This super popular deal is back ahead of Black Friday. Amazon and Best Buy are currently offering a brand new 9th gen (2021) Apple iPad 10.2" Wi-Fi 64GB tablet for only $199.99. That's 40% off the $329 list price and the lowest price we've seen. This is the most affordable iPad model you can get brand new with warranty. Right now you would have to pay an extra $100 to upgrade to the newest 10th gen Apple iPad, whichi may not be worth it for most people.
2021 9th Gen Apple iPad 10.2" 64GB for $199.99
For most people, the iPad (not the Air, Mini, or Pro) is the best model to get. Despite its very low price tag, the 9th gen Apple iPad is a fully featured and capable tablet. The 10.2" Retina display is bright and crisp, and the Apple A13 Bionic chip offers good CPU and GPU performance. The iPad is also equipped with both a front-facing camera for voice chat and rear camera for taking photos and videos. This is a great option for school, work, or simply relaxing with your favorite movie, book, or streaming service.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Buying a gift card for someone is super easy, but is it a good enough present to give for the holidays? The answer depends on several factors, including how the person feels about gift cards in general (Do they consider them thoughtless? What if you get one from a store they never shop at?).
More times than not, however, a gift card can be a reliable and solid gift. I, for one, love shopping at Amazon and Etsy since they have a bit of everything, but I also love receiving local gift certificates to my favorite restaurants, nearby shops, or other experience-based treats. I enjoy the freedom to buy things that, normally, I might not want to pick up on my own dime. And if I tell multiple people that I want a gift card from the same store, I can rack up more money towards a bigger purchase – I once used a few Amazon gift cards to get myself a record player.
TL;DR: The Top 5 Gift Cards
If you are shopping around for your loved ones, consider getting them a gift card or two. As a bonus, there will likely be gift card deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday like there were last year, so keep an eye out for discounts from big retailers this month.
The 5 Best Gift Cards to Get Anyone on Your List
Big retailer gift cards usually don't have any expiration, and come in the form of digital or physical gift cards. Plus, you can even schedule out emailed gift cards to get ahead of the holiday craze.
1. Etsy
2. Apple
3. Target
4. Best Buy
5. Amazon
For the practical person in your life:
Some of these may be no-brainers, but these are also good options for folks trying to save money on every day items. Everything from a Visa prepaid card to Walmart to Uber+ UberEats, there's a little something for everyone.
For the geeks and gamers:
For the hardcore gamers or collectors in your life, to the newcomers who just got a console for the first time, you can't go wrong with these gift cards. Also, don't forget to support your local bookstores and your local comic book store!
There are thousands of gift card ideas to consider based on your giftee's favorite stores and hobbies, but we narrowed down these picks based on what’s the most practical, readily available, and fun ones I’d recommend for friends and family overall.
What to Expect for Gift Card Deals
Looking for deals on gift cards or other freebies? Be sure to keep an eye out for early Black Friday deals this month from places like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and more. Last year, Amazon offered a free Amazon credit when you bought select physical or digital gift cards from merchants like Apple Store, Uber and more. And, there will likely be gaming deals, such as PS Store credits and Xbox digital gift cards at 10% off (via Walmart last year).
More Black Friday Deals to Explore
Each week leading up to Black Friday on Nov 29th, retailers will roll out more and more deals. In case you missed it, Nintendo officially announced its Black Friday Switch deals for 2024, with incoming discounts on Joy-Con controllers, Switch games and loads more. For more, see what you can expect from Black Friday 2024 deals.
Lindsey (she/her) is IGN's Director of Audience Development and Commerce. She's been at IGN since 2021 and has a background in SEO, especially in the gaming, entertainment, and tech media spaces. Find her on Twitter at @LindseySalzer.
In prior years Black Friday used to be a small window of five days between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday and it would make sense to halt all of your shopping until that time arrived. That's just not true anymore. Retailers are stretching out this sale event across all of November so that some of the best deals can happen weeks in advance.
Several retailers are advertising early Black Friday deals on TVs. However, I've only listed the TVs that I think are worth picking up right now. In other words, I don't think they will drop in price any further and they will remain competitive with the best deals we'll find on Black Friday. If there's a TV deal that isn't mentioned here, chances are I think you should wait and see if a better deal will pop up. After all, Black Friday is only a few weeks away. If you're just window shopping and want to hold off on your purchases no matter what, at least keep these deals bookmarked in case they do happen to be the best deals, even on Black Friday proper.
65" Samsung S90C 4K OLED Smart TV for $999.99
The Best Black FridayHigh-End TV Deal
Potentially the best Black Friday deal on a high-end OLED gaming TV is already available. Right now, Best Buy, Amazon, and Samsung are offering the 65" Samsung S90C 4K OLED Smart TV for just $999.99 after an absolutely massive $1,600 price drop. This is an excellent TV to pair up with your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. In fact, some critics rate the S90C as a better gaming TV than the LG C4. RTINGS writes that "the LG (C4) is noticeably dimmer in Game Mode while the Samsung (S90C) isn't, making the Samsung the better choice for gamers."
50" Hisense R6 4K Roku Smart TV for $138
The Best Black Friday Budget TV Deal
For all you budget TV shoppers, one of the best TV deals of 2024 is now live. As part of Walmart's Early Black Friday Sale, Walmart is currently offering the 50" Hisense R6 4K Roku TV for just $138. That's the best price we've seen for a 50" TV with native 4K resolution and a built-in Roku smart TV interface. The Hisense 50R6030N is a new 2024 model. This TV offers pretty much everything you really need at an unbeatable price. There will absolutely be plenty more TVs on sale during Black Friday, and if you're looking for a different screen size or a specific feature, then you should wait. However, if you want a 50" TV for the lowest price possible, you won't find anything much better than this deal.
Note that this TV was extremely popular yesterday when the deal went live and sold out in a matter of hours. Unless you're located in an obscure zip code, chances are it's out of stock and unavailable at the moment. We have it listed here because there's always a chance it will return prior to or on Black Friday. If not, at least you have a good baseline price point that you can use when checking the prices of other affordable 50" TV deals.
75" TCL S4 4K Roku TV for $378
The Best Black Friday Big Screen Budget TV Deal
Walmart's other best budget TV deal is on this 75" TCL S4 4K Roku TV for only $378. The S4 is TCL's least expensive 4K TV lineup and even at its everyday retail price of $498 it represents a pretty strong value. At $120 off, it's practically a steal. Aside from the much larger screen size, the TCL S4 is quite similar to the Hisense R6 mentioned above. It features a native 4K resolution, built-in smart TV interface, Motion Rate 120, and auto low latency mode for gaming.
This TV is also going out of stock quickly, but there are still plenty of zip codes where this TV is in stock for free shipping or in-store pickup. Will we see a cheaper 75" 4K TV on Black Friday? I don't think so.
85" Hisense QD7 4K 144Hz QLED Smart TV for $799.99
The Best Black Friday Gaming TV Deal
Best Buy and Walmart have dropped the price on the new-for-2024 85" Hisense QD7 4K Smart TV. Right now, you can get it for just $799.99 after a $400 instant discount. This is an excellent deal for a huge TV that can run games in 4K at up to 144Hz on your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X console. It costs hundreds of dollars less than every TV in our roundup of the best TVs for PlayStation 5. For those of you who picked up the new PS5 Pro, perhaps this will help alleviate the sting of spending $700 on a console.
The QD7 is one of Hisense's newest TV releases and became available for purchase only a few months ago. It's a gaming-oriented TV that's a great option for anyone who owns a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X console and wants to be able to play games without compromise at a budget price point. This particular model of the 4K TV boasts an absolutely huge 85" screen size, full-array LED backlighting, and QLED panel technology for a wider range of colors. It has two HDMI 2.1 ports each capable of up to 144Hz refresh rate. Other gaming-first features include variable refresh rate from 48Hz to 144Hz, auto low latency mode with MEMC, and AMD FreeSync Premium support. For watching movies and shows in HDR, the QD7 supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG formats. It adopts Google TV as its smart interface, which means any Android phone or tablet can be used as a remote control.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Welcome back, friends, to more of the cheapest games and controllers going. If I was you (and I never played them), I'd score those incredibly cheap Borderlands compilations on Switch, the highly reduced Logitech PC peripherals, and the equal parts challenging / satisfying Dragon's Dogma 2. See you tomorrow for more!
In retro news, I'm fondly remembering the 12th birthday of Mirrors Edge, a 'First Person Parkourer' pioneer. I recall being mighty impressed when DICE took a break from its usual Battlefield shenanigans to (almost completely) ditch gunplay in pursuit of FPS platforming flow and good old-fashioned flykicking fascists in the face.
Yeah, the story was short and not particularly riveting, but the speed-wall-running was sublime, the sense of vertigo intense, and I adored the juxtapositioning of a complex and dark totalitarian world presented in hyperbright minimalism. How they never did a VR version of this is beyond me.
Insomniac is all about giving you options with its choice of "Fidelity Pro" or "Performance Pro." The horse's mouth on the former is that it targets 30 fps, but you can experiment with some new ray tracing features that can be turned on individually to reach higher intermediate frame rates, especially when using VRR or 120 Hz Display options (actual viz improvements best seen in denser ped counts and finer hair detail). As a webslinging speed demon, "Performance Pro" is a me thing as it targets 60 fps and retains the detail of Fidelity via PSSR. Insomniac flat out recommends it as it also includes all ray tracing features (relections, water, and window interiors). Simply gorgeous.
Throughout 2024, standalone mixed-reality headset buzz has largely been a tossup between the Meta Quest 3, a standalone gaming headset with solid mixed-reality capabilities, and the Apple Vision Pro, a full-blown wearable computer that integrates into the entire Apple ecosystem. With that in mind, HTC’s new Vive Focus Vision – a PC gaming-focused headset that takes a few ideas from both the Apple Vision Pro and the Quest 3, may look like something of a Frankenstein’s monster. That’s because, even though it technically has standalone functionality and can technically be used to create media and play mixed-reality games, it is so much worse at doing those things than the Quest 3. And yet, thanks to its noticeably sharper 5K resolution, it manages to be a tad more competent at setting up a virtual workspace with a massive ultrawide display. However, unlike both the Quest 3 and the Apple Vision Pro, the HTC Vive Focus Vision is overwhelmingly geared toward traditional PC VR gaming with a wire – taking advantage of its unique lossless DisplayPort-to-USB-C streaming feature through Vive Hub.
Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of goodies in this bag. A 5K combined (2,448 x 2,448 pixels per eye) resolution presented through dual Fresnel lenses offers a near-120-degree horizontal FOV at up to 90hz – or 120hz in PC streaming mode after an eventual update. Two half-rings of eye-tracking cameras surrounding both lenses support motorized auto-IPD adjustment and foveated rendering. Meanwhile, four inside-out tracking cameras give it pristine hand and controller tracking – which works great when the controllers aren’t bugging out. Official support for facial tracking and additional external trackers means you can rig it to make your avatar’s virtual face and limbs mimic your real-life features in social apps like VRChat.
For these reasons, the Vive Focus Vision narrowly beats the PlayStation VR2 for the best dedicated SteamVR headset I’ve ever owned – albeit by a thin margin. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks using it to play games like Blade & Sorcery, H3VR, Pavlov VR, and Half-Life: Alyx – though, for this use case, it doesn’t do anything super differently than the HTC Vive Focus 3 aside from being DisplayPort-compatible; a first for HTC’s Vive Focus series. Its standalone OS is simple but navigable, and its boundary-setting and room-scanning software is functional thanks to its decent full-color passthrough and built-in depth sensor. However, Viveport’s extremely limited selection of available games, very few of which use mixed reality, makes it seem like HTC hit all the standalone MR checkboxes just to say it could. At the least, at $999.99 the Vive Focus Vision is more affordable than its predecessor – which remains primarily enterprise-focused at its original $1,300 price – but again, it’s most clearly geared toward PC VR power users and location-based entertainment businesses, both of which will make great use of its convenient hot-swappable battery and magnetically-detachable, easy-to-clean facial interface.
HTC Vive Focus Vision – Design and Features
The HTC Vive Focus Vision has an all-black design that is both comfortable and visually pleasing. Its glossy front faceplate has a cool cyberpunk edge to it, and its standalone versatility makes it capable of covering every spatial computing need – kinda like a VR Swiss Army Knife – making it a viable option for those steering clear of both Meta and Apple.
It has built-in eye-tracking cameras, two 16MP full-color passthrough cameras, a depth sensor for mixed-reality room scanning and gaming, and an IR flood light for low-light hand tracking – all improvements over its 2021 predecessor, the Vive Focus 3. It’s also the first Vive Focus headset to offer lossless DisplayPort visuals via USB-C. Both devices use the now-outdated Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 platform also used by the four-year-old Meta Quest 2, but at least the Vive Focus Vision gets an internal performance bump over its predecessor, pushing its RAM up from 8GB to 12GB.
One of the best parts of the Focus Vision being a member of the Vive Focus family is that it’s powered by a universal hot-swappable 7000mAh battery. I use the term “universal” because its battery is also compatible with previous Vive Focus devices, and, even better, it can be charged separately from the headset via a 30W AC charger – getting up to around 50% in 35-45 minutes in my own experience. As soon as you pull it out from behind the magnetic rear gasket, you have about 20 minutes of internal battery life to replace it – and once you do, the game simply goes on like nothing happened. If you’re using the Focus Vision while plugged into a computer, the battery life is extended much further – up to around seven hours. This is a huge deal for VR arcades and other businesses that cater to a lot of different potential users on the same day, but it also means the Vive Focus Vision stays usable for a much longer time.
Both the facial interface and the rear gasket (which stores the hot-swappable battery) can be easily pulled off and replaced via magnetic attachment, and they’re both pretty comfortable to wear for hours at a time, affording ample pleather padding for my face and the back of my head. That said, the Focus Vision is noticeably heavier while playing physically intense games than the Quest 3. But hey, at least they’re easy to clean and replace.
The Vive Focus Vision’s adjustable head strap can be described with one word: “cozy”. It stays put during periods of physical activity, which is not the case for the Quest 3 and Quest 3S’s default Y-style strap. Both the Focus Vision’s head strap and adjustment knob are easy to configure on the fly thanks to a release button on the back. There’s also a convenient auto-IPD function layered within the Focus Vision’s settings menu that takes – at most – a couple of seconds to set your display’s IPD (interpupillary distance) anywhere between 57 and 72 mm using those fancy eye-tracking cameras.
I commend the Focus Vision for providing a ton of space within the facial interface, which has remained comfortable without needing a ton of constant adjustment, and hasn’t left quite as visible a mark on my face after hours of usage as other headsets typically do. With the packed-in glasses spacer, this display is probably ideal for most glasses-wearers even when using the preinstalled light bleed guard, which sits comfortably below the lenses and blocks out all external light. For the record, that’s a big compliment, and I can’t say the same thing about the PS VR2 – which is one of my favorite VR headsets of all time.
On the other hand, the fan on the top of the Focus Vision’s visor is also quite big – and loud – making a racket even when I’m doing basic tasks like opening the headset’s internal internet browser. It can get distracting enough to remind me of the jet engine noises the base PS4 makes when it’s in distress, and that doesn’t evoke a great feeling when it’s coming from something attached to my face.
It’s cool that there are USB-C 3.2 ports in two places – one sitting on the right side of the headset while wearing it (next to the Aux-In jack) and a second one in the front section of the visor, hidden under a removable cover. According to other users, the second jack is typically only useful when adding USB-C accessories like external facial and body trackers, though I didn’t try those out during my review period, so I can’t speak to how well they work with the Focus Vision.
The only problem with this configuration is that, once a USB-C cable is plugged into the right side of the display, it often gets in the way. And without the wired connection, the headset’s Wi-Fi 6E driver doesn’t do a great job of staying connected to SteamVR via Vive Hub without showing significant artifacts and compression. That’s with ~200MB/s upload speeds – more than sufficient for a consistently stable experience with Virtual Desktop on the Quest 3 and 3S.
A nifty touch in the Focus Vision is the microSD slot that’s compatible with up to 2TB external storage. It’s cleverly hidden behind the detachable facial interface, though with 128GB built-in storage and a relatively small library of apps and games via the official Viveport store, I didn’t feel any compulsion to expand my storage – especially with a perfectly good VR-capable gaming PC at my fingertips.
The Vive Focus Vision includes two built-in directional 3D audio speakers on its left and right sides, sitting roughly around where my ears sit when the headset is snug to my face. This is another area where the Focus Vision beats other modern PC VR displays, the PS VR2, and even the Quest 3; the sound quality has been consistently crystal clear (when the fan wasn’t running on overdrive), and at times, peripheral sound sources coming from the left and right surround channels were so convincingly punchy that if I didn’t know better, I might’ve been convinced that Half-Life’s extraterrestrial invaders had taken over my real-life apartment.
It also comes packed with dual microphones enhanced by a built-in echo-cancellation feature hidden within the headset’s settings, and they sounded quite nice once I got them working in Windows. Meanwhile, similar to the recent Quest 3S, there is a volume button on the bottom and a neat action button on the left side which comfortably switches between immersive mode and full-color passthrough after a couple of quick taps.
HTC Vive Focus Vision – Setup and Controllers
Setting up the HTC Vive Focus Vision is largely the same process as with most other VR headsets. HTC requires you to create an account and set up the Vive Manager mobile app, a process that mirrors Meta’s process for setting up any Quest headset. But in all, it was a pretty simple exercise that only took around 25-30 minutes to get sorted before I could begin playing games in my SteamVR library. That said, there’s an extra set of steps to follow – and about 15-20 additional minutes of setup time – if you’re using the Vive Wired Streaming Kit to hardwire the Focus Vision into your gaming PC or Mac – either directly through USB-C or by using the Focus Vision-exclusive DisplayPort-to-USB-C adapter.
Setting up Vive Hub on PC is also pretty simple since it just requires an installer download from HTC’s website. After a quick installation process, the software plugs and plays seamlessly into SteamVR with a few tweaks. There’s also additional downloads for the Vive Streaming service, Vive Hub app, and Vive Desk service, the last of which is necessary if you’re planning on using it as a digital workspace. Finally, for PC VR gaming, it’s always a good idea to turn off Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling for a smoother experience.
One of the bigger downsides of the Vive Focus Vision is its controllers. They use a typical dual-stick layout that’s consistent with the modern Touch Plus and Sense Controllers, which is great, but they’re lengthy, bulky, and unwieldy, often getting in the way of gameplay. Their issues are especially apparent when I’m physically unable to reload unconventional weapons in games like H3VR or swing a sword without hitting my face in Blade & Sorcery. The first example happened several times, while the second is more of an exaggeration – but the point is, it’s painfully awkward to play with these after being spoiled by the Quest 3’s far nimbler Touch Plus controllers.
All that bulkiness is bad enough, but they don’t seem to have a relatively long battery life either – staying alive for about three or four hours on a single charge. They also rely on USB-C to recharge, which runs counter to the hot-swapping capability of the headset’s main battery. They also simply stopped working on multiple occasions, forcing me to restart both SteamVR and Vive Hub, kicking me out of everything I’m doing in VR. Not great.
That said, it’s nice that the controllers don’t require an arduous setup process involving connecting them to Windows’ onboard Bluetooth. Instead, they connect wirelessly to the headset, which is a major step up from my experience hooking up my PS VR2 to my PC via the PS VR2 PC Adapter.
HTC Vive Focus Vision – Gaming Performance
If you’re planning on buying the Vive Focus Vision primarily for standalone VR or mixed-reality gaming, you might want to hold off – at least until HTC fills up its content library. Right now, the software framework is all there – the internal GUI is straightforward to navigate, with well-structured menus, useful tutorials, easy-to-set-up virtual boundaries with an initial cap of 10x10 meters, and so forth – though it’s all noticeably slower than I’m used to as a Quest 3 power user. For instance, reorienting my view in the Vive Focus Vision takes an additional few seconds to kick in after holding down the Vive’s equivalent of the “Home” button for two or three seconds, whereas the same feature is near-instant on the Quest 3.
The Vive Focus Vision also just feels behind when running standalone games and experiences. That’s because it relies on a years-old Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 processor to push outdated content through Fresnel lenses at 2,448 x 2,448 (5K) per-eye resolution – creating a worst-of-both-worlds scenario. After all, not only are those old games’ visual wrinkles magnified at higher resolutions and with god rays typical of Fresnel lenses, but they’re just slow – giving inconsistent performance and jittery frames. Oh yeah, and they’re loud, no thanks to that pesky onboard fan I mentioned earlier.
But still, on paper, it has all the features a typical user might want for a modern standalone headset – like mixed-reality room-scanning that remembers the geometry of each object in a given playspace, and reasonably good-looking full-color passthrough. Once they get working, they work almost as well as on the Quest 3. The biggest problem is that the Viveport store betrays a much emptier content library, with only barebones offerings compared to Meta’s abundant-by-comparison ecosystem. There’s no Supernatural nor PianoVision, but hey, at least there’s Les Mills Bodycombat and a port of Google Tilt Brush, called Open Brush. Those certainly aren’t bad, but I haven’t even gotten to the games yet. The lack of selection is immediately apparent and bodes poorly for those hoping to make the Focus Vision their primary standalone VR headset.
Once you plug it into a gaming PC is where the Vive Focus Vision finally, truly shines. Jacking it in through my Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti’s DisplayPort on my desktop (via HTC’s Wired Streaming Kit, sold separately), my experience skyrocketed. I was immediately struck by the display’s outstandingly rich color depth, surprisingly deep blacks, and some of the crispest graphics I’ve experienced on any of my headsets. Somehow, HTC managed to achieve this with plain old Fresnel lenses. All I needed to do was set the graphics to Auto in Vive Hub on my desktop and the Focus Vision gave me true 5K PC VR at 90hz, supported by foveated rendering. By the way, the latter makes everything look gorgeously detailed without a performance dip, even without having the benefit of infinite contrast from OLED lenses or the inherent clarity of pancake lenses.
The downside here is that, if I want to fiddle with my system settings or adjust my IPD while using SteamVR, I have to completely exit Vive Streaming mode and go back to standalone mode, jarring me away from whatever I’m doing on my PC. This element of the Vive Focus Vision’s standalone OS feels like a work in progress, which is baffling since SteamVR is the device’s bread and butter. Speaking of, HTC promises an eventual update unlocking a 120hz mode on PC, but it’s not available yet. That’s less of a big deal, however, since even though I was stuck at a cap of 90 frames per second, the Vive Focus Vision pumped out consistently stable framerates in SteamVR throughout my entire two-week testing period.
Even better, the Focus Vision’s display provides a near-120-degree horizontal viewing angle that beats every other headset I’ve recently tested. I can finally see everything happening around me when looking directly in front of me (even though the black edges of the display are still visible when deliberately looking left and right). The vertical viewing angle isn’t quite as proportional, and there is sometimes a slight visible fish-eye effect when looking directly at a subject up close. But even so, there’s much less of a feeling of wearing VR “goggles” and it’s far easier to get pulled deeper into atmospheric games like Half-Life: Alyx. The Focus Vision’s wider FOV (paired together with its 3D-accurate spatial audio speakers) is an obvious boon for competitive gamers who don’t want to be easily jumped by enemy players in online games like Pavlov VR, and eventually, 120hz mode will help out there too.
Vive Desk transforms the Vive Focus Vision into a virtual office with up to three digital monitors or one 21:9 ultrawide, speaking directly to a connected PC or Mac. This is where passthrough becomes especially useful for work, as you can designate a specific area of your real-life desk to appear inside of the virtual environment at all times, and it’s cool that you can use your PC’s mouse to manipulate the size and location of Vive Desk’s virtual displays.
Disappointingly, there is still no officially-supported way to play exclusives from Meta’s back catalog of PC VR games – like Lone Echo or Asgard’s Wrath – on non-Meta headsets like the Vive Focus Vision. At least, not without going through outdated and potentially unsupported third-party software. This is a huge missed opportunity for those old games that would benefit massively from the Vive Focus Vision’s hardware.
An ambitious new Monster Hunter mobile game is under development by Capcom and TiMi Studio Group, the developer behind Age of Empires Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, and Pokémon Unite. Titled Monster Hunter Outlanders, it's billed as a "new, fully-featured game" in the series with multiplayer hunters and expansive exploration. It will be free-to-play and feature in-app purchases, a representative tells IGN.
The initial trailer shows off some of what fans can expect from the new mobile release, which promises an open-world teeming with familiar monsters like Anjanath and Great Jagras. As with the core games in the series, Monster Hunter Outlanders appears to include multiple biomes that can be explored using a glider similar to the one Link uses in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It features impressive graphics despite being a mobile game, and can be played either solo or with friends.
"It’s time for mobile players to fully enjoy what makes Monster Hunter one of the most beloved franchises in gaming,” TiMi Studio Group producer Dong Huang says. “Monster Hunter Outlanders not only offers players an authentic hunting experience, but it does it in a massive open world featuring the community and social systems players are looking for today.”
Monster Hunter Outlanders won't be the only Monster Hunter game on mobile, but it looks to be a more traditional experience than Niantic's Monster Hunter Now, an augmented reality game released in 2023. TiMi Studio Group says it will seek to combine the hunts the series is known for with regular world events and activities.
Monster Hunter Outlanders does not yet have a release date, but TiMi Studio Group says it's planning to conduct several playtests in advance. In the meantime, Capcom is also preparing to release Monster Hunter Wilds, which got off to a wild start with more than 463,000 players on Steam earlier this month. Monster Hunter Wilds officially releases on Xbox, PS5, and PC on February 28.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Remember a few months ago, when Amazon denied rumors that its free, ad-supported streaming service Freevee would be shutting down following the introduction of ads to Prime Video? Well, things have changed.
As reported by Deadline on Tuesday, Freevee will be "phased out" over the coming weeks. The good news is that its original series, including Bosch: Legacy, Jury Duty, and Judy Justice, are already available on Prime Video and will remain there. Additionally, in territories where Freevee has been available, its content will still be viewable in front of the paywall for non-Prime members. Amazon addressed the shutdown with the following statement:
“We have built Prime Video into a first-stop entertainment destination where customers can personalize their viewing experience by streaming exclusive Prime member entertainment produced by Amazon MGM Studios, licensed movies and series, content from other services as an add-on subscription, live sports, blockbuster movies and series to rent or buy, FAST Channels and the complete Amazon Freevee content offering. To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding. There will be no change to the content available for Prime members, and a vast offering of free streaming content will still be accessible for non-Prime members, including select Originals from Amazon MGM Studios, a variety of licensed movies and series, and a broad library of FAST Channels – all available on Prime Video.”
Freevee launched in 2019 as IMDb Freedive, changing its name to IMDb TV a few months later before rebranding once more to Freevee in 2022. It gained some popularity not only as a place to watch a number of Prime Video shows for free, including The Wheel of Time, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and A League of Their Own, but for its own original content. Specifically, it scored three Primetime Emmy nominations for its hoax reality series Jury Duty.
However, once Prime Video introduced ads early this year, the distinctions between that streaming platform and Freevee started to blur. Prime Video subscribers now have to pay an additional $2.99/month to avoid ads.
The streaming market may have just gotten a little bit smaller, but that doesn't mean there's still not an overwhelming bevy of options to choose from. For more, check out our ranking of the major streaming services available currently.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Back in February 2023, we informed you about Project TH. Developed by EVR Studio, this third-person action game appears to be the Splinter Cell game we all have been waiting for. Based on the webtoon Moodang, Project TH takes place in the Unified Nation of Korea in the near future. The story follows different events … Continue reading Project TH seems to be the Splinter Cell game we’ve been waiting for→
Secretlab just launched its official Black Friday Sale, which starts now and runs until November 30. Save up to $169 off Secretlab's popular Titan line of gaming chairs, Magnus gaming desks (including its Magnus Pro electric standing desk model), and accessories like the Secretlab Skins upholstery covers, desk mats, cable management, and more. Sadly, the newer releases like the Titan Evo Nanogen Edition chair and the recliner add-on are exempt from this sale.
If you're looking to upgrade your chair, there's no better time than Black Friday. Secretlab sale events only come around a handful of times per year, and the Black Friday sale is usually the best one of them all.
It's no secret that we love our Secretlab gaming chairs. Two of the six chairs in our best gaming chair roundup are Secretlab models. Of all the gaming chairs we covered in our "Budget to Best" roundup video earlier this year, my colleague Akeem Lawanson considered the Secretlab Titan Evo to be the most comfortable. No good chair comes cheap and Secretlab chairs definitely cost a premium, but we think the craftsmanship, materials, and customizability are worth it.
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You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. For more information on each product and why they are worth your consideration, read through below.
Secretlab Titan Evo
The Titan Evo starts at $519 during the sale. This is Secretlab's flagship chair and it's available in small, medium, and large sizes. Upholstery options include Neo Hybrid leatherette, SoftWeave Plus fabric, or premium Napa leather. The chair features cold-cure foam upholstery for the seat, a supportive four-way lumbar system, full length backrest with 165 degrees of recline, full metal 4D armrests with magnetically attached PU cushions, and a memory foam headrest pillow.
Aside from the build quality, the Titan Evo also stands out thanks to the sheer number of officially licensed designs from popular video games, TV shows, and more. Some of the more popular examples include The Witcher, Overwatch, Attack on Titan, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Game of Thrones. They generally cost more than the standard colors, but they're worth it if you're looking for that extra personal touch.
In our Secretlab Titan Evo review, Chris Coke wrote that "after two years of daily use, the Secretlab Titan Evo has proven that it can stand the test of time and still be one of the best gaming chairs you can buy. Meaningful ergonomics paired with Secretlab’s wide selection of designs, it remains a fantastic option, especially for fans of bright colors or designs."
Secretlab Titan 2020
The prior model Titan 2020 gaming chair is available for $474, which is $45 less than the base model Titan Evo. The Titan 2020 is still an excellent chair and not much different than the current Evo model. In fact, outside of an upholstery change (the PU leather has been updated with Neo Hybrid Leatherette), the changes are mostly cosmetic. You are limited to fewer design options, so if you want to build out something that's truly unique, you might want to splurge a bit extra for the current generation Titan Evo model.
Secretlab Titan Evo Lite
Among the Titan chairs, the Evo Lite is definitely the best value with its starting price tag of $419, or a full $100 less than the base model Titan Evo. It's built upon the same frame as the Titan Evo and has the same core features like the cold-cure foam cushioning, lumbar, 165 degrees of recline, and 4D armrests. What it compromises on is customization, with "only" two upholstery options, two sizes, and five colors, a non-adjustable lumbar system, simpler arm rests, and no included head rest. If none of these tradeoffs bother you, then you'll be saving quite a bit of money.
Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen Edition
Although the Titan Evo Nanogen Edition isn't on sale, it deserves mention simply because this is our top pick for the best gaming chair. In our Titan Evo Nanogen Edition review, Chris Coke wrote that "the Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen Edition deserves every bit of the overwhelming praise I’ve given. Granted, at $799 it’s significantly more expensive than the original and not far off from an entry-level Herman-Miller. But the return it offers in comfortable, supportive gaming is well worth the extra cost thanks to dramatically improved materials in both the fabric and multi-layered padding. The Titan Evo Nanogen Edition is class-leading, and is hands-down the most comfortable gaming chair I’ve ever used."
Secretlab Titan Recliner Add-On
Secretlab also announced a new recliner add-on to anyone who already owns the Titan Evo chair. It's so new that not only will this recliner ship out sometime next year, it's not even available for preorder yet. We have received a unit for testing, however, and it has turned out to be a very practical addition.
In our recliner add-on review, Chris Coke wrote that "while both comfort and value are subjective things, the recliner is able to take the Titan Evo and transform it from one of the best racing style gaming chairs to standing head and shoulders above the competition at its price point. It’s novel enough that I wouldn’t be surprised to see other brands following suit in the near future. If you don’t mind paying for it, it’s an absolutely killer upgrade for your gaming chair."
Secretlab Magnus and Magnus Pro
The Magnus and Magnus Pro are also on sale during Black Friday. The Magnus is a traditional fixed-frame gaming desk while the Magnus Pro ups the ante with a custom designed electric standing desk frame for an additional $250. Both desks feature an all-metal desktop surface, solid steel legs and cleverly thought out areas for cable management, but the Magnus Pro has some really unique features including a power cable that runs internally inside one of the telescoping legs and an in-line control panel that you won't bump into.
In our Secretlab Magnus Pro review. Mark Knapp writes that "the Secretlab Magnus Pro is a fantastic desk, bringing the brilliant cable management solutions of the original Magnus to a fast, quiet, and wide-ranging motorized standing desk. The desk is built well and proves an excellent platform for work and play alike. It’s an expensive desk though, and for the money, it would have been nice to see a smarter safety mechanism for the motors and the desk mat included. Still, the overall quality you get is a big step up from cheaper standing desks, and the optional accessories truly enhance the experience. Anyone who’s not committed to a standing desk should save their money and go for the standard Magnus if everything else about this model sounds good, but for gamers who love a tidy desk and want the flexibility of a standing desk, the Magnus Pro should be the first they consider."
Should I Wait Until Black Friday?
Probably not in this case. This is Secretlab's official Black Friday Sale and it will run through Black Friday. We expect the sale to continue a bit longer through Cyber Monday as well. There's a chance a specific chair configuration might go on sale at a third-party retailer like Amazon, but most of the deals should remain largely the same.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
As The Penguin wrapped up its largely acclaimed first season, the natural first question is: well, is there going to be more? And HBO doesn't really have a yes or no answer to that as of yet.
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, spoke with journalists at a press event on Tuesday, where he was asked about the possibility of a second season of Matt Reeves' The Batman spinoff. His answer: you'd have to ask Reeves, showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and star Colin Farrell about that.
"That would be Matt and Lauren really deciding," he said. "Matt, obviously he's writing the movie and they're gunna shoot the movie and Colin's gunna be in that, and I think it would really be up to Matt and Colin and Lauren to see if there's a story they're interested in telling. I'm hopeful, and obviously it's been a lot of fun and very successful, but I'll let them figure out if there's another story they want to tell."
And some good news for fans: one of those people has already indicated interest. Farrell recently said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “If there’s a great idea [for Season 2], and the writing was really muscular and as strong or stronger on the page than it was the first season, of course I would do it." Plus, Bloys noted at the top of the presentation that 17 million people have watched The Penguin's pilot so far.
But, as Bloys points out, writer/director Reeves is gearing up for The Batman II, which is set to release on October 2, 2026 after being delayed a full year. Reeves confirmed in September that the script is complete, and production is set to begin next year.
Reeves also previously teased ideas for spinoffs for other Batman villains, which a journalist asked Bloys about during Tuesday's press event. For now, however, HBO's focus is on Oz.
"I think it would really be up to Matt and Colin and Lauren to see if there's a story they're interested in telling."
“We’ve been talking mostly about if there’s another story within The Penguin," he said. "...I have to let [Reeves] get the movie set up and moving, but they worked really well together, so hopefully they’ll find something that they find is exciting."
And hey, even if HBO doesn't get more of The Penguin, fans of Farrell's Oswald Cobb will still get to see him in The Batman II. For more, check out our breakdown of how The Penguin's Season 1 finale set up the film sequel.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Sony recently unveiled a “Play Has No Limits | PS5” ad promoting a special holiday price for the PlayStation 5 Slim (Digital) at $379.99. The deal, set to run through Black Friday and expire after December 24, served as official confirmation of a significant PS5 Black Friday offer.
However, the original YouTube video has since been removed and replaced with a new "Play Has No Limits" trailer that omits any mention of potential sale details, leaving open questions about the promotion. We managed to capture a screenshot of the details before the video was removed, which you can see below.
Reducing its price from $449.99 to $379.99 – a $70 discount – this offer provides a significant saving on the console, making it one of the most attractive PlayStation deals currently available.
Regarding the PS5 Slim Disc Edition, which typically retails for $499.99, there has been no official announcement of a price reduction. However, given the discount on the Digital Edition, it's reasonable to anticipate potential deals on the Disc Edition during the Black Friday period as well.
As of this article’s publication, Sony has yet to reconfirm the original video or the holiday pricing for the PS5 Slim. However, with Black Friday sales already underway at retailers like Walmart, another official announcement could be on the horizon.
The actual date of Black Friday in 2024 falls on November 29 this year, but the deals season will begin a lot sooner than that. Leading up to the big event, retailers will begin to open deals online. This usually starts in the last week of October, just before Halloween. Each week leading up to the event will slowly roll out more deals, which ultimately leads to massive discounts on Black Friday. Retailers will not reveal their biggest Black Friday deals until the big day, but most general deals will be available well in advance.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
As HBO gears up for its upcoming Harry Potter TV show, it's also had to face questions surrounding the involvement of author J.K. Rowling. HBO and Max content boss Casey Bloys fielded the latest of those questions at a press event on Tuesday, clarifying that she's been "fairly involved" in the series' early development.
During a Q&A with reporters, one brought up the controversy surrounding Rowling, who's been posting anti-transgender rhetoric on X/Twitter since 2020. The reporter asked Bloys how involved Rowling has been in the series and if her "passionate views about trans issues" have affected HBO's ability to find its cast.
"She's been fairly involved," Bloys responded. "She was very involved in the process of selecting the writer and director, and I imagine she'll have opinions on casting. It hasn't affected the casting or hiring of writers and production staff. So we haven't felt an impact from that."
HBO previously announced that Rowling would be an executive producer on the show, and that it would be a "faithful adaptation" of her Harry Potter novels.
These are only Bloys' latest comments on Rowling's social media posts and the backlash to them. Last year, shortly after HBO officially confirmed the new Harry Potter show, he called the controversy a "very online conversation" and added, "Our priority is what’s on the screen. Obviously, the Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That's our priority — what’s on screen."
HBO announced earlier this year that it recruited Succession producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod as creative heads for the Harry Potter show, with Gardiner serving as showrunner and executive producer while Mylod will executive produce and direct multiple episodes. It's still in the thick of finding its cast, however; in September, HBO posted an open casting call to find child actors to portray Harry, Ron, and Hermione, while Mark Rylance is reportedly at the top of the network's wishlist to play Dumbledore.
"It hasn't affected the casting or hiring of writers and production staff. So we haven't felt an impact from that."
HBO parent company Warner Bros. has repeatedly pointed to IP like Harry Potter as a priority moving forward, particularly in the wake of the success of Hogwarts Legacy. Still, that doesn't mean HBO is massively rushing to get the new series out the door. In another part of the Q&A, Bloys was asked when the show might premiere, as well as if he's worried about the filming schedule in regards to the child actors getting older (i.e., the Stranger Things problem).
He estimated that it could debut around the beginning of 2027, "but don't hold me to any of that, because we're just getting started, the writing and casting process."
"One of the ideas we've talked about is shooting the first season and the second season very close to each other time-wise because kids, from 11 to 13 is a big jump in kids' lives," he continued. "You can get away with 13 to 15, something like that. So we are gunna have to think about scheduling and shooting so that they don't grow too much between seasons. It is a consideration."
That early 2027 window is a tad bit later than what was said in the past, with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav previously telling investors that they were aiming for a debut in 2026. Still, as noted, the show is still early in development, so there's still plenty that's up in the air as of yet.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Entertainment empire Disney needs a new CEO, and a new report suggests that a familiar face from the world of games could be in the running.
Andrew Wilson, the always impeccably dressed CEO of EA, is reportedly being considered for Disney's top job. It's a big move in the entertainment world, with potential ramifications for fans of Pixar and Marvel as well as The Sims, Battlefield, and Dragon Age. Iger's current contract runs until 2026, so it could be a while before anyone actually needs to get new business cards printed.
IGN has reached out to EA for a comment on the story.
The report came from The Wall Street Journal, which added that Wilson is up against at least two other external candidates for the replacement of current CEO Bob Iger. Iger previously retired in 2020, but he barely had time to take up fishing before he returning in 2022 after his successor, Bob Chapek, was pushed out of the role.
"A native of Australia, Andrew enjoys playing golf and is a life-long surfer, proudly serving as the Chairman of the Board for the World Surf League. He is also a passionate martial artist, holding a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu."
Earlier this month, some media outlets shared some outdated PC requirements for STALKER 2. Those PC specs were from 2021, and they gave PC gamers the wrong idea about how the game would perform. Thankfully, though. GSC GameWorld shared its final PC specs. So, let’s take a look at them. To run the game at … Continue reading Here are the final PC requirements for STALKER 2→
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