Embark Studios says it ‘should do a lot more’ with trading in Arc Raiders, but some players are worried about how a potential in-game market might affect the experience.
CEO Patrick Söderlund expressed interest in a more robust trade feature for the popular extraction shooter during a recent interview with GamesBeat. The chat, which took place during an Arc Raiders session that lasted nearly two hours, saw the studio head touch on everything from movie deals to aggression-based matchmaking, but it’s the topic of trading that managed to get the community riled up.
keep it out. there’s no need for trading. All it will encourage is RMT or cheater services. leave out any type of player developed economy. Pls
“We’re going to want to do more [with trading] because it’s fun. It’s a good part of the game,” Söderlund teased. “I agree: We should do a lot more of the trading component in the game, and also allow people to trade amongst each other, etc. I think it’s fun. It’s something that we absolutely have to look at long term.”
Although some players have found their own ways to swap weapons and other rare loot between each other, proper trading support is largely absent from Arc Raiders. While Embark is interested in changing that, portions of the community aren’t thrilled about how something like an in-game marketplace, or even auctions, could impact the sci-fi shooter.
As Söderlund’s comments made their way to the internet, so, too, did posts from users concerned that trading could take away from the thrill of extracting. For these players, it’s a matter of keeping the fundamental Arc Raiders gameplay loop intact.
“The entire point of this game is to find loot and extract safely with it,” one Reddit user explained. “If you add a system where people can stockpile coins and then purchase everything without any risk, what is the point? Where will be that moment where you find something you're looking for and rush to an extract on the edge of your seat?”
“I hope they won’t add a player to player trading system,” another added. “There is no need for that. All we need is nice events, new content/maps once in a while and a fix for micro stutters. Love the game.”
Fear of a fleshed-out trade system for Arc Raiders also seems to stem from those who believe players will simply be able to purchase any weapon or item they want. Some Escape from Tarkov fans have also stepped in to warn of how they feel trading affected that game, with one player saying, “Once trading is added, everything turns into a dollar value and that’s all that matters.” Others question how additional trade support would even work in Arc Raiders in its current form.
“What the hell am I supposed to trade with people?” another post asks. “Reset was 3 weeks ago and I have pretty much everything again. There's not nearly enough loot in this game for a trading system to work. Unless they introduce items with random attributes, like in Warframe or Diablo, which would destroy balance.”
There is a section of the Arc Raiders player base concerned about trading, but there are also those who believe slight changes for player-to-player exchanges could actually improve the experience. Some have already organized trading services outside of the game itself, with others believing that an in-game system, if done right, could encourage the more casual fans to stick around.
Either way, players should note Embark has far from confirmed that official Arc Raiders trading additions are on the way, nor has it explained what shape something like that could take.
“There’s nothing that we’ve decided yet, but that’s the fun part of building something like this: This is really the start of something,” Söderlund added. “We believe that there’s so many things that we can look into and do and add to the game. It’s fun.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Greenland 2: Migration arrives in theaters on Friday, January 9.
Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin are back as the extinction-surviving Garritys in Greenland 2: Migration, now joined by Roman Griffin Davis as their son, Nathan. In this above-average sequel to 2020's Greenland, our first family of of the apocalypse must find a new home after their quaint, claustrophobic years of living in a bunker get dangerously disrupted by moving tectonic plates.
There are about as many crazed, unbelievable moments here as one can expect from a global disaster flick, but Migration moves fast, and like the first movie, focuses on the three main characters, relying on our investment in their safety and well-being to pull us through the wreckage and suspend our discerning, doubting tendencies. The horrors and hazards in Migration are found in the ravaged post-apocalyptic world itself, from violent natural threats to the evils of desperate humans, and the story does a nice job of staggering, varying, and escalating these obstacles. It should be mentioned though that Nathan's diabetes, which was a major part of the first film, only gets lip service here, presumedly so that new complications can be explored.
Ultimately, in wasteland adventure like this, it doesn't matter if it's comet fragments or radiation storms or zombies (there are no zombies, to be clear). The message is simple: Outside is bad and shelter is good. The goal for John and Allison Garrity is to get their son to a possible paradise so that he can actually live and not just survive. Yes, the ginormous Clarke comet crater itself could contain a viable, thriving environment free of toxins and disasters, but it will mean getting all the way to Southern France.
Migration doesn't forge new ground or break any molds, but it is a mindful continuation that hits the right emotional notes and provides some solid jumps.
Migration doesn't forge new ground or break any molds, but it is a mindful continuation that hits the right emotional notes and provides some solid jumps. Butler has played cops and soldiers, but he's even better as an "everyman," using his warm gravely voice and charisma to carry the weight of the (destroyed) world as he and his family squeak through cursed crucibles, sidestepping perils left and right. Butler knows his cinematic lane, and because of this, he's become one of the most stealthily successful B-movie bankabilities in the business. In fact, he and Jason Statham are probably the only two dudes getting theatrical releases for their mid-budget action movies right now; if they ever star in a film together, there might be a multiversal incursion.
With that said, Greenland is the latest of Butler's better-than-expected projects to get a sequel after his Has Fallen series, Den of Thieves, and 2023's Plane (though that's continuing as a Mike Colter vehicle). And Greenland worked in the first place both because of Butler's anchoring presence and the fact that the story focused on the Garrity family instead of just treating the story like a one-man show. Morena Baccarin is a big reason why the first movie resonated, with Allison sharing the spotlight as a full character during the global turmoil. Migration recognizes the importance of its three principal leads, and especially John and Ali's bond. It's a lean dystopian machine, swiftly taking our heroes through moments of brief chaos and briefer calm as they take a huge risk in betting on the crater containing some sort of natural utopia.
Migration isn't as ferocious as, say, a 28 Days Later, but it's also not cornball like most Roland Emmerich End Times movies. It resides in a safe, enjoyable middle that's both violent and bloodless. Director Ric Roman Waugh (who, yes, does have a Jason Statham movie coming out at the end of the month) keeps a confident hand on the wheel, providing only the necessary and delivering some cool, harrowing set pieces (like the gorge/ladder moment shown above). For those wondering if there was actually a story to tell after the first Greenland, the answer is yes, especially if you felt the first film was possibly leading up to a big character moment that never happened. Migration puts the Garritys through it again while also closing the Clarke comet hellscape book in a satisfying manner.
Primate is an inarguably silly movie and yet it leans into that silliness in just the right way. Though it never actually turns into meta commentary or self-parody, you still get the feeling that all involved, starting with director and co-writer Johannes Roberts, knew this should be a goofy good time. And crucially, Roberts also knew it would be best served as a goofy gory good time, delivering a movie far more brutal and graphic than the trailers have indicated, which helps make it an even more satisfyingly over-the-top experience. Seriously, they really should have gone with a redband trailer for this one to more properly sell what it has to offer!
Roberts sets the bar with the film’s in medias res opening, which includes a rather fantastic and attention-getting moment of killer chimp violence that elicited unexpected early applause from the audience I saw it with. I wouldn’t be shocked if the decision to begin with this flash-forward was done in the editing room, because the actual story set-up that follows feels a bit too drawn out for this type of movie. And yet the promise of that opening lingers over everything, as an assurance that we shouldn’t worry; the reason we’re all here is on its way and it’s going to deliver.
The eventual killer in question in the story is Ben, a domesticated chimp living alongside popular author Adam (Troy Kotsur) and his daughters, Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) and Erin (Gia Hunter), in their beautiful cliffside Hawaiian home. Lucy is just returning home after a long absence in the wake of her mother’s death, with a bit of backstory about her mom being a linguistics expert to explain how Ben came to live with them. If Primate is trying to suggest why you shouldn’t domesticate an animal like Ben, it’s only there as background rather than anything overt or meaningful, but that’s fine for this type of movie. Ben is a loving part of the family until he’s not, and though we get a quick glimpse of the chimp as the sweet-natured guy he always was until now, the movie’s tone ultimately goes to extremes that don’t ask us to cry about the tragedy of what’s happening so much as cheer on the mayhem like we would in a slasher film. If you sometimes end up still feeling Team Ben, well, that makes sense too, because he’s just giving the crowd what they want.
If you sometimes end up still feeling Team Ben, well, that makes sense too, because he’s just giving the crowd what they want.
Once we get through the family drama backstory and the unnecessary inclusion of a brewing competition between Lucy and her pseudo-friend Hannah (Jessica Alexander) over the affections of Lucy's longtime crush, Nick (Benjamin Cheng), Primate is commendably lean and mean. The story takes place over one long night as Lucy, her sister, and her friends try to fend off Ben after he snaps and begins brutally killing anyone who crosses his path. At that point, it thankfully concentrates on delivering the goods in terms of tension and exciting kills vs. too many unnecessary elements for a story of this nature. My only big distraction? Trying to figure out why the book signing Adam has traveled to seems to be happening pretty damn late at night for such an event.
This story streamlining (Ernest Riera wrote the script with Roberts) includes skipping past some of the specifics for the how and why of what’s happened to Ben. We know from the start that it’s an oldie but goodie horror set-up – rabies – that will make Ben turn homicidal, as Primate kicks off with a helpful block of text to give us some rabies history. At one point, one character incredulously notes rabies isn’t found in Hawaii, but that line simply serves the purpose of acknowledging this fact rather than leading to a bigger reveal. We never get the expected scenes showing how, say, someone smuggled an animal they shouldn’t into Hawaii that turned out to be carrying rabies…and yet we really don’t need to get that. It’s enough to know that somehow rabies got to Hawaii, a mongoose with rabies bit Ben, and now we’re enjoying the bloody results.
Roberts, whose previous credits include The Strangers: Prey at Night and 47 Meters Down, does a very good job of mixing the straightforward, visceral thrills of his gruesome kill scenes with some genuine moments of tension. He probably has Ben suddenly appear right next to someone a couple times too many, but it works like a charm more often than not. You can also often feel that Roberts is in on the joke, most especially when two horny, drunken douchebag bros (Tienne Simon and Charlie Mann) who are absolutely begging to be massacred by a killer chimp turn up for just that purpose.
The cast, including Sequoyah and Victoria Wyant (as Lucy’s best friend), do solid work in the midst of this innately wacky scenario. Yes, it’s funny to see the charming Kotsur in this type of popcorn movie just a few years after winning an Oscar for CODA, but hey, that’s life in Hollywood. Roberts incorporates the deafness of both Kotsur and his character, Adam, into the story using effective cinematic methods we’ve certainly seen before, including moments of full silence when we cut to Adam’s perspective. Also providing a crucial element is composer Adrian Johnston, who gives the film a 1980s-style synth score that has a cool and creepy vibe.
As for Ben himself, huge kudos to everyone involved in the creation of this character. Rather than using CGI like you might expect these days, Ben was brought to life using an impressively complex animatronic suit created by Millennium FX, with actor and movement specialist Miguel Torres Umba actually wearing the costume and playing Ben. The end result of the partnership between Millenium FX and Umba is that Ben truly looks great; you can easily buy into him as a full-fledged and increasingly angry and deranged character, as he first hunts his prey and then bashes, smashes, and tears them apart in various ways.
Hey, fellow Undertale and Deltarune fan. Did you know there was a Deltarune ARG going on? Did you know it's technically been going on for three years now? Yeah, neither did I!
I first learned about the Deltarune ARG (Alternate Reality Game) earlier this week, when a video about it surfaced in my YouTube recommendations. I started out just mildly curious, but I quickly fell down a rabbit hole that had me digging through massive spreadsheets, scouring Reddit threads, and pouring over weird corners of the official Deltarune website. And now, I'm going to infect you with it too.
In order to fully unpack the entire ARG in a way that covers every little bit of what's happened and what it could mean, I would have to spoil all four chapters of Deltarune, probably some bits of Undertale, and dive into a deep, deep, deep pit of Deltarune fan theories. So I'm going to try to keep the explanation as high level as is possible while still making sense. But as a warning ahead of time: this will contain spoilers for Chapters 1 and 2 of Deltarune, especially the "Weird Route", and some very light allusions to characters and events in Chapters 3 and 4. Read on at your own risk:
The Deltarune ARG actually began in September 2022, during an event called the Spamton Sweepstakes celebrating Undertale's seventh anniversary, which raised money for the charity Child's Play. Most of the event was fun, silly, and non-ARG-related, themed around the eccentric Chapter 2 character Spamton and including a lot of fun new merchandise courtesy of Fangamer.
However, at the time, the ever-vigilant Deltarune community stumbled upon some unusual hidden content within the pages on the Deltarune website dedicated to the sweepstakes. At the time, most of it consisted of fun Easter Eggs, and I don't want to get into it all, but it was the first major sign that something was up. It wasn't until May of 2025 (two and a half years later) that things really kicked off. Fans suddenly noticed that there were even more secrets on the Deltarune website dedicated to the sweepstakes. There were a number of new hidden pages, all of which made reference to the game's deeply eerie and hidden "Weird Route", but the one that matters most to the ARG was deltarune.com/chapter4/thankyou. At the time, the website consisted of two very small blanks where users could input text, and a blank button that allowed them to submit it. There were no clues as to what needed to go into the blanks, save for a single question:
"How long did it take her to smile?"
Deltarune fans very quickly guessed that the "her" being referenced was Noelle, a beloved character and the childhood best friend of Deltarune protagonist Kris. She's also the focal point of the aforementioned Weird Route, in which the player (a separate character from Kris) manipulates Noelle into doing something terrible in the interest of becoming stronger. Fans also figured out that the first blank was looking for an email address, with the second blank being for the actual "answer" to the question. Unfortunately, the form was only open for a day, before being replaced with text that just said "Thank You." Those who had submitted their email in the form began receiving effectively a confirmation email that just contained "You answered [THEIR ANSWER]." No further explanation. Nothing! For months!
Notably, when all this happened, Chapters 3 and 4 weren't out yet. Those released earlier this year, and with them, more Weird Route content and a couple of horrifying, hidden scenes focused on Noelle in particular. Then two weeks ago, those who had received the confirmation email the first time received a new email that just said, "Second chance," and found that the form had been reopened. The community efforts were more coordinated this time, with people experimenting with different combinations of time amounts in days, seconds, years, as well as other textual responses they felt made sense. A number of community members tried to document submissions to avoid duplications, though given the short notice and short time period the form was open, this was once again difficult to do.
The form closed again, and once again, participants received emails. But this time, they were different. Individuals were getting one of a collection of different responses that seemed to be based on what they submitted. For instance, those who said "1 Day" received back "Then, 'The next day you'll see her smile.'" People who inputted very small numbers, such as 4 seconds, got back, "So, 'she never stopped smiling'". There are a bunch of other creepy answers, like "Do you think that means she still can?" and "Then, 'It was the first time she ever smiled in her life.'"
Many emails ended with another sentence: "Move forward with this answer," seemingly indicating the submission was on the right track.
That was two weeks ago, and the form has been closed ever since. There's no indication of whether anyone got the right answer, what the next step is, or if the form will ever open up again. In preparation for a third attempt, a number of content creators have been rallying fans into communities to track what answers garnered what responses, and piece those responses together to try and figure out a "correct" answer if the form reopens. There are multiple massive spreadsheets out there cataloging confirmed responses, as well as others assigning different answers to each participant ahead of time, so no one wastes an answer on a duplicate.
But what does it all mean? We're...not exactly sure. The general consensus is that all this has something to do with where Chapter 4's "Weird Route" leaves Noelle, and speculation about what's to come in Chapter 5 at the "festival" event we know is going to take place during it. But even though that's the most likely context, it's a pretty unusual one: the Weird Route is extremely hard to figure out without assistance from the internet, and its dark consequences make it unlikely that the vast majority of players would ever see it or understand what any of this is about. If this ARG is going to reveal some deep lore, or even impact the game somehow, it's likely that very few people will understand or even care about the result.
That may be by design, though. Critically, the second time the form opened, only people who participated and received feedback from it the first time were able to use it again. If you're just learning about this (as I am), you may be entirely too late to participate at all. It's also possible there's no progress on whatever this is for months, even years. We've already waited along time just for this.
I'm really just scratching the surface here, and probably sound like I'm completely crazy. If you've played Deltarune and didn't know about any of this, you probably had a pleasant time with a cool, well-written RPG with funny, lovable characters, and left it at that. That's an extremely normal way to enjoy this game, and probably will be most people's experience! But since Deltarune's Chapter 1 release, there's been a whole ecosystem of secrets, fan theories, and conspiracies surrounding the question of what this game actually is, how it relates to Undertale, and what the implications of its hidden, darker narrative might be for the game's lighter side. It's complex, weird, and fun as hell to dig into, and we probably won't know the full scope of it for years to come.
Which is all to say, good luck to the secret hunters, and I'm genuinely sorry I can't help. I've inadvertently gotten invested in this mystery even though I will not personally touch the Weird Route with a ten-foot holiday pencil. Deltarune chapters 1-4 are out now and combined make a very good place to jump in if you've been holding off thus far. Chapter 5 is expected to come out this year, likely in the second half.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Starhelm Studios has released a new gameplay video for the first game that will be created by AI, Project Shadowglass. This video shows off around 2 minutes of gameplay footage. So, if you are curious about it, you should definitely check it out. Project Shadowglass is a stealth-focused immersive sim set within a dark fantasy … Continue reading New gameplay footage from the first game that will be created by AI, Project Shadowglass→
Embark Studios has outlined its plan to deal with Arc Raiders cheaters after they became a hot topic in the community earlier this week.
Cheaters are a concern for nearly all multiplayer games, but they’ve become an especially controversial subject amongst players recently. Reports of cheaters seem to be increasing in recent weeks, as players share clips and stories of others shooting them through walls and from unreachable areas. The conversation then reached a boiling point when popular streamers like Ninja, Nadeshot, and Shroud began publicly voicing their concerns.
"This might be my last day playing for a very long time... Embark has zero control over their game right now"
Embark confirmed it is taking action against the cheating problem in a message posted in its official Discord server. The note comes with an acknowledgement of the discussion surrounding cheaters in the community, promising that the studio is “taking this issue very seriously” as it awaits further feedback.
“Over the next few weeks, we are implementing significant changes to our rulesets and deploying new detection mechanisms to identify and remove cheaters,” Embark said. “This includes updating our Anti-Cheat systems for improved detection and bans, as well as applying client-side fixes specifically addressing the ‘out of map’ glitch.”
It’s unclear if Embark’s efforts will be enough to deter the most problematic Arc Raiders offenders, but it’s at least a sign the studio will take action through January. The message also comes with a promise specifically for streamers, saying the team is “introducing tools for streamers to help mitigate stream sniping.”
“Thank you for your valuable feedback and for helping us make ARC Raiders a fair and fun experience for everyone,” the message concludes.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
2013's Batman: Arkham Origins may not be the most critically beloved entry in the series, but many fans would argue it's the game with the best Batman costume design. Now Hot Toys is finally giving that costume its due with a truly stunning 1/6 scale figure.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for an early look at Hot Toys' Batman: Arkham Origins figure:
This figure stands an impressive 12.7 inches tall and features a detailed recreation of the character model from the game. The head boasts individually rotating eyeballs and interchangeable faceplates that allow for different expressions.
The figure also includes various other accessories you'd expect, including Batman's various gadgets and weapons, electric gauntlets, and interchangeable hands.
This is hardly Hot Toys' first time exploring the Arkham universe. In the past, they've released figures based on Batman's Arkham City and Arkham Knight designs, along with several of the alternate suits from those games and villains like Joker and Harley Quinn. As for Arkham Origins specifically, Hot Toys previously tackled Deathstroke (who makes a cameo appearance in the photos above) and Batman's armored XE Suit.
The Batman: Arkham Origins figure is priced at $300 and is available to preorder on Sideshow Collectibles. The figure is expected to release between January and June of 2027.
Warning: Spoilers follow for various TV finales from years past...
There have been many series finales that have split fandom over the years, whether they involved visits to the Iron Throne, the afterlife, or even Holsten's (and maybe the afterlife, too, in that case?). It's often clear when it comes to ending a favorite TV series that it's hard to keep everyone happy, and frequently viewers are left steaming, even if some others are satisfied.
Stranger Things has become the latest series to divide the fan community with its long-awaited and very controversial series finale. There's even a term for this particular phenomenon - "Conformity Gate" - with some fans clinging to the hope that Netflix would drop a secret real finale episode. Needless to say, that theory didn't pan out.
So with the furor over Stranger Things still raging, let's take a look at some of the more outrageous, divisive series finales in TV history. These aren't bad finales, just ones that made bold creative choices that didn't sit right with a large portion of the audience. Read on for the full list...
In the end, many felt let down by the fates of most characters, along with the nice and neat epilogue that crowned a new ruler of the realm. Even those who didn't hate the finale would readily admit it wasn't exactly the best ending possible. Yes, this particular Song of Ice and Fire saga split the kingdoms and sent Westeros to war one final time.
Lost: "The End"
Lost chose to deliver an emotional finale - based more on the feelings, desires, and ultimate happiness of the characters - over one that answered lingering questions fans had stockpiled over the years. Many liked the focus on the heartstrings while others were frustrated with the lack of specifics.
And no, they weren't "dead the whole time." Well, except for those in the flash-sideways scenes during the final season. They were in a type of purgatory. But the others weren't. Some lived on after the island and died from natural causes. It was then that they all joined up in the limbo church for a final farewell. The fact that none of this was abundantly clear though probably means the episode, and season, didn't do a bang up job exactly.
Battlestar Galactica: "Daybreak"
BSG's three-part mega close-out also wrapped things up with quiet emotion, as the notes from "All Along the Watchtower" created coordinates that led our heroes to a habitable planet filled with primitive humans. Our Earth. Sure, the stripping away of all technology rubbed a few fans the wrong way, but it was the crazy 150,000-year time jump, and the "humanity is doomed to make machines too sentient again" messaging, that split the viewers. It's always going to be risky to leap that far ahead, to the point where every character you cared about is a fossil, for a moral that many fans already understood.
The Sopranos: "Made in America"
Like the BSG closer, The Sopranos' finale really lost people right at the very end. Right when the music stopped and the screen turned to black and a lot of fans thought their TVs went out.
The creative swerve got a ton of flak at the time, though now, years later, many fans and critics have come around on it as one of the more daring examples of "different" done right. And it certainly hasn't hurt The Sopranos in the annals of TV history as it's still considered one of the best series of all time.
Seinfeld: "The Finale"
Yes, it became abundantly clear over the years that Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer weren't great people. In fact, once the show leaned into their shallowness, it hit its creative stride. But sending the guys to prison? Because they weren't great people? It was just a bit too much for many Seinfeld loyalists.
None of this stopped the episode from being a ratings juggernaut though, or the series itself from going out as the number one show on TV. Like The Sopranos, the finale didn't make a dent in the show's legacy. What can we say? Sometimes it's the journey and sometimes it's the end.
St. Elsewhere: "The Last One"
What if there was a popular, long-running, acclaimed '80s medical drama that, right at the very end, told the audience that nothing they'd seen for 137 episodes was even real. And then that weird ending became the show's overall legacy, spoofed for decades by other shows.
This is the case of St. Elsewhere, which closed things out with the reveal that the entire hospital was inside the snow globe of an autistic boy named Tommy. Tommy had been dreaming that his father was the hospital's medical director when, in fact, as revealed in the final scene, he worked in construction. I guess the title St. Elsewhere should have clued people in, right? Anyhow, this final beat left many fans bewildered and belligerent.
Star Trek Enterprise: "These Are the Voyages..."
Though Star Trek Enterprise isn't really considered one of the top tier Trek series, it still had a ton of fans. Some of whom were left stunningly cold after the show's finale jumped six years into the future and split the narrative between the regular cast and a holodeck adventure featuring TNG's Will Riker and Deanna Troi.
This "valentine for the fans," that was meant to connect Enterprise to TNG, fell flat for many as Captain Archer's story wound up feeling like second-billing and under-rug-swept.
Felicity: "Back to the Future"
If you had to guess which TV show suddenly dove deep into time travel for its final installment, not many would have guessed "late '90s college love triangle dramedy" Felicity. Unless you thought it was possible for all J.J. Abrams shows.
Actually, the time travel stuff started a few episodes earlier (after the show had planned out its final episode and the WB Network ordered five more) and viewers got to experience an alternate timeline in which Keri Russell's Felicity got to go back (thanks to a spell from her goth roommate) and make different choices.
Regardless, many said the show just didn't feel like the show anymore by the time it ended. Including the cast. And that might be a recurring element here when it comes to divisive finales -- when, for whatever reason (pacing, tone, freakin' impromptu time travel), the story no longer feels like the one you've been following for years.
Which TV finales did you find to be the most outrageous and divisive? Vote in our poll and discuss in the comments!
Nintendo Switch 2 sales over the holidays reportedly fell short of those recorded by the console's predecessor back in 2017, during its first end-of-year season.
As revealed by The Game Business, Switch 2 sales in the US and within key markets in Europe fell behind the equivalent pace of Switch 1 — something an unnamed senior Nintendo source blamed on a "complicated" economic climate today, and the "absence of a major Western game" during the year-end period.
That particular analysis will likely raise eyebrows among Nintendo fans, as the company launched the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4: Beyond during the period — albeit to a more muted critical response than the franchise's beloved original trilogy. Nintendo has so far made no announcement on how that game has fared.
The Game Business reports that US Switch 2 sales over the holiday period were down around 35% versus the Switch 1's sales performance back in 2017. In the UK, a similar comparison saw Switch 2 lagging Switch 1 by 16%. Even in Nintendo's homeland of Japan, Switch 2 holiday sales couldn't match Switch 1, and were down by 5.5% over the year's final nine weeks.
In France, 2025's final tally of Switch 2 sales was down by "over 30%" versus the amount Switch 1 notched up back in 2017, meanwhile.
While these numbers may take some of the shine off of a successful first year for Switch 2 overall, it's not all doom and gloom. Switch 2's lifetime sales in Japan are still above what Switch 1 managed in its first year, with less time on sale. And in the UK, Switch 1 continued to sell well enough that it made up Switch 2's holiday sales deficit.
Looking ahead, Nintendo has a smattering of first-party games already planned for 2026, including Mario Tennis Fever, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, as well as Switch 2 upgrades for Super Mario Wonder and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There's also the FromSoftware exclusive The Duskbloods to look forward to, and the promising-looking Pokémon Pokopia life sim.
But as the Switch 2 prepares to celebrate its first anniversary in June, all eyes will be on Nintendo to roll out a truly new blockbuster entry in one of its biggest franchises. Back in 2017, Switch 1's first year was marked by the launch of both Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo has not released a major new 3D Mario platformer since, while it will soon be three years since the arrival of 2023's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Switch 1's other top-selling titles include Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Animal Crossing: New Horizons — and for now, there's no suggestion a big new entry in either franchise is forthcoming. Smash Bros. series boss Masahiro Sakurai has only just finished work on Kirby Air Riders, while Nintendo is opting to update New Horizons for Switch 2 this year, as previously mentioned.
Could we see a new 3D Mario in 2026? Nine years on from Super Mario Odyssey, now feels like the right time. And then there's Pokémon, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next month. Could we get a glimpse soon of the series' long-awaited 10th generation? The arrival of these titles would certainly help Switch 2 keep its momentum, following last year's explosive launch.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Predator: Badlands is making its physical media debut with its own steelbook release alongside a standard 4K and Blu-ray. For those who are dying to add this one to their library, it's thankfully not too long of a wait, as it's set to be released in just over a month on February 17.
Below, we've broken down where you can preorder the film right now, alongside information on the bonus features it comes with. For those who love a good behind-the-scenes breakdown, it seems like there will be plenty to enjoy.
The steelbook case for Predator: Badlands boasts quite the action shot on the front and comes with a 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital copy of the film. The 4K and Blu-ray covers are a bit busier and mainly feature the characters front and center, but the former also comes with a 4K, Blu-ray, and digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray release just comes with a Blu-ray and digital copy.
Predator: Badlands 4K/Blu-Ray Bonus Features
There's plenty of great bonus features to look through on the physical release of Predator: Badlands, whether you're itching to watch behind-the-scenes featurettes or deleted scenes. Here's everything you'll be able to watch:
Embodying the Predator - Meet the artists as they bring one of the most terrifying creatures to life on screen.
Authentic Synthetics - Join Elle Fanning as she describes crafting her two characters.
Building the Badlands — Uncover how real locations were transformed into a threatening landscape.
Dek of the Yautja — See the development of the Yautja's home world, spacecraft, and family dynamics.
Audio Commentary by Director Dan Trachtenberg, Producer Ben Rosenblatt, Director of Photography Jeff Cutter and Stunt Coordinator Jacob Tomuri
Deleted & Pre-Visualization Scenes with Audio Commentary by the Director and Filmmakers
We had a lot of fun with Predator: Badlands, giving it an 8/10 in our review. IGN's Clint Gage said that, "Badlands, in shifting the perspective to a Yautja main character, actually highlights what’s been great about this franchise in its better moments. Dek and Thia are an unexpectedly fun pairing that bring a new energy to the franchise and an altogether different kind of hunt. It might not be pulling the skull and spine out of us and screaming in bloody victory, but it gets close." If you're eager to join the hunt sooner rather than later, the movie has also arrived on digital.
If you're hoping to add more movies and shows to your library this January, check out our roundup of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays. Here, we've broken down what's coming out over the next few months, so you can plan ahead on what's worth adding to your library.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Corsair's Galleon 100 SD is the keyboard I've been asking for for years: a mechanical gaming keyboard with proper Stream Deck keys, complete with the built-in screens, wide Elgato ecosystem integration and customization that make them so useful.
The Stream Deck keyboard looks exactly as you'd expect given the concept, with the usual number pad on the right-hand side of a full-size keyboard excised for a grid of 12 Stream Deck keys. You might not have anticipated the other inclusions though, including a surprisingly expansive 5-inch LCD display above the key grid and two knobbly dials above that.
The Galleon represents a trade-off, as you lose out on the satisfying key feel of a proper mechanical switches for that number pad area, but the flexibility that you get in return from this number of customisable keys, the display and the knobs feels fair.
As well as being able to control Elgato lighting, microphones or cameras, launch programs and make audio adjustments while listening to music or taking calls, Corsair's Galleon 100 SD page shows significant game integrations. Games shown include Helldivers 2 (see your current audio mix and easily perform call-ins with a single key), Star Citizen (activate common functions on foot or while piloting a ship), Final Fantasy XIV Online (identify and perform actions via their thumbnail, rather than by memorising a key assignment) and Cyberpunk 2077 (with both immediate quick actions and further folders for less commonly used controls). It'll be interesting to see how many other games have pre-made profiles on launch.
Of course, the whole other 80% of the keyboard is also important, and here the Galleon looks to follow in the footsteps of recent Corsair flagships like the Vanguard Pro 96. There are Corsair MLX Pulse magnetic switches and an 8000Hz polling rate for minimising input latency, 'flashtap SOCD' for expert counter-strafing in FPS games and a game mode for 'instantly switching to competition-optimized settings'. Typing feel is also accounted for, with the keyboard's aluminum frame packed with multiple sound dampening materials and gasket-mounted switches to guarantee smooth and deep-sounding key presses. A palm rest, passthrough USB ports and per-key RGB lighting are also nothing new, but complete the package.
Of course, all of this tech doesn't come cheap – and the Galleon 100 SD is the most expensive keyboard Corsair has ever produced, costing $350 in the US and £310 in the UK. That's a huge sum, but Corsair is no doubt betting that anyone already depending on their Stream Deck ecosystem would be willing to pay a premium for a product that combines a Stream Deck with a top-end mechanical keyboard. The Galleon 100 SD is available for pre-order now and ships from January 29th.
Artist Dan Dos Santos has left a big mark on the Marvel Universe in recent years, as he's the painter responsible for the 2022 Marvel Masterpieces trading card series. Dos Santos' gorgeous oil paintings for that series and other works will now form the basis of Clover Press' newest Marvel art book.
With the crowdfunding campaign for The Marvel Art of Dan Dos Santos now live, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of the Spider-Verse-themed portfolio set that will be included as an optional extra. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:
The Marvel Art of Dan Dos Santos is a 9" x 12" hardcover that clocks in at over 200 pages. The book features many of Dos Santos' published paintings alongside rare and unseen artwork. The Kickstarter campaign includes optional bonuses like the aforementioned portfolio, stickers, a slipcased edition, and even original art sketches.
“I’m incredibly excited about this new collection of my Marvel artwork,” said Dos Santos in a statement. “Over 30 years ago, as a young teen, it was my exposure to a similar collection of Marvel art that set me on the path of wanting to be a professional artist in the first place. So it is incredibly apt, and really thrilling, to see it all come full-circle in this new collection of my own. This book represents years of work, and contains hundreds of paintings that I feel are my finest work to date. I labored tirelessly to breathe as much life and backstory into each of these modern mythological heroes as I could. It is my hope the next generation of young artists and fans will find these characters as inspiring as I found them so many years ago.”
Sometimes it's fun to match wits in a board game with other players in competitive matches. But many of the best board games go the other way and embrace the spirit of cooperation. Co-op board games come in a wide variety of themes, with varying levels of complexity so you can find one for players of all ages. Below, we've selected our favorites on the market. For more game night ideas, check out our other roundups, including the best board games for kids and the best two-player board games.
The Spiel des Jahres is the most coveted prize in board gaming, but it had never been won by a 2-player only title until 2024, when Sky Team scooped the gong. Its secret is giving two players the thrill of a fistful of dice to roll and the challenge of an instrument board that requires all sorts of different values and combos to satisfy as they try to land a plane, but then limiting communication, making for an incredibly tense time as you try not to accidentally step on each other's toes. Add in a slew of different scenarios of increasing challenge in different conditions at different airports and you've got the ultimate two-player cooperative experience.
Slay the Spire: The Board Game
f you've every played the video game on which this is based, you'll realise that it's only a short hop to take its insanely addictive deck-building formula and port it to tabletop. And, as we explained in our Slay the Spire: The Board Game review that's exactly what this does, and it's just as insanely additictive as you remember except now you have the added joy of getting to play it alongside friends which, as it turns out, is the big step-up that the game never knew it needed, allowing you to celebrate your triumphs, plot your strategies and bemoan your luck to enrich every tower run.
The Fellowship of The Ring: Trick-Taking Game
The trick-taking concept is so baked into traditional competative playing card games like Hearts that it comes as quite a surprise to find it can be repurposed for cooperative games. But that's exactly what happens here and not only is it just as challenging, exciting and fun as it is when playing head-to-head, but this box of delights also adds a narrative layer that sees you playing through the first book of Tolkein's masterwork via a series of missions, as we broke down in our Fellowship of the Ring: Trick Taking Game review. As a bonus, the production is absolutely lovely, especially at such a reasonable price point.
Nemesis: Lockdown
Lots of board games have tried to replicate the success of the Alien franchise, but it took this unlicensed homage to perfect it. Players must work together to survive a terrifying incursion of hostile lifeforms into a Martian base. You're on a constant high wire between staying slow and quiet or getting things done fast but attracting alien attention. It’s full of detailed mechanics that can spin the game out in crazy directions, from literal firefighting to a gung-ho battle against the extraterrestrial foe. The challenge is tough, the narrative detailed and the tension always escalating. But the real kicker is that it's possible for your friends not to be friends at all thanks to hidden goal cards that could be supportive or could be murderous, or the corporate military wing could be coming to take you all out to ensure your silence.
Narrative-heavy board games have always faced a content problem: there’s only so much variety you can achieve with boards and cards. Sleeping Gods belongs to a family of adventure games that bypassed this problem by putting everything into a huge flip-book, featuring a mix of maps for different quests. Sleeping Gods stands head and shoulders above its peers thanks to two things. First, it’s outstandingly rich storytelling, as you run through a rich mixture of encounters, characters and side-quests as you attempt to guide the lost ship, The Manticore, and her crew home from the strange dimension in which it finds itself. Second, is the detail with which the ship is brought to life, both in terms of strategic resource management to keep her going and her presence in the game world. Such is the wealth of content available that you can easily see a whole different story on a second play through, and such is the fun of doing so that you’ll surely want to try.
Marvel Champions: The Card Game
This is a “Living Card Game,” which means it’s kind of collectable, like Magic: The Gathering, but there’s no random element. You just buy sets and expansions knowing what cards are in each. And unlike a lot of LCG's, deck building is easy because it’s modular, seeing players pick fixed sets of cards to create decks for their hero and the villain you’re all working against. The meat of play features some classic concepts like dual-use cards alongside novel ideas like each player being able to flip from their hero to their alter-ego, with different abilities and hand sizes. This sets up some really interesting combo-based play where you pull off cinematic moves as you work together to thwart the villain’s schemes and save the day.
Frosthaven
To call Gloomhaven a fantasy adventure game is technically accurate, but a bit reductive. It tells the story of mercenaries chasing different goals in a changing world, and the legacy they leave behind. Gloomhaven takes the legacy system from Pandemic Legacy and weaves it into an epic fantasy campaign that takes place over generations. Each hero comes with a personal goal that, when completed, sends the hero into retirement and unlocks new classes and story elements. Upon retiring a hero, you will take control of another, which results in an impressive sense of time progression. The game includes several sealed boxes that are only opened upon reaching certain milestones, which makes Gloomhaven a game with a grand scale that is unmatched in the board game medium.
This epic game is out of print, but now has a sequel, Frosthaven, with an all-new narrative and fresh subsystems which see you expending and guarding the titular town.
Paleo
At first glance, this game of Stone Age survival doesn’t look anything special. You create a deck of cards for the scenario you want to play and distribute them between the players. Then you take it in turns to flip a card from your pile and face the challenges thereon with the skills and stone tools available to your tiny tribe. The magic happens when tribes come together, pooling their resources to overcome one tough encounter, but doing so loses them the chance to interact with the other tribe’s card. All at once, this mirrors a real slice of stone-age life, agonizing over passing up opportunities in order to secure an important prize, while giving players real emergent cooperation in how much they choose to aid each other. The survival narrative and variety of scenarios are just the icing on the rock cake.
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (Blue Version)
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (Red Version)
Pandemic put cooperative games on the map, and for good reason. Much of the genre’s hallmark mechanics originated here, from action point allocation to player roles with unique abilities. It also spawned a bevy of expansions and spinoffs, but Pandemic Legacy is the best and more revolutionary take on the virus-eradicating co-op game.
It takes the core rules of Pandemic and stretches them into a campaign-length adventure played out over several sessions as you race to cure disease and prevent epidemics. This version introduces permanence as a mechanic, as the rules force you to rip up cards, sticker the board and alter the physical components in other ways as things (inevitably) don’t go your way. The only potential drawback is that you must play with the same players each session, but because the game is so good everyone will be eager to jump back in.
Robinson Crusoe – Collector’s Edition
Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island is a daunting and dark game, but players willing to wade through the sea of iconography, hefty rulebook and stifling theme will be rewarded with a satisfying survival simulation that rewards communication and teamwork. Based on the 1719 novel, players take on the role of survivors of a shipwreck that are must work together to gather food, build shelters, stave off attacks and explore the island. The combination of different scenarios and player characters ensure good replayability, while the survival mechanics do a fantastic job of selling the theme.
A lot of games on this list are, to a greater or lesser extent, strategy affairs. But cooperation is a great mechanic to use in party games too, and Just One tops the list. All the players bar one get to see a clue, and they have to write down a word related to that clue. Then all the clues get revealed to the remaining player who has to guess the original word. Sounds too simple, except the catch is that if any of the clues are the same they get wiped, leaving the guesser far less to work with. It’s an ingenious idea that leaves players caught in an uncertain vice over just how obscure they cant get away with being, while still being worried they might be the victim of doublethink.
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
You likely know trick-taking games from long time classics like Whist and Bridge. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea cleverly repurposes the concept into a cooperative game through the use of missions, demanding that certain players win tricks of particular types. So you might have to win a trick containing a yellow one, for example, or two consecutive tricks or even no tricks at all. This would be easy if you could show each other your cards, so your communication is limited to one card for the entire hand, recasting the game as a strategic puzzle with plenty of tension as you wait to see whether having to follow suit will tease out a critical card or fail the mission. Fast, fun and with fifty varied undersea missions, this is a pearl of a design. This game earned a spot on our best family board games list as well.
Return to Dark Tower
Some of you may have childhood memories of the original Dark Tower, an extraordinary 1981 fantasy board game powered by an electronic gizmo that gave it a real sense of magic and wonder. Most copies of that original no longer work, but it’s been resurrected and revamped in this new edition, which features an all-new, all-tech tower that connects to a mobile app via bluetooth. It allows you to select from a far wider variety of characters and quests, villains and monsters than the original. The board layout and major concepts of the original, such as collecting warriors, are retained, but between the app and a raft of new mechanics, the game is transformed into a narratively rich, strategic challenge where you must prioritise and deal with a series of ever-growing threats: it can also be played cooperatively as well as the competitive setup of the original. The app provides detail such as dungeon exploration, while the tower lights up and rotates of its own accord, spilling deadly skulls out into the kingdoms below.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
If your co-op group could use an eldritch touch, get Arkham Horror: The Card Game to the table. In this cooperative card game, players take on the role of detectives who are investigating various supernatural occurrences within HP Lovecraft’s world of cosmic horror. It’s a scenario-based experience with each mission at the mercy of an arcane Mythos, a set of conditions that must be met lest the investigators succumb to insanity.
Arkham Horror features customizable decks that are built around each investigator’s special abilities, and most scenarios can play out over a handful of sessions, lending a feeling of progression to the game. As you investigate new location cards, gather clues, and fight monsters, your detective will amass weaknesses that can hinder future games which, thematically, illustrate the mental toll of dealing with arcane horrors. It's a great horror board game you can play with loved ones.
Spirit Island
Protect your island from a vicious mob of colonizers in this heavy co-op experience. Players are spirits of the land, and must use their unique powers to fend off settlers. Every turn, you’ll play a card from your deck of powers. Matching a card’s element with the element of the spirit usually grants a bonus effect, meaning that careful planning is necessary.
As the game goes on, the colonists will inevitably spread and ravage the land, making Spirit Island a race against the clock. They’re predictable, though, and if you plan efficiently you can head them off before they do too much damage. Players’ cards combo off of each other nicely, too, and there are few things in tabletop gaming as satisfying as eliminating a host of settlers in one fell swoop. Spirit Island is substantially more complex than other games of this style (Pandemic, Forbidden Island, etc.), making it an ideal choice for those seeking a meatier co-op experience.
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