Monster Hunter Wilds was one of the worst-optimized games of 2025. Now, while Capcom released a big update last month (and promised two more updates for next year), the game still runs poorly on pretty much all platforms. However, it appears that a modder was able to almost double the game’s performance. According to Redditor ‘de_Tylmarande‘, … Continue reading One Modder Almost Doubled Monster Hunter Wilds’ Performance→
I went into this deals sweep with the best intentions. A quick look, maybe one recommendation, definitely no reinstalling. Two hours later I was deep into patch notes, storage management, and that familiar internal lie of “I’ll just sample it”. These discounts are not subtle. They are the kind that turn sensible adults into backlog hoarders with the confidence of someone who absolutely will find the time later.
In retro news, I'm celebrating the twin 38 year birthdays of some NES greats. The original Metroid needs very little introduction, as it's a franchise that continues to kick goals and acquire new fans today. Conversely, the bodaciousness of Rad Racer might be lost on many of you. It was basically one of the best racers on the system and featured prominently in a 1989 film—Nintendo's 1h 40m advertisement called The Wizard.
- Assassin's Creed III: Liberation HD (PS3) 2014. eBay
- Dr. Luigi (WiiU) 2014.
Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch
Batman: Arkham Trilogy (-57%) A$39 Rocksteady's trilogy remains the gold standard for superhero games, and Arkham City still embarrasses half the genre.
Sonic Origins Plus (-48%) A$32.90 The cleanest way to replay classic Sonic without digging out ancient hardware or excuses.
Red Dead Redemption (-50%) A$29 Rockstar storytelling at its peak, now playable wherever you feel like ignoring responsibilities.
Katamari Damacy Reroll (-75%) A$7.40 Joyful nonsense elevated into art, and still one of the best vibes per dollar deals around.
GTA Trilogy (-63%) A$29 Three cultural touchstones with rough edges, but the freedom still hits like nothing else.
Adam Mathew is a passionate connoisseur, a lifelong game critic, and an Aussie deals wrangler who genuinely wants to hook you up with stuff that's worth playing (but also cheap). He plays practically everything, sometimes on YouTube.
Another year is over, which means a ton of LEGO sets were just retired as of December 2025. One of the best times of the year to buy LEGO is right before the sets are officially retired, but one of the worst times is after. Once a set is retired, it becomes increasingly difficult to find it available at MSRP anywhere. This is especially true for popular themed-sets like the Harry Potter line.
There were quite a few LEGO Harry Potter sets that got the axe at the end of 2025, but many of them are still in stock at or below MSRP at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Multiple sets that are part of the massive Hogwarts Castle build are included here for the first time, so now is your last chance to pick them up for your collection before they are only available at resellers.
Recently Retired LEGO Harry Potter Sets in Stock
Of the LEGO Harry Potter sets that were recently retired, I was only able to find eight of them still available at a major retailer at regular prices. Surprisingly, Barnes & Noble seemed to have the most retired sets still in stock. Most notably, the Hogwarts Express & Hogsmeade Station set is only available at the online bookstore. Amazon seems to be a more reliable place to find the cheaper sets, though.
If you're looking for a full list of all of the recently retired LEGO sets, I'd suggest checking out the list over at Brick Economy. The website also keeps track of price increases on sets that are no longer in circulation.
New LEGO Sets for 2026
With older sets getting retired, newer sets are arriving to take their place. We saw a ton of new LEGO sets get released for January 2026 and there's plenty more to expect throughout the rest of the year. The upcoming LEGO Pokémon sets have recently gone up for preorder (out February 27) and the Star Wars Smart Brick sets are up as well (out March 1). For a full look at all of the new LEGO sets already available for 2026, check out the carousel below:
Matthew McConaughey has heard his iconic “alright, alright, alright” catchphrase repeated back to him since it first left his lips in 1993, and a recent trademark filing from the actor will help ensure AI doesn’t steal any of his thunder.
The Interstellar star took steps to protect himself from theft when working with attorneys at law firm Yorn Levine to secure trademarks related to some of his catchiest lines (via The Wall Street Journal). The goal is to maintain ownership over his voice, likeness, and delivery as the use of unauthorized artificial intelligence material becomes more prevalent.
“Alright, alright, alright,” the line McConaughey famously brought life to in 1993’s Dazed and Confused, is no doubt the most notable audio trademark registered by the actor. Other successfully filed trademarks include a three-second video of the actor in front of a Christmas tree and a seven-second video of him standing on a porch. It doesn’t seem the action was inspired by any incident of misuse in particular, instead suggesting the trademarks will help combat potential issue related to AI in the future.
“My team and I want to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it’s because I approved and signed off on it,” the actor told The Wall Street Journal in an email. “We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”
Hollywood and artists everywhere have been rocked by AI as the technology has improved in recent years. Video game voice actors who are members of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike in support of regulation for generative AI in July 2024 and concluded the strike in June 2025. Avatar and Titanic mastermind James Cameron has been vocal about his concerns related to AI performances as recently as last month, saying the idea of performances generated from scratch was “horrifying.”
McConaughey and other actors already have some protection from AI misuse as the technology is increasingly used to pull from their likenesses without permission. Kevin Yorn, one of the star’s lawyers, admits he isn’t sure how a challenge to one of his trademarks could play out.
“I don’t know what a court will say in the end,” Yorn said. “But we have to at least test this.”
Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via getty Images.
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).
Attention Everyone: Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a jump button now!
You can also walk backwards, and sideways!!!
Why am I freaking out over this? Look. This is almost as exciting as when we all learned New Horizons would give us the ability to sit down on the ground.
This comes as a part of Animal Crossing: New Horizon's 3.0 update, which dropped a day early today, giving access to a new Hotel area, loads of new decorative items, some quality of life features like bulk crafting, and Dream Islands you can build alongside friends. But as players have discovered since, it's also added a subtle new feature to aid in construction and placement: essentially, a controlled way to step in the cardinal directions in very precise ways.
This feature is now tutorialed as part of obtaining the Construction App, though it's possible it may be available prior to that, and it's very easy to activate. You can use it any time by pressing the L button. Pressing it once will snap your character into place with a tiny little hop. Holding it down and moving the stick in a direction will let you take exactly one step in that direction, effectively the size of one "square" of space. This is ideal for activities such as precise furniture placement, or lining yourself up perfectly to hit rocks or even catch bugs.
So, sure, it's not actually a huge deal - just a fun quality of life feature. It's not like a REAL jump (and you can already jump small gaps automatically anyway). But Animal Crossing's audience has historically gotten very excited about little touches like this, such as the wave of excitement when sitting on the ground was confirmed to be in the game, or the love for any number of other tiny details players have found over the years.
Anyway, if they ever add jump attacks it's over for you people.
We've got a comprehensive guide to the 3.0 update, including how to unlock everything and what's included, as a part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Wiki guide. If you're just getting back to New Horizons today after a long hiatus, we also have a number of tips for people getting back into the swing of things.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby's anime film spinoff, Beginning of a New Era, released in theaters in Japan way back in May 2024. And now, it's coming to the U.S. for a one-night-only theatrical release on February 27, 2026.
As shared by Crunchyroll, the film will hit select, to-be-announced theaters in the U.S. for a one-night screening next month, and shared an English-language trailer and poster alongside the news. Tickets will be available at a later date via the official English website, though it's unclear how broad a release this film will actually get.
If you're not familiar with Umamusume: Pretty Derby, it's an exceedingly popular franchise from Cygames centered around a mobile game that launched in 2021. It features the Umamusume, or women with some of the features (such as ears and tails) and abilities of horses who participate in races styled after real-world historical horse races. In the game this takes the form of a sports simulation game where players train Umamusume to compete in various raises and meet certain, character-specific goals.
Across the mobile game, a multi-season anime, a manga, and various other spinoffs, Umamusume has covered the stories of multiple characters based on real-world race horses from the '90s, '00s, and '10s. The film, Beginning of a New Era, released in Japan on May 24, 2024 and follows Jungle Pocket, based on the real-world horse of the same name, and her rivalries with Agnes Tachyon, Manhattan Cafe, and Dantsu Flame. In the film, Jungle Pocket trains with veteran trainer Tanabe in an effort to win the Triple Crown, a series of three races that can only be competed in once in a lifetime.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby launched in the U.S. in July of last year and only increased its popularity from what it already enjoyed in Japan. So much so that fans are now paying attention to the real-life horses that inspired their fictional counterparts, cheering them on, and even mourning the death of one last year.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Disney+ pricing has been a bit all over the place recently. The service raised prices across all of its streaming plans (including Hulu) last October, before offering a pretty solid Cyber Monday deal in November. Over the holidays, the streamer returned to its aforementioned increased pricing.
Fortunately for anyone trying to cut down on subscription costs this year, Disney+ has already unveiled its first streaming discount for 2026.
Get 1 Month of Hulu and Disney+ for $9.99
New and eligible returning subscribers can get one month of ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu for $9.99, a solid $3 off the standard pricing of $12.99. A whole cup of coffee, I know. Eligible returning subscribers, in this case, means anyone not already subscribed to Disney+ or any of its many bundle options. And, yes, unfortunately the deal is only available for the version of the bundle with ads.
While not exactly an eye-watering discount, the couple bucks could certainly be worth it if you’re looking to test out the waters of a new streaming service or catch up on a particular streaming release. The discount lowers the bundle price to $2 less than standalone Disney+ or Hulu, so if anything draws you to either of those two services, it’s worth it to pick up both.
According to the Disney+ website, the discount lasts until February 17, giving you a little over a month to think about what you could do with an extra $3.
What's on Disney+ and Hulu?
As a taster, new additions to Disney+ this month include new episodes from the Phineas & Ferb reboot, the continued release of Percy Jackson & the Olympians Season 2, and the long-awaited MCU series Wonder Man. Speaking of MCU, it’s a better time than ever to catch up on some homework ahead of Avengers: Doomsday. Of course, you’ll also get the full slate of Star Wars, Pixar, National Geographic, and all things Disney.
Hulu, on the other hand, has streaming exclusives like The Handmaid’s Tale, Shogun, and Only Murders in the Building. It’s also the streaming home for the Predator franchise, with exclusive releases like Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers. It’s a little all over the place, but there’s some value to that when you're trying to find new things to watch.
Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
After more than 10 years in development, Hytale early access is here! If you’re just getting started, we’re writing a variety of early-game guides on smelting, setting up servers for friends, and plenty more.
I preferred to go in blind. Hytale is quite obviously heavily Minecraft coded, but developer Hypixel is also doing its own thing in ways big and small, too. Below are seven things in Hytale's early game that surprised me, coming at it specifically from a Minecraft’s player’s perspective. Anything I missed? Have some early-game observations of your own? Leave a comment!
1. Punching down a single tree knocks down the entire thing at once, giving you a pile of wood, sticks, and sap along with it. No floating tree trunks here!
Hytale is very clearly heavily Minecraft-inspired, but one area in which it does feel quite different is in that time-honored opening crafting survival game moment of punching down your first few trees. In Hytale, like Terreria and plenty of other survival games, the whole tree collapses and explodes like a little piñata of wood and resources once you disconnect it from the ground. You'll need all that sap, trust me.
2. Early overworld mobs are tankier than expected
Within my first few minutes in Hytale I had come across squirrels, rabbits, sheep, and even a fox. And although none of them were hard to kill at all (sorry little guys, but I need your pelts for early-game crafting recipes), I was a little surprised at how much HP they seem to have, and how many hits from my first crude sword it took to take them down. I had to chase one rabbit halfway across the plains - they're quite speedy when making their getaway.
3. Ores glint faintly in underground caves
This is truly a tiny detail, but still one I thought was neat. When spelunking in Hytale, if you look carefully, an otherwise pitch-black cave wall or crevasse will glint off distant light sources like your torch if there are any valuable ores present. Helpful!
4. Gear Progression Is a bit more complicated
In my first cave I explored I found plenty of copper ore for Tier 1 armor, but I also found a stack or so of iron ore, for Tier 2 gear. I was initially a little bit disappointed, thinking maybe I could just leapfrog past tier 1 entirely. But crafting weapons and armor in Hytale actually requires a few different raw materials, which I appreciated. Copper armor requires only copper and plant fiber. But Iron requires iron, light leather, and linen scraps. So it looks like I have more mob grinding in my near future.
5. There are more decorative options
Hytale’s crafting system in early access is still very basic (and a little buggy), but coming from Minecraft, I still appreciated some small crafting details like being able to turn raw wood and stone into slanted, tiled roof blocks and half-block-thick walls when building out my starter hut. You can also place shelves on our walls and stick a few decoratives like candles and books on them. By the way - huge fan of how Hytale's crafting benches can see and make use of resources stored in nearby chests.
6. There are promising secrets and surprises
Hytale is what I would describe as an “aggressively” early access game. Most of the time when you come across something interesting in the world like what looks like a dungeon entrance, or a hand-built ruin, you’ll be stopped from entering and shown a literal under construction “work in progress” sign. There is one exception though, which illustrates some of the promise of what is hopefully to come.
Early on I spotted a nearby icon on my map labeled “Forgotten Temple Gateway.” Without spoiling the details, investigating said gateway led to a fight against a unique mob and a portal to a beautiful and entirely unique, hand-crafted location, filled with its own NPCs and points of interest. Hytale for now looks to be very thin on hand-crafted Adventure content, but this tiny taste was an encouraging place to start.
7 Farming Is a Bit More Complex
Although I didn’t get a chance to dive into the feature in detail because I had to go back to (grumble grumble) work, I did get a chance to poke around Hytale’s farming system a bit. So far it looks like, similar to most of Hytale’s other systems, it’s a bit more complex than Minecraft’s. You can craft animal caretaking buildings including chicken coops and beehives, as well as a farming aids like a watering can. Tree saplings and new crop seeds don’t come from harvesting, but instead must be created by spending “Essence of Life,” which seems a bit like a currency you receive when harvesting mature crops.
For now, as a Minecraft veteran - I’ve been playing off and on since there were Secret Friday Updates! - Hytale’s opening few hours are familiar enough and yet still different enough to keep me interested and coming back for more. Be sure to check out our Hytale Review-in-Progress for a far more in-depth look at the game.
Considering what it offers, Disney+ is one of the best streaming services on the block. From classic Disney animated films to the latest Marvel shows, Star Wars movies, and so much more, Disney+ puts an incredible range of high-quality viewing options at your fingertips. There's tons to watch, but after another round of price hikes, you might want to revisit your streaming subscriptions. We're here to help.
At the moment, one of the best Disney Plus bundle deals available is the massive Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max streaming bundle. This starts at $19.99/month (after a recent price hike) to get you all three streaming services with ads. Bundles are definitely worth considering, especially following the news of Hulu eventually fully integrating into the Disney+ app.
Limited-Time Deal: One Month of Disney+ and Hulu With Ads for $9.99
We're only two weeks into January, but Disney+ has already announced a new bundle discount. Until February 17, you can get one month of Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) for $9.99, $2 less than standalone subscriptions to either service. Sure, it's not a door-stopping discount, but it's a decent way to test out the Disney waters or catch up on a particular series.
How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max Streaming Bundle
Want a way to save on your Disney+ membership sooner rather than later? Bundles are a great, affordable way to go. Our top recommendation is the Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max streaming bundle can be purchased through any of the three streaming services and starts at $19.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $32.99/month for ad-free access across the three platforms. If you currently own all three and want to cut down on costs, this is a great way to bundle them together and save big on what you'd pay for them separately per month – 42% on the ad-supported plan and 43% on the ad-free plan.
Every Other Disney+ Bundle Option
Beyond HBO Max, you can also choose to bundle Disney+ with just Hulu or the all-new ESPN Unlimited service. Here's the breakdown of all your bundle options:
Disney+, Hulu Bundle is $12.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. This plan lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both services.
Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium is $19.99/month and comes with Hulu and Disney+ with no ads. It also includes Disney+ Premium features like the ability to download shows to watch on the go.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle adds ESPN Select (With Ads) to the mix alongside Disney+ (With Ads) and Hulu (With Ads), bumping up the price to $19.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN Select at this level.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Premium is $29.99/month and comes with ESPN Select (With Ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle is $35.99/month and includes the new ESPN Unlimited service with live ESPN coverage as well as Hulu and Disney+ (With Ads).
Disney+ is available in a couple of different tiers. You can get the least expensive option (simply called Disney+) for $11.99/month, which gives you access to everything except the ability to download select shows to watch on the go. This tier is ad supported. If you want to get rid of ads and be able to download certain shows, you can spring for the $18.99/month or $189.99/year Disney+ Premium package.
What Is the Paid Sharing Plan on Disney Plus?
In an effort to crack down on password sharing, Disney has added a paid sharing plan for individuals outside of your household. Basically, anyone using your account that's not within your household will have to be added as an "Extra Member" to your account. This costs an additional $6.99/month for the ad-supported subscription and $9.99/month for the Premium ad-free plan, and only one Extra Member slot is available per account. You can learn more from Disney's paid sharing explainer here.
Disney+ Gift Cards
If you want to help someone out and give them a gift that will keep on giving, gifting a one-year Disney+ card is a great option. It provides all the great things Disney+ offers and it costs a fraction of what it would take to buy even a small sampling of those movies physically.
What Can You Watch on Disney+?
There is a bonkers array of shows and movies you can watch on Disney+. Highlights coming to Disney+ in January include new episodes of Phineas & Ferb, Percy Jackson Season 2, and all of the Indiana Jones movies. For new and potential subscribers, here's a deeper dive into what's available on the service:
Disney
On the Disney front, you have awesome classic movies like The Sword In The Stone, Robin Hood, 101 Dalmations, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty, modern classics like The Princess & The Frog, Tangled, and Frozen, and a wide range of animated shows, including Phineas & Ferb.
You also gain access to a ton of vintage content like Escape to Witch Mountain, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Love Bug, and a whole lot more. The Disney Junior section is home to absolutely top tier animated shows like Bluey (which, for my money, is worth the price of admission on its own).
There's way more on offer, too, including a ton of Muppet movies, new live-action films and adaptions (including the new Snow White), nature programs, documentaries, Pirates of the Caribbean, and musical programs featuring Taylor Swift (like her wildly popular The Eras Tour), Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and more.
Pixar
When it comes to computer generated films, Pixar stands alone. Kicking off the revolution with Toy Story, Pixar has consistently put out fantastic films, and they are all here. From the Toy Story series to Finding Nemo, Cars, and more recent hits like Inside Out 2, there is a ton to love.
Beyond even that, there are incredible shorts like Bao and Party Central, as well as a wide range of originals and series based on major films, such as Dory's Reef Cam, Forky Asks A Question, Cars On The Road, and more.
Marvel
The MCU has become a true juggernaut, and there are many viewers who subscribe to Disney+ purely for access to nearly the entire MCU lineup of films and shows.
Whether you are a fan of the blockbuster action films, you are an appreciator of the classic 90s runs of "Saturday morning" cartoons like X-Men, or you are currently vibing to the funky theme of the 1981 Spider-Man series, there is a ton of Marvel to enjoy on Disney+. And with new movies and shows being added to the MCU all the time, including most recently Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, there is always more coming.
Star Wars
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a film that changed everything. The original Star Wars is a seminal sci-fi fantasy work that inspired generations of creators, but there is still nothing quite like that far away galaxy. Disney+ grants access to all things Star Wars, including the remastered versions of the original trilogy (hopefully some day they'll add the theatrical cuts, too), as well as the prequels and sequels.
Connexion
