Karl Urban joined IGN Fan Fest 2026 today to introduce the brand new Mortal Kombat II trailer. It shows our boy Johnny Cage (Urban) looking pretty unhappy at a fan convention before finding himself battling other realms in a fighting tournament. It's a spicy little taste of the new movie, which will arrive in theaters on May 8.
"His career is completely in the tank, he’s not been keeping up with his martial arts training. The world has forgotten who Johnny Cage is. He has very little of that brash, cocky Johnny Cage you know from the games. He’s a broken man… Through the course of the movie, we get to see him transform into a true champion of Earthrealm and involuntarily get launched into this insane action epic adventure. It’ll blow your minds, man."
This is just the latest news from IGN's Fan Fest 2026 – check the schedule to see what else is coming and to keep up to date on all the latest from the worlds of entertainment and games. And if you need a quick recap on the Mortal Kombat characters and their lore, check out this handy guide.
Rachel Weber is the Head of Editorial Development at IGN and an elder millennial. She's been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, Red Dead Redemption 2, and her Love and Deepspace boyfriends.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 happens at 1PM EST / 10AM PST, and while I don't know exactly what the company has to show this year, it's probably going to be the Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup.
Every year, Samsung kicks things off early with an Unpacked event where it shows off its new lineup of flagship phones. And while we're almost in March right now, it's pretty safe to assume that this is going to be that Unpacked – even if it's a month later than it'd usually be.
If you want to watch along, you can tune in on Samsung's YouTube channel or on its website, or you can just stay tuned here, and I'll keep this article updated with Samsung's announcements as they happen.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 Live Blog
1:00PM: And here we go! Samsung Unpacked has officially started. Get ready to see whatever it is Samsung has to offer this year. The company spent most of the time leading up to the actual show talking about how it's helping the world, so expect that same energy throughout the showcase here.
12:50PM: Samsung is apparently using the Olympic Games to showcase its technology. Really, it just looks like the phones are being used to film backstage footage. Although, there were a couple rigs shown that have a Galaxy phone clamped under a professional camera – maybe they're shooting on both?
And of course, Samsung is using this spot to promote AI features, especially live translation – which is actually pretty useful.
12:45PM: 15 minutes out from Unpacked officially starting, Samsung's stream just reiterated the company's dedication to using recycled materials, especially in its packaging.
12:30PM: Unpacked officially kicks off in about 30 minutes. While this is an annual show, and I have a pretty good idea of what the new Galaxy phones will be able to do, I'm still excited to see what they can do. I'm pretty sure the phones are going to lean pretty heavily into AI, too.
What to Expect From Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026
It's pretty safe to assume that beyond the Galaxy S26 – in, presumbly, a range of incarnations – Samsung will have an extra thing or two for us at the show. While there have been rumors about a new wide form factor for its foldables, those are usually saved for the company's summer Unpacked event. Instead, the extras will probably be some sort of wearable.
Samsung refreshed its Galaxy Watch in July, alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 7, so it's probably too early to get the Galaxy Watch 9. Instead, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro launched all the way back in summer 2024, so it's much more likely that those are going to be refreshed.
In fact, a store listing was leaked recently, which shows Galaxy Buds 4 and a Galaxy Buds 4 Pro at $179 and $249, respectively. That's about the same price as the Galaxy Buds 3 and 3 Pro, so it's looking rather likely that the Buds 4 are going to be at today's event.
It's always possible that Samsung has some secret third thing up its sleeve. For example, we might see the chaebol announce a followup to the Galaxy S25 Edge that came out last Spring, but I'd be very surprised if Samsung didn't just kill that off – it wasn't exactly well-received.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day launching in just a few months on July 31, 2026, it’s an exciting time to be a Spider-Man fan. The Tom Holland-led franchise will become the first live-action iteration of Peter Parker to have four solo films, and will hopefully continue to be a part of the MCU for the foreseeable future. We're also currently set to see the third animated Spider-Verse entry, Beyond the Spider-Verse, on June 18, 2027, barring any further delays. But while there’s reason to be optimistic for the future of Spider-Man movies, we’ve also just received news of a potential dark shadow: Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman has confirmed that the studio intends to reboot their Sony Spider-Man Universe of spin-off films that recently crashed and burned with the failures of Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter.
Sony’s spin-offs have largely been savaged by critics, and they didn’t do well at the box office outside of the Venom trilogy. Given how little of an impact the movies have made despite being (somewhat) tied to Marvel’s most popular hero, it stands to reason that a change of approach is needed beyond just rebooting the franchise or hiring a new creative team. If Sony is serious about taking another stab at a spin-off universe, they need to stop working backwards by forcing villains into the roles of protagonists, and instead let actual heroes lead their superhero movies. Let’s take a look at how Sony’s Spider-Man Universe can make the second (or third or fourth) time the charm.
Paging Mr. Parker
The biggest frustration from fans in regards to Sony’s Spider-Man movies is that they simply never featured Spider-Man. We knew going into the first Venom movie that Eddie Brock wasn’t going to encounter Peter Parker, but the hope was that the two mortal enemies would maybe come to blows in one of the sequels. Venom: Let There Be Carnage’s post-credits scene even teased the possibility, only for it to be nixed by Spider-Man: No Way Home. Venom: The Last Dance set up the symbiote god Knull as a potential future threat, but now that we know a reboot is on the way, that thread isn’t going anywhere either. It really feels like the Venom trilogy gaslit fans by making them think we were going to see a showdown between Spidey and Venom, only for the latter to be stuck exclusively fighting other symbiotes and space monsters.
No matter how you feel about the quality of the Venom solo films, the fact remains that Venom never crossing over with Spidey was the trilogy’s biggest missed opportunity. There’s a long history of Venom solo comics that developed his own mythology and supporting cast apart from the wall crawler, but he debuted as an important facet of Spidey’s world, so it feels weird that the hero tied to Venom’s genesis is nowhere to be seen. We don’t know all of the specifics of the deal Sony and Marvel Studios have in regards to sharing Spider-Man’s film rights, so it’s plausible that there are legal obstacles preventing such a crossover. But surely it’s something that could be ironed out if Sony was serious about making their spin-off films the best that they could be.
What we do know is that Marvel intends to reset the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars, so perhaps new spin-offs could be developed in closer collaboration with Marvel, allowing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man – presuming he’s kept around post-reset, although we’d wager he will be – to appear in them. Junking the likes of Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven, and starting fresh might make Marvel more willing to let Sony’s movies into the MCU continuity, especially since the Raimi and Webb films – and the Fox X-Men franchise – have been shanghaied into the shared universe via the multiverse in No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine. However, it’s just as likely that Marvel will continue to want to distance Holland’s Peter Parker from Sony’s side projects...but that’s no reason to give up entirely. They just need to shift focus to different Spider-Heroes, of which there are more than enough to choose from.
Holding Out For a Hero
We’ve discussed previously at IGN that Sony putting so many villains into leading roles was a huge part of what doomed their first attempt at a shared universe. By taking antagonists and making them follow milquetoast 'hero’s journey' plots, they made boring films that didn’t understand why those characters worked in the original source material. Even the one movie that did star a heroic character, Madame Web, was a bizarre mess that made its lead nearly unrecognizable from her comic book counterpart. The first step in building a new Spider-Man universe is understanding that it’s possible to make Spider-Man movies without Peter Parker, but not if they star villains or side characters who feel intrinsically tied to him.
If they keep the focus on characters who actually make sense as protagonists, Sony's spin-offs could likely find success.
There are multiple other Spider-Heroes with long histories in the comic books who could be the leads of spin-off films. Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, had a solo comic that ran for nearly 50 issues in the 1990s. Audiences were already introduced to Miguel in something of an antagonistic role in Across the Spider-Verse, but you could easily make a film or even series of films with him as the main hero that sticks closer to Miguel’s personality from the comics. Likewise, Spider-Gwen aka Spider-Woman aka Ghost-Spider (they should really just pick a name for her already) has become hugely popular over the past decade, and could support a solo project that depicts the youth-oriented tales typical of Spider-Man films via a different lens.
The MC2 universe also gave us May "Mayday" Parker, aka Spider-Girl, the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. Audiences actually got to see an infant version of Mayday in Across the Spider-Verse. A film or show starring her in her prime could let us see Peter as a parental figure while also keeping the classic feel of Spider-Man stories intact. It’s not like Sony doesn’t understand the idea I’m positing here: They made Miles Morales the focus of their Spider-Verse trilogy, with Peter B. Parker as a supporting hero, and they're tackling an alternate reality series with Spider-Noir, albeit with that character renamed Ben Reilly instead of Peter Parker. If they keep the focus on characters who actually make sense as protagonists, their spin-offs could likely find success, but it would also involve treating these characters with the respect they deserve...something that hasn’t always been Sony’s strongest suit.
You Won’t Get It For Free
An under-discussed aspect of why Sony’s adaptations of Spider-Man have taken a lot of flack over the years is what feels like a corporate assumption that people will always turn out for stuff that features the Spider-Man brand regardless of quality. It’s true that Spider-Man is one of the most beloved fictional heroes on Earth, but that doesn’t mean that anything with his name and face stamped on it is a guaranteed success. From interfering with director Sam Raimi’s vision for Spider-Man 3 to quickly rebooting the franchise with slapdash scripts in the Amazing Spider-Man films to believing that spin-offs about Morbius or Kraven were sure bets just because they were Spider-Man-adjacent characters, Sony has often shot themselves in the foot by taking their access to the Spider-Man license for granted.
That’s not to say that they’re incapable of making good decisions or producing great movies with the property. Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man films were landmark achievements that helped set the stage for the comic book movie boom of the early 2000s. The Spider-Verse animated features are brimming with creative energy and strong storytelling instincts. And although the Tom Holland solo movies do have some drawbacks, Sony has benefited tremendously from swallowing their pride and allowing Marvel to incorporate Spider-Man into the MCU when they didn’t have to do that. The fact that Sony set aside their plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4, a Sinister Six movie, and a team-up film with Silver Sable and Black Cat proves that they’re capable of taking a step back and reevaluating their path.
Audiences rejected the Sony Spider-Man Universe; there’s really no getting around that. Beyond Venom being an incredibly popular and merchandisable character, the rest of Sony’s spin-off slate struggled to gain any momentum. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to turn things around. With talented creatives who are given room to make the movies they want to make, a focus on heroic characters in the lead roles, and the grace to understand that audiences will leave your franchise behind if they don’t feel it’s worth their time, Sony could make a new attempt at a shared universe work. Will they, though? We’ll just have to wait and see in the future. "And you know the best thing about the future? It hasn't happened yet."
What do you think Sony should do with a reboot of their Spider-Man spin-offs? Let us know in the comments!
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.
Scream 7 is almost here, and it’s clear that some fans are thrilled to see Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott back in the hot seat after she was famously absent in the previous installment. But for Campbell, the choice was clear: there was no way she could return to the franchise in 2022’s Scream 6 because her salary offer didn’t reflect the 25 years of dedication she felt she gave to this story.
“When I made that decision, I just didn’t think I could live with myself walking on set,” the actress recently told CBS Mornings in an interview about Scream 7. “I just didn’t feel right. I just knew that my value to this franchise was bigger than what had been offered. For me, I needed to make that choice.”
The sad but true fact was that, at the time of the salary dispute, Campbell was unsure she would ever get to go head-to-head with Ghostface ever again. “When I said goodbye to it, I thought that was it,” she added. “I knew that there was a good chance that would be it.”
She also highlighted that it was painful to not be on set knowing a Scream film was being made without her, but that she knew she had made the right decision for her at that time. “And when I spoke out about it, it wasn’t really to sort of rally everybody,” Campbell explained. “It was really just my truth at the time, and the fact the people got behind me, I got lovely support, and that was nice. And I do feel that other people need to make those choices.”
In June 2022, Campbell made a statement to Variety revealing that she would not return for Scream 6 for financial reasons. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream,” she told the outlet at the time. “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. It’s been a very difficult decision to move on.”
According to Variety, Campbell secured a nearly $7 million deal for Scream 7, whereas Scream mainstay Courteney Cox was paid $2 million. “Neve Campbell is to Scream what Jamie Lee Curtis is for the Halloween franchise,” director of movie analytics at Fandango, Shawn Robbins, told Variety. “She’s a big draw, especially for older generations who grew up with the original films.” And he’s absolutely right there; there’s always going to be some part of the fandom that wants to see Sidney’s story through.
Fans probably will get to see Sidney’s story through, because if this film does well, there’s definitely going to be a push for an eighth installment. But only time will tell at this point. Scream 7 arrives in theaters on February 28.
Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
IGN Fan Fest is back for its seventh editiontoday and tomorrow (February 25 and 26!), and we're so excited to once again present a show filled with exclusive reveals, trailers, gameplay, deep dives, and interviews with the incredible creators behind your favorite movies, shows, games, comics, and anime.
We can't wait to share all the surprises we have in store from LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, 007 First Light, Mortal Kombat II, Scream 7, Project Hail Mary, One Piece, and so much more, and we'll be gathering all the biggest announcements right here as they happen to ensure you don't miss a thing.
While you wait for the show to begin, check out all the details you need to know about IGN Fan Fest 2026 below!
How to Watch IGN Fan Fest 2026
IGN Fan Fest 2026 will feature over 80 exclusive reveals across two days of livestreams on February 25 and 26, and the show will start each day at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST. As for how you can watch the show, IGN Fan Fest 2026 will be streaming live on the following platforms:
As we mentioned, we have a lot of surprises we can't wait to talk about for IGN Fan Fest 2026, but you can check below for an idea of what you can expect to see from each day of the show.
Sony has announced the PlayStation Plus Monthly games lineup for March 2026, confirming a leak from earlier this week.
Four games hit PS Plus in March. As expected, PGA Tour 2K25 headlines the lineup, but in addition Monster Hunter Rise, Slime Rancher 2, and The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road are all available March 3 to April 6 to all PlayStation Plus members, as confirmed in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
PS Plus is a regular stomping ground for old 2K sports games (indeed previous PGA Tour games have hit PS Plus), so the addition of PGA Tour 2K25 comes as little surprise. The golf sim launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC in February 2025, so it hits PS Plus just over a year later. A Nintendo Switch 2 version came out earlier this month.
IGN’s PGA Tour 2K25 review returned an 8/10. We said: “PGA Tour 2K25 comes back strong, with substantial changes to how it looks and plays bringing it within striking distance of the competition.”
Monster Hunter Rise, meanwhile, came out in 2021 and went on to become a huge hit for Capcom. IGN's Monster Hunter Rise review returned an 8/10. We said: "Monster Hunter Rise mixes classic Monster Hunter ideas with some of World’s best improvements and a whole bunch of clever new mechanics of its own."
Slime Rancher 2 is a 2025 farm life sim video game developed and published by indie studio Monomi Park. And The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road is Zenimax Online Studios' MMO set in The Elder Scrolls universe, taking place nearly 1,000 years before the events of Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road grants instant access to all major Chapter zones, biomes and quest arcs across Tamriel, but the 2025 Content Pass isn't included.
This also means February’s PlayStation Plus Monthly Games will rotate out soon. You have until Monday March 2 to add Undisputed, Subnautica: Below Zero, Ultros, and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown to your library.
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.
Amazon is also the only online retailer with the game available to buy on Nintendo Switch 2, albeit for $76.84, almost $7 more than its MSRP of $69.99.
Anyone who has preordered on Steam can already start preloading the game. For those in the US, PlayStation and Xbox will unlock at the equivalent of midnight EST on February 27 (February 26, 9 PM PST).
Reviews have also been positive for the latest entry in the survival horror franchise, with IGN's Tristan Ogilvie awarding it a 9/10 in his review, stating:
"Like the result of an experiment conducted in an underground Umbrella Corporation lab, Resident Evil Requiem successfully splices two separate strains of survival horror together into the one highly infectious new mutation."
Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
Upheaval at Ubisoft continues today with the departure of veteran creative director Clint Hocking, in the middle of development on the company's next major Assassin's Creed blockbuster.
In a statement to IGN, a Ubisoft spokesperson confirmed Hocking was "departing Ubisoft" without providing further detail as to why. His current role as creative director on Hexe will now be assumed by Jean Guesdon, the series' new Head of Content, who has a lengthy track record working on numerous titles in the series.
"Clint Hocking, creative director on Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe, will be departing Ubisoft," a Ubisoft spokesperson said in a statement provided to IGN. "We sincerely thank him for his vision, creative contributions, and dedication over the years, and we wish him the very best in his next chapter.
"Development on Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe continues with a seasoned team. The game will deliver something distinctive within the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Jean Guesdon, Head of Content for the Assassin's Creed brand, is now acting as the Creative Director on the project.
"We look forward to sharing more information in the future."
Hocking initially joined Ubisoft to work on the legendary 2002 stealth action adventure Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, which he contributed to as a designer and scriptwriter. Hocking then served as creative director on its follow-up, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, before holding the same role on 2008's Far Cry 2.
During a period away from Ubisoft, Hocking served years at LucasArts, Valve and Amazon, respectively, albeit without ultimately launching a game. Hocking then returned to Ubisoft to serve once again as a creative director, this time on Watch Dogs: Legion, which launched to a mixed response. Following that, Hocking moved over to Assassin's Creed, and had been leading work on Hexe out of the company's Montreal studio.
Earlier this week, Ubisoft named its trio of top staff tasked with taking the Assassin's Creed brand forward. Development on the series will now ultimately be led by Martin Schelling, a veteran Ubisoft producer who previously served senior roles on Assassin's Creed titles such as Black Flag, Origins and Valhalla, and has recently served as Ubisoft's Chief Production Officer.
Schelling is being assisted Guesdon, who has worked on more than a dozen titles in the franchise, back to Assassin's Creed 1 in 2007, and notably served in director roles for both Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed: Origins. Finally, François de Billy will serve as Head of Production Excellence, following previously acting as Production Director on Valhalla and Origins.
Last week, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reaffirmed that the company had "several" Assassin's Creed titles in development, comprised of both single-player and multiplayer experiences. Back in 2022, Ubisoft announced a raft of upcoming games including Hexe, as well as a multiplayer spin-off codenamed Invictus. The company is also widely-expected to announce its long-awaited Black Flag remake soon.
Pokémon has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. I was just starting first grade when Pokémon Red and Blue came out on the Game Boy, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. My brother and I only had one Game Boy between us, and since he was older, he got to play it far more often than I did. Before we got a copy of Pokémon Blue for Christmas that year, the only Game Boy game we'd actually had the chance to play was Tetris. So needless to say, I was instantly enamored with the concept of catching and battling with all 151 of the original Pokémon.
And of those original Pokémon in that game, I was always particularly interested in Eevee. Not because it's arguably the most adorable, but because of all of the evolutionary paths you could take once you had one. And you could only have one per playthrough, after all, since you couldn't actually catch Eevee in that game. As one of the most versatile Pokémon out there and I always find myself choosing a different Eevee-lution each time I play a new game.
Now in 2026, with a new collaboration with LEGO, I had the chance to experience Eevee evolving into something much more exciting: an adorable little LEGO set. LEGO provided IGN with a copy of the set for a test build and I was lucky enough to be the one to put it together. At just 587 pieces, it only took me a few hours to assemble, but I was in love with every part of this build. Each new section of the set has you slowly piecing together a surprisingly lifelike LEGO Eevee, and the end result is nothing short of phenomenal. Once I placed the final touch of the build, I was honestly amazed at just how good it looks despite being made up of tiny plastic bricks.
At $59.99, the LEGO Eevee build is the most affordable of the three Pokémon sets now available to buy. And of those three, I think Eevee is the most realistic looking. Due to its price compared to the other sets, it's also the one I think most people are probably going to buy. Despite that lower price point, however, the whole build still felt like a premium experience. The set came with a total of six bags, all of which were made of nice recyclable paper. The instruction booklet also included the official Pokédex entry for Eevee, which I thought was a nice touch.
You start off the build with Eevee's core body. This is the foundation of the whole set, which you can see start to come together with various places for the legs, tail, and head to connect. This is the least exciting part of the whole experience, but I always enjoy these parts of the build due to the insight you get into how LEGO actually designed these sets to work. The connecting slots for legs give you a glimpse of how you'll be able to articulate those limbs once they're added, and the giant connector on top gives you an idea of just how massive Eevee's head is going to be compared to the rest of its body.
I was honestly amazed at just how good it looks despite being made up of tiny plastic bricks.
Once you move on to building the actual legs, the set really starts to come to life. Starting with the front legs, the instructions have you build one limb at a time before attaching it to the main body. Each of these is fairly straightforward to put together and looks fairly blocky until you get to the voluptuous fluff on each shoulder. You use a series of rounded pieces that really smooth out the overall look of each leg. Then the final touch of rounded pieces at the end ensure almost all of the LEGO studs are covered up. The end result is a surprisingly soft looking leg that will contribute to Eevee's overall fluffy visage.
After you finish building and attaching all of the legs, you can already start playing around with all of the different positions the final product will be able to move into. Each of the legs can articulate forward and backward, allowing you to move the body into various sitting and standing poses. I was even able to move it into a full standing position, which is admittedly much harder to balance once Eevee's head and tail are added to the equation.
The tail is where I really felt the build starting to add enough complexity to earn its 18+ age rating. Because you're essentially turning bricks into what will appear as a fluffy tail, you need to ensure that each of the pieces is facing the right outward direction. I ended up making a few mistakes here without realizing and had to backtrack later so I could actually connect all of the rounded pieces on both sides later on. You shouldn't have any issue here unless you try to rush through things and ignore instructions like I do. Once the whole thing is put together, it attaches neatly to the back of the set and can move from side to side.
"Each of the legs can articulate forward and backward, allowing you to move the body into various sitting and standing positions."
With the entire body and tail put together, you get to move on to Eevee's surprisingly massive noggin. I was particularly nervous about this part of the build because I had feared that it would involve some sort of sticker element. I had put together a LEGO Wednesday set last year that had a ton of different stickers and made some horrendous mistakes that made the end result look just weird enough to bother me forever. Thankfully, my fears of having an Eevee with horribly misplaced eyes were quickly banished when I found that the pieces themselves already had the designs printed on them. So once you build the actual head, all you need to do is attach a few pieces to get a perfectly designed face.
The final step of the build is Eevee's long pointy ears. These are relatively easy to put together, and like all of the other parts of the set, can be articulated into various positions. Each ear can be moved up and down, allowing for a symmetrical look or that cute lopsided look that you see on the box. And although you've already got a mostly complete Eevee set right up until this point, it isn't until you add the ears that the whole thing comes alive.
All-in-all, I found the Eevee set to be one of the most enjoyable LEGO builds I've ever done. I'm obviously a bit biased due to my deep nostalgic love of Pokémon, but it's honestly just a really cool build at a surprisingly affordable price point. And now that it's been fully put together I have a full-on Eevee action figure that I find myself adjusting and displaying in random spots throughout the house. It's my new favorite display set and it has me excited for what the LEGO Pokémon collab will bring in the future.
Jacob Kienlen is a Senior Audience Development Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor's degree in communication and over 8 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different pop culture topics -- from TV series to indie games and books.
We're a little over a month away from the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and there are already some great toys for fans to pick up. The most popular one by far has been the Hatchin' Yoshi interactive figure at Walmart. And while its first drop sold out quite fast at the retailer, the good news it it's now back in stock for $49.88.
If you've been hoping to grab it, you'll want to be quick in the event it sells out again. It's also worth noting that it's on backorder right now, so you'll have to wait a little bit before you can actually get your hands on it. However, Walmart's site says that it you order today it will arrive by March 21, so you can still have it ahead of the movie's release on April 1 if you want to bring this little Yoshi to the theater with you.
Hatchin’ Yoshi Toy at Walmart
As its title suggests, the Hatchin' Yoshi toy comes out of the package as an egg at first that you can hatch by interacting with it. Once it cracks open, you'll see Yoshi on the inside, who has his own reactions for you when you interact with him by doing things like patting his head or his nose.
If you want to have it up on display, the bottom part of the egg can be used as a little display stand as well, which is a fun touch. Again, it sold out very fast from Walmart initially. So, if you have your eye on it, now is the time to make a move on this adorable toy in case it sells out all over again.
Alongside Hatchin' Yoshi, there are plenty more toys and collectibles related to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to check out right now. In particular, Jakks Pacific has revealed a selection of new toys and figures for the film that are worth a look as well.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Capcom's hugely-anticipated Resident Evil Requiem is now just over a day from launch, with preloading already live on some platforms. But when will you be able to actually start playing?
Thankfully, via a post on Steam, Capcom has now issued a detailed rundown of when Requiem will unlock across the world in major territories — with differences in some regions depending on platform.
If you're on Steam, you can also now begin preloading the game if you are a pre-order customer — ensuring you slip back into the shoes (and snazzy jacket) of Leon S. Kennedy as quickly as possible.
Across the world, PlayStation and Xbox copies of the game will typically unlock at midnight on February 27 in your local timezone, except in the U.S., when these will unlock at your equivalent to midnight EST (9pm Pacific).
On PC, where the game is available via Steam and Epic Games Store, the timing is different again, and there is an added wrinkle for the game's launch on Nintendo Switch 2 in Mexico.
Read on for a full rundown of when Resident Evil Requiem will release in your own timezone — and stay tuned here on IGN for our full launch coverage, including our Resident Evil Requiem review.
Resident Evil Requiem Global Release Times
Los Angeles (PST)
Console: Feb 26 21:00
PC: Feb 26 21:00
New York/Toronto (EST)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 0:00
Mexico City (CST)
Console (PS5/Xbox): Feb 27 0:00
Console (Switch 2): Feb 26 23:00
PC: Feb 26 23:00
London (GMT)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 5:00
Paris/Berlin/Rome (CET)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 6:00
Tokyo (JST)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 14:00
Auckland (NZDT)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 18:00
Singapore (SGT)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 18:00
Seoul (KST)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 14:00
Riyadh (AST)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 08:00
Johannesburg (SAST)
Console: Feb 27 0:00
PC: Feb 27 7:00
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
That brings the price of a pack down from $5.49 at the list price of the box to just $4.16, and it’s a great set, too. While you’re much more likely (almost infinitely more) to find the set’s most valuable cards in Collector Boosters, there are some fantastic creature synergies in there.
Also discounted are the Commander decks from the set. Blight Curse is helmed by Auntie Ool, Cursewretch (or The Reaper, King No More), uses a -1/-1 counters archetype that’s fairly uncommon. It’s a fantastic deck and now has a few bucks knocked off the price to bring it to $44.43.
Its much more colorful counterpart, Dance of the Elements, is a five-color Elementals deck that is all about making copies of big creatures and is helmed by Ashling, the Limitless (or Mass of Mysteries). It’s currently just $34.95, a 30% price cut.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
Within the hallways of the sinister sanatorium where Resident Evil Requiem’s opening hours take place lies some of the most frightening encounters I’ve experienced in the series to date. With my headphones on and the lights off, the ninth mainline adventure in Capcom’s longrunning survival horror saga forced me to endure moments so palpably tense and prolonged I discovered muscles to clench that I didn’t previously know I had. Yet hours later I was no longer holding my breath, but holding my fist in the air instead, as I gleefully mowed down masses of undead meatsacks like it was D-Day in World War Z. In an effort to please both survival horror stalwarts and action-horror advocates, Resident Evil Requiem runs the gore-soaked gamut from anxiety-inducing chills to trigger-happy thrills. The result is yet another supremely hair-raising horror story, despite the fact its most potent scares have all been delivered by the time it arrives at its more gloriously gung-ho second half.
Not unlike 2023’s Alan Wake II, Resident Evil Requiem initially focuses on a young FBI agent, in this case series newcomer Grace Ashcroft (Angela Sant'Albano), a fresh-faced analyst who’s sent to investigate a series of mysterious deaths among the survivors of Raccoon City, several decades after the 1998 outbreak. Grace’s flashlight-lit forensic search through the grimy insides of a shuttered hotel is ultimately short-lived, however, since she’s soon ensnared by Victor Gideon (Antony Byrne), Requiem’s main antagonist whose menacing air, disgustingly disfigured face, and greasy goggles make him seem like some sort of steampunk Emperor Palpatine. Victor traps Grace in the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, a Spencer Mansion-style labyrinth of locked doors crawling with all manner of flesh-eating freaks, but thankfully help is on the way in the form of uber stylish series veteran, Leon S. Kennedy (Nick Apostolides).
Survival horror’s preeminent himbo has clearly seen better days – the strange bruising on his skin suggests he’s battling some sort of affliction potentially related to T-Virus exposure, while the shiny new Porsche he’s driving implies he’s also not immune to a midlife crisis. But it’s Grace who is the standout here. Resident Evil characters have historically exhibited an exaggeratedly campy quality that’s injected a large dose of goofiness amidst the gore, but for my money this inexperienced FBI agent is by far the most relatably human heroine the series has ever had. Her evolution from being perpetually on the brink of a panic attack to becoming self-assured enough to fight back made for a journey that I found as captivating as it was consistently creepy.
Saving Grace
Requiem allows us to alternate control between Grace and Leon at specific story junctions over the course of its roughly 10-hour campaign, but it’s the former whose predominately stealth-based sections are undoubtedly the most fear-inducing. Underpowered and under constant threat from twisted stalker ghouls that are liable to descend from the rafters at any moment, Grace’s efforts to escape from the terrors of Victor’s hospital is a wonderfully stressful slab of unrelenting survival horror. There’s precious little ammo to find, a miserly number of inventory slots to manage, and Grace moves at such a slow speed that it makes timing your careful crouch-walk to avoid a prowling pack of zombies an exercise in pinpoint pathmaking, especially if you don’t have a rare breakable bottle to toss in order to create a distraction. All the while you have to puzzle through a stimulating series of body part-based riddles and elaborately locked doors, never really knowing when you’re going to turn a corner and come face to flabby face with a grotesquely girthy golem that’s urgently squeezing its way down the hallway towards you.
I spent so much time trying to steer clear of the numerous considerable threats, that on the occasions Grace was forced into a confrontation the results really rattled me. When played in the default, claustrophobic first-person perspective, her guns feel genuinely startling to fire and the impact of every precious pistol shot is immense. Bullets tear the festering flesh off zombie faces leaving eyeballs to dangle from their stems, and blood spatter paints the walls and persists even when you backtrack through the area later on.
The gallons of gore that covers the floor isn’t just there for spectacle, mind you, since Grace is equipped with a handy blood collector that allows her to syringe up the infected plasma pooling around zombie corpses, and combine it with other pieces of scrap to craft invaluable items like medkits and single-use hemolytic injectors. The latter can be jammed into the spine of an undead monster caught unaware, causing their entire body to swell up and explode in the most gloriously blood-soaked manner of stealth-kill possible, but you can also use it to effectively dispose of a body you’ve downed previously. I found that to be a smart move in areas that I knew I’d be revisiting, since Requiem’s zombies also have a terrifying tendency to reanimate and mutate when you least expect them to. (Seriously, these guys reform and come back more often than The Eagles.)
On the occasions Grace was forced into a confrontation the results really rattled me.
Grace’s quest only grows more intense as it takes her through the suffocating shadows of the hospital’s basement and beyond, but moving through Requiem’s danger-filled surroundings at a snail’s pace didn’t just keep my nerves on edge, it allowed me to observe and appreciate the efforts that Capcom has put into enhancing the eerie behaviour of its undead army. These are no longer the groaning, foot-dragging mouth-breathers encountered during the original Raccoon City outbreak, instead they retain traces of humanity that somehow makes them seem far more unsettling than the more animalistic werewolves in Resident Evil Village. Like the ones that idly flick light switches on and off like bored toddlers, or the others that wander around muttering and laughing to themselves before suddenly collapsing to their knees to hungrily feast on the corpse of one of their former friends.
Leon: The Professional
While Grace’s plight is a desperate and deliberate crawl that had me second-guessing every shadow, the ominous sounds of silence are shattered by the roar of ferocious ultraviolence when you switch control to Leon for what are initially brief, tension-breaking bursts, as everyone’s favourite ex-RCPD recruit attempts a not-so-subtle rescue mission. These levels default to a third-person view to really show off the slaughter, and within minutes of his arrival I’d slipped comfortably back into Resident Evil 4 mode, nailing headshots and ending the undead with effortless execution moves. To my surprise, however, Requiem quickly pushed the insanity meter beyond Resident Evil 4 into Dead Rising levels of delirium by allowing Leon to actually wield a chainsaw to carve through the zombie crowds. Leon’s sections are up-tempo and gruesome to a degree that left me giddy, and almost every major zombie Leon dispatches is met with a delightfully deadpanned dad joke.
Where Grace must use the scarce amounts of scrap in her surroundings to make her own rapidly destructible knives, Leon is toting a powerful hatchet that can be easily maintained with an everlasting flint. While Grace has to carefully count each round in her small handful of handguns, Leon enjoys an extensive bevy of teeth-rattling boomsticks from beefy shotguns to head-splitting sniper rifles. Plus, if Leon gets bored of his own weapons he can use someone else’s – after killing a zombie who drops a fire axe or lead pipe, he has the option to smoothly scoop it up and launch it at another enemy nearby, which is every bit as slick and satisfying as the similar sword-flinging feature of last year’s Ghost of Yotei. That’s not to mention that instead of having to painstakingly harvest blood samples to craft with, Leon is rewarded with a special currency for every kill that can be conveniently cashed in at a de facto ATM for artillery to buy useful weapon upgrades, extra ammo, and even body armour.
Simply put, there's no off position on Leon’s arse-kicking switch – his gunplay is John Wick-slick and bloodier than ever before – and in addition to his surging slaughter of zombie hordes it’s also within Leon’s levels that the bulk of Requiem’s appropriately epic boss encounters take place. There are plenty of colossal clashes to be found here, from brand new behemoths to brilliantly reimagined threats from previous Resident Evil stories, and there isn’t a single Del Lago-sized dud among them. I particularly loved how the hulking nasty faced inside a cramped chapel midway through the story subverted my expectations of how a Resident Evil boss fight should play out. Sure, being tasked with blasting the glowing weak points that cover a marauding monster’s torso is nothing new. That is, until you realise that while piercing each swollen blister does inflict damage to the beast, it also spews streams of infection onto the zombie underlings around him, instantly mutating them into brawnier forms of backup for you to contend with. Leon may be armed to the teeth, but that doesn’t mean Requiem doesn’t still find creative ways to ramp up the challenge.
Shorn of the Dread
As much as I love Leon, though, I do wonder if perhaps his sections become a bit too dominant once Requiem settles into a more action-oriented groove in its second half, as the story moves beyond the grounds of Rhodes Hill and deep into what remains of Raccoon City. Let me be clear, Resident Evil 4 is my personal favourite instalment in the series, so it certainly gave me a great deal of pleasure to once again wield a military grade arsenal and pull-off skull-shattering finishing moves as the series’ hunkiest mutant murderer. There’s also plenty of variety in the violence, from a full-throttle highway chase sequence to heavy artillery strikes that seem straight out of a Call of Duty campaign. But after playing almost exclusively as Leon through a roughly five-hour stretch towards Requiem’s conclusion, I did find myself yearning for a few more tastes of Grace’s superbly nerve-shredding stealth sections as a more regular change-up from Leon’s comparatively scare-free carnage.
There's no off position on Leon’s arse-kicking switch.
That desire was eventually gratified to some extent by a terrifyingly taut late-game tip-toe through a facility crawling with some truly menacing monsters returning from the series’ past, but given that the story ended soon afterwards my overriding impression of Requiem was that it was very much a game of two halves. The former predominately a slow and steady scare-a-thon, and the latter largely a run-and-gun splatterfest. I very much enjoyed both flavours in their own right; I just wish for the sake of its pacing that they’d been blended together a touch more over the full course of the journey. Instead, Requiem is a bit like ordering a whiskey and Coke and having it served in two separate glasses instead of being mixed into one.
To be fair, Grace’s absence from a significant stretch of Requiem is justified within the context of its story, and overall it’s a tale that gripped me harder than a zombie nurse gnawing on my neck. There are a number of blindsiding twists that cast new light on the origins of the Umbrella Corporation and the ambitions of its founder, along with an excellent mix of zombie-riddled locations both fresh and familiar to puzzle and pummel your way through, and plenty of vital notes to collect along the way. Some of these memos are crucial to understanding the intriguing mystery behind Grace’s abduction and the truth about her past, while others are just genuinely funny gags to help ease the tension. After encountering a specific zombie type in one medical wing that was obnoxiously singing at the top of her lungs, I got a good laugh out of uncovering a doctor’s report that had diagnosed her with ‘Main Character Syndrome’, for example.
There’s also one particularly iconic location that Leon explores that I’m reluctant to spoil here (although it has been teased in pre-release trailers), which is jam-packed with fun Easter Eggs that made it a real treat to revisit as someone who’s been enjoying Resident Evil adventures ever since the T-Virus made its first outbreak on a black-bottomed CD for the original PlayStation.
If you’ve been playing Overwatch during the last couple of weeks, you’ve likely been haunted by the sound of a pair of small thruster engines followed by a squeaky “meow” serving as a precursor to your chosen hero’s face being scratched to death. Well, in order to soften this horror, Blizzard has released a hotfix attempting to address the terror that is Jet Pack Cat.
The patch, released on February 24, applies the following nerfs for the supposed support character — not to her healing capabilities, nor her core offensive skills, but to the perks that lead to her becoming a killing machine.
These include her minor perk, Claws Out, having its cooldown increased from 6 to 8 seconds, meaning you’ll at least feel the pointy end of her paws a little less frequently. Also listed is a significant reduction to the major perk, Territorial, which sees the damage dealt reduced to 33% from 50%. Interestingly, there is no mention of any planned tweaks to her Ultimate ability, which effectively guarantees an enemy elimination due to its pick-up-and-drop nature. Cats don’t like wells, unless they’re lobbing you into one, it seems.
It will come as no small irony to long-term Overwatch players that the owner of this feline friend, Brigitte, also pretty much broke the game upon her introduction back in 2018, which led to a fair few weeks of her being practically unkillable before her loadout was addressed. While Jet Pack Cat is nowhere near as powerful as the Swedish support hero was, there’s no denying that they were a nuisance that needed to be tweaked. We’ll see if these fixes have the desired effect over the coming days, but as is the case with any online multiplayer game, adjustments always need to be made, especially when introducing five brand new characters in one go.
Speaking of those other additions, they’ve also received a mixture of buffs and nerfs to their kit and cooldowns. Fellow healer, Mizuki, has seen the duration of his ultimate, Kenkai Sanctuary, increased from 6 to 7 seconds. DPS hero Emre’s burst rifle has had its damage increased from 20 to 22, and flaming fan-wielder Anran has seen the cooldown of her Inferno Rush ability reduced from 8.5 to 8 seconds, as well as an increase to the distance you can move while Dancing Blaze is active to 2.25 meters from 1.5.
While not as new as Emre or Anran, fellow walking weapon Vendetta has seen the damage of her overhead sword swing reduced from 130 to 120, as well as a bug fix allowing for that move to now be affected by horizontal knockbacks. Then there’s Domina, my dear beloved — you can read all about how much I enjoy her here. The destructive tank has, thankfully, only received a minor nerf, with the cost of her ultimate increasing by 12%. I’ll still be able to have my fun.
Full spoilers follow for Primal Season 3, Episode 7, “Heart of the Undead,” which is available on Adult Swim and HBO now.
What a cool opening couple of minutes we got this week, first with the slow-motion blood rolling off the running Fang, and then the POV shots as the dinosaur hurtles towards Mira’s village with her injured mistress on her back, finally culminating in Mira being carried into a hut where she falls unconscious as the camera fades to black along with her.
Of course, not only is Fang and everyone else worried about Mira here, but they’re also concerned about the health of her unborn child after the attack she suffered last week while battling those hog creatures. While watching “Heart of the Undead,” this actually made me ponder something for a moment – and forgive how morbid this is… what if the child of Spear and Mira who we saw in the final moments of Season 2 isn’t the baby Mira is currently carrying? After all, Genndy Tartakovsky has already undone the death of Spear which occurred in that episode, so what’s to keep him and his team from diverting from what we think we know about the rest of what’s to come as well?
But no, that’s not what’s going on here, and soon enough the medicine woman, after examining Mira, smiles at Fang and the little villager kid: The baby will be OK, and so will Mira. (I mean, come on. Sure, Primal is the type of show where in its pilot episode it killed both of our main characters’ children, but having Mira lose the unborn baby would be a step too far… uh, right?)
Anyway, after that tense opening, what this episode is really about is Spear’s realization that he has become a monster… or at least a monster in the eyes of most everyone around him, even his former best friend, Fang. This leads him on a Frankenstein-ian journey – villagers with torches chasing him out of town, spontaneous moments of literal self-reflection in a mirror of water, and eventually, apparent if transient death. The thing about the Frankenstein monster, as we all know – and now about Spear as well, it seems – is that these guys just don’t die that easily.
The thing about the Frankenstein monster – and now about Spear as well, it seems – is that these guys just don’t die that easily.
Except, Mira and Fang don’t know that, and by episode’s end they think Spear is truly gone again, down that waterfall. They have no reason to think that the connecting river and waterways have taken his unconscious body into some kind of volcanic hellscape, where skulls adorn spears and a weird-AF-looking man-creature awaits him. Why would they ever think that!
Questions and Notes From Anachronistic History
Funny how the villager who’s most afraid – sweat rolling down his face, eyes watering – is the one to make the first move and impale Spear. Ain’t it always the case?
The village child pantomiming to Mira everything that happened while she was asleep is just great.
Notice how Mira is not happy with Fang after the T. rex rejected Spear again and led to his being driven out of the village. Maybe Mira will also be the key to Fang finally accepting Spear again?
That’s a messed up snippet of a flashback that we got to the zombified sauropod dying in lava from Season 1’s “Plague of Madness.” There but for the grace of God, Spear…
Blue and Red Jr. don’t get a ton to do this week, other than be cute and hilarious and ever-loyal to Spear. Their mom could learn a thing or two from them.
Following various delays, Bungie is now ready to open Marathon's doors courtesy of a 'Server Slam' event from tomorrow, February 26, which will run until March 2.
Marathon is a PvP-focused extraction shooter set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV. Players inhabit the bodies of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries who have been designed to survive the planet’s harsh environments, exploring the lost colony that once inhabited Tau Ceti’s surface.
Marathon's full launch is scheduled for March 5 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, so this is an opportunity to try before you buy. Furthermore, Bungie's also using the Server Slam to test its anti-cheat systems, and is calling on players to report cheaters if they encounter them.
Here's everything you need to know about what content's available, the rewards you'll get for participating, and when the free server test goes live where you live.
Marathon Server Slam start times
Depending on where you are in the world, Marathon's Server Slam is set to go live on:
Thursday, February 26 — Monday March 2, 2026:
PST (San Francisco):
10am
CST (Austin, Mexico City):
12pm
EST (New York):
1pm
GMT (London):
6pm
CET (Paris):
7pm
Friday, February 27 — Tuesday March 3, 2026:
JST (Tokyo):
3am
CST (Beijing):
3am
AEST (Sydney):
5am
NZST (Wellington):
7am
Marathon Server Slam Missions and Activities
Infil into two zones:
Perimeter, an edge-site expansion on the colony's outskirts
Dire Marsh, the colony’s agricultural research hub
Take on the early contracts for five factions: CyberAcme, NuCaloric, Traxus, MIDA, and Arachne
Progress though the early faction levels and progression trees for each faction
Try out five of the six Runner shells that will be available at launch, plus our scavenger experience Rook
Play as a crew, solo Runner, form uneasy alliances with proximity chat, and more
Marathon Server Slam Rewards
Time spent during the Slam will "bank loot rewards you’ll receive at launch, based on how far you progress":
Complete your first mission: Unlock the Standard Arrival Cache
Standard implants (6x)
Standard Runner shell cores (4x)
Standard weapon chip mods (6x)
Weapons: Overrun and Hardline
Reach Runner Level 10: Unlock the Enhanced Arrival Cache (Green)
Enhanced implants (6x)
Enhanced Runner shell cores (2x for each shell, 12x total)
Enhanced weapon chip mods (4x)
Weapons: Enhanced Magnum and Enhanced Hardline
Reach Runner Level 30: Unlock the Deluxe Arrival Cache (Blue)
Deluxe and Enhanced implants (3x each, 6x total)
Deluxe and Enhanced Runner shell cores (1x each for each shell, 12x total)
Deluxe and Enhanced weapon chip mods (2x each, 4x total)
Weapons: Deluxe Magnum and Enhanced Volley Rifle
Backpack: Enhanced Base Backpack
PlayStation Plus subscribers will also be able to nab bonus weapon charms themed around Ghost of Yōtei, Death Stranding 2, and Helldivers 2 at launch. Marathon players on Steam automatically receive the exclusive Crowbar Weapon Charm (don't say Half-Life 3 confirmed!) when Marathon releases on March 5. Marathon players on Xbox Series X and S, meanwhile, get the exclusive Emerald Clutch Weapon Charm and Emerald Catch Weapon Charm.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Christian Bale has told a reporter he is due to start filming Heat 2 in Chicago soon, confirming his appearance in the hotly anticipated sequel as part of an increasingly stacked cast that also includes Leonardo DiCaprio.
It’s the first time the American Psycho star has commented on his rumored appearance in Heat 2, which follows on from Michael Mann’s iconic 1995 heist film starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. However, we don’t know which character Bale will play, nor do we know Leonardo DiCaprio’s role. Mann worked with Bale on 2009 crime drama Public Enemies, so his appearance in Heat 2 would see the pair reunite.
The sequel is an adaptation of the 2022 novel of the same name, a collaboration between director Mann and thriller writer Meg Gardiner. Mann was open about his desire to direct a movie version at the time, and in 2023 was being coy over rumors about Adam Driver taking a role.
"Let me put it this way: Adam and I got along like a house on fire [on Ferrari]," Mann told Deadline. "We have the same work ethic, which is pretty intense. We like each other, and we had a great time working together artistically.”
The Heat 2 novel tells the story of the main characters before and after the events of the first movie, which has sparked speculation about how Mann will tackle portraying younger versions of Pacino and De Niro’s characters.
Speaking in October, Mann said he might experiment with AI to solve the issue. “I don’t experiment with technology gratuitously. When I have a dramatic need or aesthetic need for it, then I go deep into what I need,” he said, adding: “Aging and de-aging may be very important in the next film.”
In 2022, Pacino told The Independent that he would be open to using de-aging technology to reprise the role himself. Star Wars actor Adam Driver is rumored to be playing a younger version of De Niro’s character, while Elvis star Austin Butler is reportedly playing Chris Shiherlis, the late Val Kilmer’s character.
Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images.
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.
Final Fantasy 7 — and by that, I mean the original, not the three-part remake — is clocking up negative reviews after developer Square Enix re-released the game on Steam with quality of life improvements that seem to have had the opposite intended effect.
Announced last month and released just yesterday (February 24), this updated version of Final Fantasy 7 comes with a handful of new features, including a 3x speed mode — more on that in a bit — the ability to turn off random encounters, a "battle enhancement mode" that will max out the Limit gauge and let players recover HP/MP during battles, and a handy autosave feature.
Shortly after launch, though, it was clear there were significant issues with the new edition, not least the speedier combat that doesn't match the speed of the animations or menus, plus blurry textures, including in its important cinematic sequences.
Square Enix was on the case within hours and released a small update just a short while later, claiming it had "fixed the speed of certain scenes, including battles," and addressed other, unspecified "minor bug fixes." What it didn't address, however, is the forced 4:3 resolution, and while there will undoubtedly be players happy to jump in and experience the game in its native resolution, the 2013 edition that this new version replaces did let you select other resolutions, leaving some wondering why on earth this was changed.
The problem is compounded even further given this new version of the game replaces the 2013 Steam edition on the Steam storefront entirely, so players looking to buy Final Fantasy 7 for the first time will only have this option available — only those who already owned the 2013 edition are able to switch between the two.
"The battle animation speeds are WAY too high, even without the 3x speed, so the game just plays wrong and feels wrong right now. Hopefully, they fix this," wrote one player. "In addition, you appear to be locked into a 4:3 display, which makes sense as the original format, and many people will prefer to have it that way, but even the 2013 PC version has the ability to stretch it to full screen (which is how I prefer). This should be an option.
"It's very hard to recommend. May I suggest that companies make sure their re-releases at least function on a basic level before delisting their old versions? That'[d] be great," added another.
"I'd just play the 2013 version without glasses on if I wanted the game to look like this," quipped someone else.
All in all, the issues have brought the game's overall Steam user rating down to 'Mostly Negative,' with just 36% of players leaving positive feedback.
"Both the Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox versions have been incredibly well received and generated a lot of buzz online," Hamaguchi said. "That attention has also made me realize how many people are worried about this issue. However, our decision to go multiplatform with the FF7 Remake series will not in any way lower the quality of the third installment."
We also recently learned that the "core game experience is almost complete," and while Hamaguchi "really want[s] everyone to play it as soon as possible," the team has now moved on to "refining and polishing."
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Jackass star Johnny Knoxville has said that the franchise's upcoming fifth film will be its final installment — and this time, it sounds like he really means it.
Due for release this summer, Jackass 5 will reunite the series' core surviving cast for one last compilation of pain-inducing stunts and silly pranks. Even Bam Margera is set to appear, albeit via never-before-seen archive footage.
And this time, it seems, the Jackass crew really are ready to ride off into the sunset — years after Jackass Forever seemed set to serve as its own swansong.
"This is the natural place to end," Knoxville, now 54, said in an interview with Rolling Stone. "So it's going to be absolutely awful.
"You hope it doesn't go well at all!" he joked. "Should be a f*cking train wreck. That's what you should hope for. I think we designed it that way."
But is this really the end? In a GQ interview conducted back in 2021, Knoxville said Jackass Forever would be his "last contribution to the franchise," only to subsequently be tempted back once again. As part of the same interview, however, co-star Steve-O declared that "every movie that we ever made was the f***ing last one. And not just the last one, but declared as the last one."
Indeed, IGN’s Jackass Forever review dubbed the movie as the "final chapter in American comedy’s most chaotic saga," and declared it "a hilarious last hurrah for its original crew."
All of which was correct up until last month, when Knoxville surprised fans by announcing Jackass 5, for launch this summer. "Well a wang dang and hot damn doodle, we are starting the year off with a bang,” wrote Knoxville on Instagram. "We wanted to let you know that this summer Jackass is back! We will see you in theatres June 26th."
Image credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Saints Row 1 design director Chris Stockman has said he believes the series is now “dead” and that owner Embracer has “zero ability” to do anything with the franchise.
The one-time Grand Theft Auto competitor hasn’t seen a new entry since 2022’s ill-fated reboot, Saints Row. It received a mixed reception from fans, with IGN’s Saints Row review returning a 6/10. “Saints Row delivers no shortage of shallow shoot 'em up thrills, but it's a very familiar and uninspired brand of sandbox fun,” we said at the time. Sales were depressed, and developer Volition shut down in 2023. We haven’t heard about Saints Row from Embracer since.
So, is Saints Row dead? Stockman, speaking in the Discord for his studio, Bit Planet Games, said he thinks it is, having pitched a revival to Embracer (via subsidiary Plaion) and heard nothing back.
Stockman, who left Volition during pre-production of Saints Row 2, said last month: “... honestly, I think the franchise is dead, unfortunately. I get the sense that Embracer has zero ability to do anything with it.”
He continued: “I wish things were different. I tried my best to offer a path forward but they've ghosted me.”
IGN asked Embracer for a statement on Stockman’s comments and for a status update on Saints Row, but a spokesperson said the company does not comment on “rumors and speculation.”
More recently, Stockman clarified he’d spoken to Plaion about Saints Row, and he asked about the possibility of selling the IP, “but as I mentioned before they refuse to respond to my messages and emails.”
“Companies of that size almost never sell their IP because it, ultimately, devalues their purchase price if they decide to sell or try to take on investment,” Stockman said.
The upshot of all this is Saints Row celebrates its 20th anniversary this year (the first game came out on August 29, 2006) and it feels like a new game in the series is further away than ever. But one thing seems clear: if the company does have a secret plan for a new Saints Row, Stockman isn’t involved.
“As long as they [Embracer] are in business they own it,” Stockman added. “If they went out of business or filed for bankruptcy it would get auctioned off to the highest bidder.
“They could license it to me or contract us to manage it. But I've done all I can do to try and make that happen.”
Upcoming Embracer games include Killing Floor 3, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, the Embracer-owned Crystal Dynamics' new Tomb Raider games, and Darksiders 4. The fate of the Lord of the Rings MMO, developed by Amazon Games in collaboration with Embracer-owned Middle-earth Enterprises, is unclear. Dead Island 3 is in the works at Dambuster Studios, and is due out in the first half of 2028.
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.
LEGO is one of the most beloved toy brands. While these tiny plastic bricks have built their way into our hearts over the years, they've also made their way on to our screens. There have been a ton of LEGO movies and TV shows released as far back as the early 2000s, but the biggest and most notable films all stem from 2014's The LEGO Movie.
Since The LEGO Movie had its debut in theaters, there have been two spin-offs and a direct sequel that have received a theatrical release. If you're wondering where exactly you can watch those movies in 2026, we've gathered all of the up-to-date streaming details right here.
Where to Watch the LEGO Movies Online
Unfortunately, there is not singular location where you can stream all of the LEGO movies. The two spin-off films, The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Ninjago Movie, are both currently available to stream with an HBO Max subscription. However, if you want to watch The LEGO Movie or its sequel, you'll need to buy or rent them digitally from a VOD platform.
All four of the films are available to buy or rent digitally from Prime Video or Apple TV. You can rent each movie for $3.99, with the exception of The LEGO Ninjago Movie, which is $5.99 for some reason.
Where to Buy the Movies in 4K
If you'd prefer to own the films rather than pay to rent or buy them digitally, you can currently find 4K Blu-ray editions of all four films on Amazon. There are also standard Blu-ray and DVD versions of each film available. Amazon is overall the best place to buy 4K movies in general, but you can also find all of the LEGO movies available on Gruv, which is the official storefront for physical movies from Warner Bros. and Universal.
Upcoming LEGO Movies
Although we have don't any set release dates or titles just yet, it was revealed back in 2024 that there are four live-action LEGO movies in the works for Universal. Of the four films coming down the pipeline, the only one we really have any concrete details about is the untitled live-action Ninjago film. There isn't any sort of director attached, but we do know that Kevin and Dan Hageman are reportedly writing the script. The two brothers are well-known for their work on the popular animated Ninjago TV series.
Darth Maul's new Disney+ TV series will show a changed version of the infamous Star Wars: The Phantom Menace villain — one who has learned that there's "something to respect" about the Jedi.
That's according to veteran Darth Maul voice actor Sam Witwer, speaking to Star Wars Insider (via The HoloFiles), who has previewed his character's upcoming return by discussing how things have changed in the years since he killed Qui-Gon Jinn, and then was cut in two by Obi-Wan.
For those who haven't followed what happened next to Darth Maul (who ended Phantom Menace in two pieces), the short version is he was revived, somehow, and enjoyed a popular run in the Star Wars: Clone Wars TV show. Now, the horny antagonist is back for more, this time as the star of Maul: Shadow Lord, a 10-episode animated show set to feature more of his exploits.
"We pick up after The Clone Wars," Witwer said, setting the scene. "The Empire has taken over, and Maul's reassessing everything. There were plans in place that were supposed to insulate him from the changes when the Empire came to power, and a lot of the people that were supposed to be there for him were not. He's getting back on his feet, the dust is clearing, and he's looking around at the Empire — the thing he and his master had been working toward since he was an apprentice — and thinking, 'Is this what Palpatine had in mind? How do I feel about this?'"
As the series will apparently show, Maul does not have a great feeling about this — what the Empire is up to and how it is simply a regime that exists for "influence, power and money." At the same time, Maul is also harbouring changed thoughts on his former master, following Darth Sidious' murder of Maul's brother Savage Opress.
"He was trained to hate and destroy the Jedi without ever questioning it," Witwer continued. "Now he’s looking at the galaxy going, 'Boy, we could sure use a Jedi Knight or two.' At least with the Jedi you knew where they stood. There's something to respect there. This Empire, he sees no values there, just the naked grab for influence, power, and money. Principles are gone. And he looks at that with a certain level of distaste. He may not have agreed with the Jedi Knights, but at least they had principles. You knew who you were dealing with and you could reason with that. There’s no reasoning with the Empire."
All of that said, don't expect Maul to suddenly become a cuddly character. "This show is bad guys versus worse guys," Witwer concluded, "and Maul's on the bad-guy side of that equation."
Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord will premiere via Disney+ on April 6, 2026, with two episodes being released each week until May 4.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
In a lengthy blog, Discord co-creator and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy admitted the company had "missed the mark" and "failed at [its] most basic job: clearly explaining what we're doing and why."
Discord initially announced plans to roll out the "controversial" age verification checks as part of its "internal safety systems" and "enhancing its age-appropriate protections for users worldwide while maintaining "privacy, community and meaningful connection on the platform." The changes would have been coming to countries with age verifications mandated by law, as well as those without.
The announcement came just months after Discord admitted that hackers had gained access to images of 70,000 government IDs, uploaded to the servers of a third-party vendor that it had entrusted with the data, following user contact with its Customer Support or Trust & Safety teams. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the news did not go down well, and thousands of members revolted, cancelling Discord's premium subscription, Nitro, and threatening to move their communities to other platforms, like Steam Groups.
In response to the community backlash and apprehension about third-parties vendors, Discord said it's moving to introduce more options and means of verifying your age, better transparency, plus that aforementioned delayed rollout.
Looking ahead, countries that have already passed age verification laws, like the UK, Australia, and Brazil, "may [still] require platforms to use approved methods like facial age estimation or ID checks," which means Discord cannot implement its own non-identifying systems, admitting, "we're not the only platform navigating this." For everyone else, though, the company reckons over 90% of people "will continue to use Discord without ever seeing an age verification prompt."
The firm stressed again that most people won't see any verification prompts, Discord does not get your identity, and if you don't verify, you can keep using your account — only age-restricted spaces could be limited. It also insisted it did not read DMs to determine your age, your age group is entirely private, and it will commit "to clearer vendor transparency" and "entirely on-device" age checks.
"We've made mistakes. I won't pretend we haven't. And I know that being a bigger company now means our mistakes have bigger consequences and erode trust faster," Vishnevskiy concluded. "I don't expect one blog post to fix that. Trust is earned through actions over time: shipping the things we promised, owning it when we miss the mark, and giving you real control over your own experience.
"But at our core, we build Discord because we love it and use it ourselves. Our motivation is simple: we want to build a great product for ourselves and the communities we’re part of. That doesn’t exempt us from the higher bar that comes with our scale; it motivates us to meet it. We’re listening. We'll get this right. And when we ship, you'll be able to see for yourselves."
Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
AA publisher and developer Nacon has filed for insolvency, raising questions over the future of games such as GreedFall 2, Hell is Us, RoboCop, and Test Drive Unlimited.
Nacon, which is home to 16 development studios as well as a publishing arm, said it was forced into the decision after its majority shareholder, Bigben Interactive, failed to make a loan repayment. It has now asked a French court for permission to restructure its debt.
“The aim of this procedure is to assess all possible solutions to ensure the sustainability of the Company's activity under the best possible conditions, protect employees, and preserve jobs, while renegotiating with its creditors in a calm and constructive framework,” Nacon said. This procedure will enable the Company to continue its business, renegotiate its debts, and develop a credible and effective continuation plan.” The Court is expected to make its decision at a hearing in early March.
Nacon has a number of AA games under its belt, including GreedFall 2: The Dying World, which will release in its full 1.0 version on March 12. Nacon this week alerted press to its annual showcase event, dubbed Nacon Connect, which was set for March 4. It is expected to show off the likes of Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, The Mound, Edge of Memories, and Endurance Motorsport Series. And just this morning Nacon launched the third major update for Dragonkin: The Banished, which is still in Early Access.
The publisher just released Styx: Blades of Greed last week. RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business came out last year, as did Rogue Factor’s Hell is Us. IGN has asked Nacon for comment on its ability to continue to release its games and maintain and support those it has out already.
BBI, which currently holds 56.72% of the share capital and 65.79%% of the voting rights of Nacon, announced last week that it was unable to make a partial repayment of €43 million “due to the unexpected refusal of its banking pool to respond to the drawdown notice.” At the time, Nacon issued a warning to the financial markets, and suspended trading in the company’s shares.
Nacon’s hope now is that it gets approval from the court to restructure its debt. If it is successful, its existing liabilities will be frozen for a period that could last up to 18 months. During this time, the debtor will present a continuation plan for its activities by restructuring its debt, hopefully ensuring its recovery.
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.
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