Amazon has been dragging its feet when it comes to charging realistic prices for trading card games, especially with Pokémon TCG. Magic: The Gathering is playing out differently, however. We're seeing healthy competition between Amazon and TCGPlayer during today's price check, so there's plenty of options to explore at the best prices.

Today's highlights also include preorders for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Lorwyn Eclipsed, plus a scary movie exclusive pre-order you won't want to miss.

TL;DR: Best Deals Today

With Amazon, you're getting Prime delivery, with products shipping out either the same day or landing at your door within 24 hours. Whilst you don't get the same speedy shipment with TCGPlayer merchants, you're likely buying from them for the cheaper price points and big savings over big-box Amazon. Let's get into it:

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Cheapest at Amazon: MTG

Commander Masters is the best set to get into if you love playing Commander and getting hold of legacy card reprints that are ideal for the format. It's not cheap, but Amazon currently has the best pricing for Set and Draft booster boxes.
If you missed out on the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set when it dropped earlier this year, the game edition of Cloud Strife's Commander Deck, Limit Breaker, is at market value on Amazon right now. That just means you're getting it for a fair price compared to the secondary market, whilst being able to take advantage of that sweet Prime shipping.

Cheapest at TCGPlayer - MTG

TCGPlayer is still holding the top spot for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Play Booster Box preorders. It's a full $20 cheaper from its merchants right now, a saving worth getting over Prime shipping. The same goes for the Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box, a full $30 cheaper over Amazon's price.

Fair enough, Amazon has its preorder price guarantee, but that only counts if they drop the price before release. You can't price match other retailers with this guarantee, so if you see a steep discount on a preorder elsewhere, take your chances.

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Cheapest at Amazon: Pokémon TCG

It’s great to see popular sets like Surging Sparks and Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Boxes crop up for less on Amazon, with the former being below market value alongside the Destined Rivals triple booster.

Cheapest at TCGPlayer: Pokémon TCG

It’s strange to see Silver Tempest sealed product showing up on Amazon right now. Perhaps we’ll see more Sword & Shield-era reprints on store shelves? Regardless, TCGPlayer has the Silver Tempest Elite Trainer Box for far less than Amazon, and the same goes for the Prismatic Evolutions ETB.

TCGPlayer also has the best deal on Destined Rivals Booster Bundles, currently sitting at $52.50. That means you get double the booster packs compared to the three-pack booster deal in the last section for less than double the price. TCGPlayer really has the no-brainer deals right now.

Scream (1996) Limited-Edition Steelbook (4K UHD) Available to Pre-order at 19% Off

Skytech Gaming PC Holiday Sale

Considering we’ve just entered a memory chip shortage across the board, with even DDR4 RAM going for silly money, getting an RTX 5060 build with 32GB DDR4 for $1,079 is a great deal. You’ll have solid 1080p gaming with either an Intel i5-14400F or AMD Ryzen 7 5700 processor to boot. Personally, I’d go for the Crystal build. It costs the same and gives you far more room for bigger GPU upgrades down the line.

If you’re looking to go all-in with 4K gaming out of the box for under $3,000, the $2,799.99 Aqua build comes with a gorgeous clear white and blue case, complete with CPU liquid cooling, an RTX 5080, 32GB DDR5, and the absolute beast that is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

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

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A Stranger Things actor has pushed back on claims there is a secret 'Snyder cut' of Season 5, as a petition calling on Netflix and the show's creators the Duffer brothers to respond garners hundreds of thousands of signatures.

Randy Havens, who plays school teacher Mr. Clarke on Stranger Things, wrote on his Instagram Stories on December 28 that “there's no secret Snyder cut of the show," adding: “please don't believe everything some random ass tells you on the internet."

Havens’ comment is a reference to the successful fan movement that led to the release of the director's cut of Zack Snyder's DCEU superhero movie, Justice League. Zack Snyder's Justice League released in 2021, four years after the original version made its theatrical debut, complete with new visual effects, new editing, new material, and a much longer runtime.

Ahead of the Stranger Things Season 5 finale on New Year’s Eve, Havens appeared to respond to an unverified, fan-made Google Doc detailing allegedly shortened storylines that had gained attention on social media. The Change.org petition that calls on Netflix to release the alleged “unseen footage” has over 350,000 signatures, at the time of this article’s publication.

The most-liked comment on the petition comes from someone who seems convinced that this footage was cut from Season 5 for nefarious reasons. “We have been waiting since 2022 to see this last season,” they wrote. “To be robbed of scenes by Netflix which really could have gelled the show all together is absolutely unacceptable, and I speak on behalf of all fans that we have been betrayed for the show we love. We don’t sit down and do nothing, we need to show the Duffer brothers, Netflix, and especially Shawn Levy. We want our full episodes, we want the scenes which change everything. We want our show back.”

This comes amid huge viewing figures for Season 5 on Netflix, but also a mixed response from fans. As we’ve reported, Stranger Things is suffering from review bombing after Season 5 Episode 7 met with lower audience scores than the Netflix series has typically seen. But some fans are striking back with 5-star reviews in a bid to reverse the trend.

While the fifth and final season of Stranger Things has sparked complaints from some fans about the exposition-heavy writing, the varying quality of the actor's performances, and the plot armor some of their characters seemingly enjoy, Episode 7, called ‘The Bridge,’ has become the focal point of a vociferous debate that has spilled over into review aggregate websites.

Stranger Things fans have slammed the petition and the Google Doc that appears to have inspired it, while praising Havens for hitting back on social media. "What?? The unconfirmed Google Doc isn’t true?? How could it be!" said one fan. "This is so embarrassing oh my god," said another. Added one fan: "I’m glad someone said something. The mass psychosis of everyone saying release the Volume 2 files was getting pretty annoying ngl."

Netflix just released the trailer for the Stranger Things Season 5 finale, which is set for 5pm PT on December 31. Episode 8, called The Rightside Up, has an official runtime of 2 hours 8 minutes. It will be screened in theaters nationwide at the same time it is shown on Netflix. The Duffer brothers have also told fans not to expect a Game of Thrones-style bloodbath, even as there are big questions over who might die in the final episode.

Image credit: Netflix.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Black Panther writer and director Ryan Coogler has detailed the script for Black Panther 2 before the death of star Chadwick Boseman.

Boseman died in August 2020 aged 43 from complications of colon cancer, which he had battled privately for four years. He played T'Challa / Black Panther first in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, 2018’s Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and then 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever via archival footage.

Speaking on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Coogler said that he had finished the 180-page draft for Black Panther 2 and asked Boseman to check it out, but he was too sick to read it. Coogler has spoken in the past about the initial pitch for the movie, which would have been a post-Blip story featuring Boseman’s T’Challa returning after the events of Avengers: Endgame and a five-year absence and reconnecting with his son, Toussaint, who had little-to-no memory of his biological father.

“In the script, T’Challa was a dad who’d had this forced five-year absence from his son’s life,” Boseman told The New York Times in 2022. “The first scene was an animated sequence. You hear Nakia [T’Challa’s love interest, played by Lupita Nyong’o] talking to Toussaint [the couple’s child, introduced in Wakanda Forever in a post-credits sequence]. She says, ‘Tell me what you know about your father.’ You realize that he doesn’t know his dad was the Black Panther. He’s never met him, and Nakia is remarried to a Haitian dude. Then, we cut to reality and it’s the night that everybody comes back from the Blip. You see T’Challa meet the kid for the first time.

“Then it cuts ahead three years and he’s essentially co-parenting. We had some crazy scenes in there for Chad, man. Our codename for the movie was ‘Summer Break,’ and the movie was about a summer that the kid spends with his dad. For his eighth birthday, they do a ritual where they go out into the bush and have to live off the land. But something happens and T’Challa has to go save the world with his son on his hip. That was the movie.”

Now, Coogler has revealed more detail on this ritual and how it would have worked amid an attack by Namor, who ended up in Wakanda Forever under very different circumstances.

“The big thing about the script was there was this thing called the Ritual of Eight, where when a prince is eight years old he has to go spend eight days in the bush with his father. And amongst those eight days they have to go into the bush without any tools. The prince has to listen to and do everything that's asked of him by his father. But the rule is for those eight days, the prince can ask the father any question and the father has to answer. And during the course of those eight days, Namor launches an attack. That was what the movie was. It was a different version of Namor in that script, but he had to deal with somebody who was like insanely dangerous, but because of this ritual his son had to be joined at his hip the whole time.

“So while he was engaging in negotiations, fights, his son had to be right there or violate this ritual which had never been broken. So that was what the movie was. It was insane, and Chad was going to kill it, bro. But life goes as it goes. And I got a chance to make a movie about women. I love that movie so much, bro.”

The loss of Boseman radically changed the future of the franchise, and Coogler rewrote the movie to address his death and focus on T'Challa's sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) instead. Wakanda Forever ended up being a movie as much about grief as it was moving the MCU forward or leading into the events of Black Panther 3, which Coogler has signed up to direct.

New Year, new tube. With more streaming services than ever before and more than a few broadcast networks and cable channels still churning out some can’t-miss content, 2026 is shaping up to be another banner year for Peak TV. From popular returning series like House of the Dragon, The Boys, and Daredevil: Born Again, to hotly-anticipated new arrivals like Wonder Man, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and Spider-Noir, the year promises to be jam-packed with your favorite (or soon-to-be-favorite) shows.

Below you’ll find a list of the biggest new and returning series from Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, and more. We’ve organized everything by streamer and release date to help you plan your year accordingly. As always, premiere dates and release dates are subject to change, and we’ll do our best to update this list throughout the year so you can keep track of everything.

We've also thrown in a few network and cable channel offerings because, hey, people still watch those too, right?

Be sure to check back throughout 2026 as we add new shows, note new release dates, and push shows off the list for when and if they move to 2027.

Netflix

His & Hers

Release date: January 8

A new mystery thriller starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal, the limited series follows a reclusive news anchor (Thompson) who investigates a murder in a nearby town. Detective Jack Harper (Bernthal) is suspicious of her involvement and chases her into the crosshairs of his own investigation.

Bridgerton Season 4

Release date: January 29

The massively popular period romance from Shonda Rimes returns for a two-part Season 4 (the second batch of episodes drops on February 26) and follows second-eldest son Benedict (Luke Thompson), who so far has refused to settle down. Then he meets a captivating young woman at one of his mother’s balls, and much like Cinderella’s Prince Charming, Benedict begins a search for the mysterious “lady in silver” that, in true Bridgerton fashion, takes a number of surprising turns.

One Piece: Into the Grand Line

Release date: March 10

Season 2 of the live-action adaptation of the popular animé will feature “fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet.” The new season’s synopsis says that “Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line, a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. As they journey through this unpredictable realm in search of the world’s greatest treasure, they’ll encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies.”

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

Release date: March 20

Set a few years after the finale of Season 6, this new movie from Netflix sees Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) “driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet.” This feature-length return to the world of the popular series also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Barry Keoghan, and Stephen Graham.

The Boroughs

Release date: TBA

A brand-new sci-fi series executive produced by the Duffer Brothers, The Boroughs promises to scratch an itch for those of us going through Stranger Things withdrawal. According to Netflix, the show “takes place in a seemingly picturesque retirement community in the New Mexico desert, where a group of — you guessed it — unlikely heroes must band together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have: time.” The Boroughs stars Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Bill Pullman, and Alfre Woodard.

Stranger Things: Tales from '85

Release date: TBA

Speaking of Stranger Things: Even though the OG show wraps up on New Year’s Eve 2025, we’ll be returning to the Upside Down in a new animated series. Netflix says the show is set in “Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, where the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town.”

Golf

Release date: TBA

A new comedy series reuniting SNL Spartans Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon, Golf follows Ferrell’s character, who is described as a “fictional golf legend.” Golf also stars Luke Wilson and Chris Parnell. The show is produced by – among others – Ferrell and Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Knives Out director Rian Johnson.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2

Release date: TBA

The live-action adaptation of the popular animated series returns for Season 2. Netflix says the new episodes will see “Aang (Gordon Cormier), Katara (Kiawentiio), and Sokka (Ian Ousley) regroup and set off on a mission to convince the elusive Earth King to aid in their battle against fearsome Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim).” The upcoming season will also feature the introduction of Toph Beifong, played by Miya Cech.

Heartstopper Forever

Release date: TBA

Serving as a movie-length finale to the romance series Heartstopper, Heartstopper Forever sees Nick (Kit Connor) “preparing to leave for university” and Charlie (Joe Locke) “finding new independence at school.” Their relationship is once again put to the test, and we’ll find out once and for all if first loves can “really last forever.” Many fans were hoping for a Season 4, but will have to make do when this one-off feature-length episode drops in 2026.

Man on Fire

Release date: TBA

Yahya Abdul-Mateen ll (Aquaman, Watchmen) stars in this new adaptation of the series of novels by A.J. Quinnell . The story, which was popularized in the 2004 movie starring Denzel Washington, features Abdul-Mateen as John Creasy, “a Special Forces soldier looking for a fresh start. But John must battle his personal demons before he can truly turn over a new leaf.” The new series also stars Bobby Cannavale and Billie Boullet.

HBO and HBO Max

The Pitt Season 2

Release date: January 8, 2026

The Emmy-winning series returns early in the new year and promises to bring more drama, mayhem, and tension to your favorite on-screen Pittsburgh emergency room. In case you forgot, The Pitt “is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.”

Industry Season 4

Release date: January 11, 202

The critically-acclaimed drama series, which follows a group of London bankers as they navigate their careers, life, and the “pressure cooker environment” of finance, returns for an eight-episode season in mid-January.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Release date: January 18, 2026

The newest entry in George R. R. Martin’s on-screen Game of Thrones universe, the eagerly-anticipated show hits HBO and HBO Max early in the new year. Based on Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg stories, the show is set a century before Game of Thrones and follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire Aegon “Egg” Targaryen (Dexter Sol Ansell).

The Comeback Season 3

Release date: March TBA

Just like the census, The Comeback is making its every-ten-years-or-so return with new episodes this Spring. Once again, Lisa Kudrow stars as ever-striving actress Valerie Cherish. For the third (and reportedly final) season, Kudrow is once again joined by Dan Bucatinsky, Laura Silverman, and Damian Young, along with newcomers Adam Scott and Brittany O’Grady.

Euphoria Season 3

Release date: April TBA

Since Euphoria last aired in 2022, the star power of the cast has gone supernova. Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney all used the frenetic, drama-filled show to launch their careers into the stratosphere. The series returns for a third season and sees a substantial time jump, catching up with the characters post-high school as twentysomething young adults.

House of the Dragon Season 3

Release date: Summer TBA

Team Green and Team Black both have reason to celebrate the return of HBO’s other Westeros-set show. Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” Season 3 of House of the Dragon sees the rival Targaryen factions in all-out war, fighting with (and for) dragons in a bid to emerge victorious in the battle for the iron throne.

Lanterns

Release date: TBA

The newest small-screen entry in James Gunn’s DCU, Lanterns stars Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as “two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.” Along with Gunn, the first season of the show is executive produced by Chris Mundy and Lost’s Damon Lindelof, and runs eight episodes.

DTF St. Louis

Release date: TBA

Jason Bateman and Stranger Things lead David Harbour star in this black comedy miniseries. The show’s logline states the show is “a darkly comedic limited series about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age malaise that leads to one of them ending up dead.”

Hacks Season 5

Release date: TBA

Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) has lost the one dream she ever had: hosting a late night talk show. What’s next for Vance and co-worker turned frenemy Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder)? Plot details for the fifth and final season are under wraps, but it’s sure to include plenty of backstabbing, side-eye, and uproarious laughter.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe

Release date: TBA

Executive Producer Chuck Lorre dives back into the Big Bang Theory universe with this spin-off starring Kevin Sussman as Stuart, who “is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon.”

The Gilded Age Season 4

Release date: TBA

More intrigue. More societal slights. More absolutely gravity-defying corsets. A new season of the Julian Fellowes-led (Downton Abbey) period drama drops in 2026. Whether or not you use the right fork while dining in front of the TV watching the new episodes, it’s sure to be a wild (and melodramatic) ride.

Dune: Prophecy Season 2

Release date: TBA

The third movie installment of the expansive sci-fi saga hits theaters next December. While we wait, we’ll be treated to Season 2 of the story set centuries before the life of Paul Atreides that chronicles the rise of the Bene Gesserit. New cast members include Indira Varma, Ashley Walters, and Tom Hollander.

Disney+

Wonder Man

Release date: January 27

All six episodes of the latest streaming MCU adventure drop on the same day, so binge responsibly. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as aspiring actor Simon Williams, who “is struggling to get his career off the ground.” Williams teams up with Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley, reprising his Iron Man 3/Shang Chi role) in remaking the superhero film “Wonder Man.” If the show’s trailer is any indication, real-life powers and abilities may come to the surface in Williams’s pursuit of fictional superhero greatness.

The Muppet Show

Release date: February 4

Just in time for the original series’ 50th anniversary, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and all your favorites return with a special one-off edition of The Muppet Show. Disney promises “music, comedy, and a whole lot of chaos when The Muppets return to the small screen,” this time with “very special guest” Sabrina Carpenter. Yaaaay!

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

Release date: March 4

The superhero series returns with the first of eight new episodes in early March. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, respectively) are joined in Season 2 by Matthew Lillard and Krysten Ritter, in an eagerly-anticipated reprisal of her role as Jessica Jones.

X-Men '97 Season 2

Release date: Summer TBA

The first season of the continuation of the X-Men’s '90s-era animated adventure was both critically acclaimed and an audience hit. Season 2 of the mutant adventures arrives in mid-2026, with a third season already confirmed.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2

Release date: Fall TBA

After the conclusion of Season 1 in February 2025, which featured Charlie Cox's Daredevil, Dr. Octavius, Chameleon, Speed Demon, Scorpion, Butane the Pyromaniac, Harry Osborn, Amadeus Cho, and more, the second season of the animated series returns in 2026 with a third season already greenlit.

VisionQuest

Release date: TBA

The WandaVision spinoff limited series arrives in what’s shaping up to be a banner year for Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alongside Paul Bettany, who returns as Vision, James Spader reprises his Avengers role as Ultron. The eight episode series will drop some time in 2026.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord

Release date: TBA

Announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Tokyo, the upcoming animated series features Sam Witwer returning as Darth Maul. Witwer previously voiced the iconic villain in both Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The new series is set after the final season of The Clone Wars and will see Maul "plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire."

Star Wars Visions Presents: The Ninth Jedi

Release date: TBA

A spinoff of the animated anthology series, the new show was announced during Star Wars Celebration in April. Writer and director Kenji Kamiyama revealed that The Ninth Jedi will see the continuation of Kara's journey, featuring longer stories from the larger Star Wars: Visions universe.

Prime Video

Scarpetta

Release date: March 11

The crime thriller, produced by Amazon MGM and Blumhouse, brings Nicole Kidman back to the land of streaming TV in the latest on-screen adaptation of Patricia Cromwell’s popular book series. Amazon says the series “unfolds across two timelines,” and is a “dual narrative (that) explores Kay Scarpetta's journey from her beginnings as a Chief Medical Examiner in the late '90s to her present-day return to her hometown, where she resumes her former position while investigating a grisly murder.”

The Boys Season 5

Release date: April 8

The fifth and final season of the balls-to-the-wall take on the superhero genre arrives this Spring. Prime Video teases that the final episodes of the show see the entire world subject to Homelander’s “erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a ‘Freedom Camp,’ and Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force.’ As the show’s official synopsis reads, “It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.”

Blade Runner 2099

Release date: TBA

The upcoming series starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh and Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer is set decades after both the original Blade Runner movie starring Harrison Ford and the 2017 sequel starring Ryan Gosling (and Ford).

Apple TV

Shrinking Season 3

Release date: January 28

The 11-episode third season of the comedy series starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel continues the story of “grieving therapist” Jimmy (played by Segel) “who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks.” Season 3 promises to see the return of Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), Damon Wayans Jr., Wendie Malick and Cobie Smulders, while also adding some new faces, including Jeff Daniels and Michael J. Fox.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2

Release date: February 27

The ten-episode new season of Apple’s sci-fi drama premieres in late February, with an episode dropping each week until the finale on May 1. The new episodes look to feature lots and lots of King Kong, and promise to reveal “buried secrets that reunite our heroes (and villains) on Kong’s Skull Island, and a new, mysterious village where a mythical Titan rises from the sea.”

Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Release date: April 15

The new series from Apple and A24 starring Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman, and Nicole Kidman is the latest drama from mega-producer David E. Kelley. According to Apple, the show “is a bold, heartwarming and comedic family drama following recent college dropout and aspiring writer, Margo, the daughter of an ex-Hooter’s waitress and ex-pro wrestler, as she’s forced to make her way with a new baby, a mounting pile of bills and a dwindling amount of ways to pay them.”

Widow’s Bay

Release date: April 29

Starring The Americans’ Matthew Ryhs, the new series promises a blend of “genuine horror” and “character-driven comedy.” The show follows a small-town mayor (Rhys) who is “desperate to revive his struggling community.” After he succeeds, “the old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true start happening again.”

Hulu

Note: At some point in 2026, Hulu will cease to exist as a standalone streaming app and will be fully merged into Disney+.

Paradise Season 2

Release date: February 23

Picking up right where Season 1 left off, Season 2 of the breakout series from This is Us creator Dan Fogelman sees Sterling K. Brown’s Secret Service agent Xavier Collins leaving the titular massive doomsday bunker in search of his wife in the outside world. Joining the cast is Shailene Woodley as a Graceland tour guide whose story gives viewers a glimpse into post-apocalyptic United States.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair

Release date: TBA

A revival of the early-aughts sitcom, this new miniseries reunites the beloved cast for four half-hour episodes, looking in on Malcom, Lois, Hal, and the rest of the family twenty years after the original series wrapped.

The Testaments

Release date: TBA

Based on Margaret Atwood’s follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale, this sequel series stars Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia and returns to Gilead for a “coming-of-age story that finds a new generation of young women grappling with the bleak future that awaits them.”

FX

The Beauty

Release date: Early 2026

From Executive Producer Ryan Murphy, the new series stars Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall as FBI agents who are sent to Paris to “uncover the truth” when “international supermodels begin dying in gruesome and mysterious ways.” The show also stars Ashton Kutcher as the head of a fictional “Corporation” who could be responsible.

The Bear Season 5

Release date: TBA

Season 4 saw massive changes in store, with head chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) vowing to leave the restaurant he built with his team of misfit colleagues. More comedy, drama, and tense dinner services are sure to be prevalent when the award-winning show returns later in 2026.

Paramount +

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Release date: January 15

The latest entry in the Star Trek universe premieres in mid-January with two episodes. Starring Paul Giamatti, the 10-episode season will air weekly until March 12. According to Paramount, the show “introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4

Release date: TBA

The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is back, and the new season is shaping up to be as action-packed as ever. According to Paramount, in the new set of episodes, the crew “embarks on a series of thrilling and emotional adventures across the stars. As they journey to strange new worlds, they will battle inner demons and external threats, encounter colorful new characters, reunite with familiar faces and confront terrifying aliens.”

Yellowjackets Season 4

Release date: TBA

The fourth and final season of the massively popular show drops in 2026. Series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson promised a “twisted conclusion” to the beloved series, which follows “a team of wildly talented high school girls' soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.”

Dexter: Resurrection Season 2

Release date: TBA

Michael C. Hall once again returns as serial killer Dexter Morgan in the second go-round of the continuation of the original Dexter series.

The Madison

Release date: TBA

Yet another spin-off set in the Yellowstone Universe, this show starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick J. Adams, and Lost’s Matthew Fox follows a grief-stricken New York City family who moves to rural Montana.

MGM+

Spider-Noir

Release date: TBA

Reprising his animated role from the Spider-Verse movie series, Nicolas Cage stars in this live-action series based on the Marvel comic. According to Amazon and MGM, “Spider-Noir tells the story of Ben Reilly (Cage), an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.” Spider-Noir will air on the MGM+ linear channel in the United States and stream on Prime Video both in the U.S. and internationally in 2026.

Starz

Outlander Season 8

Release date: March 6

The eighth and final season of the fantasy romance series returns to Starz in March. New episodes debut weekly and promise to wrap up the story of Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan).

Peacock

Ponies

Release date: January 15

This new period spy drama set in 1977 Moscow and starring Game of Thrones’s Emilia Clark and The White Lotus’s Haley Lu Richardson follows a pair of newly widowed PONIES (persons of no interest) as “they go from office secretaries to CIA operatives to help solve a major government conspiracy and to get to the truth behind their husbands’ deaths.”

The 'Burbs

Release date: February 8

Starring Keke Palmer, the eight-episode “mystery comedy series” from the NBC Universal streamer “follows a young couple who have reluctantly relocated to the husband's childhood home. Their world is upended when a new neighbor moves in across the street, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.” The new show is “inspired by the 1989 horror-comedy film of the same name” starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher.

Adult Swim

Primal

Release date: January 11

The Emmy-winning series from Genndy Tartakovsky returns in the new year with a brand new batch of episodes. For those unfamiliar, the animated tale “follows a caveman at the dawn of evolution” who forms “an unlikely bond with an almost extinct dinosaur.” Episodes premiere weekly on Adult Swim and drop on HBO Max the next day.

AMC

The Night Manager Season 2

Release date: January 11

The British spy thriller series starring Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston, returns with a new batch of episodes in early 2026. The second season of the show, based on John le Carré’s bestselling novel, debuts in the UK on the BBC on New Year’s Day, and arrives Stateside on AMC ten days later.

ABC

Scrubs Season 10

Release date: February 25

The gang’s back together when a brand-new season of the hospital comedy debuts on ABC this February. Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Sarah Chalke all return for the first time in more than 15 years as “characters new and old navigate the waters of Sacred Heart with laughter, heart and some surprises along the way.”

CBS

Survivor 50

Release date: February 25

The 50th (yes, you read that right) edition of the everlasting reality show drops in early 2026, and the season is likely to be unlike any other. The three-hour season premiere will be preceded by a “special two-week programming event featuring 10 encore episodes from the show’s iconic history showcasing players from the S50 cast.”

Y: Marshals

Release date: March 1

The latest entry in producer Taylor Sheridan’s ever-expanding Yellowstone universe, the new show Y: Marshals serves as a spin-off of the original smash-hit series and sees the return of Yellowstone star Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton.

Anime

For info on all the biggest upcoming anime in 2026, be sure to check out our article breaking down everything on tap from Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, and more.

What are you most looking forward to on streaming in 2026? Vote in our poll above, and let's talk in the comments!

Valve may have revolutionized mobile PC gaming with the Steam Deck, but more and more handheld gaming PCs keep coming to market, giving it some stiff competition. There are even handhelds out there like the Legion Go S that use Valve's handheld operating system but with more powerful hardware. Microsoft isn't sitting on its hands, either. The company teamed up with Asus to launch the excellent ROG Xbox Ally X, which debuts a new Xbox Full Screen Experience that should be making its way to other handhelds within the next few months. (Hopefully, Microsoft also takes that time to iron out some of the kinks with the new UX.)

TL;DR – These Are the Best Handheld Gaming PCs:

Rather than dealing with the bulk of a gaming laptop, handheld gaming PCs keep far more compact dimensions, making it easier to play from just about anywhere. Even though these devices are obviously significantly smaller than a gaming PC, it doesn’t mean they’re underpowered. Many handheld gaming PCs are packing the performance prowess to cruise through AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077. If you get sick of playing on a smaller screen, a great Steam Deck dock works seamlessly with most handheld gaming PCs so you can hook up to your gaming TV.

While we’re in the midst of a handheld gaming PC revolution, we've gotten our hands on a good chunk of these highly-capable devices. Below are the current four we deem worthy of consideration right now.

1. Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

The Best Handheld Gaming PC

2. Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS)

The Best SteamOS Handheld Gaming PC

When the Lenovo Legion Go S first came out in February 2025, it was a hot mess. The configuration Lenovo initially released was bogged down by the weak Z2 Go processor, which didn't pair well with Windows. And because it was both running Windows 11 and had 32GB of memory, this weaker handheld was just as expensive – if not moreso – than the original Legion Go that preceded it. But Lenovo has righted the ship by launching the Go S with the Z1 Extreme and SteamOS built-in.

This system is still expensive. You're looking at $829 to get this model, but that's only a bit more than the Asus ROG Ally X, which ended up being slower, if only by a bit, in my tests. When I reviewed this new Lenovo Legion Go S, the SteamOS-powered handheld beat out the Ally X in synthetic benchmarks by as much as 9%. That's not bad, considering that handheld had the performance crown before this system came out.

The elephant in the room is the Steam Deck. Even three years after its release, it's still an incredible and popular handheld, and it's not hard to see why. It's easy to use and it's literally half the price of the Go S. But not only do you get a higher resolution display with this Legion Go S, you also get as much as double the performance. I was able to get a solid 60fps playing Baldur's Gate 3, and that's something I straight up couldn't do on the Steam Deck. Whether or not that's worth the higher price tag depends entirely on what you're looking for.

A great handheld gaming system is about more than just raw performance. It also needs to be comfortable to use, and despite the sytem being one of the largest I've used – and I've used a lot of them – it's extremely comfortable. The Lenovo Legion Go S has rounded edges that give you something to hold on to, and the textured finish makes it harder to slip out of your hands.

The Go S also has one of the most beautiful LCD displays I've seen in a while and proves that OLED isn't the only way to get a great picture in 2025. It's not quite as colorful as the Steam Deck OLED, to be fair, but it still made any game I played on it look awesome.

3. Valve Steam Deck

The Best Budget Handheld Gaming PC

4. Lenovo Legion Go 2

Best Gaming Handheld With an OLED Screen

Upcoming Handheld Gaming PCs

Now that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is out, we're kind of in a holding pattern for a while. We'll probably see other handhelds using the Z2 Extreme trickle out over the next year or so. It's also likely that we'll see some Intel-powered devices featuring the new Panther Lake architecture.

Beyond that, we will probably see a Steam Deck 2 at some point, but Valve has repeatedly said that it's waiting for a "more significant" generational lift to launch its sequel. Given that the Steam Deck is nearing four years old, we could see a new device launch sometime next year at the earliest. We'll see!

Handheld Gaming PC FAQ

Should I buy a handheld gaming PC or a gaming laptop?

Depending on how you want to game and what games you want to play will determine whether you should grab a gaming laptop or handheld PC. Handhelds score higher points in longevity, battery life, optimization, portability, and thermals. But handhelds are only designed to play games up to a certain specification. Gaming laptops cram in the latest GPU, CPU, and RAM, likely sacrificing battery life, thermals, and price. However, some are absolute beasts ready to take on even the most graphically intensive games. Laptops offer more functionality when it comes to editing and other work.

Check out our guide on the Steam Deck vs. gaming laptops for more information.

What’s the best Steam Deck alternative?

The Lenovo Legion Go S is one of the best Steam Deck alternatives. This gaming handheld offers the same easy-to-use interface as the Steam Deck, along with speedy performance, and a stunning design. It does run into some of the same problems as the Steam Deck, notably around installing games that aren't on Steam – but you can get around that with some tinkering.

How does the Switch 2 compare to the Steam Deck?

On spec, the Switch 2 is delivers better performance than the Steam Deck. Check out our in-depth comparison to find out more.

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

If you’ve been searching for a top-tier arcade cabinet, Arcade1Up manufactures some of the best officially licensed options around. From cocktail and tabletop to cabaret and full-size, whatever kind of cabinet you’re after, chances are you can find it at Arcade1Up. No matter which you choose, each machine delivers that awesome retro look, classic arcade titles you love, and all the classic controls. You’ll be transported back to simpler times.

However, time may be running out to get a machine from Arcade1Up. The rumor is that Arcade1Up is shutting down operations. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but it could potentially be your last time to grab its nostalgic cabinets. And the good news is that a bunch of them have had up to $50 knocked off their price tag. Sure, these aren’t the most epic savings. Still, this sale matches or beats many of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals this year.

Save Up to $50 on Select Arcade1Up Arcade Machines

Deluxe Arcade Machines

For a more authentic arcade experience, Arcade1Up’s discounted Deluxe Arcade Machines are the way to go. Forget risers with these, as each is about 5 feet tall for a comfortable playing experience while standing. The 17-inch LCD is colorful and bright with near-legit-feeling joysticks and buttons. Stereo speakers play those iconic sounds, putting you right back at the arcade. The light-up marquee and molded coin door keep up with the classic vibe of these single-player cabinets, but WiFi support is built in, adding modern conveniences.

Right now, you can grab the Class of '81 Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Deluxe Arcade Machine for only $449, thanks to that $50 discount. It features 12 titles, including Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaga'88, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Rolling Thunder, The Tower of Druaga, and more. Otherwise, you can opt to grab the Pac-Man Legacy Arcade Deluxe for the same price with 14 games. Dig Dug, Galaga, Galaxian, Rompers, PAC-Mania, and Mappy are just a few of the game offerings.

Actor Idris Elba is knighted in the New Year Honours. The 53-year old Hollywood star from Hackney, London can now officially be called Sir Idris.

Sir Idris, who rose to prominence for playing Stringer Bell in HBO series The Wire and DCI John Luther in BBC series Luther, more recently played the British Prime Minister and the President of the United States, in Heads of State and A House of Dynamite respectively, both of which came out in 2025. Elba is no stranger to the world of video games, either, having played Solomon Reed in the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, Phantom Liberty.

He was knighted for services to young people in recognition of his charity work at the Elba Hope Foundation, which supports community empowerment, education, youth advocacy, and sustainable development. In particular, Elba has been outspoken on knife crime. He said: “I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence.”

Meanwhile, the actor and comedian Meera Syal (The Kumars at No 42) is being awarded a Damehood for services to Literature, Drama and Charity, while the composer Max Richter is being awarded a CBE (Commanders of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to Music. Actor Warwick Davis is also being recognised for services to Drama and Charity with an OBE (Officers of the Order of the British Empire). Davis said: "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me — and I've been in Star Wars."

An MBE (Members of the Order of the British Empire) went to Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, and the author and television presenter Richard Osman (Thursday Murder Club) is being awarded an OBE for his services to literature and broadcasting.

1,157 recipients have been awarded from every part of the UK, with a particular focus this year on those who have gone above and beyond for their communities.

Photo by Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Marvel has officially released the Thor-themed Avengers: Doomsday trailer online, with an X-Men trailer set to replace it in theaters.

The Thor trailer, below, launched in theaters last week ahead of Disney’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, replacing the Steve Rogers / Captain America trailer that had kicked off the Avengers: Doomsday hype train a year out from the movie’s release.

The teaser shows Chris Hemsworth’s Thor (this time with the short-haired look from the much-loved and hugely successful Thor Ragnarok) pray to his father, Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins in the MCU), calling for the “strength of the All-Fathers” so he may “fight once more… defeat one more enemy and return home to her.”

That’s a reference to Thor's adopted daughter, Love (Gorr the God Butcher's resurrected daughter from Thor: Love and Thunder). Here is Thor’s prayer in full:

Father...

all my life, I have answered every call...

to honor, duty, to war.

But now fate has given me something I never sought...

a child...

a life untouched by the storm.

Lend me the strength of the All-Fathers...

so that I may fight once more.

Defeat one more enemy

and return home to her.

Not as a warrior

but as warmth.

To teach her not battle

but stillness.

The kind I never knew.

Please Father heed my words.

What we’ve seen so far of Avengers: Doomsday does seem to revolve around children. The Fantastic Four: First Steps ended with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom appearing to kidnap Franklin Richards. The Steve Rogers / Captain America teaser for Avengers: Doomsday shows Chris Evans’ character holding a baby, presumably his child with Peggy Carter.

The Thor trailer shows Love safe and sound at home with Thor, so there’s no suggestion here that Doctor Doom is after her, too. But it's certainly a darker tone than we’ve seen from Thor’s recent MCU appearances, and some are wondering if they should prepare themselves for the character dying.

In May, Chris Hemsworth released a tribute video titled ‘Thank You! The Legacy of Thor,’ which included clips of the actor as Thor going as far back as an audition tape right up to his performance in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder. Some fans took it as a farewell video. Hemsworth later insisted the video was “a moment of gratitude, and it wasn’t anything else.”

Last year, Hemsworth admitted he "didn't stick the landing" with the divisive Thor: Love and Thunder and said he felt he owed fans another film. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Hemsworth said he had become too wacky in Love and Thunder and the film suffered as a result, perhaps especially following Thor: Ragnarok, which became somewhat of a breakout success for the character by adding more comedy elements.

"I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself," Hemsworth said. "I didn't stick the landing." He couldn't forgive himself for the performance, Vanity Fair said at the time, so felt he owed fans another film. Could Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars count as that film, or would Thor 5 be more appropriate as a goodbye?

Meanwhile, this week's X-Men trailer has, predictably, leaked online. Assuming Marvel follows the pattern established by the Steve Rogers and Thor trailers, we can expect to see the X-Men trailer released online officially next week after its run in theaters. As for what the fourth Avengers: Doomsday teaser will be, fans are expecting a look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Netflix has released the trailer for the Stranger Things Season 5 finale, teasing the end of the long-running show.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things up to this point follow:

The trailer begins with a teary-eyed Jim Hopper (David Harbour) asking Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) to “fight one last time.” We then get a series of clips from prior episodes as Jim admits that Eleven was robbed of her childhood and faced horrors no kid should face. We end up in the present and the upcoming finale, where Eleven, Hopper, Kali Prasad, also known as Eight, and Murray Bauman look to defeat Vecna once and for all. Eleven prepares to enter the bath at Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, which will amplify her powers.

One last trailer.

The final episode of STRANGER THINGS premieres TOMORROW at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. pic.twitter.com/cb3bJEqKFs

— Netflix (@netflix) December 30, 2025

Meanwhile, Gaten Matarazzo’s Dustin and Caleb McLaughlin’s Lucas look out over a hellscape. Vecna is hooked up to his horrible pulsating lair in The Abyss, where, presumably, he’s using the kidnapped children as vessels to effectively replace Earth with the Abyss, the alternate dimension from which all the horrible monsters of Stranger Things originated. Cue an explosion, an intense scream from Dustin (perhaps one of the main characters is caught up in the explosion), and a curious shot in which a curtain closes — literally — on Eleven, Max, and Kali. Could this a glimpse at a scene inside Vecna's mind?

The trailer ends with what looks like our heroes’ plan — outlined in Episode 7 — in action. Operation Beanstalk, as it’s called, will let Vecna draw the two worlds together and wait until the Squawk radio tower pokes through one of the rifts, so Eleven can make her move. Eleven will then enter Vecna’s mind and ambush him, while the others climb the beanstalk into the Abyss to rescue the kids. That’s the plan, anyway. “Mother of god,” Dustin says as he looks into the sky.

And that’s where the trailer ends — with the Squawk radio tower poking through one of the rifts. The Stranger Things Season 5 finale, Episode 8, is called The Rightside Up, and has an official runtime of 2 hours 8 minutes. It will be screened in theaters nationwide at the same time it is shown on Netflix, at 5pm PT on New Year’s Eve. Co-creator Ross Duffer has told fans they should only see it in theaters if they’re cool with crying in a crowded room. The Duffer brothers have also told fans not to expect a Game of Thrones-style bloodbath, even as there are big questions over who might die in the final episode.

As we’ve reported, Stranger Things is suffering from review bombing after Season 5 Episode 7 met with lower audience scores than the Netflix series has typically seen. But some fans are striking back with 5-star reviews in a bid to reverse the trend.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Codes for The Forge will grant you additional rerolls if RNG isn't on your side and you don't get one of the best classes on your initial rerolls. In this RPG Roblox experience, you'll be able to play as a human, goblin, dragonborn, and more. Each race has its unique perks, influencing stats such as health, damage, attack power, and more.

It's no surprise that The Forge focuses heavily on mining. The core gameplay centers around mining for ores, in the hopes of finding rare ores to forge powerful weapons and armor. You'll then throw those ores into a forge, where the blend of resources you use allows you to make items with special traits and designs.

Working The Forge Codes (December 2025)

Want to know how to get rerolls for The Forge? Use these currently active codes:

• FORGE2M - 10x Rerolls, 1x Miner Totem I (NEW)
• SORRYFORBUGS - 10x Rerolls
• XMAS! - 5x Rerolls

Expired The Forge Codes (December 2025)

These codes have now expired and can no longer be used:

• SORRYFORDELAY
• HEART
• FORG!
• FREESPINS
• PEAK!
• 400K!
• SORRYFORSHUTDOWN
• 100KLIKES
• 300K!
• 200K!
• 100K!
• 40KLIKES
• 20KLIKES
• 15KLIKES
• 10KLIKES
• 5KLIKES
• BETARELEASE!
• POSTRELEASEQNA
• RELEASE

Roblox Gift Ideas

How to Use The Forge Codes

Ready to redeem the codes above? Here's what you need to do:

1. Load up The Forge on Roblox
2. Open the Settings menu in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of Settings to find the Codes bar
4. Copy the code from this article
5. Enter the code into the "Type Here" bar
6. Press claim

Why Isn't My Code for The Forge Working?

When a code doesn't work for The Forge, it's usually because of two reasons:

• The code for The Forge has expired
• There's a spelling mistake or an additional space in the code

Codes for Roblox experiences are typically case-sensitive, so the best way to ensure you've got a working code is to directly copy it from this article. We check all codes before we upload them, so you can guarantee they're working. Just double-check that you haven't copied over an extra space!

How to Get More Codes for The Forge

We regularly check and test new codes for popular Roblox experiences, so the best way to get more codes for The Forge is to visit this article. But if you want to mine for codes yourself, then the Discord server for The Forge is the best place to go.

When Is the Next Update or Event for The Forge?

The Winter Expansion - Part I launched in The Forge on Thursday, December 25. This introduced the new Frostspire Expanse region filled with new enemies, ores, and more. This update also added new weapons, armor, and a Christmas event. Aside from weekend events that bring boosts, the next update is currently unknown.

Lauren Harper is an Associate Guides Editor. She loves a variety of games but is especially fond of puzzles, horrors, and point-and-click adventures.

Stranger Things is suffering from review bombing after its latest Season 5 episode met with lower audience scores than the Netflix series has typically seen. But some fans are striking back with 5-star reviews in a bid to reverse the trend.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 follow:

While the fifth and final season of Stranger Things has sparked complaints from some fans about the exposition-heavy writing, the varying quality of the actor's performances, and the plot armor some of their characters seemingly enjoy, Episode 7, called ‘The Bridge,’ has become the focal point of a vociferous debate that has spilled over into review aggregate websites.

Will Byers' coming out scene appears to have fueled the review bombing. In it, Will, played by Noah Schnapp, issues a lengthy monologue in which he tells a gathering of characters that he “doesn’t like girls.” The scene, which takes place as supervillain Vecna applies the finishing touches to his masterplan for world domination, ends with an emotional Will comforted by his friends.

In recent years, Square Enix has made quite an effort to remaster or remake some of its most beloved games and bring them to modern platforms. We've seen the incredible Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, and Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles in 2025 alone!

However, one game that continues to be left out of that conversation is Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, which released alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 in June. If you're a recent Switch 2 owner and are looking for a new RPG to play, look no further than the fantastic game that is Bravely Default.

Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster for $29.99

Ever since digital streaming was introduced as an alternative to cable, companies like Disney, Warner Bros, Netflix, and Amazon have been finding new ways to "revolutionize" monthly subscriptions, which has more or less come right back around to the concept of cable. (Only now every "channel" requires its own login and password, and costs at least $10 a month.) As the streaming service war wages on with constant changes, mergers and acquisitions, "bundles" are becoming more common as more streaming services are created, and some of these have gotten creative with including both digital and physical services.

The ability to combine multiple networks and major streaming platforms into a single subscription is becoming simpler than ever (thankfully) and gives better savings over subscribing individually to every service you'd want. Depending on your needs as a subscriber and your interests as a streamer and/or online shopper, the options available should tick many of your boxes. Check out our picks below for the best streaming bundles in 2025 to help you save on your streaming bill.

Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max Bundle – $19.99/month (with ads)

With the New Year comes new goals, and (hopefully) new travel plans in 2026. Whether you’re planning sunny vacations abroad, or planning an epic getaway with friends, you’ll want to stay connected. The easiest way to do that is with an eSIM, and Roamless is one of the most user-friendly options available.

With the Roamless eSIM, you can enjoy access to cellphone data in over 200 countries without the hassle of swapping SIM cards, complicated setup, and hidden fees. An app allows you to select plans, be it pay-as-you-go data and/or 30-day prepaid plans tailored to a specific country or region, for ultimate flexibility.

Starting at just $1.25/GB, pricing is affordable and considerably less expensive than international roaming charges with traditional plans. You even receive a $1.25 credit when you sign up, and IGN has a special code to use at checkout, IGNSAVE20, which gives you 20% off plans sitewide. This offer expires on 12/31, so act soon!

Get 20% Off Travel eSIM Plans at Roamless

Give, or better yet, treat yourself to the gift of clean floors in the new year with a brand-new robot vacuum. These machines have come a long way from bumping into furniture and suctioning up socks while attempting to clean up your space. Now, you’ll find options that navigate your home with ease, mop, self-empty, and more for a truly hands-free clean. The vacuum brand Narwal is an innovator in the space, developing some incredible robot vacuums, some of which I’ve even been lucky enough to test out myself.

If you or someone you love has been eager to get a robot vacuum or upgrade an older model, Narwal has brilliant options for a range of needs, and it’s a great time of year to buy. Although Narwal’s Black Friday sale is now over, Narwal is still offering two incredible discounts on Amazon right now for a limited time.

The Narwal Freo S Vac and Mop Combo is Under $300 at Amazon

LG is preparing to debut three new flagship 5K UltraGear gaming monitors, including one with a true 5K resolution. The company has announced that during CES 2026 next month, it will show off the monitors, two of which are 39-inch and 52-inch 5K2K ultrawides, while the third is a 27-inch MiniLED flat panel display.

Because we're heading into the year 2026, there's a big AI component shared by the new 27-inch and 39-inch monitors: built-in AI upscaling. The company pitches this as a way to get higher-res graphics without upgrading your GPU, but I'll eat my hat if it's anywhere near the quality of tech like Nvidia's DLSS 4 or AMD's latest version of FSR.

We're in post-Christmas deals territory, which is a surprisingly good time to shop. Off the rip, we're seeing new price drops on pre-built gaming PCs, which are becoming all the more popular given the recent price increases on RAM alone.

Amazon has also bumped up its Pokémon TCG stock this holiday, but is anything worth buying? Of course it’s not. Well, there’s a handful of deals to be had, but the independent retailer army that makes up TCGPlayer is leading the way with the majority of the best prices on both the new and secondary market.

TL;DR: Top Deals for Today

Skytech has dropped some cracking deals on a range of their prebuilt gaming PCs before New Year's Day, and we’re seeing RTX 5070 Ti builds for under $2,000 and RTX 5080 builds for under $2,800. Crazy scenes, let’s get into it.

iPhone 16e Offer From Metro by T-Mobile

Cheapest at Amazon: Pokémon TCG

It’s great to see popular sets like Surging Sparks and Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Boxes crop up for less on Amazon, with the former being below market value alongside the Destined Rivals triple booster.

Cheapest at TCGPlayer: Pokémon TCG

It’s strange to see Silver Tempest sealed product showing up on Amazon right now. Perhaps we’ll see more Sword & Shield-era reprints on store shelves? Regardless, TCGPlayer has the Silver Tempest Elite Trainer Box for far less than Amazon, and the same goes for the Prismatic Evolutions ETB.

TCGPlayer also has the best deal on Destined Rivals Booster Bundles, currently sitting at $52.50. That means you get double the booster packs compared to the three-pack booster deal in the last section for less than double the price. TCGPlayer really has the no-brainer deals right now.

Save Up to $460 on Top-Rated Narwal Robot and Mop Vac

Skytech Gaming PC Holiday Sale

Considering we’ve just entered a memory chip shortage across the board, with even DDR4 RAM going for silly money, getting an RTX 5060 build with 32GB DDR4 for $1,079 is a great deal. You’ll have solid 1080p gaming with either an Intel i5-14400F or AMD Ryzen 7 5700 processor to boot. Personally, I’d go for the Crystal build. It costs the same and gives you far more room for bigger GPU upgrades down the line.

If you’re looking to go all-in with 4K gaming out of the box for under $3,000, the $2,799.99 Aqua build comes with a gorgeous clear white and blue case, complete with CPU liquid cooling, an RTX 5080, 32GB DDR5, and the absolute beast that is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

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

Whether it’s Snake’s elevator ascent to the rainy cliffs of Shadow Moses or the climactic battle between student and mentor in the final moments of Snake Eater, Hideo Kojima and Konami’s epic spy thriller franchise, Metal Gear, is home to some of gaming’s most iconic moments. Telling a story that spanned multiple console generations and pushed the creative capabilities of video games to their limits, Solid Snake and Big Boss’ adventures are legendary, so much so that many claim they’re among the most important releases the medium has ever produced.

Back in 2015, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain seemingly ended the franchise for good, with Kojima leaving Konami and the Metal Gear Solid IP behind to form his own studio. However, Konami has started resurrecting the series through re-releases and remakes, like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater coming out later this year. With so many new players experiencing this world of undercover espionage, shady government conspiracy and gruff-voiced dudes with cool eyepatches for the first time, we’ve laid out the chronological order of the Metal Gear Solid series so newcomers and returning fans can catch up.

Jump to:

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

How Many Metal Gear Solid Games Are There?

Not including remakes, ports or remasters, there are 17 total Metal Gear games: 11 mainline games, five on handheld devices and one on mobile. Although that’s a lot of games, a decent chunk of them are considered non-canon, with their stories overriding events from the main saga and spinning off into their own unique takes on the universe.

2018’s Metal Gear Survive takes place in an apocalyptic reality where a zombie virus has overtaken the world, so it falls outside the main canon. As for the PSP’s Metal Gear: Acid and Metal Gear: Acid 2, they veer from the timeline and tell a new story, making them alternate-timeline spin-offs. Then there’s the Game Boy Color’s Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, which is an alternate-universe Metal Gear sequel that wipes away the events of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, thus removing it from the timeline. And finally, Metal Gear Mobile and Snake’s Revenge have since been deemed non-canon by the community and Kojima himself in interviews.

That leaves 11 games within the main storyline. Each game is considered part of the true Metal Gear Saga, spanning from a fictional alternate-history 1960s to the late 2010s. So, let’s run you through all the games in that story.

Which Metal Gear Should You Play First?

We recommend two potential starting points for Metal Gear. For those interested in the complete saga, we recommend 2023's Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, which includes the best available versions of Metal Gear Solid 1–3. Alternatively, for those interested in simply trying out the franchise (and for those with a lower tolerance for older games), we recommend starting with the series' most contemporary iteration, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

You'd think it would be enough for filmmaker James Wan to have two hugely successful horror franchises under his belt with Saw and Insidious (both co-created with writing partner Leigh Whannell). But then he also went and created The Conjuring, which, since its debut in 2013, has produced nine films in total and grossed over $2 billion at the box office.

Starting as a 1970s ghost series, based on the real life investigations of married paranormal snoops Lorraine and Ed Warren, The Conjuring Universe has sprawled into a franchise that not only keeps track of the Warrens' demon-busting adventures, but also delves further into the haunted backstories of these cases with prequel installments set decades before the Warrens show up. Now that the fourth and final Conjuring movie has hit streaming, you might want to revisit the full timeline of The Conjuring-verse.

So are you looking to watch these Conjuring films as they were released - or do you want to absorb all the spookiness via chronological binge, kicking things off in 1950s Romania with The Nun? Whatever the case, you'll find both lists below.

Jump to:

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

How Many The Conjuring Movies Are There?

There are 10 total movies set within The Conjuring universe — four Conjuring movies, three Annabelle movies, The Nun and The Nun 2, and The Curse of La Llorona. The fourth Conjuring movie, titled Last Rites, is now available in theaters. If you're planning on marathoning all of these movies, you can currently stream most of them on HBO Max.

The Conjuring Movies in Chronological Order

1. The Nun (2018)

Prequel frightfest The Nun takes place in 1952 Romania, and stars Demián Bichir and Taissa Farmiga (sister of franchise star Vera Farmiga) as a Roman Catholic priest and a nun uncovering an unholy secret involving Bonnie Aaron's evil Nun from The Conjuring 2.

Read our review of The Nun.

2. Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Taking place after The Nun, in 1955 California, Annabelle Creation was the fourth installment in the Conjuring Universe, but the second chronologically, depicting the origin of franchise breakout star -- Annabelle, the creep haunted dolll. It's the story of a story of a doll-maker who opens his home to six orphans and a nun, only to have an ancient evil released in his own house.

Read our review of Annabelle: Creation.

3. The Nun 2 (2023)

Although The Nun 2 takes place after the events of The Nun, it's actually the third movie in the timeline. The events of The Nun 2 take place in 1956, taking place four years after Sister Irene's first encounter with Valak and one year after the events of Annabelle: Creation.

Read our review of The Nun 2.

4. Annabelle (2014)

The second film made in the Conjuring Universe, even before The Conjuring 2, was prequel Annabelle, taking place in 1967 in Southern California, 12 years after the official origin of the doll. Annabelle tells the story of a young doctor and his wife who bring the doll into their home (to reside amongst other scary-looking dolls) only to have it make their life a living hell.

Read our review of Annabelle.

5. The Conjuring (2013)

The movie that started it all, The Conjuring, starred Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as real-life paranormal investigators/ghost hunters Lorraine and Ed Warren (whose exploits reportedly inspired The Amityville Horror), as they aid the besieged Perron family in 1971, on Rhode Island. Series creator James Wan directed this first outing, marking the third official blockbuster horror franchise he'd created.

Read our review of The Conjuring.

6. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Next up is Annabelle Comes Home. Taking place only one year later in the story, in 1972, the Warrens' young daughter, Judy (McKenna Grace), must contend with Annabelle and other demons who escape the Warrens’ artifact room while the couple is away. Conjuring Universe (and It: Chapter One and Two) writer Gary Dauberman makes his directorial debut here.

Read our review of Annabelle Comes Home.

7. The Curse of La Llorona (2019)

Based on the Latin American folklore of La Llorona, this Conjuring Universe spinoff follows a mother in 1973 Los Angeles who must save her children from a malevolent spirit trying to steal them. Starring Linda Cardellini and Raymond Cruz, The Curse of La Llorona is the most detached and removed tale from the franchise's ongoing story, only featuring Tony Amendola's Father Perez from Annabelle as a connecting character.

Read our review of The Curse of La Llorona.

8. The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Based on the events of the Enfield Poltergeist in England, The Conjuring 2 brings back Lorraine and Ed Warren, now notrious from the Amityville case, as they help a family being haunted by a malevolent spirit in 1977. Whereas the first Conjuring movie brought about the Annabelle films, this one originally introduced The Nun, who would go on to receive her own prequel. James Wan also returned to direct.

Read our review of The Conjuring 2.

9. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

The actual eighth film made in the franchise is also the next film you should watch if you're doing a chronological binge. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do brings us into the '80s with a ghoulish tale based on the real life trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who claimed "demonic possession" after murdering his landlord. Lorraine and Ed Warren are drawn into the case after they'd apparently exorcised a demon out of a young boy's body... accidentally causing it to flee into Arne.

Read our review of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

10. The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)

The final film on the The Conjuring timeline is now in theaters and is off to a tremendous start at the box office. The Conjuring: Last Rites is the fourth mainline film in the series and is being billed as the final movie in the franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators taking on their most dangerous case yet. Like other films in the series, Last Rites is based on the true story of the Smurl hauntings, a series of paranormal occurences at a Pennsylvania home in the 70s and 80s.

Read our review of The Conjuring: Last Rites and check out our The Conjuring: Last Rites ending and post-credits explained.

Future of The Conjuring Movies

The Conjuring: Last Rites has officially arrived on digital and streaming. The movie had the second biggest opening weekend for any horror movie at the global box office, behind only 2017's It, and already has a 4K steelbook release. Franchise veteran Michael Chaves returns as director for the finale, and IGN recently got the chance to speak with him about the end (and future) of The Conjuring franchise. We now know that includes a new prequel about the early investigative work of the Warrens.

In 2023, a TV series set in The Conjuring universe was greenlit for HBO Max, though little has been revealed about who will be involved or how the series will fit into the franchise's timeline. We do know the series is moving forward, as it recently brought on supernatural writer Nancy Won as showrunner. Otherwise, a sequel to The Curse of La Llorona has supposedly entered production, a sign of how the franchise will grow from here.

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

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise has covered a lot of ground in its 18 years. The Assassin-Templar conflict has taken players across five continents, from Ancient Greece to Victorian London, spanning 2,300 years of history over the course of 13 mainline games.

With the upcoming release of Assassin's Creed Shadows, we’ve put together this chronology of the Assassin’s Creed timeline so far. This chronology only includes mainline Assassin’s Creed games; spinoff games aren’t included on this list given their lack of importance to the ongoing Assassin’s Creed narrative.

Jump to:

• How to play in chronological order
• How to play in release order

How Many Assassin's Creed Games Are There?

There are currently 14 Assassin's Creed games in the main series and 17 additional spinoff games. Outside of video games, there is also an Assassin's Creed board game and an Assassin's Creed TV series supposedly in the works at Netflix.

Which Assassin's Creed Game Should You Play First?

There's quite a few places you could start in the Assassin's Creed timeline, and I personally recommend picking the game set in an era that you find most interesting. That said, it's hard to deny that the original Ezio trilogy (Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations) has some of the best writing in the series. If you're interested in more recent games, Black Flag is a solid entry point with seafaring pirate gameplay, while Assassin's Creed Odyssey lets you dive into world of ancient Greece.

How to Play the Assassin’s Creed Game In Order

There are two ways to look at the Assassin’s Creed chronology. First: In the order of the games’ modern-day storylines. This option makes sense considering the connective narrative of each mainline game is told through the present day. The present-day story progresses chronologically with each release, so if you’d like to play the games this way, simply scroll down to the section how to play the Assassin’s Creed games by release date. If you’re committed to playing through the entirety of the franchise, this is the order we recommend, as it’s the best way to follow the overarching story and experience the franchise’s evolution from stealth-action games to open-world RPGs.

The second option (detailed below) presents the games in order by their historic settings. These stories aren’t as intertwined as their modern-day counterparts, but they’re where you’ll spend the vast majority of your time in Assassin’s Creed. This is more useful as a matter of interest than a practical playing guide.

The Assassin’s Creed Games in Chronological Order

With series newcomers in mind, the brief plot synopses below contain only mild spoilers such as broad plot points, historical settings, and character introductions.

1. Assassin's Creed Odyssey (431 B.C.–422 B.C.)

• Primary setting: Ancient Greece
• Historic Protagonist: Cassandra or Alexios
• Modern Protagonist: Layla Hassan

Set nearly 400 years earlier than any other mainline game, Assassin's Creed Odyssey expanded on the RPG elements introduced in Origins to complete its genre-turn from stealth-based action to open-world RPG.

You play as Cassandra or Alexios, the grandchildren of Sparta's King Leonidas I. Odyssey is set during the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, and features key historical figures from that period, including Hippocrates, Socrates, and Plato. It weaves the period's history with its mythology, introducing creatures such as the Sphinx, Cyclops, and Medusa.

Odyssey is set before the formation of the Assassin and Templar orders, though it does feature a key Piece of Eden* in the Spear of Leonidas.

*Pieces of Eden are powerful technological artifacts created by a precursor race of beings known as The First Civilization. The pieces of Eden and the First Civilization are constants throughout the mainline games that connect the past and modern storylines.

2. Assassin's Creed Origins (49 B.C.–44 B.C.)

• Primary setting: Ancient Egypt
• Historic Protagonist: Bayek of Siwa
• Modern Protagonist: Layla Hassan

After releasing a new Assassin's Creed game each year from 2009-2015, Ubisoft took a year off and returned in 2017 with Assassin's Creed Origins, a soft reboot of the franchise and the series' first game to introduce RPG mechanics.

Origins is primarily set in Ancient Egypt during the reigns of Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra, though its historic inspiration extends to Rome and the rule of Julius Caesar. Many Assassin's Creed stories kick off as tales of vengeance, only to unfurl into larger-scale tales of political conspiracy. Origins follows this pattern: The death of Bayek and Aya's son serves as the impetus for their journey, though as the story progresses, the duo uncover a proto-Templar organization called the Order of the Ancients and ultimately form the Hidden Ones, the first incarnation of the Assassins.

The modern story, meanwhile, introduces Layla Hassan, who serves as the present-day protagonist for Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.

3. Assassin's Creed Mirage (861–???)

• Primary setting: 9th Century Baghdad
• Historic Protagonist: Basim Ibn Ishaq
• Modern Protagonist: N/A

Released in 2023, Assassin's Creed Mirage is the series' most recent installment. Rather than a full-priced open-world RPG, Mirage is a $50 USD stealth-focused adventure designed as "an homage to the first Assassin's Creed games." Ubisoft describes it as "a shorter, more narrative-driven game than recent entries in the series.”

Assassin's Creed Mirage stars a 17-year-old Basim Ibn Ishaq, a street thief with "nightmarish visions" who'd go on to play a critical role in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Mirage will tell the story of Basim, with the guidance of his mentor Roshan, escaping Baghdad en route to the Hidden Ones' fortress of Alamut.

Unlike the other entries on this list, Mirage doesn't prominently feature the present-day storyline. You can read our full review of Assassin's Creed Mirage for more details.

4. Assassin's Creed Valhalla (872–878)

• Primary setting: 9th Century England and Norway
• Historic Protagonist: Eivor Varinsson/Varinsdottir
• Modern Protagonist: Layla Hassan

Assassin's Creed's Valhalla is the series' venture into Norse history and mythology. It's easily the series' biggest game; the average time to complete its main story is 60 hours, according to How Long to Beat (15 hours longer than the next biggest, Odyssey). Like Odyssey, Valhalla integrates its setting's history with its mythology, introducing real-life characters — King Harald Fairhair, King Aelfred the Great, Rollo — and mythological figures such as Fenrir and Odin.

It continues the conflict between the Hidden Ones and the Order of the Ancients while balancing the more personal tale of Eivor and their clan's pilgrimage from a resource-barren Norway to the more fertile lands of England.

The modern-day story seemingly concludes the three-game arc of Layla Hassan.

5. Assassin's Creed (1191)

• Primary setting: 12th Century Holy Land (Acre, Damascus, Jerusalem)
• Historic Protagonist: Altair Ibn'La-Ahad
• Modern Protagonist: Desmond Miles

The first Assassin's Creed takes place 300 years after Valhalla and introduces us to the series' original protagonist, Altair Ibn'La-Ahad. Assassin's Creed laid the groundwork for the franchise's next 15 years of success, introducing foundational gameplay elements like climbing and assassinations while also laying the groundwork for the time-hopping Assassin-Templar narrative.

It introduces key narrative concepts like the Pieces of Eden and the Animus, the in-universe device that allows each game's modern-day protagonist to relive the memories of their historic counterparts through DNA.

The past story sees Altair hunting down nine Templars during the Third Crusade, while the present-day story introduces Desmond Miles and the modern Assassin-Templar conflict that runs through AC III.

6. Assassin's Creed II (1476–1499)

• Primary setting: 15th Century Italy
• Historic Protagonist: Ezio Auditore da Firenze
• Modern Protagonist: Desmond Miles

Assassin's Creed 2 introduced the series’ longest-lasting protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. A favorite among Assassin's Creed fans, Ezio's story ran from 2009's AC II through 2011's AC: Revelations.

Ezio seeks to avenge the death of his father and brother, though his hunt for vengeance leads him to uncover a bigger conspiracy and places him at the center of the fight between the Assassins and Templars. Assassin's Creed II takes players throughout Italy, from Florence to the Vatican, and introduces Ezio to historical figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Pope Alexander VI.

In the present day, Desmond begins his work with the Assassins.

7. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (1499–1507)

• Primary setting: 15th-16th Century Italy
• Historic Protagonist: Ezio Auditore da Firenze
• Modern Protagonist: Desmond Miles

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is a continuation of AC II in both the past and modern-day storylines. The fallout from AC II creates a new antagonist for Ezio, who embarks on another revenge quest while working to rebuild Rome's weakened Assassins Guild and retrieve the Apple of Eden.

In the present day, Desmond and the modern Assassins head to Italy in search of that same Apple of Eden, a Piece of Eden that may help them prevent the prophesized end of the world.

8. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (1511–1512)

• Primary setting: 16th Century Constantinople
• Historic Protagonist: Ezio Auditore da Firenze
• Modern Protagonist: Desmond Miles

The conclusion of the Ezio trilogy unites the narrative of the Italian assassin with his predecessor, Altair. An older Ezio travels to Constantinople in search of Altair’s hidden library, which was thought to contain invaluable wisdom. In Constantinople, Ezio searches for the keys needed to open the library — each of which possesses a key memory in Altair’s life. Assassin's Creed Revelations ultimately reveals Ezio's role in the wider AC narrative.

In the present, a comatose Desmond is trapped in the Animus, where he works with a past Animus user to escape "the Black Room" and return to consciousness.

Revelations also features one of the series' best trailers (above) first shown at E3 2011.

9. Assassin's Creed Shadows (1581)

• Primary setting: Feudal Japan
• Historic protagonist: Naoe and Yasuke
• Modern protagonist: N/A

The newest Assassin's Creed game heads to Feudal Japan during the civil wars in the late Sengoku period. Assassin's Creed Shadows features dual protagonists, each with unique gameplay, though Ubisoft has emphasized that players won't be missing out by only playing one route. Yasuke is an African mercenary who becomes a samurai in service of Oda Nobunaga. That service leads him to the Iga province, home of shinobi-in-training Naoe, and tragedy brings the two together in a quest for vengeance.

Like Mirage, Shadows doesn't have its own modern-day protagonist. Instead, the new game coincides with the release of the Animus Hub, which brings the Assassin's Creed franchise into a single platform and adds additional "modern-day subplots" as well as a reward system to the game.

10. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (1715–1722)

• Primary setting: 18th Century Caribbean Islands
• Historic Protagonist: Edward Kenway
• Modern Protagonist: Unnamed Abstergo Employee

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is best remembered for introducing the series' naval gameplay. It's set two centuries after Ezio's trilogy and roughly 40 years before the previously released Assassin's Creed III.

Black Flag stars Edward Kenway, an 18th-century pirate and the grandfather of AC III protagonist Connor Kenway. It features notorious real-life pirates of the era, such as Edward Thatch (Blackbeard), Benjamin Hornigold, and Mary Read. It also introduces Adéwalé, the protagonist of the DLC-turned-standalone-spinoff Freedom Cry. After unknowingly killing an Assassin, Edward finds himself embroiled in the Assassin-Templar conflict and on the hunt for a secret First Civilization site known as The Observatory.

The modern-day story stars an unnamed Abstergo employee tasked with reliving Connor’s life in order to create a film (though, unsurprisingly, Abstergo’s true intentions are more nefarious).

11. Assassin's Creed Rogue (1752–1760)

• Primary setting: 18th Century American Northeast
• Historic Protagonist: Shay Patrick Cormac
• Modern Protagonist: Abstergo Employee "Numbskull"

Assassin's Creed Rogue serves as a narrative bridge between AC III and AC IV. It stars Shay Patrick Cormac, an Irish-American Assassin turned Templar hunting down a Piece of Eden. Templar Grand Master Haytham Kenway, the son of AC 4 protagonist Edward and father of AC III protagonist Connor, appears throughout the story.

In the present, you play as another Abstergo employee, referred to as "Numbskull," doing the bidding of the modern-day Templars.

12. Assassin's Creed III (1754–1783)

• Primary setting: 18th Century Colonial America
• Historic Protagonist: Ratonhnhaké "Connor" Kenway
• Modern Protagonist: Desmond Miles

Following a 1754-set sequence during which you play as Haythem Kenway, Assassin's Creed 3 begins in earnest with Haythem's son Ratonhnhaké:ton, a.k.a Connor. Set largely during the American Revolution, Connor seeks to protect his tribe from the war and the First Civilization's Grand Temple from the Templars.

AC III is loaded with historical figures, including George Washington, Sam Adams, Charles Lee, and Benjamin Franklin.

The present-day story concludes Desmond's arc, as he and the other modern-day Assassins gather in the aforementioned Grand Temple to prevent the prophesized end of the world on December 21, 2012.

13. Assassins Creed Unity (1789–1794)

• Primary setting: 18th Century France
• Historic Protagonist: Shay Patrick Cormac
• Modern Protagonist: Unnamed Helix Player

While Assassin's Creed Unity features scenes that span from 1307 to the mid-1900s, it's primarily set during the height of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1794. It stars French Assassin Arno Dorian, who becomes involved in the Assassin-Templar conflict while embarking on yet another quest for vengeance.

Historical figures include Napoléon Bonaparte, Marquis de Sade, and King Louis XVI.

Unity's modern-day story is among the least memorable, as it removed gameplay entirely in favor of cutscenes and ultimately proved inconsequential to the ongoing narrative. You play as a gamer playing Helix, Abstergo's Animus-powered gaming software created to push Templar propaganda and collect unsuspecting users' DNA.

14. Assassin's Creed Syndicate (1868)

• Primary setting: Victorian London
• Historic Protagonists: Jacob and Evie Frye
• Modern Protagonist: Unnamed Helix Player

Assassin's Creed Syndicate stars dual protagonists Jacob and Evie Frye, twin Assassins clearing London of Templar control while seeking a Piece of Eden. While a certain side mission extends the timeline to WWI, the majority of Syndicate is set in 1868. Notable historical figures include Alexander Graham Bell, Charles Darwin, and in the future sequence, Winston Churchill.

Syndicate stars the same modern-day character as Unity, who's working with the Assassins to locate another Piece of Eden in London.

Upcoming Assassin's Creed Games

Ubisoft's latest AC game is Assassin's Creed Shadows. We have tidbits of information about the next mainline Assassin's Creed game, codenamed titled Assassin's Creed Hexe, which will feature "witchier" vibes. Several remakes of older Assassin's Creed games are also in development, according to Ubisoft's CEO. The one remake we know for sure is in the pipeline is Black Flag, with the new 'Resynced' version theoretically launching in March 2026.

As far as we know, a live action Assassin's Creed show is still in the works at Netflix, while Tencent's mobile-exclusive game, Assassin's Creed Jade, was delayed to 2025.

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

CD Projekt has sold its DRM-free PC storefront GOG to its original co-founder, Michał Kiciński, for 90.7 million Polish złoty (approx. $25.2 million). Kiciński is also co-founder of CD Projekt itself, and currently holds 10% of share capital in the business.

Kiciński co-founded GOG in 2008, and it has operated within the CD Projekt Group for over 17 years. Selling GOG “fits” CD Projekt’s long-term strategy, according to a FAQ posted online. CD Projekt, the Polish company behind smash hits The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, wants to focus on video game development and other projects, it said. CD Projekt is currently developing The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2.

“Selling GOG fits CD Projekt’s long-term strategy,” reads the statement. “CD Projekt wants to focus its full attention on creating top-quality RPGs and providing our fans with other forms of entertainment based on our brands. This deal lets CD Projekt keep that focus, while GOG gets stronger backing to pursue its own mission.”

Kiciński commented: “From the very beginning, GOG has always been built on strong values and clear principles. When Marcin Iwiński and I came up with the idea for GOG, the vision was simple: bring classic games back to players and ensure that once you buy a game, it truly belongs to you — forever.”

GOG will operate independently, it said, and continue with its DRM-free philosophy. Following the sale, CD Projekt and GOG signed a distribution agreement that specifies the terms of future cooperation, including a plan to release CD Projekt Red’s upcoming games on GOG.

“CD Projekt and GOG share the same roots and values: freedom, independence, and a genuine sense of ownership,” Kiciński continued. “I believe that CD Projekt, with its exceptional AAA games, will stand, as always, behind the GOG offering — making GOG the best place on the planet to purchase The Witcher and Cyberpunk games, both existing titles and the new ones we all anticipate so much.

“As a mature gamer, I often play classic games myself and deeply admire the creativity behind many of them. I truly believe that well-crafted classics can deliver as much joy as new releases. When it comes to pure playability, timeless games often prove to be really the safe choice, especially in a market flooded with gazillions of low-quality smaller games. Beyond preserving classics, GOG has always sought out new games with a retro spirit. I am personally involved in the development of a few games like that and they will certainly make their strong appearance on GOG in 2026.”

Michał Nowakowski, joint CEO of CD Projekt, added: “with our focus now fully on an ambitious development roadmap and expanding our franchises with new high-quality products, we felt this was the right time for this move.

“For a long time now, GOG has been operating independently. Now it’s going into very good hands — we are convinced that with the support of Michał Kiciński, one of GOG’s co-founders, its future will be full of great projects and successes. We would like to thank the GOG team for years of fruitful cooperation and wish them all the best. And to the GOG community, I say ‘see you around,’ because our upcoming releases will naturally be available on GOG as well.”

GOG has long competed with Steam for the hearts and minds of PC gamers by leaning on its no-DRM policy, although Valve's platform remains the overwhelming market leader. In the FAQ, the question ‘is GOG financially unstable?’ is asked. The answer, officially, is no. “GOG is stable and has had a really encouraging year,” reads the statement. “In fact, we’ve seen more enthusiasm from gamers towards our mission than ever before.” GOG hit the headlines recently for getting behind indie game Horses after Valve banned it from Steam.

It sounds like from a user point of view, nothing changes here. As for CD Projekt, it can now strip out GOG from its business, which at latest count employed 1,335 staff. In The Witcher franchise it has the aforementioned The Witcher 4 as part of a new Witcher trilogy with Ciri as protagonist, The Witcher Remake, and Project Sirius. Cyberpunk 2 is also in development, as is Project Hadar, a new IP.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

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

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

How Many Fire Emblem Games Are on Switch?

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

Every Fire Emblem Game on Nintendo Switch

Fire Emblem Warriors (2017)

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

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

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

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

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

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

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (2020)

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

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

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (2023)

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

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

Fire Emblem Engage (2023)

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

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

Fire Emblem Games Available With Nintendo Switch Online

The Legend of Zelda is one of the most iconic video game series of all time. Starting on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, The Legend of Zelda follows various incarnations of Princess Zelda and Link as they fight to save Hyrule from the evil that is Ganon. While the series has always been popular, the Nintendo Switch has catapulted Zelda into one of Nintendo's best-selling properties with landmark titles in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Echoes of Wisdom released toward the end of the original Nintendo Switch's life cycle, but Nintendo has already revealed quite a bit about the next generation of adventures in Hyrule. Here's every Legend of Zelda game on the Nintendo Switch as well as new Zelda games coming to the Switch 2.

How Many Zelda Games Are There on Nintendo Switch?

In total, five Zelda games, three Hyrule Warriors games, and one spin-off game have been released specifically for the Nintendo Switch. This includes both mainline entries and spinoff games that were released from 2017 to 2025. All of these Zelda games are playable on the Switch 2.

All Zelda Switch Games in Order of Release Date

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the first Zelda title released for Nintendo Switch. Launching alongside the system, this title marked a turning point in the Zelda series, bringing a style of open world gameplay that we'd never seen before. You can traverse to anywhere you can see in the world. Link awakes after a 100 year slumber, where he is tasked by the spirit of Hyrule's former King to save Princess Zelda from Calamity Ganon - a primal evil trapped inside Hyrule Castle.

Read our original review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or see what we thought of the Switch 2 version.

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition - 2018

Hyrule Warriors is an action hack and slash title developed by Omega Force and originally released for the Wii U. Characters from all kinds of Zelda games make an appearance, whether as playable characters or villains. The game was brought over to Nintendo Switch in 2018 in the form of Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, and includes all characters, stages, and modes from the original game in addition to Breath of the Wild inspired costumes for Link and Zelda.

Read our review of Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition.

Cadence of Hyrule - 2019

Cadence of Hyrule is an extremely unqiue collaboration between Brace Yourself Games and Nintendo. The game combines the roguelike rhythm gameplay of Crypt of the NecroDancer with the world of The Legend of Zelda and its characters. This spinoff offers an incredible soundtrack and beautiful pixelated graphics. Up against Octavo, a musical villain, Zelda and Link team up with Cadence to thwart his plans and save the Hyrule.

Read our review of Cadence of Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - 2019

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a remake of 1993 Game Boy title developed by Grezzo. This charming platformer sees Link castaway at Koholint Island, where he must solve the mystery of the Wind Fish, a legendary being said to be on the island. Unlike some of the more modern Zelda titles, Link's Awakening takes you across many different dungeons and areas to collect the Instruments of the Sirens. If you never got the chance to play the original Link's Awakening, this is the definitive way to experience one of the Zelda series' most unique titles.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - 2020

The second Switch entry in the Hyrule Warriors series, Age of Calamity is set 100 years before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Here, you can experience firsthand the events that occured in the fight against Calamity Ganon. All of your favorite Breath of the Wild cahracters are here and playable, including Link, Zelda, the Champions, and so many more. Omega Force created a fun and expansive title, with two waves of DLC you can check out after completing the main story.

Read our review of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD - 2021

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is the long-awaited remaster of the classic Wii game. Set at the beginning of the Zelda timeline, Skyward Sword takes Link to the skies as he traverses across the world to save his childhood friend Zelda. You'll uncover the Master Sword was created as part of this journey, among other things. The remaster includes the iconic motion controls you can operate with the Joy-Con and a new button-only gameplay style for those looking to play without motion.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hit the market in 2023, selling over 10 million copies in just three days as well as quite a few special edition Switch consoles. Set a few years after the events of Breath of the Wild, Link is tasked once again with finding Princess Zelda after Ganondorf is resurrected. Tears of the Kingdom takes to both the skies of Hyrule and the depths below the land. This creates one of the largest maps you'll find in any game, leaving for hundreds of hours of exploration to be had. All in all, it's the best Zelda game of all time and a hard one to follow.

Read our original review of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or see what we thought about the Switch 2 version.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - 2024

But, of course, Tears of the Kingdom was not the end of this beloved Nintendo franchise on the original Switch. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was announced during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct before launching on the Switch in the fall later that year. While Echoes has the titular Princess take the story's reigns, and features a more 2D art style à la Link's Awakening, it should not be mistaken as a spin-off or side project. This is a full-blown, magical Zelda game, that lets you unlock your creativity to try and save Link and the rest of Hyrule in entirely new ways.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment - 2025

The latest Zelda-adjacent release is a new entry in the Hyrule Warriors series. Nintendo has heavily emphasized that the story is canon, giving us a deeper look at the Imprisoning War in what is essentially a prequel to Tears of the Kingdom. You get to play as a spread of different characters, including Princess Zelda, who has been sent into Hyrule's past and must work with new allies in the fight against Ganandorf.

Read our review of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Available Zelda Games With Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

If you're interested in checking out some of the older Zelda titles, the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service has loads of Zelda titles from Nintendo's older consoles. Here is every Zelda game currently available on the service:

• The Legend of Zelda
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Four Swords
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker*

*On the GameCube library exclusive to the Switch 2

What's Next for Zelda on Switch 2?

There has been no news of upcoming mainline Legend of Zelda games. We'll be sure to let you know as soon as it's announced, because it's almost certainly in Nintendo's pipeline. In the meantime, Nintendo has announced other plans with the franchise.

LEGO The Legend of Zelda

First up, Nintendo has officially teased a new LEGO The Legend of Zelda set as a follow-up to the LEGO Great Deku Tree. The next set seems to be inspired specifically by Ocarina of Time and will be released at some point in 2026, when we're also expecting the first LEGO x Pokemon collab.

Upcoming Zelda Movie

In addition to the games themselves, Nintendo has also announced they will be bringing Hyrule to the big screen with a live-action Legend of Zelda movie. In terms of details, the movie's director, Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), has expressed his desire to make a more "grounded" Zelda adaptation that feels like live-action Miyazaki. The Zelda movie will be releasing in theaters on March 26, 2027 and Nintendo has officially confirmed the actors playing both Link and Zelda.

See the full list of upcoming Switch games for everything coming to the system.

Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.