sweat profusely when I use traditional over-ear headsets. Not so with these Gamebuds.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
It's been another big year for Netflix. Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters, Frankenstein, Wake Up Dead Man, and a lot more kept audiences glued to the streaming service in spite of price increases and the addition of ad tiers. It was enough to draw even more new subscribers to Netflix by the end of 2025, up 23 million from the last data we got from Netflix a year ago, when the subscriber numbers were at 302 million.
Netflix reported its full-year earnings for the 2025 fiscal year today, reporting $45.2 billion in revenue for the full year (up 16% year-over-year), and with ad revenue rising over 2.5x to over $1.5 billion. View hours were up 2% year-over-year, and total subscribers were at 325 million.
It's especially notable to be getting subscriber numbers of any kind, as Netflix announced it would no longer be reporting these numbers beginning with fiscal 2025, and we haven't heard updates since last January. But it's clear that Netflix has a lot to brag about this year, given that its strategy of price hikes and ad tiers seems to have, annoyingly, worked out well for them.
This comes as Netflix prepares to, pending approvals, acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $82.7 billion. As discussions proceed, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has pledged to keep Warner Bros. films exclusively in theaters for 45 days, saying, “When this deal closes, we will own a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars of theatrical revenue that we don’t want to put at risk. We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows. I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office.”
Also as a part of the Netflix numbers today, we learned that the company has been amping up its AI use internally, implementing AI systems for subtitle localization, ad customization, and more. It's an unsurprising move after Netflix already announced it would implement AI-generated ad breaks this year, and after its co-CEOs remarked in 2024 that audiences "don't care much" about what technology delivers their TV and film.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Fortnite appears to be getting The Office content in Chapter 7 after rumors suggested Epic Games was working on a crossover.
Fans of TV and video games were thrown for a loop earlier today when Epic shared a not-so-cryptic tease on social media. It’s the kind of thing that would seem completely nonsensical to the uninitiated, but those who are even peripherally aware of the NBC comedy will recognize “Build. Beets. Battle Royale.” as a reference to one of the most memorable quotes from The Office.
Build. Beets. Battle Royale. pic.twitter.com/erCDcS0ZSS
— Fortnite (@Fortnite) January 20, 2026
A meeting between Fortnite and The Office, though never considered to be impossible, is unexpected, but some recent rumors had players believing confirmation was only a matter of time. Popular Fortnite content creator Shiina said they heard The Office could soon show up just last week. At the time, they suggested a rumor about “a nostalgic duo from a live-action TV series” was tied to the show but neglected to share more.
Which members of the Dunder Mifflin crew could be recreated in Epic’s battle royale mega-hit remains a mystery, but references to names like Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, Jim Halpert, and Pam Beesly seem the most likely. It’s also unclear when exactly we’ll learn more about the potential Fortnite crossover, but some fans are already taking the tease as an opportunity to share their excitement.
— Jorge_Most (@Jorge_Most) January 20, 2026
— FNAssist (@FN_Assist) January 20, 2026
Shiina, meanwhile, has already posted an update since the Fortnite The Office tease reared its head. Their new video comes with the suggestion that the classic workplace comedy is coming soon, with content for Regular Show and Ed, Edd n Eddy also in the works at Epic. Players may want to take all of today’s information with a grain of salt, but with Fortnite’s track record for wild crossovers in mind, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
Fortnite launched into Chapter 7 in November with an Avenger-style team-up event. Crossovers added since then include skins for Kim Kardashian, Bleach, and South Park. We’ll hopefully learn more about everything included in The Office teaser in the near future.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
If you're in the market for a comfortable yet stylish gaming chair that won't break your budget, then check out Andaseat's New Year Sale, which runs through the end of the month. AndaSeat, one of the more well-known gaming chair companies - is offering discounts of up to $150 off its popular Kaiser and Novis gaming chairs that stacks with our 10% off IGN exclusive coupon code "AndaIGN". This chairs are stocked in US warehouses and are usually delivered within a week. Good ergonomic office chairs are comfortable, sure, but they're expensive and look pretty boring. These racing-style chairs complement the gamer aesthetic while still offering the comfort you need for those multi-hour sessions.
The Kaiser 4 is AndaSeat's flagship chair. The price normally starts at $549 but the New Year Sale discount and IGN code drops it to $458.10. It has all of the build quality and creature comforts you'd expect in a premium quality gaming chair, like a unibody 2mm tubular steel frame with reinforced aluminum wheelbase, a generous amount of cold-cure high density foam for the seat bottom (a bit softer, in my experience, than the overly firm Secretlab seat), 24-degree pop-out lumbar with 4-way adjustability, 6D armrests, 135 degrees of recline with rocking toggle, included magnetic armrests, headrest, and more. This chair sounds a lot like the Titan Evo, and you'd be right; the design, features, build quality, and materials are pretty similar, but for nearly $130 less.
New to Andaseat's lineup since October of 2025 is the Kaiser 3E, which is a more economical model that retains the build quality and most of the features of Andaseat's top end Kaiser series. The Kaiser 3E is catered towards anyone who wants a high-end gaming chair but wants to keep a budget of around $400. The base model usually starts at $409, but the New Year Sale discount and IGN code drops it to $323.10.
The Kaiser 3E features the same upholstery options, cold cure form, and unibody metal frame as the Kaiser 4 with either a steel or aluminum wheelbase depending on the size you get. You also get lumbar support, although with fewer adjustment options, and a magnetic headrest. The other feature you do lose out on are 4D armrests (instead of 6D), but that's it.
Released in early 2025, the Andaseat Novis gaming chair is for the truly budget-minded. It normally retails for an already great price of $249 – but it's down to $206.10 after the New Year Sale discount and IGN code. The Novis boasts excellent build quality, upholstery, and cold cure foam cushioning as the higher end models, which make it just as comfortable to sit in. It does, however, have a stripped down featureset, like a non-adjustable lumbar system, 2D armrests, a nylon wheelbase (for the smaller size), and less aggressive styling. It also doesn't include the headrest.
If you don't care for the distinct styling of gaming chairs, Andaseat also carries a line of task chairs dubbed the X-Air and X-Air Pro with some innovate features of their own. Unlike the hard mesh found on most office chairs, the X-Air features a softer suede-like material that feels more comfortable against bare skin, so it's even ok to wear shorts. The Pro model also comes in a couple of unique colorways that you probably won't find anywhere else. As befits a good task chair, the X-Air offers plenty of adjustability options as well as dynamic lumbar adjustment, 5D armrests, and a 3D headrest.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Netflix has confirmed plans ramp up AI use at the company, with plans to expand its tools for subtitle localization and advertisement creation for its subscribers in 2026.
The streaming giant touched on its plans for the new year as part of the Q4 2025 earnings report published today. While some of its programming plans remain under wraps, the company says audiences can expect artificial intelligence to play a larger role in its content rollout in the months ahead.
Netflix’s doubling down on AI follows its experimentation with the controversial technology in 2025. Examples of planned internal tools include the creation of custom ads, subtitle localization, and merchandising, all of which subscribers can expect more of in 2026.
“We continue to harness AI to enhance the experience for our members, and we’re expanding these capabilities to support our creative teams and advertisers,” Netflix said. “In 2025, we began testing new AI tools to help advertisers create custom ads based on Netflix’s intellectual property, and we plan to build on this progress in 2026. We also introduced automated workflows for ad concepts and used advanced AI models to streamline campaign planning, significantly speeding up these processes.”
“In content production and promotion, we’re using AI to improve subtitle localization, making it easier for our titles to reach more viewers around the world. Additionally, we’re implementing AI-driven tools to help with merchandising, which improves our ability to connect members with the most relevant titles for them to watch.”
Custom ads have and will impact those in Netflix’s $7.99/month “Standard with ads” tier more than those in the Standard and Premium tiers, though how the company plans to “build” on AI use in this regard remains unclear. Subtitles generated with AI support, however, could affect every tier Netflix watcher, regardless of their subscription level.
The streamer’s interest in AI-generated content isn’t much of a surprise. Last May, it confirmed plans to integrate the technology into its midroll and pause ads by 2026. Just a few months later, the company commented on how viewers feel about artificial intelligence, saying that audiences “probably don’t care much about budgets, and arguably not even about the technology used to deliver it,” at the time.
Meanwhile, Netflix said today that it amassed an additional 23 million subscribers through 2025. With reporting from last January putting its total count at 302 million, today’s update has it at around 325 million.
For more on Netflix, you can check out our explainer on all of its available prices and plans. You can also see how its plan to purchase Warner Bros. could impact movie theaters in the future.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
HP has the best deal around on an RTX 5070 Ti gaming laptop as reported earlier, but you can also make this deal work with an upgraded RTX 5080 GPU as well. Right now HP is offering the OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5080 gaming laptop for just $1,929.99 when you add any HyperX accessory to the same order. You also get free shipping. The RTX 5080 is an absolute monster of a mobile GPU that surpasses the previous generation's top performer, the RTX 4090.
Follow these directions to get this deal:
* Note that I'd recommend upgrading to the 2560x1600 OLED display for +$130.
You can add any HyperX accessory and get the $150 discount. It doesn't have to be the item I selected, which I only chose because it was the cheapest item I could find. There are dozens to choose from.
The OMEN MAX 16 is an upgrade to the OMEN both in terms of build quality and cooling potential. The OMEN MAX 16 is almost entirely constructed of aluminum, including both the top lid and chassis. The exception is the palm rest, which is still plastic so that it doesn't get too toasty for your hands. The OMEN MAX 16 also features a new Tempest Cooling Pro design that combines vapor chamber cooling, redesigned fan configuration, and an improved thermal interface material to maximize heat transfer. Not only does this keep the laptop cooler during gaming marathons, it also allows for the current-generation graphics cards to perform optimally without throttling.
The OMEN MAX 16 offers a robust cooling design that allows it to accomodate a more powerful GPU like the RTX 5080 without throttling it. The RTX 5080 mobile GPU is roughly 15%-20% more powerful than the RTX 4080 mobile GPU that it replaces. In fact, it's slightly more powerful than the RTX 4090, which was the previous generation's flagship card. You should be able to run any game out there at consistent 60+ fps framerates even if you decide to upgrade to the higher resolution 2560x1600 OLED display.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Anime is awesome. Board games are also awesome. Put the two together, and you get tabletop fun that not only shows off some of the hottest anime series out there, but can also capture the wild nature of the animated media and their associated tropes.
While there are plenty of games that have animed-themed versions like Naruto Monopoly or Dragonball Z Yahtzee, this list instead focuses on games that use the IPs they feature as a theme rather than simply being an anime reskin, and games that do a great job in replicating the look, feel, or tropes of this beloved art form.
Just as a side note before we get into the list itself, this will only feature board games and won’t go into the plethora of solid anime TCGs that exist, like Digimon and One Piece, or TTRPGs either. Those are out there, and I recommend seeking those out, too, if that is more your style.
Fast-paced matches with hot-looking anime characters, each with dynamic and unique mechanics? Sign me up! Re;Act from Brother Ming Games puts players in the roles of artists who've been granted powers based on their respective art forms and are pitted against one another in a 1v1 showdown. Described as “Yugioh meets chess” by the creator Ming Yang Lu, where the importance of positioning from chess crosses over with the interrupts and actions of Yugioh, where you will declare your intentions by playing a card before allowing the opponent to play a reaction, acting akin to a trap card. From super-powered Calligraphers to Dancers, Animators, and Painters, Re;Act: The Arts of War is shonen anime in a box and a blast to play.
Crack packs, build decks, and outfit yourself with the coolest deckbox out there in Millennium Blades – a board game about competing in a card game. Players are pro TCG players who are all vying to win the most points by doing well in the game’s three tournaments. Outside of the actual tournaments, which see you playing cards to score points, there are real-time trading and buying phases where you will trade cards with other players or the store, and buy packs of cards using Monopoly-esque money.
Just like the real world, the meta of the game will change as the game progresses and force you to adjust your approach and swap out cards. There are so many clever nods and homages to other games and anime that give Millennium Blades a wonderful identity, but don’t let its silliness fool you – it's a tense and highly strategic game with plenty of content, so you'll never play the same game twice.
This may be splitting hairs a bit since TECHNICALLY, Power Rangers, aka Super Sentai, isn’t anime, but their motif and idea can be found in plenty of anime, and Super Sentai and its sibling Kamen Rider are just as much a part of Japan's entertainment history as anime, and so Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid is on this list.
Heroes of the Grid is a cooperative boss battler in which the Ranger players attempt to take out the chosen monster of the week and big bad like Rita Repulsa before their forces overwhelm Angel Grove. Each Ranger has a unique deck and the respective zords they play with to get the job done, and with the plethora of expansions this game has, you can use your favorite ranger teams and villains. Heroes of the Grid is a great co-op board game with teamwork and strategy being front and center. It's sure to delight Power Ranger fans.
One of the most stylish anime fighting games of the modern video game generation is the Guilty Gear series by Arc System Works. The same anime flair carries over into the board game adaptation, Guilty Gear Strive: The Board Game, which was released last year.
This 1v1 dueling game features 20 characters from Strive, each with their own decks to play that highlight the styles and moves from the video game counterpart. It uses the Exceed card game system, so positioning of your character is crucial in Strive with attacks requiring different spacing to pull off and rewards keeping the momentum and pressure on. Set-up is fast and matches are over quickly, making this a great quick board game to act as a filler between bigger ones or playing a bunch of rounds. Like we said in our review, this game captures not only the look of the source material but also what we love about fighting games. Fans of Guilty Gear or of fast-paced card games will find something to like with Guilty Gear Strive: The Board Game.
Perfect for anime conventions or parties with friends, One Piece: Luffy’s Bento Panic is a silly party game based on the hit anime featuring Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. In Bento Panic, players take on the role of their favorite Straw Hat and celebrate a recent victory in the best way they know how – with a feast! Sitting in a circle, using their hands, all at once, players show a different gesture to declare their action from their turn, either pulling food tokens from the blind bag, stealing food from a neighbor, blocking a steal, or eating food. Points are scored by eating sets of food tokens, with the game only ending when Luffy wakes from his food coma a third time. Luffy’s Bento Panic makes a great party board game, since everyone takes their turn at once. And like we mentioned in our review, even folks who aren’t necessarily fans of One Piece will have a good time with this one.
For nearly as long as anime has existed, super robots and combining robots have been a part of it. AEGIS Combining Robots: Second Ignition lets players assemble teams, led by powerful Commanders with special abilities, of mecha from five different classes – Assault, Evasive, Guard, Intel and Support – and duke it out to try and be the team that comes out on top.
While the mechs are strong by themselves, things really heat up when they start combining, turning the game from a strategic tactics game into something reminiscent of the fights out of GunBuster or GaoGaiGear. Manage your energy and pick the right time to combine your bots and grasp victory. For folks who prefer a more cooperative approach, additional modes are included, letting you and a friend take on buffed boss bots that will put your teamwork to the test.
With 100+ mecha, each with its own skill loadout and standee, AEGIS gives you plenty of options for how to make your team, and Second Ignition is compatible with the first game, AEGIS: Combining Robot Strategy Game, which just saw a reprint, giving you even more options. Fans of mecha and tactic games should give AEGIS a look.
As crew members of the spaceship Bebop, in Cowboy Bebop: Space Serenade, you play as bounty hunters racing to take down nefarious criminals, all based on the legendary anime Cowboy Bebop. Space Serenade is a semi-cooperative deck builder that's reminiscent of games like Star Realms, where you play cards for their resources and effects to buy new ones to add to your deck or to try and capture your targets.
Each of the four playable characters from the show – Spike, Ed, Faye, and Jet – comes with a set of cards special to them in addition to the generic ones that compose your starting hand. From there, it's a race to collect bounties and earn victory points to prove that you are the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. This game features plastic miniatures of your characters and cards depicting scenes from the anime, creating an authentic and fun deck builder for fans of the genre and source material.
Adopting the shoot-’em-up genre of video games for the tabletop, the Bullet series puts you in the role of different anime-like heroes as you avoid quickly approaching bullets and survive long enough to be the last one standing. The Bullet series is a real-time, pattern-matching puzzle game, and instead of shooting at the other players, you frantically attempt to remove the incoming bullets from reaching their own life points.
Over the course of three-minute rounds, players blindly pull bullet tokens from their bags and spend action points to help rearrange the tokens on their boards into patterns that allow bullets to be destroyed. At the end off each round, the destroyed bullets are moved to the player on their left to be added to the mix, similar to dropping Tetris blocks on your opponent. Bullet is a fast-paced game whose real-time countdown component and puzzle-based gameplay make it a refreshing anime addition to your board game shelf.
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians concludes its 8-episode second season on Disney+ tomorrow. And now, the show’s composer is revealing that he took inspiration from one of the most legendary names in movie music: John Williams.
Bear McCreary, who’s also scored major series like Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D along with video games God of War, Forspoken, and Call of Duty, Vanguard, says his work on Percy Jackson follows in the footsteps of the “big and orchestral” music created by Williams.
I spoke with McCreary about his work on Percy Jackson and the Olympians and asked if he was trying to innovate when creating music for the series.
“Innovative is not what I was going for,” McCreary says. “I'm writing in this sort of traditional John Williams kind of style. John Williams wrote Star Wars when he was 44 and he was not trying to innovate. He was trying to reference what he grew up with. So he wanted to share with the world the music that he and George Lucas loved when they were kids. It was big orchestral thematic music. That was 50 years ago."
“When I am writing music that is big and orchestral, I'm writing the music of my childhood so that kids who are tuning into Percy Jackson at age between 5 and 10 who don't know Indiana Jones musically - they aren't as familiar with these sounds as we are. And so I realized enough time has passed [and] I would love to share with kids today how much I love the music I grew up on, as John Williams shared with kids in the '70s how much he loved the music he grew up on. So oddly, innovation was the last thing on my mind.”
McCreary, who also composes the score for the Prime Video series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, says that writing themes for Percy Jackson was not quite as difficult as creating music for Middle-earth.
“There was a lot of ideating [with Percy Jackson],” McCreary says. “Not as much in comparison to Rings of Power simply because of the scale of the show. In the case of Percy, I had to write fewer themes out of the gate, but that doesn't mean there was less pressure on each theme to carry its weight. And the big question was whether it should sound like Greek instruments, because these are gods known from Greek mythology. I'm glad I had time to play with that.”
McCreary says that even though the music from Percy Jackson and the Olympians has roots in epic cinema, he still wanted to make sure the show’s themes resonated with modern audiences.
“We were very much telling a modern story about modern kids,” McCreary says. “And there's a lot of modern sounds. But fundamentally, it's a very thematic, old school score. And I would say the trifecta of the three main character themes - Percy, Grover, and Annabeth - are all delightful in a way. Percy is this classical hero theme. Grover is the classic comedic sidekick character theme, and Annabeth is like this ‘lyrical potential love interest down the line’ theme. It’s delightful for me to get to play around with those tropes.”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is streaming on Disney+.
Michael Peyton is the Senior Editorial Director of Events & Entertainment at IGN, leading entertainment content and coverage of tentpole events including IGN Live, San Diego Comic Con, gamescom, and IGN Fan Fest. He's spent 20 years working in the games and entertainment industry, and his adventures have taken him everywhere from the Oscars to Japan to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow him on Bluesky @MichaelPeyton
Whether you’re looking to jazz up your home lighting with some spectacular smart light bulbs or want a new board game to try out at your next game night, there are plenty of deals worth checking out today. Maybe you need a new Xbox or PC controller? Well, Hyperkin’s The Competitor is now available at a new low price. Borderlands 4 Super Deluxe Edition for PS5 has also dropped to a new low. Plus, if you’re sick of recipes from this galaxy, make some from far, far away with a discounted Star Wars cookbook inspired by Galaxy's Edge from the Disney theme parks.
A great budget controller for Xbox Series X|S just got even cheaper. Hyperkin’s The Competitor is marked down to its lowest price ever on Amazon. You can save $9 on the controller that was only released in the fall of last year. This wired controller looks nearly identical to the PS5’s DualSense, bringing symmetrical sticks to Xbox and PC users who prefer that layout. We had the opportunity to conduct hands-on testing of the Hyperkin The Competitor, with the reviewer noting that the “Smooth Hall Effect sticks and triggers and great programmable back buttons complement the well-executed basics.”
If you’ve been waiting to buy the Super Deluxe Edition of Borderlands 4 for PS5, now’s the time to jump. It’s only $90 on Amazon, which is one of the lowest prices it’s ever gone, beating Black Friday savings.
With the Super Deluxe version, you’ll get the base Borderlands 4 game along with a boatload of extras, including Firehawk's Fury Weapons Skin, the Ornate Order Pack, the Bounty Pack Bundle, and the Vault Hunter Pack. The latter two packs bring more DLC content and playable characters, and it’s the main reason you’ll want the Super Deluxe edition. As for the game itself, in our review of Borderlands 4, Travis Northup had this to say about the game: “Borderlands 4 gives the series the massive kick in the pants it has needed, with a fantastic open world and greatly improved combat.”
Create a bit of that Disney magic at home with a cookbook inspired by the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land found at Disney World and Disneyland. From Spicy Mandalorian Stew and Braised Shaak Roast to Moogan Tea and Glo Blue Noodles, enjoy beloved Batuu snacks and beverages from the comfort of your home. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook is 46% off on Amazon, so you can get it for just $18.75. It makes a great gift for any Star Wars or Disney theme park fan, but you’ll probably just want to keep it for yourself.
Add some color to your home lighting with Govee’s 1,200-Lumen RGBWW A19 Wi-Fi Smart LED Light Bulbs. This 4-pack of incredibly bright bulbs features RGBWW LEDs, which means in addition to offering stunning color changes, you also get warm white LEDs for a similar look to incandescent bulbs. Given these are smart lights, the Govee app makes for easy adjustments via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Best of all, it’s $22 off the price tag right now, making the 4-pack of Govee’s 1,200-Lumen RGBWW A19 Wi-Fi Smart LED Light Bulbs just $43 at Best Buy. You won’t find them that cheap anywhere else. In fact, Amazon has a 2-pack listed for $38, so this is a nice deal.
Switch up your usual game night rotation with a fun cooperative board game. TESSERACT by Smirk & Dagger is a bit more niche one-to-four-player dice-manipulation game that uses a 64-die cube. In it, you must work together (or solo) to fill a containment matrix without causing too many breaches or emptying the cube. With 4.9 stars on Amazon, those who’ve played seem to love it, and right now you can grab it for just $37.20. That’s 32% off the list price of this unique strategy puzzle game.
If you’re after a top-tier gaming laptop with serious capabilities, Best Buy has a killer deal on an open-box Asus ROG Strix Scar RTX 5090. It’s just 3,257.99 for an "excellent condition" unit. That’s more than $1,200 off the typical price. Inside this laptop is an incredibly powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 mobile graphics card, paired with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor. 32GB of DDR5 RAM, 2TB of SSD storage, and a stunning 18" 2.5K 240Hz Nebula HDR (Mini-LED) display round out this beast of a machine.
Kick your streaming game up a level with a great streaming microphone. The Blue Yeti USB Microphone remains a solid choice, even if it still utilizes a slightly archaic microUSB for connectivity. In our review of the Blue Yeti, our reviewer found its sound quality and pick up to be top tier, and that’s coupled with “its solid build, ease of set-up, and versatility.” Currently, you can score this microphone for only $83 at Walmart, and shipping is included. That’s about $46 in savings.
Magic: The Gathering Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box has dropped in price to just $26.99. That’s 23% savings. With this set, you’ll get two 20-card tutorial decks along with a step-by-step guide booklet, playboards, Spindown Life Counters, and five double-sided tokens. After you’ve mastered what you’re doing, you can combine any of the additional eight 20-card half-decks for some serious play.
With GaN power efficiency and 100W speedy charging, you can top up all the top handheld gaming PCs and laptops with this USB-C charger for only $15. It’s a sleek and simple option from Satechi, featuring a foldable prong for improved portability. Right now, the charger is available at a nice price cut on Woot, and Amazon Prime Members even get free shipping. The same charger is selling for over $22 on Amazon and even more from other retailers, so it’s a solid deal to grab while you still can.
Developer Embark Studios says Arc Raiders update 1.12.0 patched some infamous out-of-bounds exploits – but players say "rats" still live in the walls of Stella Montis.
Community lead Ossen took to the official website to publish full patch notes for the January 20 adjustments, revealing a smaller set of targeted fixes for the massively popular extraction shooter. Exploits are in the line of fire this time, with the update said to fix glitches related to item and ammo duplication, the ability to damage other players from behind certain geometry, and a bug that let players reach out-of-bounds locations – specifically on Stella Montis.
The cold, labyrinthian halls of Stella Montis have already garnered a reputation for being perhaps the most cutthroat topside area Arc Raiders has to offer, and its abundance of cheaters isn’t helping. Streamers and everyday Raiders alike have reported dying to cheaters on the high-difficulty map for some time, with the out-of-bounds exploit proving to be especially problematic for months. The clip (above) showcases how the glitch has been used to steal some of the best Arc Raiders loot from players who are looking to extract back to Speranza or even just play some music.
Finally, update 1.12.0 is here to take care of what is maybe Embark’s most infamous exploit, but it sounds like it’s more of a speed bump than a stop sign. Just as the patch made its way to players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S, Discord users began to report they were still losing runs to Raiders behind walls in Stella Montis. The developer’s patch notes do say that “various” – and not necessarily all – out-of-bounds map locations had been addressed, but that isn’t stopping fans from expressing their disappointment.
“There is still a wall glitch in Stella (somewhere in the lobby area),” one Discord user said. “Embark is incapable of fixing their game.”
“So, I guess they didn’t fix wall glitches because I just got killed by 3 people inside the seed vault extract in Stella Montis,” another added.
“This patch notes seems like it only attracted rats into walls on Stella,” another player said.
Disattisfaction with the update seems to stem from a December 11 patch, which was said to have tackled an out-of-bounds glitch related to zipline use on Stella Montis, only for players to find themselves still dealing with cheaters weeks later. Players have also shared reports of wall exploits at Dam Battlegrounds and Spaceport, with an ongoing issue related to an unopenable door in Stella Montis adding to the pile of glitches riling up the community.
Embark shared earlier this month that out-of-bounds glitches had been added to a list of anti-cheat fixes it hoped to implement “over the next few weeks,” suggesting update 1.12.0 may be just one step in a larger plan. While players have waited weeks for exploit fixes, and Stella Montis may have a few holes to fill yet, some say they’re willing to give the studio more time to get Arc Raiders into shape.
“I don’t know much about game design, but I’m sure it takes a while to find and fix problems within coding,” one Reddit user argues. “So I think people should be happy that they’ve fixed the exploits that have been such a source of complaints for so long.”
Arc Raiders launched October 30, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X | S. Recent content updates include the introduction of Stella Montis November 13, as well as the limited-time Cold Snap event December 16. While streamers and PvP fans both battle cheaters on and off stream, two content creators have (temporarily) found themselves caught in the line of fire of Embark’s anti-cheat efforts. We'll have to wait and see just how long it takes for the studio to get wall exploits – and cheaters as a whole – under control.
Hey, Raiders!
The store rotation is going live now and with it a few fixes:
Restart your client to download.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Don't miss out on this rare headset deal direct from Steelseries. For a limited time, you can pick up the popular Steelseries Arctis Nova 7X Destiny 2: The Final Shape Limited Edition wireless gaming headset for just $118.99 when you apply a 10% off coupon code "EXTRA10". The Nova 7 is still one of the best headsets you can get at this price.
Note that the Nova 7X is compatible with the Xbox, PS5, and PC platforms.
The Nova 7 is Steelseries' best selling headset because it has great build quality and gaming features without the egregious price tag of the Arctis Pro or Elite. The Nova 7 features a comfortable suspension-style headband with a steel core for durability and breathable AirWeave earpad cushions which, in my opinion, are more comfortable than the Arctis Pro's faux leather. The Nova 7 produces great gamer-focused sound thanks to big 40mm drivers with support for 360-degree spatial audio. Other features include dual simultaneous wireless connectivity (2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth), 38 hour battery life with USB Type-C charging, and a retractable boom microphone.
PC gamers also have access to the SteelSeries GG app, which opens up a whole suite of customization for your audio. You can tailor your audio settings independently for each game or use presets that were configured by actual game developers. The Nova 7 is also compatible with the PS5's Tempest 3D Audio.
In his SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 review, Matthew Adler wrote that "SteelSeries continues to push the boundaries of what a headset is capable of. With the addition of simultaneous Bluetooth audio, you can enjoy music, podcasts, or just chat with your friends without losing your game audio – all with a single pair of headphones. The Arctis Nova 7’s new design is sleek, lightweight, and still remains one of the most comfortable headsets I’ve ever used."
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Newly-released sandbox adventure game Hytale originated as a Minecraft mod, Hypixel, only to eventually be spun off and transformed into the early access, standalone game we now know. But even so, I don't think anyone had "Minecraft x Hytale crossplay" on their Bingo card.
Bedrock / Pocket <-> @Hytale <-> Java pic.twitter.com/RCBsbRtjd3
— iamcxv7 (@iamcxv711) January 19, 2026
This wizardry comes from modder u/ssquadteam, also known as iamcxv7, a 15-year-old modder who has also managed to get things like Windows 95 running in Hytale and, separate from the guy who did it pre-launch, Doom. iamcxv7 has managed to figure out how to get Hytale and Minecraft to talk to one another so that players in one can play alongside players in the other, seeing one another's characters rendered in their own game's style, interact, build, chat, and even fight one another.
What. On. Earth. How? I'm not savvy enough to parse the technicalities behind this, but here's iamcxv7's explanation for it: "It's all just Packet Trickery. You could say I am running a Minecraft Server in the Hytale JVM which uses the Coordinate System of the Hytale World (As its the same) As well as takes a Snapshot of the Hytale World and reconstructs it and then send it to to the Client via Packets"
But a bit more simply, what's cool here is that Hytale and Minecraft are so similar in how their worlds are constructed and what kinds of things they invite players to do that gameplay in one can easily map to the other. There's still some work to do: the mod isn't public yet, as iamcxv7 says it's still "really unstable" and there are some features, such as world generation and how to render certain blocks that exist in Hytale but not Minecraft, still missing. Given that Hytale is only a week old, this feels extremely reasonable! The fact that this is going to be possible at all is brain-breaking enough.
Hypixel Studios co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme shared an update today, saying that saving the game after it was dropped by Riot Games last year was “the most challenging but rewarding experience of my life." Previously, Collins-LaFlamme had called the game's salvaging a "damn miracle" after years of development, scope increase, and delays. Prior to the launch, Collins-Laflamme said that Hytale had already made enough money to cover the next two years of development. And those next two years stand to be busy ones, with Hypixel already working on Update 2 for the game later this week.
If you're heading into Hytale, check out IGN's comprehensive Hytale Progression Guide for a step-by-step walkthrough on how to get copper, thorium, adamantite, and more. To get around Hytale's Zones and Biomes fast, you'll need to know how to set up and use teleporters - and if you'd like to experiment with what the sandbox game can do, use Hytale commands to bend reality to your will, or install Hytale mods to add new creations to your game.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has reacted to the poop scene in HBO spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which has quickly become the main talking point following the release of Episode 1.
Warning! Spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1, Episode 1 follow:
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts George R. R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novella trilogy, itself a prequel to Game of Thrones set 100 years before the events of the main books. Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell play Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg, respectively.
Season 1 (Season 2 is already confirmed) kicks off with wandering knight, Ser Duncan grieving the death of his lord, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). We hear the iconic Game of Thrones theme song before it is rudely interrupted by a shot of Duncan letting rip in a rather violent fashion, while clinging on to a tree for dear life.
It turns out that this shock poop scene came as something of a surprise to George R.R. Martin, who told The Hollywood Reporter: “Not to say that my characters don’t take shits, but I normally don’t write about them at any length. When I saw the rough cut, I wrote, ‘What is this? Where did this come from? I don’t know if we really need the shit.’ But [showrunner Ira Parker] liked it for whatever reason.”
So, what are those reasons? Parker told The Hollywood Reporter that the poop scene and the way it interrupts the Game of Thrones theme song isn’t meant to be disrespectful to the original show. Rather, it’s meant to highlight reality kicking in as Ser Duncan realizes just how scared he truly is at the prospect of becoming a hero, which “turns his guts to water.”
“Because he’s not a hero yet, you know?” Parker continued. “All we’re trying to say here is that Dunk is not a hero yet. He’s just a nervy kid with a nervous stomach — just like me. And as badly as you want to do something great, as soon as you actually have to go off and do it, it becomes trickier. And that’s what the whole season is for him.”
Despite not being sure about the poop scene, George R. R. Martin has expressed his enthusiasm about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in the past. Indeed, Martin teased last year that he couldn’t wait to see Dunk and Egg’s story come to TV screens.
“I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them," Martin said in a blog post in January. "Dunk and Egg have always been favorites of mine, and the actors we found to portray them are just incredible. The rest of the cast are terrific as well. Wait until you guys meet the Laughing Storm and Tanselle Too-Tall.”
Martin continued to celebrate A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, adding: “It’s as faithful an adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for (and you all know how incredibly reasonable I am on that particular subject).” Check out IGN’s review of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 for more.
His view on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is in stark contrast to his view of fellow Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon. In a recent interview, Martin opened up about his "abysmal" working relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. Meanwhile, we've heard the first word of a potential HBO Game of Thrones sequel series starring Arya Stark.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
After a decade of storytelling, Square Enix has decided to wrap up the story of Max Caulfield and Chloe Price in the newly-revealed Life is Strange: Reunion, which is set for launch on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 26, 2026.
A direct sequel to 2024's Life is Strange: Double Exposure, featuring many of the same secondary characters, Reunion will also finally answer fan wishes by bringing back both beloved faces from the franchise's original 2015 game.
Max, who returned as the protagonist of Double Exposure, will reunite with her former lover/best friend Chloe for one final adventure — and for the first time in the same game, both characters will be playable.
Once again, there's a sci-fi mystery to solve and limited time to do so — this time, Max's Caledon University must be saved from a deadly fire — and once again, Max can rewind time to remake decisions, while Chloe can use her risk/reward "Backtalk" ability from 2017's Life is Strange: Before the Storm to provoke further responses from others.
How is Chloe back, if players previously saw her demise? The story here seems to be that Chloe is now alive regardless after Max merged a pair of disparate timelines in Double Exposure's finale. Returned to life with memories of a past she never lived, Chloe is prompted to seek out Max for answers.
"This game builds on all the character-led, grounded storytelling for which the Life is Strange series is known, with meaningful choices that affect the outcome of a dramatic and surprising narrative – all culminating in an epic climax that serves as a finale to the Max and Chloe saga," Square Enix wrote today.
Fans may be surprised to learn that Max and Chloe's stories will end here, but after a lengthy and often bumpy development road for the franchise, now perhaps feels a good point to ensure their tale gets a definitive ending, with both characters together one final time.
Remember that Don't Nod, the series' original developer, never planned for the characters' stories to continue beyond its initial hit game. Remember also that both Don't Nod and current maker Deck Nine have experienced mixed fortunes with the series since, with the original game's emotional climax still considered by many fans to be the franchise's high point. Finally, there are likely narrative advantages to letting players decide on a final outcome for the pair — something that doesn't need to be unpicked or worked around in any continuation.
Will Life is Strange continue without Max and Chloe? Square Enix doesn't go as far as stating that Reunion is the last Life is Strange game ever — though this feels an ending, for now.
"We couldn’t dismiss the tragedy at the heart of Max and Chloe," Life is Strange senior brand manager Andrew James said in an Xbox Wire blog post today. "Their reunion could be no quick fix.
"Max and Chloe’s relationship is at the core of the story," James continued, "a relationship that YOU will choose how to develop over the course of the game. Whether Chloe lived or died in Arcadia Bay, and whether she and Max were friends or lovers — these choices are key not just to the past you’ll confirm as you play, but to the future you’ll fight for the chance to build."
Upon launch, Life is Strange: Reunion will be available for $40. There's also a $50 Deluxe edition featuring a digital soundtrack, art book and comic, and access to a behind-the-scenes documentary with returning Max Caulfield actress Hannah Telle, and Rhianna DeVries, Deck Nine's actress for Chloe Price. (Yes, thankfully there's no cat content sold separately this time around.)
If you're yet to play Double Exposure, a double pack of both games will be available for $60. (It's a solid entry in the series that sets up a new cast of characters we'll see more of in Reunion — and one which Chloe fans may now enjoy more in retrospect.) Finally, a $100 Collector's Edition of Reunion will be available for die-hard fans, featuring a range of physical goods such as a 12" vinyl soundtrack.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
HP is offering one of the lowest prices I can find right now on a gaming laptop that can run games just as well as a desktop PC. The OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5070 Ti gaming laptop drops to just $1,449.99 when you add any HyperX accessory to the same order. You also get free shipping. The RTX 5070 Ti is a powerful mobile GPU that should easily handle the newest and most demanding games, even if you decide to upgrade to the higher resolution OLED display.
Follow these directions to get this deal:
* Note that I'd recommend upgrading to the 2560x1600 OLED display for +$130.
You can add any HyperX accessory and get the $150 discount. It doesn't have to be the item I selected, which I only chose because it was the cheapest item I could find. There are dozens to choose from.
The OMEN MAX 16 is an upgrade to the OMEN both in terms of build quality and cooling potential. The OMEN MAX 16 is almost entirely constructed of aluminum, including both the top lid and chassis. The exception is the palm rest, which is still plastic so that it doesn't get too toasty for your hands. The OMEN MAX 16 also features a new Tempest Cooling Pro design that combines vapor chamber cooling, redesigned fan configuration, and an improved thermal interface material to maximize heat transfer. Not only does this keep the laptop cooler during gaming marathons, it also allows for the current-generation graphics cards to perform optimally without throttling.
The RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU is comparable in performance to the previous generation's RTX 4080 and pulls ahead of it in games that support DLSS 4. It should be able to handle even the newest and most demanding games like Ghost of Yotei, Battlefield 6, and Borderlands 4 on the native 1920x1200 resolution. It can also run the same games at 2560x1600 if you opt for the OLED upgrade, although you may have to minimally tweak some graphics settings to maintain 60fps.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Conceptual designer and comic book creator Ricardo Delgado made his mark on Dracula with 2021's Dracula of Transylvania, a book that re-imagined Bram Stoker's iconic villain as "a complete horror." Now Delgado has a follow-up to that terrifying book, one that blends fact and fiction to create Vampyre: A Costa Rican Folktale.
With the crowdfunding campaign for Vampyre: A Costa Rican Folktale now live, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of the book. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:
Vampyre: A Costa Rican Folktale is a 200-page illustrated novel that features a mix of historical maps, Delgado's illustrations, and photos of real-world locations. The book is published in a mix of English and Spanish. The book tells a story set in the same world as Dracula of Transylvania, in this case in 1940s Costa Rica.
“Part folktale. Part autobiography. This gruesome novel is a captivating celebration of urban legends, horror stories and the power they hold over us,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz in a statement. “Inspired by elements of the classic 1980's illustrated novella Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King and Berni Wrightson, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Costa Rican folklore, Delgado weaves his family history into an ambitious new multi-media mythology that must be seen and read to be believed.”
The Kickstarter campaign for Vampyre: A Costa Rican Folktale is live now.
In other comic book news, find out which series was selected as IGN's best comic book of 2025, and see which comics we're most excited for in 2026.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
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