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Konami Quietly Removes Original Versions of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Peace Walker From Sale After Collection Vol. 2 Announcement

18 février 2026 à 12:39

Konami has removed two Metal Gear games, Metal Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, from digital storefronts.

The Japanese company finally revealed Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 at last week's State of Play showcase, promising to re-release Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for PC and consoles this August. While it's exciting that two classic tactical espionage action titles are getting touch-ups, more importantly, it means MGS4 will finally be playable on something other than PS3 when the collection launches August 27, 2026.

Shortly after that announcement, however, players noticed that the two games included in the collection had been pulled from the PlayStation and Xbox stores.

It could be that Konami has removed the older games to avoid confusion when pre-ordering the new collection. A less charitable interpretation is that the publisher has removed the original versions to funnel sales towards the new one. Even though the games were only available on very old systems like PSP, PS3, and Xbox 360, Metal Gear Solid 4 had previously been streamable on PlayStation.

IGN has asked Konami for comment.

Konami released Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 in October 2023. Mixed in with the troubled launch of the first bundle was a leak, as confirmed by IGN, suggesting more MGS re-releases were on the way, but it wasn’t until August 2024 that the publisher would finally tell fans to “stay tuned.”

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 is coming to PC via Steam, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S. While we wait to see if Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 will have a more stable launch than its predecessor, you can read about what Konami is doing to reassure players.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

'We've Got Some Ideas' — Chris Hemsworth Confirms Thor Future Following Avengers: Doomsday

18 février 2026 à 11:42

Marvel star Chris Hemsworth has confirmed there are plans for him to still play Thor "a couple of times" after this year's Avengers: Doomsday.

Speaking on the SmartLess podcast with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, Hemsworth suggested audiences would see him portray the fan-favorite Norse god for some time yet.

It's a surprising revelation, not least because Avengers: Doomsday is expected to be an apocalyptic affair, where the fates of many Marvel characters will likely hang in the balance. But it also serves to reverse the narrative on Hemsworth being ready to hang up his hammer — a narrative Hemsworth initially sparked himself by saying he was "ready to close the book" on the character, before more recently walking that sentiment back.

"It's been so much fun," Hemsworth said, via The Playlist, after confirming there were plans for him to return post-Doomsday more than once. "Unlike a lot of what the other characters that the [actors] were given, they have had to be pretty consistent — whereas working with Taika Waititi on his films versus Kenneth Branagh with those films and then with the Russos, all [the films] had quite a different sort of tonal opinion."

"I was talking to Kevin Feige about it, and he said it's cool because the audience now expects dramatic turns with the character," he continued. "And whatever we do next — we've got some ideas to do something pretty unique again and hopefully be [different]."

The recent Thor-focused Avengers: Doomsday trailer (that's not a trailer but actually a piece of narrative information, apparently) featured a somber take on the character, far removed from the wackier version seen in the widely-panned Thor: Love and Thunder. Hemsworth has discussed the failings of that movie before, but doubled down on them again here, acknowledging that it had taken the silliness too far.

"You do need to be careful," Hemsworth said. "When we made Ragnarök, it was quite a twist, with Taika's [film]. And it was so fun. There was a huge appreciation for the shift. And then Love And Thunder, it was kind of like a Monty Python sketch, and we took the piss probably a little much, and then there was some backlash. There was this real kind of, 'Why is he a goofball and why is it like this?' And, [audiences] violently offended and we were like, 'Oh, we're just having fun or trying to try something different.'"

Of course, Thor is expected (but not yet confirmed) to return after Avengers: Doomsday in its forthcoming sequel Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel has said very little of its plans for films after that, though we know that it is rebooting X-Men and plans to make Black Panther 3. It's hard to imagine Thor appearing in either of those. Does this mean we're getting a more grounded Thor 5, then? And what will its story be?

Already, fans are wondering whether this means Hemsworth's character definitely survives the events of Doomsday and Secret Wars — or not. One storyline could see him fall in battle and end up in Valhalla, which would also reunite him with Jane and Heimdall. There's also the dangling plot thread of Hercules to resolve — perhaps he ends up in Valhalla also? But these are ideas which we'll need to wait several years still to see. As a reminder, Avengers: Doomsday lands in theaters on December 18 this year, before Avengers: Secret Wars opens on December 17, 2027.

Image credit: Lisa O'Connor/AFP via Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Here's What's New in Monster Hunter Wilds Patch 1.041

18 février 2026 à 11:08

Monster Hunter Wilds patch 1.041 is now live, and it's a big one.

Marking the game's anniversary, from now until March 18, there'll be a login bonus plus rotations of past Festivals of Accord. And, as we learned last week, we're also getting the Arch-Tempered Arkveld, 10-star Arc-Tempered monsters, a special collaboration with Monster Hunter Stories 3 — a spin-off series that releases next month — plus an anniversary event where all previous awards and quests will be "re-available."

We also learned last week that Monster Hunter Wilds will welcome a "large-scale" expansion later this year. Addressing fans in a video celebrating the open-world adventure game's first anniversary, series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto teased that this expansion will be similar to Monster Hunter World's Iceborne add-on, but was otherwise coy about the details. He did, however, stress that this will be the "final update" for the monster hunting game.

Monster Hunter Wilds has had something of a bumpy ride. Title Update 4 arrived at the end of last year and ushered in a long list of gameplay and balance changes, as well as CPU/GPU improvements, load reduction, and the optimization of "PC-specific processes and addition of options and presets to reduce processing load." A development roadmap, detailed in December, outlined plans to address the myriad issues impacting the PC version.

Note that you won't be able to access DLC or play online multiplayer until this update has been installed. Steam users are also advised to update to driver versions to NVIDIA GeForce 581.57 (or newer) or AMD Radeon: 25.9.1. (or newer). "Some issues have been identified with AMD Radeon drivers versions 25.10.2 and higher on certain PCs using AMD Radeon graphics cards such as the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT/7800 XT," the team warned.

Full patch notes for Monster Hunter Wilds Ver.1.041.00.00 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S

Release Date

  • Wednesday February 18, 2026 2:30 a.m. UTC (Tuesday February 17, 2026 6:30 p.m. PT)
  • Note: Release date and time are subject to change without prior notice.

Required Space (Current Update Only)

  • PlayStation5: Approx. 13.0 GB
  • Xbox Series X|S: Approx. 16.0 GB
  • Steam: Approx. 15.0 GB (With High Resolution Texture Pack: Approx. 18.0 GB total)
  • Note: Make sure to have enough additional storage to allow for slight differences in final size.

Major Additions and Changes

Monsters
  • – Arch-tempered Arkveld has been added as a permanent Event Quest.
  • – New 10★ difficulty quests have been added as permanent event quests for the following monsters: Arch-tempered Rey Dau, Arch-tempered Uth Duna, Arch-tempered Nu Udra, and Arch-tempered Jin Dahaad.
Player
  • – New equipment and pendants have been added.
Story Progression
  • – Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection Special Collaboration side mission "A Royal Request" has been added. This side mission will become available after reaching HR 9+.
  • – New side mission "Love for a Hero" has been added. This side mission will become available after completing the extra mission "Ghosts Pay No Heed to Tomorrow" and then talking to Nadia and Mina.
Bases and Facilities
  • – Added a new feature to the Melding Pot that allows you to meld Gogma materials.
  • – Added a new feature that allows you to earn random ingredients at the Ingredient Center after reaching HR 9.
  • – New Appraisal Items called "Timeworn Charms" have been added to quest rewards. (No changes have been made to the attributes of Talismans earned. Chances of receiving Talismans with high rarity are increased when using Timeworn Charms.)
  • – Increased the maximum number of Pop-Up Camps for the Windward Plains, the Scarlet Forest, and the Oilwell Basin. (This will be unlocked by talking to the Pop-up Camp Meowster or the Support Desk after completing the assignment "Germination".)
  • – Added an option to the Barrel Bowling results screen that allows you to retry immediately. An option has also been added that allows you to use 10 Barrel Bowling Vouchers and receive all rewards at once.
  • – Adjusted the parameters of the Blossom Barrel Bombs used in Barrel Bowling to behave differently from the Large Barrel Bombs used out in the field. In accordance with this adjustment, new placement patterns have also been added.
  • – Reduced the waiting time between throws in Barrel Bowling, so that players can throw the second barrel while the results of the first throw are still being displayed.
System
  • – Reduced CPU/GPU processing and made adjustments to lower the load on the game.
    – Added internal Levels of Detail (LOD) for 3D models, adjusting them to display optimal quality based on the situation to reduce GPU load.
    – Optimized monster and endemic life spawn-time processing to reduce CPU load.
    – Added effect caching to decrease CPU load when generating duplicate effects.
    – Optimized rendering processes to reduce CPU/GPU load.
    – Performed other minor adjustments to lower the overall load.
  • – The following 9★ event quests have been made permanently available:
    – The White Wonder
    – Ultimate Berserker
    – The Monkey King
    – Sovereign Brute
    – There Goes the Neighborhood
  • – Added a new special environment quest. (This quest will become available after completing the existing three special environment quests as well as the 10★ Arch-tempered Arkveld event quest.)
  • – When quick-accessing "Quest Last Played" on the top screen at the Quest Counter, the default departure point will now be set to the last departure point used. (If the last departure point used is not available, the player will start from the base camp as usual.)
  • – Adjusted the display for event quests to make it clearer that the player is offline on the screens for accepting or joining a quest.
  • – Added a Refresh button to the search results list for SOS Flare Quests.
  • – Added Thai as a text language. Text language can be changed in the title menu options.
  • – Added Latin American Spanish as a voice language. Voice language can be changed in the title menu options.
  • – Added a "Favorited Items Safeguard" feature to the Start Menu options. This will lock the confirm button for specific facilities so that the player cannot use items that are registered as favorites. (Note: This setting can be changed back to "Require Confirmation" on the same options screen.)
  • – Added a shortcut button for checking the details before registering an equipment loadout for shared loadouts on the Invitation List screen.
  • – Added a shortcut button for going back and forth between the "Upgrade from Box" screen and "Transcending" screen at the Smithy.
  • – Adjusted the UI for when the player approaches a Hunting Assistant (Werner or Gemma) in the field, making it easier to distinguish between the positions of Werner or Gemma and their hunting tools.
  • – All nine permanent event quests that were only playable online have been made available for offline play as well. (Please refer to the Event Quest schedule for more details.)
    – Heart of Judecca (Arch-tempered Jin Dahaad)
    – Specter of Their Sins (Gogmazios), etc.
  • - All 29 event quests that yield equipment materials and that were only available for a limited time have been made permanent and playable offline. (Please refer to the event quest schedule for more details.)
Miscellaneous
  • – Made adjustments that should prevent the Handler from pushing the hunter while out in the field during hunts or exploration. An option to hide them completely during a hunt was also added.

Bug Fixes and Balance Adjustments

Bases and Facilities
  • – Fixed an issue preventing some pins from being displayed and the score from being tallied correctly if the player throws a barrel right before starting Barrel Bowling.
Monsters
  • – Fixed an issue where the outcome of a turf war between Lagiacrus and Rathalos would differ between players.
  • – Fixed an issue where a weak point appeared at the incorrect timing during a Rompopolo's toxic gas attack.
  • – Fixed an issue where Compact Anti-Wyvern Guns that fall to the ground sometimes wouldn't appear under specific conditions during the Gogmazios quest.
  • – Fixed an issue in Jin Dahaad, Tempered Jin Dahaad, and Arch-tempered Jin Dahaad quests where, under certain conditions, only the monster would move to the final area, preventing quest progression.
Player
  • General
    • – Fixed an issue preventing the correct system messages from being displayed when a skill effect ends due to the player switching weapons.
    • – Fixed an issue where Fabius could get hit by the player's slinger during Gogmazios's special attack.
  • Sword & Shield
    • – Fixed an issue causing some items to disappear temporarily from the Radial Menu when using items like traps and such while the sword & shield are unsheathed.
  • Dual Blades
    • – Fixed an issue where landing a Focus Strike with the Dual Blades on Gogmazios while airborne caused the player to move erratically.
  • Bowguns
    • – Fixed an issue causing unintended elemental effects to be displayed on Artian weapons.
  • Skills
    • – Fixed an issue that caused an elemental resistance increase icon to appear when the "Protective Veil I" skill was active, despite the skill not having that effect.
  • Support Hunters
    • – Fixed an issue where Support Hunters may fire Compact Anti-Wyvern Guns away from Gogmazios while riding Seikret.
    • – Fixed an issue where Support Hunters may stop to carve Gogmazios's severed tail during the quest.
    • – Fixed an issue where Fabius would stop guarding if the quest leader changed during Gogmazios's special attack.
    • – Fixed an issue where the direction of Fabius's guard would deviate from the intended direction during Gogmazios's special attack.
    • – Fixed an issue where Support Hunters would not take cover during Jin Dahaad's large area-of-effect attack.
    • – Fixed an issue where Support Hunters would attack Omega Planetes instead of the Nerscylla while it was charging the Delta Attack.
    • – Fixed an issue where Support Hunters inside a shield could still take damage during Omega Planetes’s Delta Attack.
    • – Fixed an issue that caused Support Hunters to be unable to get in or out of the underwater combat area during the Lagiacrus hunt.
Miscellaneous
  • System
    • – During a Field Survey, if the player deals extensive damage to a large monster that isn't the current quest target, the health value conditions that would prevent that monster from becoming a target in a subsequent Field Survey have been relaxed.
    • – Fixed an issue where unnecessary chat logs (indicating monsters leaving the locale) could display during a Special Environment Quest in which the environment contains a monster of the same species as large monsters that are already designed to appear in that quest.
    • – Fixed an issue where the Cosmetic DLC Pass text was not displaying correctly under Add-ons in the Support Desk menu.
    • – Fixed an issue where the pattern thickness for the "Whitewing Caparison" decoration could not be adjusted in Seikret Customization.
    • – Added a fix to correct weapon performance when unintended bonus combinations are applied during reinforcement of Artian Weapons or Gogma Artian Weapons.
    • – We have implemented a solution to reduce the load time experienced at startup when the user has a large number of add-ons.
  • Locales
    • – Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Pitfall Traps or Shock Traps to disappear after being placed in certain areas in the Windward Plains.
    • – Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause two Convergent Elderbreaker cannons to appear under specific conditions during the Gogmazios quest.
  • Other
    • – Fixed an issue where some voice lines would not trigger properly.
    • – Fixed various text issues.
    • – Fixed other miscellaneous issues.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

A modder is restoring all the content that was cut from Resident Evil 3 Remake

18 février 2026 à 09:43

A lot of die-hard fans were kind of upset with the official remake of Resident Evil 3. You see, Capcom has made some changes to it and has cut some content that was present in the original version. For instance, you could not get to the Clocktower in the remake. So, to the surprise of … Continue reading A modder is restoring all the content that was cut from Resident Evil 3 Remake

The post A modder is restoring all the content that was cut from Resident Evil 3 Remake appeared first on DSOGaming.

Monster Hunter Wilds Patch V1.041.00.00 Released With Even More CPU/GPU Performance Optimizations

18 février 2026 à 09:16

Capcom has just released Title Update 1.041.00.00 for Monster Hunter Wilds and shared its full patch notes. Patch 1.041.00.00 comes with even more CPU and GPU performance optimizations. So, let’s take a closer look at it. Patch 1.041.00.00 reduces CPU and GPU processing and makes adjustments to lower the load on the game. It also … Continue reading Monster Hunter Wilds Patch V1.041.00.00 Released With Even More CPU/GPU Performance Optimizations

The post Monster Hunter Wilds Patch V1.041.00.00 Released With Even More CPU/GPU Performance Optimizations appeared first on DSOGaming.

This TMNT Magic Card Is a Dream for Artifact Creature Decks - Like Warhammer 40K's Necron Dynasties

18 février 2026 à 00:00

Magic: The Gathering has become “crossover central” in recent years, and while some fans have conflicting thoughts on the game’s 2026 roadmap, it does lead to some absolutely bizarre combinations.

A few months ago, we pointed out a ridiculous combo between Sonic the Hedgehog and Warhammer 40K’s Winged Hive Tyrant, but we might just have something that matches it in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set, launching next month.

Krang And The Necrons Is A Hell Of A Band Name

Artifact Creatures in Magic: The Gathering are essentially just that - a blend of two card types. That means cards that affect Artifacts, and those that buff Creatures, will help power them up nicely.

We mention this because Krang, Utrom Warlord, could be quite ridiculous when paired with a deck focused on Artifact Creatures, like Necron Dynasties from the Warhammer 40K Universes Beyond Commander deck lineup.

Krang, Utrom Warlord is a nine-cost (expensive, yes), but has the keywords Flying, Trample, Indestructible, and Haste. Oh, and it’s a 9/9.

That’s a pain to deal with on its own, but the card also gives other Artifact Creatures you control Flying, Trample, Indestructible and Haste.

For context, almost every single creature in the Necron Dynasties deck is an Artifact Creature, so dropping Kang onto the battlefield alongside them could be a potential game-ender.

It feels like it’ll find a spot in a lot of decks based around that creature type, given it’s colorless, too, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it climb in value somewhat.

As for Necron Dynasties, you’ll need to find it on the secondary market these days, but the mono-black deck was already plenty powerful already.

We’ll find out soon, though - the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set launches on March 6, with preorders available already.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano Sets May Date for Live Netflix MMA Event

17 février 2026 à 23:57

Netflix has announced that its first live MMA event will see Ronda Rousey enter the ring against Gina Carano.

The live event was announced today and is scheduled to stream from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles May 16, 2026. A face-to-face press conference promoting the event is scheduled to take place at the same location March 5, with tickets set to go on sale that day at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

Two MMA legends are coming to Netflix.

RONDA ROUSEY vs. GINA CARANO
Saturday May 16
LIVE only on Netflix#RouseyCarano pic.twitter.com/zqdSC7l4in

— Netflix (@netflix) February 17, 2026

Netflix’s livestreamed featherweight event comes as a result of its collaboration with Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and will see the two controversial combat sports stars go head-to-head under the Unified Rules of the MMA through five 5-minute rounds. It’s an unexpected announcement for more reasons than one, especially as it’s been nearly 17 years since Carano’s last MMA fight and a little less than a decade since Rousey’s.

“Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us,” Carano said in a statement. “She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honor. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive.”

Both competitors first caught the attention of the public eye due to their abilities as professional fighters. They’ve also each spent the 2010s and 2020s as familiar names outside of the ring – even if it’s not always been for positive reasons.

A LEGACY SHOWDOWN 🔥 #RouseyCarano

RONDA ROUSEY vs. GINA CARANO
Saturday May 16
LIVE only on Netflix pic.twitter.com/cybtQHNyPT

— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) February 17, 2026

Rousey has orbited the world of sports regardless of her direct involvement in competition, lending her voice to the WWE for both live and video game-related projects in recent years. She’s also spent time as the voice of Sonya Blade in recent Mortal Kombat entries and even made a cameo appearance in Furious 7. This all comes after a 2013 controversy that saw her post and then delete a message perpetuating claims that families of Sandy Hook victims were paid actors. Outside of one tweet posted shortly after, Rousey largely avoided the topic until posting a lengthy apology in 2024, 11 years later.

Carano, meanwhile, has done her best to stick to the world of movies and TV. Her appearances in live-action film began after her departure from professional sports in 2009, with notable projects like Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Heist (2015), and Deadpool (2016) all under her belt.

Carano would then secure her biggest role yet when she played the part of Cara Dune for two seasons of Disney’s The Mandalorian. Her time in Star Wars was short-lived, though, as Lucasfilm was quick to fire her after a now-deleted post, where she compared the persecution of Jewish people in Nazi Germany to being a Republican in 2021, which saw fans launch a #FireGinaCarano campaign. She then went on to work with conservative media company The Daily Wire on its 2022 project Terror on the Prairie before launching a discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit against Disney with funding from Elon Musk in 2024. The dispute was settled in August 2025.

For one reason or another, both names are sure to attract a lot of attention for Netflix when Rousey vs. Carano takes place this May. The event, which will be the streaming giant’s first live MMA broadcast, follows a 2024 show that put content creator Jake Paul against boxing legend Mike Tyson and resulted in the most-streamed sporting event of all-time.

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).

World of Warcraft Now Has a Zillow for Player Housing

17 février 2026 à 23:39

Blizzard has partnered with real estate website Zillow to create Zillow for Warcraft, a goofy Zillow-like website intended to promote the game's new player housing feature with humor, information, and a free in-game item.

The website, accessible at zillowforwarcraft.com or zillow.com/warcraft, is, to be clear, a goof. At the moment, it doesn't seem to be showing off actual houses built by real players. It instead has a curated selection of both Horde and Alliance homes that seem to be intended more to offer inspiration to players working on their own homes than anything. Besides, it's not like you can actually buy someone else's fully built and decorated house in the game, anyway.

The website is cute, though. It's got a handful of different housing options on different plots in both the Horde and Alliance neighborhoods to skim through, with humorous descriptions of decor decisions and, frankly, some pretty good ideas that I hadn't really thought of for my own rustic shack. You're guided through the website by Bek'tar Donhammar and Hazyl Fizzlehorn, two fictional Azerothian real estate agents who each have their own profiles with "reviews" from satisfied customers, all rife with in-jokes.

The main reason you might care to visit the website, though, is to get the free item. If you link your battle.net account, you can get a free "Naturally Elegant Doormat" which will show up in the in-game mail after the fact and become available for use in decorating your house. It's not a bad doormat! Worth the, like, four clicks it takes to get it. Once you have one, you can also buy more copies of it from Tuuran and Gabbi near the Trading Posts in Stormwind and Orgrimmar, in case you want a house just full of mats.

Perhaps even more delightful than just clicking around on the website though are some of the player reactions to the feature. In a Reddit thread about the announcement, a number of individuals have popped in to offer pleasant snark about the crossover, generally mixed in with commentary about how expensive real-life houses are nowadays.

"last sold in ‘88 for 49,000, now going for 449,000, cool cool cool," reads the top comment by u/Helios420A

"Hasn’t had work done since Blackhand was Warchief," writes u/Thesleek

"Does this mean blackrock will somehow get involved next?" asked u/notmyworkaccount5, making a very well-placed pun on BlackRock Inc, the investment company, and Blackrock, the World of Warcraft orc clan.

Now that I have my doormat, I will proceed to log in and rearrange my living room for the umpteenth time, wasting several hours before finally admitting I will never make anything as magical as the Ban'ethil Bohemian, and go back to adding spikes to my roof.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

The Full Cut of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Is Now Available to Watch at Home

17 février 2026 à 22:56

It’s no secret that Quentin Tarantino originally conceived of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 as a single movie, which has long contributed to his claim that he’s only directed nine movies total. While this full version of Kill Bill was deemed a little too much for the average theater-goer back in the early 2000’s, two decades of acclaim finally led to the full release of the original edit last year.

If you weren’t quite willing to hack out the almost five-hour-long marathon in theaters (Tarantino would be disappointed), you can now buy Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair on digital to watch at home.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Lands on Digital

Clocking in at four hours and 41 minutes, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair officially released in theaters for the first time this past November. Tarantino initially wanted the film to only be available in theaters, making a digital release slightly surprising. While a physical release of the full duology has seemingly been confirmed, I wouldn’t anticipate a streaming release on any particular service.

The Whole Bloody Affair is not in fact just Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 smushed together, and instead features the ‘original’ editing with some scenes around. This includes an extended version of the O-Ren Ishii anime sequence as well as full color during the House of the Blue Leaves fight. All in all, our 9/10 review claims the over-four-hour-long saga “retains all the exuberant action highlights that made the duology an instant classic while allowing the saga’s emotional pieces to fall more neatly into place.”

Tarantino also collaborated with Epic Games and visualization studio The Third Floor on Yuki’s Revenge, a short film that premiered in Fortnite just before The Whole Bloody Affair landed in theaters. Developed from what was originally a deleted scene, the short film follows Yuki Yubari hunting down The Bride to avenge her sister, Gogo. That's now available to watch for free.

More recently, Tarantino made headlines for talking smack about a spread of actors, most notably Paul Dano, who was readily defended by most of the industry. Otherwise, there’s still no word on the auteur’s tenth and 'final' movie since the The Movie Critic was scrapped. At the very least, the full release of Kill Bill means that number makes a little more sense.

Blythe (she/her) is an Audience Development Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.

Tencent Was Quietly Backing Highguard Studio, According to Report

17 février 2026 à 22:42

Highguard, the free-to-play PvP "raid shooter" announced at The Game Awards last year and released to preemptive criticism and mockery only for most of its developers to be laid off just weeks after launch, was apparently financially backed by Tencent, according to a report.

This comes from Game File, which reports that the Chinese gaming mogul was the primary financial backer behind developer Wildlight Entertainment, an arrangement that was not publicly shared by either company.

Prior to this report, it was unclear who was funding Wildlight, despite Highguard seemingly being in development for a number of years prior to its announcement at The Game Awards in December. Its official LinkedIn page has long included the line that Wildlight is "a new, fully-funded entertainment studio."

That grand announcement, its time and place instigated by The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley rather than the studio, sparked weeks of mockery online, with a number of content creators declaring the game dead before it had even released. Upon launch, Highguard netted nearly 100k Steam concurrents, but critic reviews (including ours) were just so-so and user scores were low. Just a few weeks later, developers from Wildlight revealed that most of them had been laid off. Since then, one developer who worked on the game has reflected that Highguard was "turned into a joke from minute one" due to false assumptions made from the TGA trailer, and a number of other high-profile developers have come to its defense.

It remains unclear how heavily reliant Wildlight was on Tencent, or whether a decision to pull funding was made at some point that led to the mass layoffs. Wildlight's future as a studio also remains unclear, with a studio statement saying that it would retain a "core group of developers" to keep Highguard going. However, the game's website went offline earlier today and has yet to be restored, leading some to speculate that the game or even the studio is about to fully shut down.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Reçu hier — 17 février 2026 3.3 🎲 Jeux English

It Seems Like the AI Apocalypse Has Come for Hard Drives

17 février 2026 à 22:22

PC gaming has been off to a rough start in 2026, with both RAM and graphics cards facing massive stock issues, due to demand from AI datacenters. It looks like hard drives are next.

Both Seagate and Western Digital, two of the biggest hard drive manufacturers, have told investors that stock is completely sold out through 2027, according to a report from German outlet Heise. As a result, hard drives are starting to see increased prices. For instance, a 4TB WD Blue drive costs $99 on Amazon right now, where it cost just $67–$85 just a few months ago, according to Camelcamelcamel.

That's bad enough, but it looks like SSDs are also being impacted by the sudden increase of demand for hard drives, which is also costing the price of flash storage to go up – and it was already starting to rise in January.

Because both HDD manufacturers are claiming that their 2026 stock has already been sold through, it's unlikely that the hard drive pricing situation is going to improve any time soon. And with another critical component being impacted by datacenter-driven demand, it's even more likely that prebuilt gaming PCs and other gaming hardware is going to go up in price over the next year.

Why Hard Drives? Why Now?

For a while now, hard drives have been a budget-friendly way of adding extra storage to your PC, even though they've been falling out of fashion as a main storage device. That mostly comes down to speed: Because hard drives have to physically locate data on a moving disk, they're much slower than SSDs. The appeal, then, was that you could get a ton of space for not much money. But that's also what makes them super appealing for AI training.

Training LLMs like ChatGPT or Gemini requires a ton of data, so it's not surprising that AI companies are prioritizing storage capacity over the speed of the storage. And as the hard drive manufacturers reach manufacturing limits, SSDs are going to start filling in the gaps – even if they're much more expensive to produce at the same capacities.

Unfortunately, SSDs were already starting to feel the pressure from the RAM pricing, as it uses some of the same components. We're now at a point where I'm not sure if there are any PC components that aren't going to be impacted by AI in the next year or so.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

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