With Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Season 1 Reloaded just around the corner, we're starting to get a better idea of what to expect when the new update goes live on January 8.

Although we don't yet have all the details, we should expect four multiplayer maps for Black Ops 7 at launch, plus new POIs on Haven's Hollow Resurgence and Verdansk maps in Warzone. There's also some updates for Zombies, including the Astra Malorum Round-Based Zombies map and Exit 115 Survival map, plus "reward-filled weekly challenges," new weapons, modes, camos, events, and more.

While pre-load is not live yet across all platforms, it is available for players on Battle.net, where it looks like it's a 175GB download (redownloading the game), although that will depend on what game modes you have/want installed. On Xbox, the download looks to be around 170GB, so whatever you're playing on, it may be worth double-checking how much space you have ahead of time.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Season 1 Reloaded start times:

Depending on where you are in the world, Season 1 Reloaded is set to go live on:

Thursday, January 8, 2026:

PST (San Francisco):

• 9am

CST (Mexico City):

• 11am

EST (New York):

• 12pm

GMT (London):

• 5pm

CET (Paris):

• 6pm

Friday, January 9, 2026

JST (Tokyo):

• 1am

CST (Beijing):

• 1am

AEST (Sydney):

• 4am

NZST (Wellington):

• 6am

Maps

Players will fight across a suite of new core Multiplayer maps with Season 1 Reloaded, including the high-rise, neon-soaked rooftops of Yakei alongside the return of two of the most iconic maps in Black Ops history: Meltdown and Fringe.

Zombies, on the other hand, will see the Zarya Cosmodrome location from Ashes of the Damned become a Survival map, and a Directed mode has been added to the Astra Malorum map, so buddies can now jump and help each other complete the main story quest.

Campaign

Two new world events have been confirmed, but we only have details of one: the Wraith Wing world event. This advanced Guild aircraft appears to have cloning capabilities with lethal consequences as this squadron seems hell bent on eliminating as many JSOC Operators as it can. Disable it, fire at the exposed aircraft, and down that bird.

Weapons

So far, we only know of two new weapons unlocking in Season 1 Reloaded:

• Hawker HX (Sniper rifle, FKA Ballista sniper)
• Sturmwolf 45 (submachine gun, FKA UMP45)

Fallout Collab

Okie dokie - stay focused, stay alive ☢️@FalloutonPrime is coming to Call of Duty in Season 01 Reloaded 💥 pic.twitter.com/uyFl3mRDkG

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) December 17, 2025

Yes, it's true — Microsoft is bringing two of its hottest gaming franchises together for a Fallout Season 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 crossover event. While details remain sparse, we've seen a brief video teaser which shows silhouettes of Fallout TV series characters The Ghoul, Lucy, and Maximus in the smoke of war, with bullets whizzing by in the background.

"Okie dokie — stay focused, stay alive," the text on the post reads. "[Fallout TV show] is coming to Call of Duty in Season 01 Reloaded."

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.

Recent Battlefield 6 Steam reviews have fallen to 'Mixed,' with players pointing to bugs, “aggressive monetization,” and generative AI content as player numbers dwindle amid the long wait for Season 2.

Battlefield 6 took off with the strongest start the EA FPS franchise had seen in years when it launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on October 10. Although the time since has seen Battlefield Studios’ new installment fall out of (and back into) favor with fans, the rough patch it currently finds itself in is undeniably its longest yet.

Just as Battlefield 6 clawed its way to general positivity following the mid-November launch of its Season 1: California Resistance update, December saw the start of an influx of new negative Steam reviews and a continued decline in concurrent player numbers on Valve's platform. That’s at least partly thanks to the release of the final Season 1 chapter, Winter Offensive, which focused on limited-time, snowy versions of existing multiplayer maps, but it wasn’t the lack of new locations driving this downward trend.

The December 9 1.1.3.0 update’s Ice Lock event and Ice Climbing Axe melee weapon came side-by-side with a glitchy main menu, game-breaking stuttering issues, and a subtle (and unintentional) infantry movement nerf. BF Studios was quick to deliver on its promises to fix many of the issues plaguing players across PC and consoles despite the impending holiday break, but Winter Offensive has since proven to be the last crack in the steadily weakening dam keeping displeased Battlefield 6 fans at bay.

Losing Steam

Complaints related to Winter Offensive, compounded with longtime desires to see things like bigger Conquest maps, additional grounded skins, and other highly requested features, resulted in the beginning of the general decline in favorability, including for those on Steam. December 10, one day after the update’s launch, saw 652 negative reviews and 474 positive reviews logged in English. That’s a shift from the previous trend, which had seen favorable scores outweighing the negative each day.

The weeks leading to this point saw Battlefield 6 boasting “Mostly Positive” reviews in nearly all languages (save for Simplified Chinese, which has remained at “Mostly Negative” since late October). SteamDB’s user tracker has all reviews reaching positivity of 69.8% from December 2 – December 8, with that number since falling to 68.4%.

Amid the debate about Arc Raiders players who focus on the PvP aspect of the game and little else, the boss of Embark Studios has made the developer’s position clear: this is not a game about killing other players, and it doesn’t want to “foster” that type of gameplay.

Arc Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure in which players scavenge the remnants of a devastated world, but the main threats are Arc’s machines and, as Embark Studios puts it, “the unpredictable choices of fellow survivors.”

Arc Raiders’ player versus environment versus player gameplay has resulted in a number of viral clips showing how friendly encounters can quickly devolve into a fight to the last. Yes, you can play solo or in parties up to three, working as a team to progress through the game. However, other players are a constant threat. This has sparked a vociferous debate within the community about the etiquette that has formed in-game, with a retired pro gamer going viral for relentlessly killing casual Arc Raiders players.

Meanwhile, Embark recently confirmed that Arc Raiders does indeed feature ‘aggression-based matchmaking.’ This means that if you’re big into PvP, you’ll be matched up with players who are like-minded. Similarly, if you prefer PvE, you’ll be matchmade with players who tend to avoid conflict with other players.

But according to Patrick Söderlund, CEO of Embark Studios, the developer won’t add a PvP leaderboard or other systems that promote PvP, because that’s not what Arc Raiders is about.

In a recent interview / video playthrough of the game with Games Beat, Söderlund explained the studio’s position.

“We've had several discussions about Nemesis systems and all types of things,” he said. “I don't know where the team are on them right now. I think one of the beauties of this game is the fact that we don't have those leaderboards and it's not competitive.

“We don't want to necessarily foster that type of gameplay. The game isn't about shooting other players. You can do that if you want to, but the ethos of the game has never been to go in and shoot players. It's a part that we use to craft tension.”

Söderlund revealed that Arc Raiders spent quite a bit of time during development not having other players at all. But Embark added other players into the game, supported by subtle signaling so you know players were about, to create this important element of tension.

“The game was without other players for a long time,” Söderlund said. “And yes, there were instances where the game was fun and there were areas where it worked quite well. But also the minute you added other players and then use subtle ways of signaling — you don't know how many players are on the server, you don't know how many players have died, you don’t know how many players are around you — but we signal to you that there are other players. You hear them shooting. That's why audio is a very important part of this game. You hear them encountering Arc and other players. You see the raider flares as they go down.

“At one point — it was funny — I came back into a playtest and the raider flares were gone. I'm like, ‘Why did you remove those?’ And they're like, ‘Well, well…’ So I just said, ‘Just bring them back.’ They're such an iconic part of this game.

“And they also signal to other players that action is happening somewhere. It makes it feel populated in an important way. And you also know that there could be a downed raider somewhere. Should I go there? Should I take the risk and go there to see whether I can find something, or have they been brought back to life? There's a tension element in that that's very important.”

Söderlund went on to suggest that private game servers are “absolutely something we could consider.” Private servers are something fans have been wondering about ever since Arc Raiders came out last year. Their addition would, theoretically at least, allow those who are big into PvP to perhaps create servers where that’s the focus.

For now, though, Arc Raiders won’t shake your hand for your player-killing exploits, or give you the chance for online glory through leaderboards. The emphasis here is PvE — with a dash of PvP thrown in.

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.

In the fall of 2025, I had the great pleasure of attending Tokyo Game Show, a trip that also naturally included a few pit stops to meet local developers and see what they were up to. On the very last day of my trip, in the final hours just before I went to the airport, I arrived at what I desperately hoped was the Onion Games office. I was overburdened with two giant suitcases, in a foreign country, and unsure of exactly where it was. As I glanced up at the building where I thought I’d been directed to go, I caught a glimpse through a window of a silly-looking figure plastered on a wall: a man in an asparagus suit.

Yeah, that was it.

I lugged up a flight of stairs to a non-descript door where I tentatively knocked, and was shortly after greeted by James Wragg and Yoshiro Kimura. They welcomed me inside, and gracious invited me to sit down at a little round table covered in a red and white checked tablecloth. Kimura offered me some green tea from a large bottle. I was surrounded on all sides by bookcases of manga and a deluge of Onion Games memorabilia, more than I ever imagined existed for such a small studio.

What followed was genuinely one of the most warm and pleasant interviews I’ve ever conducted, but I’m going to need you to buckle up and bear with me for a bit to understand why. Kimura is a true industry veteran, a developer on games such as Romancing Saga 2 and 3, No More Heroes, and Little King’s Story, co-creator of Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, and now-head of Onion Games, which has created a long line of very silly games such as Million Onion Hotel and Black Bird, gained a little bit of fame globally for its Western localization of the classic Moon a few years ago, and just released a little RPG called Stray Children this year.

Stray Children is a game built upon some very, very specific DNA. To understand it, I really think you need to understand Moon, which originally came out in 1997 for the PlayStation 1, but only in Japan at the time. Moon is a goofy, esoteric RPG (Kimura will refer to it later in the interview as an “oddball” RPG) about a kid who gets sucked into a Dragon Quest-like video game, only to discover that the “hero” of the game is actually murdering innocent monsters. What follows is an upside down adventure where you follow the “hero” around, rescuing the souls of those monsters and doing good deeds to put the world right, raising your “Lv” or “Love” as you go.

Moon was a truly strange game both for its time and even now, as I discovered when I played its English localization for Nintendo Switch in 2020. Its characters follow a full seven-day-long Majora’s Mask like time schedule, instead of a soundtrack it has an in-game music player with tracks from various 90s Japanese underground bands, and its puzzles and ending are extremely difficult to sus out, even for a 90s game. It’s so out there, that Onion Games translated and printed the original manual that came with Moon and released it online, so new players wouldn’t be totally lost as to why there was a timer in the top corner of the screen and why they kept collapsing for seemingly no reason.

But strange as it is, I think Moon is truly wonderful, and I’m not the only one who loved it. Toby Fox helped bolster the game’s profile a bit when he cited it as a major inspiration for Undertale, and having played both games it’s extremely easy to see the crossover. Kimura and Fox have since met and talked about their respective games, a friendship that in turn seems to have inspired Kimura to make another RPG, which takes us to Stray Children.

At the time I conducted this interview, Kimura had just let me play the first, oh, five minutes of the game before its release. In those few minutes, a young boy with a dog-like face is visited at home by an older man, a stranger, who basically convinces him to leave his house at night and follow him to a subway station, through a secret passage, and into a room full of computer monitors. And that’s where we stopped.

Having since played the full game, I know Stray Children is about that boy getting sucked into a video game world, just like in Moon, and what follows is a really incredible subversion of Moon, which was itself a subversion of RPG tropes. While it can stand alone, I guess, so many of Stray Children’s best moments are predicated on knowing Moon, which leads to it being a really niche experience that will probably confuse some people who stumble into it. But it’s the game Kimura wanted to make, without compromise, even in the moments where that lack of compromise became frustrating.

So with that background, here’s my interview with Yoshiro Kimura, conducted over green tea and surrounded by little decals of the asparagus man and cows and various other Onion Games mascots. This was mostly conducted in translation courtesy of Wragg, though there were a few points where Kimura stepped in and gave his answers directly in English. The interview has been very lightly edited for clarity.

Yoshiro Kimura: My name is Yoshiro Kimura, the Japanese game designer. I have been developing games for more than 25 years. If I calculate from when I was 12 years old, I was making a lot of games for myself also. And now I'm the boss of the company called Onion Games and Onion Games is already 10 years old, and I spend time making indie games.

So Stray Children clearly follows from Moon, and I know you've told the story of how you ended up revisiting Moon and bringing it to Switch and bringing it to English and the rest of the world for the first time. But what inspired you to start making Stray Children?

Kimura: I wanted to make an RPG. I was thinking about making an RPG from the day we started Onion Games, but developing an RPG requires a lot of hit points, a lot of experience. And when we started the company up, I did consider doing a Kickstarter to fund it, but I'm not that famous of a game creator, so I didn't think I would get the support. So instead we went the route of making smaller games first, like Million Onion Hotel, Dandy Dungeon, Black Bird. And we gained experience, leveled up to the point where I felt comfortable that we'd be able to, not just myself, but the team would be able to handle an RPG.

So regards to motivation for actually making Stray Children, there are several things that kickstarted the idea in my mind. Obviously one of them is Moon, but anyone who's played Moon would know a sequel to Moon isn't something that can be done. And I really like Moon myself as well, so I spent a long time thinking, "How can I make a game that has the same kind of feel, atmosphere, but without being directly connected to that game?" So once I got to the point where I could envisage the start and the end of this new story, that was when I knew we were ready to begin.

Even just from the first few minutes of Stray Children, it seems like you're exploring some of the same themes: like childhood, disconnection from adults and maybe the nature of what a video game actually is or can be. Is that fair to say?

Kimura: To answer that question, I'm going back to the motivation for making an RPG in the first place. Part of that was wanting to make an RPG, part of it was wanting to make something with the same feeling as Moon. So it goes back to memories of the games I played, my generation played, so the ‘80s, the ‘90s. Back then games that I played had a really strong influence on me. And seeing and hearing about new releases was a really exciting thing back then. That experience that I had in the past from games, I wanted to put that into Stray Children for the player to experience anew.

So for me, those games, they weren't console games so much back then, partly they were, but it was PC as well and some arcade. But if you imagine, back when I was a kid, I was living in the countryside. One day I came across this guy who lived locally and he had a C64 and PC, I don't know, '88, '98, whatever. So I'm seeing games like Ultima, Wizardry, some games on the C64, and it's just amazing seeing... It's so new to me. And also in the arcade I'm seeing Xevious from Namco, Mappy, that kind of stuff. And I loved these games and I wanted to put the feeling that I had back then into the game so the player can experience it through it.

You made Moon, oh my gosh, what, 25... More? Almost 30 years ago?

Kimura: Maybe 30 years ago.

RPGs have changed and evolved since then, so I'm curious if there's anything you've been playing in the last couple of years that has inspired you or made you think differently?

Kimura: It's a bit of an odd answer I suppose, but first recently, some stuff I've been playing anyway and I guess it has influenced me quite a lot, is I’ve been going through the first five Dragon Quest games again on Famicom and Super Famicom.

The original versions?

Kimura: The original, very hard one. And I don't know whether it's an inspiration, but I've certainly played recently, Odencat's Meg's Monster.

But when I talk about inspirations, I always end up with Undertale. But before I talk about that, I want to make sure that there's no misunderstanding. So I'm quite friendly with Toby Fox and when I answer I'm answering honestly, but I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to ride on the coattails, and don't want the press chasing him for comments.

But there is an element of influence from that and I think... So Toby, he plays my games right after release, sometimes before release. But I always ask him why, why he plays and why's he enjoying them? He said, "Because I like weird, oddball games," and I thought, "Oh, well, that's the same as me." So when I thought about Undertale, Undertale's kind of weird in many ways as well. And so in talking to Toby, because we've got this common interest, I feel relaxed, a sense of reassurance. Security. I feel at ease talking to him.

One of the things that has fascinated me about Moon and Undertale and Stray Children is it feels like they're part of a larger tradition of weird, oddball games that are all inspired by one another and in conversation with one another. I put the Mother games in there, Contact.

Kimura: Yume Nikki.

Yeah. There's a bunch of them that are all playing off some of the same themes. And it's been interesting to see the conversations publicly between you and Toby Fox, where two different generations of game developers are inspiring one another back and forth. And that's a really cool thing to see.

Kimura: It's like we're kind of pen friends almost or diary friends. All these creators.

I think all game creators share this kind of feeling, whether they share it with all other game creators or there's just the oddball game creators and the fighting game creators and the action game creators, but I think everybody's inspiring and inspired by their peers.

So who all is Onion Games? How big is the team? Is it people who have been with you for a long time? Do you have any newer developers?

Kimura: So from the core development people, there's seven including myself, and we've had some younger people join recently, but they've been with us for three years, so that's the shortest. Then there's people who've been with us from the start of Onion Games, we've been working together about 11 years. And there's one of the programmers was the programmer from Chulip, so that's a long time. But even longer than that, there's a coworker from my Square days, so I've known him for 30 years or so.

You mentioned earlier you don't use this office anymore. Is everyone remote?

Kimura: So I'm the person most frequently here and one of the younger team members is often here as well. So I work here a lot. And sometimes people will come in, but generally speaking, when we're all together it's when we're drinking.

Are you working with the same composers or any of the same people who did the music for Moon?

Kimura: Yeah, basically it's the same composers. So Thelonious Monkees, which is comprised of [Hirofumi] Taniguchi-san, [Masanori] Adachi-san, and we've got [Keiichi] Sugiyami-san's doing the sound effects, so basically the same.

I interviewed them about how they composed Moon and got all those different artists together to do the Moon discs, the MDs is there anything like that in Stray Children?

Kimura: Not this time, we didn't do anything like that. That was something that we were able to do because of the team makeup of Moon itself. And I didn't think that doing the same thing again with Stray Children would have the same impact. So I wanted to go with just a straight, new composition to the game.

But we did use that, I forget what it was called in English, but the odd voice, the scrambled voice. The way we did it this time again is we got the fans of Onion Games to send in lots of... We've got fans all around the world, so speaking in their native languages, they sent us lots of voice clips and they all got mixed up and put back in. The Japanese version, I wasn't able to get it to a level that I was happy with. But with the international release, that will all be kind of like a director's cut of the odd voices.

So I saw just the very beginning of the game, but I've watched the trailers and so I have a little bit of a picture of what I'm in for, but what can you tell me about where this game goes? Especially, it seems like you're encountering people in some sort of... There's battles, but it's not a battle. What can you tell me about what's happening in Stray Children?

Kimura: That's actually the first time, in memory, that somebody's asked me that. And it's such an average and proper... Like a normal question, in a good way, that I haven't had the opportunity to answer. So give me a little time to get the elevator pitch ready.

[He thinks for a few moments.]

So it's an RPG, and as you saw with a player being sucked into the world of a video game in RPG, and in that world, as the title Stray Children suggests, there's a kingdom built by children and outside of that kingdom, outside of that land is where the adults, we call them The Olders, live. And you mentioned the battles, the battles... So underground, when you leave the safety of the children's land, there's these creatures living underground and that's where the battles occur. But in the battles, you can fight or you can talk to the enemy, these creatures. And it's completely up to the player how they approach that.

Is this a game where the outcomes could be impacted by how you interact with those creatures?

Kimura: That is down to the player and how they feel, how they react to the- So when talking about games, the way I feel about it is, I can tell you about the systems of the game and maybe how they work, but what occurs when you interact with those systems and the game's story, and how the game plays out, I would rather leave that up to the player to discover, to experience for themselves. Because I think that not knowing what you're getting when you go into the game gives a better experience to the player.

Moon's very funny and your other games are very funny. And I think humor is very difficult in video games sometimes, because at times games try very hard to be funny and it comes off as disingenuous. But I don't know, I'm curious how you approach making a game that is cheeky and silly and will make the player laugh? And especially when you have to then localize it because localizing humor is a whole different challenge in and of itself.

Kimura: So, it's a difficult one to answer actually. So I'm not necessarily, when I make games, I'm not looking to manipulate how the player's feeling. I'm not necessarily looking to make them laugh because some of the humor, it will make some people laugh, but for other people it might make them feel almost fear. And then I might make a scene that makes some people feel, "Oh, that's so sad," but other people would think, "That's cruel and horrible." You played the opening, right?

Yeah.

Kimura: So it opens with this: The player meets this guy and basically he takes him away somewhere and then the player gets sucked into this game world. It's kind of funny, but at the same time it's also kind of foreboding and the player's getting a sense of anticipation but also, "Look, what is happening here?" And that's what I'm going for, trying to just grasp the player and really draw their interest. And I think that's common to all my games. I'm not necessarily going for a certain feeling every time, just mixing things up.

So I get to thinking about what's good, bad, black, white, good versus evil, is there even a clear split? And I think a lot of it comes from the experiences I had and the adults I met when I was a kid and how I interpreted those experiences, those meetings. And so my games, they're based in fantasy worlds, but there's definitely a certain element of my past experiences in them as well. I don’t know quite what those are? I don't know because it's all mixed up inside, but I'm sure some of it is in there. And that's especially true of Stray Children.

This is a really, really personal game for you, then?

Kimura: Yeah. Yeah, it's personal, but it's also a piece of entertainment. So it is a product at the same time as being a piece of art, I guess.

What am I not asking you about that you wish journalists would ask you?

Kimura: Apart from what type of game is this?

Haha, yes.

Kimura: I don't know, to be honest. And the reason is, when I was at Marvelous Entertainment and I was a producer, if you asked me about this or if you asked me about the game, I would have a prepared answer. I could tell you what the sales points were from a marketing perspective, but I've been working on Stray Children for three years now and I can't say specific points that I like because I like it all so much. When you asked me that question earlier, I couldn't answer straight away, it's because, A, I haven't been asked but also, B, I don't have that clear answer anymore in my head. Not at all. But if you've got any questions, I'm an open book right now for answers.

I like prompting people I interview like this at the end because sometimes creators have something that's in their head that is preoccupying them or that they're very excited about or that they think about all the time, but it's not always something that's been shown or announced or obvious for someone to ask about. So it's okay if you don't have an answer, but I like asking just in case.

Kimura: Actually, yes, having answered that, now I think I realize what I wanted to say. When we live our lives, there's oftentimes when we want to clarify what is right and what is wrong, have everything black and white. But recently, especially recently, I've been thinking that maybe that's not a good idea, and to have things gray, have that lack of clarity, a lack of a clear dividing line between those two things is a good idea. And I've been trying to, in various ways, have that element part of the game. And I know I play games, I've been making for a long time, I know what the player expects what a normal game should be, the user-friendly experience. Maybe there should be a warning at the beginning, but I should say sorry, just that this game isn't that way and it is my intent to do that as well.

A lot of video games over the years have tried to explore morality and as you say, in very black and white terms, where if you make certain decisions, you get a good ending and certain decisions you get a bad ending, and that's how it works. And even Undertale and Moon really worked that way, though I thought Moon's was…well, I got it wrong the first time. But I think now, especially in this oddball game space, there's a hunger to explore that a little more deeply and with more nuance. I'm experiencing that right now playing Deltarune, where I think the right and the wrong is a little less clear.

Kimura: It's pretty refreshing to speak about this. It's there, but I haven't really vocalized these things. I've been making this game for a long time, like three years, so every day it's like my life's energy is being sucked into this thing that I'm making. So at the end of every day I'm really just wiped out. And like you say, it is an odd game, so I need to be able to express in the marketing message from now... When we're going to release the English version, I need to be able to tell people all about it, but I just don't have the energy. I'm like, "This is a bit of a problem."

So up until now, with all the games we've done at Onion Games, once I've finished the game, I shift gears into this marketing mode, but this time I just haven't been able to, so it's a completely new experience.

Well, I imagine the smaller the game, the more personal it is to the people making it. And I imagine it's very challenging to have to sell what amounts to the contents of your heart.

Kimura: I've got really mixed feelings about it and it's kind of the same feeling about all of my games in some ways, and I think people who like my games would like this, and those that don't, won't. But this time around, the biggest difference is probably... Because the game was on Nintendo Direct, albeit in Japan, a lot more people probably know about it, than past games. So I think probably a lot more people will buy it, but I've been thinking about how some people think of games as a product and when you sell them, the more money you make the better. But I've recently been thinking about Stray Children that my strongest hope is that the people who buy it and play it will really love it. And if that's only a few people, then whatever. I really want it to reach the people that it should reach and the other people, if it doesn't reach them, then-

It is really a complex series of a mix of emotions, but to repeat what I said, I think that having it reach the people who will like it, will really resonate with, that's what I'm really looking for I think.

Post-Japan release, we've been polishing like crazy and everything is much improved, but at the same time I also realized that however much we were improve it, I can't please all of the people all the time. It's only ever going to please the people it's going to please.

[Translator pauses here and says, "I don't know how to translate this. Please do your best to make it into a comprehensive whole."] I haven't spoken to... I wouldn't say anybody, or that I haven't spoken to the media, but I'm half-feeling like when you get a bit tipsy and you start- So it's probably not your typical article that you'd write.

Well, I think you're better at selling your game than you think you are.

I turned off the recorder here, but I wanted to anecdotally include one last part of our conversation that occurred before Kimura sent me off with what turned out to be an excellent lunch recommendation, and has stuck with me since. As we were wrapping up, we got into a discussion about how overwhelming and oppressing the world feels nowadays, especially if you’re online or tuned into the news.

Kimura shared that in response to this feeling, he tries to focus on small joys. For instance, he says he’s recently discovered at his local convenience store a little apple pie, that only costs a couple hundred yen (a dollar, maybe almost two in USD). While the apple pie is meant for one, he’s figured out a specific way he likes to slice the pie into several pieces, and then he puts just one piece in the oven at home before he eats it so that the edges become golden and crispy.

In this way, he makes this very small joy last longer, and it tastes even better. That, he says, is how he’s trying to live his life right now.

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

Hyperkin and GameSir have each made great controllers for PC, consoles and mobiles, but for CES 2026 they've teamed up for the first time to create a fascinating transforming controller: the X5 Alteron.

The idea combines two recent trends: a Backbone-style expanding frame that can adapt to Switch consoles, tablets and mobiles, and swappable button and stick modules, like those pioneered by Thrustmaster in their eSwap controllers. The number of replacement modules is also extensive, with the marketing video for the X5 Alteron showing off controls that resemble the Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, N64 and more.

The novel combination actually makes a lot of sense, as you very well may prefer to swap between a native Nintendo-style layout for playing on Switch or Switch 2, hop onto an N64 layout to play old games on Nintendo Switch Online, crack out a fight pad layout for Tekken and then a more standard Xbox or PlayStation control scheme for iOS, Android or PC gaming. Whatever you're playing, the Alteron ought to be able to adapt.

This review contains spoilers for Fallout Season 2, Episode 4, “The Demon in the Snow,” which is available to stream now on Prime Video.

Deathclaws are one of Fallout’s most famous monsters, but many mistakenly believe they’re a type of mutant created by the immense radiation of the apocalypse. The truth is that they were actually developed by the US government years before the bombs dropped, envisioned as brutal replacements for regular soldiers. However, as the Fallout wiki explains, “to date there has been no official sources confirming that the government carried out their original goal of deploying the deathclaws into military combat prior to 2077.”

Well, that description now needs updating, because Fallout Season 2’s fourth episode reveals that the US very much did deploy deathclaws onto the battlefield. In the fantastic Alaskan Front-set (quite literally) cold opener, we see Cooper Howard witness the ferocity of this warped project first-hand. Shot as a horror sequence rather than an action scene, the butchering of a People’s Liberation Army squad is an effective introduction to the creature fans have been waiting a season-and-a-half to see. And while there’s surely more to come in later episodes, this brief introduction already suggests the effects team have nailed this iconic beast. The computer-rendered model conveys its impressive heft, but - as is so frequently the case - it’s the close-up shots of its animatronic head, with slowly blinking eyes and snarling jaws, that create the most chilling effect.

It’s not just the appearance of the deathclaw that makes this opener so effective, though. There’s the joy of seeing the old T-45 armour brought to life through yet another excellent piece of practical design, its malfunctioning systems harking back to Cooper’s complaints to Bud in Season 1 and Vault-Tec’s general “profit over people” ethos. And then there’s Goggins, who conveys not just the fear of coming face-to-face with a genuine monster, but the terror of realising how the entire PLA force was defeated. It’s unclear if Cooper understands that the deathclaws have been deployed by his own masters, but he certainly knows his men in their faulty power suits didn’t win the day. This all works as terrifying foreshadowing for the episode’s cliffhanger, in which Lucy and The Ghoul – equipped with just a few guns and the clothes on their backs – come face to face with a deathclaw on the New Vegas strip. They face utterly impossible odds.

Thankfully, the duo is able to have plenty of fun this week before being confronted by walking death. After her horrible ordeal at the hands of the Legion, Lucy has been nursed back to health by the NCR. But while two days on a constant drip of Buffout steroids may perk you up, it's a highly addictive drug – something almost every Fallout player has had to deal with in their hours of play. What results is a fun narrative riff on the games’ addiction mechanic, with Lucy now loosened up to the idea of blowing a few holes in people. The Venn diagram of her and The Ghoul slightly overlaps, even if it’s not a result of her own choices.

Of course, Lucy’s targets are not human. “I’m good for heads, they’re just ghouls, right?” But these aren’t any old ghouls. Once again, we have another nod to New Vegas’ factions, this time the Kings – a tribe of Elvis impersonators. But, as with the NCR and the Legion, it’s been over a decade since we last saw them, and the wasteland is nothing if not terribly unkind to its people. The Kings have all become feral ghouls, a nice method to both convey the progression of time and turn them into gory fodder for Season 2’s most spectacular action scene so far. It’s filled with great little flourishes, from the slick, rhythmic editing to the way bodies spin and buckle as wounds burst open. The slow-motion shot that concludes the fight is a fantastic nod to the games’ V.A.T.S. mechanic – no wonder it was used as one of the key images in the season’s teaser trailer.

Following last week’s “don’t thank me yet” comment from The Ghoul, there’s no sign yet that his saving of Lucy was fuelled by ulterior motives. If anything, he seems genuinely happy to be in her company. I’m pleased the writing team are content to leave things a little uneasy here rather than immediately launching into any kind of betrayal, as that nervous tension helps with steady escalation and plot pacing.

The same can’t be said of the stories unfolding in vaults 32 and 33. After being reintroduced in the premiere, we’ve had to wait until the season’s halfway point to return underground, which contributes to the sense that these events are less important than anything happening on the surface. This chapter does attempt to counter that, though, by brewing a mystery in the tunnels. Reg’s absurd in-breeding club is draining 33’s resources, and Betty is forced to ask Steph for 32’s help. Their conversation is entirely contextless breadcrumbs – What is the experiment? What is in the keepsake box? Who is Steph really? – but despite the lack of significant developments, all this does lend purpose to a storyline that previously felt inconsequential. I suspect we’ll have to wait another couple of episodes to push forward with this mystery, but hopefully satisfying answers come with our next visit to these steel corridors.

Thankfully, the events surrounding the Brotherhood of Steel is more than able to make up for that lack of satisfaction. Maximus attempts to assassinate Quintus, the chapter elders turn on each other, and full civil war is all systems go. There are stabbings, shootouts, and flaming airships falling out of the sky – it all feels big and momentous, akin to how Game of Thrones’ gradually heating tinder box plotlines would suddenly catch alight.

The prelude to this civil war has certainly been the heavier, more serious side of Fallout’s second season, but I think this week’s eruption proves that it was worth establishing a distinct tone for Maximus’ story. There’s a real sense of excitement and grand significance here that’s absent elsewhere, something emphasised by Ramin Djawadi’s excellent score. That’s not to say there’s no laughs to be had, of course: the drama is balanced by Thaddeus’ hapless attempts to impersonate Paladin Harkness, with the massive power armour suit used to create great moments of physical comedy – I particularly love the image of a massive knight holding a tiny lunch tray.

While these events spell large-scale disaster for the Brotherhood, this episode’s writer – genre TV veteran Jane Espenson – takes great care in ensuring that it all folds into Maximus’ character arc. As he holds Quintus at gunpoint, he admits that “I don’t choose to do the things I have to do, they just keep happening.” It’s a great vocalisation of Maximus’ complete lack of agency in his own life.

But while Maximus may feel like things are entirely out of his control, he is finally making the right choices. After abandoning his assassination attempt, Maximus confesses his failure to Dane (Xelia Mendes-Jones), who tells him, “You don’t have to apologise for not killing.” It’s an interesting moment for a show that has so far spent a lot of time wrestling with the fact that some deaths are necessary, and a good reminder that there’s still space for uncompromised morals in the blasted remains of America. And now that Maximus has the Cold Fusion device, it’s all on him and his sense of morality to make choices that will not just impact him, but the entire wasteland.

Looking for a fun game to jump into this January? Both Amazon and Walmart have dropped the wonderful Astro Bot for PS5 back to its lowest price yet of $39.97, which is the same price we saw during Black Friday sales. That's an excellent little treat for PlayStation users to start 2026 off with, saving you 33% off its full price of $59.99.

Score Astro Bot for $40

Hot on the animated heels of The Simpsons, which enjoyed its own Fortnite mini-season throughout November last year, it’s been confirmed South Park has its own collaboration with the battle royale juggernaut set to arrive this week.

The only official information related to South Park’s upcoming Fortnite crossover is an image of Butters playing the game, which notes the date January 9, alongside a caption that reads, “Chaos, loading…”, shared via Fortnite’s official social media.

Chaos, loading...

1.9.26 pic.twitter.com/vN6mfWAHXS

— Fortnite (@Fortnite) January 6, 2026

There’s no further confirmed information regarding how extensive the South Park content will be, but clarity on this appears to be just a couple of days away.

Rumours of a South Park/Fortnite crossover have been in circulation since late last year.

The news never stops with Fortnite, following confirmation Epic’s shooter has remained the most-played game on PlayStation in the US in 2025, a clear shift in its nipple policy, and the arrival of… Kim Kardashian.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 came out back in September 2025, and while it was an extremely premium handheld gaming PC, it was held back by Windows 11. Luckily, Lenovo is fixing that at CES 2026, where it just annouced the Legion Go 2, powered by SteamOS.

The lenovo Legion Go 2 with SteamOS will still come with the same AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. The only differences, really, are the menu buttons, which are now aligned with something like the Steam Deck or the Legion Go S, and, of course, the operating system: SteamOS.

Existing Legion Go 2 owners can install SteamOS themselves, of course, but you'd still have to go through the laborious process of installing Linux. With it coming out-of-the-box with SteamOS, new owners will never have to even look at the Windows desktop. Lenovo also claims SteamOS has been optimized to make full use of the hardware. If it's anything like the Legion Go S, when it launched back in June 2025, it may take the Z2 Extreme to another level.

Lenovo hasn't released any kind of release date for the Lenovo Legion Go 2 with SteamOS yet, but I do know that it will start at $1,199 – $100 more than the original Legion Go 2 with Windows. That's odd, given that Lenovo doesn't have to pay a fee to license the operating system, but we'll have to wait and see what exactly the starting configuration is before we pass judgement. After all, its not like RAM is getting more affordable any time soon.

Linux, Finally

Like many other handheld gaming PCs out there, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 was held back a bit by its software. Windows 11 still just isn't that great when you're using a controller, and while the new Xbox Full Screen Experience – which is available on the Legion Go 2 now – solves this a bit, SteamOS still offers a much better user experience.

One of the first things I did with the Legion Go 2 was install Bazzite, a SteamOS-like Linux distro that offers better hardware compatibility. And in the weeks that followed, the Legion Go 2 has become my most-used handheld. These gaming-centric Linux distros are just better for handheld gaming right now, and until Microsoft finishes everything it wants to do with the Full Screen Experience, I'd expect to see more handheld manufacturers shipping their devices with SteamOS. Lenovo already learned this lesson with the Legion Go S – now I just hope other manufacturers do too.

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

For the last few years, rollable displays have been the star of CES, but they're usually found in extremely expensive – and quickly discontinued – TVs. At CES 2026, though, Lenovo is showing off a gaming laptop that uses a rollable OLED display that can stretch to an ultrawide aspect ratio.

While it's still just a concept, the Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable is pitched to include a 'top-spec' Intel Core Ultra processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. That super-powerful graphics chip is necessary, too, given the extra pixels it needs to push once the display is stretched out in all of its 24:9 glory.

Keep in mind, though, that because this is still a just a concept, you shouldn't expect it to hit store shelves any time soon. As such, the specs are likely to change if and when this rollable laptop ever makes it to market. Lenovo unsurprisingly hasn't revealed any kind of pricing for the Legion Pro Rollable Concept, either. But if it does come out, expect it to cost a few thousand bucks.

Stretchy Laptop

Lenovo showed me the concept back in December in New York, and it's clearly in early stages. For instance, the Lenovo rep had to mess with the command line to even get the display to roll itself out. In the short few weeks between when I initially saw it and CES itself, Lenovo has fixed this. The display now extends out with a simple key combination: just press down the Fn button and the right or left arrow keys to extend or shrink the display, respectively. Even for a concept, the motion was extraordinarily smooth, and will likely get even better if this laptop ever actually sees the light of day.

But because of the mechanism needed to have a rollable display like this, the laptop is quite heavy. Again, it's a concept, so Lenovo isn't sharing any hard specs, but this laptop has to weigh close to 8 or 10 pounds. Thats something else that'll likely be improved if this laptop comes out – a repeating theme.

The laptop by default has a resolution of 2048 x 1280 at a 16:10 aspect ratio. That's a weird resolution, for sure, but it's not exactly impressive by modern gaming laptop standards. However, that default screen configuration isn't really the point. The laptop's display can roll out to two different sizes, resulting in either a 21:9 display with a resolution of 2986 x 1280 or a 3413 x 1280 24:9 display.

No matter what, that means that the Legion Pro Rollable is a FHD laptop, but that just means that the RTX 5090 this thing is packing – for now – won't have any problem driving high framerates, even in super-demanding games. After all, Lenovo is calling these stretched out display modes "Tactical Mode" and "Arena Mode" for the 21:9 and 24:9 modes, respectively, so it seems it wants this to appeal to esports gamers.

If this actually comes out, I wouldn't recommend it to any esports gamers, though. Instead, the ultrawide display appeals much more to gamers that like more immersive and story-based games. There is just something about jumping into an open world and having it take up your entire field of view. That's why ultrawide displays are my favorite gaming monitors, and now we can potentially get that on a gaming laptop.

Unfortunately, the laptop didn't have any actual games installed on it either time I tried it, so I don't know how it handles actually playing games. I did try digging around the PC when no one was looking to find something installed, but instead all I got to do was extend and retract the display over and over again. That was fun, but I would have loved to see how the computer was able to handle the extra pixels introduced by extending the screen.

Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until Lenovo decides this is worth releasing into the wild to actually benchmark it. Until then, I'll just dream of booting up the Witcher 3 with the display extended all the way out to its 24:9 mode.

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

Not everyone is the DIY type. If you're in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of the best brands we'd recommend. Alienware desktops and laptops feature solid build quality, top-of-the-line gaming performance, excellent cooling (further improved on the newer models), aggressive styling, and pricing that is very competitive with other pre-built options. Best of all, there are plenty of sales that happen throughout the year, so it's not difficult to grab one of these computers at considerably less than their retail price.

Dell and Alienware Coupons

Alienware Aurora Gaming Laptop Deals

Alienware's newest mainstream gaming laptop is dubbed the "Alienware Aurora" and it replaces the previous generation's x16 and m16 series of laptops. It comes in two models: the 16 and 16X. The 16 is the more economical model, but gamers should definitely opt for the higher-end 16X model. If you're looking for build quality and performance on par with the previous generation m16, then the 16X is its spiritual successor. It features an anodized aluminum lid and base, a higher quality display, a more powerful CPU, and a GPU that isn't throttled for maximum gaming performance.

Alienware Aurora R16 Gaming PC Deals

The Aurora R16 is Alienware's bread and butter gaming PC. It can be equipped with an Nvidia RTX 5060 graphics card all the way up to an RTX 5080 and the prices for Cyber Monday are extremely competitive with other brands. For example, currently Alienware has the least expensive prebuilt RTX 5080 gaming PC that I've found anywhere. Most of these systems are customizable, however it's not difficult to upgrade your own RAM and storage yourself.

Alienware Area-51 Gaming PC Deals

If you're seeking the absolute best of the best in PC gaming performance, look no further. Dell unveiled the new Alienware Area-51 gaming PC at CES 2025. The chassis is a super-sized upgrade to the Aurora R16 system with aesthetic and cooling redesigns. The internal components have been refreshed with a new motherboard, faster RAM, and bigger power supply to accommodate the new generation of CPUs and GPUs. With a high-end system like this, it's only fitting that it be equipped with an RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 graphics card, so these are the configurations I've listed here. Note that Dell Outlet refurbished PCs come with the same warranty as buying new.

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptop Deals

Alienware 18 Area-51 (18")

Alienware 16 Area-51 (16")

The Area-51 is Alienware's new flagship gaming laptop for 2025. It features an anodized aluminum shell for both the lid and bottom chassis with a gorgeous iridescent finish. The frame is made of a durable and lightweight magnesium alloy. Cooling has been upgraded with generous amounts of copper and a new thermal interface material to better transfer heat away from your hottest components as well as more fans and bigger cutouts for greater airflow. Dell claims that the laptop can handle a higher power ceiling of up to 240W TDP without raising acoustics.

Design-wise, the Area 51 has a sleeker, more contoured shape compared to previous models, with rounded edges and soft corners replacing the traditional squared off design. The hinges are internally positioned so that they're near invisible. There's a transparent window on the undercarriage to show off the internal components. As befits an Alienware laptop, there's plenty of RGB illunimation, although most of it can be turned off if you want your laptop to be a bit more subtle.

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.

In the last week alone I have bounced between cozy RPG comfort food, punishing action roguelikes, and at least one moment where I stared at a sale price and muttered "that cannot be right". This batch of deals feels especially unhinged in the good way, where backlog guilt briefly loses its grip and curiosity wins. I have played most of these, finished a fair chunk, and regret absolutely none of the recommendations that follow.

Contents

• Retro
• Nintendo
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• PC
• PC Gear
• LEGO

This Day in Gaming 🎂

Meanwhile, in retro news, I'm celebrating the 16th bday of Darksiders, progenitor of a series that really should’ve continued today instead of only being remastered and spun-off. My memories of reviewing it before launch were that of pleasant surprise. This was basically an edgier, post armageddon Ocarina of Time where you hewed through hellspawn and angels alike as the impossibly cool and brooding War, a horseman tricked into starting judgment day too early. Whoops!

Darksiders didn't exactly gallop action-adventuring forward, but it was still an intoxicating amalgamation of 2000s-era mechanics and concepts (see: Portal...portals). It's totally worth saddling up for to experience Kardashians-esque deity drama, slick Joe Mad comic visuals, and to finally see what War is in fact good for. And that's stylish mass slaughter with a sword the size of God's own letter opener.

When it comes to TVs, there's one simple rule I always tell people to abide by: get the biggest TV that can fit your space and is within your budget. I doubt very many people purchase a TV and regret it afterwards because it was "too big".

Nowadays, big TVs aren't even that expensive. For example, Best Buy is currently offering a massive 85" Samsung U7900 4K Smart TV for just $699.99 with free delivery. That's the lowest price I've ever seen for a Samsung TV of this size.

85" Samsung U7900 4K Smart TV for $699.99

You can easily find a serviceable desk or workbench for about $100 just by heading over to your nearest Ikea store. But if you insist on solid wood instead of a fiberboard or particleboard surface, then your options become more limited. Fortunately, there's one available at Amazon right now. For a limited time, you can get this 48"x20" adjustable height workbench - featuring a solid rubberwood desktop and steel frame - for just $105.99 with free delivery. Seeing as how the other options on the product page cost well over $200, this looks like a pretty fantastic deal.

48"x20" Workbench With Solid Wood Desktop for $105.99

1047 Games has some thoughts regarding how Splitgate: Arena Reloaded is faring on Steam, and it’s got a message for fans: “Steam Charts don’t measure fun.”

The Halo and Portal-inspired FPS re-launched December 17 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S after the studio chose to U-turn with an overall rework for Splitgate 2 back in July 2025. It was a move made amid layoffs at 1047 that saw both the sequel and its popular predecessor pulled offline as the studio promised to return with “big, sweeping changes.”

Those changes seemingly failed to attract players, with just around 2,300 players logging in to play the free-to-play game on Steam at launch and a little more than 800 playing at the time of this piece’s publication (via SteamDB). The Splitgate community quickly drummed up debate about what another disappointing launch could mean for the future of the shooter, but 1047 has a different take.

1047 Games Responds to Recent Steam Charts Conversations pic.twitter.com/ir9W0BjFHo

— SPLITGATE: Arena Reloaded (@Splitgate) January 6, 2026

“Steam Charts don’t measure fun,” a message from the team says. “They show one number, on one platform, at one given moment. They don’t show the full picture or what it feels like to actually play, and they definitely don’t capture the community that’s actively helping shape what Arena Reloaded is becoming (including upcoming content like Arena Royale).”

It’s hard to separate Splitgate: Arena Reloaded’s launch player numbers from the nearly 26,000 users who showed up for Splitgate 2, but 1047’s targeted response does aim to remind players that the re-launch also came to consoles and the Epic Games Store. Metrics for those platforms aren’t as openly available as they are for Steam, so it’s unclear if interest is similarly quiet elsewhere.

Regardless, the studio wants both veteran and potential players to know it’s put work into getting Splitgate: Arena Reloaded ready for launch, and it doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.

“To our amazing community: thank you,” 1047 continues. “Your feedback and passion have helped make Arena Reloaded better every day.

“And to everyone who hasn’t played yet: Arena Reloaded is free, the gameplay’s the best it’s ever been, and we’d love for you to jump in and form your own opinion. A lot of passionate people worked very hard on it.”

As 1047 takes to social media to combat the negative sentiment surrounding its re-launch effort, its Arena Royale component is expected to launch in the near future. Splitgate: Arena Reloaded came with a rebuilt progression system, new and reworked maps, and more. We gave Splitgate 2 a 7/10 review upon its launch last year.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

If you need to buy a new Apple Watch charger, there's a better option than paying $29 for the official - but basic - charger. Amazon is currently offering the Joyroom Portable Apple Watch Charger that doubles as a 2,500mAh power bank for just $9.79 after you clip the coupon on the product page and apply coupon code "GJDNNUD8". Not only are you saving $20, you're also getting a charger that can keep your Apple Watch topped off even when there's no outlet nearby.

Joyroom 2,500mAh Portable Apple Watch Charger for $9.79

You no longer need to be near an outlet to charge your Apple Watch

Shopping around for a budget PC under $1,000? Best Buy has one deal available right now that matches the best deal I saw during Black Friday. For this week only, the Lenovo LOQ gaming PC with GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card drops to just $799.99 shipped. Despite the low price tag, this PC is still more powerful than the upcoming Steam PC and will get you a consistent 60fps on just about any game at 1080p resolution.

Lenovo LOQ RTX 5060 Gaming PC for $799.99

Magic: The Gathering sealed product is making waves at big box retailers and TCGPlayer, but who has the best prices this week? Well, both Amazon and secondary marketplace TCGPlayer have their bargains, so I’ve noted the best deals down to save you looking, as well as the other best deals of the day.

TL;DR: Deals for Today

Alienware has just dropped a massive discount on their NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 build, coupled with one of the best gaming processors on the market right now in AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Looking for a cheap and cheerful deal instead? How about two 6.6ft braided USB-C cables that can handle up to 240W for the price of a coffee? Thought so. Coming in at the product you didn't know you needed today is a cordless air duster for easy cleaning of desks, PCs, fans and more that's currently half off from $39.98. Let's get into it:

MTG: Cheapest at Amazon

Amazon is putting out some decent pricing, with my favorite pick here being the "Game Edition" of Cloud Strife-themed Limit Break Commander Deck. It's around the same price as TCGPlayer, making it market value, with the artwork being based on in-game moments instead of the traditional MTG artwork.

The same can be said for the Marvel's Spider-Man Play Booster Box containing 30 booster packs with the following:
• 14 Magic: The Gathering cards
• 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher
• 3–6 Uncommon cards
• 6–9 Common cards
• 1 Land card (Traditional Foil Land replaces a Land in 20% of boosters)
• 1 card of any rarity is Traditional Foil; Foil Showcase Mythic Rare in 1% of boosters

MTG: Cheapest at TCGPlayer

Meanwhile, TCGPlayer is the place to go for MTG preorders. It's the cheapest for the Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box and Bundle, with the next Universes Beyond entry Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Play Booster Box, Turtle Power! Commander Deck and Bundle, the latter being over $15 cheaper than Amazon.

There's some gorgeous Final Fantasy scene boxes coming in cheaper than Amazon too, not to mention the standard Limit Break Commander Deck being just under $5 cheaper on TCGPlayer. It pays to shop around for sure.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090

2 Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C Cables

JVSCAM Cordless Electric Air Duster

Pokémon TCG: Market Value at Amazon

Well, the good news is you can get the Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box with Prime delivery without getting stung. It has nine booster packs, a gorgeous Charcadet Illustration Rare promo, Mega Charizard X–themed sleeves, card dividers, a tournament-legal coin, alongside some nice-looking dice.

Cynthia’s Garchomp ex Premium Collection has four Journey Together and two Destined Rivals booster packs, so if Trainer Pokémon cards are your thing, you’re good to go.

Pokémon TCG: Cheapest at TCGPlayer

If it were me making a choice from the TCGPlayer selection here, I’d go for the Destined Rivals Booster Bundle. It’s $13 cheaper than Amazon right now and works out at $4.66 per booster pack, which is one of the best prices I’ve seen for Destined Rivals booster packs recently.

If you want a decent Mega ex card for your Grass-type deck, I’d recommend the Mega Venusaur ex Premium Collection. If you run Meganium alongside it from Mega Evolution, you can double your Grass Energy value while being able to move a Grass Energy from one Pokémon to another thanks to their abilities. That means you can set up and use Mega Venusaur ex’s “Jungle Dump” attack for 240 damage in one turn (it costs four Grass Energy).

You’ll also get the following booster packs:

• 2 × Mega Evolution
• 2 × Destined Rivals
• 4 × Journey Together

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.

If you're trying to get healthier this year as one of your New Years resolutions, an Apple Watch would be a great tool to help you achieve your goal. Fortunately, the newest generation Apple Watch Series 11 is back on sale to kickstart the new year. Amazon is taking $100 off most colors and styles, starting at just $299 for the 42mm size and $329 for the 46mm size. This beats the lowest price during Black Friday and is a small price to pay for getting your health back on track.

Apple Watch Series 11 for $299 ($100 Off)

The Apple Watch is indisputably the best smartwatch for iOS users. It's stylish, boasts excellent build quality, and seamlessly integrates with your iPhone. It's loaded with tons of practical health and fitness features, including activity tracking and heart rate monitoring. The stats from your workouts are automatically recorded and stored onto your iPhone so that you can track your progress through the course of the year.

New to the current generation model specifically are (1) the Apple Intelligence powered "Workout Buddy" that motivates you during exercise, (2) hypertension notifications, and (3) a sleep score that measures the quality of your sleep. Hardware updates include a brighter and more scratch resistant display, 33% longer battery life, and 5G cellular connectivity.

Can you use an Apple Watch with Android phones?

Although it's technically possible to use an Apple Watch with an Android phone, we wouldn't recommend it. Apple made it so that a lot of the functionality of the Apple Watch requires a smartphone with an iOS operating system. There are some workarounds to implement some of the features, but for the average person, the hassle isn't worth it. If you're absolutely intent on getting an Apple Watch, then getting an iPhone first would be the best option.

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.

2025 was bursting with really cool new game releases: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yōtei, Blue Prince, Donkey Kong Bananza, I could go on. And yet, it seems like the vast majority of players (at least in the US) spent most of their time playing the old hits on repeat, because the five most popular games on PlayStation last year were exactly the same as the year before.

This comes from Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, who shared on Bluesky today the top five most-played games in the US on PlayStation for 2025:

1. Fortnite
2. Call of Duty
3. GTA V
4. Roblox
5. Minecraft

And for 2024:

1. Fortnite
2. Call of Duty
3. GTA V
4. Roblox
5. Minecraft

(They're the same picture.)

The layout is different (I guess) on Xbox, with Minecraft and Roblox flipped for 2025, and a slightly more complicated order for 2024: Call of Duty at No. 1, then Fortnite, Minecraft, GTA V, Roblox. But uh, same five games.

It's a pretty damning indictment of the current state of the industry. As Piscatella said himself almost a year ago on the Kinda Funny Gamescast, this is a fairly recent trend. As he explains, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in the video game audience, with huge numbers of people playing games who never had before. As a result, many of the major gaming markets effectively reached a cap on how many new players they can obtain in future years, because everyone was already there.

On top of that, that capped audience is now playing a smaller number of games overall. Some of that is just because games are getting more expensive. More people are gravitating toward live service games they're already familiar with where they can spend smaller amounts of money for a fun experience on a platform they already own, rather than spend larger amounts of money to try new things on new platforms.

But some of that is simply a natural consequence of the rise of live service. As Piscatella continues to explain, the way the market used to work is that players would buy one big new game, spend all their time on that, then move onto the next one. But people just aren't buying new games anymore.

"If you take the top ten service games every month...on PlayStation and Xbox, seven out of every ten people that turn on their console will play at least one of those games every month, and in terms of total time they're taking, those ten games alone every month take up 40% of total playtime on the consoles."

Piscatella also shares that at the time, Circana expected 30% of people that play video games would not buy a video game in 2025 (the actual numbers for the full year haven't been released just yet). A further 18% would purchase a new game every six months or less frequently. Only 12% buy a game once a month, and 4% buy new games more often than that.

"So when we're talking about the developers and publishers who are being hurt the most, are the games that are really targeting this 16% of total players that are purchasing very frequently, while the vast majority of players are buying a game or two a year, and they're playing Fornite, Minecraft, and Roblox."

The result is that it's harder than ever for brand new games to break through, which has been a major part of the recent wave of layoffs, studio closures, project cancelations, and just general industry devasation that we've been reporting on primarily in the US industry for the last couple of years.

Piscatella concluded that Kinda Funny presentation with a sentence he's said to me many times, and continues to say: "The biggest competitor to any new video game is Fortnite."

Circana is expected to release its full report on US video game sales in 2025 later this month.

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

Last year, IO Interactive revealed that musician and singer Lenny Kravitz would be making his video game debut in 007: First Light – not as the singer of a film-like Bond Theme, but as an actual character in the game. Cast as Bawma, a charismatic pirate king with a mysterious edge, Kravitz's video game debut promises action, intrigue, and a dash of rockstar theatrics. I had the opportunity to speak with him about his role in the game, his decades-long love for the Bond films, and to try to glean a little bit more about his character’s role in this twist on a traditional Bond story.

Originally announced as “Project 007” in 2020, IO Interactive has started to loosen the valve on information about its upcoming game starring the international man of mystery. While we still haven’t had a chance to go hands-on with the project, it looks promising. Blending Hitman-style stealth-action with the globetrotting cinematic shine and sense of humor you’d expect from any silver screen adventure starring your pick of the actors who’ve held a license to kill, it feels appropriate that its villains would be larger than life, just like in the novels and films. That all starts with a bit of blockbuster stunt casting.

It’s been 35 years since Intelligent Systems debuted its Fire Emblem series on Nintendo's Famicom. Through its ever-evolving combat and the introduction of beloved character bonding mechanics, the series has ascended to the upper echelon of tactical RPGs, culminating in two excellent mainline entries on the Nintendo Switch.

As we near the end of the original Switch era, we’ve compiled a list of every Fire Emblem game available on the console as well as what's coming to the Switch 2.

How Many Fire Emblem Games Are on Switch?

There are five Fire Emblem games on Switch: two mainline games and three spinoffs. There are three additional Fire Emblem games available with Nintendo Switch Online, though Path of Radiance is only available to Switch 2 owners with the Expansion Pack.

Every Fire Emblem Game on Nintendo Switch

Fire Emblem Warriors (2017)

The first Fire Emblem game released on Switch was the Dynasty Warriors crossover Fire Emblem Warriors. The mashup incorporates the best elements of each series, blending Fire Emblem’s team-based strategy with Dynasty Warriors’ button-mashing, hack-and-slash action. It’s a worthwhile spinoff for action fans, though the light story makes it inessential to those concerned with Fire Emblem lore.

The game was developed by Dynasty Warriors studio Omega Force in collaboration with the action gurus at Team Ninja (Ninja Gaiden, Nioh).

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses was a milestone release for the series. It was the first Fire Emblem game released on a home console in 12 years, the first mainline entry released on Switch, and a critical and commercial success that carried forward the momentum of Awakening seven years before it.

Three Houses is a massive tactical RPG that balances the grand with the intimate. Large-scale battles progress an overarching story of politics and religion within a continental war, while quieter moments between battles are spent in the monastery training, teaching, exploring, and bonding with other characters through well-written and -acted conversations.

Three Houses is Fire Emblem at its best, and what we'd recommend as a starting point if you’re looking to jump into the series on Switch.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (2020)

In 2020, Nintendo released Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, an expanded port of the original Wii U release. Encore added new story content, characters, and music to the Nintendo-Atlus crossover game, which blends Fire Emblem’s “weapon triangle” combat mechanic — swords have an advantage over axes, axes over lances, lances over swords — with the flashy style, dungeon-crawling, and moment-to-moment combat of Atlus’s Shin Megami Tensei and Persona games.

The story is a comical, often over-the-top send-up of Japanese pop-culture that, as in Warriors before it, takes a backseat to the action.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (2023)

Nintendo re-teamed with Omega Force for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, the companies’ second Fire Emblem-Dynasty Warriors crossover following Fire Emblem Warriors. Three Hopes is a retelling of Three Houses set in an alternate timeline where Three Houses’ protagonist Byleth serves as the main villain.

Three Hopes is a more robust blend of the two franchises than its predecessor, integrating more of Fire Emblem’s social and tactical mechanics with Dynasty Warriors’ fast-paced action.

Fire Emblem Engage (2023)

Fire Emblem Engage is the series’ latest game and its second mainline entry on Switch. Engage is a progression of Three Houses’ excellence and an ode to Fire Emblem's past: It refines and scales down the social and hub mechanics of Three Houses while shifting its primary focus to the series’ longstanding tactical combat, most notably reintroducing Fire Emblem’s “weapon triangle" system.

The story of Engage follows a Divine Dragon named Alear, who’s tasked with collecting 12 rings to defeat the Fell Dragon and save the continent of Elyos. Engage’s original story connects to the series past through these 12 rings, each of which houses the spirit of a past Fire Emblem protagonist, allowing you to summon past heroes such as Marth, Ike, Celica, and Byleth.

Fire Emblem Games Available With Nintendo Switch Online

When you have a series that's consistently gotten new games for almost 40 years, you have to think about how younger generations will be able to play them. That, and, of course, thinking about your bottom line, has led every publisher to lean more and more into multiplatform releases. On top of PC ports, Square Enix has released a decent amount of remasters and special editions of the Final Fantasy series specifically for Nintendo's handheld.

The Final Fantasy games hitting Switch isn't entirely unprecedented. The connection between Final Fantasy and Nintendo dates back to the series’ infancy, when the first game debuted on Nintendo's Famicom system in 1987. In fact, the first six mainline Final Fantasy games debuted on Nintendo platforms before Square Enix jumped to PlayStation as the series’ primary platform with Final Fantasy 7.

We've got a lot to look forward to on both Switch systems in 2026, including Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade on Switch 2 and physical Switch editions of Final Fantasy VII through IX. Below, we’ve compiled a complete list of Final Fantasy games available on the Nintendo Switch and what to expect next.

How Many Final Fantasy Games Are Available on Switch?

There are 21 Final Fantasy games you can play on the Switch — 12 mainline games, one prequel, and eight spinoffs. These games have been split into two sections below: mainline games (ordered by original release date) and other games (ordered by Switch release date).

Every Mainline Final Fantasy Game on Switch

Final Fantasy 1–6 Pixel Remaster

The first six Final Fantasy games are all available on Switch as part of Square Enix’s Pixel Remaster collection. Each game has been overhauled with new graphics, rearranged soundtracks, updated UIs, and new galleries for players to explore the creatures, illustrations, and music from all six games. If you're interested in diving into the original Final Fantasy experience, this is the best way to do it.

The Pixel Remasters are available individually ($12–18 USD/each) or as part of the six-game Final Fantasy I–VI bundle ($75 USD). If you're looking at the games individually, I'd recommend FF6, as it has one of the more immersive storylines.

Final Fantasy 7

One of the series’ most beloved games, Final Fantasy VII, is also available on Switch. This is not a remastered version of the game but rather a port of the 1997 original with three extra features: a 3x speed mode, the ability to turn battle encounters off, and a battle enhancement mode to make encounters easier. While the newer remasters, Remake and Rebirth, introduce modern action RPG mechanics to Cloud Strife's battle against Sephiroth, the Switch edition of FFVII is one of the best opportunities to experience what made the original PlayStation game so impactful.

Final Fantasy 8 Remastered

The series’ next entry is also available on Switch as Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. This updated version was released in 2019, 20 years after FF8 originally debuted on PlayStation. Additions to the remastered version include a 3x speed mode, the ability to turn off random encounters, and battle assist options to lessen the difficulty of combat.

Final Fantasy 9

Final Fantasy IX on Switch, like FFVII before it, is a port of the original RPG, which, despite not being quite as "famous" as Final Fantasy VII, is considered to have one of the best storylines in the series. The Switch version includes a few extras compared to the 2000 original, including high-speed and no-encounter modes, an autosave feature, and HD cutscenes and character models.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is a bundle of Final Fantasy X and its sequel X-2 (the series’ first-ever direct sequel). The two games feature over 100 hours of RPG content, according to IGN sister site How Long to Beat, and include upgraded graphics and reworked audio (with the ability to switch back and forth between the new and original sounds).

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Skipping the now-shuttered MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, the series’ next mainline game available on Switch is Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age. The Zodiac Age, a remaster of the 2006 original, features HD graphics and a re-recorded soundtrack, as well as the Zodiac Job System, an increased battle tempo, an optional high-speed mode, and autosave functionality.

Final Fantasy 15 Pocket Edition HD

Final Fantasy XIII and XIV: Online are not available on Switch, which brings us to Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD. It’s the latest mainline game available on the platform, as FFXVI is still only available on PS5 and PC.

Final Fantasy 15 Pocket Edition HD is an abridged version of the original game with cartoonish character models, simplified combat, a reduced skill tree, and fewer side quests. Pocket Edition HD does, however, retain the full FFXV story, boys on the road and all.

Other Final Fantasy Games on Switch

World of Final Fantasy Maxima (2018)

World of Final Fantasy Maxima, co-developed by Square Enix and prolific Japanese developer Tose, came to Switch with new content and the subtitle ‘Maxima’ two years after it was first released on PS4 and Vita. It’s an accessible RPG aimed at younger audiences that combines the series' Active Time Battle system with the ability to capture Mirages (i.e., creatures) to use in battle.

Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy! (2019)

Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy! is a remastered version of the 2007 Wii game Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon. This Final Fantasy spinoff is a turn-based RPG with randomly generated dungeons and a buddy system that allows players to bring other creatures or characters along for the dungeon-crawling chaos.

Collection of Mana (2019)

This collection of three Mana games is on this list due to its inclusion of the 1991 Game Boy game Final Fantasy Adventure. Despite beginning as a Final Fantasy spinoff, the Mana series dropped those ties with the release of its second game, Secret of Mana, and has since remained an independent franchise.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition (2020)

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is an enhanced version of the 2004 RPG/dungeon crawler originally released for GameCube. Crystal Chronicles for Switch features a cute aesthetic, online co-op, and the addition of English voiceover for the first time. It’s a graphical improvement upon the original that also added new areas, monsters, weapons, and a higher-difficulty option.

Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend (2020)

Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend compiles three Game Boy games: Final Fantasy Legend I–III. We’ve included these games in service to creating a comprehensive list, though these are only Final Fantasy games in name; the SaGa games belong to an independent franchise of RPGs inspired by but not necessarily connected to Final Fantasy. The first three SaGa games were given the Final Fantasy name to capitalize on the brand recognition with western audiences.

The collection adds a high-speed mode and Switch-specific enhancements like adjustable screen magnification and the ability to play with your Switch oriented vertically (when in handheld mode, with Joy-Cons detached).

Crisis Core –Final Fantasy VII– Reunion (2022)

A prequel to Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core –Final Fantasy VII– Reunion is a remastered version of the 2007 PSP RPG. The game stars a young warrior named Zack Fair, whose connection to Cloud and FFVII is revealed throughout the story. Reunion features remastered graphics, new character and background models, fully voiced dialogue, a newly arranged soundtrack, and a refined battle system.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (2023)

A rhythm game that celebrates the music of Final Fantasy, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line launched with 385 tracks from across the Final Fantasy series, though that has since grown to include music from other Square franchises for a total of 505 tracks. The Final Fantasy music pulls from 46 games, according to Squre, including FFI–XV. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line features over 100 characters and online multiplayer support for up to 8 players.

Chocobo GP (2023)

Chocobo GP is a Final Fantasy-themed kart racer developed by Arika (Tetris 99). While there are better kart racers available on Switch, Chocobo GP is a fun respite from the more involved RPGs that make up the majority of the Final Fantasy franchise. Like other kart racers, it features time challenges, tournament-style races, and options for multiplayer racing.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (2025)

A remake of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles recently came to PS5 and Switch with enhanced graphics, voiced dialogue, and various quality of life improvements over the original PS1 game. Ronny Barrier's review for IGN says the remake of the tactical RPG removes "the cruft of Final Fantasy Tactics while surfacing what made it special through smart UI tweaks, convenience features, and excellent new voice acting."

Upcoming Final Fantasy Games on Nintendo Switch

Square Enix has confirmed that all of the Final Fantasy VII remakes will be making their way to the Nintendo Switch 2 over time. While the Switch 2 has been available for a while now, we only recently got news of the first remake coming to the new console at the September Nintendo Direct. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Integrade is finally being released on the Switch on January 22, 2026 and preorders for the game happen to come with a free MTG booster pack.

If you want a single platform to play games at home and on the go, the Nintendo Switch has got your back. Even better if you're a fan of Sonic: Ever since the Switch arrived in 2017, Sega has worked like clockwork to consistently release Sonic games for the hybrid console. Last year we got Sonic x Shadow Generations alongside the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie, so it's safe to say Sega's speedster is bigger than ever.

Now that the Switch 2 has officially launched, it's pretty much guaranteed more Sonic games are on the way. The next big release, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, is launching on the original system, but as we move toward Switch 2-exclusives, some good ol' backward compatibility means your existing Sonic games aren't going anywhere.

For anyone looking to check out the modern era of Sonic (and friends), here are all the Sonic the Hedgehog games you can play right now as well as upcoming Sonic games on the Switch 2.

How Many Sonic Games Are There on Nintendo Switch?

A total of ten Sonic games have been released for Nintendo Switch. This spans the first year of the system back in 2017 to the most recent game, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, released in 2025. Keep in mind that this list below does not include the additional games available with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Every Sonic Game Released on the Switch (in Release Order)

Sonic Mania (2017)

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (2025)

The latest Sonic game follows up on 2019's Team Sonic Racing, featuring the full set of Sonic characters as well as new crossover racers like Joker, Hatsune Miku, and Steve from Minecraft. Jada Griffin's review of Cross Worlds for IGN says the game "fires on all cylinders with a fantastic roster, excellent courses, and lengthy list of customization options."

More Sonic Games Available with Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

If you're looking to play some classic Sonic games with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, there are a few available under the SEGA catalog. You can find more info about them below:

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic Spinball

Upcoming Sonic Games on the Switch

Sonic the Hedgehog is reaching its 35th anniversary in 2026, joining a host of other video game anniversaries that will make you question the passage of time. Some fans speculate the anniversary will lead to a new release, but SEGA hasn't confirmed any upcoming Switch games yet.

Outside of games, Paramount has confirmed it will make Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The movie is targeting a Spring 2027 release window.

Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.