Get ready to equip your wallet to your main hand for mad discounts. Some absolute ripper deals are going cheap today across all platforms. Whether you're into slaying monsters, unravelling cosmic conspiracies, or trading blows in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, I’ve got a little something for every gamer who only wants the stuff worth stockpiling.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm celebrating the 27th birthday of StarCraft, the venerable RTS GOAT. It needs little introduction, so I'll not zerg rush you with the fondest memories of the hundreds of hours I spent on it. Instead, let's use this space to reminisce on how nuts 1998 was for Oz game launches. Half-Life, Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3, Banjo-Kazooie, Baldur's Gate, Pokémon Red and Blue—madness! It's like the devs of the day heard "98" and mistook it for the review score to hit.

For a limited time, Amazon is offering a Buy One Get One 50% Off sale on Harry Potter Illustrated Edition hardcover books. These include the original Illustrated Edition series drawn by Jim Kay as well as the later Interactive Illustrated Editions from MiniLima. These are the best physical Harry Potter physical books you can get your hands on. I own the full set of the original Illustrated Editions and can personally attest to the quality of these books. They aren't hastily put-together editions with sparing pages of art; instead, each book is replete with numerous full-color illustrations from the talented Jim Kay.

BOGO 50% Off Harry Potter Illustrated Editions (1-5)

Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 8!

This week’s Daredevil: Born Again is easily the most intense and exciting of the first season. Seeds planted back in the premiere finally sprout in the penultimate episode, and now it’s time for Matt Murdock to do some reaping. More than anything, this chapter brilliantly demonstrates why the hero/villain dynamic between Daredevil and Kingpin is one of the best comic books have to offer.

Murdock crashing Mayor Fisk’s party is one of the boldest moves I’ve seen Marvel take in some time – not since Agatha Harkness revealed herself to Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision have I been on pins and needles like I was during this sequence. Fisk continues to amass power in front of our very eyes as a vengeful Murdock circles like a shark, waiting to make his move. I almost jumped out of my chair when Murdock cut in on Fisk and Vanessa’s dance, sweeping her away and confronting her for arranging the hit on Foggy Nelson. The rivalry between Murdock and Fisk has been building up all season while they’ve kept tabs on each other from afar, which makes it tortuously tense finally having them in the same room together.

Putting Bullseye back in play is like giving the show a big injection of adrenaline straight to the heart. Between Murdock’s brutal interrogation of Bullseye, Bullseye’s ridiculous-yet-awesome tooth-spitting escape, and Bullseye’s infiltration of the gala, this episode treats us to one great scene after another. Forcing Murdock to contend with the immediate danger of Bullseye while trying to stop the much larger threat of Fisk’s plan is, simply put, peak Daredevil.

Throughout the season, the whole subplot involving Vanessa’s affair with Adam hasn’t exactly been the most compelling. At least this episode brings it to its inevitable, bloody end. If we had gotten to know Adam better throughout the season or learned more about what happened between him and Vanessa, I might have cared about his fate. Perhaps the whole storyline is less about Adam and more about the rift he created between our villainous husband and wife. Now that the Fisks have reconciled, they are stronger than ever and make for quite the formidable power couple. At the black-and-white gala, it’s rather sinister for Vanessa to make her grand entrance wearing a blood-red gown.

Everything comes to a chaotic conclusion when Murdock does the unthinkable and takes a bullet for Fisk. Now I’ve seen everything! It adds a weighty new dimension to their already complex dynamic, considering how Fisk now owes his life to his archnemesis. The way this show plays Murdock and Fisk’s public-facing personas against each other is absolutely fantastic, and now we’ve reached the point where all of the different aspects of their lives have become twisted together into a tightly bound knot. It’s got me eagerly anticipating the season finale to see how it all shakes out.

Other Thoughts

• I find it extremely bizarre that Murdock didn’t look deeper into Bullseye’s motivation for murdering Foggy until now. It makes total sense, however, when you consider how the first episode and episodes eight and nine are reportedly from the new creative team that overhauled the entire show. Better late than never, I suppose.

For anyone who is constantly fiddling with small electronics, Hoto is offering a nice discount on an interesting product that they just released. You can save 20% off the Hoto Snapbloq, a modular collection of precision powered tools, with a set of three tools currently selling for $209.99 after a $50 discount. That brings each set down to $69.99, and they normally retail for $99.99 apiece. Hoto is a pretty well known brand that's popular on Amazon and even sold at Costco.

20% Off Hoto's New SnapBloq Modular Electric Tool Kits

Anthros is a newer brand in the office chair space, having launched its first chair to the public in 2023. That same chair continues to be its flagship and now that it’s been out for a while, has managed to set itself apart in both looks and its pelvic-first design. Designed by a team of physical therapists, designers, and ergonomic experts, it builds on their experience with wheelchairs to deliver a uniquely supportive seat that’s truly designed around the mechanics of your body. It won’t be for everyone, but if you sit for long stretches and want to protect your back, and have more than a little expendable income or nice stipend from work, it’s definitely worth considering.

Anthros Chair – Design and Features

The Anthros chair is an ergonomic office chair, but it's probably unlike any you've seen before. Its unique approach to ergonomics translates to a very unique look that stands out from the pack. This works to its benefit because it's immediately eye-catching, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't look a little strange at first.

There is something a bit alien about its design. From the extra-wide seat base to the two-part backrest, the lower part long and rectangular and the top an irregular triangular polygon. It's unlike any other chair I've personally encountered.

But it's this very design that makes the Anthros chair what it is: an ergonomics-first chair designed by a team of physical therapists and clinicians that draw their experience from designing wheelchairs. It seems an odd shift at first, but not when you think about it. If you live your life in a wheelchair, even temporarily, it's critically important that that seat be designed to properly support the patient's body. If you've ever been to a physical therapist, then you already know the deep understanding that they have of the interconnections between each joint and muscle group in the body. They understand the spiraling chain of impacts that each piece has on the next. This chair is a natural outgrowth of that, a reaction to seeing other chairs on the market not address the actual mechanics of the human body in a proper way to support them over the long-term.

Put another way, if your back doctor designed a chair, it would probably look something like this.

I'm not an ergonomics expert and don't have medical training, so I'm not equipped to evaluate the company's conclusions about other chairs and their emphasis on lumbar support missing the mark. From my experience, I found that many of these chairs are quite comfortable, so long as they can match the contours of your back.

The crux of the Anthros chair's design, however, is not lumbar support but pelvic support, and the company does seem to be onto something with its impact on promoting good posture.

Wide seat aside (we'll get to that in a moment), the backrest is entirely purposeful, and its unique aesthetic is just a byproduct of what it's attempting to accomplish. The lower piece of the backrest is not a lumbar support; it's a pelvic support, and all you need to do is sit in the chair to feel the difference as it connects much lower on the back, right above your bottom, at about the level of the tailbone. The upper portion of the backrest supports the upper back. Together, these support a proper upright posture with the natural S-shape of the spine.

The seat cushion is also designed to support proper posture and comfort. It's wide, plush, and highly contoured, avoiding putting any extra pressure on your legs that might result in reduced blood circulation. Below the upholstery, the cushion has two cutouts on the underside beneath your sit bones. Note that these are not on top and you can't actually feel any portion being hollowed out. Instead, it just feels soft under your sitter and it distributes your weight more naturally without having pressure points on your pelvis. There's also a layer of special material beneath the upholstery called CloudTex. This helps distribute pressure and increases the overall contact area, while also preventing the foam from sticking to the material.

The chair also comes with 4D armrests. They are lushly padded, similar to the seat and backrests, and can be adjusted for height, depth, angle, and width. Of the whole chair, these feel the most standard compared to the competition. The padding is very nice, and you can position them to be effective for different tasks, like typing or holding a controller.

When it comes to adjustments, I was surprised to find fewer here. Because of the way the pelvic support works, there is no need for a seat depth adjustment. You simply position your body at the proper depth and then move the support up to match. It does offer height, of course, and tilt tensioning. Unlike many other chairs, this isn't a knob that you endlessly spin. Instead, it has defined notches, and each one makes a meaningful difference with how much resistance you feel when leaning back. It can also be locked to a 5-degree tilt to create a suspended, floating seating position – but this isn’t a chair you can really recline in.

While all of these basic features, sans armrests, are locked in, you can configure the chair in a number of ways. It comes in ShapeKnit Boucle fabric or Port Leather for an additional $99. For colors, you can choose either a black or white frame with four base colors shared between both types of upholstery: ivory, onyx, steel, and dune. If you opt for the fabric seat, you have pink as an additional option.

Interestingly, you can also choose the material that makes up the back of its two backrest supports. There are five shades of wood (yes, it's real wood): Natural Oak, Sierra Oak, Ivory Oak, Gray Oak, and Walnut. You can also choose from four specialty designs, including Carbon Fiber, a black or white embossed circuit pattern, or a gradient black, purple, and pink. Anthros has also recently partnered with the ESL and DreamHack and has two additional options for each that should be available soon.

For the last configuration options, you can choose whether you want armrests or not (leaving them off will save you another $99), and choose between two kinds of wheel bases. You can choose a standard five-spoke base or a fixed four-spoke base. The latter option does not allow the chair to turn on a swivel. Instead, if you need to turn, you'll have to move the whole chair. While this could clearly create some issues, it does help to ensure that you're maintaining proper posture even as you're turning and addressing your colleagues.

The fit and finish of the chair is overall good. It has a reassuring weight to it and is quite sturdy. The knobs all feel solid and the back and pelvic supports are firm and robust. It is made almost entirely out of plastic, however, which is a bit disappointing given its high price, though I don't particularly have concerns about its durability and longevity. The manufacturing of the cushions and the stitchwork on the fabric is excellent, and there are no complaints.

Lastly, it should be noted that there is a small amount of assembly, but it pales in comparison to the average gaming chair. You'll need to attach the wheelbase, which uses a slotted mechanism to make it easy to change if you'd ever like to, and slide the knobs onto the associated bars underneath the seat. The top backrest also needs to be attached, but slides into place and secures easily. The whole process can be done within ten minutes by a single person, even if they’ve never built a chair before.

Anthros Chair – Performance

Before receiving the chair, a representative from Anthros warned me that it typically takes a couple of days before most people really get used to its unique design. They were right. At first, it does feel a bit strange, but having used the chair now for around three weeks as my daily driver at work, I can say that it does indeed become comfortable and feels especially supportive in a way other chairs do not.

That isn't to say that other chairs are necessarily worse in terms of comfort or, especially in the ergonomic office chair space that Anthros competes in, are going to leave you sore at the end of the day. I would certainly hope not given the high price they typically ask, and if you've read any of my other coverage, you already know that there are others that I found to be extremely comfortable. Virtually all great ergonomic chairs like the Steelcase Amia or Haworth Fern promote good posture, but it's how the Anthros goes about it that sets it apart.

Other chairs focus on the lumbar region, typically through a long contour that presses against the whole back. The pelvic support on this chair immediately feels different and almost out of place. At first, I almost felt like it was pushing me too far forward. Because it’s so different, it’s critically important that you set it up correctly or else you’re likely to throw off your posture instead of helping it. The company offers free setup consultations after purchase for exactly this reason.

Getting it set up for the first time is different than with a conventional chair. Many ergonomic office chairs give you the ability to control seat depth and adjust lumbar support up/down and in/out. Here, you need to sit at the right depth first (about two fingers of space between the seat and your knee), then adjust the pelvic support outward to match your position. Then, sitting upright, you adjust the top cushion to match that depth. After all of this, you can adjust the recline tension so that it feels completely natural.

With all of this done, you should be able to sit back and rest into the cushions while still being in a proper upright posture with support for your key pressure points. It's not complicated, but it's also not the same process as with other chairs, and because of its approach to supporting your body, it's arguably even more important to get right.

At first, it honestly felt a bit strange. After testing so many chairs, everything ranging from gaming chairs to high-end office seating, I've gotten used to the ability to lean back and slouch without even realizing I'm doing it. This chair doesn't let you do that. You are in an upright position with your spine in proper alignment all of the time you're leaning back.

After a couple of days of adjustment, however, I'm surprised at how much more comfortable it feels to sit in it. It was never uncomfortable per se, but that strangeness fades. Once it did, I started to notice how soft yet supportive the cushions were. The ability to lean back provides that more relaxed seating experience I initially craved, but without sacrificing my posture in the process.

The seat cushion may just be the best I've ever sat in. It's thick and tapers down as it approaches the back. Even though you can't feel the cutouts themselves, you can feel that weight distribution. It's as if the seat nestles you into its center and cradles you there.

The armrests are slightly less impressive. They're soft and are comfortable to lean on (though I find I do this less in the Anthros because of how it enables good posture). I also like that I can adjust them far enough down to where they are almost completely out of the way. I'm able to play guitar in this chair with the armrests depressed, which isn't something I can say about most ergo chairs, where the armrests get in the way of the guitar body. At the same time, I would prefer if they were able to raise a little bit higher and move a little farther forward. I always felt like they were a touch too far back and had to consistently leave them all the way forward.

My overall impressions are very positive. I didn't experience any back pain even during the adjustment period and can honestly say that its comfortable enforcement of proper posture did make me feel more energized when working or gaming at my desk. The craftsmanship in its construction is very good. The port leather is supple and breathable (though fabric would certainly be more breathable still), and the stitch work is perfect. I'm also a big fan of the wood accents on the back as it gives it a unique elegance that would be right at home in an office or modern home decor setting.

Still, for its asking price of nearly $2,000, I really would have liked to have seen finished metal instead of plastic, especially on the wheelbase, which is most prone to breakage.

Again, it genuinely does not seem like durability is a concern, and the company offers a 12-year warranty with a 30-day risk-free trial, putting it on par with other major players like Herman Miller and Steelcase. Clearly, this is a chair that's intended to last at least 12 years into the future. Plastic, metal, or anything in between is less of a concern than with a chair offering a shorter warranty.

Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX is one of the most anticipated anime shows of the spring 2025 season, and new preorders for various figures from the series are now open on Amazon. This joint production from Sunrise and Studio Khara looks to bring the minds behind Gundam and Evangelion together for an exciting new anime, with some striking new Gundam already revealed.

If you're a fan of Gundam, now is the time to lock in your preorder for these brand-new model kits and figures. Whether you're searching for a fresh new Gundam model kit to adorn your collection or just wishing for a figure of one of the main characters, don't miss your chance to secure these figures before they sell out. And if you're new to the hobby, check out our beginner's guide to model kits to get started.

Preorder New Mobile Suit Gundam Model Kits on Amazon

A wide variety of figures are up for preorder right now, ranging from standard 1/144 Gundam model kits to full-blown spirit figures of these new mechs. There are also various figures and statues for some of the main characters in Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX, like Amate Yuzuriha and Nyaan. You can check out the full collection here, which ranges in price from $18 to $210 depending on the item.

Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX is the latest Gundam anime series, but this one is special for a variety of reasons. As aforementioned, this is a collaboration between Sunrise, now Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., and Studio Khara, the animation studio founded by Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideki Anno. Kazuya Tsurumaki, who served as one of the directors for the Rebuild of Evangelion, is set to serve as the director for Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX, while the legendary Hideki Anno will supervise scripts for the series.

Where to Stream the Anime

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ next Dune movie is taking shape. Director Denis Villeneuve is returning for Dune 3, along with core cast members like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Anya Taylor-Joy. And now we know one major new actor who may be joining the cast for Part 3. Deadline reports that Robert Pattinson is being considered for a major role in Dune 3. Apparently The Batman isn’t the only tentpole Warner Bros. franchise Pattinson could be involved with in the years ahead.

At this early stage, we don’t know for sure which character Pattinson would play, though THR suggests he’ll be playing a villain. But we certainly have some ideas based on where Dune: Part Two leaves off and what we know from author Frank Herbert’s Dune novels. Let’s break down the Dune characters Pattinson is most likely to play in the next movie.

Scytale

Assuming the Dune 3 movie sticks more to adapting the contents of the first sequel book, Dune Messiah, and leaves the book after that, Children of Dune (and the rest of the series), for future movies to handle, there aren’t many new characters we could really see Pattinson playing. If he’s going to play any Dune Messiah character other than Leto II, we’d put our money on Scytale. And as it happens, that’s the character THR suggests Pattinson will be playing.

Scytale is basically the main villain of Messiah. He’s one of the ringleaders of a plot to overthrow Emperor Paul Atreides, who now rules over the galaxy with a massive army of fanatical Fremen worshipers. If the first two Dune movies showed us how Paul evolves from pampered son of a Duke to battle-hardened Fremen messiah, the third movie will likely shed light on the challenges he faces as emperor. As ever, heavy is the head that wears the crown.

The problem with plotting against a guy like Paul is that he has a superhuman ability to see the future. Scytale and his co-conspirators (including Charlotte Rampling’s Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim) only manage it by working alongside a Guild Navigator named Edric. Because the Guild Navigators consume massive amounts of spice to carry out their functions, they distort time and space and render themselves invisible to Paul’s prescient visions. More or less.

Scytale is a fascinating character, and a role we could really see Pattinson sinking his teeth into. He’s a shapeshifter known as a Face Dancer (another of which was glimpsed in the Dune: Prophecy prequel series), as well as a member of the technological wizards known as the Bene Tleilax. Pattinson has so often gravitated toward heroic roles in his franchise films, so Scytale is a chance for him to play the bad guy instead.

Plus, playing Scytale leaves ample room for Pattinson to return to the Dune franchise in future sequels. We won’t spoil where Scytale winds up by the end of Dune Messiah, but suffice it to say, neither time nor death are much of a barrier to characters returning in this series.

Most likely, this is the character Pattinson will play in Dune 3. But are there other possibilities? Let’s look at some other Dune villain roles that could be perfect for his talents.

Leto Atreides II

Given that Pattinson is a major actor who bears more than a slight resemblance to Chalamet, we can’t help but immediately gravitate to another member of the Atreides family, and one of the most important characters in the Dune saga overall. Could Pattinson be playing Paul’s son, Leto Atreides II?

It’s important to point out that there are actually two Leto IIs in the Dune saga, both named in honor of Paul’s dearly departed father (played by Oscar Isaac in the first movie). Paul’s firstborn son, Leto Atreides II the Elder, plays a minor role in the original Dune novel, where he’s killed in a Sardaukar attack while Paul plots his revenge against the Harkonnens. That Leto II is less a fully realized character than he is a tragic source of motivation for Paul in the book’s climax. The Dune: Part Two movie skips that particular plot point entirely.

The younger Leto Atreides II is introduced in the second novel, Dune Messiah. He’s only an infant in that story, but as he ages, he goes on to become the central protagonist of the third book, Children of Dune, and the villain/prime plot catalyst of the fourth book, God Emperor of Dune. That trippy half-human/half-worm character on the cover of God Emperor of Dune? That’s Leto II. Leto II was also portrayed by a young James McAvoy in the 2003 Children of Dune miniseries.

The third Dune movie is shaping up to be an adaptation of Dune Messiah, so on the surface it might seem strange to cast Pattinson as an infant character. But as we saw in Dune: Part Two, the movies are embellishing the source material a bit by giving Paul spice-induced visions of his future family members. Anya Taylor-Joy appears in that sequel as Paul’s unborn sister Alia, so what’s to stop Pattinson from playing Leto II in spice vision form?

That’s to say nothing of the fact that the movies look to be diverging a bit from the source material as time goes on. As we’ve explored before, Dune: Part Two leaves Zendaya’s Chani in a very different place compared to the book. And there’s no telling whether Villeneuve’s next movie might borrow a page from the Children of Dune miniseries and combine the plot of Messiah and Children of Dune into one story.

However Dune 3 justifies the idea of Pattinson playing Leto II – if that’s where things wind up – what matters most is that this casting would leave room for Pattinson to continue playing a major role in the franchise going forward. Again, the younger Leto II is one of the most important characters in this sprawling sci-fi universe. And we really aren’t going to be happy until we see Pattinson playing Leto as a pompous, pontificating worm god.

Prince Farad'n Corrino

There’s another possibility if Dune 3 does indeed combine elements of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Could Pattinson be playing Prince Farad’n?

Farad’n is one of the villains of Children of Dune. As the grandson of the now-deposed Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (played by Christopher Walken in Dune: Part Two), Farad’n represents his family’s last, best hope of reclaiming their lost throne. Farad’n is raised on the hellish world of Salusa Secundus and trained in the ways of the Sardaukar, meaning all he knows is rain, combat, and weird chanting.

Farad’n is a particularly compelling character because he doesn’t actually covet Paul’s throne all that much. That’s more his mother Wensicia’s obsession. He’s a guy who would be much happier being left alone to read and write. If the idea is to cast Pattinson as a more sympathetic villain in this dark and sinister galaxy, Farad’n could fit the bill.

A New Fremen Character

Again, Dune: Part Two makes some significant changes to the source material, and nowhere is that more apparent than with Chani herself. Where Chani ends the first Dune novel as a willing participant in Paul’s grand cosmic plans, in the movie she rejects his holy war and returns to the sands of Arrakis, embittered and disillusioned by the Fremen messiah she loved.

That loose thread alone promises that Dune 3 isn’t going to be a 1:1 adaptation of Dune Messiah. Knowing that, we can’t help but wonder how many other sweeping changes will be introduced in the next movie. What new characters will Villeneuve concoct? Will there be new villains not seen in the classic Dune novels? Will Pattinson play one of those villains?

It’s certainly possible. We could easily see Pattinson playing a brand new character who serves in Chani’s anti-Paul faction of Fremen. She represents those new-school Fremen who aren’t so taken with Paul and his promises of a cosmic bloodbath. Could Pattinson play a Fremen who rises up to oppose Paul and fight in Chani’s name? Could he be essentially the new, less creepy version of Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen?

In that sense, he’d only be a villain from Paul’s perspective. Herbert was always very clear that the Dune novels are cautionary tales about the danger of charismatic leaders. It would make sense to cast Pattinson as a character who fights against Paul and argues that, hey, maybe slaughtering billions of people to cement one’s claim to the throne is a bad thing.

Maybe Dune 3 could even work up a love triangle involving Paul, Chani, and Pattinson’s character. For all her loathing of what Paul has become, we have to assume Chani still harbors feelings for him. Somehow, the next movie is going to have to arrange matters so that Chani can become pregnant and give birth to Leto II and his twin sister Ghanima. Maybe she’ll have to make the ultimate choice between Timothée Chalamet and Robert Pattinson. We don’t envy her there.

Which Dune character do you think Pattinson is playing? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below:

For more on the future of the Dune franchise, find out what spoiler-y revelation Jason Momoa made about the next movie.

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

The long-awaited second season of The Last of Us is set to premiere on April 13, 2025, and it will bring along some new faces alongside returning favorites. Much like the first season, there will be some major characters from the games brought to life, like Kaitlyn Dever's Abby, but it will also be introducing some mysterious new people like Catherine O'Hara's Gail.

To help get you ready Season 2 of The Last of Us, we've created this guide of the cast members you need to know before Joel and Ellie's adventure in this fascinating yet terrifying post-apocalyptic world continues this month.

The Last of Us TV Show Season 2 New Cast

Kaitlyn Dever as Abby

The biggest question everyone had going into Season 2 of The Last of Us was who was going to play Abby? Thankfully, HBO finally gave us the answer when it revealed Booksmart and Justified’s Kaitlyn Dever will be playing her.

Abby is one of the playable characters in The Last of Us Part 2 and has a huge role to play in the upcoming story. While we won’t spoil too much here, Abby is a member of the Fireflies who crosses paths with Joel and Ellie early in the second game. HBO has described Abby as a “skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved.”

“Our casting process for season two has been identical to season one: we look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material," series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said in a joint statement. "Nothing matters more than talent, and we’re thrilled to have an acclaimed performer like Kaitlyn join Pedro, Bella and the rest of our family."

Who Voiced Abby in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Laura Bailey

Young Mazino as Jesse

Beef star Young Mazino will be joining Season 2 of The Last of Us as Jesse, a “pillar of the community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.”

Jesse was first introduced in The Last of Us Part 2 and is a leader of the patrol groups in Jackson, Wyoming, a community Joel, Ellie, and Tommy call home at the beginning of the second game. He is a friend of Ellie and is also an ex-boyfriend of Dina.

“Young is one of those rare actors who is immediately undeniable the moment you see him," Mazin and Druckmann said. "We’re so lucky to have him, and we can’t wait for the audience to see Young shine in our show.”

Who Voiced Jesse in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Stephen Chang

Isabella Merced as Dina

Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Transformers: The Last Knight’s Isabella Merced is playing Dina in The Last of Us’ second season. For those unfamiliar, Dina is another member of the community of Jackson and is Ellie’s partner who plays a pivotal role in the story. Her relationship with Ellie evolves and grows in many ways throughout the game and she is one of the strongest voices in her life. Does she always listen to that voice? You’ll have to wait to find out.

“Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable," said Mazin and Druckmann. "You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away.”

Who Voiced Dina in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Shannon Woodward

Catherine O'Hara as Gail

We don't know much about Catherine O'Hara's Gail as she is a new character that was created for the series. However, it's clear she will be playing an important role as she appears to be Joel's therapist and looks to be helping him cope with his big decision from Season 1.

Jeffrey Wright as Isaac

Fans of The Last of Us Part 2 will be happy to know that Westworld and The Batman's Jeffrey Wright will be reprising his role from the game as the ruthless Washington Liberation Front leader Isaac. He sets events in motion in a very big way in the game, and we expect this character to be just as integral in Season 2 of the Max series.

Who Voiced Isaac in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Jeffrey Wright

Danny Ramirez as Manny

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's and Top Gun: Maverick's Danny Ramirez is playing Manny Alverez, one of the members of the Washington Liberation Front and a former Firefly. He is a friend of Abby and is considered one of the best soldiers by the leader of the WLF, Isaac Dixon.

"A loyal soldier whose sunny outlook belies the pain of old wounds and a fear that he will fail his friends when they need him most," the official HBO description of Manny reads.

Who Voiced Manny in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Alejandro Edda

Ariela Barer as Mel

Runaways' Ariela Barer will take on the role of Mel, a medic in the Washington Liberation Front who was a also a member of the Fireflies. She is a friend of Abby and is in a romantic relationship with Owen.

"A young doctor whose commitment to saving lives is challenged by the realities of war and tribalism," the official HBO description of Mel reads.

Who Voiced Mel in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Ashly Burch

Tati Gabrielle as Nora

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Uncharted's Tati Gabrielle is set to play Nora in Season 2 of The Last of Us on HBO. Nora is another member of Abby's 'Salt Lake Crew' alongside Owen, Manny, and Mel. Additionally, she was a medic who worked with Dr. Jerry Anderson.

"A military medic struggling to come to terms with the sins of her past," the official HBO description of Nora reads.

Who Voiced Nora in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Chelsea Tavares

Spencer Lord as Owen

Spencer Lord, who has appeared in Family Law, Heartland, and The Good Doctor, is taking on the role of Owen, a member of the 'Salt Lake Crew' who was a former Firefly and is now a soldier in the WLF. He is currently dating Mel but was once in a relationship with Abby.

"A gentle soul trapped in a warrior’s body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate," the official HBO description of Owen reads.

Who Voiced Owen in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Patrick Fugit

Joe Pantoliana as Eugene, Robert John Burke as Seth, and Noah Lamanna as Kat

HBO recently announced six more actors that will be part of The Last of Us Season 2's cast, but we don't know too much about them yet. What's exciting is that three of them are smaller characters from the games that will expanded stories and three are brand new characters.

Joe Pantoliano (Memento, The Matrix), Robert John Burke (RoboCop 3), and Noah Lamanna (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) and they will all be playing the characters that were first introduced in the games.

Pantoliano will be playing Eugene, who was Dina's pot-smoking friend in The Last of Us Part 2. He was only in the game for a quick moment, but he will be much more important this time around.

“I get excited when I see these opportunities,” showrunner Neil Druckmann said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”

Burke will be playing TLoU Part 2's bar owner and bigot sandwich-giver Seth and Lamanna will step into the shoes of Kat, who is said to have dated Ellie before the second game's story began.

Image Credits: John Pantoliano (Theo Wargo/Getty Images), Robert John Burke (Jim Spellman/FilmMagic), and Noah Lemanna (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO)

Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan, Ben Ahlers as Burton, and Hettienne Park as Elise Park

Alanna Ubach (Euphoria, Bombshell), Ben Ahlers (The Gilded Age, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and Hettienne Park (Don't Look Up) have recently joined the cast of The Last of Us Season 2 as newly created characters Hanrahan, Burton, and Elise Park, respectively.

Image Credits: Alanna Ubach (Monica Schipper/Getty Images), Ben Ahlers (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO), Hettienne Park (Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images)

The Last of Us TV Show Season 2 Returning Cast

Pedro Pascal as Joel

Pedro Pascal will once again be returning as Joel in the second season of The Last of Us. When we last left Joel, he had just gone on a murderous rampage against the Fireflies to save Ellie. Marlene explained to Joel that while the procedure to see if Ellie’s body could actually lead to a cure would kill her, it would be for the greater good. Joel clearly didn’t agree this was the right option and rescued Ellie, taking her away from there.

The final scene saw him lying to Ellie and telling her the Fireflies had already failed to develop a cure for the cordyceps infection and that they didn’t need her anymore. He also chose not to reveal the bloodshed he left behind. When he swore to Ellie that what he said was true, Ellie just gave him an uneasy, “Okay.”

Who Voiced Joel in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Troy Baker

Bella Ramsey as Ellie

Bella Ramsey will be returning as Ellie in The Last of Us’ second season and will once again star alongside Pedro Pascal’s Joel. As with Joel, the last time we saw Ellie was when she was lied to by Joel about what happened with the Fireflies at that fateful hospital. Ellie was under anesthesia as she was getting ready for a procedure that would kill her but hopefully find a cure for the cordyceps infection. She didn’t know she was going to die.

Joel wasn’t OK with that and rescued her while killing many along the way, yet Ellie was unconscious the whole time so didn’t have a choice in the matter. We don’t know exactly what Ellie thinks after Joel lies to her at the end of the season, but Season 2 will no doubt dive deep into that and what it means for their relationship.

Who Voiced Bella in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Ashley Johnson

Gabriel Luna as Tommy

Tommy is Joel’s brother and Gabriel Luna will be making a return in Season 2 as the character played a big part in The Last of Us Part 2. We last saw him in Jackson with his wife, Maria. Joel had initially asked Tommy to take Ellie to the Fireflies after he admitted he wasn’t strong enough to do it and couldn’t after the loss of his daughter, Sarah. However, he changed his mind after speaking with Ellie and the two left Tommy behind in Jackson, but not before Tommy said they always had a home there.

Who Voiced Tommy in The Last of Us Part 2 Game? Jeffrey Pierce

Rutina Wesley as Maria

Rutina Wesley’s Maria is a leader of the Jackson community and Tommy’s wife. We last saw her in Jackson when she was cutting Ellie’s hair and telling her to be careful who to trust. Wesley will be back for Season 2 and we can't wait to see what role she has to play.

Will Marlene or Tess Appear in Season 2 of The Last of Us?

Merle Dandridge as Marlene

Merle Dandridge’s Marlene was killed by Joel in the final episode of The Last of Us’ first season, so we won’t be seeing her in the present time of Season 2. However, she did appear in flashbacks during The Last of Us Part 2 and very well may show up again this next season in that fashion.

Anna Torv as Tess

Anna Torv’s Tess was a smuggler and close friend of Joel in Boston who was with him when Marlene gave them the mission to get Ellie out of the city and to the Fireflies. Unfortunately, Tess sacrificed herself to save Joel and Ellie after she was bitten, and she was controversially killed by a Clicker who “kissed” her with disgusting mouth tendrils.

While Tess didn’t appear in The Last of Us Part 2, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we could get another flashback to Joel and Tess’ life before she died in the show to flesh out their story.

Will Nick Offerman’s Bill and Murray Bartlett’s Frank Return in The Last of Us?

It doesn’t sound like it…

The Last of Us’ episode which focused on the story of Nick Offerman’s Bill and Murray Bartlett’s Frank was one of our favorite of the show’s first season. In fact, we loved it so much that we gave it a rare 10/10.

“Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett take on leading role duties with elegance, leaving an unmistakably beautiful mark on the show as we’re shown a side of humanity that makes what Joel and Ellie are fighting for worth saving,” IGN’s Simon Cardy wrote. “It’s an episode, just like love, that lives long in the memory after experiencing it.”

While their love story has sadly ended, there was hope we could see them again in another flashback. Offerman even said there were ideas for a potential spin-off prequel series focused on the characters.

However, Mazin has shut down that idea and said Offerman was just joking about the prequel. “I’m very proud of the episode we did with Bill and Frank,” Mazin said. "There won’t be more Bill and Frank. Nick was joking about a prequel, that was kind of a joke. We are very happy with what we achieved."

For more, check out our breakdown of the ending of The Last of Us Season 1, our The Last of Us Season 2 predictions, and The Last of Us HBO creators on whether or not Joel was right to save Ellie.

Note: This story was updated on April 8, 2025, to add Catherine O'Hara (Gail) and Jeffrey Wright (Isaac).

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Humans like to consider themselves the top of the food chain, and while that idea might work on Earth, we barely scrape by in the galactic gladiator competition. The Predator franchise, which began with the classic Scwarzenegger film in 1987, is all about the "Yautja" - towering trophy-seeking hunters from space who travel to different worlds for lethal competition and have been known to kidnap species for hunts back on their home planet.

Two initial Predator films in 1987 and 1990 created a baseline for the Predator saga. Since Xenomorphs from the Alien moves are also a cinematic scourge for humanity, it made perfect sense in the 2000's to create a shared universe with two Alien vs. Predator flicks. In the following decade, directors such as Robert Rodriquez, Shane Black, and Dan Trachtenberg all put their spins on the franchise.

With two new Predator movies arriving in 2025, it's a better time than ever to binge the original sci-fi classics. If you want to watch every Predator movie in order, we've got you covered! Below you'll find the full timeline of the Predator movies and where to watch them online.

Jump to:

• How to watch in chronological order
• How to watch by release order

You can also check out our guide to the Alien movies in order to incorporate the whole timeline.

How Many Predator Movies Are There?

There are a total of seven movies in the Predator franchise — four in the mainline series of films, two Alien crossovers, and one prequel. Two new Predator movies are set to release in 2025.

Predator Movies in (Chronological) Order

1. Prey (2022)

Prey is a prequel and therefore designed to be watched after everything else (especially Predator 2) but if one is truly looking to take in the Predator franchise in chronological order this is the place to begin. Set in 1719, across the the Great Plains, Prey follows a young Comanche woman, Naru (Amber Midthunder), who gets more than she bargains for when she accompanies her brother on a hunt and winds up in the crosshairs of a (more primitive) Predator. Determined to prove herself, Naru sets her sights on taking the alien stalker down in this fresh and thrilling take from the three-decade saga.

Read IGN's review of Prey

2. Predator (1987)

It all started with 1987's Predator, directed by Die Hard's John McTiernan and starring heyday Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and Shane Black (who would direct his own Predator film many years later). Predator is an awesome action classic where a near-unstoppable military rescue team gets their asses handed to them by a terrifying invisible force in the jungles of South America. When the attacker is revealed to be an alien hunter out on its own version of a sinister safari, Schwarzenegger's Dutch must figure out how to ambush and defeat a monster light years ahead of him in tech and tactics.

3. Predator 2 (1990)

A few years later, Predator returned to multiplexes for more massacres and mayhem, but this time with a complete change of cast and setting. Taking place amongst a near-future heatwave/crimewave -- 1997 Los Angeles -- Predator 2 follows cops played by Danny Glover, Bill Paxton, Ruben Blades, and María Conchita Alonso as they attempt to not only deal with a bloody Cartel war on the streets, but a badass alien Predator too, stalking the cityscape for victims.

4. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

After 14 years -- with novels, comics, and video games keeping the franchise flames lit -- Predator came back in a huge way with a full crossover movie, merging with the Alien saga, which hadn't been dormant but definitely struggled to find its footing in the '90s. Alien vs. Predator, from Resident Evil/Event Horizon's Paul W. S. Anderson, was a big hit, injecting new life into both sci-fi/horror properties. Set in "present day" America, AVP introduced a nasty bit of history connecting the Yautja and Xenomorphs. Namely that Predators had been conducting hunts on Earth for centuries using humans as breeding bodies for Xenos, and then hunting down the Xeno swarm for "right of passage" sport. Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, and Ewen Bremner star.

Read IGN's review of AVP: Alien vs. Predator

5. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)

The sequel to AVP, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, picks up right where AVP left off, so timeline-wise this is all the same battle. Not as successful as its predecessor (hence it being the final crossover film) Requiem delivered an Alien-Predator hybrid, known as the "Predalien," as it attacked a small Colorado town and a Predator "cleaner" being dispatched to take down this new monstrosity.

Read IGN's review of Alien vs. Predator: Requiem here.

6. Predators (2010)

The only Predator movie to not take place on Earth, Predators, from Robert Rodriguez, looked to shake up the formula a bit by bringing audiences to a distant planet, a Yautja game reserve. With a killer cast including Adrien Brody, Walton Goggins, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace, and Alice Braga, Predators showed fans how humans, specifically "established killers," are abducted and used for sport between two warring Yautja tribes.

Timeline-wise, this is a tricky one. It's never clearly stated when this all happens. Meaning, the Earth year. But it's easy enough to just assume it's 2010, when the movie was released. Or, in the very least, based on the characters, the early 21st Century. So Predators can fit into your chronological viewing plans here, at number six, or you can save it for last.

Read IGN's review of Predators

7. The Predator (2018)

Despite Predators being a modest hit it would still be eight years before a new Predator film hit the big screen and with 2018's The Predator, director/co-writers Shane Black (Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) would take the franchise back to its original formula (which he himself starred in) by presenting a squad of unstable soldiers -- played by the likes of Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane and Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen -- who take on a pair of rampaging Predators and thwart their Yautja schemes (which involve DNA splicing). The film ends with a tease for more, while alternate/unused endings featured time traveling versions of both Alien's Ellen Ripley and Rebecca "Newt" Jorden in a new grab for crossover gold.

Read IGN's review of The Predator

How to Watch the Predator Movies by Release Date

If you're looking to watch all the movies in theatrical release order, the correct list is below:

1. Predator (1987)
2. Predator 2 (1990)
3. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
4. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
5. Predators (2010)
6. The Predator (2018)
7. Prey (2022)

The Future of the Predator Franchise

Two new Predator movies will be released in 2025. Predator: Badlands, in theaters November 7, 2025, will star Elle Fanning and feature Predator as the protagonist, according to director Dan Trachtenberg.

The second movie, also directed by Trachtenberg, was kept secret for quite some time. However, we can now confirm that Predator: Killer of Killers, is an animated movie that follows three different encounters with the ultimate killer at various points in history. The movie is set to release directly onto Hulu on June 6.

Matt Fowler is a freelance entertainment writer/critic, covering TV news, reviews, interviews and features on IGN for 13+ years.

The Nintendo Switch is going out in a blaze of glory, with some exciting games launching to make way for the console's successor: the now officially announced Switch 2. Whether they’re exclusively developed for the Switch or ported over from other platforms, these upcoming Switch games will wrap up the Switch's final year while also being compatible with the Switch 2 upon release.

In 2025, we'll hopefully be getting our hands on well-known in-development titles like the new Pokemon, as well as a host of new games announced at the March Nintendo Direct. Whether you own the original Switch or are looking ahead to what will release on the Switch 2, here are all the new Switch games we can look forward to in 2025 and beyond.

Take a look at our guide to all upcoming video games for release dates on every platform.

All Upcoming Switch Games With Release Dates

Star Overdrive (April 10, 2025)

Star Overdrive is an upcoming indie adventure game set on a distant alien planet. Fly around on your hoverboard while conquering enemies and solving puzzles to try and reunite with your lost love.

Monument Valley 1 + 2 (April 15, 2025)

A cherished entry in the world of puzzling games, the existing Monument Valley games (originally on mobile) are coming to Nintendo Switch in mid-April. Create paths and structures to explore colorful environments in one of the more stress-free games on this list.

Rusty Rabbit (April 17, 2025)

Several years after Nitroplus revealed Rusty Rabbit in a concept trailer, the side-scrolling action platformer is finally coming to Switch. Play as the middle-aged rabbit, Stamp, who has built his own mech to traverse a post-apocalyptic frozen wasteland.

LUNAR Remastered Collection (April 18, 2025)

This remastered collection brings the two original Lunar JRPGs, LUNAR Silver Star Story and LUNAR 2 Eternal Blue, to modern consoles. The remasters come with several quality-of-life improvements, including enhanced graphics and both English and Japanese voice-acting.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (May 16, 2025)

That's right, it's another fighting game collection. This time, Capcom is compiling games released between 1998 and 2004, which is what some would call a peak era for arcade fighting. This second fighting collection includes both the English and Japanese versions of six games total, including Capcom vs. SnK and the Power Stone beat-em-up series.

The Microsoft Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S offer some of the best gaming experiences available today, and the best games demand the best gaming monitor. If you're ready to upgrade from a TV, or just want a display to match the killer quality of your favorite games, this list is for you. These are the best monitors for the Xbox Series X|S of 2025.

TL;DR - The Best Monitors for Xbox Series X|S:

While the best gaming TVs can deliver an incredible gaming experience, gaming monitors offer better visuals and enhanced responsiveness, so you'll experience less delay than what most TVs can offer. Because they're designed for gaming, they often come with additional features and picture presets while leaving out the bloat and system-slowing extras found in the average smart TV. As a result, the best gaming monitors tend to offer a superior picture, better performance, and a competitive edge.

A gaming monitor can also be a better fit if you're limited on space or also enjoy gaming on PC. Generally, gaming monitors come in at 32 inches or less, making them a better fit for bedrooms, dorms, and offices, though it is still possible to find monitors larger than this size. That more compact size offers the benefit of increased pixel density, which can make games appear more crisp and detailed.

The Xbox Series X is able to output 4K resolution up to 120fps and monitors that offer these specs typically offer a beautiful picture and plenty of extra features and picture presets that gaming TVs do not. If maxing out these specs is your goal, chose a monitor that supports HDMI 2.0 or above to ensure it's compatible.

The Xbox Series S supports 1440p at 120fps, and there are plentiful monitors to choose from the match or exceed these specs. You'll still want to look for HDMI 2.0 if you want to game at 1440p, but you'll still find plenty of options to choose from, even at relatively affordable prices. Because of the power of the system, however, a 1080p monitor can be a better choice, especially if you want games to run as smoothly as possible.

There's a lot to consider when choosing a gaming monitor, especially if it's your first time, but I've gathered the best picks to take your console gaming experience to the next level.

1. BenQ Mobiuz EX321UX

The Best Monitor for Xbox Series X|S

2. Lenovo Legion R25F-30

Best Budget Xbox Series X|S Monitor

3. Dell Alienware AW2725Q

Best 4K Xbox Series X|S Monitor

4. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP

Best 1440p Xbox Series X|S Monitor

The Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP is a fantastic 1440p monitor that's fully compatible with Xbox (as well as PlayStation) and makes for a killer PC gaming monitor too. It features outstanding peak brightness, infinite blacks, and a 480Hz response rate that, while overkill for Xbox, makes this monitor incredibly responsive and perfect for dual-purposing for PC gaming.

In my review, one of the things that stood out to me was just how beautiful its out-of-box image quality is. While total color accuracy is less important for Xbox gaming, it does mean that the monitor is a treat for the eyes since it uses an OLED panel, it's able to offer infinite contrast, so blacks are well and truly pitch. It also offers a high peak brightness, so highlights truly pop. If you are playing a game that supports HDR, this monitor will guarantee it looks its best.

Asus has also outfitted this monitor with a suite of gaming features to give you an advantage when you need it most. You can enable an on-screen reticle to give yourself crosshairs in games that don't offer them, and even turn on a sniper mode that zooms in on the center of the screen. Playing on a dark map? No problem there. Turn on Shadow Boost or a Night Vision Sniper mode that highlights enemies even when you can't see them very well on your own. Just be a good gamer and only use these features in single-player games, yes?

And if you're worried about the OLED screen leading to burn-in over time, don't be. Asus has equipped the monitor with a suite of OLED protection features to ward off any kind of image retention. If you do experience this, it also comes with a three-year warranty to offer extra peace of mind.

The only thing this monitor is missing is a KVM to quickly switch peripherals between your Xbox and PC. But considering everything else that it brings to the table, this is a fair trade-off. The Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP won't disappoint.

5. Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80SD)

Best Smart Monitor/TV Replacement for Series X|S

Gaming Monitors for Xbox Series X|S FAQ

Is a gaming monitor better than a TV for Xbox?

Generally, gaming monitors are considered higher performance than TVs in sheer on-paper specs, but which one is best for you will depend on your preferences and needs. If you enjoy gaming on the couch and relish the "big screen" gaming experience, a great TV is hard to beat. When it comes to speed and specs, gaming monitors still have the advantage, albiet usually at a higher cost. For Xbox gaming, the difference is closer than its ever been. Still, if you're looking for the best responsiveness and up-close image quality, a gaming monitor is still the way to go.

Can I use an ultrawide monitor with my Xbox?

Yes, though you probably don't want to. The current generation of gaming consoles only support standard widescreen, or 16:9 aspect ratios. While you can technically use an ultrawide monitor, you'll get black bars on either side of the screen. Because of this, monitor manufacturers also may omit console-friendly features like HDMI eARC for easy soundbar support.

What is the best resolution for a gaming monitor for Xbox?

While the easy answer is 4K, it really depends on the Xbox console you're gaming on. For Xbox Series S, it can be a better decision to purchase a 1440p or even 1080p monitor to match its entry-level performance. For the Xbox Series X, 4K is the natural choice. The other consideration is refresh rate. The Xbox Series X is able to play games at up to 120fps at 4K, but getting a monitor to match this can be very expensive. Additionally, most games that offer this are actually upscaling 1440p. If a 4K, 120Hz monitor is too expensive, a 1440p monitor with at least HDMI 2.0 can be a much more cost effective solution.

When can you find discounts on Xbox Series X|S monitors?

If you're looking to grab a monitor for console gaming, you may want to check out sales events throughout the year. The biggest discounts on Xbox-compatible monitors tend to be available over Black Friday weekend, but Amazon Prime Day has quickly become one of the best times to find solid gaming monitor deals. Otherwise, watch out for tech clearance sales at major retailers like Best Buy and Walmart.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

A Minecraft Movie's first weekend in theaters put up a record-breaking box office showing, setting it on track to become the biggest video game movie of all time. An overwhelming reaction to the "Chicken Jockey" scene has been the biggest trend to come out of that.

An interesting thing about this viral scene is that LEGO was on top of this trend before the movie came out. Two Minecraft Movie LEGO sets were released at the beginning of March, and one of these is a build around the entire Chicken Jockey scene. The Woodland Mansion Fighting Ring set includes minifigures of Jason Momoa and Jack Black's characters, as well as a baby zombie riding a chicken.

Where to Buy the Minecraft Movie LEGO Sets

Over five years after Steve Rogers passed his vibranium shield to Sam Wilson, Anthony Mackie's Captain America is finally taking center stage. The hero returns alongside both new and familiar heroes, likely setting up the new generation of Avengers that will take the lead in Doomsday next year. Critic Tom Jorgenson’s review of Brave New World for IGN notes some frustration with "recycled MCU plotlines," though he also describes how “Mackie brings each side of Sam’s personality to life well against seasoned scene partners like Harrison Ford, Carl Lumbly, and Tim Blake Nelson.” Are solid performances enough to save the day? We'll leave that to you to decide.

If you're planning to watch Brave New World in theaters or want to know how long you might have to wait to stream it, check out the details below. For an in-depth, spoiler-filled breakdown of the events leading up to Brave New World, you can also check out IGN's Captain America Recap: The Messy Marvel Timeline That Led to Brave New World.

How to Watch Captain America: Brave New World - Showtimes and Streaming Release Date

The new Captain America is still showing in select theaters. You can check for showtimes near you at the main theater links below:

• Fandango
• AMC Theaters
• Cinemark Theaters
• Regal Theaters

Captain America: Brave New World Streaming Release Date

Brave New World will eventually stream on Disney+ instead of Netflix or Hulu. In 2024, both Deadpool & Wolverine and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 were in theaters for a little over three months before landing on Disney+. Assuming Brave New World follows a similar timeline, the new Captain America movie should be available to stream around May or June. We know for sure that Captain America: Brave New World will arrive on digital platforms like Prime Video on April 15.

What Is Captain America: Brave New World About?

Brave New World continues to take inspiration from Marvel Comics. In terms of the MCU timeline (we're currently in Phase 5), Brave New World follows The Marvels and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, though the most relevant plotlines carry over from the Captain America movies, The Avengers movies, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Here’s the movie’s official synopsis:

Does Brave New World Have a Post-Credits Scene?

This is the MCU, so of course it does. You can learn more about how the post-credit scene connects to the future of the MCU in our guide to the ending of Brave New World.

Where to Stream the Rest of the MCU

Looking to catch up on the MCU beforehand? The entire franchise is streaming on Disney+. While it might be a little overwhelming to navigate the entire timeline, some of the best Marvel movies are the original Captain America's. To get started, feel free to check out our guide to the Captain America movies in order.

Captain America: Brave New World Cast

Brave New World was directed by Julius Onah. It stars the following cast:

• Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America
• Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres/Falcon
• Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph
• Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley
• Xosha Roquemore as Leila Taylor
• Giancarlo Esposito as Seth Voelker/Sidewinder
• Liv Tyler as Betty Ross
• Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/Leader
• Harrison Ford as Thaddus "Thunderbolt" Ross/Red Hulk

Captain America: Brave New World Rating and Runtime

Captain America: Brave New World is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some strong language. The movie runs for a total of one hour and 58 minutes.

Bringing a super-sized canine back from extinction after 12,500 years sounds like the start of a movie where the special effects include gnawed flesh and buckets of fake intestines, but apparently some people decided it was a good idea, and now the world has three dire wolves living in a secret location in the US.

The award-winning director Bong Joon Ho returns, and this time he brought Twilight and The Batman veteran Robert Pattinson along for the ride. Mickey 17 stars Pattinson as an "expendable," someone who's sent into hostile environments to die, only to be repeatedly brought back as a clone and die again. One could argue the original "Mickey" was Cedric Diggory, who Pattinson himself claims is the character he'd most like to "give a second chance at life."

In his Mickey 17 review for IGN, critic Siddhant Adlakha highlights the philosophical underpinnings of the otherwise "depressing" sci-fi comedy: "Mickey 17 is confrontational by virtue of its pessimism, transforming a mostly straightforward novel into a stark reflection of how the current political moment came to be – albeit without letting anyone (least of all, those of us at the mercy of these larger forces) off the hook for our own transgressions."

After just one month in theaters, Mickey 17 is now available on digital platforms. Whether you still plan on catching Mickey 17 in theaters or want to watch it at home, check out the details below.

How to Watch Mickey 17

Mickey 17 is still showing in theaters. You can check for showtimes near you at the main theater links below:

• Fandango
• AMC Theaters
• Cinemark Theaters
• Regal Theaters

How to Watch Mickey 17 Online

Mickey 17 was inspired by Edward Ashton’s genre-bending sci-fi novel, Mickey7. The titular character, Mickey, is sent on deadly research expeditions only to be replaced by a clone each time he dies. Here’s the movie’s official synopsis:

Does Mickey 17 Have a Post-Credits Scene?

Nope! But for those curious, feel free to check out our full guide to Mickey 17's ending.

Mickey 17 Cast

Mickey 17 was written and directed by Bong Joon Ho, based on the novel by Edward Ashton. The movie stars the following cast:

• Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes/Mickey 17/Mickey 18
• Naomi Ackie as Nasha Barridge
• Steven Yeun as Timo
• Mark Ruffalo as Kenneth Marshall
• Toni Collette as Ylfa
• Holliday Grainger as Gemma
• Anamaria Vartolomei as Kai Katz
• Thomas Turgoose as Bazooka Soldier
• Angus Imrie as Shrimp Eyes
• Cameron Britton as Arkady
• Patsy Ferran as Dorothy
• Daniel Henshall as Preston
• Steve Park as Agent Zeke
• Tim Key as Pigeon Man

Mickey 17 Rating and Runtime

Mickey 17 is Rated R for violent content, language throughout, sexual content and drug material. The movie runs for a total of two hours and 17 minutes.

Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who is always looking for the next great horror story and fantasy RPG.

Sometimes you're in the mood for aliens, sometimes babies scare you, and sometimes the adult toys that live in your bedside drawer have eyes. Whatever your thing is, Love, Death + Robots Vol 4 will have you covered when ten new animated shorts drop on Netflix on May 5.

All Netflix is giving us right now is a teaser trailer heavy with the trademark Love, Death + Robots gut punch of visuals combined with what look to be more promisingly weird ideas. Here's just a few we spotted in the single minute of footage.

• Some sort of epic looking space battle or disaster
• A puppet rock band
• The aforementioned adult toy, rendered with giant eyes in claymation
• A priest walking with an alien (tentacles) on a beach
• A tortured, possibly bionic woman with a cute fuzzball companion
• Babies. Like massive, threatening babies.
• Dinosaur on dinosaur violence
• An alien invasion rendered in miniatures
• A digusted voyeur of a cat

Deadpool director, Tim Miller, and Seven and The Social Network director, David Fincher, are executive producers on the series, with Jennifer Yuh Nelson, an artist on Kung Fu Panda 2 and Shrek Forever after, returning to the supervising director's chair.

"If the legacy of Love, Death + Robots is that there are a handful, fifteen people, ten years from now who became directors or became animators or became motion capture performers or doing voice work because they were such big Love, Death + Robots fans, that's all I care about right now," Fincher told Collider in a 2022 interview.

"This show was never going to pay for your Gulf Stream. You're either here because you want to be here or you're not here. We're hoping desperately to get to waste more of our lives toiling in obscurity."

Rachel Weber is the Senior Editorial Director of Games at IGN and an elder millennial. She's been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, and French Bulldogs. Those extra wrinkles on her face are thanks to going time blind and staying up too late finishing every sidequest in RPGs like Fallout and Witcher 3.

As technology rapidly marches on, the line between real-life motorsport and the racing simulations that seek to replicate them is getting thinner and thinner. It’s certainly no secret that many of the most successful drivers in real life spend a good deal of their spare time in racing simulations – and that should speak volumes about how racing hardware is getting better than ever. Of course, there also seems to be more of it than ever, and that can make choosing your first (or next) racing sim gear purchase a little tricky.

With that in mind, I’ve assembled a shortlist of 10 racing wheel suggestions for PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and even Nintendo Switch. Based on how much you have available to spend (and how serious you plan on taking your sim racing), the list below should give you a little more clarity on the strengths and weaknesses of all the wisest low-price, mid-range, and high-end options available today. If you're big on racing games, a racing wheel is easily one of the most clutch gaming accessories you can buy.

TL;DR: The Best Racing Wheels

1. Thrustmaster T-128

Best Budget Wheel for PC and Xbox

2. Logitech G-29

Best Budget Wheel for PlayStation

3. Moza R3

Best Starter Direct Drive Wheel for Xbox Series X|S and PC

4. Fanatec GT DD Pro

Best Direct Drive Wheel

5. Hori Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Deluxe

Best Nintendo Switch Racing Wheel

6. Thrustmaster T300 RS GT

Best Mid-Price PlayStation Racing Wheel

7. Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel

Best Value Premium PC and Console Racing Wheel

8. Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race Wheel and Pedal Set

Best Value Direct Drive Plus Load Cell Pedal Bundle

9. Moza R12

Best Direct Drive Wheel Base

10. Moza TSW Truck Wheel

Best Non-Traditional Wheel Rim

Shinichirō Watanabe has been blazing a sci-fi trail since his co-direction stint on the popular Macross franchise, Macross Plus. Over his 35 year career he has created some of the most beloved and influential series like Cowboy Bebop, his jazz-infused magnum opus which follows a ragtag group of badass space adventurers as they neo-noir their way through deep space. Cowboy Bebop's iconic score by Yoko Kanno is part of what has made the series feel so timeless and has helped it stay in the public consciousness, through live performances, soundtrack rereleases and more.

The renowned science fiction show has long been shaping cinema and storytelling with creators like Star Wars' Rian Johnson, Avatar: The Last Airbender's Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and Victor And Valentino's Diego Molano citing Cowboy Bebop as massively influential on their work.

Cowboy Bebop also stands as one of the few anime series that many non-anime fans have taken the time to check out. All of those reasons and more make it one of the most vital and long-lasting entries into the anime canon, so if you're wondering what to watch after your latest (or first) Cowboy Bebop binge we're here with a list of the best space-faring, globe-trotting, morally-ambiguous anime that you can dive into next.

Lazarus

If you're looking for an affordable power bank that will fast charge your Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or Apple iPhone 16, then check out today's deal. Amazon has the Iniu 10,000mAh Power Bank with up to 45W of Power Delivery over USB Type-C for only $11.25 after you redeem the 50% off coupon on the product page. Iniu power banks have solid reviews and are less expensive than equivalent Anker models.

Iniu 10,000mAh 45W USB Power Bank for $11.25

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is set to release for Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on September 5. In it, you strap yourself into an Arsenal mech and fly through an open world on your way to battle various enemies and create your very own loadout. It’s available to preorder in two different editions (see it at Amazon). In fact, this is one of the very first Switch 2 games available for preorder since preorders the Switch 2 itself have been delayed in the U.S. Read on for more info.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion - Standard Edition

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion - Limited Edition

PS5

• Get it at Amazon - $99.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $99.99

Switch 2

• Get it at Amazon - $99.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $99.99

Xbox Series X|S

• Get it at Amazon - $99.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $99.99

The limited edition costs $30 more than the standard edition, but it comes with the game itself, plus the following extras:

• 3 Flight Tag Keychains
• Original Soundtrack CD
• Full-Color Art Book
• 3D Acrylic Diorama
• 3 Emblem Patches
• Outer Box

What is Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion?

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is a followup to the 2019 original Daemon X Machina game that was released on Switch and PC. This sequel is also helmed by Kenichiro Tsukuda, a producer for the Armored Core series.

Titanic Scion is all about speccing out your Arsenal mech to turn yourself into a fast-flying killing machine. It takes place in an open world, where you’ll blast your way through enemies, picking up the weapons and equipment they drop in order to expand your arsenal and abilities. Customization is key, so you can direct your abilities to your own particular play style. You can play solo or co-op with up to two friends online.

Other Preorder Guides

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

If you want a gaming PC that can follow wherever you may roam, a gaming laptop is likely your best bet. While desktop parts will usually still beat out a gaming laptop, the best of them offer excellent performance in the latest games. Best of all, some models are able to offer peak performance while still remaining thin and light, like the Razer Blade 16, which is my pick for the all-around best gaming laptop of 2025 so far. Unfortunately, as of April 8, Razer has taken down the direct link to buy the Blade 16 and other laptops, replaced with "Notify Me" buttons, ahead of tariffs kicking in. We'll update this page as we hear more.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Laptops:

The first thing I always recommend to people hunting for a new gaming laptop is to consider is what PC games they actually hope to play. The second is what settings they hope to play them at. These two questions can guide your purchase to higher- or lower-end hardware and what trade-offs you're willing to make. Now more than ever, gaming laptops come in every shape and size, from thin and light devices to moderately heavy powerhouses like the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16. Larger performance-driven laptops (like the ones that come with a 4K display) achieve their enhanced performance with more powerful, and power-hungry, components, which means sacrificing on portability, battery life, and fan noise.

There are countless to choose from a ton of different gaming laptop brands, and finding the best for you can be more than a little daunting. I've tested dozens over the years, and I have a deep understanding of what it takes for a laptop to ascend to greatness for different types of gamers and can confidently say: These are the best gaming laptops of 2025 so far.

Looking for discounts on laptops like these? Check out our guide to the best gaming laptop deals.

1. Razer Blade 16 (2025)

Best Overall Gaming Laptop

Let's get this out of the way: The Razer Blade 16 isn't the most powerful RTX 50-series laptop. Instead, this notebook earns my top pick because of sum of its parts. See, the team at Razer understood that a huge crosssection of laptop gamers carry their machines with them every day, and flat-out making it nicer to use while also being powerful can dramatically enhance the use experience. And, as an extra, if you're willing to invest in Razer's laptop cooling pad, you can unlock the full wattage for performance that goes toe-to-toe with other RTX 5090 laptops.

Make no mistake: The Razer Blade 16 is still a gaming beast. In my review, I threw everything and the kitchen sink at it and there was nothing it couldn't run well on its crisp 1600p OLED screen. While running those games and benchmarks, the system stayed surprisingly quiet. This is a gaming laptop you could use in a school library without attracting attention.

It's true that a high-powered RTX 5080 like the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 also recommended in this guide will get you similar, if not better, performance. What most other laptops can't offer, though, is the Blade 16's level of portability and noise.

Measuring just 0.59 inches at its thinnest point, it's a marked improvement from its predecessor and, well, most gaming laptops with such powerful hardware. It also weighs only 4.7lbs; you won't forget it's there, but it won't leave your back and shoulders sore from lugging it around every day. That portabilty makes it more appealing as a daily carry, so I didn't second guess taking it with me every day even when I might not actually need it.

The Blade 16 does a great job of feeling like the premium product it is. The chassis is milled from a single block of aluminum and feels solid and robust. It also helps with heat dissipation, but solid engineering ensures that the keyboard never gets more than warm while gaming. Its screen is also excellent with impressive factory calibration and multiple professional color modes that allow it to be used for creative applications straight out of the box. It's per-key RGB keyboard is completely programmable, complete with SOCD (Snap Tap) and macro support to better emulate a dedicated gaming keyboard.

On top of that, it also offers great battery life while gaming. Thanks to the new advancements in how the RTX 50-series handles power management, you can play games for around two hours instead of one or less like last generation.

The Razer Blade 16 is an excellent laptop that, while pricey, is something special in this space. If you want a great gaming laptop that will impress you with its portability, look no further.

2. MSI Thin A15 AI

Best Budget Gaming Laptop

3. Gigabyte Aorus Master 16

Best High-End Gaming Laptop

4. Asus Zenbook S 16

Best Work/Gaming Laptop

5. Asus TUF Gaming A14

Best Gaming Laptop for Students

How to Pick the Best Gaming Laptop

Gaming laptops have come a long way in relatively little time. Power, portability, and price have all seen dramatic improvements in just the last five years, and somehow gaming laptops are getting thinner and adding even more features.

Portability and Form Factor

Where will you be taking this gaming laptop? If you'll be taking it out every day, you’ll want something portable, such as a 15-incher or even smaller. Users who just want a laptop to live at home as more of a desktop replacement should go for a 17-inch rig or bigger for the larger screen size and greater power.

Weight is another consideration if you'll be carrying the laptop around all day. Anything more than 5lbs is going to be very noticeable. This can be an issue because gaming laptops have a tendency to be a bit bigger than competing options that don't need larger and more advanced cooling solutions. It's not impossible to find thin and light gaming laptops with great performance, but you should definitely take the time to consider what you're comfortable with and if you're willing to trade performance for portability.

With integrated GPUs, with the integrated graphics on modern processors getting to be so good, it's also possible to find gaming laptops in form factors that just didn't work before. The ROG Flow Z13 is a prime example; it is essentially a 2-in-1 gaming laptop that can double as a tablet for artists and students, but offers impressive gaming performance thanks to its AMD Ryzen AI MAX processor.

The point is, you don't need to limit yourself to bulky clamshell designs in the same way you used to. Depending on your budget and performance needs, there are more options than ever out there.

Power

The newest gaming laptops come equipped with the latest Nvidia RTX or Radeon RX graphics chips. These mobile chips are nearly as capable as their desktop version, plus they support the latest ray tracing, DLSS, and frame generation technologies.

On that front, it can also be important to consider what games you plan on playing, their minimum and recommended specifications, and what advanced features they might support. If the game is equipped with the latest version of Nvidia's DLSS, for example, and supports frame generation, you can probably get away with a lower-powered, lower-cost graphics card since the tech will improve your frame rate even on a cheaper card. As you get into higher tiers of laptop GPUs, prices skyrocket quickly.

Choosing the latest processor isn't quite as necessary, but it's nice to have and can help ensure that it doesn't bottleneck the potential performance of your GPU. If you're looking at a laptop with an Intel processor, be sure that the processor isn't more than a couple generations behind. Both Intel and AMD offer gaming processors with built-in neural processing units for enhanced AI performance. For Intel, these are referred to as Core Ultra processors while AMD dubs its lines AI and AI MAX. Both can offer great gaming performance.

If you only plan to take part in light gaming, a recent Core Ultra or AI Max processor can also take the place of a dedicated graphics card and save you hundreds in the process. Both of these chips feature powerful integrated graphics, and so long as you're willing to adjust settings and resolutions, can deliver playable frame rates. They're also great if you plan on streaming your games through the cloud through services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or GeForce Now.

Price

If you're set on a gaming laptop and just need to decide which one to get under a certain price point, then your choices will be narrowed down based on your maximum budget. If that's you, you'll probably want to explore our full list of cheap gaming laptops we'd recommend instead, but here's our top budget pick right now:

Most gaming laptops are only as portable as the nearest electrical outlet. All that power comes at a price, though. The general rule of thumb about gaming laptops is that their battery life stinks. In general, you should plan on plugging in your laptop before loading a game. Playing on battery power typically lasts an hour or less and also delivers worse performance due to the power limits the laptop imposes on the graphics card and processor. It's just not ideal, but may still be better than lugging around a heavy power brick, depending on what you're playing.

One recent exception to this is Nvidia's RTX 50-series laptop GPUs. These new chips feature enhanced power management features, so you can count on closer to two hours instead of one.

Another consideration when choosing a gaming laptop versus a gaming desktop is its price. It costs quite a bit more to stuff all those components (i.e. the built-in trackpad, keyboard, speakers, and display) into an easy-to-carry shell.

Depending on how tech-savvy you are, You can save some money by choosing a laptop with less memory and storage at checkout and upgrading these components yourself. It's usually much cheaper to do so. However, you'll want to research carefully to ensure that both are upgradable at all and, if so, are easily accessible. Some laptops hide components inside, beneath others, making them especially difficult, if not impossible, for anyone other than an expert to access. Bear in mind, however, that a laptop in general is much less upgradable than a desktop gaming PC. Outside of memory and storage, changing out other components likely means buying a whole new PC.

Gaming Laptop FAQ

Should you buy a gaming laptop or a gaming PC?

When considering a gaming laptop over a gaming desktop, ask yourself: Is the premium price worth it for the luxury of portability? In virtually every case, you'll pay more for a gaming laptop with similar on-paper specs to a well-matched gaming desktop. It doesn't stop with the cost: Just because two graphics cards have the same name doesn't mean that they're the same in all circumstances. Laptop versions of same-name GPUs usually offer reduced performance due to their thermal and power limitations. Gaming desktops provide more bang for your buck, are less expensive to upgrade and repair, and last longer before they go obsolete. See our guide to gaming PCs vs. gaming laptops for a deeper comparison.

Is the CPU or GPU more important in a gaming laptop?

Both are important, but you should consider the graphics card more than the processor. Even though a slow processor can throttle the graphics card and lower your fps, usually this is much less of a concern than simply having an underpowered GPU. Remember, it's the graphics card that renders your games and is the single most influential component to gaming performance.

Do I need a dedicated graphics card in my gaming laptop?

Not always. This depends on what you're hoping to achieve. If you're interested in running the latest games at high graphics settings and resolutions, you definitely need to invest in a laptop with a great graphics card. If you only plan to do light gaming, enjoy older games that aren't very demanding or stream your games from the cloud. A modern processor with integrated graphics can also be a good way to save some money. With that in mind, relying on an integrated graphics card hasn't always been as possible as it is today. As such, I would recommend this only for gaming laptops with AMD Ryzen 7000-series or Intel Core Ultra processors.

Do you need a laptop cooling pad?

Many modern gaming laptops come with ample cooling solutions baked into the chassis. But given their much smaller form factor than traditional desktop gaming PCs, thermal throttling can occasionally be an issue. If you are experiencing a downgrade in performance or your device seems a little too hot to the touch, a laptop cooling pad could be a simple, affordable solution. Laptop cooling pads often feature fans and ventilation slots or mesh for better airflow than when your laptop rests on a gaming desk or your lap, helping to ensure your device is working to its full potential and can even increase its longevity. If you're looking to keep your gaming laptop cool on the cheap, the Havit HV-2056 is an excellent option.

Christopher Coke has been a contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology for more than a decade. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs to gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

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

Not only is the next live-action Predator movie, Predator: Badlands, releasing this year, but we just confirmation that the second Predator movie in the works is called Predator: Killer of Killers, and it's an animated anthology that's coming out two months from now (!).

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg with Josh Wassung from the animation company The Third Floor, Predator: Killer of Killers will be released on June 6, 2025, exclusively on Hulu.

According to 20th Century Studios, the film follows three "of the fiercest warriors in human history: a Viking raider guiding her young son on a bloody quest for revenge, a ninja in feudal Japan who turns against his Samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession, and a WWII pilot who takes to the sky to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause." Of course, all three will have to face the Predator. Or presumably a series of Predators, considering the different eras. (Unless Predators have time travel now? I'm not sure.)

Watch the trailer for Predator: Killer of Killers here:

Trachtenberg also directed Predator: Badlands, which stars Elle Fanning and hits theaters on November 7, 2025, as well as Prey, which starred Amber Midthunder in another tale of historical Predator conflict. That film also was released directly on Hulu (to much acclaim).

Check out some stills and the poster from Killer of Killers right here:

For a limited time, Amazon is offering the wildly popular and well-reviewed Monster Hunter Wilds game for PlayStation 5 for just $57.95, which is an 18% discount off its $70 list price. This is the best deal we've seen for the PlayStation 5 edition that isn't reserved for just Amazon Prime members.

18% Off Monster Hunter Wilds for PlayStation 5

Marvel has published an eight-hour video of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine breathing in hopes of helping fans de-stress.

The lengthy project, which Marvel Entertainment has labeled a “breathing exercise,” found its way to YouTube as a surprise upload earlier today. It’s remarkably strange and arrives around eight months after Deadpool & Wolverine came to theaters and about five months after it premiered on Disney+. Of course, to no one’s surprise, it’s already racking up the views.

The Marvel Entertainment YouTube channel has posted an 8 hour and 36 minute video of Hugh Jackman in his Deadpool & Wolverine suit just staring at the camera breathing... menacingly! pic.twitter.com/Yue9479cpa

— IGN (@IGN) April 8, 2025

Around 40,000 superhero fans have already tuned in to hear Jackman growl in their ears since Marvel uploaded the video a few hours ago. Most are calling the eight-hour video an April Fools’ Day joke that got left behind, but oddly enough, Marvel is actually directing fans to use it to de-stress.

“April is National Stress Awareness Month, so breathe deep and feel your adamantium bones melt away,” Marvel explains in the Wolverine Breathing Exercise video’s description.

Every one of Wolverine’s gravelly breaths is backed by tense Marvel music, so to some, it may not be the most calming way to spend a casual April evening, but others may find it meditative. If you’re brave enough to stick around throughout the entire eight-and-a-half-hour runtime, you might even catch a few jump scares that look a lot like Jackman is doing his best to recreate an iconic Wolverine pose.

hugh recreating the wolverine #1 cover🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/HrLlWvS8WJ

— MV (@mvlsraff) April 8, 2025

Deadpool & Wolverine has been out in the wild for one year this July, and while it’s unclear if the duo will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) any time soon, we at least know a little bit about how their story may continue. Late last month, Marvel revealed a good chunk of the cast set to appear in its upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie. Included in the lineup of named chairs was none other than Channing Tatum, who made his on-screen debut as Gambit in the third Deadpool movie last year. It’s unclear if his return means we’ll also see Jackman and Ryan Reynolds suit up for the next Avengers film, but it’s at least a good sign that audiences may soon hear Wolverine’s heavy breathing once again.

For more on all things MCU, you can see the full list of every upcoming Marvel project here.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor 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).

Gamers shared a collective howl of pain last week when the Nintendo Switch 2 preorder date went from April 9 to "who the hell knows?" after import tariffs enacted by President Trump sent financial markets spiraling, and the issue has spread across the border. Nintendo Canada confirmed that pre-orders are also delayed there, so you can forget all about making a pre-order via your cousin that lives in Winnipeg.

"Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in Canada will not start on April 9, 2025 in order to align with the timing of pre-orders to be determined in the U.S.," Nintendo of Canada said in a statement to Canadian tech site MobileSyrup.

"Nintendo will provide updated information at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged."

It's an echo of the statement given to IGN by Nintendo of America on April 4, though the Canadian version doesn't specifically mention new tariffs.

Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.

While tomorrow marks the original pre-order launch, there's still no word on when we can expect to start desperately refreshing our browsers and checking our credit card security numbers, leaving gamers in limbo and concerned about a possible increase on the initially announced price of $449.99.

As for other countries, Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live in the UK today, with smaller retailers like EE, GAME, and Smyths experiencing selling out quickly and scalpers taking to eBay to sell their pre-orders for £500 ($639) or more, compared to the retail price of £395.99 ($506).

For more, check out everything announced at the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, and our big Nintendo Switch 2 interview with Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen.

Rachel Weber is the Senior Editorial Director of Games at IGN and an elder millennial. She's been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, and French Bulldogs. Those extra wrinkles on her face are thanks to going time blind and staying up too late finishing every sidequest in RPGs like Fallout and Witcher 3.

Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX is finally here for North American audiences. The new Gundam series features a new "alternate history" storyline, a name that’s harder than ever to pronounce (allegedly “G-Queue-x”), and, of course, a new line of model kits. In IGN's review of the GQuuuuuuX theatrical release, critic Juan Barquin calls the new series “exactly the kind of inventive reimagining of Gundam we deserve.”

There’s the notable influence of another massive sci-fi series in the credits of the new Gundam anime. GQuuuuuuX is directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki (co-director of End of Evangelion), and written by Yoji Enokido – who also wrote stone-cold anime classics like FLCL, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Ouran High School Host Club, and Bungo Stray Dogs, as well as scripts for several episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion – and the Evangelion creator himself, Hideaki Anno. One can only imagine where this series will go with these minds behind it.

If you’re wondering where to watch new episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX or catch up on the original Gundam series beforehand, I’ve listed everything you need to know below.

How to Watch Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX

While you can probably enjoy GQuuuuuuX regardless of your Gundam experience, the “alternative” history is likely best enjoyed with knowledge of, well, the original history. You can watch the original Gundam anime as well as most Gundam series on everyone’s favorite anime streaming service Crunchyroll.

Gundam GQuuuuuuX Characters and Voice Cast

• Amate Yuzuriha voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa
• Nyaan voiced by Yui Ishikawa
• Shuji Itō voiced by Simba Tsuchiya
• Challia Bull voiced by Shinji Kawada
• Char Aznable voiced by Shin Yuuki
• Xavier Olivette voiced by Seiichiro Yamashita
• Comoli Harcourt voiced by Akane Fujita
• Annqi voiced by Mariya Ise
• Jezzi voiced by Yukitoshi Tokumoto
• Nabu voiced by Shoya Chiba
• Kaine voiced by Yuusuke Nagano
• HARO voiced by Rie Kugimiya
• Pomeranian voiced by Kosuke Echigoya
• Denim voiced by Goto Kousuke
• Dren voiced by Takeda Taichi

Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.

NetEase has published Marvel Rivals Season 2 update patch notes ahead of its April 11 release date.

Details on how the Version 20250411 update will change the Marvel game were published on its website today. It comes with a laundry list of changes as NetEase introduces diamond-plated X-Men regular, Emma Frost as Marvel Rivals’ newest playable character.

Headlines for the Season 2 patch include content that NetEase had largely already covered before today. That includes new Domination map Krakoa, X-Revolution and Blue Sapphire costumes for Emma Frost, a brand-new battle pass, a nine-division rank reset for Competitive players, and the added ability to gift cosmetics to other players. Marvel Rivals Season 2 has more than new content in store, however, as the team behind the hero shooter has also detailed many other setting changes for players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S.

PC players can now take advantage of what NetEase is calling “an experimental feature” called Switch Shader Compilation Mode. The option allows players to – in theory – make Marvel Rivals run smoother by compiling shaders only when launching Marvel Rivals for the first time after an update. The team warns that you may run into issues depending on the power of your PC, so more tweaks for this experimental feature are sure to arrive in the future.

Marvel Rivals Season 2 console changes include several sensitivity adjustments that should make aiming and movement a bit easier to tailor to your liking. All platforms will also benefit from a variety of fixes to notification-related issues as well as problems related to a few maps, modes, and heroes. For example, players should find that they’re clipping through areas less with the upcoming update, while Captain America’s shield has also been fixed and should now reflect projectiles more reliably.

Marvel Rivals Season 2 launches April 11 for players on all platforms. While it will introduce Emma Frost (and Ultron with the mid-season 2.5 update), the soon-to-be-released update also marks the beginning of a new era for NetEase as it shifts its post-launch plans to account for speedier content releases. As explained last week, players can expect to receive at least one new hero every month as seasonal drops are shortened from three to two-month periods.

For more on Marvel Rivals, you can read up on how players reacted to that infamous Venom twerk emote, which goes away in just a few days. You can read up on the full Marvel Rivals Season 2 patch notes, as well as all the hero balance adjustments posted last week, below.

Marvel Rivals Season 2 Version 20250411 Update Patch Notes

Greetings, Rivals!

We trust you've received your exclusive invitation to the illustrious Hellfire Gala! The excitement is electric as everyone gears up to head to Krakoa for this extraordinary event! So, don your finest attire, and let's dive into the thrilling new content and captivating surprises that await you!

1. New Content

1.1 All Platforms

Heroes and Costumes

1. Emma Frost makes her dazzling debut in Marvel Rivals!

2. New Costumes: Emma Frost - X-Revolution & Blue Sapphire!

Maps and Modes

1. Get ready for an all-new Domination map - Hellfire Gala: Krakoa.

2. Map Rotation Update: Hellfire Gala: Krakoa will enter the Competitive pool, while Yggsgard: Royal Palace and Tokyo 2099: Shin-Shibuya will be retired from ranked play. Tournament maps will align with the competitive mode, while Quick Match and Custom Game will still feature all maps without rotation.

3. Optimized the settlement logic for substitute players in Quick Match battles: victories will count normally, while losses will not affect combat history or scoreboard.

Battle Pass and Season Events

1. Unlock a dazzling shiny new Battle Pass featuring 10 brand new sets of heroic costumes!

2. The season event Cerebro Database has officially launched; participate to earn the free costume Mantis - Flora Maiden.

3. This season also brings exclusive bonus seasonal rewards: Complete 9 matches to receive the free costume Scarlet Witch - Chaos Gown.

4. An all-new Twitch Drops event is here! This event will gift players the Namor - Will of Galacta costume, nameplate, spray, and emote. (Stay tuned to official announcements for details!)

5. The mission system has been revamped: new weekly missions and rewards have been added, and the balance of daily and challenge missions has been adjusted while maintaining the overall Chrono Token distribution. The proportion of hero-specific missions has also been reduced.

Ranked

1. Rank Reset: based on your final Season 1.5 rank, ranks will be demoted by 9 divisions. For example, if you ended Season 1.5 at Diamond I, your Season 2 journey begins at Silver I.

2. New rank rewards are in! A dazzling new costume for reaching Gold — Emma Frost - Golden Diamond, along with new Crests of Honor for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and Top 500.

3. The minimum level required for new players to participate in Competitive has been adjusted to 15. (If you have previously completed at least one valid competitive match, you can still join Competitive in Season 2.0 even if you are below level 15.)

4. Pick/ban will now come into play starting from Gold III rather than Diamond tier.

5. When a team includes players from Eternity or One Above All, only solo or duo queuing will be allowed.

6. Currently, the score you earn per Competitive match is determined by both the outcome and your individual performance. After Season 2.0 launches, we will be increasing the weight of individual performances. The better you perform, the more points you will earn in victory, and the fewer points you will lose in defeat.

Tournament Updates

1. The second season of the Marvel Rivals Championship is here! The champion, runner-up, and third-place nameplates have been upgraded to dynamic designs, showcasing your hard-earned glory! This season features adjusted rank requirements and a revised sign-up phase. For all the details, please refer to the Marvel Rivals Championship rules.

2. The global tournament regions have been enhanced! North America (NA), Europe (EU), and Asia (AS) have now transformed into the Americas (AMERICAS), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and the Pacific (PACIFIC). This upgrade allows for a more compatible and organized classification of server nodes across various regions.

3. A new faction search function has been added for the Knockout Stage.

4. The Tournament Overview page has been revamped! Players can now quickly access core tournament information in a visually engaging manner, with detailed explanations of each process and the specific rules for advancement and elimination in various tournament formats.

5. Introducing a new custom feature for the Marvel Rivals Championship nameplate emblem! Players with a Championship Emblem can now customize its display in Career - Customize.

6. A new Tournament Room option has been introduced in Custom Game, featuring additional tournament-related functionalities.

7. In the Custom Game - Tournament Room, we've added a pause function. The room host and authorized players can now initiate a game pause.

8. In the Custom Game - Tournament Room, an "Away" feature has been added. Non-host players can set their status to away, making it visible to others in the room.

Faction Updates

1. Introducing the all-new Faction Recruit and Seeking Factions system! Factions and players can now use this system to form their dream squads and prepare for various in-game tournaments.

2. A fresh batch of faction emblems has been added! Players can freely switch emblems in the faction details interface.

3. New reporting functionality for factions has been implemented. Players can report inappropriate custom content for factions, including names, abbreviations, and announcements.

General Updates

1. A new gift feature for friends has arrived! Now you can gift cosmetics to your friends.

2. The Career Overview page now supports the selection of specific hero forms.

3. Rank leaderboard display has been added to Career.

4. Real-time voice chat has been optimized! An interface prompt now appears when you activate voice chat using push to talk.

5. In Custom Games, spectators can now temporarily exit during matches, enabling them to rejoin the action anytime.

6. A new room host transfer function has been introduced. The current host can right-click on other players to transfer host privileges.

1.2 PC

Graphics and Settings

1. We've introduced an experimental feature: Switch Shader Compilation Mode. When activated, shaders will only compile the first time you launch the game after a new version or graphics driver update. This feature can significantly reduce memory usage and minimize in-game stuttering. —Especially on systems with 16 GB of RAM or less.

However, if you're using a CPU with less threads in combination with AMD FSR3 Frame Generation, you may notice occasional additional stutters with this feature enabled.

*Please note: This is an experimental feature. If you encounter any issues during use, our support team is standing by ready to assist.

2. We've added support for AMD FSR 4, using an AI-accelerated upscaling algorithm to deliver image quality improvements over AMD FSR 3.1. (Available exclusively on the AMD Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics cards)

1.3 Console

⦁ New Vertical Deadzone Sensitivity Settings: Players can now customize the additional acceleration sensitivity after reaching the vertical deadzone.

⦁ Additional Sensitivity Acceleration Delay Settings: Players can tailor the delay time for acceleration to kick in after reaching the deadzone.

⦁ Character Movement Stick Deadzone Settings: Players can set the maximum and minimum deadzone values for the joystick controlling character movement.

⦁ Trigger Deadzone Settings: Players can now define the trigger depth required for activation.

⦁ New Player Initial Settings Feature: First-time players will receive a reminder of default sensitivity settings, vibration, and trigger effects upon entering the game, making their introduction as smooth as a Super Hero landing.

⦁ Focus Memory Optimization: The focus feature has been upgraded to intelligently remember the last position on the screen.

2. Fixes and Optimizations

2.1 All Platforms

General Updates

⦁ Resolved numerous issues related to notifications.

⦁ Rectified various text errors.

⦁ Fixed an issue in Custom Game where spectators would incorrectly exit the room after a match.

⦁ Fixed a rare occurrence where settings would reset to default upon restarting the game.

Maps and Modes

⦁ Fixed terrain issues that could cause characters to become stuck or clip through odd locations.

⦁ Resolved various issues including floating broken objects, collision errors, etc.

⦁ Addressed several sound issues on maps.

⦁ Resolved a rare issue in Custom Quick Match, where on the Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown map, spawn room transfer could sometimes not work correctly.

Heroes

⦁ Captain America's Shield Bounce: Resolved an issue where Captain America couldn't ricochet enemy projectiles while moving backward. Now, the Sentinel of Liberty can send those pesky projectiles flying no matter which way he is moving!

⦁ Spector Sightings: Fixed a glitch that sometimes caused abnormal camera angles after being revived by Adam Warlock's Ultimate Ability. No more wobbly views for our heroes—everyone deserves to enjoy their epic returns in all their heroic glory!

⦁ Namor's Super Soldier Shenanigans: In Hydra Charteris Base: Hell's Heaven - Super-Soldier Factory, Namor's Ultimate Ability could occasionally fail to deal damage when targeting the raising pillars. This issue has been resolved, ensuring the Sub-Mariner delivers his Giganto impact!

⦁ Winter Soldier's Time Warp: Addressed an issue where Bucky would sometimes descend before ascending while unleashing his Ultimate Ability in unstable network conditions. Now, the Winter Soldier rises to the occasion without any time-traveling hiccups—no need for a Doctor Strange intervention!

⦁ Cloak & Dagger's Form Flaw: Fixed an issue where Cloak or Dagger sometimes left their character model lingering for a brief moment during form switches. Now, they'll slip into action smoother than a stealthy shadow.

⦁ Iron Fist's Floating Fumble: Resolved a rare glitch where Iron Fist could end up floating indefinitely. The Immortal Weapon is now back on the ground, delivering justice and martial arts mastery without any unintended levitation!

⦁ Wolverine's Ferocious Leap: Fixed a rarely occurring issue where Wolverine's Feral Leap could leave him stuck in an abnormal state, unable to finish the move. Now, Logan can unleash his claws with confidence, ensuring his foes don't get a second to breathe!

⦁ Claws and Consequences: Resolved a rare occurrence where being hit by Wolverine's Feral Leap could render all abilities unusable. No more claw-induced chaos—heroes can now fight on without fear of losing their abilities mid-battle!

2.2 PC

Graphics and Settings

⦁ Fixed an issue where the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card renders with excessively low brightness in certain scenarios.

2.3 Console

⦁ Fixed a rare issue where raw mouse input settings unexpectedly affected controllers, potentially causing crosshair drift.

⦁ Fixed an issue in console matches, where there was a chance that button prompts were displayed as keyboard and mouse inputs.

We will continue to vigilantly monitor game bug issues and fix them as fast as we can. Stay tuned for ongoing content updates and keep an eye on the official channels for the latest news!

Marvel Rivals Season 2 Hero Balance Adjustments

VANGUARD

Captain America

Steve will undergo some adjustments to his survivability, leading to a slight decrease in his overall resilience.

- Reduce base health from 675 to 650.

- Reduce the shield value of Living Legend from 400 to 350.

Doctor Strange

The Sorcerer Supreme will see a reduction in his offensive capabilities, limiting his battlefield control.

- Decrease Daggers of Denak damage per projectile from 18 to 16.

- Reduce the Maelstrom of Madness conversion ratio of Dark Magic to damage from 1.3 to 1.2.

Hulk

The Green Goliath will boast enhanced maneuverability and improved survivability upon entering combat.

- Increase base movement speed from 600 to 650.

- Reduce cooldown time for Indestructible Guard from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.

- Decrease minimum charge time for Incredible Leap from 0.7 seconds to 0.5 seconds.

Magneto

The Master of Magnetism will experience a slight decrease in the frequency of his Ultimate Ability.

- Increase energy cost for Meteor M (Ultimate Ability) from 3100 to 3400.

Peni Parker

Peni will receive enhancements to her primary attack damage efficiency and a boost to her survivability and combat capabilities.

- Cyber-Web Cluster now has a chance to crit; reduce movement speed penalty while firing Cyber-Web Cluster from 40% to 20%.

- Increase base health from 650 to 750.

The Thing

The Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing will see a slight reduction in his damage reduction effect.

- Decrease Embattled Leap's damage reduction effect for himself and teammates from 30% to 25%.

Thor

The Mighty Thor will receive an increase in survivability.

- Increase base health from 525 to 600.

- Increase base movement speed from 600 to 650.

DUELIST

Black Widow

Natasha is receiving optimizations to her shooting experience.

- Added a new effect where Black Widow can directly shoot after releasing the second kick of Edge Dancer and after using Electro-Plasma Explosion (Ultimate Ability).

Hawkeye

We're improving Clint's mobility while drawing his bow, enhancing his combat capabilities, and increasing the threat of his Ultimate Ability.

- Reduce the slow effect while charging the bow from 30% to 20%.

- Increase both instances of damage for Hypersonic Arrow from 50 to 55.

- Decrease energy cost for Hunter's Sight (Ultimate Ability) from 3700 to 3100 and improve the bow draw speed increase from 1.35x to 1.5x.

Hela

The Goddess of Death will see a reduction in mobility while slightly enhancing her offensive power.

- Increase cooldown time for Astral Flock from 12 seconds to 15 seconds.

- Increase Spell Field Damage of Piercing Night from 30 to 35.

- Decrease cooldown time for Soul Drainer from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.

Human Torch

Johnny's attack feedback and survivability are being improved to enhance his impact across various combat scenarios.

- Reduce attack interval for Fire Cluster from 0.6 seconds to 0.5 seconds; the launch timing of the primary attack projectile has been advanced.

- Increase the cooldown for Flaming Meteor from 12 seconds to 15 seconds, but add a new effect: After releasing Flaming Meteor, immediately gain 75 Bonus Health, which will start to falloff 3 seconds later at a rate of 30 per second.

Iron Man

Iron Man is seeing improvements to his mid-range combat effectiveness.

- Slightly reduce Iron Man's hitbox size.

- New feature: Gain 100 Bonus Health activating Armor Overdrive or Gamma Overdrive that will start to falloff 5 seconds later at a rate of 30 per second.

Iron Fist

Lin Lie will see an increase in his combat effectiveness against Vanguards, a slight improvement to his mobility, and a slight reduction to his survivability when first entering the battlefield.

- Reduce the Bonus Max Health gained from Harmony Recovery from 150 to 100, but slow the falloff rate of that health from 25 per/s to 15 per/s.

- Lower fixed damage of Yat Jee Chung Kuen from 10 to 9, but increase the percentage damage of the enemy's Max Health per strike from 1.7% to 2.1%.

- Decrease the cooldown for K'un-Lun Kick from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.

Mister Fantastic

We're enhancing Reed's capabilities while making some balance adjustments to his ultimate energy charge rate, adding additional control ability, and optimizing the release experience of his Ultimate Ability.

- Increase base health from 350 to 375.

- Boost the damage of Stretch Punch from 60 to 65 and from 75 to 80 while in Inflated state.

- Flexible Elongation New Effect: Enemies within range now suffer a 35% slow effect; reduce Flexible Elongation cooldown time from 10s to 8s.

- Reduce the Elasticity gained from Elastic Strength (passive ability) from 30 to 20, while the Elasticity provided by Stretch Punch is increased from 5 to 8. After entering the inflated state, the Bonus Health provided to self has been reduced from 450 to 400.

- New Feature: When Mister Fantastic uses Brainiac Bounce (Ultimate Ability), immediately gain Bonus Health equal to that gained when entering inflated state.

Moon Knight

We're optimizing Marc's Moon Blade projectile bounce feedback while improving maneuverability, Ultimate Ability, and survivability.

- Increase Crescent Dart projectile speed from 120m/s to 150 m/s.

- Moon Blade New Effect: Gain 25 Bonus Health with each enemy hit, up to a max of 100. 3 seconds after the Bonus Health stops increasing, it will start to falloff at a rate of 20 per second.

- Speed up Moonlight Hook pull startup time after hit from 0.4 seconds to 0.15 seconds.

- Extend the duration of the Hand of Khonshu (Ultimate Ability) from 3.5 seconds to 4.5 seconds, and increase the number of talons generated during this period from 14 to 18. Additionally, the fall speed of the talons has been slightly enhanced. A new damage falloff mechanic for the spell field has been added, beginning at 1.5 meters from the center and reaching a maximum reduction of 70% at 5 meters.

Scarlet Witch

We're reducing Wanda's survivability but increasing her threat level against Strategists and Duelists while optimizing her Ultimate Ability release experience.

- Remove Chaos Control percentage damage while increasing fixed damage from 60/s to 80/s.

- Increase Chthonian Burst projectile damage from 35 to 40 and spell field damage from 35 to 40.

- Increase the cooldown of Mystic Projection from 8 seconds to 10 seconds, and reduce Phased state time from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds.

- Rework the slow effect of Reality Erasure to start at 1.5 seconds instead of starting immediately, with a linear increase to a 35% slow over 3.5 seconds.

Star-Lord

We're reducing Peter's damage output and the efficiency of his Ultimate Ability charge rate.

- Reduce Blaster Barrage damage from 80 per second to 75. Introduce a new damage falloff mechanic, starting at 4 meters and maxing out at 80% reduction at 8 meters.

Winter Soldier

We're lowering Bucky's threat level against Vanguards and reducing the margin for error in his Ultimate Ability.

- Increase the cooldown time for Bionic Hook from 8 seconds to 12 seconds.

- Reduce base damage of Kraken Impact (Ultimate Ability) from 100 to 80, but lower the culling threshold from 20% of maximum health to 15%.

Wolverine

We're tuning Logan's Rage acquisition rate and slightly lowering his control intensity over enemies:

- Increase Rage gained from Savage Claw hits from 7 to 10, while Rage gained from Berserk Claw Strike has been decreased from 7 to 5. Reduce Rage gained from Feral Leap from 20 to 10, and from Vicious Rampage from 20 to 15. However, Rage gained from taking damage has been increased from 3 to 5.

- Reduce the time an enemy is knocked down after impact from Last Stand (Ultimate Ability) from 1 second to 0.75 seconds.

STRATEGIST

Adam Warlock

We're slightly reducing the frequency of Adam's abilities and adjusting the healing provided by his Ultimate Ability after reviving teammates.

- Increase the cooldown for Soul Bond from 30s to 40s.

- Karmic Revival (Ultimate Ability) now restores 30% of a fallen ally's maximum health instead of a fixed 100 Health.

Cloak and Dagger

We're optimizing the logic of this dynamic duo's Ultimate Ability

- After activating Eternal Bond (Ultimate Ability), the duration of the first three healing zones will no longer be calculated separately; instead, they will remain active until the duration of the final healing zone ends, at which point all will be removed together.

Invisible Woman

We'll be fine-tuning Susan's protective capabilities to create a more strategic gameplay experience.

- Decrease the shield value of Guardian Shield from 300 to 250.

Loki

To balance Loki's influence in matches, we're making a small adjustment to the frequency of one of his key abilities.

- Increase Regeneration Domain cooldown from 25 seconds to 30 seconds.

Mantis

To emphasize strategy over speed, we're modifying Mantis' health and buff mechanics.

- Reduce base health from 275 to 250.

- Effects of Healing Flower and Allied Inspiration can be stacked, up to a maximum of 16 seconds.

Rocket Raccoon

Rocket's healing abilities will see some adjustments to enhance team survivability while balancing his mobility.

- Decrease the healing area of Repair Mode spheres from 70 health/s to 50 health/s, but add a new effect of one-time healing of 55 health to allies hit. Projectile speed reduction increased from 4.5 m/s to 7 m/s.

- Extend cooldown for Jetpack Dash from 6 seconds to 10 seconds; reduce dash distance from 10 meters to 8 meters.

- Reduce C.Y.A. (Ultimate Ability) damage boost from 40% to 25%, but add a new effect: during the ability's duration, linked allies will receive an additional 100 Bonus Health points per second, capping at 150. After breaking the link, this bonus starts to falloff after 1 second at a rate of 75 per/s. Additionally, increase the energy cost from 3700 to 4000.

TEAM-UP ABILITIES

NEW:

Arcane Order (Doctor Strange - Scarlet Witch)

This mystical duo is set to enhance their powers!

- As the Team-Up Anchor, Doctor Strange gains a maximum health increase of 100.

- Scarlet Witch unlocks a new magical Mystic Burst ability through her team-up with Doctor Strange.

Stars Aligned (Captain America - Winter Soldier)

A classic partnership now with added strength!

- As the Team-Up Anchor, Captain America gains a maximum health increase of 100 and a 5% boost in damage output.

- Winter Soldier unlocks the devastating Stellar Impact ability through his team-up with Captain America.

Mental Projection (Emma Frost - Psylocke/Magneto)

A powerful trio that connects minds and abilities!

- As the Team-Up Anchor, Emma Frost gains a maximum health increase of 100.

- Magneto receives the Magnetic Resonance ability through his team-up with Emma Frost.

- Psylocke receives the Soul Resurgence ability through her team-up with Emma Frost.

ADJUSTED OR REMOVED:

Ammo Overload (Rocket Racoon - Winter Soldier)

A slight change for this battle-hardened hero!

- Winter Soldier loses the Infinite Grit ability he once had through his team-up with Rocket Raccoon.

Chilling Charisma (Luna Snow - Namor)

Things are heating up as synergies change!

- Namor has lost the Frozen Spawn ability from his team-up with Luna Snow.

Dimensional Shortcut (Magik - Psylocke)

A temporal reconfiguration for these powerful souls!

- Psylocke has lost the Psionic Disc ability previously attained from her team-up with Magik.

Gamma Charge (Hulk -Doctor Strange/Namor)

Changes in synergy for these heavyweights!

- Doctor Strange loses the Gamma Maelstrom ability previously gained from his team-up with Hulk.

- Namor now gains the Gamma Monstro ability through his team-up with Hulk.

Metallic Chaos (Scarlet Witch - Magneto)

A disconnect in family synergy!

- The Team-Up Anchor enhancement effect for Scarlet Witch has been removed, along with the Metallic Chaos Team-Up Ability.

- Magneto loses the Metallic Fusion ability he had through his team-up with Scarlet Witch.

Voltaic Union (Thor - Captain America/Storm)

A shift in electrical dynamics for this trio!

- The Team-Up Anchor effect for Thor has been removed, along with the Voltaic Union Team-Up Ability.

- Captain America loses the Charged Aegis ability from his team-up with Thor.

- Storm loses the Charged Gale ability gained from her team-up with Thor.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor 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).

2025 is set to be a big year for Diablo 4, Blizzard’s near two-year-old action role-playing game, and that’s despite the delay to its second expansion from this year into 2026. It’s set to launch Season 8 later in April, with Season 9 currently due out in the summer, and Season 10 later in the year. Each will improve the game in key ways, addressing fan feedback and adding long-requested features. And then, looking into 2026, Blizzard will launch Diablo 4’s second expansion, following on from last year’s Vessel of Hatred, add a new ranking system, and, finally, leaderboards.

Today, for the first time ever, Blizzard has published a Diablo 4 roadmap of content, providing fans with the kind of long-term insight into what to expect from the game they’ve never had before. There are even teases for upcoming IP collaborations thrown in there for good measure.

So why is Blizzard doing this now, and what, exactly, are the juicy details on Diablo 4’s upcoming updates? IGN sat down with game director Brent Gibson to quiz him on all that and more in an exclusive interview to coincide with the roadmap, below.

One of last year's breakout successes in the multiplayer game-space was Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, which aimed to spread democracy across the stars via shooting aliens and robots with lots and lots of bullets. Now, hot off the heels of releasing their monolithic board game adaptation of Elden Ring, Steamforged Games is doing another adaptation of a video game: the fast-paced and frenetic experience of Helldivers 2. The board game is now available to back on Gamefound – and IGN had a chance to play a prototype of the game and sit down with designers Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu to pick their brains about this new tabletop rendition.

Having begun its development shortly after the launch of the video game early last year, Helldivers 2: The Board Game captures a majority of what has made the video game so popular and exciting, recreating the tense fire fights, chaotic surprises, and teamwork-centric experience while also offering its own little tweaks to the formula.

Helldivers 2 remains a purely cooperative objective-based skirmish game where one to four players (the designers recommend solo players play using two characters) work together to complete the selected objective while surviving the mobs of enemies and events that pop up. Each player takes on the role of a different class of Helldiver, each having a unique perk, a set of action cards to use on their turn, and a powerful one-per-game “Act of Valor” ability. The demo included the Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and the Captain. Each player outfits themselves with a kit consisting of primary, secondary, and support guns, a grenade, and three strategems they can call in, with a recommended loadout listed on their class card. Still, once you know what you’re doing, you can choose before a game.

Gameplay takes place on grid-based boards that grow as you explore, requiring you to place down new boards, which reveal various sub-objectives you can try for, along with the locations where your primary objectives can be found – which, in my prototype’s case, are the various Terminid hatcherys to destroy. As you explore, more and more difficult enemies begin to spawn, and with the mission timer that puts a round-limit on how long you can take to complete your objective and evacuate, it all keeps games of Helldivers feeling frenetic and tense.

The prototype I played only had one objective, tasking me to destroy a certain number of Terminad hatcheries, but the actual release will offer a number of options. Regarding the enemies, Jamie explained that the base game would include two of three main factions – the aforemention Terminads and the robotic Automatons – with each faction featuring 10 unit types. While they couldn’t confirm anything, knowing Steamforged Games and their tendency for stretch goals in their campaigns, I bet we will see the Illuminate via an expansion.

Perhaps the aspect I was more curious to check out with this video-game-to-board-game adaptation was how it would handle the game’s sense of being overwhelmed and outnumbered. Would it go a similar route as the Zombicide games and try to stop me with numbers, with creatures that, while easy to kill, would quickly overwhelm the helldivers with their sheer numbers? Or would it opt for something more akin to Nemesis, where the threat came more from fewer but stronger enemies? Helldivers opts for the latter, with a more tactical close-up fight approach with progressively more challenging enemies spawning the further into a mission you go.

Turns consist of players and enemies adding their action cards to a pool, everything getting shuffled and then placed down onto the initiative tracker (very similar to Steamforged’s Elden Ring game), with combat based on dice rolls. One neat addition is that for every four action cards that are played, a random event occurs, which tended to throw a wrench into our plans, such as spawning a bunch of horde enemies or randomly spawning another enemy to contend with, normally followed by a few expletives being hurled. It’s a good time.

On the side of the Helldivers, combat is handled by way of dice rolls with each weapon offering its type and number of dice for the player to roll, with each damage being determined by the total value of the roll. For every five points, a single wound is placed on an enemy. I enjoy this approach to damage, as it can get confusing and annoying if you need to account for various modifiers and defense values or even see if you hit. In Helldivers, being the elite trained soldiers of democracy that you are, you always hit – the only question is how much pain do you dish out. Sure, there is a chance you may hit your friends in the process – especially with attacks that hit an area – but sometimes, to take out a particularly persistent and annoying enemy, you have to sacrifice your fellow Helldiver (thank goodness for reinforcements).

Something brand new to this board game that the designers are especially proud of is the ‘Massed Fire’ mechanic, which aims to recreate the feeling of you and your friends all firing on the same enemy in the video game.

“In the video game, obviously, you're encouraged to work together as a team," Nic explained. "You have a heavily armored armor enemy, you need to kind of flank around and shoot at the weak points if you don't have a support weapon to deal with it. But there wasn't a really good way to do that in a board game without going to lot of facing and armor mechanics. So what we implemented was we called 'massed fire,' so when anyone shoots at a target, if that's within range of another helldivers primary, secondary target, they can also focus far with you at that time, and so you're kind of explicitly rewarded or incentivized to work as a group.”

The designers made it clear players can always go off lone-wolf style and explore on their own if they wish, but what I appreciate the most with this addition is that it helps cut down on player downtime, allowing some involvement during other players' turns and a chance to roll more dice. Both of these things are always a plus in my book.

When it comes to enemies, though, things are a bit more bland with them simply doing a set amount of damage or effects dictated by what's on their card, causing the player to draw wound cards. Each wound causes some sort of detrimental effect, and if a player ever gets three wounds, their character dies. Death isn’t the end however, as depending on the difficulty you pick prior to starting the game, you have varying amounts of times after which players can respawn, which causes them to come back with their full load-out of ammo and resources filled back up.

One part of the Helldivers 2 experience that doesn't make the jump from video game to tabletop is the galactic war. The designers considered including this important part of the original game. But it was inevitably dropped, thanks in part to Arrowhead wanting this game to feel unique and different and not simply a cut-and-paste board game simulation of the source material.

Jamie did reveal a fun and very Helldivers-esque piece of “lore” around the board game: “We're positioning it effectively as a training simulation. So you would get this board game as a helldiver as a training simulation to learn how to be a better helldiver.” I’m keeping my fingers crossed that one day we will see Helldivers in the video game sitting around a table playing this board game.

Thanks to Nic, Jamie, and Derek's talent, this latest release from Steamforged Games is already feeling pretty good. The three of them have made it a big focus that, despite the new medium, their goal is for it still to feel like a Helldivers game.

“We wanted to make sure that even though had different mechanics, it felt like Helldivers – like we want to have unexpected things that you have to deal with from turn to turn. We want to have stratagems that could go awry and actually blow up your friends in addition to the enemies. The pool of reinforcements that dwindles as you go through the game and calling in stratagems, those are things that feel uniquely Helldivers,” Nic said.

Derek added, “We knew we needed to keep the core loop of what Helldivers is with the mission objectives, and just being able to chase the shiny, right? We've got points of interest and sub-objectives and the objectives to uncover and find, while also having to deal with enemies that are, you know, trying to eat you.”

As it stands now, the core of the game and how everything works, Jamie estimates, is at around 75-80% locked in, which is right at the spot that Steamforged likes to have their games when they launch their campaigns. This bit of wiggle room will allow the team some flexibility based on community feedback, additional balance adjustments, or if they come up with a really cool idea. And for those that may be concerned with the recent events surrounding tariffs and their impacts on the board gaming space and the worries developers are having, Jamie stresses that right now it isn’t going to slow down their plans and that they are pressing ahead exactly as planned. If any adjustments need to be made, the studio has people to handle and advise them on the best course to take.

Coming off of my time with the prototype, I'd say the systems they have in place already are fun with things like the random events and the Massed Fire mechanic leading to some really epic moments during my games. At the same time though, while I appreciate and understand the decision to want more of a tactical focus with larger heavier-hitting enemies on the board, I do kind of wish that the gameplay had more little chump enemies on the board to wipe out with your friends. But that's just how I like to enjoy the video game, too. Less thinking, more shooting. I also would like a bit more depth in how enemy attacks are handled, because right now it feels incredibly static compared to the rest of the game. Perhaps adding in a couple of different potential outcomes from an attack that are determined by a die roll would help bring enemy combat more on par with the chaos the other parts of the game delivers.

I'm eager to see what other surprises Steamforged Games has behind the curtain for Helldivers 2. What I’ve been able to play so far has left me antsy to try out new classes of Helldivers, discover what game types there will be, and mix and match all of them with the other enemies and biomes. All I know is that my friends and I are already asking: Where we dropping next?

See more board games based on video games

Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.

There's drama in the PC gaming, meth cooking world, and it's all about whether or not the latest Steam craze, Schedule 1, is getting sued by the publishers of Drug Dealer Simulator, Movie Games. After some review bombing of its titles Movie Games has now come forward to clarify the situation, stating that currently, there is no lawsuit against the creators of Schedule 1.

Movie Games suggested that the confused reports were probably the result of attempts to translate the news from the original Polish source of the information, but added that it was investigating the similarities between the games.

"Due to repeated opinions that Schedule I is very similar to DDS, we were obliged to request a legal analysis from an intellectual property specialist. It has indicated that there might have been an infringement by the Schedule I developers in relation to Drug Dealer Simulator," said Movie Games spokesperson Michal P (AKA Movie Games head of marketing Michał Puczyński) in a Discord post on Sunday.

"Now we are obliged to follow up further, but we are yet to contact the Schedule I developers. Our goal at this point is discussing the situation with them and we have an open approach."

Drug Dealer Simulator was released in 2020 and like Schedule 1, focuses on the mechanics of producing and selling illegal substances. While the subject matter is similar, Drug Dealer Simulator leans into a more realistic look while Schedule 1 has a look that screams "what if I designed Rick and Morty while having a nervous breakdown?"

Puczyński went on to assure gamers that "it is not our intention to prevent TVGS from selling or developing their game." He also made clear that Drug Dealer Simulator's developers, ByteRunners, had no role in the decision to investigate. Byterunners also made that clear in a post on social media.

Dear fans, in light of the legal investigation controversy taking place between our publisher, Movie Games, and Schedule I, here is our official statement regarding the situation. pic.twitter.com/NkK9fLRYQz

— Byterunners (@ByterunnersGS) April 8, 2025

"Overall, our goal is to support all devs, but we need to consider our legal obligations if law specialists determine that there are grounds to claim infringement;" continued the Movie Games statement from Puczyński.

"We even contacted TVGS via email just before the release, when the game was already huge, and wished them all the best - but that was before that legal analysis. Back then no one expected it to be needed, not to mention that it would bring these results."

So good news for Schedule 1 addicts who, at least for now, go back to growing Coca Leaves for completely innocent reasons.

Rachel Weber is the Senior Editorial Director of Games at IGN and an elder millennial. She's been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, and French Bulldogs. Those extra wrinkles on her face are thanks to staying up too late finishing every sidequest in RPGs like Fallout and Witcher 3.

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. This page includes all of the best deals that are currently available.

Dell and Alienware Coupons

Dell and Alienware Gaming PC Deals

Dell and Alienware Gaming Laptop Deals

You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. See below for our favorite picks.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Prebuilt Gaming PCs Are Available

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5070 Gaming PC

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptop Is Now Available

Alienware m16 Gaming Laptops

Alienware x16 R2 Gaming Laptops

Dell G-Series Gaming Laptops

The Amateur offers a clever spin on a classic, globetrotting thriller thanks to its title character. It’s easy to cheer for officebound CIA cryptographer Charles Heller (Rami Malek), who transforms from Guy in a Chair to agent of retribution in the wake of his wife’s murder. It’s as though Q suddenly took center stage in a James Bond film – and yes, it’s funny that Malek played an actual Bond villain, given that 007 gets referenced along the way.

The story kicks off when Heller’s wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), takes a trip overseas, only to be killed when she gets swept up in a hostage crisis. After deciding his bosses aren’t doing enough to track down the culprits, Heller takes matters into his own hands – despite his lack of combat and field-work training. To work from a different secret-agent reference point: He’s MacGyver with a Vengeance, relying on ingenuity, intelligence, and resourcefulness to avenge Sarah’s death, rather than conventionally violent means.

Commendably, The Amateur doesn’t rush through Heller’s transformation into a skilled killer. When he tries to use a gun, he’s a terrible shot; even his most darkly clever plans have a notable learning curve, and we see him make some big mistakes early on. Malek’s innately introspective, thoughtful demeanor makes him a good fit for this type of role, though there are a couple of moments where it feels like he’s perhaps too introspective and some more overt emotions would feel appropriate. But when he’s, say, calmly and coldly laying out the intricate details of a bad guy’s impending doom, he sells us on Heller’s damaged psyche.

Among the supporting cast, Laurence Fishburne is, per usual, terrific, bringing just the right world-weary, seen-it-all attitude to his character, an old-school spy initially tasked with trying to train Heller as much as possible before going on a different journey as the story continues. Holt McCallany and Julianne Nicholson are also a lot of fun as Heller’s superiors at the CIA, engaging in a subtle showdown over what this rogue cryptographer is doing and the events that led up to it. It makes for an entertaining subplot.

Unfortunately, Brosnahan’s few scenes stick her with the thankless role of Heller’s Manic Pixie Dead Wife; another accomplished actor lost in the mix is Jon Bernthal, playing a badass field agent who seems like he’ll play a more significant part in Heller’s saga than he ultimately does. Better served is Outlander’s Caitríona Balfe, who is given the opportunity to convey loss and empathy as an ally Heller finds along the way – one whose own tragic past forges a connection between them.

Heller’s plot, and how he executes it, feels realistic within the larger-than-life world of spycraft depicted by director James Hawes and screenwriters Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli (and based on Robert Littell’s novel of the same name). Hawes does a good job of evoking an appealing, throwback spy/espionage story that engagingly cuts between Heller’s journey around the world and its ramifications back home. Nolan and Spinelli, meanwhile, take the spine of Littell’s story and effectively update it for modern times, complete with the use of spy technology that wasn’t possible at the start of the Cold War’s final decade. Their conclusion doesn’t quite hit the mark, but on a whole, The Amateur is a well-told tale of what happens when you push a spy’s tech-savvy support too far.

Some days I wake up and think, “I should probably act like a responsible adult.” Then I see deals like these and immediately revert to gremlin mode, hoarding peripherals and anime bundles like the digital dragon I aspire to be. ASUS went on a full-blown spree today, slashing prices on wireless headsets, featherweight mice, mechanical keyboards, and a decked-out wrist-rest model that basically demands a pinky-up gaming posture. And if that wasn’t enough to drain the wallet, Humble Bundle is tempting me with 29 volumes of post-apocalyptic vampire drama. I mean, who needs savings when you have style?

ASUS Gaming Gear, Vampire Hunter D Bundle, and Street Fighter Cards

What really gets me about today’s lineup is how weirdly practical it all is — for gamer gear, anyway. The Cetra earbuds? Ideal for rage-queuing in Apex without broadcasting my choice words to the household. The Harpe mouse? So light it practically teleports. And the keyboards? One is tiny and portable; the other has a wrist rest thick enough to double as a nap pad. I’m not saying these are must-haves... but I’m also not not saying that. Let's break them down.

ASUS ROG Cetra True Wireless Gaming Headphones

ASUS ROG Harpe Gaming Wireless Mouse

Vampire Hunter D Book Bundle

ASUS ROG Spatha X Wireless Gaming Mouse

Street Fighter Trading Cards

ASUS ROG Falchion NX 65% Wireless RGB Gaming Mechanical Keyboard

ASUS ROG Strix Scope RX TKL Wireless Deluxe

MainGear North RTX 5070

Pokemon TCG: Azure Legends Tin - 5 Packs

Humble Bundle: Earth Defense Force Collection

SanDisk 256GB microSD Express microSD Card

Pokémon TCG: Shining Fates Collection Pikachu V Box

The Elder Scrolls Skyrim - Dragonborn Helmet - Replica

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet Shrouded Fable Elite Trainer Box

There's no surer way to grapple with one's mortality in 2025 than to realize that Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is now 20 years old. But the silver lining there is that the movie is returning to theaters in May as part of Lucasfilm's anniversary celebration. And not only that, but author Matthew Stover's surprisingly excellent Revenge of the Sith novelization is also getting a 20th anniversary rerelease (you can preorder it at Amazon).

As revealed by Collider, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is getting a new Deluxe Edition hardcover due out in October. In addition to new cover art and upgrades like red foil edge pages and a removable acetate jacket, the Deluxe Edition includes over 170 new annotations by Stover.

For those who have never read Stover's Revenge of the Sith novelization, the book is widely regarded as being one of the best Star Wars novels, as well as being superior to the film itself. While it generally follows the plot of George Lucas' screenplay, the book greatly embellishes many scenes and subplots and offers a deeper look into the minds of characters like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Count Dooku. The book also relies on a recurring system of second-person narration that stylistically sets it apart from the rest of the Star Wars line. Case in point, the following passage offers a much different take on Anakin's tragic reawakening as Darth Vader:

By comparison, here's how the film handles that scene:

And that's why sometimes it pays to crack open a book.

The Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith novelization is available in paperback and audiobook form now, with the Deluxe Edition hardcover releasing on October 14. You can preorder a copy on Amazon.

For more Star Wars funm why not check out the many Star Wars collectibles available on the IGN Store?

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

Minor spoilers ahead for A Minecraft Movie.

The team behind A Minecraft Movie revealed to IGN that one of the funniest moments in the video game adaptation was actually inspired by The NeverEnding Story.

There is a certain scene in A Minecraft Movie where Jack Black's Steve has to fly on Jason Momoa's Garrett because he only had enough Elytra wings for Garrett and Sebastian Hansen's Henry. It's a great moment of physical comedy where Steve has to climb all around him to save himself from falling hundreds of feet to the ground. And as it turns out, this was much more than an attempt at laughs.

"We definitely wanted a Falkor moment from The Neverending Story that was both majestic and beautiful, but also one that goes south pretty quickly," A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess said.

"It was so funny in between takes when they cut," producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson added. "Jack is sitting on top of Jason and they're in this complicated rig... and Jack starts singing, because he does that in between scenes, but he starts singing the words to The NeverEnding Story and riding him like he's riding Falkor."

It's a funny call-back because Jack Black actually played Slip in The NeverEnding Story 3. And for Momoa, it was great because he was integral in bringing this scene to life.

"I got to participate in writing that, and this big guy [Jack Black] wanted to do it too," Momoa shared with a laugh. "This was after Top Gun: Maverick came out, so I also wanted to be able to go into into it and then hit the brakes and then have them slide down and I switcheroo on them. We were sitting there at the hotel dying about this idea of Jack and I doing this stunt and it made it [into the movie] and it's phenomenal."

"I don't know if it made it in the final cut because there were different versions of that scene, but it could have gone hard rated R," Jack Black noted. "In the end, I think we made it family-friendly!"

Momoa also hilariously went into a recreation of the two of them on set (watch the video to see this firsthand!).

"Let my hips guide you! You can't just ride me like I'm majestic," Momoa said. "I was dying, man. I was dying."

For more, check out our A Minecraft Movie review, how the team had a private server they played on while making the movie, and our explainer of the film's ending and post-credits scene.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Max is home to some incredibly high-quality films and shows, including House of the Dragon, Succession, The Penguin, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us, which has season 2 coming soon on Sunday, April 13. You can read our spoiler free The Last of Us season 2 review to see our thoughts.

If you've been hoping to start up an account to dig into that library, we're here to help. We're keeping track of the best price right now for Max subscriptions, along with any deals as they appear. This includes bundle deals like the Max, Hulu, and Disney+ bundle, which is one you absolutely don't want to miss out on. This mega bundle starts at just $16.99/month, which is an astonishing price to have three very popular streaming services right in the palm of your hand. You can learn more about that bundle deal and Max's subscription plans below.

How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle

The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle can be purchased on any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. If you're looking to cut down on streaming costs and currently own all three of these, this is an excellent bundle to invest in. It'll save you quite a bit compared to what you'd pay for the three of them separately per month – 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

To learn more about how to get started with this bundle as a new or existing subscriber, head to our guide on how to get (or switch over to) the Disney+/Hulu/Max streaming bundle. It's worth signing up for this right now as well, given Hulu and Disney Plus have increased their prices, so you'll ultimately be saving money with this bundle.

Students Get 50% off Max Basic With Ads

Considering what it offers, Disney Plus is one of the best streaming services on the block. From classic Disney animated films to the latest Marvel shows and Star Wars movies, excellent kids' programming like Bluey, and so much more, Disney Plus puts an incredible range of high-quality viewing options at your fingertips. And with so much to check out, including season 2 of Andor on April 22, you'll want to find a plan that best suits you. We're here to help.

At the moment, one of the best Disney Plus bundle deals available is the massive Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle. This starts at $16.99/month to get you all three streaming services with ads. It's one of the best bundles available at the moment, but we've included more Disney Plus bundle deals worth exploring below. If you're looking for more streaming deals from other services, check out the best Hulu deals and bundles and the best Max deals.

How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle

The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle can be purchased through any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across the three platforms.

If you currently own all three and want to cut down on costs, this is a great way to bundle them together and save big on what you'd pay for them separately per month – 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

What Is the New Paid Sharing Plan on Disney Plus?

In an effort to crack down on password sharing, Disney has unveiled a paid sharing plan for individuals outside of your household. Basically, anyone using your account that's not within your household will have to be added as an "Extra Member" to your account. This costs an additional $6.99/month for the ad-supported Basic subscription and $9.99/month for the Premium ad-free plan, and only one Extra Member slot is available per account. You can learn more from Disney's paid sharing explainer here.

What Are the Different Disney+ Subscription Tiers?

Disney+ is available in a couple of different tiers. You can get the least expensive option (called Disney+ Basic) for $9.99/month, which gives you access to everything except the ability to download select shows to watch on the go. This tier is ad supported. If you want to get rid of ads and be able to download certain shows, you can spring for the $15.99/month or $159.99/year Disney+ Premium package.

What Are the Different Disney+ Bundles?

Want a way to save on your Disney+ membership? Bundles are a great, affordable way to go. As far as bundles go, there are two ad-supported bundles and two ad-free bundles. Here's the breakdown:

• Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic is $10.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. This plan lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both services.
• Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium is $19.99/month and comes with Hulu and Disney+ with no ads. It also includes Disney+ Premium features like the ability to download shows to watch on the go.
• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Basic adds ESPN+ (With Ads) to the mix alongside Disney+ (With Ads) and Hulu (With Ads), bumping up the price to $16.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN+ at this level.
• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Premium is $26.99/month and comes with ESPN+ (With Ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.

Disney+ Gift Cards

If you want to help someone out and give them a gift that will keep on giving, gifting a one-year Disney+ card is a great way to go. It provides all the great things Disney+ offers and it costs a fraction of what it would take to buy even a small sampling of those movies physically.

What Can You Watch on Disney+?

There is a bonkers array of shows and movies you can watch on Disney+. Let's start at the top and simply talk about the verticals on offer here with the base subscription.

Here's what you get:

• Disney
• Pixar
• Marvel
• Star Wars
• National Geographic

Disney on Disney+

On the Disney front, you have awesome classic movies like The Sword In The Stone, Robin Hood, 101 Dalmations, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty, modern classics like The Princess & The Frog, Tangled, and Frozen, and a wide range of animated shows, including Phineas & Ferb.

You also gain access to a ton of vintage content like Escape to Witch Mountain, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Love Bug, and a whole lot more. The Disney Junior section is home to absolutely top tier animated shows like Bluey (which, for my money, is worth the price of admission on its own).

There's way more on offer, too, including a ton of Muppet movies, new live-action films and adaptions, nature programs, documentaries, Pirates of the Caribbean, and musical programs featuring Taylor Swift (like her wildly popular The Eras Tour), Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and more.

Pixar on Disney+

When it comes to computer generated films, Pixar stands alone. Kicking off the revolution with Toy Story, Pixar has consistently put out fantastic films, and they are all here. From the Toy Story series to Finding Nemo, Cars, and more recent hits like Inside Out 2, there is a ton to love.

Beyond even that, there are incredible shorts like Bao and Party Central, as well as a wide range of originals and series based on major films, such as Dory's Reef Cam, Forky Asks A Question, Cars On The Road, and more.

Marvel on Disney+

The MCU has become a true juggernaut, and there are many viewers who subscribe to Disney+ purely for access to nearly the entire MCU lineup of films and shows.

Whether you are a fan of the blockbuster action films, you are an appreciator of the classic 90s runs of "Saturday morning" cartoons like X-Men, or you are currently vibing to the funky theme of the 1981 Spider-Man series, there is a ton of Marvel to enjoy on Disney+. And with new movies and shows being added to the MCU all the time, including most recently Deadpool & Wolverine and Your Friendly Neigborhood Spider-Man, there is always more coming.

Star Wars on Disney+

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a film that changed everything. The original Star Wars is a seminal sci-fi fantasy work that inspired generations of creators, but there is still nothing quite like that far away galaxy. Disney+ grants access to all things Star Wars, including the remastered versions of the original trilogy (hopefully some day they'll add the theatrical cuts, too), as well as the prequels and sequels.

You can also stay up-to-date on all the latest shows, including The Mandalorian and the critically-lauded Andor, which some viewers say is "the best Star Wars has ever been." There are also fantastic short series like Star Wars Visions, and longer-form series like The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, Young Jedi Adventures, and a whole lot more.

Take a look at our list of Disney+ alernatives for additional streaming services. To play while you watch, see our roundup of the best LEGO Disney sets. For more deals, dive into our Daily Deals page.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
Original story from Brian Barnett.

In my opinion, the Amazon Kindle is one of the best electronic devices ever. Maybe the only piece of tech I use more than my Kindle is my phone, but even then, I have the Kindle app if I decide I just want to stick some knowledge into my craw. If you're on the hunt for a good deal on Kindle devices, there are some great discounts to check out right now on a selection of Kindle bundles.

At the moment our favorite deal is on the Kindle Essentials Bundle, which comes with a 2024 Kindle, a matcha colored fabric cover, and a power adapter for $146.97 ($15 less than what it would cost to buy them all separately.) We've included that deal and a few more below.

The Best Kindle Deals Right Now

If you're looking for DTI codes, IGN's got you covered! In this article, you'll find a list of all the active and working Dress to Impress codes in April 2025 that you can redeem for free rewards and bonuses in DTI, including outfits and accessories like hats, bags, and jewelry.

Active Dress to Impress Codes (April 2025)

Here are all the active Dress to Impress codes in April 2025 and the free rewards you get for redeeming them:

• ELLA - Skirt
• 1CON1CF4TMA - Sweater dress
• B3APL4YS_D0L1E - Doll accessory
• MEGANPLAYSBOOTS - Boots
• CH00P1E_1S_B4CK: Streetwear outfit set
• S3M_0W3N_Y4Y: Axe
• KREEK: Bear hat
• LANA: White shorts, shirt, and legwarmers
• LANABOW: White bow
• BELALASLAY: Black jacket with pink halter top
• LANATUTU: White dress
• IBELLASLAY: Red, green, and blonde hairstyle
• M3RM4ID: Orange mermaid set
• TEKKYOOZ: White handbag
• LABOOTS: Black boots
• ITSJUSTNICHOLAS: Black jacket
• ASHLEYBUNNI: Bunny slippers
• LEAHASHE: Sweatshirt and sweatpants
• KITTYUUHH: Black cat
• C4LLMEHH4LEY: Puffy dress and bear headband
• SUBM15CY: Necklace and eyelashes
• D1ORST4R: Bag and bow

All Expired Dress to Impress Codes

Below, you'll find a list of expired DTI codes that no longer work and can't be redeemed as of April 2025:

• UMOYAE
• FASHION
• BADDIE4LIFE
• Your unique April Fools' Day 2025 Flamethrower code
• M0T0PRINCESSWAV
• CUPIDSCLOUD
• SWEETHEART (was only redeemable between February 15 and February 16, 2025 at 8AM PT)
• LNY2025
• YEAROFTHESNAKE
• HAPPYNEWYEAR
• NY2025
• WINTERUPDATE (was only redeemable between 8 AM - 11 AM PT on Saturday, 14 December!)
• 4BILLION
• CHOOPIE10K
• THEGAMES
• EYELASHES
• REWARD4CLASS1C

How to Redeem Dress to Impress Codes

Follow the steps below to redeem Dress to Impress codes and claim free rewards in DTI:

1. Open the Dress to Impress Roblox Experience.
2. Click on the handbag icon on the left-hand side to open the DTI Codes menu.
3. Enter your code in the "Type here..." field.
4. Check for any spelling mistakes or errors.
5. Click the checkmark icon to redeem the code.

Why Isn't My Dress to Impress Code Working?

If the code you're trying to redeem in DTI isn't working, it's likely because of one of two reasons:

• The Dress to Impress code is expired
• There's a spelling mistake in the code

When inputting a DTI code in Roblox, make sure it's spelled correctly (for example, a capital I isn't a lowercase l, 0 and not O, and vice versa) and that there are no spaces before or after the code. We'd recommend copying and pasting codes straight from our article to ensure they're correct as we've tested and verified that the codes on this page are working ourselves.

If your DTI code still isn't working after checking for typos, it's more than likely expired and can no longer be redeemed in Dress to Impress.

How to Get More DTI Codes

To get more Dress to Impress codes, the best way is to join the official DTI Discord server. While we check for new codes daily, the quickest way to know about new Dress to Impress codes is to follow the Roblox experience's official Discord server where updates are posted in real time.

You can also check the Dress to Impress X account and the official DTI Roblox Group page.

Are There Any Upcoming DTI Codes?

There aren't any upcoming Dress to Impress codes that we know of now that the April Fools' Day codes have been released, though the Petal Update is set to drop on April 26, 2025, so we will likely see a new code or two then. We'll update this page once we know more!

What is Dress to Impress in Roblox?

Dress to Impress is a popular dress-up Roblox Experience available on PC, console, and iOS and Android mobile devices. In it, you put on your best outfit to complete a specific theme and walk the runway in a bid to earn votes from other players and become a top model. As you gain votes, you gain ranks and can access more clothing and accessories, so make sure you're truly dressed to impress!

Looking for a new board game to shake up your next game night? Monkey Palace is one that's worth a look. This game brings the brick-building fun of LEGO into a board game setup as you, and up to three other players, are tasked with rebuilding the Monkey Palace with various LEGO pieces. If that's something that's caught your attention, we have good news: It's currently enjoying a 45% discount right now at Amazon.

Monkey Palace: A Lego Board Game for $22.06