Nintendo has advised fans to ensure they have Resident Evil Requiem's day one patch installed before beginning the game on Switch 2.
The Resident Evil Requiem "Day 1 Patch" will bring the game up to Version 1.1.0, Nintendo said, in an update issued in the early hours of the game's launch day today, February 27.
In a note on its official website, Nintendo said Version 1.1.0 included "several fixes," though did not go into further detail. "Please be sure to apply the 'Day 1 Patch' before playing the game," it continued. It's likely the update will begin updating automatically — though be sure to connect online to receive it.
Resident Evil Requiem is the first new Resident Evil game to simultaneously debut on a Nintendo platform in many years — since Resident Evil: Revelations on 3DS back in 2012. In the meantime, Nintendo platforms have received cloud versions and various belated ports — and indeed, Resident Evil 7 and Village also both launch for Switch 2 today.
"Like the result of an experiment conducted in an underground Umbrella Corporation lab, Resident Evil Requiem successfully splices two separate strains of survival horror together into the one highly infectious new mutation," IGN wrote in our Resident Evil Requiem review, awarding the game 9/10.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
The Marathon Server Slam is off to a quick start, with impressive player numbers on Steam.
As part of the Server Slam event, Bungie’s extraction shooter was made available to download for free across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S yesterday, February 26, allowing players to give it a shot over the weekend.
Marathon hit a peak of 143,621 concurrent players on Steam, although the true figure across all platforms will be higher (neither Microsoft nor Sony make player numbers public). And while the Server Slam is free and Marathon will cost $39.99 when it launches proper next week, the numbers do suggest significant interest.
Perhaps a useful comparison is to rival extraction shooter Arc Raiders, which went on to enjoy enormous success and huge sales after a similar server slam event ahead of launch and the same price point. Arc Raiders’ stress test hit a peak of 189,668 concurrent players on Valve’s platform. Marathon is behind that for now, but its peak number will surely grow as we head into the weekend and more people are available to play.
Already, Bungie has signalled it is gathering feedback from players, and said it will make updates during the Slam itself and “tie up any loose ends” ahead of launch on March 5. In a post on social media, Bungie outlined a number of bugs it’s working to fix, but perhaps of most interest is an acknowledgement of feedback on Marathon’s user interface.
If there’s one aspect of Marathon that has been roundly criticized, it’s the UI. Some players are saying they’re finding the icons of items unintuitive, and there’s too much visual clutter, which makes navigating the menus trickier than it should be.
“We've heard your thoughts and want to hear more!” Bungie said on the UI feedback, before pointing players to its Discord. It seems unlikely the developer will be able to make any meaningful change here before launch, but hopefully tweaks can be made sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Bungie said it had received reports that PvP isn’t frequent enough overall. It offered some tips for players hoping to engage in PvP more often.
“Perimeter (Beginner) intentionally infils fewer Runners,” Bungie said. “Head to Perimeter and then Dire Marsh for a greater challenge. Additionally, the UESC are deadlier than you might think and will wipe you off the map (thus limiting the lobby's PvP opportunities) if you let them swarm.”
The Marathon Server Slam ends at 10am PT on March 2, with rewards available for testing the servers.
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.
Where Winds Meet is taking us back to "one of China's most glorious eras," the Tang Dynasty, with its next major update, the Hexi expansion, which kicks off, for free, on March 5.
Between March and May, the team will release Hexi's three chapters in sequence, taking wanderers "from desert to ice fields to grasslands," starting with Jade Gate Pass next week.
"In ancient China, friends would write poems for each other. Think of these three chapters as our poem to all of you," the team explained, stressing that this marks "a much more cinematic approach to storytelling" that feels "quite different from our previous storytelling."
Set in a vast desert landscape, developer Everstone Games said the Hexi expansion represents the "biggest expansion since the game’s launch, and will offer up brand-new narratives, new bosses, fresh gameplay features, and martial art styles." We can expect three major maps, which, combined, boast nearly 20 sub-regions, 11 unique bosses, seven Jianghu Legacies, "dozens" of side quests, and "so much more." There's also a new path called Bamboocut-Dust, with two new martial arts for Umbrella and Roped Dart. Umbrella's Spring Dreamscape is "all about agility," while Rope Dart's Fleeting Clouds is "all about big, sweeping AOE attacks."
The stream showed off some of those aforementioned boss fights in detail;, including Jade Gate Pass' campaign boss, Guo Xin, the aging general and last grand protector who "remains at his post defending the land to the very end." He'll come at you with "sweeping combos and summon veterans to fight alongside him," so you'll need to use your deflects wisely to protect against his attacks. His second phase, on the other hand, boasts "sands swirl and time reverses" as the call of his army "jostles him back to his prime," enabling him to unleash his full power.
We also get a sneak peek at Wandering Ark, which, I'm delighted to say, is exactly what it sounds like — a huge ship. Once a messenger, it's now obsessed with finding its way home through the desert. If you hang on after the main presentation finishes, there's also a good chunk of the battle against Hexi's Moongazing Maiden boss fight, too, where all the skills and weapons are related to the moon.
While the stream focused primarily on the desert, we also paid fleeting visits to the upcoming Liangzhou and Qingchuan maps, too. The former is a city known for its fine wine and precious jade in our first snow mountain region, and the latter, your final destination, where you'll cycle through all four seasons on one map and find warring factions everywhere you turn.
Best of all, though, Everstone stressed that all your progress carries over from season to season, including character levels, talents, and arsenals, so there's "no need to start from scratch."
As for goodies? Here's just some of what you can expect:
30+ Lingering Melody
90+ Resonating Melody (includes pulls obtained via free Echo Jade earned through exploration)
100+ Appearances and items
Win exclusive Whirl of Radiance outfit (obtained through exploration)
100+ Exquisite Rewards, including Appearances like Burlap Sack, Bride's Bloom, War Drum and more, the White-Headed General Avatar, the Radiant Horizons Nameplate, and the Who Else? And Pluck Stars Emotes
That's not all! Everstone also revealed a slew of new quality-of-life updates, too, which we've summarized below:
Cross-platform optimization and improved stability
Performance and stability optimizations:
Performance and memory usage have been optimized across all platforms. This effectively reduces crashes, ensuring a more stable and reliable overall experience.
Dynamic scene enhancements:
Optimized object motion in dynamic scenes to make screen transitions and movement processes smoother and more natural.
Unified cross-platform experience:
Through comprehensive adjustments across all platforms, we have improved the consistency of the gameplay experience on different devices.
Optimized notifications for Compendium, Achievements, Events, Martial Arts, and Guilds. We hope to ensure timely and clear information delivery for all players while minimizing distractions and repetitive alerts.
Console control upgrades and smoother interactions
PS5 controller optimization:
Adjusted controller inputs for the Taiping Mausoleum and select events to enhance intutitiveness and handling.
Focus and cursor display optimization:
Optimized the logic for controller focus display and fixed cursor issues, making UI navigation clearer and more stable.
Polished console experience:
Further improved interaction details on consoles to minimize control interference and improve overall gameplay experience.
Inventory management upgrades
Recycling and sorting improvements:
Optimized the interaction of the recycling interface to support the quick recycling of multiple item types, improving sorting efficiency.
Fast recycle now available:
Added a Fast Recycle function to quickly process expired, discarded, and recyclable items in bulk.
Item categorization and stacking optimization:
Introduced new item categorization methods and increased the stack limit for certain Life Materials, keeping your inventory clean and organized.
Gameplay and social updates
Guild gameplay updates:
Added various Guild-related gameplay modes and challenges to enrich combat styles and play choices.
Guild War optimization:
Adjusted league and command mechanisms to reduce interference, ensuring smoother combat flow.
Social feature upgrades:
Added multiple chat channels and group chat functions to facilitate interaction among players and allow sharing of Jianghu stories.
Where Winds Meet's Hexi expansion can be pre-downloaded from today (February 27). "To wrap up, Hexi is a cinematic open world experience. Three chapters, tons of creative storytelling. We really hope this passion project brings something fresh to all of you," the team said.
The Wuxia open-world action-adventure RPG set in ancient China debuted on PC and PlayStation 5 on November 14, topping 9 million players in just two weeks. The mobile version released on December 12.
It didn't take long for players to find creative — and highly amusing — ways to make use of the game's chatbot NPCs, including taking a novel approach to solving riddles by… simply telling the game's AI-powered chatbot NPCs that they have solved the game's riddles.
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.
Pokémon Day 2026 is a particularly special celebration for fans, as it's officially the 30th anniversary of the famous Red and Blue release in Japan in 1996. There's plenty of excitement going into the day, which also makes it one of the best times to check out the best deals on everything Pokémon.
TL;DR: The Best Pokémon Day Deals
Whether that's restocks or price reductions on the latest and greatest Pokémon TCG releases, or some sizable discounts for almost every Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch - I've done the hard work for you, and found the best offerings available today.
Pokémon TCG: Restocks and Best Prices
Quite surprisingly, there's actually a whole lot of great Pokémon TCG restocks and deals available right now online, with Amazon having some of the best around. The online retailer has gone through something of a massive restocking mission this week, and at just the right time.
Pokémon Day Finds at Amazon
The biggest highlights from Amazon's selection include the Ascended Heroes - Elite Trainer Box, now available and in stock for trainers to freely buy. It's matching market price, at $119,99 as well.
There's also the Pokémon Day 2026 Collection, which, considering the ongoing 30th anniversary celebration, should absolutely be at the top of your buy list right now.
Besides those standouts, I also wanted to highlight the Prismatic Evolution themed Pokémon Day 2025 collection that released last year. Listed for $40.64, Amazon has recently restocked the special edition set.
It includes two Prismatic boosters, a special metallic Eevee coin, and a foil Eevee card that features a unique Pokémon Day 2025 logo. That's absolutely worth picking up alongside the new 2026 collection, if I say so myself.
I also want to call out availability on the Phantasmal Flames - Three Pack Blister, for $32, alongside the Mega Lucario ex Figure Collection, and several of the Scarlet & Violet Unova series, like the Poster Box, Tins, and Illustration Collection.
Pokémon Day Finds at TCGplayer
TCGplayer has also pulled out all the stops for Pokémon Day, and has several of the most popular Pokémon TCG sets in stock and at market price.
In terms of sealed sets, I want to highlight the Perfect Order booster boxes, which are currently available for $201.18 market price at TCGplayer. That's a remarkably good price for the upcoming set releasing on March 27, and probably one of the best deals I've seen all year.
Featuring 36 booster packs, you're looking at about $5.50 per pack, which is as close to MSRP as I think we're ever going to get. Compare this to Phantasmal Flames booster boxes, which are currently going for $320 or more, this is a huge saving. I'd snap this up ASAP before prices spike again as we get closer to release day.
My next best suggestion is to consider The Pokémon Center Exclusive Ascended Heroes ETB, which is currently available for just $246.84 market price at TCGplayer. Considering this was selling for $400 just a few weeks back, I'd consider this one of the best deals available right now for the biggest Pokémon TCG fans out there.
Nintendo Switch Games on Sale Today
Amazon’s Woot store has been known to offer a bunch of deals in the past, but it might just have outdone itself this time around with its brand new "Video Games For All!" sale that includes a whole slew of Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch. Just use promo code LEVEL20 to access the new bargains.
The biggest standout is on Legends Z-A, which is down just $35.92 on Nintendo Switch. IGN's Rebekah Valentine gave the game an 8 out of 10 in her review last year, saying “Pokémon Legends: Z-A finally feels like Game Freak hitting its stride in Pokémon’s 3D era, with a fun setting to explore, a well-written story, and a total battle system overhaul that works surprisingly well.”
You can upgrade to the Switch 2 version digitally as well for just $10 after making your purchase, making this a certified bargain. But, and this is a big but, these are certified Pokémon Day deals that will expire by the end of today (February 27, 11:59 PM CT, to be exact). So, act fast to avoid disapointment.
Pokémon Funkos, Toys and Plushies
I couldn't wrap things up without at least mentioning several amazing Pokémon plushies that are on sale at Amazon right now. That includes an adorable and massive 20-Inch Torchic Squishmallow that's down to just $30.99, which is lowest price in the past 30 days.
There's also a great deal on Lugia and Snorlax 12-Inch plushies, which are just perfect, and also at 30 day price lows right now at $22.99 each (down from $34.99).
It's also worth mentioning the brand new lineup of Pokémon Funkos. A select few are now available, while several others are still up for preorder.
There are some bangers in here as well: an angry, electricity-summoning Pikachu, an angry, vine-summoning Venusaur, and more. Take a look and see if you want to order any from Amazon for Pokémon Day.
My favorite from this is definitely on the Eevee LEGO set. This LEGO version is definitely going to be popular, so I'd snap it up ASAP before it sells out again fast.
We recently built this set as well, so you can check out our full impressions over there. Long story short, it's a gorgeously designed set that manages to turn a pile of blocks into a smooth and fluffy-looking critter. In addition to the loveliness of this set, the price is right as well.
Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
Warning: This review contains full spoilers for The Pitt Season 2, Episode 8!
One of the big questions surrounding The Pitt Season 2 from the start has been what unexpected disaster will throw this already chaotic emergency room into complete turmoil. Last season, it was the mass shooting at Pitt Fest. This season, if these past few episodes are any indication, it’s the steadily worsening fallout caused by a ransomware cyberattack. As Season 2 moves past the halfway mark, it’s only becoming more intense and stressful a viewing experience, which is exactly where the show shines best.
Episode 8 is definitely at its strongest early on, when we see the doctors and nurses scrambling to come to terms with the fact that they’ve just been cut off from every digital lifeline they’ve come to take for granted. It’s an especially ironic twist given how much Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) has been pushing generative AI on her underlings. The sense of fear and unease is palpable in these scenes. That’s what happens when you ask a hospital staffed primarily with students and interns to suddenly backpedal 20 or 30 years into the past.
Adding to the tension here is the fact that Dana (Katherine LaNasa) is otherwise indisposed, forcing Princess (Kristin Villanueva) to step up as temporary charge nurse. It’s both entertaining and anxiety-inducing watching her struggle to stay afloat, particularly as it becomes clear her support staff aren’t The Pitt’s best and brightest. Even in the most frantic of times, The Pitt finds room for a little humor.
As with last week’s episode, LaNasa is really dominating the screen at the moment. We see two very different sides of Dana over the course of “2:00 PM.” First, she’s the calm, compassionate source of strength as she guides the sexual assault victim through a very difficult process of gathering evidence. That only changes when Dana finally explodes in righteous fury upon discovering that the previous evidence kit was never picked up. Then she transitions into a more familiar mode, taking command of the E.R. and instilling order through sheer force of will. It’s a very strong and layered performance from LaNasa, who may well turn out to be the MVP of Season 2.
Elsewhere in the ER, the series manages to continue building on Dr. Langdon’s (Patrick Ball) subplot in a compelling way. Following Langdon’s brief but emotionally crushing conversation with Robby (Noah Wyle) last week, he’s now silently feuding with Dr. Santos (Isa Briones). It’s a reunion the series needed to get around to eventually, given that Santos is the one responsible for exposing Langdon last season. I enjoyed how their conflict played out here, with Langdon trying to reassert himself as a resident and Santos responding with cold hostility. With each exchange, you can see Langdon contemplating whether to speak up or silently take his lumps and keep moving forward.
Conversely, there’s a great scene between Langdon and Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif), who is much more understanding of and empathetic towards Langdon’s plight. Given McKay’s own personal demons, it makes sense to position her as one of Langdon’s few allies in an otherwise hostile workplace. Season 2 hasn’t been great about using Dourif to her fullest, but moments like this go a long way toward rectifying that problem.
Overall, “2:00 PM” serves as a very solid addition to Season 2. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of certain recent installments, but the combination of strong character drama, fascinating medical cases, and occasional bursts of humor is a very effective one. There’s just one fly in the ointment, and his name is James Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson).
I wish the series weren’t quite so determined to make us hate Ogilvie. It’s an odd choice, considering how well-rounded most of the characters are. Even Ogilvie’s fellow student doctor Joy (Irene Choi) has been coming into her own of late. But with Ogilvie, we have this oddly two-dimensional caricature of a doctor who’s defined by two traits: He’s an insufferable know-it-all, and he has a startling lack of compassion for his patients. In the wake of his behavior in this episode, it’s getting to the point where I want the show to borrow a page from its cousin series, E.R., and drop a flaming helicopter on top of Ogilvie. I’d just as soon the series not make me feel that way about any of its ensemble characters.
Netflix has announced that it has declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, meaning Paramount Skydance now has a clear path to win the bidding war for the company in charge of Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, the DC Universe, and much more.
Netflix shared a memo today that included its response to WB's board of directors, who said Paramount's latest proposal was "superior" to the existing merger agreement it had with Netflix.
"The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval," Netflix's co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters wrote. "However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.
"Warner Bros. is a world-class organization, and we want to thank David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer and the WBD Board for running a fair and rigorous process. We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.' iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a 'nice to have' at the right price, not a 'must have' at any price.
"Netflix's business is healthy, strong and growing organically, powered by our slate and best-in-class streaming service. This year, we'll invest approximately $20 billion in quality films and series and will expand our entertaining offering. Consistent with our capital allocation policy, we'll also resume our share repurchase program.
"We will continue to do what we've done for more than 20 years as a public company: delight our members, profitably grow our business, and drive long-term shareholder value."
Paramount's latest $31 per share also offer gives shareholders extra cash for each quarter the deal would fail to close after this year (about $650 million), and it would cover the $2.8 billion it would owe Netflix for walking away from the existing agreement.
So, as it ends, Netflix's nearly $83 billion deal couldn't quite match the roughly $111 billion deal from Paramount.
Secretlab recently opened up preorders for its highly anticipated lineup of Titan Evo Pokémon gaming chairs, and what better time to pick up one of these coveted chairs than on Pokemon Day. None of these chairs are discounted (and I don't expect any sale to happen in 2026), but you don't have very many options anyway. In fact, this is the only officially licensed Pokemon themed gaming chair that's sold in the United States.
Preorder the Secretlab Titan Evo Gaming Chair for Pokemon Day
These chairs showcase one of three iconic Pokémon - Gengar, Pikachu, and Eevee - with ostentatious use of color, patterns, and figures. My personal favorite is the Eevee edition, with its detailed embossing of Eevee's myriad evolutions; it also seems to be the top seller, since it's already on its third wave of preorders. You do pay a premium for the branding. The Titan Evo normally sells for $599, but the Pokemon models add on an $85 surcharge. Honestly though, if you're a Pokémon superfan, it's totally worth it considering the fact that this is a high quality officially licensed product.
Unusual for a collab, Secretlab opted to go with its Softweave Plus fabric instead of leatherette, and I for one am happy with that decision. Fabric ages more gracefully, feels softer, and doesn't stick to your sweaty skin on hot days. Titan Evo features a solid steel frame with aluminum wheelbase, firm and supportive cold-cure foam for the seat base, four-way adjustable lumbar system, full length backrest with 165 degrees of recline, full metal 4D armrests with magnetically attached PU cushions, and a memory foam headrest pillow.
The Titan Evo is an excellent gaming chair
It's no secret that we love our Secretlab gaming chairs. Three of the eight chairs in our best gaming chair roundup are Secretlab models. Of all the gaming chairs we covered in our "Budget to Best" roundup video earlier, my colleague Akeem Lawanson considered the Titan Evo to be the most comfortable. No good chair comes cheap and Secretlab chairs definitely cost a premium, but we think the craftsmanship, materials, and customizability are worth it.
In our Secretlab Titan Evo review, Chris Coke wrote that "after two years of daily use, the Secretlab Titan Evo has proven that it can stand the test of time and still be one of the best gaming chairs you can buy. Meaningful ergonomics paired with Secretlab’s wide selection of designs, it remains a fantastic option, especially for fans of bright colors or designs."
Treat yourself to Secretlab's new recliner add-on
Secretlab's recently released recliner add-on is a quality of life upgrade. It installs easily onto the Titan Evo chair without any tools required, offers 80 degrees of adjustability, and is filled with cushy memory foam. If you recline often in your chair, you'll finally be able to kick your legs up without the need to buy a separate stool. In our recliner review, Chris Coke wrote that "while both comfort and value are subjective things, the recliner is able to take the Titan Evo and transform it from one of the best racing style gaming chairs to standing head and shoulders above the competition at its price point."
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 that time of year: filing your tax return. It's a good day for people who overpay their taxes throughout the year and receive a nice fat check in return. It's not so good of a day for people who have claimed too many exemptions. Whatever the case, most Americans will need to file a tax return no later than April 15 and that's just two months away.
File Your Federal and State Tax Returns for Free
TurboTax is offering a great incentive where you can file both your federal and state returns for $0, guaranteed, with no hidden fees through Turbotax's DIY mobile app. There are a list of requisites to be eligible:
You didn't file with TurboTax last year (or didn't file at all)
You must file your tax return no later than February 28
You must file through TurboTax's DIY mobile app
This only applies to Do it Yourself, not TurboTax's Expert products
The best part about this deal - besides the fact that it's free - is that it works for any tax situation, for example even if you have to report cryptocurrency or stocks (Schedule D), freelance business income (Schedule C), or rental income (Schedule E). That makes it even better than TurboTax's Free Edition software, which only works for customers with simple Form 1040 tax situations. The mobile app also supports automated data entry; you can snap a photo of your W-2 and TurboTax will import the data from over 1 million employers automatically. Give it a try, since it won't cost you anything.
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.
Spoilers follow for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 8, “The Life of the Stars,” which is available on Paramount Plus now.
It’s a funny thing with Starfleet Academy. While the show has often had me raising an eyebrow Vulcan-style when trying to compute some of the story or in-universe developments, by the time the closing credits roll that stuff typically winds up not mattering that much to me. I think this is because the bigger story and emotional stakes involving our core group of cadets just work so well that any nerdy inconsistencies like, say, “why is a dead starship the spot for a training exercise,” or “would they really bring back a lieutenant all the way from Beta Quadrant just to help heal a traumatized group of students” just become non-issues.
Such is the case in “The Life of the Stars,” where we find Caleb (Sandro Rosta) and the gang still dealing with the tragic events which took place onboard the USS Miyazaki a few episodes back, with Zoë Steiner’s Tarima and Kerrice Brooks’ Sam confronting particularly rough circumstances. That this is framed around an amateur reading of the 1938 Thornton Wilder play Our Town is ultimately beside the point because of how resonant the episode winds up being.
That’s where Mary Wiseman’s Lt. Sylvia Tilly comes in, formerly of Star Trek: Discovery and sort of a changed character here. Or maybe “matured” is the better way of putting it? Yes, she’s still quirky and fun at times, but she also has a harder edge in some of her moments with the cadets, particularly Tarima, who has returned after her convalescence on Betazed and has been transferred to the Academy and out of the War College. Tarima is confused and hurting after the Miyazaki incident where she saved the day, but had to injure herself – and unleash her powers – to do so. She’s also all up in her feelings about her relationship with Caleb, and the two of them are more confused than anything right now.
Here’s the part of this review where I confess that I am not an expert on Our Town – not only am I not an expert, but I’ve never read it, I’ve never seen a production of it, and my knowledge of it is pretty minimal. Still, the notion of the “stage manager” being the actual stage manager of the theater where the play is being performed but also a character in said play is intriguing, and certainly one can see how the meta aspect of the play was of interest to episode writers Gaia Violo and Jane Maggs (Violo is also the creator of Starfleet Academy). And that’s what takes us to the Sam and The Doctor part of the story.
Robert Picardo’s return as his beloved Voyager character on Starfleet Academy has been mostly played for laughs so far – at first glance, his eternally annoyed but still lovable hologram doesn’t seem to have changed that much from his days with Captain Janeway. But Episode 8 finally delves a bit deeper into how the essentially immortal Doctor has suffered in the years – rather, centuries – since he first came into existence.
Episode 8 finally delves a bit deeper into how the essentially immortal Doctor has suffered in the centuries since he first came into existence.
And so his reluctance to connect to or take Sam in and accept her request that he mentor her is understandable, even while it’s tough to observe (The Doctor refusing to hold her hand in her darkest hour is a rough moment). He’s protecting himself here, and Sam too – or so he thinks – from the pain of eventually having to lose one other, just as he has lost so many friends and loved ones over the past 800 years. (Yes, even Harry Kim musta stung… a bit.) Picardo nails The Doctor’s inner turmoil in these scenes.
So that’s The Doctor as stage manager, and Ake too to a lesser degree, as she too is extremely long-lived. But the thing is, what kind of a life is it when you’re unwilling to connect to anyone or anything, but will only sort of exist from a remote, unattached vantage point? The Doctor finally comes to realize the mistake he’s been making in this regard for God knows how long, just as the cadets back at the Academy – Tarima included – take the first step on a similar path of healing as well.
That Sam’s “death” and “rebirth” don’t have that much impact is ultimately because this story is The Doctor’s and not Sam’s; no, she gets more of a “death between commercial breaks” that would’ve happened on the 1960s show since she’ll presumably be mostly unaffected by the event. (Unless of course her being raised by The Doctor for 17 years here changes her character in some substantial way. But I’d be surprised if that happens since the show has only just established her.)
Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:
Tilly, who started as a cadet on Disco, is now teaching cadets. It’s already been touched upon on Discovery, but still, it’s nice to see such continuity in the Trek universe.
That said, how exactly does Tilly know Holly Hunter’s Captain Ake? I don’t believe we have a specific date as to when Ake left Starfleet in the wake of young Caleb’s disappearance, but we do know she went to Bajor to become a teacher. It seems likely that would’ve been during the same period that Tilly jumped forward into the 32nd century onboard the Discovery, and subsequently had her interactions with the Academy… so basically Tilly wouldn’t really know Ake from the Academy at all, right?
The episode of Voyager which featured The Doctor creating a holo-family was called “Real Life,” and he did indeed “lose” his holo-daughter in that story.
Regarding Sam’s planet Kasq… can a planet actually be shaped like that? Or is it artificial?
Anyone who's been paying attention to PC hardware over the last few months probably isn't surprised that graphics card prices are going through the roof right now, mostly due to the ongoing RAM crisis. However, in its latest investors call, Nvidia has warned that the GPU shortage – at least for consumers – isn't going to end any time soon.
In the company's earnings call (via PCMag), Nvidia CFO Colette Kress explained that while gaming revenue for fiscal Q4 2026 was up 47% over Q4 2025, revenue for the segment dropped by 13% when compared to Q3 2026 likely due to the shrinking memory stock over the last few months. Kress further explained that "We expect supply constraints to be a headwind to gaming in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 and beyond".
Nvidia's fiscal year 2027 ranges from February 2026 to January 2027, which means we're in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 right now. You can open up Newegg and just look at GPU prices right now to see the immediate effect of these "supply constraints", but it's the "and beyond" that is concerning.
I've spoken to a couple of analysts over the last couple of months, and I've heard the same thing from them. Back when I spoke to Principal Analyst at Moor Insight and Strategy, Anshel Sag, he told me that he expects the memory shortage to extend into 2027 or 2028. From what Nvidia's CFO is saying here, it's starting to feel more likely that this is the reality we have to live with for the next year or so.
I've reached out to Nvidia for comment on this story, and I'll update this article if and when I hear back.
More Than Graphics Cards
It's important to note that this ongoing shortage affects more than just graphics cards. Because basically every piece of modern technology needs RAM to function, the shortage is likely to affect the entire gaming hardware landscape – likely leading to higher prices across the board.
Just a couple weeks ago Mat Piscatella, Senior Director and Video Game Industry Advisor at Circana posted on Bluesky that the average selling prices for gaming hardware has skyrocketed in the last year. While this is likely due to more premium gaming devices entering the scene – like the Xbox Ally X and the PS5 Pro – increased hardware prices are already here.
I reached out to Piscatella for comment, and he reassured me that "given how quickly things are changing and evolving when it comes to component pricing and availability, setting firm expectations would be, in all honesty, a bit of a silly thing to do". But he followed that up by saying "a reasonable expectation would be the potential for sporadic out of stocks, the likelihood of further price increases and delays or pricing and availability adjustments for any new devices currently planned to be released."
We've already seen some of the latter happening. After all, just a couple weeks ago, Valve delayed the Steam Machine due to supply and pricing constraints. We're still a ways out from the next generation of consoles, but even if Sony and Microsoft were planning on putting those out any time soon, it's likely that they're at least considering pushing them back a bit.
It's still too early to know anything for sure, and I agree with Piscatella that setting firm expectations would be silly. But either way, gaming seems like its going to get at least a little bit more expensive this year.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
If you enjoy listening to music while you run, then this headphone deal is right up your alley. Best Buy has just discounted its inventory of open box "excellent condition" Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Open-Ear Wireless Sport Headphones to just $107.99. "Good" and "fair" condition units are also available for an even lower price. This headphone normally retails for $180 new. The OpenRun Pro 2 is the best non-earbuds headphones for running. While the AirPods Pro might be an excellent all-around earbud, the OpenRun Pro is a superior sport headphone when you need to be aware of your surroundings.
Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Sport Headphones for $107.99
The OpenRun Pro 2 is more headphone than earbud, with a lightweight titanium band connecting the two ear pieces and wrapping around the back of your head. It does an excellent job of keeping everything in place, which is important because the buds need to be positioned precisely. Instead of the traditional method of sending sound vibrations to your eardrums, the OpenRun Pro uses bone conduction technology to send vibrations through your cheekbones directly to your inner ear. As such, the headphones are actually placed in front of your ear instead of on your ear. The biggest advantage is that you can fully hear your surroundings; if you like running on streets, for example, you'll be aware of everything that's going on around you and still be able to hear your music perfectly well.
I have a pair of AirPods Pro that I use regularly, but I always set them aside for the OpenRun Pros when I run. The Transparency mode on the AirPods Pro does work well for most situations, but they still can't compare to the awareness you get without having any buds plugging up your ears. In my experience these headphones stay in place extremely well and the sound quality is good compared to other bone conduction headphones I've tried.
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.
The LEGO Pokémon Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise, which is available exclusively at the LEGO Store, is not the only LEGO Pokémon set hitting shelves; there is also a LEGO Pikachu and an adorable LEGO Eevee. But this Kanto Starter set is the biggest one (both in price and piece count) as well as the most ambitious.
The set comes in three separate boxes. Each contains one of the three Kanto Starters, plus its native environment. Venusaur poses in a jungle. Blastoise poses on a beach. And Charizard poses on an active volcano.
With this set, the LEGO designers have outdone themselves.
It might be hard to tell from the photos, but the Venusaur model is significantly larger than the other two, even before you add the plant elements onto its back. The designers hid the size contrast by how they positioned the Pokémon relative to one another. Venusaur's body hugs close to the low ground, Blastoise rides a mid-sized wave, and Charizard flies overhead. In Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, the Imagineers designed Cinderella's Castle with an optical illusion; the bottom floors of the castle are taller than the top floors of the castle, which had the cumulative effect of making the castle appear bigger, rather than making the floors seem disproportionate. The same basic principle of forced perspective applies here.
This build is varied and engaging. The environments use basic building principles we've seen many times before, but because you're building them in alternation with the Pokémon, the process never feels redundant or tedious. The decorative elements, like the flowers in the jungle and the eddies in the beach water, are a nice, varied touch.
The three Pokémon are a joy to build. There's a mounting excitement to building the torso and the limbs of these creatures, seeing familiar silhouettes begin to take shape. And finally, when you build the head of each Pokémon, you feel the unmistakable twinge of childish glee and recognition. This is exactly what you imagined a three-dimensional, physical Pokémon would look like, and it's amazing.
This set contains zero stickers; every graphic is printed directly onto the bricks themselves (or in Charizard's case, onto the cloth elements attached to his wings). It's a small concession, but for the amount we pay for sets of this magnitude and scope, it's a reasonable one.
There's a cool Easter egg buried inside each Pokémon's chest cavity; a symbol of their respective type. Charizard, for instance, has a little flame in his chest, and Squirtle has a water droplet. It reminds me of Build-a-Bear, which also imbues each of its animals with a sentimental heart.
While building this set, I appreciated how the designers' prior gems have paved the way for this one. The plating on Blastoise's shell is the same as the plating on The Mighty Bowser's shell, and the chunky limbs of all three Pokémon also recall LEGO Bowser's design. The cresting water elements are similar to the waterfalls in LEGO Rivendell. Even the rock formations have precedence; the fur on LEGO Chewbacca used a multi-color layering technique to create the illusion of depth, just as Charizard's environment differentiates between hot lava, cooling lava, and newly formed rock.
Once it's complete, you can pose the individual Pokémon separately – each mounted in its respective biome – or you can merge the biomes together to create an eye-popping centerpiece.
Six-hundred-fifty dollars is a lot to pay. But the time-honored "10 cents per brick" rule means a set like this would typically go for $700, and possibly as high as $750. LEGO kept the price proportionally low, even with a third-party partnership. It's surprising, but hopefully a harbinger of things to come.
In short, LEGO Pokémon Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise is a phenomenal set – one of the finest the company has designed. This is a hard-earned result; LEGO has always excelled in its design of buildings, spaceships, and living spaces, but less so with non-architectural builds, dominated by rounded surfaces and gentle curves. But no longer. With this set, the LEGO designers have outdone themselves, bringing all their recent innovations to bear on a single, incredible outcome.
LEGO Pokémon Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise, Set #72153, retails for $649.99, and it is composed of 6838 pieces. It is available exclusively at the LEGO Store.
Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO. He's also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.
AMC Theatres is once again testing the waters to see if moviegoers are willing to pay higher prices for better seats at its theaters.
News of the chain’s plans to revise its seating strategy arrived in a message shared by CEO Adam Aron during a recent earnings call (via The Hollywood Reporter). After facing backlash for its now-cancelled Sightline initiative, which would have seen better seats made more expensive, the movie theater company says its preferred premier seating will reserve spots for A-List and Stubs Premiere members when it rolls out later this year.
“AMC will introduce preferred premier seating, where we will block and reserve the best seats in the house in our theaters to be accessed first by our A-List and our Stubs Premiere members — that’s the two VIP tiers within our Stubs program — at no added charge,” Aron said. “At AMC, we will assure that the best seats in our auditoriums are [held] — at first, anyway — for our best customers. We think it will be a considerable consumer benefit that our most frequent guests will notice and greatly appreciate, further cementing their brand loyalty to AMC.”
AMC’s “best customers” are those who pay a premium price to access benefits made available at supported theaters, including size upgrades for concessions, waived fees, rewards points, and, on the high end, access to four movie showings a week. Of its four available member tiers, Aron says only its most expensive offerings – the $18/month Premiere Stubs and the $20 to $28/month A-List – will be able to take advantage of preferred seating.
His comment suggests the “best seats” will eventually be made available for all movie fans regardless of their status. However, it’s unclear how long viewers would need to wait to land their preferred spots without paying extra.
Meanwhile, notable blockbuster movie experiences often sell out theaters weeks before they premiere, with many others likely to at least see spots located in the middle of the auditorium filled first. Like Avengers: Endgame before it, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday will surely see moviegoers hopping into queues to try and nab the best seats. The new strategy will make securing spots opening weekend even more complicated, especially for those who can’t afford to spend the extra cash for better seats.
AMC has continued to experiment with its version of the theater experience in recent years. The company announced in 2025 it would be cutting Wednesday ticket prices in half in an effort to fill more auditoriums during the week. It followed that announcement by revealing that viewers would sit through more commercials ahead of their chosen movies before eventually announcing it would also be trimming its preshows.
Last February, AMC raised prices for its A-List members while altering benefits by allowing subscribers to see four movies per week instead of three. As the company introduces its preferred premier seating, it’s unclear if it also intends to increase prices yet again.
Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images.
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).
2026 has already seen surges in the cost of RAM and GPUs. Unfortunately, this also affects the price of gaming PCs. Obviously this isn't an ideal time to be buying a new PC, but fortunately, there are still good deals to be found. If you're looking for a future-proof system, an RTX 5080 PC is powerful enough to set you up for 4K gaming for years to come.
The Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 gaming PC has dropped to as low as $2,229.99 with free delivery after a $600 instant discount. This is currently one of the least expensive RTX 5080 prebuilts you'll be able to get right now. Most other RTX 5080 prebuilts are currently priced at $2,500 and up.
For a limited time, get 2X rewards (6% back) when you sign in with a free Dell Rewards account. That's up to $150 back on your next purchase at Dell. This offer should be automatically applied when you checkout.
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC for $2,230
The $2,130 system is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU, GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F is a 20-core processor with a max turbo frequency of 5.3GHz. It's cooled by a 240mm all-in-one liquid cooling system. The 1,000W power supply gives you headroom for upgrades down the road.
The GeForce RTX 5080 GPU will run any game in 4K
Performance-wise, the RTX 5080 is no slouch. It's one of the fastest cards on the market, bested only by the $2,000 RTX 5090 and the discontinued $1,600 RTX 4090. This is a phenomenal card for playing the latest, most demanding games in 4K resolution at high settings and ray tracing enabled. The recent DLSS 4.5 update has further optimized multi-frame gen and upscaling so you can push really high framerates even in 4K. More games are supporting this feature, including Doom: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Borderlands 4, Stellar Blade, and Battlefield 6. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 FE review for our hands-on impressions.
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.
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