The Land of Shu is full of dangers, and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers doesn’t always explain its mechanics. We’ve teamed up with the experts at Maxroll to bring you a beginner’s guide, builds to crush the game’s hardest bosses, additional resources and mechanical overviews, and much more.

Beginner's Guide

Get started with Maxroll’s Beginner's Guide. Combat in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is different from a lot of other Soulslikes, as your main resource Skyborn Might revolves around getting “perfect dodges” called Shimmers (think Sekiro but with hitting B instead of LB). You can then spend Skyborn Might to empower your weapon skills, or instantly execute a charged heavy attack. This is particularly useful because you can use charged heavy attacks to stagger foes, opening them up to a powerful Obliterate attack. Maxroll’s Beginner’s Guide also covers topics like leveling up using the Impetus Repository system, how the game’s unique Madness system works, and the various character progression systems including Temperance, Benedictions, Disciplines and more. Then, learn how to traverse the land of Shu, find hidden secrets and interact with Wuchang's riddle doors.

Progression Systems

During Chapter 1 - Worship’s Rise, you’re introduced to several progression systems. Each system makes Wuchang a little stronger and by combining them you’re able to make some truly powerful builds that cut through the game’s hardest bosses with ease.

Weapons are the core of any build, the game offers five different weapon classes; Longsword, Spear, One-Handed Sword, Dual Blades, and Axe. Each weapon has a unique move set and a pool of customizable Disciplines. In addition, each weapon within a class has its own unique weapon skill.

• Check out Maxroll’s Weapon guide to learn more about your options, or browse all of the available Weapons.
• Weapons have unique skills, some of which can trivialize bosses. These Weapon Skills are powerful and can be further enhanced by expending Skyborn Might.
• Each weapon offers several Disciplines, custom moves that can be used with L2/LT. Learn the best with Maxroll’s Discipline guide or browse all of them in the database.
• Benedictions are gem-like enhancements socketed into your weapon. You can use one Oath type Benediction, one Wisdom and one Memory. Learn the best with Maxroll’s Benediction and Benediction Sets guide or browse the database to see all Benedictions and Benediction Sets.
• Weapons are enhanced through the Impetus Repository, the unique level-up system in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. Learn more with Maxroll’s Impetus Repository guide, or browse all of the Impetus Repository skills in the database.
• Temperance provides a powerful in-combat buff to Wuchang. She can insert various needles into her acupoints to change the element of the buff, or add unique effects. Learn more with Maxroll’s Temperance and Needle guide or browse the list of Bone and Stone needles.

Weapons aren’t the only item(s) you can equip in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. In addition, you have access to a variety of Armor Sets each of which has a unique appearance and provides slightly different stats. You can also use Jade Pendants that provide small bonuses, use consumable items (some of which are refilled when you rest at a Shrine), and equip powerful spells capable of unleashing devastation on bosses.

• Learn more about Armor and Pendants with Maxroll’s dedicated guide, or browse the database to peruse all of the Armor and Jade Pendant options available.
• Spend Skyborn Might to cast powerful spells, learn the best with Maxroll’s Magic and Spellcasting guide. Or simply browse through all of the Magic, Feathering and Utility spells.

Burning Questions

In addition to explaining the game’s mechanics and progression systems, here’s a short list of guides from Maxroll that answer some burning questions like “how do I beat Commander Honglan” or where to find the most powerful defensive spell in the game!

• How to Farm Red Mercury
• How to beat Commander - Honglan (with a full build)
• How to get Ethereal Form

Plus, check out these early-game guides from IGN. Blocking and "parrying" aren't automatically built into Wuchang's moveset:

• How to Block
• How to Parry

Builds

Each of the game’s five weapons has a unique playstyle. The Longsword is a balanced weapon that acts as a middle ground. Spears have great reach and excellent Disciplines, but have a weaker charged heavy attack animation. One-Handed Swords have long animations and low damage but provide Spell Damage, enabling a dedicated caster archetype. The Dual Blades reward all out aggression as you clash through enemy attacks and heal yourself. Axes hit hard, staggering foes and stopping them in their tracks, but they also tend to be slower and have higher stamina costs.

• Dual Blades Blademaster
• Spellcaster Build
• Axe Rampage Build

Database

Use Maxroll’s Wuchang: Fallen Feathers database to learn more about all of the items in the game. This includes Weapon scaling at different upgrade levels, defensive stats on armor and spell scaling. You can also learn about the materials you need to upgrade your Weapons, Manna Flask and more. You can use the search feature to find exactly what you want or browse different categories to learn about your options. If you want more details, click through to an item's page.

More to Come

That’s it for now, Maxroll is hard at work adding a Spear build, along with more resources. Check out their Wuchang: Fallen Feathers page for more.

By: IGN staff with help from Maxroll

Some days the deals just feel like kismet. I’ve been running my 15-year-old son through Red Dead Redemption for his first time, and while watching I’ve fallen head-over-spurs for it all over again. Serendipitously, I now see it’s also gone on sale today for you! Pro tip, though: when that Mexico section opens up, stay on your bloody horse. Trust me. Don’t do what my boy did and go pick flowers. You’ll ruin one of gaming’s most magical moments. *Sigh*

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, In retro news, I’m using a Critical Finish from Nightmare’s soul-devouring blade to ignite a 16-candle cake baked for SoulCalibur IV. As a series fan since ye olde SoulBlade days, I was always going to love this, and it's a sin that it's no longer available to buy.

Back at launch, it felt like a final-form moment for the franchise. The visuals were blisteringly sharp, the online play was a game changer, and the Create-A-Soul feature became a dangerously deep time sink. That said it was the collision of Force powers and medieval steel that made jaws drop. Nobody expected Yoda (X360 version), Darth Vader (PS3) or Starkiller (both) to cross swords with Mitsurugi and Ivy. Yet here we were, mashing combos and dodging Force Chokes. It was absurd, brilliant and unforgettable.

If you're in need a USB car charger for your car but don't want to deal with a rat's nest of pesky cables in your glovebox, one solution is a retractable cable. Amazon is currently offering a Lisen 57W Car Charger with retractable 30W USB Type-C cable for just $9.99 after you apply coupon code "Q7O2ANYT" during checkout. This little car charger plugs into a standard 12V vehicle socket and can charge any fast charge an iPhone 16 or Nintendo Switch at their fastest rate.

Lisen 30W Retractable Car Charger for $10

It’s not hard to imagine laptops as the de-facto computer for students. After all, why not use a computer that you can haul around to all of your classes, right? Well, if you do most of your work at a desk, whether it’s in a dorm or at home, prebuilt PCs offer better performance, and are great for creating a productive environment for you to focus on your schoolwork. Pop a good graphics cards in there, and you can start playing the best PC games the minute you’re done with your homework.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Prebuilt PCs for Students:

For a lot of people, having a computer you can haul around to all of your classes is super important, and could even be required depending on your courseload. But students aren't a monolith, and with the rise of online coursework, you could be doing a lot of assignments at home. If portability isn't a concern, a desktop offers huge advantages to performance. Because system manufacturers don't need to factor in battery life, you get the full performance your components are capable of (at least most of the time).

• Why you may want to consider a gaming laptop for school

It's definitely a trade-off, but it could be worth it, especially if you're serious about playing games in your downtime and don't want to settle for the weaker performance that laptops offer.

1. Dell Tower Plus Desktop

Best Prebuilt PC for Students

2. Apple iMac 24 (2024, M4)

Best All-in-One PC for Students

3. HP Victus 15L

Best Budget Prebuilt PC for Students

4. Lenovo Legion Tower 5i

Best Prebuilt Gaming PC for Students

How to Choose a Prebuilt PC for Students

If you’re in school, it’s unlikely that you have thousands of dollars to spend on meaningless fluff, so when setting out to buy a prebuilt PC, you need to make sure you get what you pay for. A lot of features like RGB lighting and liquid cooling, while nice to have, don’t really make the computer any better at actually getting work done. You need to have a budget set ahead of time, but what’s perhaps most important is knowing where that money is going to go.

For most people an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 (or the AMD Ryzen equivalent) is going to be more than enough. Some folks in STEM fields might be able to use the extra power you can squeeze out of a Ryzen 9 or Core i9 chip, but even then, the Core i7 is going to save you hundreds of dollars, which may be more important.

Picking the right amount of RAM is crucial, though. Because of how heavy Windows 11 has grown in recent years, 16GB of memory is the minimum you should aim for. That way, your computer won’t lock up when you open 50 Chrome tabs in a mad studying session. Again, if you’re a STEM student, or you’re doing something involving a lot of video editing, 32GB of RAM should be your target.

In 2025, you need an SSD, period. The days of spinning drives as system drives are over. As for the capacity, though, it really depends on how you use your computer. If you’re saving most of your work in the cloud, you can probably get away with a 512GB system drive and be fine. However, if you need to store most of your data locally, a 1TB drive isn’t going to break the bank.

As for your graphics card, it’s a luxury when you’re in school. Unless you’re working with large data models or working in video production, you can probably get away with integrated graphics or a low-end discrete GPU. Though, if you want to use your computer to play PC games in your downtime – you are reading IGN, after all – figure out what resolution you want to play games at and then go from there. If you’re using a 1080p monitor an AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT or Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 will be more than enough.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. She's been writing about gaming PCs for almost a decade and has been building them even longer. You can follow her @Jackiecobra.

Xbox Game Pass revenue reached a new record for Xbox over the last year, achieving "nearly $5 billion" in revenue for the first time.

This comes from the company's Q4 and full-year earnings results, covering the last twelve months ending June 30, 2025. While CEO Satya Nadella announced the milestone on the call, he did not provide specific revenue numbers for Game Pass.

Nadella also did not share subscriber numbers. That said, Game Pass subscribers are confirmed to have reached 34 million back in February 2024, and a Microsoft employee's profile suggested just two months ago that this number had reached 35 million, though this is unverified.

Some of that growth likely comes from price hikes on the service that kicked off in July of last year. But it hasn't hurt that Xbox dropped a number of new first-party games on Game Pass especially in the last quarter of the fiscal year, including The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion: Remastered, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Overall, gaming revenue for Xbox was up 10% year-over-year and Xbox content and services revenue was up 13%, driven by growth in first-party content and yes, Xbox Game Pass. Hardware revenue was down year-over-year by 22%.

Despite these increases, Xbox recently laid off hundreds of workers across various parts of its gaming business and canceled multiple projects, including Everwild and Perfect Dark.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Starting today, Walmart has slashed the price of the 75" Sony X85K 4K Google TV down to only $648, a savings of $650 or 50% off. Free delivery is included. This is $150 less than the best deal during Black Friday or Cyber Monday and the lowest price I've seen so far for this particular size and model. The X85K is an older generation model, but it still has all the features you want in a current-gen gaming TV.

75" Sony X85K 4K Smart TV for $648

Xbox just had a great Q2...and it might have PlayStation to thank. Or is it PlayStation that should be thanking Xbox?

Per data shared from Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, six of the ten best-selling games on PlayStation consoles in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2025 (April through June) were published by Microsoft.

Most of those games were new. Forza Horizon 5 debuted at No.2 for the quarter (just behind Elden Ring Nightreign). The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Remastered was right behind it. Doom: The Dark Ages debuted at No. 6 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle came in at No.8.

If you're looking to upgrade your gaming PC and want to keep your budget to under $1,500, then one deal stands out above all the rest. Walmart is offering the iBuypower Element Pro gaming PC equipped with an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU for just $1499 with free delivery. This was the best "high-end" gaming PC deal during Prime Day - better than anything I found on Amazon - and it's still the best deal I've seen so far at this price point.The Radeon RX 9070 XT is an outstanding graphics card that can comfortably run any game at up to 4K resolution.

iBuypower Element Pro Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming PC $1499

Developer NetEase Games has pulled back the curtain on Marvel Rivals Season 3.5, revealing a first look at Blade and many of the other additions coming in August.

The studio offered a breakdown for everything included in the mid-season refresh today, including how players will be able to use the legendary comic book Daywalker’s abilities to cut through the new content included in the upcoming August 8 update. It follows the launch of Season 3: The Abyss Awakens – and Jean Grey – just weeks ago and is a sign that NetEase intends to stick to its quick content release schedule.

Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 Adds Blade and New Team-Ups Next Week

Blade’s introduction into Marvel Rivals as an actual playable character and not just a creative bit or world-building has been a long time coming. The infamous vampire-hunting hero first made his debut all the way back in Season 1, but has been sidelined as an NPC since.

Now, players finally have the chance to control Blade for themselves, and NetEase didn’t hold back. He’ll arrive next week as a Duelist, using his shotgun as a mid-to-close-range weapon before going in for the kill with his Ancestral Sword. Finally, players can use the Sword of Dracula for Blade’s ultimate ability, allowing him to tear through entire enemy teams with style.

“Almost a century ago, Eric Brooks was born of two worlds: the light of his mother's embrace and the dark of the vampire that attacked her,” a description from NetEase says. “After embracing his existence as a dhampir, he became the Daywalker, the ultimate vampire hunter, combining unmatched combat skills and unwavering supernatural abilities.

“When Dracula reigned over New York City, it was none other than Blade who confronted him first. By then, however, it was too late. Dracula had mastered the almighty power of Chronovium, defeating the Daywalker and imprisoning him within the castle dungeon.

“After Dracula's fall, Blade was sent to Wakanda to recover, but his story is far from over. Now recruited by Shuri to save all existence, Blade stands awake and at the ready against the dark forces of Hela and Knull.”

With the launch of the Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 update next week comes changes to the team-up abilities. Guardian Revival and Atlas Bond are both being removed from the experience, and Loki is being removed from Ragnarök Rebirth. In place of these adjustments come two new team-ups: Duality Dance and Vibrant Vitality. The former includes Adam Warlock and Luna Snow, while the latter brings Mantis together with either Groot or Loki. Existing team-ups are also expanding, with Iron Fist joining Chilling Assault, Star-Lord joining Rocket Network, and Blade joining Lunar Force.

NetEase Is Making a Splash With Marvel Rivals in August

Also set to join NetEase’s popular hero shooter come August 8 are adjustments to how players can help maintain a positive environment in their matches. In what the studio calls “Operation: Shield the Community,” players will be able to utilize a custom text chat filter, allowing users to mute specific words. NetEase says it will monitor popular muted words, which may then be added to its official list, while also saying that it’s been able to monitor all in-game voice chat conversations since July 24.

Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 will also introduce increased penalties for players who leave in the middle of Competitive game modes. Examples include longer bans from Competitive play and larger point deductions, with remaining players gifted point compensation at the end of affected matches. Leaver penalties will be handled on a case-by-case basis, with NetEase promising to speed up the appeals process for those looking to appeal a ban.

Finally, the new Resource Rumble game mode and its Throne of Knull map will arrive later in the month alongside an August 22 update. NetEase stops short of detailing exactly what makes these additions stand apart from other maps and modes but teases more with plans to premiere a gameplay deep dive soon. Expect to see Resource Rumble first launch in Quick Match before it joins Competitive at a later date.

Marvel Rivals is chugging forward as NetEase works to maintain the two-month seasonal release schedule it promised back in April. It means more characters will be added faster as the team continues to address player feedback with frequent updates.

Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 launches next week. While we wait for full patch notes, you can see how the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps reacted to the Invisible Woman’s infamous Malice skin.

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

Taron Egerton has the look and the swagger to be the next James Bond — but the Kingsman star isn’t actually interested in taking on the now-vacant iconic role. In fact, he doesn’t even think he’s right for it.

He flat out said no when asked in a recent interview with Collider if he would try to get the part in the next film and went on to explain: “I don’t think I’m a good choice for it. I think I’m too messy for that.”

Egerton, who played Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman, is a huge Bond fan, “particularly Daniel Craig’s tenure” as the British spy, but that doesn’t mean he thinks he could take on the role.

“But I think I wouldn’t be good at it, and I think there’s so many cool, younger actors who would be great for it,” he said. “I think it would be wasted on me, probably.”

If you're looking for an affordable power bank that will fast charge your brand new Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Apple iPhone 16, then check out this new deal that just popped up. Amazon is offering the Iniu 10,000mAh Power Bank with up to 45W of Power Delivery and a USB Type-C cable lanyard for just $13.36 after you apply coupon code "QPCSXPJR". This power bank will more than double your total Switch 2 playtime and has enough power output for you to play and charge simultaneously. Iniu power banks have solid reviews and are less expensive than Anker models.

Iniu 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank for $13.36

One of the best Audible deals of the year for Amazon Prime members is availabe now. Until July 31, new and returning Audible subscribers can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus absolutely free. You will need to be logged into your Amazon Prime membershp to see this promotion. Premium Plus is Audible's highest tier plan and normally costs $14.95/mo. As a additional subscription perk, you get a free audiobook of your choice for each of those three months and you get to keep them indefinitely.

3 Free Months of Audible Premium Plus

Monster Hunter Wilds got off to an incredible sales start when it launched in February. Unfortunately, it seems as though its success has fallen off one heck of a cliff since then - and Capcom appears to be trying to amend that by releasing an endgame content expansion much sooner than expected.

The sales data comes from Capcom's quarterly earnings report, which includes a slide presentation showing sales data for the company's top ten best-selling games from April 1 to June 30. The presentation shows that Monster Hunter Wilds sold 477k copies during that period, only just above the 389k copies sold of four-year-old game Monster Hunter Rise. Wilds was the 9th best-selling game of the quarter for Capcom, while Rise was the 10th.

To be clear, even though Rise is four years old, those aren't exactly gangbusters sales figures either. In Capcom's consolidated financial results, the company says, "Regarding catalog titles, although sales were soft for Monster Hunter Wilds, the latest title in the series released in February this year, Monster Hunter Rise, a previous title in the same series, continued to see sales growth." This is technically true, in that Rise continues to sell copies, but calling it "growth" is a bit strong.

Last quarter, Monster Hunter Rise only sold 384k copies. In fact, sales of the game slowed down significantly throughout last year after the game sold 725k in Q1, 640k in Q2, and 691k in Q3. That's not really shocking, especially once Wilds was announced - people were bound to hold off on buying Rise if there was a brand new game just around the corner.

What's more interesting here is how much better Rise was selling throughout most of last year, several years after its release, than Wilds is selling now. Just a few months out from its launch, Wilds saw a steep, steep sales dropoff. After releasing during the first quarter to a Capcom record-setting 10.108 million copies sold, 8 million of which were in just three days, Wilds shot up to become the best-selling game in the U.S. year-to-date according to Circana. And while it's still No.1 as of July 5 due to that initial spike, for the month of June, it didn't even crack the top 20 best-selling games.

Why is Wilds having such a bad time of things? Well, despite reviewing well initially, its endgame content is sorely lacking compared to past games, so the many fans who play Monster Hunter over time, with friends, are struggling. It's also suffering from severe performance issues on PC specifically that have yet to be fully resolved. Despite new content and seasons, fans remain unsatisfied with the state of the game, to the point where some players are taking things too far and apparently harassing and threatening individual Capcom team members over it.

An update on release date and content of update Ver.1.021

The expansion of endgame content which was originally planned as part of Title Update 3 in late September will now be released ahead of schedule as part of the Ver.1.021 update. To accommodate this change, this update… pic.twitter.com/aQF1oFMCFR

— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) July 29, 2025

Which all perhaps explains why Capcom has bumped up a planned expansion of endgame content from the end of September to August 13. The planned expansion will include a new level of quest difficulty, a new rewards system, weapon balance adjustments, and other improvements. It's unclear as of yet if this will solve the performance issues, but perhaps it will sate those frustrated at Wilds' weaker endgame.

We'll have to wait for more details to see if this is the start of a turnaround or if Wilds will go down as one of the more disappointing Monster Hunter titles long-term. In the meantime, perhaps a Rise Renaissance is on the horizon if fans gravitate back to older games.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

No matter if you're looking for deals on games, storage, or accessories, there's plenty for PlayStation fans to check out right now. We've searched the internet to find the best PS5 deals available at the moment and there are some real treats to choose from. These include discounts on Monster Hunter Wilds and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but you can also enjoy 15% off a selection of PlayStation accessories right now at PlayStation Direct in celebration of Evo kicking off.

Alongside those offers, you can see our top picks for the best PlayStation deals today below.

Save 15% on Select PS5 Controllers and Accessories

To celebrate Evo this year, PlayStation is offering shoppers 15% off a selection of its PS5 accessories at PlayStation Direct with the help of code 'EVO2025' at checkout. This offer applies to a variety of items, including the DualSense Edge controller and the PULSE Elite wireless headset. You can see just a few of our favorite accessory deals above, but to see the rest of the accessories available with this deal, check out PlayStation Direct's sale page here.

Best PS5 Video Game Deals

If you're looking to fill up your library with some new PS5 games, there are plenty of discounts available at the moment. Woot's 'Video Game Super Sale!' is still going strong with some great deals, including on Monster Hunter Wilds and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but there's plenty more to check out. You can see these deals and even more of our favorites at the moment above.

Best PS5 SSD Deals

Where to Buy: PSVR 2 Horizon Call of The Mountain Bundle

Where to Buy: PlayStation Portal

How to Trade in Your Old PlayStation Consoles

If you're looking to trade in your old PlayStation consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.

While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you'll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction. The latter of which poses its own risks.

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

Marvel is reportedly focusing on making an X-Men movie with a younger cast "to keep the cost down," as well as Black Panther 3, while it's apparently in no rush to get Blade or Deadpool 4 out the door.

According to Variety, the game has changed for Marvel Studios and its boss, Kevin Feige, with superhero movies now unlikely to regularly hit the billion dollar heights of yesteryear.

And so, Marvel is trying to keep production costs down in order to make the movies it does release more likely to secure profitability. That moves us onto X-Men, which Variety said will begin casting soon. It’s apparently on the hunt for younger actors rather than A-listers to “keep the cost down.”

That tallies with recent comments from Feige, who indicated Marvel plans to reboot the X-Men franchise with a "very youth-oriented" take, featuring a young cast.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes screenwriter Michael Lesslie is developing the reboot's script, while Thunderbolts* / The New Avengers director Jake Schreier was recently confirmed to be helming the project.

One big question is when this new X-Men film will come out, with just Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and Avengers: Secret Wars announced with release dates for 2026 and 2027.

Variety said Marvel is holding July 23, 2027 for an unnamed film, but it won’t go to X-Men. What will it go to then? Perhaps it will go to Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 3, which is apparently creating excitement at Marvel.

Perhaps surprisingly, Marvel is said to be feeling “no sense of urgency” on the troublesome Blade reboot or even Deadpool 4. Given the huge success of Deadpool & Wolverine, you’d think Feige would want another surefire hit, but according to this new report, fans may have to wait.

Meanwhile, Variety reported on Pedro Pascal’s place in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, given THE recent clarification about Mister Fantastic not in fact leading the Avengers in the movie. Pascal is said to have an “integral” role, but is not the “centerpiece.” It seems inevitable that Avengers: Doomsday will spend some time revealing how The Fantastic Four end up colliding with the superheroes we know from MCU already, via the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene.

Here’s what we know: Avengers: Doomsday will bring back much of Fox's original X-Men cast, including Patrick Stewart (again) as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Famke Jansen as Jean Grey, and James Marsden as Cyclops.

Marvel recently confirmed that Avengers: Secret Wars would act as something of a "reset" for the MCU (don't call it a reboot), allowing its universe to feature fresh versions of classic characters — such as the X-Men — interacting with the surviving members of its main cast.

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

Bose just kicked off a brand new promotion during the back to school season, this time through its official eBay store. Right now you can get an extra 10% off Bose's entire inventory of certified refurbished headphones, earbuds, soundbars, and portable speakers with you apply coupon code "REFURB10". This code stacks with the instant discount you're already getting for choosing a certified refurbished model, for a total combined savings of up to 54% off.

Bose Back to School Sale: Up to 54% Off Refurbs

The history of the Pokémon Trading Card Game spans many eras, with new mechanics, iconic characters, and gorgeous artwork arriving each cycle. The XY era in particular, spanning 2014 to 2017, introduced Mega Evolutions, memorable Kalos figures, and some stunning full-art designs that went underappreciated.

With the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z‑A shining a spotlight back on Kalos and the Mega Evolutions, ahead of its launch on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, many cards from this era are still surprisingly affordable.

Before demand starts going up again, here are ten great cards you can find on TCGplayer right under or around $100, in no particular order.

TL;DR - 10 Valuable Pokémon TCG Cards From The XY Era

The Pokémon TCG XY era is packed with underrated gems that remain surprisingly affordable. With Legends: Z‑A reviving Kalos hype, cards like Professor Sycamore, Mega Blastoise EX, and Gyarados EX. If you're keen to fill out your collection with some of these nostalgic beauties, grab some while there's still stock.

Dragonite ex – Evolutions (Ultra Rare, 106/108)

In Terminull Brigade, rogue A.I. and shadow algorithms are ripping the digital world apart. It's up to you and your Rogueteer allies to dive into the Nullverses and stop the onslaught.

Terminull Brigade is a hyper paced roguelike third-person co-op shooter that takes place in a stricken virtual world. The battle with the dark side of the web involves getting behind the weapon of a Rogueteer and exploring Terminull Brigade's "Nullverses." Nullverses are combat zones that can be taken on as a lone player or part of a group, and they contain unique biomes and challenges. Every Nullverse run is randomized, which means every visit is a brand-new chance for loot and glory. Play across two maps: Ringed City, a high-tech cityscape lit softly by neon lights, or the desolate Wasteland that's filled with dangerous natural traps.

But achieving victory often requires you to first fail and learn from your mistakes. Terminull Brigade highlights strategic roguelike progression by letting you try, try again when a boss fight doesn't go your way. Clear out infected Nullverses to earn mods and perks. Watch how the enemy fights, then learn how to use the level terrain to your advantage. Join your Rogueteer compatriots and stomp the boss that once bested you.

There are six Rogueteers to control, each with their own story that's reflected in their innate powers. The street-smart Rogueteer Blade can use guns, but she prefers to get in close and personal with melee weapons. The chipper esports champ Aurora uses her charm and genius to initiate long range attacks that sap the enemies' strength. And the literal loose canon Rocket Max likes making explosions — and making those explosions as big as possible.

Whoever you choose as your Rogueteer, you can use active and passive perks to customize them to your preferred playstyle. For example, an active perk like "Frozen in Place" can give you the ability to freeze your enemies in place, whereas a passive perk like Ultimate Rhythm can increase your movement speed by 24%. A vital difference in situations where staying alive means moving fast. Duo perks straddle active and passive with perks like "Lucky Charm," which randomly increases your active perks by one to three levels.

And there's more than one way to play Terminull Brigade. "Standard Mode" is a typical roguelike run where you fight through 10 progressively more difficult tiers. In "Corrective Action," players earn points by overcoming challenges, and they have to collect enough points to move to the next tier. Terminull Brigade's multiple modes add layers of complexity and challenge to each tier and boss fight.

Terminull Brigade gives you the satisfaction of customizing your character's skills as you put them through challenges that sometimes double as learning opportunities. If you fall, stand up and get back into the fight, however many times it takes. Download Terminull Brigade for free on Steam.

Prices for Scarlet and Violet 151 Pokémon cards have been moving fast this month. As more booster boxes get opened and singles flood the market, some of the set’s Illustration Rares have started to dip in value, especially the middle evolutions of the starter Pokémon. On the flip side, big Special Illustration Rares of fan favourite Kanto starter final evolutions are seeing steady climbs as collectors chase the best‑looking cards from the set.

Charizard ex, Blastoise ex and Venusaur ex are the top of the climbers hill this week with noticeable price jumps, while Zapdos ex and Alakazam ex are also gaining traction with collectors and competitive players. All five of these cards have strong artwork, great playability, or both, which is helping push prices higher.

The same can’t be said for some of the Illustration Rares of Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and their evolutions. These cards spiked when the set first dropped, but with more supply on the market, prices have started to settle. They’re still popular pulls, just not commanding the same premium they did in June.

Crashers

DreamWorks has included a warning in The Bad Guys 2 credits that makes it clear the film should not be used to train AI, as the future of artificial intelligence warps and becomes uncertain for creatives.

DreamWorks Studios included a clause at the end of the credits for the film that lets viewers know it cannot be used to train AI — and if it is, lawyers will come knocking.

“All rights in this work are reserved for purposes of laws in all jurisdictions pertaining to data mining or AI training, including but not limited to Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790,” reads text revealed by X / Twitter user Rendy Jones, shown at the end of the credits. “This work may not be used to train AI.”

The end credits of BAD GUYS 2 said “screw AI. Try stealing our work! It’ll be a crime to your artless ass.” All I must say to this is SAY THAT SHIT WITH YOUR WHOLE CHEST DREAMWORKS ANIMATION! SPEAK ON IT! pic.twitter.com/odsS6mWvfx

— Rendy Jones (@rendy_jones) July 29, 2025

The Bad Guys 2 doesn’t premiere in theaters until August 1 but some eagle eyed viewers caught the sting at the end of the credits during early screenings. Clearly, DreamWorks is laying down the law.

To be fair, it isn’t the first time the studio has been vocal about keeping its work out of the hands of AI models. The live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon, which premiered in June, also had a similar tag at the end of the credits, making sure folks knew the legal repercussions of attempting to use any part of the film in an AI program.

Not everyone in Hollywood has the same attitude, however. Last year, Netflix said audiences "don't much care" about either budgets for film and TV, or even the technology used to make them, and that generative AI was "a great way for creators to tell better stories."

Last month, Disney joined forces with Universal to sue Midjourney for copyright infringement, stating that the AI-powered image generator is a “bottomless pit of plagiarism.”

Shrek is one of the properties that is being cited as part of Midjourney’s infringement offenses, as well as Marvel characters, Star Wars characters, Despicable Me’s iconic Minions, and others. According to a BlueSky user who combed through the docs, there are over 30 comparisons between studio artwork and Midjourney outputs.

Further, according to the docs, this suit has been percolating since November 2024, when Midjourney was served a demand letter — essentially an attempt to settle an issue out of court — from Disney, but it failed to respond and then proceeded to develop more models that reportedly infringed on existing copyrights. Universal recently served the company another demand letter at the end of May, which means the studios finally decided to hit the gas pedal on taking down Midjourney.

Generative AI is one of the hottest topics within the video game and entertainment industries, which have both suffered massive layoffs in recent years. Generative AI thus far has drawn criticism from players and creators due to a mix of ethical issues, rights issues, and AI’s struggles to produce content audiences actually enjoy.

In March, social media platforms were flooded with AI-generated Studio Ghibli-inspired images as part of a trend sparked by the launch of OpenAI’s new GPT‑4o image generator. It caused a vociferous debate that resurfaced anti-AI comments from creator Hayao Miyazaki.

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

If you're looking for an extremly compact mini PC at a way more affordable price than the Apple Mac Mini, then check out this new deal from Amazon. As part of its Back to School Sale, Amazon Prime members can get a Kamrui Intel Celeron N150 Mini PC for just $133.45 after you apply coupon code "3UDQBYBG". Non-Prime members pay $169.15 after code. This is an incredible price for a complete PC that includes the CPU, RAM, storage, and even the OS. Kamrui is a popular brand on Amazon and, in fact, is the same company as AceMagic, which is even more well known in the United States.

Kamrui Intel N150 Mini PC for $133.45

It’s a timeless debate – is the book better than the movie? Well, several book adaptations are hitting the big screen (and streaming services) over the next year or so that you won’t want to miss, including a new version of The Running Man, The Housemaid, and The Nightingale.

We always prefer to read the book first, if we can, which is why we’ve given you plenty of time to pick up a copy of these eight books before it’s time to grab some popcorn and settle in for the movie.

Project Hail Mary

Weapons opens in theaters Friday, August 8.

Zach Cregger made a splashy foray into horror with 2022’s Barbarian, a shape-shifting slow-burn full of satisfying twists and well-pitched dark humor that invited hair-raising questions about what may be going on behind your neighbor’s door (or indeed, inside their basement.) His new movie, Weapons, may be rooted in similar themes, but Cregger has refined his touch here, crafting an absolutely delicious, scary-yet-funny blockbuster that never lets up.

A testament to the power of a good hook, Weapons opens by laying out its central mystery: Why did nearly 20 kids, all from the same classroom in the small town of Maybrook, suddenly awake one night, leave their homes, and disappear into the darkness? Recounted in hushed, around-the-campfire tones, the story has a feeling of urban myth, which is reinforced by a haunting montage of children streaming into the street, arms straight out at their sides like effed-up little airplanes. The eyes of Maybrook naturally turn to the missing kids’ teacher, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), who has a checkered past when it comes to respecting boundaries with her pupils; during a meeting between parents, teachers, and police, Justine is chased out of the room following accusations from one of the grieving fathers, Archer (Josh Brolin). All of that is covered in the first few minutes of Weapons, and it makes up the bedrock that’s revisited time and again across its 128-minute runtime. It’s also every part of the plot that’s safe to discuss without ruining all the clever turns that lie ahead.

From that primal starting point, Weapons unfurls itself in time-hopping chapters that afford the story a tremendous sense of scope in spite of its relatively diminutive setting. Each segment takes its time to dig into how the disappearances have affected the lives of those closest to the situation, and Cregger takes care to introduce the audience to the characters in quiet, personal moments of struggle. No one person’s perspective feels more important than any other’s; what’s revealed by these various vantage points makes us constantly reassess our own view of Weapon’s bigger picture.

But as useful as the chapter structure is for giving the characters a common level of depth, Cregger wields it most effectively to ratchet tension. With each chapter illuminating some new clue or development, he establishes a potent pattern: build to a fever pitch, then reset. But that tension doesn’t just go away because we’re suddenly in another character’s shoes – it’s being banked for later, to propel Weapons toward a conclusion that’s satisfying even if you manage to suss out where it’s headed. The pieces Cregger has set in motion in both the foreground and background fall into place marvelously, and cascade through an unforgettable finale that more than earns its big-cheer moments.

The tonal command Cregger showed in Barbarian is more focused this time around. In this seamless patchwork of bleak terror and black humor, each trip through a dark house or neighborhood feels equally likely to pay off with a laugh or a scare. And when Cregger chooses violence, he doesn’t disappoint. There are plenty of squirm-worthy moments where sharp things go places they shouldn’t, or characters snap and attack one another with shocking brutality, but there are just as many lingering shots on dread-inducing dangers making their way towards the characters. The result is a movie that feels like Russian roulette for the senses. Cregger’s confidence in his own voice manifests itself in one character and performance with particularly great results – to identify that character and performer would ruin some surprises, but it must be said that they sort of run away with Weapons at a certain point.

From top to bottom, the cast proves adept at performing Cregger’s tonal highwire act, with Julia Garner and Josh Brolin anchoring other focal points like Principal Marcus (Benedict Wong) and town cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich). Justine may be well-intentioned, but she’s ill-suited to the crisis at hand: Garner foregrounds Justine’s paranoia and jitters, a fragility that’s expertly cut by her blunt interactions with her more dubious neighbors. Justine and Paul have a history that complicates their ability to make good choices together; Ehrenreich keeps this in focus throughout Paul’s chapter of Weapons, ably playing the nuances of his shifting personality.

It’s during that segment that we meet another scene-stealer, transient drug addict James (Austin Abrams). Playing high off his rocker and nervy as hell, Abrams bumbles through some of the most crucial landmarks on the board, providing some of the movie’s only pure comedy moments. Nearly every one of his lines gets a laugh. Cary Christopher also deserves a mention for his wonderful performance as Alex, the only one of Justine’s students who didn’t disappear. Alex is thrust into circumstances that are unquestionably too heavy for someone his age, but Christopher contends with them admirably.

Archer, meanwhile, sits in a comfortable spot for Josh Brolin. The same hot-tempered man who accosts Justine publicly is also a despondent father sleeping in his missing son’s bed, frustrated by a slow-moving police investigation that he outpaces with little effort. In spite of his many missteps, Archer remains easy to root for because Brolin lets enough vulnerability and desperation into his performance.

Cregger’s work is supported at every turn by cinematographer Larkin Seiple. Whether inside homes or out in the neighborhood, Seiple is great at creating pockets of darkness and lines of sight that could conceal any ready-to-pounce threat. But Seiple – best known for his work on Everything Everywhere All at Once – is also very keyed into Cregger’s genre-bent sensibility, and creates a dynamic visual language that leaves enough space for visceral, classic horror imagery as well as flashes of slapstick comedic action. There’s one chase through a gas station that brings both of these elements together beautifully – a prolonged confrontation that borders on farce, but only until the moment the assailant catches up with their target and reality comes crashing in. Cregger and Seiple even get to play in a more impressionistic space during a pair of spooky dream sequences, which each spin up an off-putting and surreal atmosphere that nicely evokes the visual and auditory quirks of a real-life nightmare.

Riot Games has revealed that its League of Legends card game, Riftbound, will launch on October 31 in multiple regions.

The physical game (not to be confused with Legends of Runeterra) will be available to preorder from Riot’s Merch Store starting on August 4.

“One of the primary goals of the Riftbound team is making Riftbound as accessible as possible to League of Legends players and TCG players alike, as soon as possible,” a press release explains.

Riftbound Product List Revealed