Discounts are running rampant this week, thanks to Black Friday. While the big day isn’t until November 28, you can already score thousands of deals, including on 4K Blu-ray movies. If you just want to buy one thing, I have a recommendation. Grab Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Series on Blu-ray, currently on sale for $99.99 (see it at Amazon). That’s a killer deal for 178 episodes of sci-fi television.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-ray Box Set Deal

In case building your own rig is too much work right now or simply not a priority for you, you can always opt for a top-tier prebuilt gaming PCs. You'll miss out on the satisfaction of building your PC from the ground up, but all that time you saved skipping research, waiting for components to arrive, building your machine, and inevitably troubleshooting when something goes awry can be spent actually playing PC games.

The half-baked prebuilt systems of yesteryear are no more, cutting far fewer corners for a long-lasting gaming PC that can take on all the action you throw its way. With the latest and greatest graphics cards and processors becoming pricier than ever, you may even save money by opting for something from Alienware, MSI, or HP. Plus, most options are easy enough to open up to upgrade components down the road, including our favorite gaming PC, the Legion Tower 7i.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming PCs:

Buying a gaming PC is a bit more involved than a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S. You’ll need to determine the types of games you want to play and how you want to play them – even great budget gaming PCs won’t be running Cyberpunk 2077 at the highest settings. Finding the proper processors, storage, memory, cooling, and other hardware and ensuring all the components work well together can make or break the rig. Luckily, many manufacturers take care of a good chunk of that guesswork so you don’t bottleneck the system.

One thing to keep in mind is that RAM prices are extremely high right now. This is thanks in large part to AI data centers scooping all of it up, according to a post from Bontech Labs, which has led to prices of memory going up significantly. This hasn't significantly impacted the price of prebuilt gaming PCs yet, but as PC builders start working through their existing inventory, I'd expect that to change.

Whether you're looking for something more affordable for indie games, want a compact option to save space in your studio apartment, or are after a top-tier rig to tackle the action in 4K, we’ve got you covered. One of the five pre-built gaming PCs we’ve selected will align perfectly with your needs.

1. Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10

Best Gaming PC

2. Asus ROG G700 Gaming PC

Best Gaming PC for the RGB Lover

3. iBuyPower Trace 7 Mesh Gaming Desktop

Best Budget Gaming PC

4. Asus ROG NUC

Best Mini Gaming PC

5. Maingear Rush Artist Series

Best Boutique Gaming PC

How to Choose a Gaming PC

Prebuilts are the most surefire way of getting into gaming and arguably the most cost-effective hardware you can buy. With a system, you’re not only getting the hardware inside, but time savings of having to track down the best processor to best RAM for your system and putting it all together yourself and praying it actually boots up correctly.

Prioritize the GPU

Just like building your own PC you want to make sure you’re spending your money where it’s needed most. Firstly, you should prioritize getting the graphics card you need for the gaming monitor or the gaming TV you’re gaming on. There’s no need for anything better than an Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti if you’re just playing games on a 1080p display.

Likewise, you should only need an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor with at least four cores to play most modern games comfortably at any resolution.

Think about how comfortable you are swapping out parts

System memory and solid-state drives can be the biggest money sink for any system. Those comfortable with upgrading their system after it arrives should choose a configuration with the smallest storage and RAM capacities possible, as buying these components yourself can often be more cost-effective.

If that last suggestion resonates, perhaps a barebones system is what you seek. Those can be much cheaper since they come with all the major hardware – such as the CPU, GPU, and power supply – installed, but they usually lack storage, memory, and an operating system as a trade-off.

Consider a boutique builder

Lastly, if you want more control over what exactly is going into your build, go with a boutique PC builder. Origin, Maingear, DigitalStorm, Falcon Northwest, PC Specialist, and many more companies offer excellent PC building services that let you pick exactly which components go into your gaming PC. From there, they build your system with the sort of cable management some can only dream of while ensuring it all works properly out of the box.

In case this all sounds a little overwhelming to you, NZXT has its own PC building service called BLD. Instead of picking every part that will go into your PC, you chose the games you’ll actually play and the service gives you several configuration options that will be able to run the games for a smooth experience.

Similarly, iBuyPower offers an Easy Builder service that operates in very much the same fashion. Users can select games that they play from a small pool that includes Fortnite, GTA V, Apex Legends, WoW, League of Legends, Overwatch, and Battlefield V. From there, users can select whether they play at a 1080p or 1440p resolution, as well as their budget, and the system will spit back a few configurations to choose from.

Prebuilt PCs also come with several features and pieces of software you might find convenient. Many gaming PCs in this category come with some sort of overclocking support and even a one-click button to boost your system's performance. Of course, it's easy enough to download a piece of overclocking software like MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision X. Additionally, your machine may come with system monitoring software that makes downloading and updating drivers a breeze.

Gaming PC FAQ

Should you buy a gaming PC or a gaming laptop?

Unless you’re looking for an all-in-one portable package, a gaming PC is usually better than even the best gaming laptops. With a desktop, it’s much easier and less expensive to upgrade parts, and they tend to last longer before going obsolete. Read more about gaming PCs vs. gaming laptops.

Is it easy to upgrade your prebuilt gaming PC?

It depends. Most PC manufacturers have figured out users absolutely hate proprietary parts. While you might still find no-name motherboards installed into the heart of your PC, they should all at least fall in line with the standard size and layout of Mini ITX or Micro ATX motherboards. The best gaming PCs should allow you to easily swap out the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage on your system with just a few simple tools or just a screwdriver.

Better yet, systems that tout tool-less upgradability don't require you to undo screws or anything to replace any of the major components. One of the things you'll likely find on most modern chassis are thumbscrews, which can be removed after a few quick twists with your fingers rather than a screwdriver. Additionally, tool-less SSD and hard drive caddies make expanding and replacing your storage just a little bit easier.

Should you buy a gaming PC or a console?

When comparing a gaming PC vs. console, there appear to be more similarities than differences these days, but one still comes out on top: the gaming PC.

Not every aspect of a gaming PC beats consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Consoles are much easier to use. You’ll also find that even the most expensive consoles are cheap compared to a quality gaming PC with a good graphics card, although there are good budget GPUs. There are some great handheld gaming PCs and mini PCs that are more affordable, but they’re better for indie games or older cross-platform console titles.

Where a gaming PC pulls ahead is in its gaming library, peripherals, upgradeability, and overall performance. There’s no denying that there are a massive amount of PC games, and of course, a gaming PC has cross-platform compatibility with popular console titles. Beyond gaming keyboards and gaming mice, you’ll find a wealth of other peripherals, from racing wheels to controllers, that all work seamlessly with a PC. You can also enjoy better visuals and a higher performance ceiling, and it’s easy to upgrade components. That makes a well-equipped PC the clear winner.

Can you find a good gaming PC for under $1,000?

Yes, it’s absolutely possible to find a great gaming PC for under $1,000. You just need to manage your expectations. Less powerful hardware will usually come in these ultra budget-friendly desktops, meaning gaming performance is more limited. Even still, you should have no problem running many of your favorite games in 1080p or sometimes even 1440p at respectable frame rates. Your PC may struggle during more graphically intensive games running at their top settings, but the savings you enjoy might be worth the trade-off.

Should you build your own gaming PC?

Building your own gaming PC has many benefits. First and foremost, you get to customize your PC to your own specifications, including only the components you want and need. Rather than purchasing a prebuilt desktop that may not be tailored to your requirements, you can select all of the individual parts that make up a gaming PC.

However, you will need some knowledge of how to build PCs, or at least be able to closely follow an in-depth YouTube video. This is where things get a little tricky. If you’ve never built a custom gaming PC before, you will need to do some research. From understanding how each component interacts with each other, to how to hold a stick of RAM or a CPU so you don’t damage it, there’s quite a large learning curve.

If you do decide to build your own gaming PC, you will likely find that you can save some money over the long run compared to buying a prebuilt machine. Choosing your own parts means you can keep an eye on sales and offers to get the best deal possible.

But building a gaming PC isn’t for everyone. If you aren’t rigid on the specifics and don’t have a particular build in mind, it can be less troublesome to let someone else do it for you. You also get the added reassurance that the PC will be professionally built, and there’s no chance your warranty can be void.

After you've scored an awesome gaming PC, be sure to grab the best gaming accessories for the ultimate PC battle station.

Jacqueline Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. When she's not helping her friends and family buy computers, you can usually find her tinkering with her own PC.

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

You'll find a number of deep Apple discounts in Walmart's part of this week's Black Friday deals, one of the nicest of which the $30-off Apple Pencil (USB-C). $49 is an all-time low price for one of our favorite iPad accessories, which usually goes for $79.

With Amazon currently offering this Apple Pencil for $69, Walmart’s deal is significantly better. It’s likely that you won’t see this stylus drop any lower in price during all of the upcoming Black Friday sales. So, be sure to snag the Apple Pencil (USB-C) for this price while you still can, as deals this good won’t last long. That said, it's good to note that this is the base model version of the Apple Pencil, rather than the version from IGN's best smart pens list that attaches magnetically and charges wirelessly.

Score Almost 40% Off the Apple Pencil (USB-C)

We’re still a few days out from Black Friday, but the early sales have already dropped prices to record lows on a number of LEGO sets for adults. Below, I highlight the five best deals on LEGO sets for adults that are already available. The official LEGO Store Black Friday sale starts on November 28, so know there are still more deals to come.

Featured in this Article

As you can see, plenty of sets are already on sale for over 30% off, the threshold I’d say makes a LEGO deal particularly appealing.

LEGO Ideas: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

LEGO Christmas Tree

LEGO Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi

LEGO Star Wars: A New Hope Tantive IV

LEGO Ideas The Insect Collection

Amazon's Black Friday sale is already underway ahead of the year's biggest shopping day, and you can score some pretty great early deals right now, including a Samsung 1TB microSDXC card for $79.99.

This ultrafast card is perfect for Android phones and tablets, drones, and even expanding the storage of your Steam Deck. For the more cultured, there's also a sweet Shadow the Hedgehog variant, but it's going to run you an extra $20. Honestly, it might be worth it.

Samsung PRO Plus 1TB microSDXC for $79.99

If you're looking for a power bank that can handle the demands of even the latest and most power hungry gaming handhelds at a great price, check out this new Black Friday deal. Amazon is offering the Baseus 20,800mAh Power Bank with 145W of Power Delivery for just $39.99 shipped after applying coupon code "Q4PSW5C3". You don't need to be a Prime member. Baseus makes good power banks and I recommend them as a less expensive alternative to Anker.

Baseus 20,800mAh 145W Power Bank for $39.99

Gaming chair maker Secretlab is getting in on the Black Friday fun with some of the best deals of the year. You can browse a wide variety of what they have to offer, but their Titan Evo gaming chairs are always a highlight of these deals. The two Star Wars-themed chairs are part of the savings, with both being discounted down to $614 ($50 off MSRP). The Stormtrooper variant is a preorder and has an estimated shipping window of December 14.

Secretlab Titan Evo Star Wars Chairs on Sale

The Star Wars Titan Evo gaming chairs sport some awesome design inspired by Stormtroopers and the classic Imperial colors. The Stormtrooper chair is black and white, with accents and designs inspired by the iconic Stormtrooper armor and helmet we've grown familiar with over the years. The Empire-themed chair has the signature black and crimson color scheme, with Aurebesh writing on the front of the seat as a Sith Easter egg. These styled chairs make for a great Star Wars gift if you're willing to spend the money.

Titan Evo gaming chairs can be bundled with optional accessories like a footrest and lumbar support, but the prices shown here are just for the chairs by themselves. If you're looking for something with a few more bells and whistles, the Performance versions of the chairs start at $971, saving you $100. You'll get the chair for the same discount, but with accessories for extra comfort for an additional $40 off.

More Themed Titan Evo Chairs On Sale

If you're in the market for a new gaming chair and Star Wars isn't quite your thing, Secretlab has tons of other licensed chairs to pick from. For you League of Legends players, there are Titan Evo chairs themed around popular characters Ahri, Jinx, Yasuo, and more. There's also the Cyberpunk 2077 chair, a personal favorite, a neon yellow design with the Samurai logo on the back. They even offer licensed chairs that aren't video games, like Game of Thrones (seen below) and Harry Potter.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

Disney Lorcana continues to go from strength to strength, and while we’re a few sets deep at this point, there’s still something special about having so many recognizable characters, songs, and moments printed to cardboard.

Amazon’s Black Friday deals present an ideal opportunity for collectors this year, too, because the Into the Inklands Bundle is reduced by 30%.

Get a Bunch of Lorcana Cards for $25

Best Buy's Black Friday sale may be filled with plenty of goodies, but never forget its Deal of the Day page. For today only, that includes a $40 price drop for the red Xbox Elite Series 2 Core wireless controller, bringing it down to $99.99. It's a good discount for a solid controller, just a bit higher than the lowest price ever, according to the price tracker CamelCamelCamel.

Save $40 on Red Xbox Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller at Best Buy

If you're looking to upgrade your gaming PC for Black Friday, you absolutely have to check out this deal. Dell Outlet has just kicked off its Black Friday Sale with some incredible pricing on Clearance, Like New (Refurbished) and Scratch & Dent Alienware Area-51 gaming PCs, equipped with your choice of GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 graphics cards. You're saving up to $1,600 compared to buying an identical system brand new.

All PCs purchased through Dell Outlet include the same warranty as buying new. Dell's certified refurbished systems are submitted to a rigorous refurbishing process. These previously owned products could have observable minor blemishes that do not affect performance, or could look as good as new.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC Deals

The RTX 5090 is the most powerful graphics card ever

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in terms of pure, hardware-based raster performance. The 5090 also has a whopping 32GB of VRAM (33% more than the 4090), making it the ideal candidate for a hybrid rig looking to do both gaming and AI work on the same machine. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 FE review.

The 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. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 FE review.

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 looks like Donald Trump is getting his way, as Rush Hour 4 is actually happening at Paramount with original director Brett Ratner involved.

Earlier this week, Semafor reported that the U.S. president had allegedly pressed the Ellisons to make a new Rush Hour movie at Paramount. Larry Ellison is the largest shareholder of Paramount and a prominent financial supporter of Trump. His son, David Elison, runs the company.

Now, Deadline reports that Paramount will release the next Rush Hour film, distributing on behalf of Warner Bros. for a “double digit percentage fee.” Brett Ratner has signed on to direct. Paramount has yet to comment.

If you were burned by the latest round of Disney+ and Hulu price hikes, here's some Black Friday balm: Disney is offering and ad-supported bundle of both services for $4.99/mo or the ad-free bundle for $14.99/mo. Jump on it quickly, though – the deals are only running through December 1.

Get 12 Months of Disney+ with Hulu for $4.99/mo

EA and Battlefield Studios have launched the first Battlefield 6 free trial, giving new players on PC, PlayStation 5 (PS5), and Xbox Series X | S the chance to try Season 1 multiplayer maps and modes all Thanksgiving week.

The limited-time event runs from today, November 25, at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET to December 2 at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET. It’s a scheduled test period for anyone wondering if the new Battlefield is worth it, following what EA has called the most successful launch in the FPS shooter franchise’s history.

“We are extremely proud of what our amazing teams at Battlefield Studios have accomplished and tremendously excited about the community’s passion as we continue to build Battlefield for and with our fans,” general manager of Battlefield Byron Beede said in a statement. “Today’s launch of a free trial for Battlefield 6 is the perfect opportunity for new players to have the All Out Warfare experience that millions of players around the world are raving about.”

As detailed in a blog post from EA, the Battlefield 6 free trial week offers three playlists for new players: Initiation Breakthrough, Close Quarters Battle, and All-Out Warfare. The first is meant to ease newcomers into the entry’s destructive gameplay with 48-player matches mixed with real-world people and bots. Close Quarters Combat focuses on fast-paced gunplay in smaller maps with Team Deathmatch and Sabotage modes. Finally, All-Out Warfare presents Battlefield 6 multiplayer unrestricted, giving free trial players access to Conquest, Escalation, and Breakthrough modes on the biggest maps it has.

The free trial isn’t quite the full Battlefield 6 Season 1 experience, but it does give players a chance to try out its core gameplay without leaping into a $69.99 purchase (or a little cheaper if you act fast). Maps players can expect to enjoy through the free trial playlists include Siege of Cairo, Blackwell Fields, and Eastwood.

EA has also clarified that those who have enjoyed Battlefield REDSEC, which introduced free-to-play battle royale and Gauntlet modes when it launched late last month, will notice their progress carries over to the Battlefield 6 free trial. Additional progress made during the trial will also carry over to the full experience, should a player choose to purchase the full game. Those who log in to either experience by November 30 also gain access to the free long-range Lethal Force Weapon Package.

Battlefield 6 launched for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X | S October 10, 2025. BF Studios has pushed frequent updates since, with patches adding everything from new Season 1 content, such as the Blackwell Fields and Eastwood maps, to a laundry list of gameplay tweaks, bug fixes, lighting improvements, and more. Arriving alongside these changes is news that the new Battlefield game managed to secure the best month of sales for any game in the U.S. in the last three years.

We gave Battlefield 6 multiplayer an 8/10 in our review. For more, you can see how some members of the community reacted to a new $24 skin pack.

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

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).

Trading card marketplace TCGplayer has a special offer for Black Friday through Cyber Monday this weekend: You’ll earn 10% store credit on all products bought from the site. It’ll only be available for four days though, from 9 a.m. ET on November 28 to 11 p.m. ET on December 1, so you’ll need to act fast.

If this is your first time hearing about TCGplayer, it’s an online marketplace that specializes in trading cards. There are listings from thousands of sellers across tons of different card games. As you could probably guess, Magic: The Gathering has a big presence, including recent collaborations with Avatar: The Last Airbender and Final Fantasy. There are also tens of thousands of listings for Pokémon cards, both in English and Japanese.

Then there’s games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Digimon, Cardfight Vanguard, Flesh and Blood, Disney Lorcana, One Piece, Dragon Ball Super, Star Wars Unlimited, Riftbound, and that’s just scratching the surface. We’re not going to list all of them here, it would take forever. But there are dozens of different games available; if you’re a collector of a particular game, chances are good you can find it on TCGplayer.

There’s an in-depth filtering system that will allow you to get very specific about what you’re looking for, and those filters change depending on what product line you pick. For example, when you choose Pokémon, the other filters will change to target specific Pokémon card categories.

So you can select things like holofoil or reverse holofoil, shiny rares, first edition, etc. And you can pick card types, like trainer, energy, or stadium. Or target specific sets, like World Championship Decks, Prismatic Evolutions, or Paldean Fates. You can make selections across all these categories at the same time and find only the cards that fit your filters.

If you only have one specific card in mind, you can always skip that whole process and just type it into the search bar. Or you can get sealed products like bundles or booster packs, which are particularly nice if you’re building a deck for the first time or if you just like the mystery box appeal.

However you get there, once you find a listing you’re interested in, you can click on it to find more information about the item itself and who it’s available to buy from. You can see product details, market price history, and all the listings and prices that are currently available. Listings will show their seller, and you can click on them to see how many sales they’ve made, where they’re located, and the reviews they’ve gotten. Many of the listings are posted by local game stores, giving you a chance to support small businesses.

Whatever product you’re interested in, you can get 10% store credit on it if you check out between Friday and Monday. But you can plan ahead by loading up your cart now, then just wait to check out until this weekend. That will still count, the timing is just based on when you complete your order. To get started, you can head over to TCGplayer now.

Mobile gamers, rejoice, for the Razer Kishi Ultra mobile gaming controller is just $79.99 during Amazon's Black Friday sale. Normally, the Kishi Ultra is $149.99 – an almost 50% discount is a great deal for what is one of the best mobile controllers I've ever used.

This expandable controller connects directly to iPhone, iPad mini, and Android devices with the built-in USB-C connector, while offering tactile controls, full-size thumbsticks, and analog triggers. This is the cheapest the Kishi Ultra has been according to Amazon price tracker CamelCamelCamel, so get it while the getting is good.

Razer Kishi Ultra Mobile Gaming Controller for $79.99

Considering what it offers, Disney+ is one of the best streaming services on the block. From classic Disney animated films to the latest Marvel shows, Star Wars movies, and so much more, Disney+ puts an incredible range of high-quality viewing options at your fingertips. There's tons to watch, but after another round of price hikes, you might want to revisit your streaming subscriptions. We're here to help.

At the moment, one of the best Disney Plus bundle deals available is the massive Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max streaming bundle. This starts at $19.99/month (after a recent price hike) to get you all three streaming services with ads. Bundles are definitely worth considering, especially following the news of Hulu eventually fully integrating into the Disney+ app.

Disney+ Black Friday Deals Are Now Live

Kate Beckinsale has just turned in one of the most extraordinary chat show appearances in recent times, as she stunned host Jimmy Kimmel by stating that her daughter's boyfriend had recently laid two hard-boiled eggs.

The Underworld and The Elder Scrolls Online actress left Kimmel open-mouthed as she began recalling how the unnamed boyfriend had passed two eggs, complete with a shell and yolk.

Clearly uncertain of what he'd just heard, Kimmel asked Beckinsale to clarify whether she was suggesting the eggs had actually come from her daughter's boyfriend's body. "Yes," Beckinsale replied. "Not out of his mouth or ears, it came out the route it would come out of a hen. Well, not his vagina. He went to the bathroom and was very surprised to find that he had laid an egg."

Bob Ross, prolific daytime television painting instructor who charmed the world with his serene monologues, continues to make the world a better place 20 years after his death. His estate recently sold one of his paintings at an auction to support PBS and public media — and the work of art fetched over $1 million.

On last week’s 2025 finale of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Oliver asked the Bob Ross estate to auction off one of the artist’s paintings. “Cabin at Sunset,” which the iconic painter made on his PBS series “The Joy of Painting” during season 10 in 1986, ended up selling for $1,044,000 after an incredible 35 bids.

This isn’t the first of Ross’ paintings that have sold in support of PBS, also known as the Public Broadcasting System, which has been stripped of nearly all its funding by the Trump administration. In early November, Bonhams Los Angeles auctioned off three of Ross’ other paintings, also made on his show, to support American Public Television.

Bonhams sold Ross’ 1993 painting “Winter’s Peace” for $318,000, and the 1990 paintings “Cliffside” and “Home in the Valley” sold for $229,100 and $114,800 respectively. Those three paintings were, according to Variety, part of a group of 30 works by Ross that will be sold over the next year in support of American Public Television and their mission to financially support public TV stations nationwide.

Oliver’s auction — which includes many other cool and wacky items like a chance to meet Oliver in NYC, a screen-worn jockstrap that belonged to Russell Crowe (??), and wax versions of various presidents — raised nearly $1.54 million for the Public Media Bridge fund, which will assist public media nationwide in securing the funds necessary to keep stations going in the aftermath of the Trump admin’s decision to effectively close down the Corporation for Public Broadcasting after eliminating $1.1 billion from their overall budget.

“We’ve actually accumulated a bunch of weird artifacts on this show over the years that we could definitely auction off to raise some much needed money,” Oliver said on the finale episode. “I am proud to announce Last Week Tonight’s first ever auction in aid of public media. This is real!”

If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Photo by Acey Harper/Getty Images.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Walmart has officially joined the party of Black Friday sales, bringing a massive selection of video game deals. If you've been hoping to fill up your library with some new picks to play as early nights and colder weather sets in, now's your chance to score Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater for just $30, or Elden Ring for a mere $15.

You read that right. Only $15 for a game we gave a 10 out of 10 to and called Game of the Year back in 2022 is a stellar offer, and what better way to spend your holiday break than becoming Elden Lord? There's no better time to journey to the Lands Between, truly.

Walmart Black Friday Video Game Deals

Unfortunately, Walmart's Elden Ring deal doesn't include the expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. The good news is, you can pick up the Shadow of the Erdtree Edition instead at Amazon for $49.99, a $30 discount. That's a touch cheaper than buying the two separately, even with the $15 deal on the base game. Elden Ring Nightrein is on sale, too, if you happened to miss FromSoft's co-op adventure take on the series.

Walmart's sale also features some nice Switch discounts. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is also down to $30 there, as is Princess Peach: Showtime. Switch 2 users certainly aren't being forgotten about, either. Star Wars Outlaws Gold Edition for Switch 2 is marked down to $30, and if the delightful co-op adventure Split Fiction has been on your list, it's also down to $30 for Switch 2.

Outside of Walmart, other retailers are offering some excellent discounts on video games right now, too. Be sure to check out our breakdowns of the best deals on PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo games and accessories.

For more discounts available, check out our guide to the best Walmart Black Friday deals available now.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

Star Trek: The Last Starship is easily one of the most exciting Trek projects to come along in recent memory, as it reveals what happens when Captain James T. Kirk is resurrected in the 31st Century. Issue #3 of the new series will showcase the first time Kirk takes command of the USS Omega, as Starfleet's last surviving ship wages a deadly war against the Klingons.

IGN can exclusively reveal a new preview of Star Trek: The Last Starship #3. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

The Last Starship is written by Kelly and Lanzing and illustrated by Adrián Bonilla, with colors by Heather Moore. Here's IDW's official logline for issue #3:

The U.S.S. Omega launches into battle! Its adversary? A chaotic Klingon cult whose bloodred path is focused purely on obliterating the remaining vestiges of Starfleet. What's left of the Federation is falling apart by the moment. Captain Sato, who once dreamed of uniting the galaxy, is now living his worst nightmare. He was raised in a time of peace... but no progress comes without a fight. While the Klingons might be his enemies after centuries of peace, he has Kirk as his ally... and no one knows how to defeat a Klingon better than the Federation's greatest hero.

“Kirk is going through a journey of self-discovery,” editor Heather Antos told IGN. “Like Captain Sato and the rest of the members of the Omega crew, this era of the Federation post-Burn is going to challenge not only their ideals as members of Starfleet, but who they are to their very core. Who is James T. Kirk without the solidity of the Federation as he knows and loves? We’re about to find out.”

Star Trek: The Last Starship #3 will be released on December 17, 2025. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop. And be sure to check back once the new issue releases for a full-spoiler interview breaking down the big developments.

In other Trek news, Paramount reportedly wants a fresh reboot of the movie franchise.

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

Indie horror game Horses is preparing to launch on December 2 on the Epic Games Store, GOG, Itch.io, and the Humble Store. But one place it won't be is on Steam, because Steam has banned the game for, according to the developer, reasons that remain unclear even after two years of back-and-forth with Valve. And according to the developer, this ban seems likely to result in the shutdown of their entire studio.

We spoke with Pietro Righi Riva of Italian studio Santa Ragione (Saturnalia, Wheels of Aurelia, MirrorMoon EP), who explained their side of the story. According to Riva and a detailed FAQ shared with IGN, Santa Ragione first submitted Horses to Steam in 2023, when the game was in a very unfinished state. "We were only about halfway through development and had scrambled together a build that could be played start to finish, solely to satisfy Steam’s request for a playable version to open a Coming Soon page, something we had never been asked for before," Riva explains. It was at this stage that Valve rejected the game.

However, Riva goes on to say that Valve did not offer any explanation as to why the game was rejected, nor was there any opportunity for the team to change whatever the offending content was. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get anyone at Valve to work with them to reverse the decision.

"Steam’s decision came without detailed feedback, and the ban notice did not cite any specific scenes or elements," Riva says. "For months we repeatedly asked what triggered the ban and received no answer. We also offered, unsuccessfully, to change any content deemed unfit, especially since the game was still early in development at the time of submission."

Chasing Wild Horses

So what triggered the ban? Riva still doesn't know. While minds may jump to Steam's recent banning of a number of adult games to comply with sudden crackdowns from payment processors, Riva says this ban took place long before that was even a conversation, and all the content in the game is fully legal. He does have a theory, though. The automated review sent by Steam in 2023 included a link to Steam's Onboarding Documentation, as well as the following sentence: "Regardless of a developer’s intentions with their product, we will not distribute content that appears, in our judgment, to depict sexual conduct involving a minor."

Horses, Riva says, does not contain any such content. All characters in the game are older than 20 "as communicated by their appearance and through dialogue and documents that you will encounter in the game." He also asserts that the game is not pornographic. It is, per the studio, "about the burden of familial trauma and puritan values, the dynamics of totalitarian power, and the ethics of personal responsibility." From the FAQ sent to IGN:

While it does contain some sexual elements, the intent is never to arouse. It uses challenging, unconventional material to encourage discussion. It invites players to examine why something feels the way it does, what it says about the characters and systems at work, and where their limits lie. It is about tension, not erotic content. (We apologize if we got your hopes up for horse porn.)

What Riva thinks triggered the ban is a scene that existed in the game during the initial Steam submission, where a man and his young daughter visit the farm. As the FAQ explains:

The daughter wants to ride one of the horses (in the game the “horses” are humans wearing a horse mask) and gets to pick which one. What followed was an interactive dialogue sequence where the player is leading, by a lead as if they were a horse, a naked adult woman with a young girl on her shoulders. The scene is not sexual in any way, but it is possible that the juxtaposition is what triggered the flag. We have since changed the character in the scene to be a twenty-something woman, both to avoid the juxtaposition and more importantly because the dialogue delivered in that scene, which deals with the societal structure in the world of Horses, works much better when delivered by an older character.

Riva says he has tried everything. He has tried speaking to contacts at Valve who had previously worked with the studio on past games. According to him, they claimed not to know the specific reasons for the ban and said it would not be possible to find out and tell them. He's reached out to Valve again and again, but has yet to receive any official explanation of what content was offensive, nor an opportunity to resubmit it without that content. IGN also reached out to Valve for comment for this piece, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Riva also says he's had no issues with any other platform: GOG, Itch.io, and the Humble Store had no issues with it. Epic asked the studio to update just the screenshots on the game's store page so as not to include nudity, which Riva says they complied with, and the game was accepted. As for consoles, he says he's shown the game to console partners and hasn't heard any concerns about content. Horses also has received PEGI and ESRB ratings that would be required for console distribution. "The only reason we haven't actively started porting the game is lack of funds."

Reining It In

To be clear, Horses is unsettling to say the least. I watched a colleague play some of it at a demo at Day of the Devs in 2023, and it's not for the faint of heart. It's about a young man who comes to a farm to work a summer job caring for horses, only to discover the horses are actually naked adult humans wearing horse head masks, chained up in the yard. Snippets from trailers show the "horses" watching what seems to be horse propaganda, being ridden by other people by carrying them on their shoulders, being fed carrots, and being on the receiving end of humiliation and violence. It challenges the player to either accept what they're seeing and continue to participate in it, or try to subvert what's going on at the horse farm, a process that seems like it will be utterly terrifying and unpleasant in some way.

But Santa Ragione also has a solid track record of making and publishing artistic, esoteric, disturbing games with poignant messages, many of which have been up for awards for that very reason. Their board game Escape From The Aliens In Outer Space was nominated for the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming. MirrorMoon EP was a finalist for the Innovation Award at the Independent Games Festival after its launch in 2013. More recently, in 2024, Santa Ragione published Mediterranea Inferno, which won the Excellence in Narrative Award at the Independent Games Festival. And Mediterranea Inferno is just one of a handful of games published by Santa Ragione as part of its efforts to promote the work of up-and-coming Italian creators, with Horses being another example.

Again from the FAQ:

We are committed to producing challenging, adult storytelling. Horses uses grotesque, subversive imagery to confront power, faith, and violence. We reject subjective obscenity standards and believe this kind of moralizing censorship evokes a darker past in which vague notions of “decency” were used to silence artists. Games are an artistic medium and lawful works for adults should remain accessible. We respect players enough to present the game as intended and to let adults choose what to play; lawful works should not be made unreachable by a monopolistic storefront’s opaque decisions. Steam publicly downplays human curation in favor of algorithmic sales optimization, yet intervenes with censorship when a game’s artistic vision does not align with what the platform owners considers acceptable art. Steam’s behavior passively shapes which titles developers feel safe creating, pushing preemptive censorship.

And yet, the verdict stands. Riva and Santa Ragione are stuck: one week until launch, and no ability to publish their game on the most massive PC storefront in existence.

Long Faces

According to Riva, the inability to release on Steam almost certainly means that Santa Ragione is done for. The studio already was struggling with financial troubles: it initially invested $50,000 when they signed the game with its creator, Andrea Lucco Borlera. They were hoping that sales of the team's previous game, Saturnalia, would help make that money back, but it didn't do as well as they'd hoped. Riva says they even lined up "a great bundle opportunity" for Saturnalia, but had to cancel it when Valve refused to give them Steam keys for again unclear reasons.

Around the same time, we were informed that Horses had been banned and would not release on Steam, which completely erased our ability to find an external supporting publisher or partner to fund the rest of the game, as no one in the industry considers an indie game that cannot be released on Steam to be viable. After two years of seeking these funds through traditional venues while trying to get the game unbanned, we had to seek private funding from friends to complete development, which puts us in a completely unsustainable financial situation unless the game somehow recoups its development costs.

Hopeless as this seems, Riva isn't closed to the possibility that Santa Ragione could be saved. He says if it manages to sell "tens of thousands of copies" without being on Steam, they'd be able to break even and keep working on future projects. But he's not banking on that. Ideally, he says, Valve would revert its decision and reconsider the game, but after two years, that doesn't seem likely to happen either.

However, Riva says their team won't fully disappear from gaming. The team has funds set aside for six months to support Horses post-launch with bug fixes and quality of life updates. Riva also tells me that the studio has known this was a possibility for a while now, and has been preparing accordingly. Its members have all found other gigs, some of which are in games. Riva himself says he's always worked multiple jobs in teaching, consulting, and curation while directing Santa Ragione, so he plans to "do more of that." And Horses director Borlera is already pitching new projects elsewhere.

While Riva would love to see a miracle leading to Horses recouping its costs and saving the studio, he says what he actually wants more than anything is for Valve to be transparent about its policies on mature content, which have fluctuated over the years and never really been clear. From the FAQ:

Alongside ultraviolent titles, Steam distributes explicit pornographic games; some of these listings acknowledge the legal grey area Steam mentioned in the HORSES ban message, by stating “All characters depicted are over the age of 18” in their store descriptions, and yet non-pornographic works like HORSES can be banned without context. By contrast, mature works with comparable or stronger themes routinely appear on mainstream streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, where controversial directors are an accepted part of the catalog. This double standard suggests Steam does not treat games as art on par with film, and intervenes with censorship when an artistic vision does not align with what the platform owner considers acceptable art.

As a final word, Riva urges game developers to stand up together to demand transparency from Steam. "I know developers are understandably scared of voicing their complaints about Steam, but I hope we can collectively ask for better conditions to make our work more viable and more creatively free," he says. "The current landscape is one where very few actors control the distribution of almost all games that are produced, and that should mean they are responsible not just for the commercial sustainability of the industry, but also for the growth of games as an artistic medium."

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

The first ever bunny-fox partnership in ZPD history is back on the case for Zootopia 2, once again attempting to tackle systemic injustice, greed, corruption and facing one's own personal shortcomings.

So of course I brought my children with me to see what they thought!

Zootopia 2 picks up pretty much where the 2016 original left off, with the ambitious bunny from the sticks Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and the street-wise con-fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) basking in the success of cracking their first major case and on the lookout for their next one. When they stumble on to the presence of the first snake in Zootopia in decades, the duo cross paths with returning favorites and a host of new mammals as they (and you’ll never believe this) uncover more than they bargained for!

Now, reviewing what are ostensibly kids movies is kind of tricky. On the one hand I’ve got a film critic hat and I like to wear it, but on the other hand it’s easy to say “Pshh, it’s a kids movie.” On the surface, Zootopia 2 is a bunch of cartoon animals solving crime and making jokes and learning to love and appreciate each other, but lurking beyond that silliness is a seedy underbelly of social criticism that deserves to be taken seriously. And that is why I was determined to bring my kids with me to the press screening so they could weigh in whenever my film critic hat got a little too tight.

For example, I would say the look of the film is gorgeous. The animation style is the same colorful palette as the first Zootopia, but new terrains and more ambitious lighting gave the animators a chance to really flex 10 years worth of technological development.

Meanwhile, my daughter, age 11, said, “My favorite part was when they snuck into the gala. It was funny because they were in the tundra but Judy was wearing a sleeveless dress and somehow not cold, and I’m pretty sure parts of that house were ice.” So bonus points for the production design of the gala sequence and be on the lookout for parts of the house that are ice.

But the sequence my kid is talking about here is a truly thrilling little microcosm of what works best about the world of Zootopia. There’s a charming back-and-forth between our Odd Couple protagonists. There’s also a real understanding on the part of the filmmakers of building suspense in a detective story. The action is also spot on, with each beat of the sequence being set up and paid off visually, while little throwaway jokes on the way into the scene become punchlines on the way out. The whole sequence of sneaking into a snowy chateau as part of an off-the-books investigation and then escaping via action sequence that’s equal parts rad and funny is giving James Cameron and True Lies vibes – which very much speaks to my sensibilities. Plus, in spite of the fact that Judy Hopps wasn’t too cold in that dress, it resonated with my 11-year-old as well.

That level of quality in the nuts and bolts of the filmmaking was present in 2016’s Zootopia as well, but the other thing both movies excel at is the high-quality animal puns. Every square inch of this movie is covered in clever little animal jokes, like how the pair of ram detectives are named after goat cheeses or the catering company is called “A-Moose Bouche.” It’s just hard not to get charmed by that sort of thing when it’s as wall-to-wall as it is here in Zootopia 2, and I’m confident there are a thousand of those background jokes that I missed.

On this topic, my daughter said, “I liked the puns, too,” which I think had more to do with me talking non-stop about them, so read that with a much more eye-rolly energy. But my 6-year-old son said, “My second favorite part of the movie was when the fox said ‘Ahh! A Viper!’” That doesn’t seem like a pun now, but there’s a punchline to it I don’t want to ruin. Also, it’s worth noting my son couldn’t decide on what his favorite part of the movie was, but apparently this moment is his second.

But Zootopia 2 speeds along at a really nice clip, with both the plotting and the action sequences moving at a great pace except for one spot where the movie screeches to a halt for some exposition dumping. There’s a scene as the film starts to steer towards the home stretch where the macguffin is over-explained and, in a moment that had me checking my watch, the steps of the plan that’s going to save the day are rattled off amidst gauzy flashbacks that sketch out what needs to happen in the final 20 or 30 minutes of the movie. The plan that Judy, Nick and their new allies have is perfectly clear; it already made sense before they hammered it into place with this sequence. But the determination with which they explained everything to me had me thinking that maybe I had missed something. It’s a spot in the script that frankly didn’t need to be there because, in retrospect, the ride that the film’s final act goes on is perfectly clear. But that is admittedly some extreme fur-splitting.

Also like the first film, Zootopia 2 dives headlong into some pretty weighty issues. Racism and prejudice are at the forefront of this movie again, this time with the added layer of generational theft. The sequel introduces an obviously nefarious family of Lynx that have for decades held a corrupt grip on the city, an exiled snake trying to restore his good name and a former-movie-star-horse-turned-mayor voiced by the always welcome baritone of Patrick Warburton. These new characters and the voice actors portraying them, respectively Ke Huy Quan, David Strathairn and Andy Samberg in particular, are a blast even though the film didn’t leave much room for returning supporting characters, like my wife’s favorite, the irrepressibly dim-witted, donut-loving cheetah Clawhauser (Nate Torrance).

While these new characters are all well-drawn and fit right into the natural and empathetic performances of the returning cast, they don’t necessarily cast new light on the topics the writers are illuminating again.

Again, with a smorgasbord of social issues like corruption, systemic prejudice, cultural erasure, old lies becoming the current truth, and even the unfair pressure on a trailblazer to be perfect lest she ruin opportunities for those wanting to follow in her paw prints, Zootopia 2 might be trying to wrangle a few too many important topics into its menagerie. There is so much happening in this movie that certain moments feel like it’s just kind of pointing at these issues rather than engaging with any one of them in a thorough way.

The sequel, like its predecessor, instead doubles down on Judy’s desire to enact change. Hopps wants, more than anything else, to make a difference, and knows the hard truth that things will never change unless somebody stands up and tries to change them. This belief is the defining difference between her and her fox partner that is also the heart of this story. It’s a relentlessly hopeful outlook that borders on naive. Depending on the day I’m having, it’s not a message that I buy into all of the time, particularly in a movie that features cops following corrupt orders and raiding a marginalized part of town, which turns out to be a maybe more dramatic than they intended scene to watch given current events. Strangely enough, this is another similarity between Zootopia 2 and the first film: it can be a surprisingly dark movie at times.

The good news though is I got to talk to my kids about what they felt watching these events unfold on screen. What parts of the story were scary, when were they happy, when were they sad, how they both even teared up in multiple moments. I asked them what moments specifically made them cry, and my daughter said, “Just all the emotional ones,” to which I followed up with, “Which emotions?” and she answered, “All of them, I guess.”

The final cry-tally, by the way, for my daughter was two and a half times. Once she cried because she was sad, once because she was happy and the half a time was a scary part, while my son only cried once, but it was happy crying. And having a whole ride home to chat about why was really kind of nice.

So maybe Zootopia 2 doesn’t mine the complete depths of the issues it raises about our society, and maybe it oversimplifies the answers in the interests of tying the story up in a neat little kid-friendly boa constrictor, but it asks important questions that are worth talking about. And based on the reactions my kids had, and the conversations we had after the movie, all the right feelings got through. Empathy and compassion and fairness are never a bad thing, and Zootopia 2 found a way to get “all of them, I guess” to resonate with my kids.

Ryan Murphy is doing it yet again, folks. His new legal drama, All’s Fair, has officially been renewed for a second season at Hulu — which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering the reception to the show, but what the hell. Why not, we guess.

The series’ official social media channels revealed the news on Monday, November 24. “Checkmate. All's Fair is coming back for Season 2! Production begins Spring 2026. Let's do this!” the account shared with a fire heart emoji and a lips emoji, adding some of the show’s now infamous sassiness to the caption.

The text came alongside a video made to announce the next chapter for the series, which included clips from this first season of the show, which still has three episodes to go before its December 12 season finale. “We are so back,” the text in the video read, highlighting one of star Kim Kardashian’s whale-tail dresses in a tongue-and-cheek joke before adding, “for Season 2. Production begins Spring 2026.”

The only thing better than plushies is giant plushies, especially when they're Pokémon plushies. Now I'm gonna say plushies one more time. Plushies!

Anyway, Walmart has you covered for your cuddle fix this Black Friday with five fan-favorite Pokémon for just $25 each in the sale, although I'm annoyed there's not a sixth to complete my team.

Dropping $35 from their list price of $59.99, these bad boys stand 24" tall and are based on their animé appearances rather than their game sprites. Although that line is so blurred at this point, there's hardly a difference to be made.

Jazwares, the makers of Squishmallows, are the manufacturer behind these gorgeous soft toys (Sorry, I used up my "P word" allocation in the intro). That means they're cuddly and soft, but not quite a Squishmallow.

This isn't just another soft toy that kind of looks like the Pokémon they're supposed to represent with weird-looking body parts; these all look legit. Just subtle touches like Charizard's wings, Pikachu's smile, and Psyduck's vacant stare are all spot-on.

They're not proportionate to eachother as they're all 24-inches, so kids can have some fun with a giant Pikachu squaring up with a tiny Dragonite. Of course I mean all the grown ups who will have these in bed with them at night, because that's not exactly what I would do at all.

Like I said they all look great, but Sprigatito's giant head is nearly the size of Psyduck which is the best visual comedy I could've expected to see today. Speaking of Sprigatito, it's the best bargain, reduced from a massive $98.09 to just $25. It must be all that extra stuffing in it's boulder head.

I'd say one or all of these are fantastic stocking filler, but just in the spirit of low-cost gifts as you'd need to steal a Snorlax-sized sock to fit one of these in.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.