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Old Guy Review

They don’t make them like Danny Dolinski anymore. As played with characteristic off-kilter charisma by Christoph Waltz, the aging contract killer at the center of Old Guy swaggers around in a vintage leather jacket, exchanges playfully cutting banter with his criminal associates, and sports a shaggy coiffure. That all prompts a disappointing indicator of this crime-comedy’s joke-telling ability: “The ’90s called: They want your haircut back.” In short: Dolinski is another era’s idea of cool, something that’s made abundantly clear when he’s assigned to train the overzealous upstart (Cooper Hoffman) who could take his place as London’s top hired gun. And once our homicidal odd couple picks up a third wheel played by Lucy Liu, Old Guy starts to feel like a bygone era’s idea of a cool movie, the sort of thing Quentin Tarantino or Steven Soderbergh would’ve populated with underworld smart alecks and crate-digging needle drops when Dolinski was at his peak. And I say this as someone of the age to have a sense of nostalgia for such things. This just doesn’t land.

The throwback vibes are subtle, but the exploration of aging is not: Just as Old Guy director Simon West has fewer opportunities to pull out his old Con Air flash these days, Dolinski is frustrated by his employer’s lowered expectations and a bum shooting hand. That seems like it should be enough for a diverting-but-unmemorable caper, but this one unfortunately crams in a whole buddy-movie arc and a halfhearted romance, too. And even then, it needs to pad out a plot involving an ill-fated trip to Belfast and a hostile mob takeover to get across the 90-minute mark.

There are times when Old Guy mimics the rope-a-dope tactics of its protagonist, its outward doddering giving way to a level of surprise and impact it doesn’t seem capable of – a target’s relative pulled out of the line of fire with a little How the Grinch Stole Christmas routine, or a briefly pulse-elevating car chase. But scenes like these are exceptions; so many others are driven by characters and relationships, and those are dragged down by Dolinski's failure to convincingly or meaningfully click with Hoffman’s Wihlborg or Liu’s Anata. (You have to hand it to screenwriter Greg Johnson: His script may not be particularly novel or memorable, but the character names sure are.)

At least Old Guy has a firm grasp on its actual old guy. Much of that credit goes to Waltz, who’s in his element – and sporting an immaculate mustache – as the underestimated charmer talking his way through sticky situations. There’s a lot of work put in to earn our sympathy for him, which makes sense given his line of work: He’s a professional murderer, but he’s a professional murderer in a vulnerable state, recovering from surgery and threatened by the presence of young gun Wihlborg. In one of Old Guy’s few moments of filmmaking panache, West breaks the slow-motion, party-hearty euphoria of Dolinski’s post-work drinks, drugs, and dancing routine to show us what he looks like from an outsider’s perspective. As Wihlborg approaches his reluctant partner in a bar, what we see is a rhythmless boob dancing with women half his age. It’s a funny image, but it’s also a little sad. But the script keeps such emotions in reserve, turning them off and on with a plot-centric inconsistency that’s also applied to Dolinski’s supposedly debilitating injury. Sometimes he’s hobbled, sometimes he’s an action hero, and it makes no sense.

But Old Guy just can’t settle for being a decent character study of a GOAT in decline. In the scenes between hit men, I heard a yearning for (and, in the case of Waltz, the voice of) the downtime banter of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown. The love story in the midst of all this aspires to the fireworks of the George Clooney-Jennifer Lopez scenes in Out of Sight, but only gives off a few sparks – the chemistry just isn’t there between Waltz and Liu or their characters.

Old Guy is at least aware enough of its limitations to keep its action sequences sensible, showing Dolinski’s particular set of skills through on-the-fly ingenuity rather than any superhuman gun-fu. It doesn’t make for the most thrilling shootouts, and his deadly accuracy eventually robs any standoff of its suspense, but it is amusing to see him take out multiple adversaries at once by applying his skills with munitions in the kitchen.

At least Old Guy has a firm grasp on its actual old guy.

The generational warfare, meanwhile, has all the depth and heat of a newspaper op-ed about millennials’ financially ruinous appetite for avocado toast. Dolinski debates whether Wihlborg is a member of that touchy-feely cohort, or if his strident teetotaling and hypebeast fashions mark him as a member of Gen Z – a quasi-quip that only emphasizes Old Guy’s sweaty uncertainty about its wunderkind assassin. It’s possible that the hardline stances he spouts are signs of someone who’s not sure who he is, either, but for all of the sincerity Hoffman lends to his character’s unearned convictions, Wihlborg never really comes into focus. It’s fitting, then, that our first glimpse of his killer instincts takes place in the fuzzed-out background of a close-up on Waltz.

Pity poor Lucy Liu, stranded in an extraneous subplot that’s only there to deliver her character – one who runs a karaoke joint and into Dolinski’s arms. Around the midway point, Old Guy bafflingly mucks with its own momentum by cutting between Dolinski and Wihlborg’s most trying job and Anata’s date with a nice doctor. What could possibly be going on here that’s as important as the high-stakes hit on one of their rival organization’s top men? Whatever the reason, it speaks to the amount of filler bulking up the story because it has precious little to say. The dancefloor interludes really pile up across this hour-and-a-half, though none are as flagrantly drawn out as Dolinski and Wihlborg’s arrival at their handler’s dog-track HQ, where they pause to watch a hairy metaphor for their relationship do a slo-mo lap through the dirt.

There’s no real tension here, just inevitability: When Dolinski instructs an injured colleague to look at a picture postcard of a tropical paradise, a clock ought to pop up onscreen, counting down to the shot of that mope’s blood splattering across the postcard because there’s no subversion of cliche to be found here. Uneasy alliances will be struck, fragile trusts will be betrayed, and the full range of our main hitman’s righteous fury will be uncorked.

It’s certainly not impossible for these previously loved puzzle pieces to be taken out from the box and arranged in such a way that they can still come together into something cohesive. But here it’s hard to get too invested in the outcome, or what happens to any of these characters, when most of their interactions are stitched together from hermetically framed shots that seal Waltz, Hoffman, and Liu off from one another. It’s just one more facet of Old Guy that makes this ensemble piece feel like several parallel one-man shows.

Surface Season 2 Review

Surface season 2 premieres Friday, February 21 on Apple TV+. New episodes debut through April 11.

Considering Surface is an amnesia thriller, it’s on theme (and maybe a tad on the nose) if you can’t remember what happened in the first season finale. After all, it aired over two and a half years ago. Struggling to recall plot points would be a detriment to other shows, but this one stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a woman trying to figure out her past – add to that a change of setting from San Francisco to London, and this second season counts as both a soft reboot and a worthy jumping-on point.

Back in 2022, Surface fell into the meandering traps that affect so many streaming series, treating its first season like one long pilot episode. Thankfully, its sophomore outing is more urgent in its quest for the truth – and much less forgettable as a result. Memory loss from the accident that kick-started Surface still clouds a lot about Sophie, but the mystery stretches back to her childhood; she’s gone to England to crack the mystery of her mother’s death and its connection to a beautiful heiress. In London, where she goes by Tess, Sophie still travels in the same upper-class circles, and leaving behind the rich, Californian embezzlement victims of season 1 in favor of the ultra-wealthy Huntley family ups the ante for season 2 considerably. The money here is old, and the sizable closets are stuffed with skeletons. When Sophie’s ongoing probe intersects with a reporter’s investigation of abuses tied to the Huntleys, the puzzle at the heart of Surface takes on a new weight..

Having stolen millions of dollars from her husband, James (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), Sophie doesn’t have to ditch her life of luxury: Plush hotels, designer clothing, exclusive clubs, and expensive booze are still on the menu. How quickly she reconnects with the youngest Huntley sibling, Eliza (Millie Brady), reminds us of how good Sophie is at faking it until she makes it, and Mbatha-Raw expertly walks the line between drawing attention and slipping beneath the radar. While Brady portrays Eliza like a frayed nerve, Ted Lasso’s Phil Dunster plays troubled Huntley scion Quinn with a sinister edge, ditching the lovable-idiot aura that made him an AFC Richmond fan favorite – and showcasing his range in the process.

The Huntleys are preparing for Quinn’s lavish wedding, and his relationship with fiancée Grace (Freida Pinto) takes some surprising turns throughout the eight episodes. Grace’s uncertainty about becoming a permanent member of the family stirs up some conflict, but Pinto’s time on screen ebbs and flows and the role ultimately feels like a wasted opportunity. (What brief flashes we see of her complexities are far too fleeting.) Pinto isn’t the only one to get a short shift story-wise: the material for family members played by Joely Richardson and Tara Fitzgerald is similarly meager, but the actors make the most of it. Dunster gets the meatier part, juggling Quinn’s own follies and those of his father and grandfather.

Giving Sophie a part-ally, part-foil in the form of journalist Callum Walsh (Gavin Drea) brings us closer to the truth about what happened to her mother. Sophie’s amnesia means we’re learning everything at the same time she is, and vital information is frustratingly withheld until later in the season. You might be able to figure out the broad brushstrokes from the clues strewn about season 2, but it isn’t an entirely predictable outcome, fortunately – the finale culminates in some unexpected twists

Sophie had her therapist to confide in in season 1, but the keepers of her secrets are more fluid this time around. Considering Eliza hasn’t seen Sophie for a decade, it’s hardly surprising that she’s less than thrilled to see her former friend. The push-pull between the two is explored in some depth, but this thread unravels as the season progresses – disappointingly lost amid other, flashier developments like the fallout of Sophie fleeing San Francisco. Jackson-Cohen is listed as a season regular and appears briefly in the season 2 trailer, so it’s no spoiler to say that James eventually re-enters the picture. When he does, the season kicks up a gear, because it isn’t immediately clear whether he’ll be friend or foe to Sophie. The actor has a knack for playing a menacing husband with layers, and once again, he hits different notes between arrogance and vulnerability.

Surface's sophomore outing is more urgent in its quest for the truth.

Having seen the whole season, I can assure you that answers are forthcoming, and there’s far less withholding and fewer bloated misdirects on the horizon. The second season improves on the first, and another tantalizing cliffhanger promises there’s still more of this story to be told. There’s more to Surface than its slick and seductive appearance, and Mbatha-Raw mines Sophie’s potent mix of grief and rage to new, satisfying depths in season 2.

Spider-Man 4 Gets Small Delay to Move Clear of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

The next Tom Holland Spider-Man has been delayed by one week, and probably for good reason.

Sony updated its release calendar today and shared that the fourth Spider-Man movie will now be released on July 31, 2026, a week later than its previously announced July 24, 2026 release. The likely reason is to give the next Spider-Man movie some breathing room from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

Thanks to the date shift, the fourth Spider-Man movie is now coming out two weeks after The Odyssey hits theaters, whereas before it would only be one week removed. Not that Tom Holland would complain considering he’s starring in both movies.

This buffer will give both films a chance to premiere on Imax screens, something we know Christopher Nolan loves to do.

Marvel announced that a fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland is officially in the works and will be the next Marvel movie following Avengers: Doomsday which is coming out on May 1, 2026. The next Spider-Man film will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton who directed Shang-Chi for Marvel and was previously set to direct the next Avengers movie before storylines changed as a result of the situation around the Kang character.

Now the Russo Brothers are back to direct Avengers: Doomsday with Robert Downey Jr. stepping in as Doctor Doom. Wild. Check out our complete list of upcoming MCU projects here and get ready for the Oddy-Man 4 or whatever combo word people will come up for The Odyssey Spider-Man 4 double feature.

Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor.

The 13 Best Stephen King Movies of All Time

Iconic horror novelist Stephen King has had a ton movies adapted from his work -- and that's not counting TV shows and miniseries. And there's simply no sign of slowing down, what with the recent Salem's Lot movie, the new adaptation The Monkey, and more adaptations in the pipeline.

With so many films to choose from, what are the best Stephen King adaptations? We've whittled this massive catalogue down to 13 movies. From ghosts to psychics to... ghosts wanting to feed on psychics, these are truly the movies that not only captured the best of King's work, but also became cinema classics in their own right.

Here are the top Stephen King movies ever, ranked from #13 counting down to #1. Keep scrolling for the list or view the slideshow for a visual countdown!

How Many Stephen King Movies Are There?

There are 54 film adaptations of Stephen King stories, according to the author's official website. The first King adaptation was Carrie in 1976, while the most recent is The Monkey.

The Best Stephen King Movies, Ranked

13. The Dead Zone (1983)

Director: David Cronenberg

Long before Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone served as fodder for a TV series, it inspired a 1983 film from director David Cronenberg. Cronenberg, who'd already made a name for himself with surreal horror films like Videodrome and Shivers, brought that signature touch to this gripping psychological drama.

The Dead Zone starred Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith, a humble school teacher who is injured in a car accident, trapped in a coma for five years, and awakens to discover he can psychically glimpse into a person's past, present, and future with a mere touch. Less grotesque and violent than many of Cronenberg's horror efforts of the day, Dead Zone was a bleak and unsettling film that made full use of Walken's peculiar presence and gravity as an actor.

12. Gerald's Game (2017)

Director: Mike Flanagan

For years it was thought King's 1992 outing Gerald's Game, which involves a woman handcuffed to a bed fighting to free herself after her husband has a heart attack, was un-adaptable. But then writer/director Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) came along and knocked it out of the park. Starring Carla Gugino as the trapped, desperate Jessie, Flanagan's Netflix horror movie is superb small-scale suspense and features an immensely captivating performance by Gugino. Taking place mostly in one room, Gerald's Game is a set of tightly wound gears that cranks out dread.

Read IGN's review of Gerald's Game.

11. The Monkey (2025)

Director: Osgood Perkins

A premise as deceptively simple as “if you wind up the monkey, someone brutally dies” leaves a lot of room for error, or for the gnarly kills to be the only things anyone remembers. But from that setup, director Osgood Perkins builds a multifaceted rollercoaster of a midnight movie that elicits as many laughs as shocks or gross-out gags, and succeeds at both animating and skewering the power that death holds over us all.

The Monkey marches to the beat of its own bloodstained drum – and it’s an irresistible rhythm to groove to. Perkins and cast balance the horror and comedy inherent in the movie’s silly premise exceptionally well, and the surreal, absurd touches the Longlegs director adds to a world sketched out by Stephen King only help to set it apart from less imaginative, body-count-obsessed movies. The evil influence of the titular, cursed toy results in blockbuster showcases for fantastic gore effects that, when paired with the film’s surprisingly gentle stance on the inevitability of death, affirm how potent horror-comedy can be when executed with a strong perspective and a willingness to get weird.

Read IGN's review of The Monkey.

10. The Mist (2007)

Director: Frank Darabont

The Mist is based on a King short story found in the 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. Ostensibly a monster movie, The Mist finds a group of people trapped in a remote grocery store after a strange fog envelops the region and terrifying, dinosaur-like creatures begin appearing. But the core of this horror/sci-fi fusion is survival, and the lengths some will go to ensure theirs.

The movie benefited from a solid cast (including stars Tom Jane and Marcia Gay Harden) and director Frank Darabont -- who's one of three directors on this list who've had the most success with King's work -- actually garnered praise with a revised ending that deepened the dark tone of the story.

Read IGN's review of The Mist.

9. Creepshow (1982)

Director: George A. Romero

Horror legends Stephen King and George Romero teamed up for 1982's Creepshow, which was conceived as an homage to the Golden Age of horror comics in the 1950's, including E.C. Comics' infamous releases and DC books like House of Secrets and House of Mystery.

That anthology legacy is reflected in the execution of Creepshow, which revels in its juvenile, B-movie status. The film also has the distinction of featuring original material written by King, rather than a script wholly adapted from his prose work. While two of the five vignettes are based on his short stories, the remaining three are unique to Creepshow. These vignettes are cleverly glued together with animated sequences and a framing sequence starring King's son, Joe (now an accomplished horror writer in his own right).

8. The Green Mile (1999)

Director: Frank Darabont

Because director Frank Darabont had crafted what many consider to be the definitive Stephen King movie with The Shawshank Redemption (more on that film later) some feared he was revisiting overly familiar territory when he returned to adapt another of King's prison dramas, The Green Mile.

Like Shawshank, The Green Mile is a period piece set largely within a prison and centered on a wrongly convicted felon. In this case, the prison is the Depression-era Cold Mountain Penitentiary, and the felon is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan). The corrections officer in charge of the death row inmates (Tom Hanks) is enthralled by Coffey's gentle nature and apparently supernatural healing powers, causing great emotional turmoil as he debates whether he can allow such a marvelous and obviously innocent man to be executed. The Green Mile is easily one of the most emotionally gripping King films (or books, for that matter) and further proof that his non-horror tales are often the ones most ideally suited for film.

Read IGN's review of The Green Mile.

7. Stand By Me (1986)

Director: Rob Reiner

Frank Darabont isn't the only director with a real knack for bringing Stephen King tales to life on screen. Before Misery, Rob Reiner also directed this coming-of-age tale based on King's novella "The Body", collected in the 1982 book Different Seasons.

Stand By Me featured narration by Richard Dreyfuss and a "who's who?" lineup of up-and-coming teen actors at the time - including Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell. This quartet played a group of friends who hear a rumor about a dead body being discovered and venture out to track it down and find small-town glory. Along the way, they battle some ruthless bullies and learn a thing or two about each other. This was another King film with a deceptively simple formula that really thrived on the strength of the performances. King himself even labeled it as the first truly successful adaptation of his work.

6. It: Chapter One (2017)

Director: Andy Muschietti

Fittingly, one of King's most iconic novels is also one of his most successful adaptations, shattering box office records. But more than just being a moneymaker, IT is a very effective horror film that pits a group of intrepid middle schoolers against the terrifying, inhuman killer lurking beneath the streets of an idyllic Maine town. It's filled with ample spookiness, devilish scares, and a horrifying performance by Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

It's first chapter works well not just because it's frightening, but because it does something that so few horror films ever manage - it makes audiences care for these heroes as they face down the unimaginable. Just like the book, the half of the story featuring our main characters as kids is the more engrossing part, which is why only Chapter One is here on our list.

Read IGN's review of It: Chapter One.

5. Doctor Sleep (2019)

Director: Mike Flanagan

Mike Flanagan's Doctor Sleep is a modern horror miracle. Adapting King's sequel novel to The Shining, about a grown-up Danny Torrence (Ewan McGregor), Flanagan had to merge the world of King's prose and Kubrick's cinematic vision. Since Kubrick's The Shining took many liberties with King's book -- so much so that King himself disavowed the film -- Flanagan had to bring both worlds together in a way that felt genuine, gripping, and scary.

Visually, most everything we associate with The Shining comes from Kubrick (the hedge maze, the "twins," the various ghouls, etc) and Doctor Sleep is a beautiful, brutal blend of it all. On top of that, it's a fantastic film created by one of the best new masters in the horror game. Also see our video for Doctor Sleep: How the Shining Sequel Handles the Legacy of Jack Torrance

Read IGN's review of Doctor Sleep.

4. Carrie (1976)

Director: Brian De Palma

"If you've got a taste for terror... invite Carrie to the prom!"

That was the Grindhouse-worthy tagline for Carrie, and it said all that needed to be said about this teen horror drama. Carrie was King's big break as a writer in 1974, and a mere two years later, it also became fodder for one of the best films based on his work. The titular character -- Sissy Spacek -- a prototypical awkward teenage girl who suffers from bullying at school and an overbearing, fanatically religious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. She also happens to manifest destructive, psychokinetic powers when she's upset, so you can imagine what happens when Carrie becomes the victim of a cruel prank at her prom.

Carrie was praised both because of its terrifying qualities and its serious exploration of a very troubled character, easily still ranking as one of the very best of the traditional Stephen King horror movies.

3. Misery (1990)

Director: Rob Reiner

Misery operates on a very simple formula. It features only two main characters who spend most of the film locked away in a remote cabin in winter. But both the 1987 novel and Rob Reiner's 1990 adaptation really made the most of this formula.

As with so many of King's stories, Misery features a troubled writer as the lead protagonist. James Caan starred as novelist Paul Sheldon, a man who is rescued from a car crash by a nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Unfortunately, as Sheldon's "number one fan" Wilkes uses her unique opportunity to trap Sheldon in her cabin and force him to write a new book that will resurrect his most famous character, Misery Chastain. It was a great premise that allowed for Hitchcock levels of tension as Sheldon struggled to placate his demanding host and find a way to escape her clutches. Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Wilkes, a character who still ranks as one of the all-time great horror villains.

2. The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was born from what might be King's most famous novel, which told the tale of a man named Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) - another of King's struggling writers with a pronounced dark side. Torrance serves as winter caretaker for the remote, luxurious Overlook Hotel in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. A combination of cabin fever and a strong supernatural influence compels Jack to try and murder his family and join the many restless souls trapped within the Overlook's walls. The only thing standing in the hotel's way is Jack's young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), whose psychic gifts the hotel both craves and fears.

In a twist, King has always been very adamant in his dislike of this adaptation, which he chalks up to Kubrick downplaying the family themes and the supernatural nature of the hotel, but both elements are now among the film's more praised qualities. The Shining is a technically brilliant film, with innovative camera work (particularly the tracking shots of Danny on his tricycle) and the use of physically impossible building layouts to create a subtle but very unsettling feeling. The Shining is so good that it manages to almost remain separate from King's name, ranking simply as one the best horror movies of all time.

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Director: Frank Darabont

The first of Frank Darabont's feature-length Stephen King adaptations, The Shawshank Redemption also remains his best. The movie was adapted from the lesser-known novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" (also Different Seasons collection that spawned Stand By Me). The movie starred Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, a banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover based on circumstantial evidence and doomed to spend the rest of his days within the cold walls of Shawshank Penitentiary. Morgan Freeman co-starred as Red, the wise, world-weary smuggler of contraband.

While Shawshank often veered into dark territory, the movie was ultimately an uplifting tale about one man's refusal to give up hope in even the most depressing circumstances. Robbins played a capable everyman hero, but often it was Freeman who stole the show, both in person and through his now iconic narration.

Upcoming Stephen King Movies

We love the classics, but you may be anticipating what Stephen King releases are coming next. For movies, you can look forward to:

  • The Running Man - Release Date: Nov. 7, 2025
  • The Long Walk - Release Date: TBD

What are your fav Stephen King movies ever? Let us know in the comments.

This article has been updated with streaming information and upcoming Stephen King release information for 2025.

The New Hunger Games Novel Breaks Into Amazon's Top Five Best Sellers Ahead of Its Release Date

There are very few young adult novels as successful as the Hunger Games books. Suzanne Collins released the first book in 2008 and has since released three more books and a total of five movies. And it doesn't stop there as just last year Collins announced yet another book in the series with a movie already in the works.

The next Hunger games book, titled Sunrise on the Reaping, is set to come out on March 18, 2025. Despite only being a preorder, the hardcover edition has already jumped into the top five on Amazon's best-sellers list of books. It has officially surpassed Onyx Storm on this list, which had a wildly successful debut last month and topped last year's Amazon charts ahead of its release.

The hardcover edition of Sunrise on the Reaping is currently receiving a 30% discount on Amazon, dropping the price under $20. You can find a similar discount on the Kindle version of the book.

Sunrise on the Reaping Preorder Deal

The new Hunger Games novel is the fifth book in the series, but it will be taking place in an entirely different place on the timeline. Sunrise on the Reaping is set about 40 years after the events of The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes and 24 years before we reach Katniss' story in the original Hunger Games novel. The story will be taking place during the Second Quarter Quell, which was won by Haymitch Abernathy. If you've read the original novels, you'll know that Haymitch was the mentor for District 12 and portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the films.

If you'd prefer to wait for the film adaptation of this novel, it already has a release date of November 20, 2026.

See more Hunger Games books:

What Is Amazon's Preorder Price Guarantee?

If you've never actually preordered anything from Amazon before, it's worth noting that if you purchase this book, it includes Amazon's preorder price guarantee. According to Amazon's own help page, this means that if the price decreases between now and when the item ships, you'll pay the lowest price. So in this case, if there ends up being an even bigger discount than the one we're seeing right now, that's what you'll pay. Though, it is unlikely that the preorder price will drop much lower than it is right now with the 30% discount.

The Best VR Headsets for PC Gaming

When you want to escape to virtual worlds, having a VR headset that connects to a great gaming PC can unlock even more possibilities. Some of the top VR games work on standalone headsets, but those devices are few and far between. Most games look and play better if your VR headset is hooked up to a capable PC.

TL;DR - The Best VR Headsets for PC:

The best VR headsets for PC offer sharp displays, comfortable designs, accurate tracking, and a seamless connection to a gaming PC or gaming laptop. Admittedly, finding a headset with all these capabilities doesn’t come cheap. However, the Meta 3S, an alternative to the Meta Quest 3, is a great cheap VR headset for PC for those on a tighter budget. But if you have a little more wiggle room, the Valve Index is the simplest option for Steam integration and even PS VR2 supports PC VR with minimal caveats.

Unfortunately, you often don’t get to try out these headsets for fit and functionality before purchasing. So, our experts have done the hands-on testing and research for you, ensuring you get the best VR headset for PC that suits your needs. Whether you’re after versatility or something ready to push graphics to the extreme, one of our five picks will fit your PC VR needs.

1. Valve Index

Best VR Headset for PC

Our review of the Valve Index might be a few years old, but we still stand by our opinion that it is one of the most uncompromising PC VR headsets on the market. The 120Hz refresh rate and 1440x1600 resolution mean apps and games look crisp as you move around and turn your head – super handy when you’re dodging headcrabs in Half-Life Alyx or spotting sneaky xenomorphs in Alien: Rogue Incursion. The Index is also flush with premium padding and comfort dials that you can manipulate to create a snug fit. Even though it weighs 1.79lb, you rarely feel uncomfortable thanks to the well-constructed frame and ergonomic considerations.

Convenient and comfortable flip-down speakers flank your ears, and an easy-to-use passthrough system lets you quickly dip in and out of VR at will. The Index’s ties to Steam also make it a formidable choice for serious VR gamers who want access to an enormous library of games.

Unlike other options on our list, the Valve Index uses external ‘lighthouse’ towers to map the room for hyper-accurate tracking and roomscale VR. Naturally, this summons extra playspace considerations, but the results are worth it. Valve’s ‘Knuckles’ controller solution also deserves praise, offering peerless hands-free immersion finger tracking. The only downside is the price point, but in this case, you certainly get what you pay for – and the platform’s system seller (Half-Life: Alyx) comes bundled in.

2. Meta Quest 3S

Best Budget VR Headset for PC

VR gaming on PC doesn’t always need to be prohibitively expensive, and the Meta Quest 3S is proof of this. The Meta Quest 3S takes the Meta Quest 3 – which we reviewed and loved – and drops a few features along with the price while keeping everything else intact. Of course, the headset is primarily used as a standalone device that works seamlessly with games and entertainment found on Meta, making it seem like an odd pick for PC VR. But access to a Steam VR library or other PC VR titles is as simple as purchasing a link cable or using streaming apps like Steam Link or Air Link with a solid home Wi-Fi connection.

Furthering the case for using the Meta Quest 3S as a PC VR headset is its lighter, slimmer design, weighing a nimble 1.13lbs. It’s also easy to manipulate the headset’s fit using a fabric Y-strap. However, in IGN’s Meta Quest 3S testing, our reviewer found the strap would come a little loose with too much movement. Still, it’s comfortable enough on the head for longer periods.

The lenses are the biggest downgrade when comparing the Quest 3 to the Quest 3S. Rather than pancake lenses, the Quest 3S has 1832x1920, 20ppd Fresnel lenses, sacrificing clarity and causing distortion. At least full-color passthrough, well-balanced controllers, and top-notch head tracking are major upgrades over the Quest 2 (and a whole slew of other headsets). Given the Quest 3S is equipped with the same GPU, CPU, and RAM as the Quest 3, its performance is also similar, if not better for a seamless and snappy VR experience on a PC or standalone.

3. HTC Vive Pro 2

Best VR Visuals

The HTC Vive Pro 2 keeps everything looking sharp and detailed with minimal screen door effect thanks to its 2448x2448 per-eye resolution. That’s paired with a butter-smooth 90 to 120Hz refresh rate ready to make the most of vibrant vistas and realism in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Its fast-switch LCD panels even support a 120-degree field of view for deeper immersion in all the action. However, these optics are demanding, so a beefy gaming PC is required to keep up.

The HTC Vive Pro may offer an impressive 5K resolution, but its design isn’t as revolutionary. Don’t get us wrong: This VR headset is comfortable enough, keeping weight well-balanced and offering supportive cushioning, an excellent adjustable head strap, and the ability to tweak the distance between lenses; it’s just a little bit clunky and a pain to set up. The headset requires two base stations and several cords just to get it powered on and working with your PC. Guess that’s the price you pay for unmatched fidelity.

Though the main focus of a VR headset may be visual, the HTC Vive Pro also excels in audio performance, so investing in a gaming headset isn’t necessary. Instead, headphones are built-in, producing booming hi-res audio to place you at the center of the action.

Although we haven't reviewed the HTC Vive Pro 2 ourselves, we did go hands-on with the original HTC Vive Pro and were overall impresed by the image quality and comfort it provided.

4. HTC Vive XR Elite

Best VR Headset for Work and Play

Adaptability is a massive bonus when picking a PC VR headset, and the HTC Vive XR Elite is a smart choice if you’re looking for an HMD that suits both professional and casual settings and offers virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality experiences. If you want to get some work done at a virtual desk and experience the intensity of PC VR gaming, the XR Elite is worth considering.

The main caveat with the XR Elite is that you’ll have to use a link cable or the Vive Streaming app to access the PC VR library. The tradeoff here is the device's portability and viability for working environments versus the raw power offered by true PC VR headsets like the Valve Index.

The HTC Vive XR Elite’s wireless design and unobtrusive speakers make it a great traveling companion, a solution for business trips and play sessions on the road. Although it's not best in class, the 1920x1920 resolution per eye and 110-degree field of view provide bright and clear visuals. Like its HTC Vive Pro sibling, the XR Elite also offers multiple lens and band adjustments for a secure fit.

5. PlayStation VR2

Best VR for Console and PC

That’s right: The PlayStation VR2 works on PC. The VR headset, once exclusively for PlayStation 5, now can connect to another device with a PC adapter for $59.99. The setup is fairly simple: You just need to connect the adapter to the single USB-C cord that comes on the PS VR2. A DisplayPort 1.4 cable is also required and, like most headsets, you’ll need a gaming PC that meets the minimum requirements to run. Luckily, most budget gaming PCs fit the bill. From there, with a Steam account, you can play Steam’s impressive library of VR games.

There is a catch, as not all of the PS VR2 features will work when playing on PC. You will no longer get HDR support on the 2000x2040 per-eye OLED panels, but action should still look crisp in 4K with no screen door effect and feel immersive with the 120Hz refresh rate and 110-degree FOV. Other features like eye-tracking, adaptive triggers, headset feedback, and controller haptics won’t be available. Though these extras would be nice, we don’t think they're deal breakers. You can still enjoy a comfortable fit, finger-touch detection, rumble, 3D audio, and see-through view when PC gaming.

Beyond a few caveats, our hands-on testing of PS VR2 shows that it's a great option for PC VR. If you’ve got a PS5 and are on the fence about buying the VR headset, we think this new functionality makes a great case for the purchase. It’s expensive, costing over $600 with the adapter, but it’s still a steal compared to many of our other PC VR headset picks.

How to Choose the Best VR Headsets for PC

We’ve chosen these PC VR Headsets based on our expertise and experience with VR, as well as IGN reviews and consumer feedback. When buying a VR headset, there are more than just digital specifications to consider, with physical comfort being an essential facet of the experience. For example, comfort dials, airflow, and build quality impact how the headset will feel when used. However, it’s also necessary to consider the technology under the hood, with the efficacy of a headset’s parts correlating with performance in the games you wish to play.

Then there are quality-of-life features to consider, like the efficacy and style of a headset’s tracking solution or passthrough and refresh rate, which governs the fluidity you experience inside a given game.

PC VR FAQ

Do I need a powerful PC to use VR?

Like PC games, VR headsets and VR games have minimum and recommended system requirements that you’ll need to meet to get the associated applications working smoothly. If you’re jumping into PC VR to play a specific set of games, it’s worth investigating the system requirements before making any big purchases to ensure you’ll be able to make the most of your proposed headset. Generally speaking, you will need high-end hardware in your gaming rig, such as potent graphics cards and processors, to play the most demanding VR games. If building a gaming rig for PC VR is out of your budget, it’s worth considering some of the standalone headsets on the market, which work wirelessly without needing an external computer.

What VR headsets don’t require a PC?

VR headsets for PC are mighty capable, but if you’d like to play away from home or even in a different room from your computer, you’ll need to find another option. The Meta Quest 3S and the entire Quest lineup are great hybrid options that excel as standalone VR headsets. The Pico 4 works similarly to the Meta Quest and is great for those who don’t want a tether. We’d be remiss not to mention the Apple Vision Pro; it’s wildly powerful solo, and it seamlessly integrates into the Apple ecosystem, proving an innovative way to work on the best MacBooks.

PlayStation VR2 doesn’t require a PC. However, you’ll need the PS5 to enjoy the truly spectacular VR experience. Some ultra-cheap VR headsets also use the screen of your smartphone for a fun, more immersive experience that’s especially well-suited for children.

How do you ensure the best VR headset for PC experience?

Beyond having a powerful gaming PC and a capable, comfortable VR headset, consider these other factors too. A well-lit space ensures you have the most accurate tracking. You’ll also want the freedom to move around the area you’re playing in, so the space should be free of obstacles or furniture that could trip you up or get tangled in wires. It may be helpful to place a rug or other objects that indicate when you’re leaving the dedicated play area. Luckily, some headsets come with their own indicators.

When do VR headsets usually go on sale?

Almost all of the best VR headsets that are PC compatible will drop in prices a few different times every year. One of the overall best shopping events for VR discounts is Amazon Prime Day, which takes place in July every year. After that, Black Friday and Cyber Monday tend to have the best overall deals consistently. Both events tend to primarily offer Meta Quest deals, but sometimes other headsets are available at a discount.

Sarah Thwaites is a freelance tech writer at IGN, with bylines at GameInformer, TrustedReviews, NME and more.

Danielle Abraham is a Tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.

Score a New Nintendo Switch OLED Console for Only $224 with Free Shipping

If you're in the market for a new Switch console, here's a deal worth consideration. AliExpress is currently offering a Nintendo Switch OLED console for only $223.61 after coupon code: USAFF30 is applied during checkout. This product is also stocked in a US warehouse, so it ships free and arrives within about a week. AliExpress has a 15-day free return policy and guarantees a refund if your order doesn't arrive within 20 days.

This is a brand new, genuine Nintendo Switch console, but keep in mind that it is imported from either Japan or Hong Kong. What that means is that the warranty it comes with will most not likely be valid in the United States. The packaging and materials (like the manual) might also be written in another language). Functionally, however, Switch consoles are region unlocked so you'll be able to play them in the US without any problems. You'll be able to select English as your default language just like any console you buy here. A US power plug adapter is also supplied.

Nintendo Switch OLED for $223.61

If you can afford the small price premium of the Switch OLED over the non-OLED model, then I think it's worth the upgrade. The Nintendo Switch OLED features an OLED display that offers better image quality than the original LCD display. That includes deeper blacks, more vibrant colors, and a better color gradient. The text is sharper and easier to read as well. The screen isn't that much bigger (7" on the OLED vs 6.2" on the non-OLED), but it does feel a lot bigger thanks to a thinner bezel. Other upgrades worth mentioning are a new and improved kickstand, a hard-wired ethernet port on the docking station, and an exclusive white Switch shell and matching Joy-Cons.

$39.99 Nintendo Switch Video Games

Best Buy has dropped several must-have Nintendo Switch video games from $59.99 to $39.99, a savings of 33%. Several of them are available in your choice of a physical copy or digital download. You won't lose out even if you plan to upgrade to the Switch 2, since the new console has been confirmed to be backwards compatible with nearly all Switch games.

The "Switch 2" Isn't Out Until June or Later

If you're holding out on the next generation Switch 2 console, be prepared to wait for a while longer. It's possible that the console update might not be released until after June of 2025. We suspect the price of the Switch will be at least $400, so you'd be paying hundreds more than a Switch OLED console right now. Basically, if you don't own a Switch, now is still a good time to join the family. The games are still as amazing as when they were first released, and they're on sale more often than ever before. If you're looking for deals on accessories, check out the best Switch deals of 2024.

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.

Best GPU 2025: Pick the Best Graphics Card for Your Gaming PC

When you’re setting out to build or upgrade your gaming PC, the best graphics cards are often the first thing that comes to mind. There’s a simple reason for that: When it comes to PC games, GPUs are the most impactful component in determining your rig's raw frame rates. Quite simply, most of the time, a better graphics card directly results in better performance – at least up to a point. With Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards out now (though it's nearly impossible to actually get one), here are the best graphics cards on the market.

TL;DR: These Are the Best Graphics Cards:

These days, GPUs have legitimately become a luxury good. With graphics cards like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 costing upwards of $1,999, you can expect to pay top dollar for top performance. Prices are still way higher than they were when the GTX 970 blew my mind in 2014 – even when adjusted for inflation. However, if you temper your expectations, you can still get a solid gaming experience for a fraction of that price, especially if you're okay with gaming at 1440p or 1080p.

I’ve been reviewing graphics cards for the last four generations, and I’ve personally benchmarked, built with, and played games using every GPU on this list. However, if none of these strike your fancy, feel free to comment below what kind of gaming experience you’re looking for, and I’d be happy to help you find the perfect card for your build.

What to Look for in a Graphics Card

While it would be easy to just tell you to get the most powerful graphics card on the market for the best gaming experience, the truth is that picking a GPU is something you need to put a bit more thought into. not all graphics cards are created equal, you see, and everyone is going to need something a little different out of their PCI-E brick.

The resolution you play games at is going to be the first thing you want to figure out. Whether you already have a gaming monitor you love or you're looking to build up an entire gaming battlestation, decide on your resolution first. This is because a graphics card that's great at 4K isn't exactly going to translate to an amazing 1080p graphics card. Just take a look at the Nvidia RTX 5090. While the new flagship flies at 4K, it can actually be slower than much cheaper graphics cards at 1080p, due to CPU bottlenecking. Instead, if you're playing at 1080p, something like the Intel Arc B580 is going to be a much better fit. You're still going to get solid gaming performance, but at a much lower price, which you can use to, well, buy more games. Likewise, 1440p gamers are probably best off buying something like the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super.

Budget is also a huge concern, and graphics cards are only getting more expensive these days. It would be awesome if everyone could afford an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, but that's just not the world we live in. These days, the floor sits around $200-$250. For that price you can get a solid 1080p graphics card, without having to go back to a previous generation. If you have a bit more cash, something like the Nvidia RTX 4060 will unlock all of Nvidia's exclusive bells and whistles – though they're much less important on a lower-end GPU.

If you really want to go all-out, you can get an amazing graphics card for around $1,000. Both the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 will provide an awesome 4K gaming experience, and the one you choose should ultimately depend on how much you care about ray tracing. For most people that just want raw gaming performance, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX is probably going to be a better option, but you're going to want to wait a minute for AMD's next-generation offering. I don't know how well the Radeon RX 9070 XT is going to perform until I benchmark it, but it should prove to be great for 4K gaming, especially with the upcoming FSR 4.

Luckily, it looks like this generation of graphics cards is going to make 4K gaming much more accessible. When I reviewed the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti, I found that it had no problem breaking 60 fps in even demanding games like Black Myth Wukong. However, more expensive and powerful cards like the RTX 5080 and 5090 are going to give you more breathing room for future PC games.

With more expensive graphics cards, however, power is going to be a big concern. You're going to want to make sure you check which power supply you have, and check it against the power requirements for the graphics card you're looking at. Something like the Intel Arc B580 can get away with a 450W PSU, but you're going to want to make sure you have something much more powerful for the Radeon RX 7800 XT, for instance. You don't need to go overboard and fork over the cash for a power supply that offers twice the recommended power, just make sure you have enough juice to keep your GPU going.

1. Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super

The Best Graphics Card for Most People

While it kind of hurts to call any GPU that costs $599 affordable, that’s kind of what the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super is going for. For a mid-range price, you’re getting an extremely solid graphics card that can pump out 1440p-ready gaming performance, and can even stretch into 4K in certain games. It’s not the most powerful graphics card out there right now, but this would be Goldilocks’ choice.

When I reviewed the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super, I found it to be an extremely strong contender, and probably the best of the mid-generation refresh cards that Nvidia launched at CES 2024. While it still has the same 12GB of VRAM that held the original RTX 4070 back, the RTX 4070 Super is packed with 7,168 CUDA cores, compared to 5,888 in the original model. That’s a 21% jump in shading cores, and this difference is reflected in gaming performance.

Just looking at a game like Cyberpunk 2077, which absolutely loves CUDA, you can see a 12% jump in performance over the RTX 4070 at 1440p. And, at 4K, the RTX 4070 Super is 13% faster than its predecessor in CD Projekt Red’s demanding RPG. Likewise, when running a game like Forza Horizon 5 at 4K, the RTX 4070 Super manages an impressive 123 fps, compared to the 94 fps of the original RTX 4070. That’s a 30% increase in performance at the same launch price.

No matter which game you play at 1440p, you’re going to get extremely good performance out of the RTX 4070 Super, and that’ll translate into 4K gaming more often than not. And with 1440p gaming growing in popularity, there’s never been a better time to upgrade to a card that can really soar at that resolution.

2. Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

The Best Mainstream Graphics Card If You Want to Spend a Bit More

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is a lesson in pricing. At its suggested price of $749, it is one of the best bang-for-your-buck graphics cards of this entire generation. However, with the graphics card just having launched recently, it remains to be seen how available it will be at that suggested price. It is distinctly possible that the only RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards that are available will cost much more than the suggested price, which will make it much harder to recommend.

If you can find the RTX 5070 Ti at $749, or even up to $800, it is one of the best 4K graphics cards for most people. When I reviewed the 5070 Ti, I found that it stayed within reaching distance of the RTX 5080, consistently sitting just 13-15% behind it, while having a 33% lower asking price. It's not hard to see why it's the best value high-end graphics card of this generation, so far at least.

The elephant in the room, however, is Blackwell's tepid generation-on-generation improvement over the RTX 4000 graphics cards. The Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti has the best generational gain out of any of the RTX 5000 cards, and its still limited to being just 11% faster than the RTX 4070 Super and 21% faster than the original RTX 4070. That's not a huge jump, but its still a bigger improvement than the RTX 5080, which is just 15% faster than the RTX 4080 in the same test suite.

3. Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090

The Best Nvidia Graphics Card

There's no way around it, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is the most powerful graphics card on the market right now. Full stop. While it doesn't mark the same kind of generational growth that the RTX 4090 or even the RTX 3090 did, there's no getting around the fact that it provides the best gaming performance you can get right now – especially when you take DLSS multi-frame generation into account.

Not only is the RTX 5090 bigger than the 4090, now coming with 21,760 CUDA cores and 32GB of GDDR7 memory, but it also has a much higher power budget. When I reviewed the RTX 5090, I found the next-gen graphics flagship would peak at a staggering 578W, a huge increase from the 448W of the RTX 4090. With all that extra power, Nvidia needed to find a better way to dissipate heat, and introduced a new cooler for its Founders Edition. Instead of doubling down on the triple-fan design of the last couple of generations, Team Green actually found a way to slim the design back down to a dual slot cooler, something I haven't seen in a flagship Nvidia graphics card since the RTX 2080 Ti.

The company was able to do this by shrinking down the circuit board where the GPU is located, placing it at the center of the card. Each side of that PCB is bookended by pass-through heatsinks, where fans pull cool air through the bottom of the card, and shoot it straight through to the top of your PC case. The thermal engineering of it all is a bit more complicated than that, but even with all that extra power, I only ever saw the RTX 5090 reach up to 87°C. That's a high temperature, but its still low enough to game at full blast.

On average, I found the RTX 5090 to be about 26% faster than the RTX 4090, when looking at 4K games and synthetic 3DMark benchmarks. That number does diminish at lower resolutions, of course, and you really shouldn't be forking over the $1,999 (or more!) for this GPU if you're not going to play at 4K. Even at 4K, there were certain games that simply didn't have much of a performance uplift due to the limitations of the CPU – and I used the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. For better or worse, then, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 shines in the exact kind of workload it's designed for. No holds barred, everything maxed out at 4K, and with minimal upscaling. Gone are the days where DLSS on 'Performance' mode is necessary at 4K – at least for this beastly GPU.

4. AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

The Best AMD Graphics Card

While AMD doesn’t really have a GPU that can go blow-for-blow with the RTX 4090, it does have one that is extremely competitive with the RTX 4080 Super, Nvidia’s next-best and more attainable card: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Our hands-on testing of the Radeon RX 7900 XTX made it clear that this GPU is an absolute beast at 4K that can keep up with Nvidia, even beating Team Green in some games.

Even in games that are traditionally hard on AMD graphics cards, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX can handle at 4K. Just take a look at Cyberpunk 2077 – it’s able to manage an average of 58 fps at 4K with the ray tracing ultra preset, with FSR enabled. Obviously that’s not quite as good as the RTX 4080 in the same test, but frankly it was never going to be. However, in games with lighter ray tracing loads, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX fares a lot better.

For instance, in Forza Horizon 5 with everything cranked, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX manages an impressive 158fps at 4K, basically matching the RTX 4080 Super at 159fps. Likewise, in Far Cry 6, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX can deliver an incredible 154fps average, beating out the RTX 4080 Super, which can do 151fps.

Like with any graphics card, it’s important to know what kind of games you want to play. But if you’re playing a lot of games with little to no ray tracing, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is an extremely potent 4K graphics card. Plus with DisplayPort 2.1, it’s better equipped for higher resolution ultrawide monitors.

5. AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT

The Best GPU for 1440p

When you think of the perfect resolution for games, it’s easy to jump to 4K and say “more pixels is better." However, 1440p really is the sweet spot for PC gaming, and the Radeon RX 7700 XT is the star of the show, thanks to the performance you get for the money. AMD has lowered the price on the Radeon RX 7700 XT from its launch price of $449 down to $419, but you can easily find it for around $399 on Amazon. At this price, it goes head to head against the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, and that’s not a fight that looks good for Nvidia. And while I didn't do a standalone review for the 7700 XT, I tested it alongside the Radeon RX 7800 XT, its big sibling.

While the RTX 4060 Ti does beat out the 7700 XT in Cyberpunk 2077, it’s not by much. The RTX 4060 Ti gets 62fps at 1440p, and the Radeon RX 7700 XT gets 49fps. And that’s on the ray tracing ultra preset. Nvidia’s lead disappears in other games, though.

For instance, in Forza Horizon 5, maxed out at 1440p, the RX 7700 XT manages 118fps, compared to 107 from the RTX 4060 Ti. Likewise, in Total War: Warhammer 3, which doesn’t have any fancy ray tracing tech, the RTX 4060 Ti gets smoked, with it scoring 68 fps to AMD’s 85. That’s a 20% lead at about the same price.

There is a catch, though. While the Radeon RX 7700 XT is more powerful than the RTX 4060 Ti, it’s also more power-hungry, drawing up to 312W from the wall in my testing. Compared to the 159W that the RTX 4060 Ti eats up, that’s a pretty huge gap. However, if you have a power supply that can handle it – AMD recommends 550W – you get a much more powerful card at the same price. Whether or not it affects your power bill down the line is a future issue.

6. Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060

The Best GPU for 1080p

According to the Steam Hardware Survey, 1080p gaming displays are still the most popular monitors out there, and it's not close. So, despite how hyped up 4K displays are, if you’re comfortable with 1080p, you don’t need an extremely powerful graphics card to play even the most demanding games. That’s where the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 really shines.

The RTX 4060 can power any game at 1080p, even with all the fancy ray tracing settings that are coming out these days. And thanks to DLSS, it can even stretch to higher resolutions in certain games. And for a current-generation graphics card that you can find under $300, that’s not a bad deal.

When I reviewed the RTX 4060, I found that it was able to run most games extremely well at 1080p with all the settings cranked at more than 60fps, even if it just barely got there in some games. For instance, in Cyberpunk 2077 on the ray tracing ultra preset, the RTX 4060 scored just 62fps at 1080p. That is the golden frame rate, but you’re not going to be doing much high-refresh gaming on this card.

The RTX 4060 does have a weak side, though, and that’s how it compares to the RTX 3060 Ti that came out before it. You can still find the RTX 3060 Ti at most retailers, and for a comparable price, but yet it manages to beat out the RTX 4060 in most of my tests. There are some features you’d be giving up by going with a last-generation card, DLSS 3.0 being chief among them, but that may be worth it for the slight edge in performance you can get. However, at this price range, a feature like DLSS 3.0 that can stretch performance out in supported games is worth it, and can really stretch out the value of the card.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 isn’t perfect, but if you want a current-generation graphics card for under $300 that runs any PC game above 60fps, I’d have a hard time coming up with an alternative – certainly not the Radeon RX 7600.

Upcoming GPUs

Now that the latest generation of Nvidia graphics cards is out, starting with the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, 2025 seems to be a packed year for graphics cards. Team Green followed up its flagship-level cards with the RTX 5070 Ti, which really helps bridge the gap between the mid-range and the high end. However, because this is still an expensive 4K card, anyone looking for 1440p gaming is probably better off waiting for either the Nvidia RTX 5070 or AMD's upcoming cards.

Because Nvidia isn't alone in new graphics cards. AMD's Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT are right around the corner, launching in March 2025. I got a chance to sneak in a benchmark of the 9070 at AMD's CES 2025 booth, and while those are preliminary results you should take with a heaping of salt, it looks like it's going to give the Radeon RX 7900 XT and RTX 4080 a run for their money.

Best Graphics Cards FAQ

AMD or Nvidia? Or Intel?

When it comes to which brand of graphics card you should get, it ultimately comes down to your personal preference – even if each brand has its own unique advantages. Intel graphics cards are the most affordable option on the market right now, but its graphics cards aren’t exactly the fastest in the land. On the other hand, Nvidia makes the most powerful GPUs around, but you’re going to have to pay out the nose for that performance.

AMD graphics cards strike a pretty good balance between the two, but while the company loves to use open-source graphics APIs, it means you don’t get access to some of the exclusive features that Nvidia owners enjoy – features like DLSS (and the new DLSS 4). AMD has alternatives for literally every Nvidia software feature, but some of them simply aren’t as good. See our guide to AMD vs. Nvidia GPUs for more info.

What power supply should I get?

Graphics cards, especially high-end ones, are sucking up more electricity with every passing year. If you’re looking to build a new gaming PC, or even upgrade from an older graphics card, you should really consider upgrading to one of the best power supplies.

Some of the graphics cards out there right now can take upwards of 450W of power by themselves, so you may want to consider a 1,000W power supply – especially if you’re going for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090.

GTX vs. RTX

Nvidia has both an RTX, or Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme, and GTX, Giga Texel Shader eXtreme graphics cards series, with the RTX offerings being newer, more powerful, and more expensive.

That boosted performance is thanks to the architecture of RTX cards, which offer both Tensor and RT cores alongside CUDA cores for better graphics and rendering. Tensor cores enable AI and high-performance computing tasks bringing support for DLSS tech to help with upscaling and sharpening. RT cores are dedicated to ray tracing, allowing for more realistic lighting and shadows in scenes. Nvidia’s GTX graphics cards have a much simpler architecture and don’t offer Tensor or RT cores. Though they still work for budget builds, GTX cards will soon be obsolete.

Where to Get the Best Graphics Cards in the UK

There aren't too many differences when it comes to the graphics cards you can pick up in the UK, but the main takeaway is where you can purchase them. All of the following links have been updated with UK vendors, saving you some time and money if you're interested in picking up any of the graphics cards we've mentioned.

Jacqueline Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. When she's not helping her friends and family buy computers, you can usually find her tinkering with her own PC.

Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo Is Now Available at Best Buy

The Mario company's latest hardware release is Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo. Previously exclusive to the Nintendo Store and only available for Nintendo Switch Online members, it’s now available to everyone. You can purchase your very own Alarmo at Best Buy right now for $99.99.

Where to Buy Alarmo

Alarmo is an interactive Nintendo-themed alarm clock. From a hardware perspective, it looks nice and cartoony, like something straight out of the Mushroom Kingdom. It has a full-color display that shows you the date, day, and time in a font and style based on your choice of five (or more) games.

Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo Games

Here are the games whose themes come pre-loaded:

  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Splatoon 3
  • Pikmin 4
  • Ring Fit Adventure

If you connect your Nintendo account to your Alarmo, you can download additional game themes for free, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

To set it, you pick the game you want for the display, select a “scene,” and set the time and an alarm. When it’s time for the alarm to go off, you’ll hear music and sounds based on the game and scene you picked.

You can use Alarmo like a normal alarm clock, pressing the button to turn it off. Or you can use the interactive features, which make sounds play and characters on the screen react as you move around in bed after the alarm goes off. In this mode, getting out of bed turns the alarm off automatically.

In addition to setting alarms, you can have Alarmo play music from your chosen game every hour. Or, if you like to use sleep sounds, you can have it play calming music when you go to bed.

More Nintendo Hardware

This isn’t the first weird Nintendo release by a long shot. You can still buy a Pokemon Go Plus+ at some retailers, and you can go to bed with it, too. We're also following every development about Nintendo's next piece of hardware: the Switch 2.

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

What to Watch This Weekend (February 21-February 23)

Entertainment has hit critical mass over the last decade, with more shows and movies being produced and released than ever before. It’s impossible to keep up with everything hitting the digital space, whether it be Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) or a traditional streaming network. With that in mind, we figured it was well past time for us to whip up a little something to help you keep up (and catch up) with all there is to watch in the big, wide world of digital viewing. And thus, the Streaming Rewind was born!

We’ll update this list at the end of each week so you can check out what you may have missed, and what’s coming up on the weekend. We’ll keep it a mix of popular releases and noteworthy lesser-known titles to help you find what’s worth taking the risk on as well as dive into a few things that we loved and why we loved ‘em, or just break down a show or movie that left us with some opinions. Sometimes, we’ll even have guest entries from other members of the IGN staff. If you’re not interested in all that and just want to see a bulleted list of what’s out there, pop on down to the New and Noteworthy and ICYMI sections.

It’s a Big Week for Digital and Demand

Lots and lots of rentals (or digital purchases) are coming your way this week, with Oscar nominees continuing to flood the digital market as The Brutalist joins last week’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Better Man and Hard Truths. While it was snubbed despite predictions favoring Pamela Anderson for a leading actress nomination, The Last Showgirl is also available for your at-home viewing pleasure. Mufasa, the sequel to the “live action” Lion King adaptation hits digital this week as well (but will also eventually end up on Disney+).

Gotta Go Fast to Paramount+ For Sonic 3

If you missed the little blue speedster during his theatrical run, you can now check out Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow and multiple Jim Carreys in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on Paramount+. Sonic and his friends face their greatest challenge yet as they square up with Shadow, tragic past and all. Fair warning for those unfamiliar with Shadow’s backstory: this Sonic entry might require some tissues.

Suits L.A. Continues the Phenomenon on NBC

While Suits was never a particularly remarkable show, it was always incredibly watchable. This is something younger audiences discovered in 2023 as the series saw a resurgence on Netflix, leading to this new spin-off starring The [expletive] Green Arrow himself, Stephen Amell. Tune in this weekend if the coastal change works for the series, and see how the former super hero holds up in court.

New and Noteworthy This Week:

  • Mufasa: The Lion King, February 18 — Digital and demand
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3, February 18 — Paramount+
  • The Last Showgirl, February 18 — Digital and demand
  • The Brutalist, February 18 — Digital and demand
  • Companion, February 18 — Digital and demand
  • Reacher, February 20 — Prime Video
  • Zero Day, February 20 — Netflix
  • The SAG Awards, February 23 — Netflix
  • Suits LA, February 23 — NBC

ICYMI:

If you had too much going on last week, here are some of the notable things that premiered or debuted on streaming and digital that you may have missed.

  • The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, February 11 — Netflix
  • The Seed of the Sacred Fig, February 11 — Digital and demand
  • Nickel Boys, February 11 — Digital and demand
  • Hard Truths, February 11 — Digital and demand
  • Better Man, February 11 — Digital and demand
  • The Simpsons, The Past and the Furious, February 12 — Disney+
  • Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, February 13 — Peacock
  • Cobra Kai’s final season, February 13 — Netflix
  • The Gorge, February 14 — Apple TV+
  • SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, February 14 — Peacock
  • Yellowjackets Season 3, February 14 — Paramount+ w/ Showtime
  • The BAFTAs, February 16 — BritBox
  • SNL 50: The Anniversary Special, February 16 — NBC/Peacock
  • The White Lotus, February 16 — Max

How to Read the Hunger Games Books in Order

2025 marks 17 years since Suzanne Collins debuted the brutal world of The Hunger Games and its heroic rebel leader, Katniss Everdeen. With a new prequel set to release in just a couple of weeks, now is the perfect time to revisit the original books that started it all.

Set in a dystopian world where kids kill each other annually as a way to quell a rebellious and fractured nation, The Hunger Games sparked a YA frenzy and inspired women all over the world to take up archery. If you're feeling like you want to revisit the franchise but don't know where to start, we're here to guide you through the Hunger Games books in order. You can also check out our guide to The Hunger Games movies as well as our list of the best books like The Hunger Games.

How to Read the Hunger Games Books in Order

While the newest edition to the series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is set before the original trilogy, the context provided by the three Hunger Games books is key to truly enjoying the prequel. With that in mind, we recommend reading the originals before that entry. But if you want a chronological journey through Panem, then feel free to begin with Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes before hitting the others.

1. The Hunger Games

It was this dramatic YA hit that launched the epic Hunger Games franchise. After author Suzanne Collins found herself flicking between coverage of the ongoing war in Iraq and reality TV late at night, she was inspired to create her bestselling novel about a world where kids must fight each other to the death for the entertainment of their fellow countrymen. It's a brutal entry into the dystopian YA canon that launched 1,000 imitators and a smash-hit box office franchise that's still going strong today.

The story of this first novel follows Katniss, a young woman in the impoverished District 12, who scavenges to help her family survive far from the watchful eye of the Capitol. But when the annual reaping ceremony sees Katniss's young sister picked as a Tribute for that year's Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers, sending herself on a nightmarish journey of survival. Fighting against other children from Panem and alongside her fellow District 12 tribute, the sweet-hearted baker Peeta, she must outsmart not only her competitors but also the maniacal government that sent them there.

2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Following their shocking survival in the Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss should be living a peaceful life as champions. But after tricking the Capitol into letting them both survive, the pair are in more danger than ever. Their radical survival has inspired cells of resistance across Panem, and President Snow blames Katniss, threatening death to her loved ones if she doesn't play along with the Capitol narrative. But Katniss can't help but be inspired by the bravery of the Districts that she and Peeta visit on their "Victory Tour," and soon the pair finds themselves in the arena of the Hunger Games once again. Taking her bestselling formula and expanding the world and lore while introducing new fan-fave characters like Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason, the second entry in the series sets up the shocking finale brilliantly with a world-shifting twist that changes everything we know about Panem.

3. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

In the action-packed finale of the original Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss and her rebellion friends are flung into a nightmarish war against the Capitol. As they aim to take down President Snow and install their own leader, Alma Coin, Katniss finds herself the reluctant face of a battle that puts her loved ones in the crosshairs. Instead of a return to the Hunger Games arena, Snow brings the Hunger Games to the streets of the Capitol, where Katniss and her crew must battle through nightmarish traps and horrific violence in order to achieve their goal of bringing freedom to Panem. But, as she learns, nothing is what it seems, and some people don't want to change the system so much as take control of it. This trilogy-ender stands out as a surprisingly depressing and realistic end to a blockbuster series.

Note: The theatrical version of this final book was split into two films, Mockingjay - Part 1 and Part 2.

4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

As noted above, this prequel is set 64 years before the original book, though Collins wrote it with audiences who were familiar with her series in mind. That's why the prequel ends up at the end of our list, so you can fully enjoy the context and worldbuilding of the original trilogy before having your heart broken by the origin story of the villainous President Snow.

Chronicling the origins of the Hunger Games as we know them, this story centers on the planning of the 10th edition of the Games and the impoverished 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, who is chosen as a mentor for District 12. It's there he meets their female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, who becomes an influential part in the history of the Games, thanks to the way she utilizes her skills as a musician to engage the audience. As Snow and Lucy grow closer, both their lives change forever as they prepare for the Hunger Games and fall for each other in the process. This is an intriguing look at the early days of the Games and how both Lucy and Snow shaped them. If you're already a fan, it's an expansion filled with Easter eggs. And if you're a newcomer, it's an interesting jumping-on point that'll change how you read the series.

Will There Be More Hunger Games Books?

Four years after the initial book release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins announced her plans for a new installment in the Hunger Games series. "Sunrise on the Reaping," another prequel to the original trilogy, will be published on March 18, 2025. According to the Associated Press, the new book will take place 40 years after the story of Lucy Gray and 24 years before the original novel, featuring fan favorite Haymitch Abernathy and the infamous Second Quarter Quell. A movie adaptation is already in the works, set for release on November 20, 2026.

Book Deals Happening Now

Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. You can find her on social at @rosiemarx.

The 6 Best Portable Projectors in 2025

The best projectors let you enjoy a cinematic viewing experience at home. The only problem is most projectors are large, bulky, and sometimes require mounting, making them difficult to move around. Not all projectors are so limiting; plenty of portable options exist for a movie night under the stars during a camping trip or some binge-watching in a cramped dorm room.

Many portable projectors come with streaming apps and Wi-Fi built in for simple setup. Even when you’re away from an internet connection, with Bluetooth and HDMI support found on most projectors, streaming from a phone, tablet, or laptop could be a viable option. You might not even need a wall outlet, as the top portable projectors often include a battery ready to last through an entire feature-length film, or can at least be powered by the best power banks.

TL;DR – The Best Portable Projectors:

With all the good, a few caveats come with grabbing a compact option. A smaller projector’s brightness and picture quality typically just can’t compete with their larger counterparts, so it’s best to use these devices in dark environments with minimal ambient light. High refresh rates, low input lag, and specialized modes that come with the best gaming projectors also won’t be available. Still, when you’re tight on space but are after big-screen viewing, nothing competes with a portable projector.

Take a look at our favorites below. Whether you’re after something tiny and cheap or a slightly bulkier option ready to deliver rich details and accurate color, we've chosen some top-tier portable projectors.

1. Xgimi Halo+

Best Portable Projector Overall

With everything from a battery that lasts up to two hours to two 5W Harman Kardon stereo speakers (and more), the Xgimi Halo+ is among the most complete portable projectors available. The projector is able to produce 1080p resolution that shines at up to 900 ANSI lumens, which is ideal for nighttime outdoor viewing. An onboard Android interface with Chromecast, plus 2GB of memory and 16GB of flash storage, nearly completes the package.

Finally, the automatic keystone adjustment, auto focus, and Intelligent Obstacle Avoidance features together make setting this projector up in just about any environment super easy. It even has a low-latency (26.5ms) gaming mode for portable tourneys.

2. ViewSonic M1X

Best Budget Portable Projector

Plenty of portable projectors are cheaper than the ViewSonic M1X, but you’ll find out all too quickly why they were so inexpensive. Slightly upping your budget means you’ll enjoy a complete package that offers tremendous value in a premium, ultra-compact form factor.

Weighing under 2lbs and offering up to four hours of battery life, the ViewSonic M1X is the perfect companion for camping or work trips. It even has a built-in stand to help reliably display a straight picture from its range of throw distances. Horizontal and vertical keystoning along with automated four-corner adjustment also make setup simple. For safekeeping when tucked away in a bag, the stand doubles as a lens cover.

Admittedly, this portable projector won’t be the best option for playing games or acting as a full-on TV replacement given the limited resolution and low brightness. Still, as a presentation aid or portable movie option, it's an excellent choice full of ways to connect to your phone and other devices thanks to Wi-Fi support and HDMI, USB-A, and USB-C ports. What makes the ViewSonic M1X even more special are the outstanding dual 3W Harman Kardon speakers, so this projector can also turn into a great Bluetooth speaker whenever.

3. Nebula Capsule 3 Laser

Best 1080p Portable Projector

Delivering a crisp 1080p resolution through a 300 ANSI lumens lens, the Nebula Capsule 3 Laser may not be the brightest projector, making it best to use at night with little ambient light. But it shines where picture quality is concerned, offering surprisingly excellent color accuracy and great contrast.

It's hard to beat its compact size too, being slightly larger than a can of coke and weighing just 2.1lbs. Somehow, it manages to squeeze in a battery, which should last as long as a 2.5-hour movie, and 8W speakers packing Dolby Digital Plus that can also act as Bluetooth speakers.

It’s also fitted with Android TV 11, making for easy TV and movie streaming or light gaming over Wi-Fi. However, the Anker Nebula Capsule 3’s Full HD resolution and ample functionality do come with an $800 price tag, putting it right on par with the Xgimi Halo+.

4. Nebula Mars 3 Air

Best Portable Projector for Sound

Sound probably isn’t top-of-mind for a portable projectors, but it should be an important factor in your final decision, especially if you’re planning to take the projector on road trips or away from access to other sound systems. Luckily, the Nebula Mars 3 Air lands right in the strike zone, offering up two 8W speakers in a compact package. These speakers deliver rich, well-rounded sound to easily hear dialogue and soundtracks. They also get plenty loud for outdoor movie nights, while the support for Dolby Audio is the final cherry on top. Even if you skip the movie, you can use this projector as a Bluetooth speaker and enjoy up to eight hours of playback compared to its usual 2.5 hours when projecting.

Audio isn’t the only thing the Mars 3 Air got right, as those speakers are packaged into a sleek and durable design. It’s not the smallest portable projector but still easy enough to cart around with a handy little carrying strap. With Google TV built-in and Wi-Fi support, you don’t even need a streaming stick, phone, or other device to enjoy movies and TV shows. An HDMI port, USB port, and Bluetooth are also included for additional connectivity options.

The picture quality of the Mars Air 3 matches its mid-range price point. It hits up to 400 ANSI Lumens, so this projector is best for viewing with little to no ambient light. Still, the Full HD picture remains crisp and detailed with excellent motion handling, even when stretching the image up to 100 inches. HDR modes are supported but pales in comparison to many TVs and brighter projectors.

5. Xgimi Horizon S Max

Best Portable Projector for Brightness

At a whopping 3,100 ISO Lumens, the XGIMI Horizon S Max is dazzlingly bright for easy viewing in just about any environment. Where ambient light wreaks havoc on the picture of most portable projectors, its picture remains vibrant. Solid contrast, accurate colors, and surprisingly sharp resolution ensure everything you watch is rich and detailed. What takes this projector even further is the support for several HDR modes. A dual light source of laser and LEDs can even be adjusted depending on personal viewing preferences.

This projector isn’t as compact and lightweight as our other projector picks, but it should still be easy enough to cart around to different rooms in your home or pack away for road trips to enjoy big-screen viewing from anywhere. A gimbal mount on the Horizon S Max makes it simple to maneuver the projector for perfect positioning. However, a built-in stand along with autofocus, auto keystone adjustments, a screen fit feature, and obstacle avoidance ensure setup is easy from just about anywhere.

Unfortunately, a battery isn’t packed into the Horizon S Max, so this projector is dependent on a wall outlet, unless you’ve got a high-powered power bank. At least Android 11 and Wi-Fi support are included for quick and simple streaming. An HDMI port is available to plug in a gaming console, while two USB ports support other devices. The dual 12W Harmon Kardon speakers sound excellent and can easily fill most rooms, so you don’t have to worry about grabbing any additional speakers.

6. Optoma ML1080

Best Laser Portable Projector

By using RGB laser technology, the Optoma ML1080 can produce accurate colors and rich details for a stunning picture quality that’s hard to find in projectors of this size. It’s also more energy efficient, as laser technology consumes less power than its lamp-based counterparts.

Even so, the projector still manages to crank out pictures at 1,200 Lumens and will shine in almost any setting, including spaces with some ambient light. When you add in a Full HD resolution and innovative features like Time-of-Flight (ToF) and four-corner correction, you’ll enjoy a perfectly projected image almost every time.

Perhaps most importantly, the Optoma ML1080 is easy to take anywhere. It doesn’t come with a battery but has a USB-C power input to use the projector with a portable charger when on the go.

What to Look for in a Portable Projector

Space: Consider your most regular viewing spaces before buying a portable projector. Look at the throw range of each model to make sure it reasonably fits the dimensions of your space for the image size that you want. For outdoor spaces, you will need to see whether you have a level enough environment for the projector to sit on, though automatic keystone correction might help with this.

Brightness and resolution: Especially for outdoor viewing, brightness is hugely important. This is difficult to gauge for indoor environments where it might be in use during daytime hours. Brightness is measured these days in ANSI lumens. We recommend a projector capable of at least 800 ANSI lumens to use outdoors at night. As for resolution, projectors support anywhere from 720p to 4K resolution. Your target resolution should account for your intended image size: The larger your image, the higher resolution you should go. That said, a 60-inch image projected at 1080p resolution, for example, would be just fine.

Battery: If you only plan on viewing in your backyard with access to your home’s outdoor DC power outlets, maybe you don’t need a battery. But, if you’re planning on taking the projector elsewhere without that kind of outlet access, consider one with a battery. Generally, these batteries will last for at least a 90-minute movie, but some can last for hours.

Joe Osborne is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience in games and tech media. You can find his work elsewhere at Insider, TechRadar, Laptop Magazine, Tom’s Guide, and more.

The Shure MV7i is an Excellent Mic with a Built-In Audio Interface

Shure is one of the most respected audio brands and over the last few years, it's had gamers and content creators right in its sights, and it just launched its latest product for this audience: the Shure MV7i. It’s an update to its popular line of streaming mics but thanks to its built-in audio interface, excellent recording quality, and high-quality DSP audio FX, it’s easily one the best mics yet. At $349, it’s not cheap, but with everything it offers it still might wind up saving you money.

Shure MV7i – Design and Features

The MV7i looks virtually identical to the company’s other MV7 microphones. It has a sleek black cylindrical body that's half metal and half foam pop filter. There is a bright RGB strip along the middle of it indicating whether it's live or muted and what your current levels might be, though this can be configured in the software or mobile app. The whole thing is mounted on a U-bracket that can attach to any stand or microphone arm, whether it uses the smaller 3/8-inch thread or the larger 5/8-inch.

But let’s call a spade a spade. Its design is meant to evoke Shure’s legendary SM7B, one of the most popular broadcast and recording mics in the world.You’ve probably already seen it even if you didn’t know which mic it actually was as it’s seen on some of the most popular video podcasts. The MV7i differentiates itself with prominent “Shure” branding on both sides and that RGB strip, and is also a touch smaller – but there’s no doubting that the design is intentional.

Unlike that microphone, the MV7i connects through USB Type-C. You can use it plug-and-play with Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS, and there’s no need for additional hardware, unlike the SM7B. This mic is designed to be used on a computer or with a smartphone, so you’ll find that it gets plenty loud and sounds great straight out of the box.

Its claim to fame is that it features a built-in audio interface that allows it to connect to a second source. If you look at the back of the microphone, you'll find a USB Type-C port to connect to a phone, tablet, or computer and an XLR combo jack that can also accommodate a ¼-inch instrument cable. In combination with its software, this essentially makes it a microphone, audio interface, and mixer all in one package.

The majority of streaming microphones today use condenser capsules. Condensers can sound great and they have a wider frequency response which can make them sound more natural in crystalline. At the same time, they will pick up just about any sound in your room, including the clack of your keyboard, the fans on your PC, ambient reverberation, and any background noise that might exist.

The MV7i, on the other hand, uses a dynamic microphone capsule, which is much less sensitive and doesn't pick up nearly as much unintended noise. If you happen to be streaming in a room with hardwood floors or f bare walls, a condenser microphone will capture almost all of that reverberation (or room noise) and send it directly into your stream. The MV7i, with its dynamic capsule, will cut that out and minimize how much makes its way to your audience.

Don't mistake this lack of sensitivity for a lack of quality – dynamic microphones are incredibly popular for broadcast purposes for a reason. They have a more limited frequency response range that's perfect for capturing the human voice and this bit of frequency crunch allows it to deliver a classic “radio voice” type of sound signature. If you want it to, that is.

Within the Motiv Mix app, you're able to craft its sound profile using its built-in digital sound processing (DSP). This audio processor opens the door to a lot of different customizations and studio FX. I’ll dive more into this in the software section, but for starters you can choose whether you are recording speech, singing, or an instrument, set automatic gain levels, and customize the tone to be dark, natural, or bright, ensuring it matches your voice.

At $349, it’s not cheap, but with everything it offers it still might wind up saving you money.

Being able to mix two sources is a powerful bit of functionality. For example, this is great if you want to record a two-person podcast or stream, but it’s also capable if you want to record an instrument. I was able to plug my guitar directly into the microphone and then send that through to my DAW of choice (which is Reaper).

Its second channel also offers its own range of DSP customizations. Like the microphone itself, you can set it to either speech mode or singing mode, have it automatically adjust levels (or set them manually), adjust tone controls, reverb, a real-time de-noiser, pop filter, and more.

The LED strip along the center also serves a purpose. By default, it's set to indicate the levels of both sources. If you are too quiet and your second channel is too loud, you'll be able to see that visually right away. This can also be customized within the software if you'd rather have it be a static color or act as a meter for only your voice.

If you are a solo broadcaster and don't play an instrument (or don't have a need to run a second XLR or 1/4-inch source into your mix), you don't need to worry about the MV7i. If you do, however, and don’t mind doing your mixing on a PC, it will save having to buy an interface and/or mixer separately (and save desk space in the process).

The only thing you’ll need to buy is a stand. The mic only includes a U-bracket, which doesn’t support the mic alone for immediate use. Given its price, I would have liked to have seen something included, but packaged stands are usually pretty poor and leave you shopping for a better one anyway. Still, out-of-the-box usability should be a more important consideration in the microphone market.

Shure MV7i – Software and Customization

While the microphone is plug-in play across every platform, I would definitely recommend picking up the Motiv Mix software or app depending on what you’re using it for. I was able to test it on both the PC and Android and the experience was straightforward for both devices. You have access to all of the customization features for both sources right on the app, but when you download the PC version, you also get the ability to mix sources and record all in one place.

When you open the PC software, you’re greeted with a mixing board that includes your headphones and a channel specifically for the mix coming from the software. You can view all of the sound sources connected to your computer as well as the MV7i and whatever is connected to its XLR port, and then add these individually to the mix. Every channel has its own meter and gain slider. You also have the ability to monitor your mix, so you can hear what you’re sending to your stream or podcast in real time.

Despite looking similar, this doesn't have the same kind of functionality as a number of other streaming mixers like the GoXLR. While you can add different audio sources, Motiv Mix doesn't create multiple virtual devices that you can direct game audio and music toward. Instead, it only creates a single input and output for the mix that you're making. It is a mixer that can be used for streaming, but it's not necessarily a stream mixer as we've come to know them.

Clicking the gear icon next to the MV7i's panel takes you to its settings menu. This is split into three parts, one that applies to all of its audio output and separate settings menus for the mic itself and whatever audio device you have running into it. The Global Settings Menu gives you a noise gate that captures everything and limits what can make it through, an audio output method (stereo, mixdown, and multi-track), adjustments for the realtime monitoring from its headphone jack, reverb settings, and customizations for its LED strip.

Clicking through to the mic or secondary input settings reveals even more options which are largely mirrored between the two. Both offer the ability to designate whether you are looking at speech singing or recording an instrument. Selecting one of these can alter which options are available but doesn't change the function and characteristic of the recording.

Need to upgrade your audio gear?

Check out our roundup of the best gaming headsets!

The DSP is powerful and gives many different effects that go above and beyond what you'll find built into software like OBS. You can set the gain manually with up to 36dB of headroom or allow the microphone to adjust levels on its own. There’s a compressor with light, medium, or heavy settings to ensure you don't get too loud or quiet at any given time and a limiter which prevents clipping. There’s a real-time denoiser that removes white noise from the background and works in conjunction with a high-pass filter that catches low frequency noise like an HVAC unit humming in the background. There’s also a digital popper stopper which prevents the capsule from picking up the distortion of plosives. Lastly, there are tone settings, which I talked about before, to make sure your voice comes through with the character you would prefer it to have.

The only difference between the two that's worth mentioning is that the input menu has an option for phantom power. This can be necessary for condenser microphones and allows the MV7i to interface with different types of gear, even outside of Shure’s product family. If you’re not a fan of constantly using software, don’t worry. All of your settings for both inputs are saved to the mic itself. After setting it up the first time, you don’t need to use it again unless you want to make a change.

Shure MV7i – Performance

The MV7i is an excellent microphone that shouldn't come as a surprise because every MV7 so far has been very good. What does stand out, however, is that it is much more expensive than any other model in the family currently. As a flagship product at $349, it is close to perfection – close, but not quite.

First off, I love the versatility this mic offers. Its built-in DSP is excellent, and I find that its automatic level adjustment is better tuned than any of its previous models. The last generation of MV7 microphones were already very good, so the baseline going into this one was high. Either way, it’s responsive but not jarring in how it shifts, and no matter what type of content you plan on creating, a natural sound is going to be ideal and probably what you’re shooting for. If you’re sitting quite still and don’t want to risk unintended fluctuations, however, I like that you can easily turn it off and lock the gain to your preferred level.

When I first tested it, I expected it to have a dark sound signature with a wide low-end and was surprised to find that it actually sounded quite natural. That's because the tone slider defaults to its middle setting, fittingly titled “natural.” Adjusting this slider makes a meaningful difference in the character of your voice or the subject you’re recording. For a rich broadcast style, I tipped the slider to the Dark setting and touched it up about 20% to preserve some crispness to my speech. For recording my acoustic guitar, natural or bright was a better fit. I like that these aren’t toggles but that you can freely slide along its range until you settle on what sounds best to you.

Its noise rejection is very good, too. My clicky mechanical keyboard (with Kailh Box Navy switches, the clickiest of the clicky) barely made its way into my recordings and my air circulator was cut out entirely. Likewise, the sound of my kids playing downstairs – elephantine though their little bodies sound – also rarely made its way through and was quiet when it did. After testing it for a while, I did toggle the smart noise gate back on. Its default setting was effective yet remained natural and eliminated the aforementioned sounds (though did need to be tweaked depending on the situation).

My favorite feature was the real-time denoiser. It works incredibly well and has almost no impact on your voice. Turning it off didn’t seem to impact the overall quality of my vocal capture and immediately demonstrated how much room noise it actually removes – it’s impressive. Think of active noise cancelling on a gaming headset and the digital, compressed, almost nasally effect it has on quality – it imparts on your voice to limit background noise. Those detractors are completely absent here while also being way more effective.

Taken as a whole, the MV7i feels like a broadcast mic for the masses. Unless you’re recording in an echoey bathroom, it virtually eliminates the need to use sound treatment. You can worry far less about your roommate or family member making a guest (vocal) appearance on your stream; unless they’re talking at full volume in the room with you, they likely will be quiet at worst and probably not audible if you also use the noise gate. You can use a gate with a condenser mic too, sure, but even when you’re speaking and the gate isn’t in effect, the MV7i will simply block out far more than any condenser capsule microphone is able to.

The audio quality is fantastic and the versatility provided by its software and built-in DSP is next-level.

So, why isn’t it perfect? The lack of a stand is one. Second, it comes with reverb enabled and way too loud by default and you have to download the software just to turn it off. The biggest reason is that there aren’t any onboard controls outside of muting the microphone. The original MV7 allowed you to adjust gain levels with a simple swipe, but Shure has moved away from that with each model since.

While the software is fine, the mic also saves your settings to its onboard memory, so once you’re configured, you don’t need to use it again. But adjusting gain, that’s something you’ll almost certainly be doing. And without any kind of onboard controls like the original MV7 had, you just have to open the software or fiddle with settings in Windows to dial in your level.

How to Play the Metal Gear Solid Games in Chronological Order: The Full MGS Timeline

Whether it’s Snake’s elevator ascent to the rainy cliffs of Shadow Moses or the climactic battle between student and mentor in the final moments of Snake Eater, Hideo Kojima and Konami’s epic spy thriller franchise, Metal Gear, is home to some of gaming’s most iconic moments. Telling a story that spanned multiple console generations and pushed the creative capabilities of video games to their limits, Solid Snake and Big Boss’ adventures are legendary, so much so that many claim they’re among the most important releases the medium has ever produced.

Back in 2015, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain seemingly ended the franchise for good, with Kojima leaving Konami and the Metal Gear Solid IP behind to form his own studio. However, Konami has started resurrecting the series through re-releases and remakes, like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater coming out later this year. With so many new players experiencing this world of undercover espionage, shady government conspiracy and gruff-voiced dudes with cool eyepatches for the first time, we’ve laid out the chronological order of the Metal Gear Solid series so newcomers and returning fans can catch up.

Jump to:

How Many Metal Gear Solid Games Are There?

Not including remakes, ports or remasters, there are 17 total Metal Gear games: 11 mainline games, five on handheld devices and one on mobile. Although that’s a lot of games, a decent chunk of them are considered non-canon, with their stories overriding events from the main saga and spinning off into their own unique takes on the universe.

2018’s Metal Gear Survive takes place in an apocalyptic reality where a zombie virus has overtaken the world, so it falls outside the main canon. As for the PSP’s Metal Gear: Acid and Metal Gear: Acid 2, they veer from the timeline and tell a new story, making them alternate-timeline spin-offs. Then there’s the Game Boy Color’s Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, which is an alternate-universe Metal Gear sequel that wipes away the events of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, thus removing it from the timeline. And finally, Metal Gear Mobile and Snake’s Revenge have since been deemed non-canon by the community and Kojima himself in interviews.

That leaves 11 games within the main storyline. Each game is considered part of the true Metal Gear Saga, spanning from a fictional alternate-history 1960s to the late 2010s. So, let’s run you through all the games in that story.

Which Metal Gear Should You Play First?

We recommend two potential starting points for Metal Gear. For those interested in the complete saga, we recommend 2023's Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, which includes the best available versions of Metal Gear Solid 1–3. Alternatively, for those interested in simply trying out the franchise (and for those with a lower tolerance for older games), we recommend starting with the series' most contemporary iteration, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Metal Gear Games in Chronological Order

These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The first slot in the saga’s timeline and the next game to get a modern remake, Snake Eater follows a US Special Forces operative codenamed Naked Snake during the events of the Cold War. Sent to locate and extract a Russian scientist from the Soviet Union to prevent him from building a weapon of mass destruction known as the Shagohod, Snake’s shocked to find his former mentor, The Boss, has betrayed the US government and sided with the Soviets.

After a heated battle, Naked Snake is brutally defeated and left for dead in the jungle. Surviving the encounter, he’s tasked by his commanding officer, Zero, to return to Russia, find his mentor and kill her, all the while tracking down the Shagohod to prevent nuclear war. By the end of the story, Naked Snake adopts the moniker of Big Boss, becoming a legend among the US Special Forces. However, his battle with The Boss and the secrets he’s uncovered throughout his adventure leave him disillusioned with his duty and the government he serves.

Read our Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Review or see updates about the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake.

2. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Set six years after Big Boss’ climactic battle with his former mentor, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops picks up the legendary soldier’s story as he goes head to head with his former squad, FOX Unit. The game begins with Big Boss learning FOX has gone rogue, betraying the CIA and staging a revolt.

Captured and tortured on a Colombian base by FOX Unit, Boss breaks free but learns he’s been accused of treason. In a bid to clear his name, he decides to hunt down his former allies and pursue their ruthless leader, Gene. By the end of the game, Big Boss learns of Gene’s desire to create a nation of mercenary soldiers known as Army’s Heaven and acquires the mass of funds and equipment saved for the project. Returning to the US, he later forms a squadron of special ops soldiers known as FOXHOUND.

Read our review of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

3. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Four years after the events of Portable Ops, we catch up with Big Boss, who has left FOXHOUND and the Patriots. Since leaving, he’s formed a new band of mercenary soldiers known as Militaires Sans Frontières (or MSF) with Kazuhira Miller. Using their newfound army to protect countries that don’t have the forces or means to defend themselves, Big Boss and Miller wage war against an armed militia known as the Peace Sentinels after they invade Costa Rica.

During his investigation, Big Boss soon realizes that his former mentor, The Boss, is somehow involved in the Peace Sentinels' plans. Worse, they have access to nuclear weapons, wielding a supremely powerful mech called the Peace Walker. Rallying on an off-shore oil rig known as Motherbase, Snake and the Militaires Sans Frontières take the fight to the Peace Sentinels, attempting to discover their true motive and secrets. The game ends with Big Boss battling his former ally Paz, who turns out to be a secret agent of Zero’s shady government organization, Cipher.

Read our review of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

A few months following the events of Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes acts as a prologue to the fifth entry in the Metal Gear Solid series: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The story sees Big Boss embark on a new mission after learning that Paz survived their climactic battle during the final moments of Peace Walker and is being interrogated by Cipher at a mysterious military base known as Camp Omega. Knowing that she has crucial information about Cipher and could reveal secrets about MSF to the shadowy organization, he rushes to extract her.

While infiltrating the base, he discovers a mysterious Cipher cell known as XOF, which is led by a sadistic, severely burned commander called Skull Face. The prologue ends with Snake extracting Paz only to realize his allies are being attacked by the XOF back at Motherbase. The onslaught destroys the oil rig and eradicates Militaires Sans Frontières, leaving Big Boss on the cusp of death.

Read our review of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.

5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Nine years later, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain opens with a severely injured Big Boss waking up in a hospital in Cyprus. Evading an assassination attempt where he’s attacked by a man covered in flames, a telekinetic soldier and a master sniper, Boss is saved by Revolver Ocelot and returns to action as he leads a new mercenary group known as the Diamond Dogs.

Swearing to stop the XOF after they destroyed Militaires Sans Frontières, he adopts the codename Venom Snake and heads to Africa to pick up their trail, learning that the former-Cipher-affiliated group went rogue. Their leader, Skull Face, is instead working on a devastating parasitic weapon with the power to eradicate the Western world. The game ends with Big Boss setting in motion his plans to create a military nation known as Outer Heaven, where soldiers are free to live without being used to further shady government plans.

Read our review of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

6. Metal Gear

11 years later, the story catches up with the first entry in the series: Metal Gear. The game follows Solid Snake: a rookie soldier and member of FOXHOUND. FOXHOUND is once again run by Big Boss, who acts as Snake’s mentor and commanding officer. On his first mission, Solid Snake is sent to track down a weapon of mass destruction being constructed in a military nation known as Outer Heaven.

During his mission, he finds another agent codenamed Grey Fox, who was also sent to track the weapon. Grey Fox reveals the mysterious weapon is a mech codenamed Metal Gear, which has the power to launch nuclear bombs. The game ends with Solid Snake and Big Boss coming to blows, with the latter revealing he was behind Outer Heaven's plans.

Read our review of Metal Gear.

7. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Four years later, Solid Snake returns to action after he learns Big Boss survived the events of the previous game and is currently constructing a new Metal Gear for the fictional nation of Zanzibar Land.

Teaming with various characters, Snake infiltrates Zanzibar Land and attempts to destroy the weapon of mass destruction, battling Big Boss and his army of soldiers along the way.

See more about Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

8. Metal Gear Solid

Six years after Metal Gear 2, Solid Snake returns in a new mission. This time he’s sent to battle his former unit, FOXHOUND, which has gone rogue, turned against the US and taken over a mysterious government facility on an island known as Shadow Moses. Shadow Moses is allegedly a test site for a secret Metal Gear, with FOXHOUND threatening to use its nuclear weapons if they aren’t supplied with Big Boss’ corpse and a large sum of money.

Snake heads to the facility and fights various members of FOXHOUND, including Revolver Ocelot, Psycho Mantis and a Cyborg version of his former ally, Greyfox. He also meets the eccentric leader of FOXHOUND, Liquid Snake. The game ends with Snake being declared killed-in-action by Colonel Campbell and presumed dead by the government after they intended to double-cross him. He flees Shadow Moses alive.

Read our review of Metal Gear Solid or see more of the best PS1 games.

9. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty opens two years later, with a now-rogue Solid Snake infiltrating an oil tanker while hunting down a new Metal Gear being transported to the US. There he discovers a prototype Metal Gear known as Metal Gear Ray, which is subsequently stolen by Revolver Ocelot. Ocelot sinks the tanker and escapes, while Snake is blamed for the tanker’s destruction.

Two years later, we shift to a new protagonist: Raiden. An agent of FOXHOUND, Raiden is sent on a mission to an off-shore decontamination facility known as Big Shell, which was constructed to clear the crude oil spill caused when the oil tanker was destroyed during Solid Snake’s mission. Big Shell has been hijacked by a militant group known as the Sons of Liberty, which has taken the US president hostage.

Infiltrating the facility, Raiden soon discovers things aren’t quite what they seem, looking into Big Shell’s secrets and meeting a junior lieutenant named Iroquois Pliskin, who’s clearly hiding a big secret. By the end of the game, Solid Snake joins Raiden’s mission, telling him he’s going after Ocelot (who it’s revealed is possessed by the will of Liquid Snake) and the Patriots.

Read our review of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty or check out more of the best PS2 games.

10. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Marking the end of the main story and Solid Snake’s final mission, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots catches up with Snake three years after the events of Sons of Liberty. Due to the cloning process used to create Snake and the rampant FOXDIE virus still coursing through his veins, we discover that his body is rapidly aging, with the protagonist being told he only has a year left to live. Donning a new nickname, Old Snake, he returns for one final mission.

He’s to assassinate Liquid Ocelot, who is currently running a new version of Outer Heaven which is comprised of some of the biggest private militaries in the Middle East. Equipping his body with nanomachines, Snake sets out to bring Ocelot down, learning that his nemesis intends to once again locate Big Boss’ corpse and execute a mysterious plan. As Snake battles his age and the lingering FOXDIE mutating in his body, he makes his way towards a final confrontation with his most ruthless enemy.

Read our review of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

11. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

The final story in the current Metal Gear timeline, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance focuses on Raiden who, as we learned during Guns of the Patriots, has transformed into a cyborg. The story picks up four years after Metal Gear Solid 4, revealing that Raiden now works with a private military company called Maverick Security Consulting.

During an operation in Africa, Raiden is attacked by a rival private military group known as Desperado Enforcement. Wounded and left for dead by its commander, Jet Stream Sam, Raiden continues his investigation into Desperado and learns some sinister secrets about the group and its allies. As the revelations about the private military grow darker, Raiden swears to bring them down, setting off on his own to deliver violent justice.

Read our review of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

How to Play the Metal Gear Games by Release Date

  1. Metal Gear (1987)
  2. Snake’s Revenge (1990)
  3. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990)
  4. Metal Gear Solid (1998)
  5. Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel (2000)
  6. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
  7. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
  8. Metal Gear Solid: Acid (2004)
  9. Metal Gear Solid: Acid 2 (2005)
  10. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (2006)
  11. Metal Gear Solid: Mobile (2008)
  12. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
  13. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010)
  14. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013)
  15. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (2014)
  16. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)
  17. Metal Gear Survive (2018)
  18. Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater (2025)

What’s Next for Metal Gear?

Although for many years, it seemed Metal Gear was officially finished as a series, Konami has confirmed an upcoming remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Shown with a cinematic trailer during PlayStation’s 2023 summer showcase, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will rebuild the game from the ground up, giving fans a modern reimagining of Naked Snake’s legendary battle with The Boss. The remake is set to release on August 28, 2025, as revealed in Sony's February 2025 State of Play.

As for potential new entries in the series, Konami hasn’t confirmed whether they plan to make original Metal Gear games without Hideo Kojima. That being said, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater developer Virtuous Studios did tease that remakes of other Metal Gear games aren’t off the table. Speaking with IGN, the team said, “Regarding remakes of previous games in the series other than Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, we will listen to player demand and consider accordingly.”

For more lists like these, also see Assassin's Creed Games in Order and a list of Far Cry Games in order.

Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a game critic, news reporter, guides writer and features writer.

The Bond Franchise Sale to Amazon MGM Is Probably Bad News... But Here Are Some Ways It Could Work

In landmark entertainment news that left James Bond fans feeling shaken, not stirred, Amazon MGM Studios has taken full control of the 007 franchise from long-time producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. While there are plenty of reasons to worry here, the fact of the matter is that there are already spinoff books, games, comics, etc, etc, not to mention the original novels by Ian Fleming. Dozens of writers, actors, artists, and more have tackled James Bond and his extended cast. And with Amazon’s reported ambitions to turn James Bond into a “universe,” a la Marvel and Star Wars, and billions of dollars at stake, the Bond franchise has no time to die.

Naturally, this was one of Broccoli’s concerns in giving up the rights, that Amazon MGM would try to expand too quickly or cast a name actor in the role of the secret agent. Will Amazon hold true to these ideals, or are we about to get Timothée Chalamet as the next 007? Likely not the latter (all apologies to Chalamet), but Amazon has already tried to create their own spy franchise with the Russo Brothers produced Citadel, and international spinoffs Citadel: Diana and Citadel: Honey Bunny. Those have generally lacked critical acclaim (except for Honey Bunny), and at least domestically haven’t really broken through to audiences in the same way as other Amazon hits like The Boys.

…Or more to the point, Amazon’s dudes with guns shows like Reacher, Jack Ryan, and Bosch. In fact, one could posit this is a large part of the reasoning behind Amazon shelling out a billion dollars more to own Bond: some of their most successful series have already been white men, with guns, their names in the title, based on book series. Unlike the money Amazon plunked down for Lord of the Rings (your mileage may vary on how successful Rings of Power has been), buying James Bond outright based on the data available is one of the safest purchases Amazon could make. Prime Video audiences already flock to shows about guys like James Bond, so why not James Bond himself?

One other detail you might not be aware of: Amazon already made a James Bond TV show. Seriously. Titled 007: Road to a Million, the reality game show streamed in 2023, was hosted by Brian Cox, and was picked up for a second season before the first even hit Prime Video. Only tangentially related to Bond by the idea that Cox is playing a pseudo-Bond villain while contestants race to win one million pounds, the series wasn’t a big hit but it does show that Amazon has already played in the TV space with 007. And as just one extra funny tidbit, Cox thought he was signing up for the next Bond movie. He was not, so maybe Amazon could do right by him in the future.

But wait, there’s more! Back in 1954, an anthology series titled Climax! aired the first-ever adaptation of “Casino Royale,” the Ian Fleming novel, before it was later committed to film multiple times. Point being, there’s not much of a history of TV for James Bond, but just as the franchise has had some of its most lauded installments in video games (have you ever played GoldenEye for the N64?), comics, and more, James Bond isn’t quite the sacred cow we think of, when it comes to adaptation.

Mind you, there have been no announcements that Amazon is forgoing film entirely, and likely they won’t. MGM isn’t the studio it once was, but for every Red One that hits theaters, they still have the Oscar-nominated Nickel Boys. There’s plenty of reason to believe that even without the Broccolis, Amazon MGM will aim to do right by the Bond franchise.

And frankly, is there anything that is out of left field about the idea of a franchise extension? While perhaps cutting Bond theatrically entirely and instead doing a TV streaming version of Bond might be the ultimate nightmare of cinephiles, there is a wealth of fascinating characters who revolve around Bond that often have far more chance of character growth than the main character himself. Bond, over decades, has remained relatively static – the recent Craig movies aside – while Q, M, Moneypenny, and even Felix Leiter always seem to have a lot more going on between the scene or two Bond spends checking in with them per film.

Would a series where Q has to go out of the lab and use his own gadgets be so terrible? How about Felix having to deal with the fallout of Bond blowing up the latest supervillain plot on the American side? And given the wealth of villains and henchmen in the Bond universe who have inspired dozens of fanfics, tributes, and knockoffs, an anthology series that gave them each more time in the sun could be a lot of fun. Who hasn’t wondered how Jaws got those jaws?

There’s also an opportunity here to flesh out the character of James Bond through a serialized TV show in a way that has not, for the most part, been afforded the character on the big screen. Aside from the rare instance where Bond suffers a sprained ankle at the beginning of the movie, the character has been functionally immortal, down to switching his face like a Time Lord. It wasn’t until the recent Daniel Craig films that Bond was allowed to have some sort of growth, though even then it was relegated to “bummed about the death of his girlfriend” for the majority of the Craig movies, and “old” in the last one.

The lone exception is Skyfall, arguably the best Bond movie of all time… Because it truly challenged James emotionally and moved the series forward to almost a logical conclusion. The next movie reset things in many ways, but imagine being able to see that kind of arc over 10, 20, or even 30 episodes (we’re not going to go crazy and suggest a streaming show go a full 22 episodes a season or anything like that)? You likely won’t get 10 Skyfalls in a row, but if you can get some nods to the ambition of that film in there, viewers could be in for something truly special.

The flip side is that Amazon could not look to the obvious – i.e. their dudes with guns shows – and instead take the route of Lord of the Rings, and deliver a prequel all leading up to the birth of James Bond. To that, perhaps they need look no further than Pennyworth, a goofy show with a host of loyal fans that nevertheless confused casual viewers as to why we were getting a show about Batman’s future butler. Or, for example, The Rings of Power, a show with a hot Sauron and virtually no rings in the first season that tested the patience of even the most loyal fans.

That’s the potential nightmare scenario, that Amazon will think with their algorithm instead of their heart. Even at their worst, there’s a charm the Broccoli family and others managed to bring to the Bond franchise, with the same rhythms, the same big explosion, the same good girl gone bad and bad girl gone good, time and again. In the streaming era, we’re far from the place where you could deliver the poetry of a Bond movie on an episodic basis. To turn it into yet another serialized spy drama (or worse, a serialized prequel spy drama) risks making it lose that specialness and instead slot in with Netflix’s The Night Agent, The Diplomat, and The Recruit, or god help us Citadel, instead of being its own, unique thing.

This is the trick, really, and it is with any potential cinematic universe: what makes it different? In Bond’s case, up until now, it was that it existed mostly on the big screen, every few years, and delivered a level of action spectacle and plot comfort that TV has been creeping on for decades. If Amazon does want to turn the house Ian Fleming built into a multi-platform franchise, then they need to reckon with what makes Bond so unique. If they can figure that formula out, and perhaps build out that supporting cast, too (Ben Whishaw in a Q series? Come on!), then rather than the death sentence some fans have called this deal, the Bond franchise will die another day.

The Best Deals Today: Nintendo Switch OLED, Bargains Under $30, Xbox Elite Controller, Nerf Halo Needler

Here are best deals for Friday, February 21. The highlights today include an excellent deal on a Nintendo Switch OLED (so long as you're comfortable buying an import model), and the popular Final Fantasy Magic the Gathering crossover.

Check out "the best deals under $30" for any impulse buys on items that you never knew you needed until you visited this page. Read on lower for some great deals that cost over $30 and may require a bit more involved decision-making.

Nintendo Switch OLED for $223.61

AliExpress is currently offering a Nintendo Switch OLED console for only $223.61 after coupon code: USAFF30 is applied during checkout. This is a genuine Nintendo Switch console that's imported from either Japan or Hong Kong. Switch consoles are region unlocked so you'll be able to play them in the US without any problems. You'll also be able to select English as your default language just like any console you buy here. A US power plug adapter is supplied in the packaging. This product is also stocked in a US warehouse, so it ships free and arrives within about a week. AliExpress has a 15-day free return policy and guarantees a refund if your order doesn't arrive within 20 days.

MTG: Final Fantasy Cards up for Preorder

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Magic the Gathering's new Final Fantasy Commander series cards are now up for preorder at Amazon and Best Buy. They'll ship out starting June 13, and you won't be charged until they do. Given that there are so many Final Fantasy fans out there, these have been garnering tons of interest and will undoubtedly introduce a lot more people to the world of Magic.

Lisen 5,000mAh MagSafe Power Bank for $17.38

The Lisen 5,000mAh MagSafe power bank, which is normally listed at $49.99, is down to only $17.38 after a combined instant discount and a 42% off clippable coupon. At 0.3" thick, this is one of the slimmest MagSafe power banks we've seen, and won't add much bulk to your iPhone's profile. If you have a chonky Pro Max, then you won't even notice. Unlike most other power banks at this price point, the Lisen model is made out of a magnesium aluminum alloy that makes it feel much more premium. It delivers up to 18W of power over USB Type-C and 7.5W over wireless.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for PS4, Xbox for $14.99

Prince of Persia drops to just $14.99 for PS4 and Xbox. If you get the PS4 version, you're eligible for a free download of the PS5 digital edition. he Lost Crown is one of the most underrated games of 2024. Ubisoft's return to the franchise brought new and challenging elements while still retaining what made this series so beloved. In our 8/10 review, we wrote, "Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown captures not only what made games such as The Sands of Time so good, but it irons out a lot of the little issues that plagued the 3D games in this series by opting for a 2D perspective – and owning it."

Humble Choice Games for February 2025

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If you're searching for your next new game to play, Humble Choice February is now live, and this is the perfect bundle to discover something new! This month, Immortals of Aveum headlines the bundle, with seven other games like Total War: Pharoah Dynasties, Fabledom, and more included. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars to grab these games individually, you can get all eight games for just $11.99 at Humble Bundle for this month only.

Sonic X Shadow Generations for PS5 for $26.99

Today Woot! is offering Sonic X Shadow Generations for even lower than what I saw during Black Friday. You can get it for only $26.99 (46% off) and if you're an Amazon Prime member you also get free shipping. Sonic X Shadow Generations is easily one of the best Sonic games in recent history. In our 9/10 Sonic X Shadow Generations review, Jada Griffin wrote that "Sonic X Shadow Generations takes an already excellent game and spring jumps it to new heights with a creative Shadow campaign and an appreciable graphical upgrade." This game is actually a collection of two games in one: a remaster of the 2011 Sonic Generations and - the highlight - an original campaign starring Shadow the Hedgehog.

Anker PowerExpand USB-C Hub for $12.50

Anker's handle little USB hub is 50% off for Amazon Prime members, now only $12.50 (normally $25). This versatile 6-in-1 hub features a USB Type-C port with up to 85W of passthrough charging, two USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 ports, an HDMI port (4K @ 60Hz), an SD card slot, and a 3.5mm audio output.

AstroAI L7 Tire Inflator for $17.59

You should always keep a tire inflator in your car for emergencies, but you don't need to pay a premium price for a fancy one. Right now Amazon has this AstroAI cordless tire inflator for only $17.59 after you clip both coupons on the product page. This tire inflator features a 4,000mAh power bank, enough to fill up all four tires to the proper PSI at least a few times over and has a USB Type-C input for easy charging. You can even use it to charge your smartphone in a pinch.

Hoto Electric Precision Screwdriver for $24.95

Amazon has this Hoto electric screwdriver for $24.95 (50% off) after you clip the 23% off coupon and apply coupon code "361P5KK7" during checkout. This is an excellent tool for quickly dealing with tons of small screws when you're assembling or taking apart electronics like your gaming console, mechanical keyboard, Joy-Con controller, or pretty much anything else where a real power drill is way too powerful and a manual screwdriver is too tedious. It comes with 25 bits that should cover most of the screw types out there including flathead, Philips, torx, and hex. The screwdriver can be charged via USB Type-C so no need to worry about losing a proprietary cable.

Preordered the iPhone 16E? Get a Screen Protector for $6

If you're in line to get the successor the the budget-minded Apple iPhone SE series of phones, then here's an early bird deal for you. Amazon has an amFilm iPhone 16e screen protector for only $5.99 after you apply coupon code "5PIM3OFI. Here's your chance to have a screen protector ready before your phone even arrives. AmFilm is an extremely well known and popular screen protector brand, and this particular model includes the auto alignment kit and camera lens protector.

Sabrent Docking Station and Charger for ROG Ally for $20

Steam Deck / Nintendo Switch compatible

Sabrent has a dock charger specifically designed for the Asus ROG Ally for only $19.99 after you apply coupon code "26R399DW". According to reviews, it works just fine with other gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch. It includes a USB Type-C port for connecting to your gaming handheld, an HDMI 1.4 port for up to 4K @ 60Hz video output, a USB Type-C port with up to 95W of Power Delivery for charging your handheld, and two extra USB Type-A ports for connecting or charging extra peripherals.

2-Pack Anker Power Cubes for $15.99

This deal is exclusively for Amazon Prime members. Get a two pack of Anker Power Cubes, which is a cube-shaped power strip with three AC outlets, two USB Type-A ports, and one USB Type-C port, for only $15.99. That averages out to just $8 per cube. This power outlet is much smaller than your average power strip thanks to its ingenious cube design. The USB Type-C port delivers up to 20W of power, which is good enough to charge the Nintendo Switch at its maximum rate (18W).

4 Pack of Pen Lights for $7.99

Get a four pack of pen lights for only $8 after an instant 20% off discount. These diminutive lights feature an anodized aluminum housing and weigh in at only an ounce each. The super bright LED bulb lasts about 2 hours on two AAA batteries. These are handy to have around the house, and at $2 apiece they are practically expendable.

GE Color Changing Night Light for $4.52

Night lights are an inexpensive, efficient way to provide a bit of practical accent lighting to your home at night. This GE color changing night light goes one step further by offering eight different colors to choose from, with a color changing mode for a bit of RGB flair. The built-in light sensor means it will automatically turn itself off when it isn't needed. It's normally well-priced at just $9, but there's a 50% instant discount right now that drops it to under $5.

Craftsman Magnetic Pickup Tool for $6

A magnetic pickup too is handy to have around to pick up dropped screws, nuts, and bolts. Amazon has this Craftsman model for only $5.98 after a $2 price drop. There's not much to say about it, except that it's well built, it's magnetic, and it can telescope up to 24 inches long for extended reach.

77outdoor LED Rechargeable Headlamp for $17.99

Get this LED headlamp for only $17.99 on Amazon after a $12 off coupon code "40XUYLSW". 77outdoor is a sister brand of Sofirn, a well known manufacturer or affordable yet good quality flashlights and lamps. In fact, some reviewers have reported that they receive this item in a Sofirn branded box. This headlamp offers two modes: a standard 5,000K 90 CRI white light with 550 lumen output for general purpose use and a 660nm red light at night to preserve your night vision. This headlamp can be recharged using a USB Type-C cable.

30% Off Panther Vision Hand Warmers and Lighted Beanies

If you're looking for a practical Valentine's Day gift idea, Panther Vision is offering a big 30% coupon code that works sitewide. If you suffer from cold appendages, the Panther Vision 602R rechargeable hand warmer is small enough to fit in your jacket pocket. It offers three different heat settings depending on how numb your fingers are, boasts an IP67 waterproof rating, and can even double up as a 5,000mAh USB Type-C power bank for emergencies.

Pair it with the Panther Vision lighted beanie, which will keep your noggin warm while lighting up the way with a built-in LED headlamp rated for up to 150 lumens at max output. If you prioritize longevity over intensity, the 15-lumen setting will last up to 10 hours on a single charge. There are plenty of other useful gadgets on the site, including portable lamps and flashlights, so you might want to stock up to reach the $60 free shipping threshold.

Not all of the best deals are dirt cheap. Here are some excellent deals if you're willing to spend a little or a lot more depending on the items, including video games, TVs, gaming PCs, gaming handhelds, high-end chairs, and more.

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 for $95.99

Lenovo has dropped the price of this professional-grade Xbox Series X Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller in White/Black to $95.99 after you apply coupon code "MXBOXELITE". The controller itself is identical to the older generation Xbox Elite Series 2 controller that retails for $179.99. The only difference is that this "Core" model doesn't come with as many accessories, like the extra sets of paddles, thumbsticks, D-pad, and travel case.

Nerf LMTD Halo Needler for $67.18

For you Halo fans out there, have we found a deal for you. Right now you can save 33% off the NERF LMTD Halo Needler Dart-Firing Blaster. It's normally $100, but this discount drops it down to only $67.18 shipped. NERF's LMTD is a collection of fan-service weapons that are designed after iconic weapons from popular movies and video games, and the Halo Needler is definitely one of the coolest looking guns in the lineup, with a lot of cool little touches like the needles and accents that light up whenever you grip the handle, a 10-dart rotating drum (10 Elite darts included, but it will also take standard darts), and a display stand that activates all the light-up features when mounted.

4-Pack Apple AirTags for $69.99

Amazon and Best Buy are both offering a four-pack of Apple AirTags keyfinders for only $69.99. That's $30 off the retail price and only $16.50 for each AirTag. This is a very practical accessory for anyone who owns an iPhone and tends to lose small wearables like wallets, keys, or remotes.

Crucial X9 Pro 1TB Portable SSD for $69.99 (2TB for $120)

The Crucial X9 Pro is one of the fastest portable hard drives out there, thanks to a fast SSD drive and USB 3.2 interface that can deliver both read and write speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. The 2TB model is actually $10 less than the best deal we saw during Black Friday and, in my opinion, the best deal to get.

$39.99 Nintendo Switch Video Games

Best Buy has dropped several must-have Nintendo Switch video games from $59.99 to $39.99, a savings of 33%. Several of them are available in your choice of a physical copy or digital download. You won't lose out even if you plan to upgrade to the Switch 2, since the new console has been confirmed to be backwards compatible with nearly all Switch games.

65" LG Evo C3 4K OLED Smart TV for $1197

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You don't have to wait for the new 2025 LG TVs to drop to score a great deal on an older generation model. Right now as part of Amazon's Presidents' Day Sale, you can pick up a 2023 65" LG Evo C3 4K OLED TV for just $1,196.99 with free shipping on Amazon. This is a better deal than what I saw during Black Friday. The LG Evo C-series of TVs have consistently been our favorite high-end 4K TVs, especially for 4K HDR movies and gaming.

Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme Gaming Handheld for $449.99

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Starting this week, Best Buy is taking $200 off the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme gaming handheld, now only $449.99. That's the lowest price I've seen for a brand-new unit, even during Black Friday. In addition, you get a free official ROG Ally travel case, one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and two months of a Crunchyroll Mega Fan subscription. The ROG Ally This is one of the best gaming handhelds currently available, especially if you don't want to be tied to Steam's ecosystem.

Secretlab Presidents' Day Sale

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Secretlab's Presidents' Day Sale is still live for a little while longer. Save up to $139 off Secretlab's popular Titan line of gaming chairs, Magnus gaming desks (including the Magnus Pro electric standing desk model), and accessories like the Secretlab Skins upholstery covers, desk mats, cable management, and more. Unfortunately, new releases like the Titan Evo Nanogen chair and the recliner add-on are exempt from this sale.

Preorder Elden Ring: Nightreign at Best Buy, Get $10 Gift Card

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Elden Ring Nightreign is set to release for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on May 30. A new standalone game set in the world of Elden Ring, Nightreign lets you team up with two other players to slice your way through an oppressive fantasy world. It’s kind of like a faster-paced remix of the original game. It’s available for preorder in a number of editions, so read on for the details about what comes in each one.

Preorder the HP Omen 45L RTX 5090 Prebuilt Gaming PC

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HP just added the option to add the GeForce RTX 5090 GPU as an upgrade to one of its flagship HP Omen 45L prebuilt gaming PCs and, fortunately, it is very reasonably priced for a prebuilt RTX 5090 desktop relative to what we've seen from other brands. Put your order in sooner than later because, unless HP has readily available 5090 GPUs in its inventory (unlikely), these prebuilts will probably have a bit of a lead time before they ship out.

Flexispot C7 Ergonomic Chair with Footrest for $230

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Flexispot is offering a great deal on its workhorse Flexispot C7 ergonomic chair with built-in footrest. It's normally listed at $429.99, but there's a $200 off coupon code "C7PDSALE" that drops it to only $229.99. We generally like the Flexispot brand because it includes electric standing desks and ergonomic chairs with solid build quality and a plethora of practical features at a fraction of the price compared to other more well-known models. We rated the Flexispot C7 is the best budget-friendly ergonomic chair and the Flexispot E7 Pro as the best overall standing desk of 2024.

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.

How to Watch The Monkey - Showtimes and Streaming Release Date

After the breakout success of Longlegs, writer/director Oz Perkins returns with another horror adaptation from the works of Stephen King. The Monkey stars Theo James as a pair of twins haunted by a cymbal-smacking monkey toy. Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Elijah Wood (Lord of The Rings, Yellowjackets), and Adam Scott (Severance) also get roped into the creepy monkey mess.

In his review for IGN, critic Tom Jorgenson calls The Monkey “one of the best horror-comedies (and Stephen King adaptations) in recent memory, exploding off the screen with both gory kills and big laughs.” Sounds like a true horror comedy to me.

If you’re planning to catch The Monkey in theaters or wondering when it will be available to stream, check out the details below.

How to Watch The Monkey - Showtimes and Streaming Release Date

The Monkey just released in theaters on February 21. You can check out showtimes near you at the main theater links below:

The Monkey Streaming Release Date

The Monkey will eventually stream on Hulu instead of Netflix or Max. The Monkey is being distributed by Neon, which has an agreement with Hulu that gives the streaming service rights to its theatrical releases.

In contrast to the recent trend of "straight-to-streaming" movies, Neon’s independent releases take quite a while to end up on the service. For example, Oz Perkins’ previous movie, Longlegs, was released in theaters on July 12, 2024, and didn’t appear on Hulu until February 14, 2025, around seven months later.

While you might have to wait several months for The Monkey to appear on Hulu, the new Oz Perkins movie should still be available to rent or buy through digital marketplaces like Prime Video by early May.

What Is The Monkey About?

The Monkey is based on Stephen King’s short story by the same name, originally published in 1980 before being revised for the Skeleton Crew collection in 1985. Here’s the movie’s official synopsis:

Does The Monkey Have a Post-Credits Scene?

While The Monkey doesn’t technically have a post-credits scene, there’s a “surprise” worth waiting around for. Beware spoilers, but you can learn more about that in IGN’s guide to The Monkey’s ending.

The Monkey Cast

The Monkey was written and directed by Oz Perkins. The movie stars the following cast:

  • Theo James as Hal and Bill Shelburn
  • Christian Convery as young Hal and Bill
  • Tatiana Maslany as Lois Shelburn
  • Colin O'Brien as Petey
  • Rohan Campbell as Ricky
  • Sarah Levy as Ida
  • Adam Scott as Capt. Petey Shelburn
  • Elijah Wood as Ted Hammerman
  • Osgood Perkins as Chip
  • Danica Dreyer as Annie Wilkes
  • Laura Mennell as Hal's ex-wife and Petey's mother
  • Nicco Del Rio as Rookie Priest

The Monkey Rating and Runtime

The Monkey is Rated R for strong bloody violent content, gore, language throughout and some sexual references. The movie runs for a total of 1 hour and 38 minutes.

NetEase Founder Reportedly Almost Canceled Marvel Rivals Because it Didn't Use Original IP

NetEase's Marvel Rivals can't be described as anything less than a hit, netting ten million players in just three days from launch and raking in millions for developer NetEase in the weeks since. But a new report suggests that NetEase CEO and founder William Ding nearly canceled the game due to a reluctance to use licensed IP.

The report comes from Bloomberg, and describes the current situation at NetEase: Ding is actively cutting jobs, closing studios, and withdrawing from investment overseas. The goal, per the report, is a smaller, tighter portfolio that can stave off a recent growth decline and compete with rivals Tencent and MiHoYo.

Part of that shrinking, Bloomberg reports, almost included canceling Marvel Rivals. According to one source, Ding didn't want to pay for the use of licensed Marvel characters, and tried to persuade artists to use original designs instead. An attempted cancelation allegedly cost NetEase millions, but the game released anyway to its current success.

However, the shrinking continues. Just earlier this week, we learned that the Marvel Rivals Seattle team was laid off, with the company claiming this was for "organizational reasons." And over the last year, Ding has ceased investment in overseas projects, having previously invested heavily in Japanese and Western studios like Bungie, Devolver Digital, and Blizzard Entertainment. The report suggests that Ding believes games that won't generate hundreds of millions per year are not worth the company's time, though a company spokesperson told Bloomberg that NetEase doesn’t set "arbitrary blanket numbers for determining the viability of a new game."

Workers speaking to Bloomberg also painted a portrait of trouble internally at NetEase, centered around Ding's volatility as a leader. Per this account, Ding is quick to make decisions and changes his mind often, has pressured staff to work late, recently hired a number of recent graduates into prominent leadership roles, and has allegedly shut down so many projects that NetEase may not release any games in China next year at all.

NetEase's withdrawal from games investment comes at a time of ongoing uncertainty in the games industry, especially in the West. Multiple years running have seen mass layoffs, cancellations, and studio shut downs, alongside a number of expensive and high-profile games flopping despite high company expectations.

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

The Best Budget Fitness Trackers for Staying Active in 2025

Whether you’re just beginning a health journey or looking for more insight into your workouts, a fitness tracker is a way to gamify exercise and receive helpful data along the way. Luckily, many of these wearables – which are typically versions of smartwatches – aren’t prohibitively expensive. From feature-rich options offering capabilities that can rival the best smartwatches to ones that cover just the basics like step counting and heart rate monitoring, there are plenty of budget-conscious fitness trackers to choose from for all wrist sizes.

TL;DR – The Best Budget Fitness Trackers:

Contributions by Kevin Lee

1. Fitbit Inspire 3

Best Budget Fitness Tracker

Fitbit continues to show its dominance in the field of budget fitness trackers with the Fitbit Inspire 3. For under $100, you get a bright AMOLED display and durable band that's sleek, compact, and comfortable enough to sleep in. Once you’ve got the watch on, you won’t need to take it off often thanks to the 10-day battery life, though that shrinks when taking advantage of the always-on display mode – while navigating is simple using touch technology and two haptic buttons.

Of course, you purchased the Fitbit Inspire 3 for fitness tracking, and it’s full of handy features like 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, step counting, blood oxygen level measuring, and movement reminders. Beyond that, you get automatic exercise tracking, so if you’re prone to forgetting to start a workout, this is useful, and sleep monitoring helps you better understand the quality of your sleep. It’s also got some basic smartwatch features, including phone notifications and a find my phone feature when the two devices use Bluetooth, though you can’t store music or make contactless payments with this fitness tracker.

2. Xiaomi Smart Band 9

Best Ultra Cheap Fitness Tracker

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 might be under $50, but just because it’s low-cost doesn’t mean it’s missing any of the features you expect in a fitness tracker. From a host of health monitoring to a sleek, slim design, it offers everything you could want in. In fact, it even gives Fitbit a run for its money.

The basics are packed in like a pedometer, heart rate monitor, blood oxygen saturation, and sleep monitoring. This band’s smarts go far beyond that though, as there are over 150 fitness modes, including running, HITT, kickboxing, and swimming. Each offers intel into your activity, from calories burned and average heart rate to workout time. These metrics may not be as precisely accurate as an Apple Watch or higher-end smartwatch with GPS and additional sensors. Still, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 provides great insight into your workouts.

With the latest model of Xiaomi’s Smart Band comes a boost to battery life, so it should last a whopping three weeks with moderate usage. An increase in the screen’s brightness is also a welcome upgrade, hitting 1,200 nits for easy viewing in direct sunlight. Lacking physical buttons, the band’s colorful, 1.62-inch AMOLED display has excellent touch responsiveness for quickly finding fitness metrics or taking advantage of its few smartwatch features, like call and message notifications and music playback control. But be prepared for some finicky phone pairing.

3. Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro

Best Budget Fitness Tracker with GPS

Like the sound of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 but want something slightly heavier on the features? Well, the Chinese tech giant known for making ultra-affordable alternatives to high-end gadgets has an upgraded model, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro. The most obvious difference between the two bands is the larger, rectangular 1.74-inch AMOLED display on the Pro model; it gives off major Apple Watch vibes. Then, there’s the addition of a surprisingly accurate GPS to keep track of all your runs, bike rides, hikes, and more.

Of course, the Smart Band 9 Pro still comes with 24/7 heart rate and SPO₂ monitoring, sleep tracking, and stress monitoring. Health metrics are pushed even further with support for over 150 sports modes, ensuring almost any activity you do can be tracked. However, many of the more unique “modes” will only measure heart rate and time — not the most insightful information.

Although it’s not a smartwatch, this band offers a few limited smartwatch features. There’s music playback, and when connected to your phone, it can display notifications. Unfortunately, you can’t respond to those notifications, and no NFC support is on board. Still, at under $100, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro is a stylish fitness tracker with a bright, responsive screen, easy-to-master user interface, and impressive battery life.

4. Amazfit Band 7

Best Budget Fitness Tracker With Health Monitoring

Amazfit packs an impressive amount of capability into the Band 7, especially considering it's only $50. You get a large 1.47-inch always-on AMOLED display to easily view health and workout data while the actual band remains slim and comfortable on the wrist. Battery life is a boon as well, lasting eight days with typical usage and 28 days in battery-saver mode.

The Amazfit Band 7 supports over 120 sports modes with automatic smart recognition of four, and with water resistance up to 50m, it can easily handle a dip in the pool. Its health monitoring includes heart rate, blood-oxygen level, and stress, while sleep tracking delivers insight into the quality of your sleep each night. The Band 7 also offers a degree of smartwatch functionality with on-watch notifications and Amazon Alexa integration.

5. Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)

Best Budget Apple Watch

Not every fitness tracker has to be simply dedicated to fitness, and not all the best Apple Watches need to be painfully expensive. With the 2nd-gen Apple Watch SE comes an optical heart rate sensor and a built-in GPS, so you’ll never get lost on hikes. It also automatically detects various workouts, including swimming, and if you find Apple's own fitness apps lacking, you can always download additional ones from the App Store as the watch comes with 32GB of built-in storage.

The Apple Watch SE is a full-fledged, highly capable smartwatch, so you’ll be able to answer calls, respond to messages, make contactless payments, and stream music all from your wrist. This generation of device also comes with crash detection, so it can automatically call emergency services for you when you’ve been in an accident. And all of this is packed into a slim, comfortable form factor with impressive battery life – at least by Apple Watch standards.

6. Garmin Venu 3

Best Budget Fitness Tracker for Workouts

For serious health and fitness tracking, Garmin is always an excellent option, as the company packs its watches full of insightful features. However, with all that precise information comes a higher price tag, so even Garmin’s more budget-minded Venu 3 is the highest-priced option of our cheap picks. Still, it’s worth the investment if you’re serious about your workouts.

The Venu 3 offers impressive functionality allowing it to track various exercises, including swimming, cycling, and golf. In total, over 30 preloaded sports apps work in conjunction with the hightly accurate GPS, heart rate monitor, ECG, blood oxygen, temperature, and other sensors on the watch. It even includes animated workouts to follow along with, like pilates, HIIT, and cardio. But what makes this band a real standout is its Body Battery feature, which provides helpful data into how well-rested your body is based on activity, stress, and sleep.

On top of the ample fitness data, the Garmin Venu 3 is a modestly sized smartwatch with a bright AMOLED touchscreen display. It can hit up to a lengthy 14 days of battery life, but that will diminish quickly when taking advantage of the always-on display and automatic workout detection. All the other expected smartwatch features, like receiving calls, smart assistants, and responding to texts are available when paired with the best Android phones. However, the app selection is limited compared to Apple and Google smartwatches.

What to Look for in a Budget Fitness Tracker

When evaluating fitness trackers, it's important to keep in mind they're not just about counting steps or keeping tabs on your sleep habits. The total experience includes the quality of the hardware, overall comfort, the software package, and how well it does the tracking that you bought it for in the first place.

As the price goes up, so do a tracker's features, including things like heart rate monitoring, GPS, OLED display as opposed to LCD, etc. Still, there are plenty of basic trackers that don't cost a lot of money and can still provide you with an avalanche of health data.

What kind of fitness tracker do I need?

The type of fitness tracker you need depends on how you want to use the device. You can get by with an ultracheap, compact band like the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 if you just want to track your steps, check your heart rate, and get the time. Most of these super low-cost options come with color displays and long battery life while adding different sports modes, sleep tracking, blood oxygen sensors, phone notifications, and more.

For those who plan on running, biking, and hiking, you might want to spend slightly more to get GPS support. But if you’re looking for the most functionality and features beyond fitness and health tracking, a smartwatch is for you. You’ll get a bigger screen, built-in storage, access to more apps, along with the ability to answer calls, texts, and other phone notifications.

If you're an active runner or gym-goer, you may want to also get equipped with a great pair of earbuds to ensure you're finding the perfect fit for your lifestyle.

Danielle is a Tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.

The Toxic Avenger Is Back, and He's Teaming Up With... Jesus Christ?

AHOY Comics made waves in 2024 by reviving cult hero The Toxic Crusader in comic book form. This year, they're celebrating an event dubbed "Toxic Mess Summer" by having Toxie team up with the heroes of the AHOY Universe. And that includes Jesus Christ.

Toxic Mess Summer kicks off in May with the release of The Toxic Avenger Pinup Special, featuring various artists lending their own takes on Toxie and the gang. From there, AHOY will release the miniseries Toxie Team-Up, which pairs Toxie with Project: Cryptid's Jersey Devil, My Bad's Acid Chimp, The Wrong Earth's Dragonflyman and Stinger, Justice Warriors' Swamp Cop and Schitt, and, yes, Second Coming's Jesus Christ.

For those not familiar with this satirical superhero series, Second Coming sees Jesus return to Earth and become roommates with a superhero named Sunstar. Second Coming has garnered its fair share of both acclaim and controversy since the original series launched, and we doubt that's going to change as Jesus and Toxie join forces.

Toxie Team-Up #1 is written and drawn by Second Coming's Mark Russell and Richard Pace.

“Toxic Avenger and Jesus Christ is the team-up that everybody has been clamoring for and I am not one to stand in the way,” said Russell in Ahoy's press release. “Just as in Second Coming, Christ shows that there are more tools in the box than just violence and that Tromaville, as strange as it is, is still a place that someone who grew up bullied by the jocks in the Roman Empire would recognize.”

“Having already spawned five films, a cartoon, action figures, a musical, and a Marvel comic book series, the Toxic Avenger is a pop culture icon,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “The only question is: why doesn’t he have a church of his own?”

The Toxic Avenger Pinup Special will be released on May 14, followed by Toxie Team-Up #1 on June 11. Matt Bors and Fred Harper's The Toxic Avenger miniseries will also be collected in a trade paperback edition on April 1. You can preorder The Toxic Avenger on Amazon.

Toxie will also be reutrning to the big screen in 2025. In IGN's review of The Toxic Avenger, Amelia Emberwing writes, "Troma and Legendary’s partnership on The Toxic Avenger’s 2023 'not remake' delivers a mixed bag. Director Macon Blair and the rest of the creative team may have more money to play with than Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman’s 1984 original, but it struggles to deliver on the schlocky goodness of Troma’s stronger films. Still, what it lacks in so-bad-it’s-good silliness it makes up for with its heart and mostly practical slaughterfests. Kevin Bacon and Peter Dinklage having an absolute blast in their roles doesn’t hurt, either."

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

The Best Max Deals for February 2025

Max is home to some incredibly high-quality films and shows, including House of the Dragon, Succession, The Penguin, Dune: Prophecy, and The Last of Us, which has season 2 coming this year in April. If you've been hoping to start up an account to dig into that library, we're here to help! We're keeping track of the best price right now for Max subscriptions, along with any deals as they appear.

This includes bundle deals like the Max, Hulu, and Disney+ bundle, which is one you absolutely don't want to miss out on. This mega bundle starts at just $16.99/month, which is an astonishing price to have three very popular streaming services right in the palm of your hand. You can learn more about that bundle deal and Max's subscription plans below.

How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle

It's official, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have launched the brand-new Disney+, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle. The bundle can be purchased on any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. If you're looking to cut down on streaming costs and currently own all three of these, this is an excellent bundle to invest in. It'll save you quite a bit compared to what you'd pay for the three of them separately – 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

To learn more about how to get started with this bundle as a new or existing subscriber, head to our guide on how to get (or switch over to) the Disney+/Hulu/Max streaming bundle. It's worth signing up for this right now as well, given Hulu and Disney Plus have increased their prices, so you'll ultimately be saving money with this bundle.

Subscribe to Max

If you're just looking to sign up for a Max subscription, you have four different options to choose from:

  • $9.99/month Basic With Ads
  • $99.99/year Basic With Ads
  • $16.99/month Standard (ad-free)
  • $169.99/year Standard (ad-free)

The Standard tier also allows users to download shows and movies to watch on the go. Both of the tiers allow up to two concurrent streams.

Max also has an additional Premium tier. The details are as follows:

  • $20.99/month, ad-free with four concurrent streams
  • $209.99/year, ad-free with four concurrent streams

There is currently no Max free trial available as of February 2025.

Max: Bundle to Best

Alongside the big Max/Hulu/Disney+ bundle deal, Hulu also offers its own bundle deal with Max if you just want to have those two services. Simply pick out your Hulu base plan, which starts at $9.99/month, and then add Max to your account for an additional $9.99/month with the ad-supported plan or $16.99/month for the ad-free plan. If you'd like to learn more about Hulu's bundles, visit our page on Hulu's best bundles and deals right now.

What Is Streaming on Max?

Max brings together content from the old HBO Max service and Discovery+ under one roof. From Discovery, this includes programming from brands like HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Magnolia Network, and more. Some of the shows include Property Brothers, House Hunters, Fixer Upper, among others.

The service also maintains much of the content from HBO Max, including its slate of HBO Originals like The Last of Us, Euphoria, Succession, Barry, Curb Your Enthusiasm, White Lotus, House of the Dragon, and more. It also includes DC's slate of movies like Black Adam and The Batman, as well as other popular films like Dune: Part Two and Barbie. Plus, Max continues to house popular streaming series like Friends, Full House, and the Harry Potter movie collection.

In our updated 2024 review of Max, we gave it an 8/10, stating that, "For all its problems and an app that still runs a little too heavy, the extensive selection of well-curated choices make Max a worthwhile investment for cinema and TV lovers."

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Original article from Logan Plant.

Back the Catan Masterpiece Series on Kickstarter To Upgrade Your Board

If you're a fan of Catan, you definitely don't want to miss out on this Kickstarter campaign for the Catan Masterpiece Series. FanRoll Dice has created official upgrades for Catan's components so you can bring your board to life. Per FanRoll Dice's Kickstarter page, "Each element has been reimagined with a range of materials including wood, metal, resin, and gemstone to provide an unforgettable gaming experience." The Catan Masterpiece Series includes upgrades for "dice, robbers, hexes, number discs, ports, and frames," bringing exciting new pieces to one of the best strategy board games of all time.

Back the Catan Masterpiece Series on Kickstarter

If these upgrades have caught your eye, you can pledge to back the project and start building out your new board. The link above will bring you to the main Catan Masterpiece Series page on Kickstarter, but if you're curious to see a breakdown of the different pledge tiers, we've included the graphic from their Kickstarter page just below as well.

In regard to pledge tiers, the Catan Masterpiece Series Kickstarter page also states that, "These curated packages offer a variety of ways to combine different pieces and save on your overall investment. But the customization doesn't stop there - once you select a tier, you can further tailor your bundle using our add-ons." This is an excellent investment if you're a Catan fan or know someone in your life with a big love of the game, allowing you to build out your board in a unique way.

More Strategy Board Game Recommendations

Outside of this Kickstarter, if you're looking for more tabletop games to add to your collection, it's worth having a look at our roundup of the best board games to play in 2025. This list features some of our favorite board games we've reviewed, including Wingspan and Cascadia.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

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