Replaced developer Sad Cat Studios has announced a delay to its 2.5D cyberpunk game, just three weeks shy of its planned launch.

Instead of arriving on March 12, the retro-futuristic platformer will now debut on April 14 — a move that Sad Cat said was decided upon following the response to its Steam demo.

"As a small team working on our very first title, we've poured everything we have into this project," the studio wrote in a statement shared on X/Twitter. "While the game is technically finished, reaching this final stretch has shown us that we need just a few more weeks to ensure the experience is exactly what you deserve. We want the version of Replaced you play on day one to be polished, stable, and true to the vision we've shared with you.

"The response to our Steam demo has been the ultimate fuel for us," Sad Cat continued. "To be honest, putting it out there was nerve-wracking, but seeing your gameplay, reading your reviews and hearing your excitement has been overwhelming in the best way possible. We are constantly reading your comments, and that feedback is helping us make the final tweaks that will make the full game shine."

Replaced was originally announced back in 2021, when it had a 2022 launch window. Further delays have followed, as the team behind the title has repeatedly pushed its release back while saying it was unwilling to compromise on its quality.

On the upside, IGN went hands-on with the game earlier this month for one final look — and found it was shaping up very nicely indeed. Oh, and if you've not tried it yet, Replaced's Steam demo is still available.

"No matter what you’re tasked with doing, it seems as if Replaced never loses sight of its slick style and rich tone grounded in a love for all things Blade Runner, all while letting that reverence permeate into every aspect of its design in interesting ways," we wrote in our Replaced final preview. "I started my playthrough thinking I knew exactly what I was in for. I was wrong, but thankfully still ended it excited, knowing there’s still plenty left to discover."

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

Magic: The Gathering is getting its new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set next month (with prerelease even sooner), but Amazon isn’t waiting to drop the price of booster boxes.

After some price fluctuations, the retailer has finally confirmed that the TMNT Play Booster Box will be sold for $125.99, which is only a dollar more than its all-time lowest price of $124.99 that we saw a few weeks ago as a sale item.

Last month, New York Pokémon card store The Poké Court was the focus of media attention following a frightening armed burglary that involved its staff and customers being held at gunpoint.

The incident prompted widespread shock and sympathy for the fledgling outlet, which lost $100,000 worth of stock in minutes. But now, the business has said the famously-litigious Nintendo has been in touch — not to offer aid, however, but to share "concerns" over its name and logo.

The Poké Court is now being forced to rebrand, with its storefront, social accounts and online site all being rebranded to "The Trainer Court" over the coming days. The previous design featured a stylized Pokéball logo that is now being replaced by a simple "C" colored in green.

In a statement posted to Instagram, the newly-retitled Trainer Court thanked fans for support "amidst the robbery and beyond" but said it was now having to change its name and logo due to a complaint from Nintendo.

"The short story is Nintendo reached out to us with concerns about our name and logo," The Trainer Court wrote. "This means we're evolving! Same team, same ridiculous hit rate, and soon, even greater things coming your way."

The post has already gained plenty of further support for the outlet, with more than 2000 likes at the time of writing and a comment praising the business from Sarah Natochenny, the voice actress who previously provided the voice of Ash Ketchum in Pokémon's animated TV series.

Numerous stores selling Pokémon cards have been hit by robberies over the past year, including locations in Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle. In December, $100,000 worth of stock was swiped from a store in Burbank — an incident that Californian cops suspected was linked to "half a dozen" similar thefts within the southern half of the state. Separately, IGN has reported on numerous other examples that have also occured nationwide over the past 12 months.

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

Is Crimson Desert an RPG? Does it even matter? What is an RPG anyway? Those are questions sparked by the hotly anticipated “open-world action-adventure” game as it nears release, and it’s fair to say there is a variety of opinion.

Let’s start with developer Pearl Abyss’ official description of its own game:

Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game set in the beautiful yet brutal continent of Pywel. Embark on a journey as the Greymane Kliff and restore what has been lost. Explore uncharted lands, fight against threats that stand in your way, and discover the wonders the world has in store.

Pearl Abyss does not call Crimson Desert an RPG here. Nor does it call the game a ‘soulslike,’ which I’ve seen some wonder about. It’s an “open-world action-adventure” game, and it’s as simple as that. But why are people wondering if it’s an RPG in the first place?

X / Twitter user Synth Potato kicked things off by posting about how progression works in Crimson Desert, declaring the game not to be an RPG. That’s because it doesn’t have levels or experience points, which we associate with role-playing games. Rather, new abilities are gained by finding artifacts out in the world, and you can buy or craft better gear. This places Crimson Desert firmly in the action-adventure category, according to this analysis, and not in the RPG category.

But does this mean Crimson Desert cannot also be considered an RPG? Some say that playing as a character in an open world who can progress, even in this form, makes Crimson Desert a role-playing game. Levels and XP are not needed for it to be so, they say. But, following that, does that mean all open-world games are RPGs? Is GTA? Is Red Dead Redemption 2? What about The Legend of Zelda? Link doesn’t level up with experience points, but lots of people call The Legend of Zelda an RPG series.

It’s worth noting that, like in The Legend of Zelda games, in Crimson Desert you play a set protagonist (the wonderfully named Kliff) and experience a set story. You’re not making big decisions here that change the course of events, or determine which ending you’ll get. It’s a more fixed experience, although there is freedom of exploration within it.

“I think everyone is aware it’s not marketed as [an RPG],” a fan said. “It’s still got a ton of RPG systems. Gear score, skill points to progress skill trees and stats to increase for builds.” “It absolutely does have RPG elements,” added another. “What makes an RPG has become a very unclear line as well with how many action adventure games are RPGs.” "It’s more akin to Just Cause or Shadow of Mordor, which is just what I wanted," commented one fan.

I think this is one of the reasons why they’re being really careful to not call it a RPG. That term has expectations from the player that crimson desert doesn’t have. CD definitely strikes me as an open world action adventure with an incredibly fun combat sandbox https://t.co/7guY0AsEE2

— Ms5000Watts (@Ms5000Watts) February 17, 2026

Perhaps the last word should go to Pearl Abyss itself. Will Powers, director of marketing at Pearl Abyss America, recently told fans not to expect RPG elements in terms of decision-making and choice and consequence as it relates to your character in Crimson Desert. The sheer amount of things to do in the world will facilitate the role-playing part of the game instead, which players will form through “head canon.”

“You choose the type of character you want to play as in terms of your progression within the systems in the game,” Powers explained. “And then through head canon you’re having this very different experience than other players because of the scope and scale of the game. You’ll be distracted by something, you’ll go on this quest line, you’ll have an experience that’ll be radically different than someone else, even though they’re playing the same game and the same canonical storyline that you both are going through.”

And after the debate over whether Crimson Desert is an RPG or not went big online, Powers himself explained why Pearl Abyss doesn’t want to call it an RPG, even though it’s perfectly happy for fans to do so.

“Open world questing and action sandbox for sure,” Powers tweeted. Then, in response to someone who said it should be made clear that Crimson Desert is not an RPG to avoid mismanaged expectations, Powers said: “honestly.... it's not my place to dictate someone else's experience. If because of good amount of RPG elements in the game, they want to call it an RPG... Sure. I'm just explaining why WE don't call it one.”

Crimson Desert is due out March 19 priced $69.99. Pearl Abyss recently confirmed it does not contain a cosmetic cash shop nor microtransactions of any kind.

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.

Bethesda has issued a new patch to address issues plaguing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's Nintendo Switch 2 port.

Bethesda shadowdropped the The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Anniversary Edition for Switch 2 last December. However, just a day after Bethesda announced and launched The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on Nintendo Switch 2, fans reported that the game had arrived with notable performance issues. There were widespread complaints about input lag and the locked 30 frames per second visuals. And there has been criticism, too, of the fact the game hogs 53GB of space on the Switch 2's relatively limited internal memory, compared to just 25GB on PC.

Update 1.2 addresses many of the complaints players have raised over the last couple of months, including adding a new 60 Hz mode, improved FPS performance, fixed "visual issues," and more. Here's the full list.

Skyrim Switch 2 Update 1.2 patch notes:

Features:

• Added a 60 Hz mode under Display settings that allows players to toggle between “Prioritize Visuals” or “Prioritize Performance”.
• In addition, frame rate has been locked at 30 Hz in “Prioritize Visuals” mode for smoother gameplay.

Crashes and Performance Fixes:

• Fixed a crash that occurred when reading “The Crimson Dirks Vol. 4” book for the “Tilted Scales” quest in German.
• Fixed an audio-related crash.
• Fixed a crash, infinite load, and game freeze that sometimes occurred when rapidly selecting “Load” multiple times in the pause menu.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when the “Transmute Ore” spell was repeatedly cast outside of the Haltered Stream Camp.

Improved FPS performance drops that occurred in the following locations:

• during the Hide and Seek quest in Kynesgrove
• during combat at Secunda’s Kiss
• when discovering the “Drelas’ Cottage” location
• when engaged in combat with a giant at the Talking Stone Camp.

Visuals Issues Fixes:

• Viewing water planes from a distance or within menus caused them to shift up and down.
• Distant aspen trees appeared with a blue tint.
• Transitioning out of caves caused an outline of the entrance to linger during the fade-to-back loading screen.

User Interface Fixes:

• Switching between mouse and controller mode while in dialogue or the Help menu, caused different options to be highlighted.
• Switching between mouse and controller mode while in help menus or user hints, did not dynamically update callout prompts.
• The “Ready/Sheathe” option was missing from the Joy-Con 2 Mouse Controls menu.
• The “Delete” prompt remained grayed-out within the Load menu when swapping between mouse and controller mode.
• Deleting a save in the Save/Load menus reset the highlighted selection to the top of the menu list.
• While in mouse mode, the cursor remained stuck within a smaller section of the screen when changing between docked/undocked modes or interfacing with GameChat.

Controls Fixes:

• The “Eagle Eye” Archery perk remained active after switching between mouse and controller mode.
• Holding down the Right Joystick while reassigning a button caused that button to disappear from the Controls list.
• The Joy-Con 2 controllers provided haptic feedback while in mouse mode.
• Buttons became unresponsive when controls were remapped while moving the Joy-Con 2 controllers in mouse mode.
• Rotating the map in mouse mode was slower and less smooth than in controller mode.

Audio Issue Fix:

• Scrolling SFX continued to play while holding up or down on the Left Joystick or buttons at the top or bottom of the Save/Load menus.

Localization Fixes:

• “Amiibo” appeared as plural in Spanish.

Miscellaneous:

• Added new translations for the features listed above and UI updates.
• Updates were made to the game credits.

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.

Kunal Nayyar has said he's spending some of millions he made playing Raj Koothrappali in The Big Bang Theory to anonymously pay random people's medical bills.

The actor played Raj in all 12 seasons of the former CBS comedy, and reportedly earned $1 million an episode during the show's peak. Now worth an estimated $45 million, the actor has said that he's spending some of his fortune secretly paying people's medical bills while browsing the internet in the dead of night.

"Money has given me greater freedom and the greatest gift is the ability to give back, to change people's lives," Nayyar said in an interview with The i Paper published in December that has now gone viral online.

"We also support animal charities because we love dogs," he continued. "But what I really love to do is go on GoFundMe at night and just pay random families' medical bills. That's my masked vigilante thing! So, no, money doesn't feel like a burden. It feels like a grace from the universe."

Nayyar's charitable giving has gained interest online now in the wake of the GoFundMe campaign set up to support the family of James Van Der Beek, the Dawson's Creek star who died earlier this month aged just 48. That campaign ended up raising $2.6 million.

The Big Bang Theory ended in 2019 after 279 episodes, but not before it spawned the successful prequel series Young Sheldon — which in turn now has its own spinoff, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage. A fourth show, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, has begun filming and stars Stuart the comic book store owner.

Image credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.

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

Zach Cregger, director of Weapons and Barbarian, was given complete "carte blanche to do whatever he wanted" with the Resident Evil franchise.

Cregger's upcoming Resident Evil movie adaptation is not expected to feature any familiar characters, or adapt any specific Resident Evil game — a departure from the series' previous big screen adaptations that have featured famous faces such as Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield, and repeatedly retold the various games' plots.

Most fans will be familiar with the six films directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich. These adapted bits and pieces of Capcom's Resident Evil games, culminating in the 2016 movie Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. The series was then rebooted in 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City with a younger cast, though this movie flopped and its intended sequel plans were scrapped.

Now, Resident Evil is being rebooted again, with Cregger on board and given the green light to go in a very different direction.

"With Resident Evil, we have had an incredible journey with one of the most successful international IPs of more than a billion dollars in box office for many years," Oliver Berben of production company Constantin Film told Deadline. "Now we are creating something new, not just a new story idea, but to allow a new generation to take the IP into their own hands and form something different."

Discussing the project's current editing process in more detail, Berben said the movie was notable for being "far away from everything that is connected to Resident Evil, only because Zach Cregger has his own style."

Speaking about the project last year, Cregger himself said his movie would be "obedient to the lore of the games," but also a different story from anything shown in Capcom's franchise previously. "I'm not going to tell Leon's story, because Leon's story is told in the games," he said. "[Fans] already have that."

Cregger is writing and directing the movie, which is currently set to launch on September 18, 2026, with Euphoria and Wolfs actor Austin Abrams and Fantastic Four: The First Steps' Paul Walter Hauser lined up to star.

Back in the world of Resident Evil video games, we're just a week away from the launch of the highly-anticipated Resident Evil Requiem — and yes, spoilers are already out there after early copies leaked.

Image credit: Valerie Macon/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

The Boys Season 5 is set to bring the hugely popular Prime Video series to an end and fans are wondering which characters will die and which will survive. According to Karl Urban, who plays Billy Butcher, character deaths will come thick and fast — and "nobody is safe."

Speaking to Variety, Urban told fans they should look forward to The Boys “coming to a big crescendo” when the fifth and final season hits Prime Video on April 8 with a two-episode launch. He wouldn’t point to any specific moment as jaw-dropping, no doubt to avoid spoilers, but did say there are plenty of shocking moments to come.

“Every season, but particularly this season, from episode one, you’re like, oh wow,” he said. “Nobody is safe. Fatalities right from the get-go. Let’s go! Last season! It’s all on!”

(I did enjoy Urban saying "fatalities" here, given he plays Johnny Cage in the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 movie!)

Shocking moments are The Boys’ trademark, so we can expect plenty of over-the-top, gore-filled scenes. But who might die? The main character fans are wondering about here is Homelander, who starts Season 5 ruling over the United States with an iron fist.

The Season 5 trailer, below, revolves around Butcher rallying the troops as The Boys mount a fightback against Homelander, played by Antony Starr. Everyone seems up for it, although it very much looks like not everyone will make it out of the end of Season 5 alive. Keep an eye out for Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy, who is back on ice and watched over by Homelander. Speaking of Homelander, we see him beat someone, or something, to a bloody pulp. A glimpse at a big name character death, perhaps?

Here’s the official blurb on The Boys Season 5:

In the fifth and final season, it’s Homelander’s world, completely subject to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a “Freedom Camp.” Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force. Kimiko is nowhere to be found. But when Butcher reappears, ready and willing to use a virus that will wipe all Supes off the map, he sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the world and everyone in it. It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.

Season 5 not only follows on from the end of Season 4, but Season 2 of spinoff Gen V. Fans were left wondering how the incredibly powerful Marie from Gen V might fare in a showdown with overpowered The Boys supervillain Homelander. Showrunner and executive producer Eric Kripke has said in the past, however, that fans shouldn’t expect Marie to appear in The Boys Season 5 as a Captain Marvel-style deus ex machina who kicks Homelander’s ass. That’s because Marie still hasn’t mastered her powers, or as Kripke has put it in a number of Gen V Season 2 finale spoiler interviews, she’s not Neo at the end of The Matrix.

For a much deeper dive on all this, check out IGN’s Gen V Season 2 Ending Explained: How It Sets Up the Final Season of The Boys article, but to summarize, Marie can control blood, which potentially makes her more powerful even than Homelander. Homelander, for the uninitiated, is a sort of evil Superman, a character so overpowered that few rivals dare question his word. But Marie Moreau, played by Jaz Sinclair, has the potential to kill him due to her ability to command and weaponize blood.

The big question, of course, is whether Homelander actually dies in The Boys Season 5. Kripke told THR last year that Butcher is “front of that line” when it comes to characters wanting to take Homelander out. But then there’s the likes of Stan Edgar, the aforementioned Marie, Annie, and Huey who would no doubt all like a piece of the action.

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.

Harry Potter movie star Daniel Radcliffe has said that the franchise's new TV actors should be allowed to "get on with it" — without people asking about himself, Rupert Grint, or Emma Watson.

Speaking to ScreenRant, Radcliffe said that the TV series' young stars shouldn't be asked — or compared to — their predecessors, as he didn't want to be "weird spectral phantoms" in their lives.

It's a sentiment that Radcliffe has expressed before, when revealing he had penned a note to the new Harry Potter actor, 11-year-old Dominic McLaughlin. In a separate interview, Rupert Grint said that he had done similar for the new actor playing Ron Weasley. Now, though, Radcliffe has said that the TV series' actors would be best served by letting them focus on their own adaptation, which will be "new" and "different."

"When these kids got cast, there was a huge thing on the internet around the world, people being like 'we've got to look after these kids.' And I was like, if you mean that, one of the things you can do for me is not ask about us — me, Emma, Rupert — the whole time," Radcliffe said.

"I would like not to be weird spectral phantoms in these children's lives and just to let them get on with it. Because it is going to be a new thing and it's going to be a different thing, and they're going to be — I mean, I'm sure Dominic is going to be better than me and better than I was."

HBO's new Harry Potter TV series is expected to debut in early 2027 with an eight-episode first season. Filming began last summer, with various glimpses spotted by fans including work on fresh scenes not from the prior movies or books. Indeed, just this month we learned that we'll be seeing more of Draco Malfoy's home life, as the show won't be told from "over Harry's shoulder" like the books or movies.

As for other big changes, the show plans feature John Lithgow's Dumbledore meeting Nicolas Flamel, reintroduce History of Magic lessons with Richard Durden as Professor Binns, while Lucius Malfoy, Draco’s father played by Johnny Flynn, is expected to join the story in the first season of the show, before his introduction in the books and movies.

"I learned as I went, y'know, whatever," Radcliffe said of his performances as the boy wizard, honed over eight movies and over a decade of production. "I look back on what I did now with a lot more kindness and I find it less embarrassing now that I'm older, but I was very much learning how to do it for a long time on Potter. And [to McLaughlin] I'd just say, 'I hope you have the best time'."

Last year, Sophie Turner, who began playing Sansa Stark on HBO's Game of Thrones aged just 13, offered some words of warning for McLaughlin — as well as Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton, who will play Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively — after saying that growing up in the spotlight "almost destroyed" her.

Image credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage.

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

Konami has removed two Metal Gear games, Metal Gear Solid 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.

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

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

• – 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.

• – New equipment and pendants have been added.

• – 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.

• – 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.

• – 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.)

• – 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

• – 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.

• – 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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.

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).

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.

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

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.

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

Absolute Batman has introduced dark new versions of everyone from Bruce Wayne to Catwoman to the Clown Prince of Crime himself, but what about Batman's plucky sidekick, Robin? Is there any room for a Boy Wonder in this twisted Gotham City? Apparently so, if the cover to May's Absolute Batman #20 is anything to go by.

DC posted the following cover to Instagram today:

Recently in the pages of Absolute Batman, we finally got a proper origin story for Absolute Joker. We learned that Joker is a billionaire named Jack Grimm, one who is apparently immortal and transforms into a demonic, man-eating monster whenever he laughs. With enemies like that, Absolute Batman is going to need all the help he can get.

Let us know your theories on Absolute Robin in the comments below. For more on the Absolute Universe, find out how to read these DC books in order.

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

Magic: The Gathering is a great game, but there’s no denying that Commander has become its most popular format - and Wizards has released a mountain of preconstructed decks for players who want to jump right in.

When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set was originally announced, it felt like we’d be getting one Commander deck per Turtle, Heroes vs Villains, or some other combo, so I was particularly surprised when Wizards said it’d be cramming attitude and pizza as much as possible into a single, 100-card deck. Having seen just some of the cards included, though, I’m impressed.

Magic’s New Turtle Power Precon Looks Awesome

I should preface this ‘precon preview’ with an explanation that in our behind-closed-doors look at the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set, Wizards revealed around a dozen cards from the Turtle Power precon - but there are more reveals to come.

That means we’ve not been able to see how the deck plays, but we do know that your Commander of choice can be any of the Turtles, two of them partnered up with the Partner ability, or all five with the Heroes in a Half Shell card.

There’s nothing truly revolutionary about this modular approach (swapping Commander precons to use other Legendary Creatures within them as their leader is part of the fun of the format), but having five options for Turtles means that no one is left behind.

That includes the likes of Splinter (who has the Partner mechanic, too), but also members of the TMNT’s rogues gallery like Baxter, Fly in the Ointment, Leatherhead, Iron Gator, and, of course, Shredder, Shadow Master.

There are also some fun nods to the gaming history of the awesome foursome. Electric Seaweed from the hard-as-nails NES game makes an appearance to strike fear into gamers of a certain age, while other cards reference the squad’s love of arcade machines, like High Score and, uh, Arcade Cabinet.

Will the deck play well? We’ll have to wait to find out, but in terms of cramming as much personality into a single precon as possible, I think Wizards of the Coast may have just nailed the assignment.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set launches on March 6, with preorders already available for the Turtle Power precon.

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.

Beloved director Martin Scorcese is getting a small voice cameo role in The Mandalorian and Grogu, as heard in a new trailer released today.

The trailer shows, among other things, Mando and Grogu visiting an Ardennian street food vendor and asking for information while the Ardennian stacks up a sandwich. Mando lays down a coin marked with the New Republic symbol, to which the vendor replies, "Woah! For this price I'll tell you whatever you want!" Mando says he's "looking for a Hutt," which prompts the vendor to immediately slam down the shutter over his stand. "Closed for the night! Thank you!"

absolute cinema

Martin Scorsese joins The Mandalorian and Grogu only in theaters and IMAX May 22. pic.twitter.com/6pytrpKzYH

— Star Wars (@starwars) February 17, 2026

That's it for Scorcese, at least in the trailer. His role was confirmed by the official Star Wars account on Twitter/X which referenced a popular Scorcese meme: "absolute cinema," the post reads.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is a follow-up to the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, continuing the story of the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and Grogu (formerly known as Baby Yoda), in the period after the fall of the Galactic Empire. Other cast members include Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White, and Jonny Coyne. White in particular is voicing Jabba the Hutt's son, who presumably has some feelings given everything that's went down with his dad years prior.

Though a legendary director for films such as Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman, and so many more, this isn't Scorcese's first voiceover or acting rodeo either. He's appeared in Shark Tale, Killers of the Flower Moon, and a number of other roles including voice work in several of his own films. While in the past, Scorcese has been critical of franchise films, specifically sparking the aforementioned "absolute cinema" meme by stating that Marvel movies were "not cinema," he has since clarified his remarks and appears to have come around on films such as Star Wars, if this appearance is anything to go by.

The Mandalorian and Grogu will arrive in theaters on May 22, 2026.

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

How much is a GameChat button worth? About $5, at least according to the Turtle Beach PDP Afterglow Wave Wireless Controller for the Nintendo Switch 2. This RGB-laden officially-licensed controller is almost identical to its also-licensed predecessor, but with a couple of key differences, like that it can’t wake the console, that don’t quite get it to Switch 2 Pro controller replacement territory. However, even if it isn't one of the best Switch 2 controllers we've tested, it could still be a convincing option for the second player in your life.

Nice to Hold, but the D-Pad Gets Short Shrift

The Afterglow Wave is a very comfortable gamepad that feels a lot like holding a Switch Pro controller. It’s weighty without feeling heavy, with all the buttons comfortably in reach of my thumbs and fingers. Button feel is a little inconsistent throughout, though; the shoulder buttons feel about right to me, but the face buttons are stiff and, along with the grip-mounted back buttons, are very clicky and noisy. The d-pad feels about right, although it had some issues that I’ll get to shortly.

Speaking of the analog sticks, they feel very much like what they are: TMR sticks. Like many other TMR and Hall Effect sticks, they give easily and smoothly, but spring back to the center quickly and accurately. They feel very nice – although I prefer a little more resistance, especially in games that require very precise movement. If you’re familiar with this kind of stick, you probably already know whether you like that that dynamic or not.

I am not a fan of the caps on the analog sticks. They’re concave, with rimmed edges that are sharp enough I could feel them dragging over the ridges of my fingertips, which is my own personal Vietnam nails-on-a-chalkboard. That said, the cupped design helped keep my thumbs on the sticks when they were inside the depression. But with certain motions, I tend to roll the outside of the cap around my thumb – and in those cases, the sticks slipped more often than the Switch 2 Pro controller. Otherwise, they were responsive and sensitive, in a good way.

The in-game experience varied depending on the games I played. In Tetris 99, the Afterglow Wave’s d-pad was almost as bad as those of Nintendo’s Pro controllers. I didn’t find myself accidentally hard-dropping tetrominos quite as often as with Nintendo’s gamepads, but occasionally, the d-pad seemed to bounce back if I let go of a direction quickly, causing them to shift the opposite direction one square, making me to place a tetromino in the wrong spot. In Metroid Prime Remastered, the motion controls worked well, but felt just a bit too sensitive, transmitting micro-movements to the screen that the Switch 2 Pro controller seems to ignore. That could be a good thing to some, but for me, it was a bit dizzying and unpleasant.

On the other hand, the analog sticks were plenty responsive in F-Zero X for the N64 and F-Zero GX for the GameCube, both played in their respective Nintendo Switch Online apps. Being able to twitchily turn in those games is paramount, so that was a bit of good news. Control stayed tight and I didn’t notice any change in delay even when I played from about 30 feet away, which is Turtle Beach’s stated wireless range for these controllers. I don’t know who is playing that far away from their TV, but hey, it’s nice to have options.

Weird Design Choices and Missing Features

One thing that drove me nuts throughout testing was the placement of the home and capture buttons – for some reason, they’re on the outside of the plus and minus buttons. (In contrast, they’re in the middle on the Switch 2 Pro controller.) This means that every third time I tried to pause the game, I went to the home screen instead. Sure, that effectively accomplishes the same thing, but it’s jarring and bad! I’d love to be able to remap them, but this controller isn’t remappable via the Switch 2’s interface.

That’s also annoying because it means you can’t assign the back buttons that way; instead, you do it by holding down the triangle-shaped button on the bottom front edge, then tapping the back button you want to map to, then pressing the button you’d like to assign to it. The Afterglow Wave also lacks rumble, which I wouldn’t mind in isolation, but here is another bit of straw on this controller’s shaky back.

This controller’s biggest problem is absolutely that it doesn’t wake the Switch 2. In my book, that automatically takes it out of the running to be a cheaper Pro controller alternative – I’ve lived in a world where I can turn on my game consoles from my couch for 20 years now, and I’m not going back.

Maybe the price works if you dig the controller’s RGB schtick. The colored LEDs surrounding the analog sticks and lurking beneath the wavy lines etched into the face can show static colors of your choosing, or effects like a slowly-morphing rainbow. One effect sees them react to the movement of your analog sticks by cycling through colors. It’s nice, I suppose, although I’m never really looking at the controller while I’m playing. Still, the lights do make it easy to find in a dark room.

At the end of the day, am I mad at the Afterglow Wave? Not really; it’s a fine controller to have around the house. But the price is a huge sticking point that I just can’t get past. For $65, I can almost buy three GuliKit ES gamepads, a budget option that can still wake the Switch 2. Or I could pick up almost one full 8bitdo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Controller, which also wakes the system, is remappable (via an 8bitdo app), and comes with a nice charging cradle. I can’t directly vouch for either since I haven’t used them, but I can say that the previous 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller, which is one of IGN’s top picks for the Switch 2, has also been one of my favorite controllers since I bought it a couple of years ago. Assuming the Ultimate 2 follows in its footsteps, I’m sure it’s great.

Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.

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Like many other Cartoon Network favorites, Over the Garden Wall was removed from HBO Max years ago. You can still stream it on Hulu in the U.S., but there's no guarantee it will be available on streaming forever. This Blu-ray release is a great chance to own a physical copy that entertainment companies won't be able to take away from you.

Over the Garden Wall - The Complete Series Blu-ray Is Up for Preorder

The Sonos Presidents Day Sale is officially over and the vast majority of deals are kaput. However, arguably the best deal that came out of the sale is still available. The certified refurbished Sonos Arc has been marked down to just $449 with free delivery. That's 60% cheaper than an Arc Ultra and an excellent deal for anyone looking for a Dolby Atmos soundbar.

Sonos refurbished products go through rigorous testing; they come with all accessories, manuals, and documentation and are reshipped in "pristine" packaging. Most importantly, Sonos includes the same 1-year warranty as buying new.

Sonos Arc Soundbar (Refurbished)