The official Legend of Zelda playing cards from Nintendo are currently on sale for just $9.99 (20% off). Keep in mind, they are a Japan-only imported product, so buying through Amazon typically means you're purchasing from a reseller. This could mean you may have to wait a bit longer than usual for them to arrive due to the potential of limited stock.

In any case, these make for a great gift or addition to your collection, like the awesome Legend of Zelda manga or encyclopedias like the Hyrule Historia.

Official Legend of Zelda Playing Cards Are on Sale

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

In 2025, we'll hopefully be getting our hands on well-known in-development titles as well as a host of new games announced at the March Nintendo Direct. Here are all of the new Switch games we can look forward to this year.

All Upcoming Switch Games With Release Dates

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (May 16, 2025)

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

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

Dell and Alienware Coupons

Dell and Alienware Gaming PC Deals

Dell and Alienware Gaming Laptop Deals

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

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Prebuilt Gaming PCs Are Available

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5070 Gaming PC

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptop Is Now Available

Alienware's new flagship gaming laptop - the Alienware Area-51 - was released earlier this year. It replaces the m-series laptop and bring to the table a host of upgrades including a sleeker redesign, current generation components, and better cooling potential. They can be equipped with the new Nvidia GeForce Blackwell cards in RTX 5070, 5080, and 5090 variants.

Alienware x16 R2 Gaming Laptops

I get excited every time a new graphics card launches, and even more so when Nvidia revealed the RTX 5080 and its latest DLSS 4 technology, which uses AI to amplify visuals and frame rates beyond what was previously possible. But I took one look at my grandpa-build of a gaming PC and hesitated for a moment

My RTX 3080 served me well throughout the years, getting a steady 60 fps at 4K, max settings in my favorite games, but that honeymoon era didn’t last very long. It began a steady decline down to 30 fps until I had to eventually turn down settings. I hated that – I live to experience the full breadth of art in video games. Those beautiful artists put so much into their work, and I just wanted to see it. But could my PC even handle it?

Well, as it turned out, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 does work with my aging build. I even have a 1000-watt PSU to accommodate the power shift from my RTX 3080.

However, I ran into some snags. My overall setup was less than optimal and the raw performance especially seemed… lackluster. Yet, despite that and my criticisms of DLSS 4, its multi frame generation technology left one heck of an impression. One that may have finally sold me on the tech.

Installing the RTX 5080 – 4 Hours Later

I say grandpa-build, but it’s not actually that old. My PC has an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X processor and 32GB of RAM, both of which are slotted into a Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master motherboard (trust me, that’s important). I’d argue that the graphics card may be one of the easier parts to swap out of a custom PC build, but the gods smote me for my hubris.

I falsely assumed that the same power cables that powered my RTX 3080 would work on the RTX 5080, so I plugged the two PCIe 8-pin cables into the RTX 5080’s two out of three adapters. I assumed this was not going to work, but I didn’t want to do more work than this. When I turned my PC on, the RTX 5080’s LEDs did not show signs of life. Ugh.

At this point, I had already popped open my PC and its guts were laid strewn about. So naturally, I looked up where to get PCIe 12-pin cables, and to my genuine surprise, I saw DoorDash. Yep, I DoorDashed a set of Corsair PCIe Gen 5 Type 4 600-watt power cables from a Best Buy in a different state for a total of $44. Man gets hungry for power, what can I say?

It took about an hour to arrive, and then I raced upstairs to plug everything in and voilà! The GPU sprang to life… kind of. It flickered hesitantly and, of course, my PC didn’t activate the monitors. Instead, there was a lovely red light on my motherboard where the VGA symbol is. It took me another hour before I figured out what was wrong. You see, the X570 Aorus Master’s chipset fan is a chunky monkey, and the RTX 5080 also happens to be quite chunky itself. The card wasn’t fully plugged into the PCIe x16 slot because the X570’s dump truck of a fan was in the way. And no matter how hard I tried to shove it in, it would not budge. Sigh.

And so, after all of this, I was forced to plug the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, one of the best Nvidia GPUs currently available, into a measly PCIe x8 slot. Okay, so between the old CPU and the downgraded PCIe x8 slot, what did that do to performance?

RTX 5080 Running on My Grandpa-Build

After running a total of 30 benchmarks through five different games, the RTX 5080 managed overall middling raw performance on my PC. However, with DLSS 4 enabled, I saw those ridiculous numbers that Nvidia wanted me to see. As I’ve said, I want to experience the vision that artists set to create in their games, but DLSS 4 complicates that. It is unfortunately the only path forward for PCs like mine.

For those that are unaware, DLSS 4 is a super sampling technology that can increase performance and sharpen image quality. What’s unique to the RTX 50-series cards, however, is Multi Frame Generation, which uses AI to generate up to three frames per true frame. It works only in supported games, however. And some games that support frame generation might not support Multi Frame Generation, though you can override that in the Nvidia app.

With the RTX 5080 as my sword, I chose Monster Hunter Wilds as my first boss. This poorly optimized nightmare made me realize my RTX 3080 wasn’t quite up to snuff anymore. And so vengeance was nigh. However, at 4K, with the Ultra preset and RT High settings, my PC could not break 60 fps. Instead it stopped at 51 fps… with DLSS disabled. When I flipped the switch to DLAA (native resolution) and enabled regular frame generation (2x), it jumped to 74 fps. Getting max settings at above 60 fps is all I wanted with Monster Hunter Wilds, so I’d call this a boss slain. But if you wanted more, flipping to Ultra Performance netted me 124 fps. (At the time of writing, Multi-frame Generation (4x) doesn’t work natively in the Nvidia app, although there is a workaround people have found.)

When I previously traversed the Living Lands in Avowed, I could not get close to 60 fps without turning down half the settings. But now… well, it still hurts. At Ultra, 4K, RT on with DLSS disabled, my PC sputtered out a measly 35 fps. The gods of Eora laughed at me and my $1K+ GPU. Then I revved up my anime sword (enabled DLAA and MFG) and cut down a camp of Xaurips at 113 fps. That is a 223% increase in frame rate. My jaw dropped when I saw that number. And the DLSS Ultra Performance number is literally double those frames.

If you thought Avowed was chunky, guess again. I have never struggled more with performance than in Oblivion: Remastered. Yes, the remaster of the near twenty-year old game gave even my RTX 5080 a stomach ache. At Ultra, 4K, RT Ultra with DLSS disabled, I couldn’t climb down the mountains near Bryma without first climbing down to 20 fps. It occasionally flickered up to 40 fps and averaged about 30 fps total. It ran like how it did when Oblivion originally launched. But following the pattern of jumping to DLAA with MFG, my PC achieved 95 fps. And with Ultra Performance, I got 172 fps. Those Daedra are so toast.

One game I never had trouble with was Marvel Rivals (thanks, NetEase). However, in a competitive title like this, a single frame can throw you off your game, and as a Magik main, I am hyper-focused on hitting my dash right on time. I measured both fps and latency (in milliseconds), and at Ultra, 4K with DLSS disabled, the RTX 5080 performed that Umbral Incursion at 65 fps with a 45ms latency. I set DLSS to Native with MFG and got 182 fps and 50ms. Those are my ideal visuals, but the latency was actually the worst among the seven tests. The lowest latency was on Performance with standard frame generation (2x), netting me 189 fps with a 28ms latency, which matched the latency performance without frame generation. I can’t say that DLSS 4 put my Eldritch Armor Magik up on that MVP slot, but I’m not not saying it.

I saved Black Myth Wukong for last because I ran only the benchmark tool, which limited me to standard frame generation, but the numbers were still solid. At Cinematic, 4K, DLSS 40% with RT Very High, the RTX 5080 scraped by with 42 fps. However, flipping on frame generation scored me 69 fps. That’s a nice effort, and more than enough frames to enjoy the game (which I will play eventually, as a lover of simulated suffering). Multi-frame Generation would roughly double the added frames. So on my hardware, if I gained 27 fps on a x2 jump, then x4 could theoretically give me a total of 123 fps.

Needless to say, I was quite distraught when I tried to run my favorite games on raw GPU performance alone. The result is a mixture of my old PC components and the fact that the RTX 50-series didn’t see a huge leap in raw performance this generation. Despite that, DLSS 4 quite literally changed the game for me.

You Don’t Need a New PC for a New GPU

Again, there are some caveats with relying on DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation. The software is literally creating art that never existed before, and the technology definitely isn’t perfect. Whether I was running around Cyrodiil or the Living Lands, I noticed some fuzziness in environmental textures and even some artifacts while scrolling through inventory screens. That’s because DLSS 4 isn’t magic. You’re sacrificing raw fidelity for increased frame rates and an optimized visual experience that can enhance or imitate the real thing. It’s great for the occasionally poor quality port, but I continue to hope that developers don’t rely on this kind of technology to optimize games.

However, if you take anything away from my journey, it should be that new GPUs can get a heck of a lot of work done even in an inefficient situation. I’ll admit, I was tempted to rip off my motherboard fan just so I could get the RTX 5080 into the PCIe x16 slot, but it seemed unnecessary after discovering what DLSS 4 could do in these conditions.

So no, you don’t need to upgrade everything to take advantage of a new graphics card. You might need a new power supply (RTX 5080 requires 850W) and power cables (like I did), but that’s it. GPUs are expensive enough, let alone hard to find, so don’t go spamming PC parts in your Newegg cart. You’re probably fine.

Now, I’m not sure how long my setup will last before I need to fully upgrade my gaming PC, but I think DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation bought me at least seven minutes to say hello to Wesker.

Rami Tabari is a contributing writer at IGN with over 9 years of experience in the tech and gaming industry. You can find his bylines at Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide (and on a random Predator review at Space.com). When Rami isn't wading through a sea of the latest gaming tech, he's agonizing over the worldbuilding in his upcoming novella.

Summer 2025 is shaping up to be a very exciting time for DC fans. Mere weeks after Superman lands in theaters and heralds the live-action debut of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU, we’re getting another season of Peacemaker. John Cena is back in action as the gun-toting, peace-loving Christopher Smith, and he’s bringing much of the Season 1 cast along for the ride.

The first Peacemaker Season 2 trailer gives us a better idea of the plot this time around, as well as how exactly Season 2 connects back to the first season and Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. From the new reveals regarding the DCU timeline and Rick Flagg's role as “villain” to a frustrating lack of Vigilante, let’s break down the key takeaways from the Peacemaker trailer.

Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante in Peacemaker Season 2

It would do a disservice to Cena’s Christopher Smith to call him the least interesting character in Peacemaker. He’s definitely a compelling figure in his own right. He’s a walking contradiction who preaches peace yet wages a bloody war. He’s also a classic Gunn-style goofball with a deeply buried heart of gold.

But as much as Peacemaker is ostensibly focused on its title character, this series truly is an ensemble project. The supporting cast is critical to the success of this formula, every bit as much as The CW’s The Flash series lived and died on the strength of its Team Flash dynamic. And out of every supporting character in this series, none stands out and steals the show quite as reliably as Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante.

Vigilante was the breakout character of Season 1. He was a hilarious foil to Cena’s Peacemaker - a clingy BFF who might make a great superhero if he weren’t also such a sad sack of a human being. The series doesn’t necessarily offer a very faithful adaptation of the character from the comics, but when he’s this entertaining, who cares?

That’s why it’s a bit disappointing not to see more of Stroma’s character in the trailer. Obviously, Cena was always going to hog the spotlight. We also get a lot of focus on Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt, who’s clearly dealing with some major rage issues. But Stroma’s Adrian Chase is relegated more to the background. We learn that he’s working at a fast food restaurant and struggling with the realization that saving the world doesn’t guarantee fame and public adoration. But we would have loved to see more of the character, and hopefully the trailer isn’t reflective of his role in the season as a whole.

Meeting the DCU Justice League

The trailer opens on a surprising note, as we see Peacemaker show up to an open interview with the Justice League. Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord, Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, and Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl are all present, and it’s clear they’ve written Peacemaker off before he even has a chance to plead his case.

In the process, we get a much better look at the Justice League group dynamic than the Superman trailer provides. This is clearly a very different Justice League from the one that briefly appeared in Season 1 (and we’ll get to the continuity shenanigans afoot a bit later). They’re a much more sardonic and irreverent bunch, which suits the Peacemaker setting a lot better than the stuffy DCEU Justice League ever could.

More than ever, it’s clear that Gunn is drawing heavily from DC’s beloved Justice League International comics for his version of the team. As in JLI, Lord is the team’s leader and financier. Also like those comics, the emphasis isn’t on bringing DC’s biggest and brightest heroes together in one room, but rather focusing on a more eclectic bunch of oddballs and misfits. These are heroes who actually need the legitimacy that serving in the Justice League provides.

Most likely, James Gunn filmed this scene while shooting Superman, making it easier to wrangle Sean Gunn, Fillion, and Merced together. We wouldn’t expect the team to play a major, recurring role in Peacemaker Season 2 beyond Chris’ failed tryout. But it is nice to get a closer look at the team and a sense of their dynamic.

Above all, it’s great to see how much humor and personality Merced is bringing to the Hawkgirl role. After suffering through the Arrowverse’s misguided take on the character (“I’m just a barista!!!”), it’s clear the DCU is going to deliver a far more enjoyable version of Hawkgirl. The new Justice League is shaping up nicely.

The Return of Frank Grillo’s Rick Flagg, Sr.

As of right now, Frank Grillo really is the glue holding the DCU together. His Rick Flagg, Sr. was a major player in the Creature Commandos animated series. We know that Grillo is making his live-action debut in the role in Superman. And now Flagg is being set up to play a major role in Peacemaker Season 2.

Flagg seems to be positioned as the main villain of Season 2, though maybe “villain” is a bit harsh, considering the character’s motivations. He’s a father mourning the murder of his son. He’s also now the duly appointed head of ARGUS, meaning he has both the legal jurisdiction and the moral high ground in his feud with Peacemaker.

This all sets the stage for what should be a fascinating dynamic in Season 2. As much as Chris wants to believe he’s a changed man and a legitimate hero, there’s no getting around what he did in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. He’s a man with some serious blood on his hands. Saving the world doesn’t absolve him of those sins. How much will viewers wind up rooting for Flagg to earn his revenge and take down Team Peacemaker? This should be a fun ride.

Making Sense of the DCU Timeline

On the Flagg front, isn’t it interesting how directly this season builds on The Suicide Squad? As much as the DCU is about wiping the slate clean and starting over with a fresh continuity, some elements of the previous DCEU remain in place. At this point, it seems like The Suicide Squad now stands as the unofficial first DCU movie. Too much of that film is being referenced in the DCU to simply write it off as a relic of a dead cinematic universe.

There’s a clear timeline for the DCU beginning to form now. The Suicide Squad kicked things off in 2021, followed by Peacemaker Season 1 in 2022. Then came Creature Commandos in 2024, the first official DCU project. Next up is Superman in July 2025, followed by Peacemaker Season 2 in August 2025. Then the DCU really starts to explode in all directions, with the arrival of shows like Lanterns and movies like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

Gunn obviously doesn’t want to throw out any of the hard work he put into The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1, just because Warner Bros. is now drawing a hard line between what came before and what lies ahead. Who can blame him? And as Gunn told IGN in a recent interview, canon only matters so much. In the end, as much as these characters and stories matter, none of this is real.

“Hopefully there's authenticity and truth to those stories because we care about those stories, the characters, the actors, the performers, the animators,” said Gunn. “They all care about these stories, but it's not real.”

That being said, Gunn is well aware that he wrote himself into a corner by having the DCEU Justice League show up in Peacemaker Season 1. Somehow, Season 2 is going to deal with that loose thread.

“The truth is almost all of Peacemaker is canon with the exception of Justice League … which we will kind of deal with in the next season of Peacemaker,” he teased.

It’ll be interesting to see exactly how Season 2 works to resolve the Justice League of it all. It may have something to do with the scene late in the trailer where we see Chris venture into his father’s dimension and encounter another version of himself. The multiverse is now in play, so anything is possible, and everything can be explained away.

In any case, apart from that Justice League cameo, there’s very little preventing Gunn from simply breaking The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1 off of the old DCEU and officially making them part of the DCU. The Suicide Squad is already such a standalone project, with only a few characters/actors tying it back to the larger DCEU. And that allows Gunn the opportunity to keep Margot Robbie in the Harley Quinn role, just as we’ve seen Cena’s Peacemaker and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller carry over into the new canon. There’s no sense in throwing the baby out with the bathwater by recasting Harley when Robbie’s version has been pretty widely embraced. Joker, though? He’s a different story.

Ultimately, we suspect the question of exactly what’s canon and what isn’t in the DCU will be a lot clearer by the time Peacemaker Season 2 wraps up. We’re looking forward to the series making its long-awaited return. Just don’t skimp on Vigilante, please.

For more on the future of the DCU, see what to expect from DC in 2025 and brush up on every DC movie and series in development.

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

XCOM is one of the most beloved strategy game series of all time, with many entries since the first game's release in 1994. Right now, you can take home every single mainline XCOM game on Steam for just $10. This includes the mainline games from the 1990s and the rebooted series from 2012 onwards. With over 15,000 bundles already sold, don't miss your chance to secure to entire XCOM collection for only $10 (if purchased separately at MSRP, the total would be $269).

XCOM Complete Bundle for May 2025

IGN's in-person fan event that showcases the biggest names in games and entertainment, IGN Live, is returning to Los Angeles this June! The all ages event will take place June 7th and 8th at MAGIC BOX @ THE REEF and tickets are available here.

IGN Live will celebrate everything fans love in games, movies, TV, comics, collectibles, and so much more. Along with live celebrity interviews, playable gaming PC's, consoles, and handhelds, there will be tons of giveaways and merch! For those who cannot attend, IGN will be livestreaming our daily live stage shows on June 7th and 8th, across all of our platforms.

Latest IGN Live Reveals

See below for updates on who you can expect to see at IGN Live 2025!

Xbox Returns to IGN Live

Xbox will return to IGN Live this year and attendees can screen the Xbox Showcase and the Outerworlds 2 Direct at the official watch party at the event!

Rick and Morty Will Be At IGN Live

Adult Swim's Rick and Morty is coming to IGN Live! Voice actors Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden will be on-hand for an exclusive interview about Season 8.

Alien: Rogue Incursion Developers Coming to IGN Live

Alien: Rogue Incursion is coming to IGN Live this year! The developers will be on hand with a new look at the "Evolved Edition of the Game."

A Screening of The Old Guard Will Be At IGN Live

Come hang out with us at IGN Live for a screening of Netflix's The Old Guard, along with a special message from Charlize Theron!

Check Out IDW at IGN Live

IDW will be at IGN Live with an in-depth conversation with creators of some of the year's biggest comics and graphic novels including multiple Star Trek franchises, and the smash-hit Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.

Check back often for updates!

There’s a lot of noise in the daily deals world, but today’s list is actually useful. It's not trying to wow anyone with overhyped discounts or mystery coupons. These are just practical price drops on solid gear, books, and collectibles that people are already buying. If you’ve been holding off on grabbing a Switch 2 case or a LEGO set for your desk, now might be the time to stop putting it off.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

I think the most compelling item here is the illustrated edition of The Hobbit, which adds a layer of detail you don’t usually get in reprints. But there's plenty here to make your tech cleaner, your game safer, or your bookshelf a little more impressive. Here's what's worth looking at today.

Pokémon TCG: Prismatic Evolutions Surprise Box

Travel Carrying Case for Nintendo Switch 2

Cleaner Kit for AirPods and IPhones

The Essential Star Wars Insider Collection

LEGO Ideas Disney Pixar Luxo Jr. Preorder

Fallout Lucys Vault 33 Backpack

The Hobbit Illustrated by the Author: Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien

Pokémon Funko Pop Holiday Calendar

J400 Jump Starter with ConnectMax Tech

Elebase USB to USB C Adapter 4 Pack

9 Circles of Bullet Hell Bundle

20W INIU Portable Charger

Fallout Pip-Boy Die-Cast Replica

Buy 2, save 50% on 1 Book Sale

LotR Illustrated (Tolkien Illustrated)

ASUS TUF Gaming 27” 4K HDR Monitor

SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey QHD G65B Curved Gaming Monitor

Lexar 4TB Play M.2 with Heatsink

Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB M.2

Vibe Coding Super Bundle

Dreamegg Portable White Noise Machine

Skyrim Vinyl Box Set

Suri Electric Toothbrush

Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler

COSLUS Water Dental Flosser

Acefast AceFit Air Open Ear Headphones

GameSir Super Nova Gaming Controller

Nerf Pro Gelfire Versus Pack

Unlock Pro 3D Modeling Skills With Blender

Samsung PRO Plus + Reader microSDXC 512GB

Fallout Nuka Cola Quantum by Jones Soda

LISEN USB C to USB C Cable 240W

Pokémon Flareon Sleeping Plush

Ghost of Yotei Collector’s Edition PS5

Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 Merch

Doom & Wolfenstein Mayhem Game Bundle

IGN Plus members can score a free Steam key for the Dune: Awakening Beta this weekend! If you've enjoyed both of Denis Villeneuve's Dune films, you'll love this massive open-world take on Arrakis. The MMO is set to launch next month, but you can try out a huge portion of the game this weekend for free. Keys for this reward are limited, so don't wait to claim yours!

Claim a Free Dune: Awakening Beta Key!

CayPlay Studios, a developer cofounded by YouTuber Caylus, has announced its first project: Waterpark Simulator, a first-person game where you build and run your own waterpark. You'll design the slides, manage your employees, and ultimately customize and grow your park. Check out the announcement trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

CayPlay describes Waterpark Simulator like this: "Guests can slip, fall, rage, laugh, or go flying off one of your poorly designed slides. You can spray them with oversized water guns, pelt them with water balloons, or launch them through the air. Your park rating rises (or falls) based on how well you serve your guests, how clean and fun the park feels, and how satisfied people are with their experience. Earn money, expand your space, and unlock upgrades through a full skill tree system that lets you shape your management style."

A playable demo will be released on Steam on June 6. Wishlist Waterpark Simulator on Steam if you're interested.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

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, grossing 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. As we gear up for the fourth and final Conjuring movie, 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 by release order

How Many The Conjuring Movies Are There?

There are 9 total movies set within The Conjuring universe — three Conjuring movies, three Annabelle movies, The Nun and The Nun 2, and The Curse of La Llorona. A fourth Conjuring movie has been confirmed, while a TV series is in development for 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 eighth film you should watch if you're doing a chronological binge. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It 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.

How to Watch The Conjuring Movies by Release Date

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

• The Conjuring (2013)
• Annabelle (2014)
• The Conjuring 2 (2016)
• Annabelle: Creation (2017)
• The Nun (2018)
• The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
• Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
• The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
• The Nun 2 (2023)

How to Watch The Annabelle Movies in Order

Within The Conjuring Universe exists two separate film trilogies: The Conjuring and Annabelle. The narrative chronology of the Annabelle movies differs from their theatrical release order, so we've created this quick viewing guide to help you out.

Chronologically

• Annabelle: Creation (1955)
• Annabelle (1967)
• Annabelle: Comes Home (1972)

By Release Date

• Annabelle (2014)
• Annabelle: Creation (2017)
• Annabelle: Comes Home (2019)

Future of The Conjuring Movies

For those wondering what's next for The Conjuring films, have no fear, The Conjuring: Last Rites officially has a release date: September 5, 2025. This announcement also seems to confirm previous reports that The Conjuring 4 will be the last mainline Conjuring movie. Franchise veteran Michael Chaves returns as director for the finale.

In 2023, a TV series set in The Conjuring universe was also greenlit for the streaming service Max, though little has been revealed about who will be involved or how the series will fit into the franchise's timeline.

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

If you didn't know, the first appearance of our beloved Caped Crusader was in Detective Comics #27, originally published in May of 1939. Since then, Batman has become one of the most iconic and recognizable superheroes in history, spawning countless movies, TV shows, video games, LEGO Sets, and pretty much everything else. You'd be hard-pressed to go out and find someone who isn't at least a little familiar with Batman.

If you have a device that can access Kindle books, you can grab Detective Comics #27 for free via Amazon. This is the perfect way to dive into Batman's history and see how he's changed (or stayed the same) over the years. We highly recommend this route, since physical graded copies even in bad condition can go for over $1.5 million.

Detective Comics #27 is Free on Kindle and ComiXology

Another week, another hectic shift in the Pokémon single card market whilst trainers are waiting for Destined Rivals to drop. At least the Black Bolt and White Flare Pokémon Center preorders avoided a hostile bot takeover this time around.

The most dramatic crash this week is Greninja ex 214/167, crashing by nearly half when compared the the start of this year. We're also seeing some nice price drops across Obsidian Flames and the elusive 151 expansions. Meanwhile, Dragonite V from Evolving Skies is doing the opposite, nearly doubling in value compared to the start of this year, and the artwork alone always made this card undervalued.

Charizard V Alt Art is also a banger, depicting a Pokémon battle against Venusaur whilst slowly climbing up in value. But Rayquazza VMAX Alt Art is quite literally soaring high, scoring an extra $100 in value since the start of this year. Let's dig into all the rest of the biggest Pokémon TCG climbers and crashers of the week.

Pokémon Card Crashes

Mafia: The Old Country is set to release for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on August 8. Unlike Mafia III, this isn’t a open-world game. Set in Sicily in the early 20th century, Mafia: The Old Country is a third-person stealth shooter that tells a linear story. You play as Enzo Favara, a young man looking to work his way up through the ranks of Don Torrisi’s criminal empire. The game is available for preorder now in a couple of editions (see it at Amazon). Read on to see what comes in each one, how much it costs, and more.

Mafia: The Old Country - Standard Edition

Mafia: The Old Country - Deluxe Edition

Console

• Get it for PS5 - $59.99
• Get it for Xbox - $59.99

PC

• Get it at GMG (Steam) - $50.99 with code MAY15
• Get it at Steam - $59.99

The digital-only deluxe edition comes with the game itself, plus the following digital extras:

• Soldato Pack - “Distinctive cosmetics and a helpful Charm”
• Padrino Pack - "Lupara Speciale" Shotgun, "Vendetti Speciale" Pistol, "Immortale" Charm, "Padrino" Outfit, "Stiletto Speciale" Knife, "Eckhart Speciale" Limousine, "Cosimo" Horse and Accessories
• Gatto Nero Pack - "Bodeo Nero" Pistol, "Velocità" Charm, "Gatto Nero" Outfit, "Carozella Nero" Race Car
• Soundtrack and Digital Artbook

Mafia: The Old Country Preorder Bonus

Anyone who preorders Mafia: The Old Country gets the following digital extras for no additional cost:

• Soldato Pack - “Distinctive cosmetics and a helpful Charm”

What is Mafia: The Old Country?

Mafia: The Old Country takes place in 1900s Sicily, when organized crime was just a burgeoning enterprise. You play as Enzo Favara, fresh out of a childhood filled with forced labor, as he works his way up the criminal underworld. You hitch your future to the Torrisi crime family, who you’ll help defend their territory against rival mafiosos looking to expand their turf.

Unlike Mafia III, which was an open-world game, this new entry is a straightforward action-adventure game. Judging by the trailer, it has a strong stealth component, along with plenty of period-appropriate guns and other weaponry.

Other Preorder Guides

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

For all you space fans out there, or fans of space-themed LEGOs, here's an excellent set worthy of your collection. Amazon is offering the LEGO Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit 42179 for only $59.95, a savings of 20%. With this deal, you're paying about 11 cents per brick. This is the lowest price we've seen for this set and matches the best deal during Black Friday. Its interactive design makes it a wonderful kit for both adults and kids.

LEGO Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Oribt 42179

LEGO collectors, here's your last chance to score a great deal on an excellent LEGO set that has already been officially retired. Amazon is offering the LEGO Ideas Treehouse 21318 for $174.99, a 30% discount from its $250 list price. Note that this set was originally $200 at launch, but LEGO raised prices on several sets, including this one, back in 2022. This deal drops it to even lower than the launch price, which is almost unheard of for a discontinued set.

30% Off LEGO Ideas Treehouse 21318 (Officially Retired)

Fans of aliens, poltergeists, and awkward teenage interactions can rejoice as the first season of breakout anime series Dan Da Dan is getting a Blu-ray release. Two editions will be available, including a standard and collector's edition from June 10 – excellent timing for fans who want to rewatch the first series before Season 2 debuts on July 3. You can preorder both editions from Amazon, Target, and Crunchyroll now, with the Standard Edition costing $24.49 and the Collector's Edition costing $64.98 at most retailers.

If you’re curious about which edition to buy, especially considering the $40 price difference, we’ve broken down the details below so you can preorder with peace of mind.

Dan Da Dan Season 1 Blu-ray Preorders

Netflix is giving up the ghost when it comes to its interactive projects — and that includes the hit Black Mirror film that took the world by storm when it debuted on the platform in 2018. The streamer will remove Black Mirror: Bandersnatch from the service, alongside the interactive special Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend, on May 12.

These two titles are the last interactive projects available on the platform, so it’s clear that this marks an end of an era for Netflix as far as trying to make this type of programming take off. This move also comes at a time when the streamer is attempting to push a gaming initiative. For example, Netflix recently announced a pivot to a freshly redesigned homepage on its TV apps that features playable games like Too Hot To Handle 3 with your phone as a controller, something it will undoubtedly chase if it gets some traction.

Netflix has seemingly been planning this move for quite some time, as it told The Verge in November 2024 that the tech used for those films “served its purpose, but is now limiting as we focus on technological efforts in other areas.” It removed all but four of its interactive titles by the beginning of December 2024 and will finally complete the takedown of all interactive projects soon.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch was such a hit when it first hit the platform that it caused then-Vice President of Product Tom Yellen to commit to “[doubling] down” on interactive programming. The film starred Fionn Whitehead and Will Poulter in a choose-your-own-adventure style story that contained a cumulative 312 minutes of footage with multiple different possible endings. It centers around a young video game programmer in 1984 who is adapting a story written by a man who supposedly cut his wife’s head off, but his reality quickly starts to blur and shift. And now, you only have three more days to watch it before it disappears forever.

Image credit: Netflix.

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

The sequel to Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire has received a title and a teaser video alongside the news that the project — now titled Godzilla X Kong: Supernova — has officially entered production.

The announcement was made via the film’s official social media channels. “Please stand by. Your call is very important to us. #GodzillaXKong: Supernova | Now in production,” read the post. “Only in theaters March 26, 2027.”

The post also included a phone number to call (240-MON-ARCH) and “report a titan sighting.” The teaser that accompanied the post also tied into the phone number, as it showed the offices of Monarch, the mysterious firm that tracks the monsters known as titans. When fans call the number, it leads them to an automated message direct from the organization.

Please stand by. Your call is very important to us.#GodzillaXKong: Supernova | Now in production. Only in theaters March 26, 2027

Report a Titan Sighting. Call (240) MON-ARCH pic.twitter.com/IpqgRTTK4r

— Godzilla x Kong (@GodzillaXKong) May 9, 2025

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire cracked half a billion dollars at the global box office during its worldwide theatrical run last year (nearly $572 million to be exact), with well over half of that number coming directly from the international market.

The upcoming MonsterVerse film will be directed by Grant Sputore and was written by Dave Callaham and Michael Lloyd Green. The sixth film in the MonsterVerse franchise as well as the 39th and 14th films in the Godzilla and King Kong franchises respectively, Godzilla X Kong: Supernova stars Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Stevens, and Jack O’Connell. Additionally, Delroy Lindo, Matthew Modine, Sam Neil, and Alycia Debnam-Carey round out the supporting cast.

Though it's not part of Legendary's MonsterVerse, Godzilla Minus One was a massive hit in 2023, scoring a VFX Oscar, the first Academy Award win for any Godzilla movie.

IGN's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire review returned a 6/10. We said: "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire serves up a berserk dreamscape with plenty of payoff to please the MonsterVerse faithful. Shame about the human stuff, though."

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

Among exclusive reveals, interviews, and more in the world of gaming and entertainment, IGN Live will be hosting a screening of The Old Guard for those in attendance with a special message from Charlize Theron.

The Old Guard was originally released on Netflix on July 10, 2020, on Netflix, and tells the story of a covert group of immortal mercenaries who have been fighting to protect the mortal world for centuries.

In our The Old Guard review, we said it is a "run-of-the-mill genre action movie at first glance that becomes so much more once you dive in. Charlize Theron delivers an excellent performance as Andy, a hardened, flawed, and complicated character who leads a team of undying mercenaries, each with their own intriguing backstories that go back hundreds of years.

"The story opens the door to a fascinating mythology of ancient warriors and immortality, although things get a little clunky when it comes time to explain how it all works. Still, The Old Guard is well worth watching if you’ve got an itch for something new."

This will be the perfect way to get ready for The Old Guard 2, which is set to be released on Netflix on July 2, 2025.

We were able to speak to Theron about The Old Guard 2 and reveal exclusive new photos, and she told us that "the stakes have never been higher" than in the sequel.

Spoilers ahead for The Old Guard!

Andy is mortal now, so there's a very real possibility that she could die during any mission this time around,” Theron told us. "The last film saw some intense changes in the dynamic of the group: Andy lost her immortality, Nile [KiKi Layne] became immortal, and Booker [Matthias Schoenaerts] was exiled. We see that Andy’s leadership style has changed. Because she’s mortal now, she’s dedicating however much time she has left to doing the most good she can.”

For more, check out everything you need to know about IGN Live, which wil ltake place in downtown Los Angeles and online on June 7 and 8. Get ready for live shows, panels, giveaways, playable demos, exclusive reveals, contests, meet and greets with IGN personalities, and so much more.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.

There have been some truly inspired collabs in gaming, but I never saw this one coming: Overwatch 2 is getting a Street Fighter 6 crossover event.

As revealed on X/Twitter — and leaked a few days ago by PlayStation Network — the event goes live on May 20, "taking your fighting skills to the next level when the legendary characters from Street Fighter 6 square off in Overwatch 2," letting Overwatch fans "discover the martial artist in you."

Though the teaser isn't very long, it does give us a peek at the characters getting a fresh skin for the collab, including Zenyatta as Dhalsim, Winston as Blanka, Sigma as M. Bison, Hanzo as Ryu, Juno as the inimitable Chun Li, and Soldier: 76 as Guile. We also get to see Chun Li kick the crap out of a truck — never a bad thing — and some more familiar faces sure to make both Overwatch and Street Fighter fans very, very happy.

"Soldier 76 as Guile is sending me," laughed one commenter, whereas another simply said: "Genuinely such a stacked collab."

"A COLLAB WITH TWO OF MY FAVORITE FRANCHISES?!?" cried this player. "THIS HAS TO BE [Overwatch's] BEST ONE YET!"

Not everyone is convinced, though, with some players questioning the skin choices.

"Glad to see Winston and Sig get anything, but not having any SF6 original characters in a SF6 collab feels weak," suggested this commenter. "Manon was right there for Widow. Marisa Zarya. Jamie Weaver. Doomfist also should have probably been a lock for this, he’s the best character that fits the theme."

"Genuine question. Juri is literally a spider — why is she not Widowmaker lol?" asked this player.

And if there was any doubt that developers do listen to their communities, sometimes it's worth trying to manifest these things — this fan mocked up a Street Fighter x Overwatch crossover two years ago, and this one, also posted two years ago, took a stab at what "easy" crossover outfits could be available. (This fan really, really wants a Resident Evil crossover next.)

Last week, Blizzard unveiled its Overwatch 2 Stadium roadmap for 2025, teasing some of the heroes and features it plans to add in Season 17, Season 18, Season 19, and beyond.

Overwatch 2 brought Stadium to players when Season 16 launched at the end of April. It’s part of Blizzard’s ongoing initiative to reinvigorate the Overwatch 2 player base, which began with an all-encompassing Spotlight presentation in February. It’s led to the return of loot boxes and an improved Steam rating as players celebrate what some feel is the best Overwatch experience fans have seen in years.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Max has released a new trailer for Peacemaker Season 2, and it ramps up the Superman connections by featuring Maxwell Lord, Hawkgirl, and Guy Gardner all in the very first scene.

The trailer kicks off with Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern, and Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl interviewing, dismissively, John Cena’s Peacemaker for some sort of superhero team. It's fair to say the interview does not go well, and Peacemaker looks dejected after storming out of the building.

These are fresh looks at a few of the supporting characters who are set to appear in James Gunn’s Superman movie.

Achieving peace is a team effort.

Season ✌️ of #Peacemaker is streaming August 21 on Max. pic.twitter.com/donho5tKfJ

— Max (@StreamOnMax) May 9, 2025

Peacemaker Season 2 arrives on August 21 after the July 11 release of Superman as the third entry in the DCU (the Creature Commandos TV series officially kicked things off late last year).

The revamped cinematic universe from Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran moves away from the widely panned DC Extended Universe, headlined by Justice League, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Man of Steel, but some elements will remain.

Peacemaker is a key example of this, as Season 1 of the show arrived in the scrapped DCEU, while Season 2 arrives in the new DCU.

Gunn has said previously that "many strands will remain consistent as far as Peacemaker's story goes," though it remains unclear what will and won't make the jump from DCEU to DCU. He has confirmed all of Team Peacemaker return with the same actors, meaning John Cena in the leading role will be joined by the likes of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase, and Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo.

Gunn has also said the show will canonically take place after the events of Creature Commandos and Superman, with the events of the latter even affecting Peacemaker.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

After nine years, Behaviour Interactive is finally bringing Five Nights at Freddy’s to Dead by Daylight – and Matthew Lillard is joining in on the fun.

It’s a collaboration that has been in the works for a while, but it wasn’t until today’s Dead by Daylight PAX East presentation that the studio was ready to reveal exactly how it will keep players scared as the asymmetrical multiplayer game approaches its ninth birthday. Freddy Fazbear and his animatronic-filled pizza emporium headline Behviour’s plans for this year’s anniversary chapter, which is expected to arrive in June.

Lillard, who starred as William Afton in 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s movie adaptation, has embodied the spirit of the role once again to lend his likeness and record new voice lines for Dead by Daylight’s latest Killer: Springtrap. This evil animatronic bunny, otherwise known as Yellow Rabbit or Spring Bonnie, will be available as a Legendary Outfit when the collection eventually arrives.

Behaviour calls Five Nights at Freddy’s the “most requested license in Dead by Daylight history,” so fans should be excited to hear that the content drop will also include a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza map that is said to be filled with a buffet of Easter Eggs and surprises to uncover. More news, including a specific release date, is expected to arrive in the near future.

It's an ongoing trend to make horror movies out of stories that previously received the Disney treatment. While most in this space primarily serve as shock horror, playing on the nostalgia you feel for characters you loved as a child, The Ugly Stepsister is a surprisingly meaningful commentary on its source material. The Norwegian body horror movie takes inspiration from Cinderella, which seems a more natural fit for the genre than, say, Winnie the Pooh.

Still, the movie is appropriately disgusting, with Variety reporting a vomit incident at the movie’s Sundance premiere. It currently holds a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critic Katie Rife’s review for IGN saying: "A strong stomach is non-negotiable... as The Ugly Stepsister takes the concept of suffering for beauty to graphic, nauseating extremes."

If you want to see whether your stomach can handle it, I’m happy to let you know that you can now watch The Ugly Stepsister at home.

How to Watch The Ugly Stepsister Online

The Ugly Stepsister is now streaming on Shudder, a horror-focused streaming service that starts at $7.50/month and offers a 7-day free trial. The Shudder library is also included in AMC+ memberships. If you’re not interested in another subscription, the body horror movie is available to rent or buy from digital marketplaces like Prime Video.

The transition to streaming comes less than a month after the movie arrived in U.S. theaters, but almost five months after the movie’s initial premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The Ugly Stepsister also premiered in Norway a month before reaching North American audiences. All to say, for an independent horror movie, The Ugly Stepsister actually had a decent theatrical run.

What’s The Ugly Stepsister About?

The Ugly Stepsister (Den stygge stesøsteren in the original Norwegian) is inspired by Cinderella – the Brothers Grimm story, not the Disney movie. Per IGN's review, "The Ugly Stepsister depicts crude and agonizing cosmetic-surgery procedures that – believe it or not – are not that far off from historical reality." The blend of body horror and beauty standards has also drawn some comparisons to last year's The Substance. Here’s The Ugly Stepsister's official synopsis:

The Ugly Stepsister Cast and Characters

The Ugly Stepsister is writer-director Emilie Blichfeldt’s first feature film. The movie stars the following actors:

• Lea Myren as Elvira
• Thea Sofie Loch Næss as Agnes
• Ane Dahl Torp as Rebekka, the stepmother
• Flo Fagerli as Alma
• Isac Calmroth as Prince Julian
• Malte Gårdinger as Isak
• Ralph Carlsson as Otto
• Isac Aspberg as The Feinschmecker
• Albin Weidenbladh as The Omnivorous
• Oksana Czerkasyna as Cook
• Katarzyna Herman as Madame Vanja
• Adam Lundgren as Dr. Esthétique
• Willy Ramnek Petri as Frederik von Bluckfish
• Cecilia Forss as Sophie von Kronenberg

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

Friday the 13th fans, this is a 4K release that's well worth adding to your collection. Jason X is getting a limited edition 4K UHD release this year on May 20, but what's even better is it's currently on sale (see here at Amazon). Preorders for the 4K are listed at $28.99, which is a 42% discount from its usual list price of $49.95. If you've been itching to add this film in 4K to your library there's no better time than now to get your preorders in. Head to the link below to secure Jason X on 4K ahead of its release.

Preorder Jason X on 4K UHD

Jason X is one of the only Friday the 13th movies you can't find on streaming, making this physical release particularly valuable.

Jason X on 4K UHD Bonus Features

The 4K UHD release of Jason X is also chock-full of bonus features to check out. They are:

• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original lossless stereo and DTS-HD 5.1 surround audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Introduction to the film by actor Kane Hodder
• Brand new audio commentary with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton
• Archival audio commentary with writer Todd Farmer and author Peter Bracke
• Archival audio commentary with director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and producer Noel Cunningham
• Scoring the Stars, a brand new interview with composer Harry Manfredini
• Outta Space: The Making of Jason X, an archival documentary on the making of the film featuring interviews with producers Noel Cunningham and Sean S. Cunningham, actor Kane Hodder and writer Todd Farmer
• In Space No One Can Hear You Scream, an archival interview with writer Todd Farmer
• Kristi Is a Headbanger, an archival interview with actor Kristi Angus
• Jason Rebooted, Sean S. Cunningham on Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X
• The Many Lives of Jason Voorhees, an archival documentary on the history of the character
• By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X, archival making-of documentary
• Cast and crew interviews
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Electronic Press Kit
• Theatrical trailers and TV spots
• Stills, behind-the-scenes and poster galleries
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
• Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
• Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Matt Donato and JA Kerswell

If you're looking to add even more to your physical media collection alongside Jason's spooky sci-fi outing, there are plenty of exciting 4Ks and Blu-rays releasing over the next few months that are worth keeping an eye out for. In the realm of horror, I Know What You Did Last Summer is also getting a 4K release in June alongside more recent horror hits like The Monkey and Longlegs' 4K steelbook. You can see these movies and so many more in our roundup of upcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases.

More 4K Blu-ray Preorders

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

Springtime deals are still popping up all over the place, including on a variety of items for Xbox. If you've been looking to score some sweet Xbox deals, we're here to help you find the best discounts available on games, hardware, and accessories. At the moment there are quite a few that are worth checking out, including discounts on Metaphor: ReFantazio and Dragon Age: The Veilguard at Woot.

These deals just scratch the surface of what's out there, though. Here are the best Xbox deals available at the moment.

Best Xbox Game Deals

If you're looking to stock up on new Xbox games, there are quite a few on sale right now that are worth checking out. Some of our favorites are on Metaphor: ReFantazio, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Deluxe Edition, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Gold Edition, but there are so many more to look through. You can check out those deals and more above.

What's Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass

Game Pass has a nice rotation of new titles to play every month. If you're curious about what's in store for the start of May, we've got you covered. The Xbox Game Pass May Wave 1 lineup is:

• Dredge (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 6
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 7
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Dungeons of Hinterberg (Console) – May 7
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (Xbox Series X|S) – May 7
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Metal Slug Tactics (Console) – May 7
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Revenge of the Savage Planet (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 8
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 8
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (Cloud and Console) – May 13
  Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard
• Doom: The Dark Ages (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 15
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 16
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Firefighting Simulator: The Squad (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 20
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Police Simulator: Patrol Officers (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 20
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

Best Xbox Accessory Deals

Outside of games, there are plenty of Xbox accessory deals that are worth your time and money as well. At the moment, one of our favorites is on the HyperX CloudX Flight Wireless Gaming Headset, which has received a 40% discount at Woot. If you're looking for more storage, the Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion Card is down to $149, too.

When Should I Buy an Xbox?

In general, it is advisable to keep an eye out for sales and restocks throughout the year, as availability has improved since the initial launch of the console. Unlike the Nintendo Switch, there is no specific recommendation to wait for a sale regardless of the time of year. Instead, it's a good idea to monitor various retailers and online platforms for restock announcements and promotional offers.

However, certain events like Black Friday or other holiday seasons may bring about unique bundles, discounts, or promotional deals specifically for the Xbox Series X. These bundles may include additional games, accessories, or exclusive limited editions. While quantities for such promotions might be limited, they can provide an opportunity to get more value for your purchase.

It's worth keeing in mind that Xbox recently increased console prices as well, which you can read more about here.

Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S?

Choosing between the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S ultimately depends on your gaming preferences, budget, and specific requirements. Let's compare the two consoles to help you make an informed decision:

1. Performance: The Xbox Series X is the more powerful option, offering native 4K gaming, higher graphical fidelity, and faster loading times. It has more advanced hardware, including a larger storage capacity. On the other hand, the Xbox Series S targets a lower price point and offers a less powerful performance, targeting 1440p resolution gaming and upscaling to 4K.

2. Price: The Xbox Series S is more affordable compared to the Xbox Series X. If budget is a significant factor for you, the Xbox Series S provides a cost-effective option while still delivering a next-generation gaming experience. For example, the Series S can play Starfield at 1440p 30fps (vs 4K 30fps on Series X).

3. Storage: The Xbox Series X comes with a larger internal storage capacity, allowing you to store more games directly on the console. The Xbox Series S, however, has a smaller storage capacity, which means you may need to manage your game library more actively or rely on external storage solutions.

4. Disc Drive: The Xbox Series X includes a disc drive, enabling you to play physical game discs and enjoy a wider range of media options, including Blu-ray and DVD playback. The Xbox Series S, in contrast, is a digital-only console, meaning you can only play games downloaded from the digital store.

5. Graphics and Performance: While both consoles support ray tracing, the Xbox Series X provides a more immersive and visually impressive experience due to its superior hardware capabilities. If you prioritize cutting-edge graphics and want the best performance available, the Xbox Series X is the preferable choice.

Consider your gaming preferences, budget, and whether you prioritize top-of-the-line performance or cost-effectiveness. If you have a 4K TV, want the most powerful console, and are willing to invest more, the Xbox Series X is the recommended option. If you have a lower budget, a 1080p or 1440p TV, and don't mind sacrificing some performance, the Xbox Series S offers excellent value for money.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2025, we're trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We've got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you're trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Needless to say, legendary actor Tom Cruise has really put the “impossible” in Mission: Impossible over the years — but there’s no denying he really upped the ante for the eighth installment of the franchise, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. In fact, Cruise has revealed that M:I 8 director Christopher McQuarrie wanted him to do some actually impossible stunts for the upcoming film, but in order to illustrate how difficult the feat was, he quite literally put McQuarrie up to the trick himself.

"And then we talked about story and [McQuarrie] was like, 'Okay, I want you to go from here to here in a couple of seconds,'" Cruise explained during a recent press conference for the film in Tokyo. "I was like, 'I can't do that.' He's like, 'Okay, well, I want you to do this and this.' I was like, 'I really can't do that.'"

"It was the simplest thing,” McQuarrie added about the particular stunt that tripped Cruise up. “Anything you'd describe, [he'd] say, 'No, you actually can't do that.' And I don't hear 'can't' from him.”

But for Cruise, who has now done a whole host of death-defying stunts on the M:I films over the years, his experience really told him everything he needed to know. "I said, 'Just in terms of the speed, because the force of the air, for me to move quickly on the wing was… You just can't do it,'" the actor insisted, explaining how a “20-minute tutorial” got McQuarrie to understand where he was coming from. "You're limited by the physics of how fast the aircraft is traveling and the force of the wind, that was utterly brutal. So I just said, 'Listen, I think the best thing is if you just do it. Go out, sit in the airplane, go out on the wing, and feel it. Feel the pressure. So, here I am, training him."

McQuarrie, it turns out, loved the experience. "It was great, actually," he said. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I would definitely do it again." Cruise also explained during the conference that he’d been training for this stunt for years, and that much of getting it to work came down to choosing the right aircraft.

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning will have its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which takes place from May 13 to May 24, 2025. After that, the movie will stunt its way into theaters worldwide on May 23, 2025.

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

Fallout Season 2 has finally wrapped up production.

The news was posted to the show's social media X/Twitter account with a gif of Walter Goggins shedding his Ghoul skin in delight — literally — and the text: "Achievement unlocked!"

Achievement unlocked! Fallout Season 2 has wrapped production. pic.twitter.com/cbLNCvLLRB

— FALLOUT⚡️ (@falloutonprime) May 8, 2025

At the same time, Ella Purnell, who plays Lucy, announced on Instagram: "Aaaaand that’s a wrap on @falloutonprime Season 2 folks!"

Warning! Potential spoilers for the Fallout TV show follow.

As yet, there's still no formal premiere date, but Fallout is thought to be coming back to Amazon Prime in the first half of 2026 after the LA fires halted filming. You can re-stream the first season in anticipation, of course, or rewatch it in the summer if you were lucky – and quick – enough to snag one of the 4D UHD Steelbook edition pre-orders.

The show is confirmed to be heading to New Vegas for Season 2, and it's not just about the location itself. Mr. House is set to be a part of the new season, though how involved he'll be is still unclear. We've already seen the tease of some familiar sights thanks to previous set leaks, including this video that shows part of New Vegas and the iconic Lucky 38 resort and casino, all bright and lit up. It's certainly far from the rusty place you might expect, but there's likely a good reason.

We've also had a sneaky peek at a giant T-rex head, implying the show will have Dinky the T-Rex, the roadside mascot of Novac in New Vegas. Nothing's confirmed for sure, though, of course.

We had a great time with season one, writing in IGN's Fallout The Series review that the show is "a bright and funny apocalypse filled with dark punchlines and bursts of ultra-violence [and is] among the best video game adaptations ever made," slapping it with a well-earned 9/10.

To help tide you over until Season 2, here's our interview with Todd Howard and Jonathan Nolan covering all our burning questions after the end of Season 1.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

If there’s one thing that’s kept the name Doom up near the top of the list of first-person shooters, it’s how it’s always boldly reinventing being a badass, super powered, one-man army against the armies of Hell. Three decades ago we got the original old-school run-and-guns, then a jumpscare-laden horror shooter, then a modern reimagining of the old-school run-and-gun, and a mobility-focused action shooter in 2020’s Doom Eternal. The form that Doom: The Dark Ages takes on is actually one that is very different from Eternal, a game that I rank as one of my favorite shooters of all time. In fact, it’s so different that initially I was turned off by the heavier feel of the movement, the lack of a double jump or airdash, and the sheer chaos of having wide-open fields with seemingly hundreds of enemies closing in on me from all sides.

But a few hours into the 20+ hour campaign, my arsenal had expanded, the ways in which I could dispatch enemies had diversified, and I’d started to better understand and appreciate what Doom: The Dark Ages was and what it wasn’t. By the end of it I was left grinning like a Doomguy that just picked up a Super Shotgun as I ripped and tore until it was done

Doom: The Dark Ages’s campaign is all about setting up the dark sci-fi fantasy vibes. It follows our strong, (mostly) silent Doom Slayer before he was awoken in a Sarcophagus in a UAC space station back in Doom 2016. Of course, the Slayer himself isn’t much more than just a vehicle for badassery, so it’s not like we’re seeing a new side of him or getting any sort of deeper look at his character’s origins or motivations. Instead, The Dark Ages’ story is more about filling in the blanks in the Doom universe, diving into the history of the conflict between humans and demons, and further fleshing out both the faction of humanity defending Sentinels and the deity-like Maykrs. And in that way, it’s not only serviceable, but it also does a good job of at least taking us to both a wide variety of hellish landscapes that includes sci-fi themed medieval castles, and a very welcome trip to the Lovecraftian-inspired Cosmic Realm, which features a ton of really cool mind bending puzzles and creepy settings that are different from what we’ve seen before.

Perhaps the best thing about the story is that it no longer feels like it's just the Slayer against the nameless forces of Hell. There are human companions that are central to the plot: it regularly feels like you’re fighting alongside humanity in this giant all-out war against the demons, and there’s actual intrigue involving the mysterious Maykrs and their role in this whole conflict. This is the strongest a Doom story has ever been, even if that’s not a bar you’d have to double-jump over.

Captain Doom Slayer

Besides the setting, the big thing that separates Doom: The Dark Ages from prior entries in the series is the addition of the Slayer’s Shield, and all of the abilities that come with it. Now, rather than being forced to avoid taking damage by constantly staying on the move and jumping around like a madman, you’re often encouraged to charge straight forward into danger with your shield at the ready to either block or deflect enemy attacks. Any attack that is red can be blocked until your shield’s depleted, and anything that’s green can be reflected with a well-timed guard to not only deal substantial damage, but also stun most monsters it hits. Even on Nightmare difficulty, which is what I did my playthrough on, the parry timing is very generous, but fortunately you can fine tune it however you like in the menus, along with a ton of other handy difficulty modifiers.

The other key shield technique is a charging bash attack that can be used to quickly close the distance between you and the enemy. Think the Super Shotgun’s grapple in Doom Eternal, only faster, you can use it with any weapon, and it’s on a relatively quick cooldown. This combination of being able to use the shield both defensively to block and stun, and then offensively to quickly zip in or out, is what really elevates The Dark Ages’ combat to the stratosphere by making it still feel very fast and exciting even with the removal of things like double jumps, quick dashes, and fast weapon swaps. We get the best of both worlds, in that this Slayer is still extremely mobile, but also feels like a heavily armored tank thanks to loud footsteps and a shockwave when you land from a high jump.

The shield’s utility doesn’t end there, either. Eventually, you’ll also get the ability to toss the shield out, Captain America style, to instantly decapitate tons of fodder enemies at once. Or, if you use it against larger enemies, it will continuously buzzsaw into them, keeping them incapacitated for a short while. This is an extremely useful skill, but I found this to be especially potent against the Arachnotron enemies that like to pepper me with a constant stream of non-refelctable bullets. If they’re unarmored, I can just toss my shield to stop them from shooting, dash in, and all it takes is a single super shotgun blast to ready them for an execution.

Those abilities are key to surviving tough fights because almost every enemy in Doom: The Dark Ages has some sort of weakness like this – and unlike Doom Eternal, they are rarely weapon-specific. There’s no more switching to the combat shotgun specifically to pop a grenade into a Cacodemon’s mouth, then swapping to the rifle to snipe the guns off a Revenant, then swapping between shots of your super shotgun and ballistae to quickly burst down a Marauder or other big and beefy enemy, etc. That’s fun in its own way, and I'm sure there will be those out there like myself who will still prefer it overall, but The Dark Ages still manages to find a way to be an absolute blast without requiring a StarCraft pro’s level of APM (Actions Per Minute) on the harder difficulties.

The enemies are largely the usual suspects that have been in most of the other Dooms, You’ve got your Imps, Hell Knights, the aforementioned Mancubi and Arachnotron, and even the Cyberdemon, all of whom behave as you’d expect. Others have gotten new facelifts to better match with the new setting, like the Pinkie who’s now a mount with a demon archer riding him, and the new Cacodemon that hails from the Cosmic Realm. The Dark Ages even brings back the Vagary as a mini-boss, who hasn’t been seen since Doom 3. Overall, there’s a nice variety in the enemies, and even those you’ve fought a million times before have a few new tricks to make them fit better in The Dark Ages’ combat.

Speaking of enemies, It’s worth mentioning as well that Id has exponentially jacked up the number of on-screen nasties relative to Doom or Eternal. When you get a bird’s-eye view of a battlefield, it truly looks like all-out war against the minions of Hell. This did lead to a bit of frustration for me early on because I was often getting attacked from behind by enemies that would spawn in without warning, but all it took was some adjustment in how I approached certain combat encounters. I had to make sure that I used my shield bash to disengage in addition to engaging to keep them off my back.

One noteworthy omission from The Dark Ages is the iconic Chainsaw that has been used since Doom 2016 as a way to instantly kill a single enemy and regain ammo in the process. That has been replaced by an all new melee system that lets you get up close and personal and engage in melee brawls that also restore your ammo. I do miss the satisfaction of just sawing an Imp or other small enemy in half, but this system works better for what Doom the Dark Ages is trying to achieve by again making you rush towards the fight rather than away from it. The “ammo” pick ups for your melee attack are also much more plentiful than the gas for the Chainsaw was in either Doom 2016 or Eternal, making me run out of ammo far less, which was something I very much appreciated.

The Tools of Doom

As far as the actual weapons go, The Dark Ages plays around a lot with the look of each weapon to give it an old-timey flavor, but the functions are generally all the same as what we’ve come to know and love from this series. All the satisfyingly punchy stalwarts are accounted for: The combat and super shotguns, an assault rifle that shoots out railspikes instead of bullets (but don’t call it a railgun), a plasma rifle, and a single-shot sniper rifle-like weapon in the form of a satisfying steel ball launcher, just to name a handful. The only unique weapon of the bunch is the Skullcrusher Pulverizer, which sort of behaves like the chaingun but has a ridiculous spread that can just absolutely shred a football field’s worth of fodder enemies. It’s a fun weapon that goes great with The Dark Age’s absolutely insane amount of on-screen enemies at once, even though I typically opted to use the shield throw to mow down the hordes of fodder since there’s an upgrade that powers up the shield charge when you do so.

One interesting twist for how The Dark Ages handles its arsenal is that every gun has a sister weapon that uses the same ammo type and can be hotswapped between with the press of a button. So for example, along with a rocket launcher, there’s a grenade launcher; in addition to the aforementioned Pulverizer that does a little bit of damage spread out over a wide area, there’s a Ravager that concentrates the fire to hit single enemies. It all adds up to a ton of variety in the gunplay, and while I was never forced to swap between my weapons in the same way that I was in Doom Eternal, I still found myself jumping around from gun to gun simply because it’s fun.

But the absolute best part about the toolbox in The Dark Ages is – and this is a credit to the weapon designers at Id, because this is true for just about every Doom game – that every gun retains its usefulness throughout the entire game. Sure, I might have my favorites and gravitate more towards the Super Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, and Steelshot, but even the early weapons stay relevant once you get some upgrades into them. If I’m low on armor, I can swap to the combat shotgun that I upgraded to ignite enemies and make them drop armor shards; if I need health, I can swap to the Ravager to make them bleed h ealth pickups; and if I need to incapacitate an enemy while also dealing damage to others nearby I can throw my shield into a baddie, shoot the shield, and watch as my bullets ricochet and hit everyone else around.

To sweeten the pot, all of these abilities and weapons are sprinkled at a measured pace throughout the campaign. There was never even a chance for the gunplay to get stale because every level would give me a new gun, or a new ability for my shield, or a new melee weapon, or I’d find enough gold to afford a new upgrade at the shop that would alter something I already had in a way that made me want to use it more.

And it’s this need to upgrade that fed into my desire to explore and find both upgrade currencies and more traditional Doom collectibles like figurines, weapon skins, and lore pick ups. Appropriately, the levels of The Dark Ages welcome that exploration with open arms. While they all vary in size, the smaller stages are still big by the series standards, and the big levels are gigantic. They’re huge, open battlefields with tons of secrets, challenging enemy encounters, and more than a few breathtaking vistas.

Doomazord Power

Breaking up all of the running and gunning are giant mecha battles and flying sections where you pilot the Slayer’s dragon. Yes, the Doom Slayer has a dragon, because why not. These sections are shallow compared to the rest of The Dark Ages, with the mecha sections amounting to little more than a simple game of dodge, punch, punch, dodge, punch, punch, etc. And the dragon bits are little more than dodge, shoot, shoot, dodge, shoot, shoot. That said, they’re kind of like a turret sequence in that they’re infrequent and brief enough to never drag the pacing down, and they at least provide some cool moments in the cutscenes that precede and follow them.

And then there’s the soundtrack: holy hell. If you’ve played a Doom game before you probably know what to expect going in, but even so I was gleefully into it. It’s another banger of a heavy metal soundtrack that had me coming back to certain levels after beating the campaign and just turning down all the volume except for the music so I could listen without it being overpowered by all the sounds of shotgun blasts, explosions, and dying demons.

It feels strange to say that a game about obsessively breeding cats so you can send them into wild battles across back alleys and dirty sewers might end up being one of the most nuanced and thoughtful strategy games I’ve played in a long time, but that’s exactly what I found with Mewgenics. I got to go hands-on with the next roguelike from the creators of The Binding of Isaac for a few hours recently, and although its original incarnation was first announced a whopping 13 years ago, seeing the version we are actually getting in action has immediately made it one of my most anticipated games in the coming year.

The pitch of Mewgenics is actually fairly simple: you run a house full of cats that you can expand and upgrade day by day, and you’ll take those cats out on roguelike runs to level them up while you gather resources and items to bring back home. Each run takes the form of a series of randomized encounters and grid-based tactics battles, and you’ll have to weave a wide range of cat-based attacks and abilities together to take down all manner of rats, bugs, and rival toms and make it back in one piece.

That setup might sound somewhat familiar if you’ve played games like Darkest Dungeon, Cult of the Lamb, or XCOM, but Mewgenics does a lot that sets it apart. For starters, each cat can only go on a single adventure before retiring to a cozy life on the couch back at home (assuming you have a couch). That means a lot of the power progression as your feline fighters level up is contained within each run, and you’re not trying to build a perfect little squad of your favorite furballs that you’ll then use every single time. I still grew attached to my heavy hitters, like a glass cannon named Jarvis that could melt groups of enemies thanks to a combination of passive abilities that first split his basic ranged attack into multiple projectiles and then sent each bouncing to other enemies on hit – but once that run was done, that power played a different role.

You see, your cats back home don’t just sit around all day. They have unique personalities and desires, and even their own cat friends and enemies in the house. Put two compatible cats together in a room with some inviting decor, and they could, well… hit it off. The next day you’ll find yourself with a kitten that shares some of their traits and abilities. This is the crux of the larger metagame in Mewgenics, as you mix and manipulate bloodlines to create future generations that can start runs on a more powerful footing. Things get even more complicated as mutations and other effects are weaved in, not to mention as you start to make uncomfortable choices about inbreeding to keep certain traits “pure” at an ever-mounting cost.

Something that struck me is the way Mewgenics frequently asked me to choose between prioritizing my current run or the larger progression back at my house. For example, money can be used to buy items or level-ups at shops mid-run, but it’s also a currency you’ll use

between them – and some abilities even use it for powerful effects in combat, like hiring a hitman to help you out. Similarly, equipable items can be brought back to base and used on a few future runs (if your limited storage is big enough to hold them), which gives you a bit more control over your starting “builds” but also makes you wonder if that limited consumable is worth using now or saving for next time. You’ll also choose from a semi-randomized selection of new abilities whenever a cat levels up, and suddenly have to consider both what’s useful in the moment and most interesting for breeding later on.

There are some very cool and unique abilities, too. At the start of each run, you can give your team of cats collars that assign them a class, tweaking some of their starting powers and stats – so the green Hunter is better at a distance, while the red Fighter is all about getting up close and personal. Depending on both their class and their equipment, a cat could have dash attacks, teleportation, healing effects, elemental spells with their own interactions, and a whole lot more. A favorite of mine on one run ended up being my Necromancer’s Pestilence ability, which dealt a single point of damage to every space on the board. That let me soften up groups, easily break corpses so that they would drop loot, and even intentionally weaken my own Hunter to make use of an item that allowed them to deal more damage while at low life.

This dense tapestry of decisions to make is what made Mewgenics’ combat shine during my demo. It’s quite approachable on the surface, especially so in its earliest encounters as you are learning the ropes, but there is a deep well to get lost down for those who truly want to optimize. The order you sequence your actions on any given turn can squeak out advantages, big and small. Where you move in comparison to an enemy’s options or where you think you’ll need to get the next turn can seriously matter. Even mana management for your spells can become a whole little sub-game of its own as you try to save up for more expensive abilities or blow it all on cheaper ones that you could potentially use multiple times per turn.

Anyone who already caught the Pestilence reference may not be surprised to hear that developers Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel fondly compare this combat system to Magic: The Gathering, as well as its creator Richard Garfield’s philosophy of crafting a vast system to drop folk into and then letting them explore it – and I think the comparison is unexpectedly on point. This is by no means a card-based roguelike in the way you might think of Slay the Spire or Monster Train, but as a huge fan of Magic myself, I could hear the gears in my brain turning over its encounters in a similar way. Pondering how one ability interacts with another, how my actions might cascade into later turns, and how the loadouts of my cats could be combined into something with greater neko-potence.

There is a helluva lot to consider, too. McMillen and Glaiel tell me they knew Mewgenics was going to immediately get compared to The Binding of Isaac – somewhat unfairly, when the size of that game benefits from what is essentially a decade of content updates and DLC. While Mewgenics was first announced by Super Meat Boy developer Team Meat in 2012, it was ultimately cancelled and McMillen took the idea with him when he left, so its current incarnation was restarted pretty much from scratch about six years ago. Even still, in trying to hit the high bar set by the current version of Isaac they’ve pulled out all the stops, and say Mewgenics already has more items to find – and that’s not even counting abilities, furniture pieces, and beyond.

Some are equipable items that provide simple stat boosts, while others are weapons that give your cats special attacks – like a bag of rocks that leaves bruises or a fire hose that pushes away everything in a straight line. There are also trickier items, like a playing card that doubles the effect of any spell that costs either one or two mana exactly, or a Toxic Canister that gives your attacks Poison, but also poisons every unit at the start of battle, including allies. Some items are part of a set, too, giving a cat a bonus for wearing all the pieces – in one run, I stumbled upon all three pieces of the Transmitter set, which each hinder the wearer in some way while simultaneously providing a buff to your whole team. Apparently I got lucky finding them all in a single run, but if I hadn’t, I could have stored them at my house and then taken an eye toward finding the missing pieces on subsequent runs.

As hard as this is to believe, McMillen and Glaiel say their estimate based on testing is that it will take a staggering 200 hours to beat the final boss of Mewgenics’ story. Every run initially sends you through the same sequence of three areas, each with a boss at the end, but there are more than a dozen others to discover and fight through instead. There are main and optional quests that ask you to find certain items, reach a certain place, or deliver a certain number and variety of cats to its eclectic cast of humanoid characters. Not to mention all the special furniture you can find to decorate your house and make it as cute as can be for your precious kitties, which have stats or effects of their own. There is a lot going on here beyond the tactics roguelike at its core.

In my hands-on session, I even jumped ahead to face one of the many bosses that can show up to attack your house at various points throughout the story, which then gave me an item I needed to take back out into another run to proceed even further. While most enemies have interesting little quirks, like giant sharks that will instantly kill a cat in one hit but move incredibly slowly or cats that hide as inanimate objects at the end of their turn to test your memory, bosses push you to strategize around them even further. The slippery Boris is a wrecking ball that moves toward whoever hits it, while Radical Rat will throw out bombs that can either be avoided or defused.

But the best part about each major boss I saw, as well as some areas outside of combat, had to be the music. They are all accompanied by a jazzy tune with lyrics that match the mood of the fight. It’s such an unconventional choice that works so well throughout, and a good example of how Mewgenics is weird in the way any fan of The Binding of Isaac is likely to both recognize and adore. It’s not afraid to be gross and uncomfortable, but somehow simultaneously manages to make a game full of cat sex and poop attacks not feel juvenile. Well, okay, mostly – but it’s still a testament to how every bit of strange that’s here is a carefully considered stylistic choice, not just a cheap attempt at shock humor.

Frankly, I can’t wait to play more Mewgenics, because it is speaking my language in a half dozen different ways. Beyond not yet getting to dig into the nitty gritty of stuff like trait inheritance and house upgrading myself, the main question I was left with is how well that loop of breeding cats and then taking them out to battle will hold up over the hundreds of hours of things to do that are supposedly here. It’s impossible to truly get a sense of the staying power of a game like this after just a couple runs – things like enemy variety, level layouts, and difficulty tuning can all be the difference between enjoying a roguelike for a few weeks or a few years. But I can confidently say that I played more than enough to be very excited to find all that out.

Activision is suing the people behind a well-known Call of Duty hack it alleged is so "toxic" it's causing fans to stop playing the PC version of Black Ops 6 altogether.

The lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California and viewed by IGN, takes action against Lergware and GameHook, two Call of Duty hacks that Activision has been trying to shut down for some time.

Both hacks include a set of selftitled "toxic" functions, including features that let users "kick" other players from Activision’s multiplayer servers (sometimes referred to as a "rage" cheat), or even crash multiplayer servers entirely.

GameHook also lets players cheat by using "aimbots," which cause weapons to automatically hit opponents, and "ESP Bots," which identify opponent positions and allow players to see through walls or other obstacles.

Activision named Ryan Rothholz, known online as Lerggy, as the original creator of Lergware in its lawsuit. Activision alleged that Rothholz, of Antioch, Tennessee, developed and released Lergware in 2021 or 2022 and sold it for $25 via his website. Then, in 2023, Rothholz allegedly updated Lergware to work with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone. “The update resulted in online player 'attacks' becoming increasingly frequent, causing some users to post warning messages online,” Activision said.

In response, in June 2023 Activision sent a cease-and-desist letter to Rothholz. In response to that, Activision alleged, Rothholz posted the letter to an online Discord community dedicated to Lergware and “openly mocked Activision.”

Still, later in June, Rothholz agreed to comply with the cease-and-desist, but then “simply changed his online alias and distributed his source code to other video game hackers.”

Activision accused Rothholz of then creating a new Call of Duty hack, the aforementioned GameHook, and recruiting others also named in the lawsuit: Collin Gyetvai (“Cid”), of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and Jordan Newcombe Boothey (“Bossnight55”), of Whyalla Stuart, Australia to act as “resellers” of GameHook.

GameHook was made available for several Call of Duty games, Activision said, including Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops Cold War, and last year’s Black Ops 6. GameHook cost at least $50 per Call of Duty game, with $375 for lifetime access to a “master key” to use all GameHook versions for all supported Call of Duty games. Activision said it believes “hundreds, if not thousands” of people bought GameHook and used it to cheat in Call of Duty games.

“Activision is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that Defendants have received significant revenue from their activities, to the detriment of Activision and its player community,” the lawsuit claims.

Activision said it had given the defendants an opportunity to comply with its demands without litigation, but “rather than engage with Activision, each has ignored Activision’s outreach, necessitating this lawsuit.”

For example, in March 2025, Activision sent cease-and-desist letters to Rothholz and the other Defendants, and while online storefronts were shut down, none confirmed they would cease from creating or selling Call of Duty hacks, and none gave copies of the GameHook source code to Activision.

Activision said it believes Rothholz, Gyetvai, and Boothey are continuing to distribute or sell the GameHook hacks or other Call of Duty hacks through private channels or via the GameHook Discord server.

“Additionally, or alternatively, Activision has reason to believe that Rothholz, Gyetvai, and Boothey intend to ‘re-brand’ GameHook and offer the GameHook COD Hacks or similar COD Hacks under a different title, using different online aliases,” the lawsuit alleged.

“Activision has attempted to reach out to Rothholz, Gyetvai, and Boothey informally, but they have not responded to Activision’s outreach. Accordingly, Activision had no choice but to file this lawsuit.”

Activision wants monetary damages, injunctive and other equitable relief, and punitive damages against Defendants. It said the damages could amount to millions of dollars.

“Defendants’ conduct harms Activision’s reputation and results in the loss of significant customer goodwill,” Activision said. “In fact, GameHook has been so frustrating to COD players that it received significant attention on social media and, on information and belief, has caused players to stop playing or avoid the PC version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.”

Call of Duty has a reputation for cheating (it comes with the territory of being such a hugely popular shooter and having a free-to-download battle royale). Cheating is more prevalent on PC (Activision recently confirmed as much, to the point where it said if you believe you’ve died unfairly to a console player, it’s much more likely that they’ve used ‘intel advantage’ than cheats). So, some console players head straight into Call of Duty’s settings to turn off crossplay across the board, just to take the potential for PC cheaters ruining their day out of the equation. With the launch of Season 3, Activision even added new console-only crossplay options for regular multiplayer, although PC players who do not cheat said they were being unfairly punished.

Activision, as IGN has reported, has spent millions of dollars in the battle against Call of Duty cheat makers, cheat sellers, and cheat users, with a number of recent high-profile successes. In March, Phantom Overlay announced it was shutting down, with fans reacting in disbelief that such a prominent Call of Duty cheat provider could fall by the wayside. Also in March, IGN reported on four cheat providers that were shut down ahead of the hotly anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone.

This week, amid rising complaints about cheating across Warzone and Black Ops 6, Activision said it had shut down five more cheat makers since its last progress report (this is on top of the 20+ it’s shut down since Black Ops 6 came out last year), and had “disrupted” over 150 cheat sellers in the same period. Activision said it had also issued cease-and-desist demands to several companies that create and sell third-party hardware used to cheat in Call of Duty games, in a move widely believed to be targeting Cronus users.

A section of the lawsuit makes it clear why Activision takes Call of duty cheating so seriously: because it knows it can have a significant impact on its bottom line:

Activision works very hard to ensure that the COD Games offer consistently compelling player experiences so that customers will remain engaged in the COD Games, continue to play them for sustained periods of time, and be excited about future releases. If players perceive that a game is unfair or that the multiplayer experience is not working properly, including because others are cheating or disrupting and/or hacking multiplayer servers, players may grow frustrated with the COD Games, become less interested in playing and supporting them (including by purchasing new games and items) and may even stop playing entirely. Cheating and hacking therefore not only harms (and could even destroy) COD player communities, but also impacts Activision’s ability to offer the fast paced, stable, high-quality online gameplay millions of fans have come to expect from Activision and the COD Games.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Preorders for Pokémon TCG's new Scarlet & Violet expansions, Black Bolt and White Flare, are expected to go live at major retailers like Best Buy and Amazon from May 8 onwards in the US.

Select sets, like the White Flare Elite Trainer Box, dropped on May 9, 8am PT via Best Buy's app. Look for the "Drops" tab in the app to secure your preorder.

So what's the latest? While the Pokémon Center drop has come and gone, Best Buy now has its Black Bolt and White Flare listings up, and we're expecting stock to go live soon.

See every listing above, and bookmark each so you're ready to lock in your preorder ASAP when each set goes live. You can also see our full list of trusted retailers that will likely host preorders between now and release on July 18.

Best Buy is also putting restrictions in place for those looking to preorder, so make sure to check the following on your Best Buy account, as well as every other retailer:

• Make sure you have an account set up and logged in.
• Confirm your location and address for store pickup or shipping.
• Add the item to your cart as soon as you can for account verification and inventory checks.
• Make sure to follow on-screen prompts and not refresh or close your browser window.
• Don't try and use multiple devices to secure stock, retailers usually track your IP Address (Sometimes bypassing VPNS).
• Complete the purchase as soon as possible when adding to basket.

Where To Preorder: Pokémon TCG Black Bolt

Like previous sets, Black Bolt and White Flare will likely sell out incredibly quickly, so it'll be a massive task to find the expansions in stock.

I'll be keeping track on retailers and updating this article as preorders go live, as I'll be looking to pick up a few sealed boosters myself.

The everything below also be found at The Pokémon Center, although its currently out of stock, and its queue system when new stock is added can take a rather long time with no guarantees.

Black Bolt ETB

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

Black Bolt Binder Collection

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

Black Bolt Booster Bundle

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

Black Bolt Tech Sticker Collection

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

Where To Preorder: Pokémon TCG White Flare

White Flare ETB

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

White Flare Binder Collection

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

White Flare Booster Bundle

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

White Flare Tech Sticker Collection

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Target
• Walmart
• Magic Madhouse
• TCG Player

Release Date: Black Bolt and White Flare

Pokémon TCG's release schedule is looking chock full over the next few months, alongside the split explansion set Black Bolt and White Flare, there's also Destined Rivals releasing on May 30.

Black Bolt and White Flare will have a staggered release between July 18 - August 22, and you can find all the relevant dates to note down just below.

Available July 18, 2025:

• Scarlet & Violet: Black Bolt or White Flare Elite Trainer Box, each containing nine booster packs, an illustration rare promo card featuring Thundurus or Tornadus, and gameplay accessories
• Binder Collection, including five booster packs and a nine-pocket album featuring Zekrom or Reshiram
• Unova Poster Collection, with two booster packs from each expansion, three promo cards featuring Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott, and a full-size double-sided poster
• Unova Mini Tin, including one booster pack from each expansion, one art card, and one sticker card

Available August 1, 2025:

• Tech Sticker Collection, with three booster packs, a promo card featuring Reuniclus or Gothitelle, and a themed sticker sheet
• Unova Victini Illustration Collection, with four booster packs, a foil promo card featuring Victini, a premium parallel Poké Ball version of Victini, and an oversized foil card

Available August 22, 2025:

• Booster Bundle, including six booster packs from either Black Bolt or White Flare

Key Features: Black Bolt and White Flare

• Six Pokémon ex
• Eight ultra rare Pokémon and Supporter cards
• One illustration rare or special illustration rare card for each Unova Pokémon
• One special illustration rare Supporter card

A new card style, called Black White rare, will also debut. These cards will feature full artwork in either black or white monochrome, depending on the expansion.

Players will also be able to access Scarlet & Violet: Black Bolt and White Flare digitally starting July 17, 2025, through the Pokémon TCG Live app on iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. The digital release allows players to collect and battle with new Unova-region cards and earn in-game login bonuses.

Pokémon TCG: Best Deals Today

If you're trying to keep up with Pokémon TCG without getting ripped off or left behind, here's where to start, including the latest update on what can be bought here and now from trusted retailers in the US.

Moreover, from our latest report on the biggest Pokémon TCG crashers and risers of the week, prices on cards like Magikarp 203/193 and Pikachu ex 238/191 have nosedived by over 30% this week and are well worth considering as single buys.

While Rayquaza VMAX and Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat are making moves in the opposite direction. Whether you're hunting bargains or watching the next big spike, here's what to buy and what to keep an eye on right now.

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.

Additional contributions included by Robert Anderson.

Nintendo has tightened its user agreement, revising the terms and conditions with a tougher stance on players who hack their Switch console, run emulators, or any other such "unauthorized use."

As spotted by Game File, emails have gone out to players confirming the company has "updated the Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy," the new rules now superseding all previous versions and applying to all existing and new Nintendo Account users as of May 7. According to Game File's report, there's been around 100 changes between the existing agreement and the revised one.

Until May 6, players agreed that they "are not allowed to lease, rent, sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble all or any portion of the Nintendo Account Services without Nintendo's written consent, or unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law."

Now, however, that section has been significantly lengthened in the U.S., and now reads:

"Without limitation, you agree that you may not (a) publish, copy, modify, reverse engineer, lease, rent, decompile, disassemble, distribute, offer for sale, or create derivative works of any portion of the Nintendo Account Services; (b) bypass, modify, decrypt, defeat, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent any of the functions or protections of the Nintendo Account Services, including through the use of any hardware or software that would cause the Nintendo Account Services to operate other than in accordance with its documentation and intended use; (c) obtain, install or use any unauthorized copies of Nintendo Account Services; or (d) exploit the Nintendo Account Services in any manner other than to use them in accordance with the applicable documentation and intended use, in each case, without Nintendo’s written consent or express authorization, or unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with the foregoing restrictions Nintendo may render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part."

As pointed out by Nintendo Life, this is different again in the UK, with players agreeing that:

"Any Digital Products registered to your Nintendo Account and any updates of such Digital Products are licensed only for personal and non-commercial use on a User Device. Digital Products must not be used for any other purpose. In particular, without NOE's written consent, you must neither lease nor rent Digital Products nor sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of Digital Products other than as expressly permitted by applicable law. Such unauthorised use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable."

While Nintendo hasn't clarified what "unusable" means, exactly, the wording suggests Nintendo now reserves the right to "brick" your console if it thinks you've broken its rules. Changes to the privacy policy now also stress that Nintendo may listen to Switch users' online chats "in order to support a safe and family-friendly online environment and to detect violations of the Nintendo Account Agreement and other harmful or illegal interactions."

The changes likely reflect some of Nintendo's recent frustrations, such as its high-profile piracy cases, as well as next month's launch of the highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2, which is set to debut on June 5.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live on April 24, with the price still fixed at $449.99 — and they went about as well as you'd expect. Meanwhile, Nintendo has issued a warning to U.S. customers who applied for a Switch 2 pre-order from the My Nintendo Store, saying release date delivery is not guaranteed due to very high demand. Check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide for more.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive has released Patch 1.2.3 for its well-received role-playing game across all platforms.

The update makes a long list of fixes and, crucially, balance changes, including nerfing Clair Obscur’s most game-breaking build (patch notes below).

Sandfall had signalled this change was coming, saying it hadn’t planned to make any balance tweaks this early — just bug fixes, “unless something clearly stood out.”

“Well, Stendhal did,” the developer continued.

The build in question is (was!) for young fencer Maelle and a sword called Medalum, which unlocks a Virtuose Stance that deals 200% bonus damage. Players were combining this with ability-stacking and the Stendahl skill, which deals extreme single target Void damage, to dish out billions of damage, enough to kill the final boss in just one hit.

“It was underwhelming for most of development, so in our final pre-release balance pass, we gave it a big damage boost — and clearly overdid it. It ended up overshadowing most other options,” Sandfall said.

“We still want you to be able to break the game — and you absolutely still can — but Stendhal was making it a bit too easy.”

The nerf is included in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s first full hotfix set. While Stendhal is still a strong single-hit skill with great synergy potential, it’s now more in-line with everything else.

Meanwhile, the patch fixes what sounds like a bug that was making Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance, instead of doubling only Burn damage.

Here's the relevant points from today's patch notes:

• Fixed Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of doubling only Burn damage.
• Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.

Clair Obscur is a breakout hit for Sandfall, and has already sold over 2 million copies. It’s worth remembering that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was, alongside Bethesda’s Oblivion Remastered, a day-one Game Pass title. That makes this sales milestone all the more impressive.

When Bethesda shadow-dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered amid the launch of fellow role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, most thought there could be only one winner. However, it turned out that there was plenty of room for both games to succeed.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has done so well that French President Macron has praised the development team. Be sure to check out our tips for the important things to know before heading into the game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 update 1.2.3 patch notes:

Steam Deck

• Fixed backgrounds of various menus not displaying properly on the Steam Deck

Various Ultrawide Fixes

• Gameplay no longer becomes zoomed after a cutscene occurs in ultrawide resolutions
• The Options menu image will no longer be stretched in ultrawide resolutions
• Combat UI now adapts correctly to ultrawide resolutions
• Game will no longer minimize upon changing settings in ultrawide resolution
• Cutscenes won’t letterbox in 32:9 aspect ratio
• Title screen now displays fullscreen when the game is launched in ultrawide resolution

Mouse and Keyboard

• UI button prompts in Expedition Menu are now visible and fully able to be triggered with Keyboard
• Mouse buttons do not become unresponsive after first use
• With mouse cursor on screen, using 'WSAD' or directional arrows to navigate in UI or trigger any other functionality will no longer hide the cursor instead of doing the intended action
• Left Mouse-button click will no longer block the player from using Keyboard to navigate menus
• Mouse input is not lost after the first Jump counter attack if it is pressed only once

Fixed areas of the world map where you can get stuck:

• Between lanterns scattered on the ground near Stone Wave Cliff portal
• While walking on the ship wreck near the Forgotten Battlefield level entrance
• Between lanterns on the ground near Bourgeon encounter next to Stone Wave Cliffs level
• Between two small rocks located between Spring Meadows and Abbest Cave
• Between vases and corals when jumping from rooftopps
• Between various rocks
• In ruins behind Flying Manor level entrance
• Near the bridge between Flying Waters and Spring Meadows
• In the rocks on the World Map, near Flying Waters
• Next to hardened land, close to the Flying Waters location exit

Fixed situations where Esquie specifically would get stuck (poor guy):

• When taking off from paint bridges, making him fall through the bridge and restrict movement
• When flying into bottom parts of levitating structures near Visages
• Near the Flying Waters entrance level
• Near a giant hammer when traversing close to Blades' Graveyard level

Weapon and skill fixes and tuning:

• Fixed Lithelim attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Vitality scaling from A to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Luck scaling starting at D.
• Fixed Blizzon attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Luck scaling from B to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Defense scaling starting at D.
• Fixed Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of doubling only Burn damage.
• Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.

Other fixes

• Boss encounter in Stone Wave Cliffs can now be finished on NG+
• You will no longer be blocked by the Journal UI window after opening the first Journal in the Spring Meadows
• Fixed being unable to shoot in Free aim while exploring levels due to worn triggers
• Lune and Monoco no longer spawn in same place during end of theirs Level 6 relationship quests if they are completed without going to camp
• If at camp you pick “remember the objective”, then quickly choose to "go to sleep" and immediately after press "leave", the screen no longer goes black
• You can no longer trigger the "Discovering the truth" cutscene in Old Lumière a second time in a row, splitting the party forever with only Verso and Maelle in it.
• Update to rolling credits

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The writer of the Wesley Snipers Blade trilogy of films has said he is ready to answer the call from Marvel chief Kevin Feige to help sort out Mahershala Ali’s M.I.A. MCU reboot.

The once-upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film has gone through its fair share of roadblocks over the years, but it appears Blade is well and truly stalled with little hope that it will ever pick up where it left off.

Last month, rapper and artist Flying Lotus took to X / Twitter to discuss his role in the project, and he let slip that whatever Blade once was is, in fact, no more. "I guess we are so far from it even being a possibility now but. Yeah I was signed on to write music for the new BLADE movie before it fell thru," the DJ, who recently directed Shudder’s new sci-fi horror ASH, explained. "Maybe it'll come around again but I doubt it. Would have been fun tho."

The day prior to Flying Lotus’ tweet, Sinners costume designer Ruth E. Carter confirmed during an appearance on The John Campea Show that she was set to design costumes for Blade prior to production falling apart — and worse still, the film was supposed to be set in the 1920s, which would have undoubtedly made for some seriously cool costume design, not to mention production design as well.

And actor Delroy Lindo — who was also attached to star in the film alongside Ali as Blade for a period of time — also opened up about the demise of the production just days before Carter’s reveal.

"When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input," he recently told Entertainment Weekly. "And in the various conversations I had with producers, the writer, the director at the time, it was all leading into being very inclusive. It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form. And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails."

Blade was first announced at San Diego Comic Con back in 2019 and if all had gone to plan, fans would be looking forward to immersing themselves in the film this coming November. The project has cycled through several directors at this point, but none, including Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq, have stuck with the film.

Now, speaking to ScreenRant, David S. Goyer, who wrote all three movies in the original Blade trilogy and even directed 2004’s Blade: Trinity, wondered what was taking so long.

“I would,” Goyer responded when asked if he’d write Marvel’s Blade reboot. “I’ve always loved the character and I love him. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines wondering, ‘What in the world is going on? Why is it taking so long?’ Because I’m a huge Marvel fan myself, and I’ve just been totally puzzled.”

It’s been just seven months since Blade was removed from Marvel’s release schedule — and the studio has yet to confirm a new release date for it. That said, a month after the film was pulled from the calendar, Feige made it known that Marvel Studios still planned to make a Blade movie happen some way, somehow.

"We are committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala's take on him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You're all up to date on what's happening," he said during an interview with Omelete in November 2024. "But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU.”

Meanwhile, MCU film Deadpool & Wolverine, which saw Snipes reprise his role as Blade in cameo form, was an enormous hit, making $1.3 billion at the global box office. Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds has called for Snipes' Blade to get a send-off film akin to Hugh Jackman's Logan.

Reynolds said that 1998's Blade and its sequels created a market for superhero films to exist, and without them there wouldn't be the likes of X-Men or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"There is no Fox Marvel Universe or MCU without Blade first creating a market," Reynolds said on X/Twitter. "He’s Marvel Daddy. Please retweet for a Logan-like send-off."

Earlier this month, Reynolds was reported to be in the "early stages" of trying to bring a Deadpool and X-Men movie to life. As reported by THR, Reynolds' idea for this ensemble film would feature Deadpool, but not as the main character. Instead, he would share the spotlight with three of four other X-Men characters. In fact, it is said Reynolds wants these other characters to take center stage so they can be "used in unexpected ways."

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

According to Cineverse, which has acquired the rights for the third Silent Hill film in the U.S. when it releases later this year, Return to Silent Hill will be a "faithful adaptation" of the original Silent Hill 2's story.

“Silent Hill is one of the best video game franchises, period, and Christophe Gans did a phenomenal job capturing the atmosphere of the games once again with Return to Silent Hill,” Cineverse executive director of acquisitions, Brandon Hill, told Variety.

Director Christophe Gans added: “I am delighted to partner with Cineverse, which has shown a genuine understanding of fanship. Return to Silent Hill is an adaptation created out of deep respect for a true masterpiece of a game, Konami’s iconic Silent Hill 2. I hope fans will enjoy and be fulfilled with the experience this new film has to offer."

The film's plot will feel familiar to anyone who played the original Silent Hill 2 or the 2024 Bloober remake. It follows "James (Jeremy Irvine), a man broken after being separated from his one true love (Hannah Emily Anderson). When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil" and "terrifying figures both familiar and new." It was unveiled in October 2022, but it took until May 2024 for us to get our first glimpse at Return to Silent Hill's version of Red Pyramid Thing — AKA Pyramid Head.

Gans' first Silent Hill movie, based loosely upon the first game, follows mother Rose as she searches for her missing daughter, Sharon, in a town where it snows during summer. Although the screenplay was written by Oscar-winning writer Roger Avary, who wrote Pulp Fiction, we thought Gans' first adaptation was a mediocre 5/10, writing: "So there we have it. Our worst fears realized yet again. The video game-to-film genre has endured more than a decade of mediocrity. Silent Hill is probably the smartest and best-looking video game adaptation yet, it just doesn't have much else going for it. After all, video games are about entertainment, and Silent Hill is a chore to sit through."

The second movie, Silent Hill: Revelation — which was not directed by Gans but instead by Michael J. Bassett — was based loosely on sequel Silent Hill 3. That secured a less favorable 4.5 in our review: "Silent Hill Revelation 3D is an inferior sequel in every way, shape and form, a horror sequel that fails to either intrigue or scare, and one that just might have killed the franchise cold-dead."

Return to Silent Hill is slated to release sometime later this year, with Cineverse promising a "wide theatrical release in America."

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted James Bond has "nothing to worry about" despite the ongoing tariff war.

This week, the U.S. and the UK signed a trade deal and as part of the announcement, Trump said he’d consider lowering levies on UK-made films, despite imposing 100% taxes on foreign movies.

The 007 franchise is often filmed at England’s famous Pinewood Studios, but it is a globe-trotting production, with exotic locations part of the appeal of each movie.

Answering a question posed by The Times, Trump said his administration planned to have a separate discussion on tariffs on UK films, specifically, and added that he was friends with Sean Connery, who famously played James Bond from 1962 to 1983.

Here’s Trump’s quote in full:

“As you know we’re putting tariffs on that particular film set, the movie makers, and we’re going to be doing some tariffs to get that because a lot of them have left this country. They all live here, the money comes from here, everything comes from here, but they make them in other countries. So, we’re gonna do something to bring them back, maybe to a large extent.

“But James Bond has nothing to worry about, that I can tell you. And you know, Sean Connery was a friend of mine. Sean Connery was responsible for my getting zoning in Aberdeen. He said, ‘Let the bloody bloke build his golf courses.’ I was like four years into the process, and it was impossible in Aberdeen. He just stood up one day and he said that. As soon as he said that I got the approvals in about two minutes. He was a great guy, Sean Connery.”

If you're looking for Anime Mania Codes now that the game has had a re-release, you're in the right place. We've checked high and low to bring you all the new codes for the Roblox experience, which will help you get closer to creating your dream team with your favorite anime characters.

Working Anime Mania Codes (May 2025)

The current and active Anime Mania Codes for this month are:

• WelcomeNewAnimeManiaPlayers! - 500 Gems, 1,000 Gold (NEW)
• THANKSFOR175KLIKES - 2,000 Gems (NEW)
• SOLOLEVELINGBUFFS - 1,250 Gems (NEW)
• MONEYMONEY - 5,000 Gold
• FIRSTFREECODE - 500 Gems

Expired Anime Mania Codes (May 2025)

As of this month, these codes no longer work:

• SORRY4DELAY
• ManiaIsBack
• REVIVAL??
• HotFixes
• YAKRUSFINALGOODBYE
• SORRYFORTHEBUG
• THANKSFOR150K
• NEWCODEISLIVE
• BIGMOMUPDATE
• BIGMOMUPDATE1

How to Redeem Anime Mania Codes

Anime Mania has a straightforward process when it comes to redeeming codes. You just need to follow these steps:

1. Open the Anime Mania Roblox experience
2. Look on the bottom left of the screen to find blue buttons
3. To the right of roll, and in the middle you'll find Codes
4. Press Codes and copy the codes from this article in there
5. Hit submit and enjoy your bonuses!

Why Isn't My Anime Mania Code Working?

If your Anime Mania code isn't working, it's usually because of two reasons. We test all codes before we upload them, so if you find one on here that doesn't appear to be a valid code, you may have typed it in incorrectly or accidentally included an additional space. Check for any extra spaces first, and be sure to copy the code directly from this article. Roblox codes are often case-sensitive, so the code will appear here exactly how it should be used. Alternatively, the code may have been expired. Typically, a Roblox experience will say "code expired" when this is the case.

How to Get More Anime Mania Codes

We check for new Roblox codes every day, so if you want to stay up to date with Anime Mania and code drops, your best bet is to check back here. If you want to hunt for them yourself, you can always visit the Anime Mania Discord server, or check out Yakrus on X.

What is Anime Mania in Roblox?

Anime Mania is a fighting game, where you'll curate a team made up of popular anime characters. Once you've selected your team, you'll choose your character and take on waves of enemy in an arena. You can freely move around and make use of special attack moves to keep enemies at bay.

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.

The latest casting news for Spider-Man: Brand New Day has sparked excited speculation that Miles Morales may finally be set to make his MCU debut.

Deadline reported that Liza Colón-Zayas, best known for playing Tina Marrero on FX’s The Bear, has joined the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

While her role remains unknown for now, MCU fans are speculating it signals Miles Morales’ appearance in the film. Some are suggesting Colón-Zayas will play Miles’ mother, Rio Morales, who has already appeared in the comics, the animated films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and the Marvel’s Spider-Man video game series.

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact Colón-Zayas is of Puerto Rican descent and grew up in New York. Miles Morales is, of course, of Puerto Rican descent and grew up in New York.

However, some are saying the addition of Miles Morales to the MCU is wishful thinking, and Colón-Zayas may instead play a mother-type figure for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, replacing Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May, who died in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Colón-Zayas joins Stranger Things‘ Sadie Sink in Brand New Day. Sink’s casting also sparked significant speculation, with some pointing to X-Men character Jean Grey (Sink herself has remained coy on the rumors). Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, who play Peter’s love interest MJ and close friend Ned respectively, are expected to return, according to Deadline.

If you've ever wondered what a prospective Pope does to pass the time, wonder no more; according to a close family member, the recently elected Pope Leo XIV is just like us, playing games and watching movies in his downtime.

As we reported earlier this week, Edward Berger’s sensational papal thriller Conclave took moviegoers by storm last year, prompting some real-life religious leaders — including those who had participated in this week's actual conclave to select a new Pope — to look to the film for guidance given its “remarkably accurate" portrayal of the process. That included Robert Francis Prevost, who's just been elected as Pope Leo XIV.