Sonos is offering an extra 25% off a few of their already discounted lineup of certified refurbished Sonos speakers and soundbars. This deal was actually unavailable on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (it started later).

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

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You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. For more information on each product and why they are worth your consideration, read through below.

Sonos Arc and Arc SL

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Sonos Era 100

Cyber Monday is over, and with it over 90% of the deals. But that means there are some deals left over. There are also a few deals that had previously expired and have come back. If you've missed the entire show, or you realized just a bit too late that you needed something else, check out this list and see if there's something you are after.

These Deals Were Supposed to End on Cyber Monday

The Best Xbox Console Deal

One of the Best 34" Gaming Monitors Under $400

The Best Price on Xbox Controllers

Lenovo had the best deal on Xbox controllers for Cyber Monday and a few are still available now after you apply coupon code "BFCMXBOX". The $35 controllers are all sold out, but a number of $39.99 controllers can still be purchased for a day or two longer. These controllers are compatible with Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as your PC.

The Best iPad Deal for Cyber Monday

The Least Expensive Adjustable dumbells

The Best Gaming PC Deal on Cyber Monday

The Fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD Available

Top sellers include Metaphor, Sonic X Shadow, Astro Bot, and Stellar Blade

A surprising number of PS5 and Xbox Series X video games have survived past Cyber Monday. Most of these deals are now going through Amazon since Best Buy, Walmart, and Target have expired the vast majority of their deals. Notable pickups include Metaphor: Refantazio, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Astrobot, Stellar Blade, and Gran Turismo 7.

Top sellers include Tears of the Kindom, Prince of Persia, and Mario Maker 2

More Nintendo Switch games have met the axe than PS5 and Xbox games, so there aren't too many deals left. The best Switch game deal of Cyber Monday, however, is still available. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is still only $30 from Walmart if you opt for a digital copy. This 10/10 "Masterpiece" rated game is well worth that price.

A great power bank for Steam Deck

Another great power bank for Steam Deck

Includes One-Time $20 Audible Credit

The Least Expensive RTX 4070 laptop

One of the Few 17" Gaming Laptop Deals on Cyber Monday

The Biggest, Sharpest Gaming Monitor

20% off the best entry-level espresso machine

Microsoft has announced the games coming to Xbox Game Pass in December 2024, headlined by Indiana Jones and the Great Circle but also including the likes of Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the highly anticipated release from Wolfenstein developer MachineGames and is Indy's first proper foray into the video game space. Players are tasked with uncovering one of history's greatest mysteries in the first person single player adventure, and arrives as a day one title on December 9.

"Generations of gamers both new and old should care [about this game]," IGN said in our preview. "Because as good as the studio’s recent Wolfenstein reboots were, The Great Circle might be even better."

Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled is something quite different as a colorful kart racer akin to Mario Kart. "Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled’s difficulty, memorable track design, and addictive power-slide mechanic make it a kart racer worth playing but it's not without its frustrations," IGN said in our 8/10 review.

Also on the racing front, EA Sports WRC is available December 5 and brings its rally championship action to Game Pass subscribers. It didn't review as well as previous entries, however. "EA Sports WRC feels like a great racing game trying to fight its way out of an unfinished one," we said in our 6/10 review.

Overthrown arrives the same day. "Lift and throw anything as you build and manage your kingdom in this chaotic city builder for one to six players," the synopsis reads. "Harness the power of your soul-stealing crown to defend your citizens from bandits and mutants, farm the land, and gather resources."

Aptly arrived in the midst of winter, Wildfrost is a tactical roguelike deckbuilder set in the town of Snowdell. The sun has frozen over and its survivors stand as the last bastion against an eternal winter.

Flipping the traditional hero saves the day narrative on its head is the next entry, the side scrolling action game Carrion. "Carrion nails the power fantasy of being a horror movie monster, but makes exploration a chore that pads the adventure," IGN said in our 7/10 review.

Finally, wrapping up the month is Road 96, the wild and wacky procedurally generated game about taking a road trip. "Road 96 is a fascinating and frequently tense adventure that manages to keep its story on track despite the odd bump in the road," IGN said in our 8/10 review.

Those not subscribed to Ultimate can look forward to some new titles too, as Xbox Game Pass Standard is getting the likes of Forza Motorsport and Humanity while Xbox Game Pass core is getting DayZ and Goat Simulator.

A handful of games are leaving Xbox Game Pass this month too, though those looking to continue playing afterwards can save 20% on their full price by purchasing them while they're still available on the subscription service.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Amazon has once again dropped the price of the 10th gen Apple iPad back down to $249.99. This deal was available during Black Friday, but Amazon had raised it to $279 on Cyber Monday. This is the best price we've seen for the current gen iPad 10th gen ever since it was launched back in 2022. On a related note, you can also get a 4-pack of Apple AirTags for $72.99 right now, which is a pretty good deal, too.

Apple iPad 10.9" 10th Gen for $249.99

Microsoft has revealed the games leaving Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass in December 2024, with titles such as Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Quarry both leaving.

The Xbox Game Pass website has been updated to reveal a total of 7 games are leaving the service. Forza Horizon 4 is also leaving, though this was announced alongside a complete delisting in June.

Those looking to continue playing the departing games, with the exception of Forza Horizon 4, can buy them outright for 20% off their full price until their delisting date in the next two weeks.

All Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass in December 2024

• Amnesia: The Bunker
• Forager
• Forza Horizon 4
• The Quarry
• Tin Hearts
• Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan
• Rise of the Tomb Raider

All Games Leaving PC Game Pass in December 2024

• Amnesia: The Bunker
• Forager
• Forza Horizon 4
• Tin Hearts
• Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan
• Rise of the Tomb Raider

Forza Horizon 4 is perhaps the most beloved game leaving the service and digital stores, as it earned a 9/10 in IGN's review. Developer Playground Games revealed its delisting comes as a result of "licensing and agreements with our partners."

Rise of the Tomb Raider, meanwhile, is the middle chapter in the modern Tomb Raider series. Rise of the Tomb Raider takes its predecessor's winning formula and improves on it in every way," IGN said in another 9/10 review.

Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly asserted that 13 games were leaving Game Pass, and that Rise of the Tomb Raider was the final chapter of the modern series.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

IGN can exclusively debut eight minutes from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, New Line Cinema’s upcoming anime feature film directed by Kenji Kamiyama (the Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series). The footage – first screened at New York Comic Con 2024 – can be viewed via the player above or the embed below.

The film’s voice cast is led by Brian Cox (Succession) as Helm Hammerhand, the mighty King of Rohan. These ominous scenes establish a pervasive sense of dread and superstition. The following official synopsis sheds light on when exactly the film takes place in the official movie timeline and what’s at stake for the kingdom of Rohan:

“Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.”

Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods) voices Héra, while Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer) voices Wulf. Miranda Otto – reprising her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy – serves as the film’s narrator

The stellar voice ensemble also includes Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (World on Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Shaun Dooley (The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Bilal Hasna (Sparks) and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm).

Behind the scenes, Oscar winner Philippa Boyens – part of the screenwriting team behind the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies – produces The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim with Jason DeMarco and Joseph Chou. Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Sam Register, Carolyn Blackwood, and Toby Emmerich serve as executive producers.

Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou penned the screenplay, from a story by Addiss & Matthews and Boyens, based on characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Other returning creative collaborators from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy include Alan Lee, Richard Taylor, and Tolkien illustrator John Howe.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a Warner Bros. Animation / Sola Entertainment production. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film in cinemas nationwide on December 13, 2024, and internationally beginning December 11, 2024. Tickets are now on sale.

Editor's note: This article originally referred to the footage as the opening scenes of the film in error.

Critical Role, the company behind a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game series of the same name starring voice actors such as Matthew Mercer, Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, and more, is in "active pursuit" of creating a video game.

Critical Role CEO and main cast member Travis Willingham told Rolling Stone that an announcement could be imminent, though didn't clarify if it will be an adaptation of one of its series akin to the animated show on Prime Video or something completely fresh.

"I would say it’s an active pursuit on our end," Willingham said. "The last few years we have been having necessary conversations to figure out how to do that smartly. It's an entire enterprise that’s separate from what we do on Beacon, Twitch, or YouTube; it’s separate from the animated series and it comes with its [own] understanding that has to be undertaken.

“First-person shooter” is a broad term. It can mean everything from a monster-filled horror game like F.E.A.R., to a sci-fi adventure like Metroid Prime, to a demon-eviscerating romp like Doom. Even narrowing it down to a label like “military FPS” still puts the linear campaign of Call of Duty, the enormous PvP clashes of Battlefield, and the white knuckle extractions of Escape from Tarkov under a single umbrella. Delta Force, the latest entry in a now 26-year-old shooter series, is probably best defined as a bit of each of those last three – with a dedicated large-scale PvP mode, a separate extraction shooter mode, and an (as yet unreleased) campaign, it sits somewhat awkwardly at the center of a that Venn diagram. It is still too early to render a final verdict, but my initial hours playing ahead of launch have already left me intrigued enough that I’m looking forward to my next deployment on the live servers later this week.

Because this release is technically the start of an indefinite “open beta” (which, for a free-to-play game, really just means it’s out), only two of the three main modes are currently available, with the campaign planned as paid DLC somewhere down the line. Of the two that are here now, the Warfare mode is Delta Force’s answer to the big team combat of Battlefield. 64 players duke it out for supremacy across one of a handful of massive, sprawling arenas. The matches I played in the early review period were focused on the Attack and Defend option within Warfare, though King of the Hill and some other time-based modes are apparently going to be available at launch.

Attack and Defend puts one team on offense, tasked with capturing some strategic points before running out of a finite number of respawns, while the other team defends those areas with limitless lives. If the offense succeeds, they refill their respawns and the cycle begins anew on another part of the map until all of the field is seized or the defense stops them in their tracks. It’s a good setup; initially, the offense has the advantage thanks to favorable terrain and an abundance of vehicles, but things even out as the match progresses and the defense retreats toward their home base. This means each side typically gets to spend some time as both the figurative hammer and the nail.

The battles certainly do feel big, which is a good thing. Fast respawns mean both teams are dense with soldiers. Once the bullets and rockets start flying, the chaos and confusion on the battlefield is exciting. It’s particularly fun when you get behind the controls of a vehicle and start running roughshod over the other team. A tank fully loaded with gunners can dominate, but don’t sleep on the impact of a simple machine gun turret on the top of an armored car.

Thankfully, the times I’ve found myself on the wrong end of that tank barrel I haven’t been totally helpless thanks to the varied operatives you can choose from mid-match. These named characters act as a sort of hybrid between a simple loadout choice and a bespoke hero, which fits the jack-of-all-trades theme persistent throughout Delta Force. If you are being overrun by vehicles, it might be a good idea to spawn with a rocket launcher, or if the fight is taking place in open spaces, it could be time to bust out the trusty sniper rifle. Each character has unique abilities that are helpful in battle too, like Luna’s Detection Arrows that can periodically be fired to reveal enemies, but none are so powerful as to outright win a skirmish, let alone a whole match, for you.

I just wish the actual action felt better. Bullet arc and trajectory factor heavily into shooting, so leading your targets is essential for firing accurately at a distance. That, combined with a fast time-to-kill, makes for gunplay more in the spirit of a military sim like Arma. That’s all well and good on its own, but feels deeply at odds with the aggressive pace of play that the objective-based Attack and Defend mode drives. Slow bullets at the mercy of gravity that kill you instantly feel a little too airsoft-like for an intense battle over a key chokepoint.

Get in, get loot, get out

On the other side of things, the Operations mode follows the familiar extraction shooter framework; you and up to two friends can form a three-person squad to enter an area, shoot, loot, and scoot. Whatever you bring back to your base between rounds you can either sell, store, or use in the next attempt, and whatever is on you if you die or don’t escape in time is lost for good. It’s a tried-and-true formula that Delta Force follows to the letter, but the high quality of its execution makes up for that unoriginality. q

Each level is an open sandbox that is dense with potential objectives. Maps easily highlight points of interest for things like bounty targets, safes to plunder, and intel to decode. That might seem like a small detail to praise, but in a genre dominated by games like Escape from Tarkov that are designed to be intentionally opaque, making important information accessible is a nice differentiator. I like being able to just drop a waypoint and know what I’m in for when I get there without having to memorize the maps.

Once you pick your destination, you’ll need to shoot your way through squads of AI soldiers, and occasionally human-controlled enemies. You never know who’s around, or in what numbers, so every enemy encounter starts with some fast risk assessment: do you take the shot and risk letting everyone know where you are, or do you sneak by for the stealthy approach, leaving a potential threat on the field? Making quick decisions with limited information does a good job of keeping the action strategic and interesting. That’s particularly true if you see other people, as they are certainly more dangerous than the bots, but could be loot-rich targets worth taking on.

So far I’m a fan of the enemy variety. My squad has taken down roving bands of riflemen, ducked into buildings to avoid sniper fire, and executed on-the-fly flanking maneuvers to get around riot shields. One memorable moment saw my team pinned down by a massive armored baddie blasting at us with a minigun as we lobbed grenades from behind cover. Another time, a member of our trio was cracking a safe while the other squadmate and I provided cover, and I almost jumped out of my chair when a giant alligator came around the corner and tried to put a stop to our fun.

My primary worry about Operations at this point is the loop loot. There are all sorts of containers everywhere, like file cabinets, coat pockets, fallen enemies, etc. – but after just a few hours with the mode, I rarely bother to check them anymore now that I have a good idea of where to go for the actual high-ticket items. I’m hopeful there won’t be a point where the maps feel “solved” anytime soon, but they are already feeling less dynamic with each run.

The time between them is spent at the Black Site, which functions as your home base. This is where you buy, sell, and make upgrades, particularly to the amount of storage space in your stash. It’s also where you manage the well-built loadouts option. This lets you save a few different kits you can take into battle and rebuild them with just a few clicks. Pieces will be pulled from your inventory first, and then automatically purchased from the store as needed. It’s a fast and slick way to get back in the action, which helps take the sting out of a failed extraction.

Of course, these are all still just my initial impressions - it takes time to get a comprehensive feel for how well a PvP mode like Warfare is working, and there are still a few Operations I haven’t explored, so I’m not quite ready to give a final verdict until I’ve played on the live servers. However, I can say that the extraction mode is a lot of fun in the early going, and I enjoy the scale of Delta Force’s PvP encounters even if I’m not yet sold that this style of gunplay is the right match for that action. It’s at least clear this is a competent free-to-play shooter that can cater to a few different FPS tastes, but it remains to be seen if it has the staying power to keep my interest once the initial novelty wears off.

Intel has finally announced the Intel Arc B580 and B570 next-generation graphics cards. Built on its 'Battlemage' architecture, they are both budget-friendly GPUs aimed at making PC gaming just a bit more accessible.

The Intel Arc B580 and B570 follow in the footsteps of the A770 and A750, which were both aimed at 1080p gaming, with some light ray tracing thrown in for good measure. With these next-generation cards, Intel has introduced a new architecture, along with new XMX AI cores that should make the next iteration of XeSS (Xe Super Sampling) much more competitive with Nvidia's DLSS and Sony's PSSR.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is estimated to have generated more than $200 million in revenue in its first month, already overtaking Pokémon Sleep and Pokémon Unite.

PocketGamer.biz cited figures from AppMagic that estimated the digital card game hit $208 million November 29th, just a month after it launched on October 30. Pokémon TCG Pocket is free to play but allows players to buy extra booster packs, cosmetics, and a monthly pass that awards one extra pack a day.

The app launched to immediate success, with AppMagic estimating it was making $3 million a day after hitting $12 million after four. That number has only grown, however, as daily spend is now estimated to average $6.5 million.

Its best day so far coincided with the release of the Mass Outbreak event, when spending rose to $8.4 million. This comes despite, ironically, many players in the community finding this event to be underwhelming.

Pokémon TCG Pocket follows the standard mobile and free to play game model, flooding players with rewards in the opening few days before soon drying up, with spending real world money the only real way to re-experience that early thrill.

It tasks players with opening booster packs to complete a collection of cards and build decks to battle, though the latter of these is fairly barebones at the moment with only the collecting aspect fully realised. Pokémon TCG Pocket offers players just two packs a day without spending money, however.

Completing Genetic Apex, the first set of cards which totals 226 officially but also contains 60 rare alternate art, will take players not spending money around two years according to one estimate, while those looking to make it rain can wrap up the collection after dropping around $1,500.

Getting every card in the game is already impossible without spending money, however, as an additional set of promo cards is also available and so far includes two which can only be obtained through the $9.99 a month Premium Pass.

Developer Creatures Inc. is looking to release another smaller card set in December, while its next big drop of the official set two is expected in January.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

It's time to upgrade your gaming TV, yes you. TCL has just kicked off a limited-time sale on their gaming ready TVs in the UK and there's something for everyone. Need a budget upgrade from that old 1080i TV you've been rocking for years? We've got you covered. Finally really to be 4K 120Hz ready? You know we've got a solid deal for you too. Let's get into it.

Featured in this article

TCL TVs are a budget brand with big specs. It's actually insane to look at some of their regular prices and wonder how they've crammed this much tech into something thinner than a gaming artwork coffee table book. Here's the best deals from this limited time offer, so dodge the brand tax and lets break this down.

TCL 65C745K 65-inch QLED Television 144Hz Full Array Local Dimming 4K UHD Smart TV

When only the best will do, the TCL 75C805K delivers. Its 75-inch screen uses Mini LED technology for incredible brightness and contrast, turning games like Cyberpunk 2077 into an eye-popping masterpiece. Add Dolby Vision IQ, which adjusts brightness to match your room’s lighting, and Dolby Atmos audio for theater-quality sound, and you’ve got an all-in-one entertainment powerhouse.

TCL 65C645K 65" QLED 4K Ultra HD HDR Android Smart TV

Still, trying to decide whether to go premium? The TCL 65C745K is the perfect middle ground. Its QLED display and Full Array Local Dimming offer sharp contrasts and vibrant colors that bring titles like Horizon Forbidden West to life.

TCL 55V6BK 55-inch 4K Ultra HD, HDR TV

Who says budget TVs can’t be gaming-ready? The TCL 65C645K features a QLED panel and HDR support for rich colors and immersive visuals. Its 120Hz Game Accelerator keeps motion smooth enough for casual gamers to enjoy titles like Elden Ring without sacrificing performance.

TCL 40S5400AK 40-inch Television

Need more space? The TCL 55V6BK offers 4K HDR visuals in a compact form. While its 60Hz refresh rate won’t wow competitive players, it’s perfect for enjoying story-driven games like The Witcher 3.

TCL 75C805K 75-inch QLED Mini LED

If you need a secondary TV or something for a compact space, the TCL 40S5400AK fits the bill. It’s not 4K, but the Full HD resolution and HDR support still deliver solid visuals for relaxing games like Minecraft or Animal Crossing.

Elden Ring director and FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has said the developer is not currently considering making Elden Ring 2 but won't shut down the possibility in the future.

Miyazaki said at the PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Japan Asia, attended by IGN Japan and translated by Automaton, that FromSoftware has several projects in the works but none are continuations of Elden Ring, its most successful game to date.

"We’re not really considering developments such as an Elden Ring 2," Miyazaki said, though made clear FromSoftware is open to returning to the Elden Ring franchise "in some form in the future." The projects in development are works in progress at the moment but diverse in genre, with some directed by Miyazaki himself, he said.

FromSoftware has a varied history in game development but has become known for defining the Souls genre over the last 15 years. These games have varied in theme somewhat though are all role-playing games with a similar format of, at their most simple, progressing through an area before taking on a challenging boss.

The giant mech battling Armored Core series is also developed by FromSoftware though, and outliers to the traditional dark fantasy themes of its Souls games include the gothic horror entry Bloodborne and Japanese mythology-set Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

None of the incoming projects have been revealed by FromSoftware as of yet, though one of them is almost certainly the next signature Souls game akin to Elden Ring. Many fans are hoping for a return to the Dark Souls franchise, which has been dormant for close to a decade, while others are desperate for a Bloodborne sequel (and think an announcement is imminent).

Elden Ring would have been the most obvious choice for a continuation, not just because its FromSoftware's best received game so far but, perhaps more significantly, it sold a staggering 25 million units.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Developer Infold Games has revealed the preload and global release times for Infinity Nikki, the open-world dress up role-playing game from former The Legend of Zelda director Kentaro Tominaga coming to PlayStation 5, PC via the Epic Games Store, iOS, and Android.

The highly anticipated sequel, which logged more than 35 million pre-registrations in its lead up to launch, is now available to preload, meaning players can download it ahead of time to begin playing the moment becomes available on December 5, or even December 4 in some locations.

Infold Games released a story trailer to celebrate this preload availability, which can be watched below, and also announced some bonuses players who pick up Infinity Nikki at launch can enjoy in the game.

Infinity Nikki: Official Release Trailer - About Wishes💫

🔹Pre-download on the official website:
➤ https://t.co/FH0jih3d0E

This journey, designated "INFINITY", marks both a new beginning and a long-awaited reunion. We look forward to seeing all of you stylists in Miraland!… pic.twitter.com/Y2imNAm4oQ

— Infinity Nikki (@InfinityNikkiEN) December 3, 2024

Infinity Nikki Global Release Times

• Los Angeles - 6pm on December 4
• New York - 9pm on December 4
• Rio De Janeiro - 10pm on December 4
• London - 2am on December 5
• Amsterdam - 3am on December 5
• Cape Town - 4am on December 5
• Kuala Lumpur - 10am on December 5
• Tokyo - 11am on December 5
• Sydney - 12noon on December 5

"With over 35 million pre-registrations, and even more players signing up today, Infinity Nikki and the development team are incredibly excited to welcome players with open arms to the breathtaking world of Miraland," Infold Games said of the imminent release.

Bonus items include a special stylist background, a camera pose, two 4-star outfits, and enough crystals to fuel up to 126 total pulls across the limited and permanent banners. These come alongside a handful of rewards made available for hitting so many pre-registrations, including 50,000 Blings, 300 Threads of Purity, 20 Resonite Crystals, and a 4-star outfit.

IGN's preview of Infinity Nikki certainly had positive things to say. "We never knew dressing up could be so much fun," we said. "Our time with Infinity Nikki left us eager to try on the finished game when it eventually arrives."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

GSC Game World creative director Maria Grygorovych shows me a message on her phone. It’s proof, she says, that she’s telling me the truth about Stalker 2’s A-Life 2.0 system. The message is about why mention of A-Life 2.0 was pulled from Stalker 2’s Steam page and replaced with a generic description about the way AI works in the game. It turns out that Maria found out the description had changed when she saw players complaining about it on Reddit.

Stalker 2 launched late last month to a positive reception on Steam and one million sales. It’s a success for the Ukrainian studio, a miracle, really, considering the harrowing circumstances that followed Russian’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022. Stalker 2 suffers from well-documented bugs; GSC knows this and is working as hard as it can to fix them. But it’s A-Life 2.0 — or its apparent absence — that has gained the most attention from fans.

A-Life was a key feature of the first Stalker game that governed AI behavior across the game world. At a high level, it is a system for simulating life in the Zone that works its magic seemingly independently of the player’s actions or whereabouts. It helps to create convincing AI and the emergent gameplay Stalker is famous for.

GSC had said A-Life 2.0 would make the Zone feel alive as never before, that it would fuel emergent gameplay on a scale previously thought impossible. Indeed for some fans, A-Life 2.0 was Stalker 2’s biggest selling point. Unfortunately, now Stalker 2 is out in the wild, A-Life 2.0 hasn’t quite lived up to that billing.

In fact, it feels as if A-Life 2.0 isn’t even in the game. Players have found little evidence to suggest anything approaching a life simulation is in operation at any scale, with NPCs and enemies spawning around the player and sometimes in obvious ways. This, players have said, lends Stalker 2 a more scripted feel than its predecessor, with emergent gameplay sorely lacking.

So, what happened? GSC CEO Ievgen Grygorovych and creative director Maria Grygorovych offer an explanation during our interview, which takes place at BAFTA in Piccadilly, London following a screening of War Game: The Making of Stalker 2. The 90-minute documentary, which includes interviews with GSC’s Ukrainian staff as they contend with the invasion, reveals the remarkable circumstances surrounding the extremely difficult development of Stalker 2.

It’s with this in mind that Ievgen and Maria explain what went wrong with A-Life 2.0, revealing for the first time how the studio's battle to optimize the performance of Stalker 2 in the months before release caused the feature to break down. A-Life 2.0 is in Stalker 2, the pair insist, it’s just bugged. Massively bugged.

Give the practical gift of clean floors this holiday season. Robot vacuums may not be the most entertaining or exciting products out there, but just about anyone will appreciate a tool that takes a couple of chores off the to-do list.

The Cyber Monday deals happening right now are some of the best of the year for robot vacuums. So, if these handy little devices are something you’ve considered investing in, the time to buy is now. One of the best deals out there comes from the Amazon Cyber Monday sale. The Roborock Qrevo S has gotten over $300 knocked off its list price, costing just $459.99.

I’ve tested a few Roborock robot vacuums, and the brand’s products are some of the best I’ve seen when it comes to performance. Although I didn’t have any hands-on experience with the Qrevo S, I’m confident this model is just as great as the others I’ve tested, while the rich feature set makes it a great value.

Save over $300 on the Roborock Qrevo S

The return of college football to the gaming space is a cause for celebration for many. From the ability to represent their alma mater or just engage with the incredible energy present in collegiate sports, there is a lot to like. College Football 25 arrived July 16 earlier this year as the highly anticipated return of the beloved sports series. It became a smash hit, pulling in as many as 700,000 players in its first day of early access and a staggering 2.2 million by the end.

If you haven’t played EA Sports College Football 25 yet, you are in luck. Right now you can grab the game for just $29.99. Will this deal last past Dec 2 (Cyber Monday)? We're honestly not sure. Amazon may surprise us all, while Best Buy has a countdown clock to bring on the urgency.

Get EA College Football 25 for $29.99

There is one game that all my friends are pestering me to play above all others, and it is Yakuza / Like A Dragon. There is a reason for that, so they say: "It's only one of the best video game franchises ever!" Well, now you and I can grab a copy of Infinite Wealth, for just $24.99 on Amazon and find out for ourselves. Maybe if I finally play it, they'll stop bugging me about it. (You hear that, Kris?!)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for $24.99

In my opinion, Atlus creates and publishes some of the most reliably enjoyable RPGs in gaming, well worth my money. And since we're talking about money, Cyber Monday sees one of Atlus' latest outings, Unicorn Overlord, down to just half price. In one of my favorite Cyber Monday game deals, you can grab this RPG for just $29 and explore one of the most creative fantasy worlds in recent memory.

Unicorn Overlord for $29.99

Logitech handles a wide range of devices and has for ages. From mice to keyboards, gaming devices and headsets to streaming and podcasting equipment, Logitech means a good blend of affordability and quality. Right now. Logitech is offering major discounts on Amazon, as well as the main Logitech and Logitech G websites, so read on to find some of the best Cyber Monday deals on Logitech gear.

Logitech Mouse & Keyboard Deals

We had great things to say about both the G502 X Plus and G502 Lightspeed mice, so saving a ton on the G502 X Lightspeed gaming mouse is one of the best choices you can make on this list. We also reviewed the base model of the G305, and the better Lightspeed version is on sale.

Whether you want a tiny, low-profile keyboard like the MX Keys Mini, or a mechanical keyboard like the G815, there are tons of options that are between 21-40% off.

Logitech Headset Deals

Logitech has been carving out quite the niche for themselves with higher quality headsets, and there are quite a few (and some entry-level headsets) between 24-54% off. The H390 is just $17.99, but if you want to up the ante, the G435 base model got our seal of approval, and the Lightspeed version here is better.

For the best on offer here, the G Pro X series is full-on amazing, and the Logitech G Pro X 2 (not even the Lightspeed model on sale currently) won our Best Esports gaming headset award.

Logitech Webcam & Microphone Deals

I've used both the C922x Pro and StreamCam and they both work really well. Our reviewer agreed, when they called the StreamCam 'Logitech's best webcam yet.' Whether you are streaming, making online content, or just trying to up your game on Zoom calls, these deals have you covered for whatever price range you're working with. Both the C920 series and StreamCam also made appearances in our Best Webcam roundup.

For podcasting and content creation, the Blue Yeti is the entry-level standard for a reason. If you tweak some settings (make sure you're on Cartioid, people!), it has good enough recording quality for all but the most committed audio-enthusiasts.

Logitech G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel and Floor Pedals

Logitech G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel and Floor Pedals

Logitech G Driving Force Shifter

More Cyber Monday Deals About to Expire:

Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN, GameSpot, & Kotaku. You can get more than your fair share of him on Bluesky & Backloggd, & enjoy his absurd video game talk show, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Insomniac's Spider-Man was a smash hit when it was first released in 2018, and 2023's Spider-Man 2, starring Miles Morales as the playable Spidey protagonist, was no different. If you haven't played it, you owe it to yourself to get it ASAP. With improved movement options and the ability to play as Miles or Peter, it's the best gameplay the series has seen yet.

Right now, Spider-Man 2 is roughly half off for Cyber Monday at Best Buy, Target, and GameStop, so jump on this opportunity before it swings right by you.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5) for $39

Take a couple of chores off a loved one's plate or even your own this holiday season by investing in a killer Cyber Monday deal on a robot vacuum. Sure, cleaning tools may not be as exciting as a discount on Switch or Lego sales, but grabbing a robot vacuum means more free time for playing, building, and doing far more exciting things than vacuuming and mopping your home.

One of the best discounts on a robot vacuum comes from Amazon’s Cyber Monday sale. The Eufy x10 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum and Mop is available for $549.99. That’s 31% off the list price of $799.99, and a great deal given all the capabilities packed into this little machine and base station. It's also part of the Walmart Cyber Monday sale for the same price.

Save $250 on This Top Tier 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Base Station

If you enjoy fantasy or RPGs, there is a good chance a Final Fantasy game is on your ‘best’ list. Whether you like the newest remake or like delving into the originals, there is a lot to like, and the Final Fantasy Anniversary Collection is on sale right now, helping you save $20 on six of the most influential FF games ever made.

Final Fantasy I - VI Collection Anniversary Edition for $54.99