© TVGS
© Zerat Games
If you're looking for Blue Lock: Rivals codes, IGN has you covered! In this article, you'll find the latest active and working codes in April 2025, which you can redeem for free rewards in the Roblox Experience, including Spins, Cash Boosts, Cash, and more.
Below, you'll find a list of active and working Blue Lock: Rivals codes that you can redeem for free rewards in April 2025:
The following Blue Lock: Rivals codes no longer work and can't be redeemed anymore as of April 2025:
Follow the steps below to redeem Blue Lock: Rivals codes and claim your free rewards:
If your Blue Lock: Rivals code isn't working in Roblox, it's likely down to one of the three following reasons:
When inputting a Blue Lock: Rivals code into Roblox, make sure it's spelled correctly and that there are no accidental spaces either before or after the code. All the codes on this page have been tested by us and work at the time of submission, so we'd recommend copying and pasting codes directly from this article rather than typing them out yourself to avoid any errors.
Some codes require you to be at level 10 to be able to redeem it. If the code still doesn't work, it's more than likely expired and can no longer be redeemed.
The best way to get more Blue Lock: Rivals codes is to join the Blue Lock: Rivals Discord server. This way, you can set up notifications to be notified if new codes drop. Some codes are also released in the Blue Lock: Rivals Roblox Community, so make sure to check there periodically.
Additionally, we check for new Blue Lock: Rivals codes daily, so make sure to bookmark this article for the latest new codes for free rewards.
Meg Koepp is a Guides Editor on the IGN Guides team, with a focus on trends. When she's not working, you can find her playing Infinity Nikki or making miniatures.
Need some extra units to help vanquish the nightmares lurking in Five Nights TD? We've rounded up all of the Roblox strategy game's active codes, so you can earn some tokens, souls, and other useful goodies.
Below, you'll find all of the currently active and working Five Nights TD codes that you can redeem for free rewards in April 2025:
Below, you'll find a list of expired Five Nights TD codes that can no longer be redeemed as of April 2025:
Below, you'll find all of the currently active and working Five Nights TD codes
To redeem Five Nights TD codes, boot up the Roblox Experience and, once you’re in, follow the steps below:
If your Five Nights TD code isn’t working, it’s likely due to one of two scenarios. The first is that the code was inputted incorrectly. Make sure you have the code inputted exactly as it is in the Active Codes section above. You can even copy and paste codes directly from this article over to Roblox if you want to make sure you’re inputting them correctly.
The other possibility is the code has expired or you’ve already used it. If you’ve used it, you’ll get a message inside the code bar reminding you that the inputted code has already been redeemed. If you’ve inputted it and it doesn’t recognise the code at all, it likely means it's no longer available to use and is expired.
If you’re looking to scout out some Five Nights TD codes yourself, you should go ahead and join the game's Discord server. Once you're in, you'll find a channel titled "codes". The devs will post new codes in here as they add them, so keep an eye on it for the latest codes as they drop.
Five Nights TD is a tower defense game based on the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. Like most tower defense games, the idea is to engage in strategic battles where iconic FNAF animatronics attack your home base. To defeat them, you need to place units to stop them in their tracks, tactically assigning familiar faces like Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and more to quell the oncoming waves of robotic enemies.
Along the way, you'll purchase new units, take on tougher difficulty levels, and face bosses, with the game pitting you against some of the franchise's most notorious antagonists.
Callum Williams is an IGN freelancer covering features and guides. When he's away from his desk, you can usually find him obsessing over the lore of the latest obscure indie horror game or bashing his head against a boss in the newest soulslike. You can catch him over on Twitter at @CaIIumWilliams.
After some bonus goodies to kit out your monsters in Creatures of Sonaria? We've got you covered. Below, you'll find all of the active codes in Roblox's kaiju survival game, allowing you to redeem plushies and other rewards.
Currently, there are no active Creatures of Sonaria codes in April 2025. As soon as that changes, we’ll update this page, so check back soon for updates.
To redeem Creatures of Sonaria codes, launch the Roblox Experience and, once you’re in, follow the steps below:
If your Creatures of Sonaria code isn’t working, it’s likely due to one of two scenarios. The first is that the code was inputted incorrectly. Creatures of Sonaria codes can either be in lower case or upper case, so make sure you have the code inputted correctly before you hit redeem. You can even copy and paste the codes directly from this article over to Roblox if you want to make sure you’re inputting them correctly.
The other possibility is the code has expired or you’ve already used it. If you’ve already used it, you’ll get a message below the bar reminding you the inputted code has already been redeemed. If you’ve inputted your code and the message says it's expired, it means the code's no longer available to use.
If you’re looking to scout out some extra Creatures of Sonaria Codes, you should check out the game's official Discord server. The devs frequently post the latest news and updates in the server's announcements channel, including when they add redeemable codes.
You can also follow Sonar Studios on X, where they usually post when major codes go live.
Creatures of Sonaria is a survival game with a unique twist. Instead of playing a human enduring a hostile world, you start off as a weak monster that must scavenge for food and water while avoiding threats. As you start to acclimatize to your harsh habitat, you age up, becoming more powerful and capable of taking on tougher hazards, as you hunt other monsters, survive deadly weather events, and more.
Featuring a wide range of creatures you can control and collect, cooperative play with friends online, and a large open-world to explore, Creatures of Sonaria is a sprawling experience that will test whether you truly have what it takes to survive.
Callum Williams is an IGN freelancer covering features and guides. When he's away from his desk, you can usually find him obsessing over the lore of the latest obscure indie horror game or bashing his head against a boss in the newest soulslike. You can catch him over on Twitter at @CaIIumWilliams.
© Mooneye Studios
© Future Friends Games
From becoming a staple name in the 3D platformer genre with Crash Bandicoot to creating one of the most beloved stories in video games with The Last of Us, Naughty Dog is without question one of the biggest and most respected names in game development. Jumping from genre to genre with each major franchise it creates, the team’s now-iconic paw print logo has become synonymous with huge productions, heart-wrenching storytelling, and characters that transcend the medium.
Naughty Dog’s rise from the home of colorful, light-hearted platforming to the go-to studio for gripping, mature storytelling has been lined with nearly two dozen games, ranging from fantasy RPGs to educational math games. So, let’s run through every title Naughty Dog has released through 2025.
In total, there are 23 Naughty Dog games, with its first hitting shelves in 1985 and its most recent launching in 2022. The list below includes all game releases, standalone expansions, and remakes. Remasters, including the recent Last of Us Part 2 Remaster, and DLC are not included.
The project that paved the way for the Naughty Dog we know today, Math Jam was a collaborative project between both of the studio’s founders: Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin. Developed for the Apple II under the studio name JAM, Math Jam was self-published by the duo while they were still in high school.
It taught basic arithmetic and was purely educational. However, both Rubin and Gavin decided their next game was going to move away from teaching and venture fully into the recreational side of video games…
Rubin and Gavin’s second game, Ski Crazed, launched in 1986 when they were just 16 years old. Also released for the Apple II, it saw players launch their avatars down various ski slopes while avoiding hazardous obstacles and attempting to rack up high scores.
Rubin and Gavin’s third game hit shelves in 1987 and saw the duo take on the point-and-click adventure genre. Titled Dream Zone, it sees players travel to a satirical fantasy realm based inside the protagonist’s dreams, where they must deal with the land’s range of eccentric imaginary inhabitants en route to escape.
Officially donning the Naughty Dog moniker for the first time and partnering with EA, Rubin and Gavin’s fourth project was another comedic point-and-click adventure game, this time titled Keef the Thief. Much as the title suggests, the main premise was to steal items, with Keef exploring a large city and its surrounding wilderness while interacting with NPCs.
Two years after Keef the Thief, Naughty Dog partnered with EA once again to release Rings of Power on the SEGA Genesis. Putting players in the shoes of a sorcerer called Buc, the game was an isometric RPG set in the fantasy realm of Ushka Bau, where a magical staff shattered into eleven pieces that the player must seek out and collect. Along the way, they meet and recruit a party, leading to a final with a malevolent demon named Void.
Taking a swing at the fighting genre, Naughty Dog’s sixth project was Way of the Warrior for the 3DO. The game had players pick a fighter and battle their way through a hellacious tournament, defeating their rivals and spreading their legend throughout the annals of history.
Naughty Dog’s first breakout success, Crash Bandicoot was the company’s seventh game and their first on a PlayStation console. It stars the titular Crash Bandicoot, a mutated science experiment that escapes the laboratory of his creator, the villainous Doctor Neo Cortex.
A colorful 3D mascot platformer that tasks players with conquering short but challenging stages and defeating Cortex’s band of mutated animal henchmen, the game sees Crash jump, slide, and spin his way through a zany world full of danger. It was a huge success for Naughty Dog and Sony, spawning a major franchise that’s still active to this day.
The second game in the Crash Bandicoot franchise, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back picks up a year after its predecessor, with Crash once again having to stop Neo Cortex’s villainous plans. This time around, Crash is searching for a series of magical crystals that Cortex needs to build his new outer-space Cortex Vortex vessel. Cortex Strikes Back is set over 25 stages, with each level featuring fresh mechanics, hazards, enemies, and bosses.
The third and final entry in Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot trilogy, Crash Bandicoot: Warped is set directly after the events of Cortex Strikes Back, with Neo Cortex’s space station crashing into the Earth and giving rise to a malevolent new threat: Aku Aku’s evil brother, Uka Uka. To combat this new foe, Crash and his younger sister, Coco, travel through time, finding crystals to prevent Cortex and Uka Uka from executing their evil plans.
Much like Cortex Strikes Back, Warped includes 25 new levels as well as a host of additional hazards to overcome, enemies to conquer, and mechanics to learn. It also welcomes a brand new playable protagonist, with players able to step into the shoes of Coco.
A spin-off of the mainline Crash Bandicoot series, Crash Team Racing transports the character to the world of arcade racing. You take the wheel as iconic Crash Bandicoot characters – Crash, Cortex, Coco, Doctor N.Gin, and others – and race across a selection of hazardous courses in an effort to win races in single- and multiplayer modes.
Leaving Crash Bandicoot behind, Naughty Dog moved on to a new 3D mascot platformer franchise in 2001 with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. Following titular best friends Jak and Daxter, the game sees the pair embark on a journey to transform Daxter back into a human after he’s submerged in a mysterious substance known as dark eco and changed into an otter-weasel hybrid.
Along the way, the pair become embroiled in a plot to save the world, with the villainous Gol and Maia hatching a plan to use dark eco to alter the realm. Unlike Crash Bandicoot’s strictly linear levels, Jak and Daxter offers players large worlds to explore, with each map containing a variety of Precursor Orbs they can collect in any order to progress.
Ditching both Daxter’s name from the title and the quirky, upbeat tone, Jak 2 is a much darker reinvention of Jak and Daxter’s world. Taking place after the conclusion of the first game, it sees Jak and Daxter unwillingly flung into the far future, where they arrive in a dystopian metropolis known as Haven City. After their arrival, Jak is arrested and subjected to harrowing experiments for two years, awakening a sinister monster inside of him known as Dark Jak.
Daxter eventually rescues Jak, setting the pair off on a new adventure across Haven City, where they join forces with a local rebel militia attempting to overthrow the futuristic metropolis’ corrupt leader, Baron Praxis. Alongside switching the fantasy setting out for a futuristic sci-fi aesthetic, Jak 2 made several gameplay changes, adding guns, flying cars, and the ability to transform into Dark Jak.
Capping off the Jak and Daxter trilogy, Jak 3 opens with its lead duo being dumped in The Wasteland beyond the walls of Haven City. Banished from their home and left to die, they take refuge in the city of Spargus hidden deep within the desert. As the pair begin to earn their keep, they learn about sinister plans unfolding in Haven City, beginning an adventure to save their home.
Jak 3 layers several new features on top of Jak 2’s gameplay, including additional vehicles to traverse the desert, new light eco powers, and a range of fresh weapons.
Much like Crash Team Racing, Naughty Dog decided to follow up its work on the Jak and Daxter trilogy by releasing an arcade racer tie-in. Jak X: Combat Racing is exactly what it says on the tin: You play as Jak, or one of his closest allies or enemies, and race across a series of tracks in single- or multiplayer.
Naughty Dog’s first foray onto the PlayStation 3 and one of its most seminal releases, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was a major shift in tone for the company. Moving away from cartoon mascot platformers, Naughty Dog began to focus on cinematic blockbusters, telling the story of an Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunter named Nathan Drake.
Hunting for the lost city of El Dorado in the depths of the Amazon rainforest, Drake battles against pirates and other enemies while following in the footsteps of his ancestor, Sir Francis Drake. A third-person, cover-based shooter with platforming elements, Uncharted not only paved the way for one of gaming’s biggest modern franchises but also influenced Naughty Dog’s transformation into a studio synonymous with highly produced video game storytelling.
A sequel released two years later, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves sees Nathan Drake return to hunt for the lost city of Shambhala in the Hymalian mountains. Betrayed by an old friend during a heist, Drake teams up with Sully and newcomer Chloe to track down the Cintamani Stone, hoping to prevent war criminal Zoran Lazarevic and his private militia from accessing Shambhala.
Along the way, players are met with a healthy dose of third-person cover-based combat and platforming, as well as the kind of bombastic set pieces that make Drake blurt out a litany of expletives in quick succession.
The third entry in the Uncharted series, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception follows Nathan Drake as he attempts to uncover The Atlantis of the Sands in the Rub' al Khali desert. Set two years after the previous game, Drake’s Deception picks up with Drake and Sully battling against the villainous Katherine Marlowe and her private army. Learning she intends to uncover the secrets of the Atlantis of the Sands, Drake begins a race to get there first, launching into an adventure that forces him to confront demons from his past.
Drake’s Deception was the last Uncharted game of the PlayStation 3 era, offering players one more Nathan Drake adventure before Sony moved on to PlayStation 4 two years later.
Arguably one of the most iconic video games of all time, Naughty Dog took a break from Uncharted to bring fans The Last of Us in 2013. Set in a harsh post-apocalyptic world where a parasitic fungus is transforming humans into bloodthirsty monsters, The Last of Us follows a hardened smuggler named Joel and an immune teenager named Ellie as they attempt to track down a group of survivors known as The Fireflies.
What follows is an emotionally gripping story of grief, survival, and hope, as Ellie and Joel form an unbreakable bond while battling against the monsters that plague their world, both infected and human. A third-person shooter with heavy stealth elements, The Last of Us has gone on to become Naughty Dog’s flagship franchise, even receiving its own HBO adaptation in early 2023.
Initially released as DLC before becoming a standalone experience, The Last of Us: Left Behind acts as a prequel to The Last of Us. The story flits between two timelines: the first is set during the events of the main campaign, with Ellie protecting Joel while he recovers from the injuries he sustained in The University chapter. The second takes place three weeks before the events of the game, with Ellie exploring an abandoned mall with her best friend Riley.
While the modern timeline features plenty of action sequences, the flashbacks take a decidedly different approach, focusing heavily on exploration and storytelling. The expansion fleshes out Ellie’s backstory, adding additional context to her character and the story she reveals to Joel during the final scene of the main game.
The explosive finale to the Uncharted saga, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End catches up with Nathan Drake years after the events of Drake’s Deception. Now retired from treasure hunting and living a regular life with his wife Elena, Drake is dragged back into the game after his brother, Sam, arrives on his doorstep with a tantalizing offer: He’s going after Henry Avery’s lost treasure and needs the expertise of Nathan Drake to find it.
A Thief’s End wraps up Nathan Drake’s story while using the power of the PlayStation 4 to add new strings to Uncharted’s bow, including a grappling hook, non-linear levels, and vastly upgraded visuals.
A standalone expansion for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy passes the reins of the franchise to two new leads: Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross. Following the unlikely partners as they travel to India in search of the Tusk of Ganesh, Lost Legacy expands upon Uncharted 4’s open-ended levels, setting the game within a large map and allowing players to complete main objectives in any order they like.
You can check out our guide to the Uncharted games in order for more details about the timeline.
The long-anticipated follow-up to the first Last of Us, The Last of Us: Part II removes Joel from the main protagonist role and hands the reins to Ellie. After settling in the small town of Jackson, Ellie’s life is sent into a downward spiral when a group of mysterious survivors arrive on the settlement’s outskirts during a snowstorm and undertake a mission that changes her life forever.
Swearing revenge, Ellie pursues the group, tailing them back to Seattle where she begins searching for their leader: a ruthless survivor by the name of Abby. Expanding the stealth mechanics and including smarter enemy AI that can track Ellie’s every move, The Last of Us: Part II upgrades and enhances the series’ gameplay in every conceivable way. While its story has been divisive, it’s undeniably a significantly enhanced post-apocalyptic survival experience.
Released in late 2022, The Last of Us: Part I is a shot-for-shot, rebuilt-from-the-ground-up remake of the first Last of Us, including all of the original chapters and Left Behind expansion. Utilizing the power of the PlayStation 5, it offered next-generation graphics, state-of-the-art accessibility options, and improved gameplay.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is the next game from Naughty Dog. Announced during the 2024 Game Awards, Intergalactic is the studio's first new IP since The Last of Us in 2013. While the game seems relatively deep into development, Naughty Dog doesn't seem optimistic about a release date before 2027, meaning the game may very well be a part of the PS6 generation.
While Intergalactic is the only game officially in development, studio head Neil Druckmann has said he has a "concept" in mind for The Last of Us Part 3. His comment was not an official announcment, though he added there's "probably one more chapter to [The Last of Us]." More recently, Druckmann has said The Last of Us 3 is unlikely. Speaking of, The Last of Us Season 2, which adapts the second Last of Us game, premieres on Max this weekend.
Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a game critic, news reporter, guides writer and features writer.
© Capcom
Tomb Raider has a chartered history, with Lara Croft delving into ruins and tombs all over the world. Overcoming any and all obstacles set in her path, Lara has elevated herself into an exclusive and lauded pantheon of iconic video game protagonists.
With a new Tomb Raider currently in development at Crystal Dynamics and therefore a new Lara adventure on the horizon, we’ve created a chronological list of every Tomb Raider game so those interested can start (or restart) their spelunking adventures from the very beginning.
Jump to:
There are a total of 20 Tomb Raider games that have been released as of 2025. These games are split over 3 different timelines, each distinct from one another, offering different plotlines and a slightly different spin on Lara and her supporting cast.
14 of these games have been released for home consoles, 6 also supported handheld portable consoles, and 6 were supported on mobile devices. Tomb Raider: The Prophecy, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Lara Croft Go, Lara Croft: Relic Run, and Tomb Raider Reloaded are all stand-alone titles, and therefore will not be included on these lists.
If you're coming to the franchise for the first time in 2025, we recommend starting with the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot. The first entry in the "Survivor" trilogy sets the stage for Lara Croft's most recent series of expeditions that runs through the latest mainline game, 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
If you're hoping to take a chronological journey through all of the Tomb Raider games, it's important to note that there are actually 3 different timelines you can play through.
The first ever Tomb Raider title centred around Lara being hired by businesswoman Jacquelin Natla to find a mysterious artefact called the Scion of Atlantis. After finding all three fragments of the Scion scattered around the globe, Lara is betrayed by Natla and must face off against her on a volcanic island filled with monsters.
A Game Boy Color exclusive sequel to the Game Boy Color version of the original Tomb Raider, this adventure sees Lara tracking down a mystical sword and attempting to destroy it before the long-dead Madame Paveau can resurrect from the underworld and use her dark magic to subjugate the world.
This time Lara is on the hunt for the Dagger of Xian, a magical weapon once used by the Emperors of China. A cult leader by the name of Marco Bartoli who is also seeking the dagger for it’s magical ability to turn the owner into a dragon.
In the third mainline installment of the original saga, Lara sets out to find the Infada Stone, one of four crystalline artefacts crafted thousands of years ago from the remnants of a meteorite. Realising the nefarious Dr. Willard is aiming to use the statues to speed up the evolutionary process; she sets out to find the remaining three artefacts before the entire planet is mutated.
In The Last Revelation, the Egyptian god of chaos Set is unknowingly released by Lara as she explores a tomb in Egypt. With Set and his forces wreaking havoc on Cairo, Lara is assisted by Semerkhet and strives to summon the god Horus who is the last hope of quelling this world-ending threat.
After the ambiguous ending of The Last Revelation, Winston the butler and other friends of Lara recount tales of her historic adventures to commemorate her. Delving through the catacombs of Rome, fighting through a Russian naval submarine, and exploring an island haunted by demonic forces, the titular Chronicles set in stone how well travelled and skilled Lara is, but is she really gone?
Framed for the murder of her former mentor, Werner Von Croy, Lara explores Paris and Prague in an attempt to clear her name and solve the murder. The last survivor of the Lux Veritatis Society, Kurtis Trent, is stalking Lara and is hiding a deep dark secret about his true nature.
A remake of the original Tomb Raider title from 1996, this game again sees Lara questing to find the Scion of Atlantis. With redesigned puzzles and physics, there was a shift from item collection and pulling switches (both prevalent in the original title), to physics-based puzzles and environmental set pieces.
This title acts as a reboot and reimagining of the origins of Lara, as she races across the world in search of the mythical sword Excalibur, desperate to find it before her former friend Amanda Evert can beat her to the punch.
The third installment in the Legend trilogy, Underworld sees Lara searching for Mjolnir, which acts as an ancient key to Helheim, the realm of the dead. Exploring the ruins of various cultures and mythological underworlds, Lara once again confronts the villainous Natla who is searching for Mjolnir herself.
In a new, grittier take on Lara Croft, her first expedition to find the lost kingdom of Yamatai goes awry and she becomes stranded on an isolated and hostile island. Facing off against the Solarii Brotherhood cult, Lara must stop the Ascension ritual from proceeding and also prevent a successor from being chosen for the bloodthirsty Sun Queen of legend.
Rise of the Tomb Raider has Lara exploring Siberia for the legendary city of Kitezh whilst battling Trinity, the paramilitary organization that continually crosses paths and butts heads with Lara. As they both sprint to rediscover Kitezh, will the legendary immortal guardians of the kingdom, the Deathless Ones, reveal themselves to be much more than just a myth?
The third and final installment in the Survivor Trilogy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider has Lara trekking through the Americas to find the city of Paititi before a Mayan apocalypse consumes the entire planet. With the monstrous Yaaxii and the ever present Trinity on her back, will she succeed before it’s too late?
For those looking to bask in the nostalgia of the original Tomb Raider games, Aspyr released remastered collections for current-gen consoles. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered released in early 2024 and was followed by Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered this past February.
Crystal Dynamics has also confirmed a brand new Tomb Raider game is in development. Whilst details are slim, it is confirmed to be using Unreal Engine 5 and is set to be published by Amazon Games. Crystal Dynamics have also expressed on Twitter that this new adventure “will continue Lara Croft’s saga”, which may insinuate this new title is a continuation of the Survivor trilogy that concluded with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018.
Outside of gaming, Netflix debuted its animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft in October. It's already been renewed for a second season. While Amazon had at one point planned a Tomb Raider series with Phoebe Waller-Bridge on board as writer and executive producter, it seems that one isn't making it to the finish line.
Samuel (Sam) Heaney is a freelance guides writer at IGN and Minecraft expert. He's a typical Brit who loves cups of tea and gin and tonics. Oh, and he's also a huge Marvel nerd. You can find him on Twitter @SamHeaney.
When Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch 2 last week, it said that the console only supports expansion through MicroSD Express cards. This is a huge pain for anyone with a collection of existing MicroSD cards, but it actually makes a ton of sense – MicroSD Express is leagues faster.
Because of the way these cards interface with the device, they’re able to unlock read/write speeds similar to the UFS (Universal Flash Storage) of the Switch 2’s internal storage. This is incredibly important, because it allows games stored on your expansion card to load just as fast – at least in theory – to games stored internally. It just comes at the cost of not being able to use cheaper non-Express MicroSD cards.
Over the years, there have been six different speed ratings for MicroSD cards. Initially, SD cards launched with just 12.5MB/s, which is incredibly slow by today’s standards. However, over time, faster speeds started coming out, beginning with SD High Speed at 25 MB/s, all the way through SD UHS III, or Ultra High Speed, at 312MB/s. However, five years ago, the SD Association released the SD Express standard, which greatly increased speeds.
The big difference this time around is that SD Express uses a PCIe 3.1 interface, rather than the slower UHS-I interface. PCIe is the same interface that faster NVMe SSDs use, and unlocks much higher potential performance. Full-sized SD Express cards can now hit data transfer speeds up to 3,940MB/s, which is exponentially faster than older SD cards.
MicroSD Express cards can’t reach the highest speeds of their full-sized counterparts, but they are still incredibly fast, hitting speeds up to 985MB/s, which is three times faster than the fastest non-express MicroSD card.
Nintendo isn’t exactly known for sharing its specific reasoning behind its hardware requirements, but there are a ton of reasons why the Nintendo Switch 2 should require MicroSD Express cards for expansion. Really, the biggest one is speed. If you have the same game installed both on a traditional UHS-I MicroSD card and a MicroSD Express card, the latter is going to load way faster thanks to the PCIe 3.1 interface – which is a sign this requirement could be coming to handheld gaming PCs soon, too.
Given that the internal Nintendo Switch 2 storage was also updated to UFS (universal flash storage) from eMMC, it makes a lot of sense for Nintendo to require its expansion storage media to have similar speeds. It’ll be a while before we know exactly how fast the internal storage can load games like Breath of the Wild, but early demos have suggested that load times are significantly faster – from just 35% when fast traveling, according to Polygon, to a 3x initial load improvement measured by Digital Foundry. These load time improvements could come down to the faster internal storage, but it could also be due to the faster CPU and GPU, which can unpack data faster. The point is: Nintendo needed its external storage to have similar speeds, so future games that require a faster disk don’t get bottlenecked by virtue of being on an SD card.
It also gives room for faster storage in the future. Right now, the fastest standard for SD cards is SD 8.0 Specification, which allows full-size SD Express cards to reach speeds up to 3,942MB/s. MicroSD Express cards can’t get that fast yet, but in a few years it’s totally possible – at least if the Nintendo Switch 2 supports that kind of speed on its side.
MicroSD Express cards have been slow to take off, and while that will likely change when the Nintendo Switch 2 launches, only a few options are available right now. For instance, Lexar only offers one MicroSD Express card, and it comes in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants, with the latter costing $199.
SanDisk, on the other hand, only has one MicroSD Express card on its site, and that one peaks at just 256GB, which would mirror the internal storage of the Switch 2. By the time the Nintendo Switch 2 actually launches, I wouldn’t expect too many MicroSD Express cards to be available with more than 512GB of storage. Luckily, that should quickly change as time goes on and companies like Samsung start pumping out memory cards.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Top horror studio Blumhouse is about to celebrate its 15th anniversary, and to ring in the milestone right, they are bringing the 2022 hit M3GAN back to theaters ahead of the sequel’s release. That said, this limited theatrical engagement includes some new features, so to speak, that encourage the use of smartphones in theaters — so needless to say, it’s pretty controversial.
As part of its Halfway to Halloween initiative, Shudder will screen M3GAN — as well as Ma and Annabelle — for one night only engagements that include the use of Meta’s “Movie Mate” technology, which allows audience members to interact with M3GAN herself through a chatbot, as well as second screen capabilities that will showcase exclusive content in real-time.
“Movie Mate is only available to moviegoers who are in a theater, and works by DM’ing the Instagram account @M3GAN account to start the experience,” the studio explained in a report published by Variety.
“The entire experience is designed to leverage Meta’s capabilities to augment and uplevel the ‘second screen’ viewing experience aimed at generating excitement ahead of the release of M3GAN 2.0 on June 27.”
It also noted that fans can expect “sneak peeks, exclusive recorded messages from directors and talent from the films, and surprise special appearances in select markets.” All in all, this sounds like a blow aimed to kill, directly attempting to strike the already weakened core of the theatrical experience and it doesn’t bring any joy to report on it — but only time will tell exactly how fans react to the experience once they, well, experience it. One thing is for sure: I hope it doesn’t spread to regular screenings any time soon.
The M3GAN screening will take place in various theaters nationwide on April 30, with Annabelle screening on May 7 and Ma screening on May 14. M3GAN 2.0 hits theaters in the United States on June 27.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
Starting this month, Amazon is offering new subscribers a free 3-month trial to Amazon Music Unlimited. You do not have to be a Prime member to take advantage of this trial. If you've subscribed to Music Unlimited in the past, you may be re-eligible if enough time has elapsed (if you see the promo banner on the Amazon Music Unlimited page, then you're eligible). This subscription normally costs $11.99 per month for non-Prime members and $10.99 per month for Prime members after a new price hike in March of 2025, making this promo offer even better than before.
Amazon Music Unlimited is a subscription-based music streaming service similar to Spotify and Pandora. You'll have access to nearly 100 million songs completely ad-free. There are thousands of pre-mixed playlists and stations to choose from, but you are completely allowed to pick your own songs and create your own playlists.
In terms of audio quality, just about every song is available in lossless HD. About 10 million songs are also available in lossless UltraHD, which offers better than CD audio (up to 24 bit, 192 kHz) and more than 10 times the bitrate of standard definition streaming services. Amazon is also offering an increasing number of songs that support Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio. Just make sure your audio equipment is up to snuff.
Amazon Music Unlimited works seamlessly on Echo devices and Fire TVs, third-party Alexa smart devices like Sonos, and pretty much any Android smartphone or iPhone through the Amazon Music app.
From now through April 30, you can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus for just $0.99 per month. Premium Plus is Audible's highest tier plan and normally costs $14.95/mo. As a additional subscription perk, you get a free audiobook of your choice for each of those three months and you get to keep them indefinitely.
Anyone who doesn't currently have an active Audible membership should be eligible. That includes new subscribers as well as existing members whose subscriptions have since expired. There's always a small your-mileage-may-vary disclaimer with these types of promotions, but fortunately it's easy to check if you qualify: log into your account, and if you see the $0.99/mo banner right on Amazon's Audible page then you're eligible for this promotion.
Audible is a subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of the best audiobooks without ever having to purchase them. There are two paid membership plans: the lower tier Audible Plus ($7.95/mo) and the higher tier Audible Premium Plus ($14.95/mo). The biggest difference between the two is the size of the audiobook library. Whereas Audible Plus only lets you listen to a selection of about 10,000 audiobooks, the Audible Premium Plus plan gives you access to a whopping 500,000 audiobooks. These include all-time classics like Frank Herbert's Dune, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire), The Witcher, The Sandman Series,and The Lord of the Rings.
Looking for more free trials? Check out the best streaming services with free trials.
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.
Naughty Dog has re-released both of its critically acclaimed The Last of Us games (again), this time as an all-in-one bundle for PlayStation 5 (PS5) called The Last of Us Complete.
The studio behind beloved PlayStation titles like Crash Bandicoot and Uncharted announced and launched its two-pack collection today. It’s a bundle that includes the 2022 remake The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered for players to enjoy.
“Experience the complete story that inspired the TV show with definitive versions of two award-winning games,” an official description for The Last of Us Complete says, “featuring graphical and gameplay improvements made possible by the PlayStation 5 console.”
The Last of Us Complete comes with both mainline stories as well as the bonus content both have received in the years since their original releases. That means the Left Behind Ellie-focused prequel DLC, as well as The Last of Us Part 2’s No Return and Lost Levels content are all included. If you’re a fan of the HBO TV series retelling starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey but have yet to dive into the video games that started it all, you should know that the all-encompassing digital bundle costs $99.99.
As shared in a PlayStation.Blog post authored by Naughty Dog Head of Studio Neil Druckmann, a physical The Last of Us Complete Collector’s Edition is currently set to launch July 10 for $109.99, with pre-orders available now. It comes with a few extra goodies to justify the slightly increased price, including a Steelbook case, game discs, The Last of Us: American Dreams comics 1 – 4, four lithographic art prints, and a thank-you letter from Druckmann.
“From our entire studio, thank you so much for your incredible support for The Last of Us and Naughty Dog over the years,” Druckmann’s post says. “This is such an exciting moment for both the franchise and our teams. We are so humbled by your personal stories of what the series has meant to you, have marveled at your incredible Photo Mode shots, and inspired to keep pushing ourselves forward to create more stories and worlds you’ll love.”
The Last of Us series launched for the PS3 in 2013, and while it has remained an undeniably beloved offering in the PlayStation catalog, its many re-releases and remasters have been the subject of criticism from naysayers and fans alike. Joel and Ellie’s adventure came to PS4 with improved graphics in 2014 and was then reimagined for PS5 with a remake in 2022. The Last of Us Part 2 continued Ellie’s story in 2020 and then went on to receive its own remaster in early 2024. Both stories have also since come to PC, with The Last of Us Part 1 arriving in 2023 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered arriving just last week.
The Last of Us Complete brings all of Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic offerings together under one umbrella as yet another re-release. While many may be confused to see PlayStation revisiting Joel and Ellie’s world once again, the timing does coincide with HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, which will premiere its first episode this Sunday. Season 3 was greenlit just yesterday.
For more on The Last of Us, you can read up on why many fans aren't expecting to hear about The Last of Us Part 3 anytime soon. You can also check out how Druckmann and the rest of the team behind the show may continue the story in the future.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
If you’re reading this, you already know the importance of good audio when it comes to gaming, but it’s tough to find out which is the best gaming headset for you among the sea of options. As is the case when you're looking for the best gaming mouse or best gaming keyboard, there are several factors to consider. When looking for the right headset, you'll want to account for your budget and seek out the best sound quality and comfort, as well as the kinds of features most important to you. The easiest way to find that personalized experience is to know exactly what you’re getting into and rely on those who have first-hand knowledge.
I’ve reviewed plenty of headphones and gaming headsets in my time, so I’m familiar with what makes them great, and I’ve put my expertise and ears-on experience to use here. Each pick was made with careful consideration for what each headset offers as a whole, but also for the aspects they excel in most based on their category. With that in mind, I’ve included options for the best budget headset like the HyperX Cloud III and the best high-end option in the Audeze Maxwell, for example. But more sophisticated features like virtual surround, active noise cancelation, or customizable EQ profiles can be defining for certain wireless headsets like the Razer Kraken V4, Alienware Pro, or Logitech G Pro X 2.
This guide is intended to be a comprehensive look at the best options based on specific categories in which certain headsets prioritize or do better than the competition. This doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing headsets outside of the ones I’m recommending, but these are all headsets I can vouch for based upon the first-hand testing done by my colleagues and I. I will also be updating my picks for best gaming headsets as new ones come out and I test more of what’s out there, so be sure to check back periodically, or whenever you need some advice on choosing a new gaming headset.
This guide contains contributions by Danielle Abraham and Adam Matthew.
It’s hard not to fall in love with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. You still get all the great features of the previous SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless with some new technology including active noise cancellation and improved audio all around. Using a hybrid noise-canceling system with four mics, you can drown out harsh noises from outside your room to the ambient hum of loud fans.
Most importantly, the Nova Pro offers some fantastic sound quality out of the box with bold and balanced audio. Its spatial audio onboard is crucial as well, so it's easy to hear enemy footsteps around the corner or gauge the distance of action happening in a competitive shooter. And you can make some next-level customizations to the EQ settings and game-chat mix with Sonar and the SteelSeries GG app – good luck going back to your ordinary headphones for anything but listening to podcasts or the news.
With SteelSeries’ latest top-end headset, we see the biggest design shift since the start of the Arctis lineup. The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless sports telescoping arms on its adjustable headband so it can better accommodate larger head sizes. The earcups are also slimmer and sleeker, giving off less of a gaming headset vibe and more of a look akin to wireless headphones without sacrificing the comfort SteelSeries headsets are known for. And one of our favorite features remains intact with a few upgrades: the hot-swappable rechargeable battery system. This means that when the battery runs low during a gaming session, you can quickly change it out without having to plug in, giving you wireless freedom indefinitely.
The Arctis Nova Pro is one of the best headsets you can buy right now. It’s well-rounded with uniquely robust features, great sound quality for gaming, and comfort to keep you going. Take our word for it – in our Arctis Nova Pro headset review, it earned a rare 10 for all the aforementioned reasons and more.
No matter which version of the HyperX Cloud headset you go with, you get a quality product. If you’re running on a budget and want to get the most bang for your buck, I always recommend the wired HyperX Cloud III, which can often be found below its $100 base price. It punches above its weight with impressive sound and mic quality and great comfort. Plus, it’s built like a brick house so it’s not going to fall apart through years of use.
Out of the box, the Cloud III impressed me with its build and durability – its aluminum frame can be flexed and contorted in any which direction without ever feeling like it’s going to break. Stretching the headset out to fit on your head is super easy and you can toss them on your desk without worrying about damaging them. It's built for comfort as well with dense foam earpads wrapped in a leatherette (just be aware it tends to get a bit sweaty), although its clamp force may be a bit much for some.
At the end of the day, it’s all about sound quality and the Cloud III handles various frequencies wonderfully. In my Cloud III headset review, I felt comfortable tracking enemy footsteps while playing a ton of Valorant and enjoyed the balanced audio in Final Fantasy XIV, which this more budget-friendly headset handled gracefully. Assuming you’re on a budget, you probably don’t want to spend extra on a decent microphone – luckily, the mic clarity on the Cloud III was equally as impressive.
You can ask anyone who has used the Audeze Maxwell if it’s worth its price tag, and you’re going to get the same answer: It’s a resounding yes, including from me. It sports a sleek, nondescript design akin to many audiophile-style pairs of headphones and performs just like one as well. Sometimes I need to break away from the misconception that wired is always better for sound quality, especially when the Audeze Maxwell proved me wrong.
Its 90mm planar magnetic drivers jump out from the spec sheet – and while bigger drivers doesn’t always mean better, this is one case in which the audio experience matches the driver size flex. Overall clarity, balance across frequencies, and a rich natural audio profile make this high-end headset stand out from the rest of the pack. While the aforementioned SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is the one I recommend overall for its robust features, it’s hard to compete with the Audeze Maxwell purely in the audio department.
That said, while the Maxwell is comfortable, it does land on the heavier side of gaming headsets. It’s built like a tank, but if you’re okay with that, then it’s more of a non-issue. When you get a great mix of sound quality, battery life, and features such as toggleable noise isolation, it’s easy to justify its high price.
Turtle Beach has been a major player in audio for several console generations at this point, and I think the Atlas Air marks a peak in its gaming headsets. I can’t get over how comfortable it is to wear thanks to its soft, cushioned earpads and super-light clamp force. Its headband and overall construction also feel durable despite being a very lightweight headset. When I reviewed the Atlas Air, I just couldn’t get over how these felt to wear all day, which is also a credit to the sports mesh-like upholstery that prevents heat and sweat.
It’s also rare to find open-back gaming headsets, which gives the Atlas Air an upper hand on providing a full and spacious audio experience on top of its great overall sound quality. Of course, a drawback of open-back is the lack of natural sound isolation, so be aware of whether or not the ambient noise of your gaming environment is suited for such a thing.
Turtle Beach packs some neat features into its Swarm software with customizable EQ profiles and presets that work well for getting more out of the headset (just ignore Superhuman Hearing – it’s not worth the fuss). Between music, gaming, and spatial audio, the Atlas Air performs beautifully and it’s currently one of my favorite wireless gaming headsets available.
As I mentioned above, Turtle Beach knows what it's doing when it comes to gaming headsets, and even if I go down the pricing hierarchy, there are still impressive headsets like the Stealth 500 to be found. Although it’s quite bulky in its physical design, I found the Stealth 500 to be easy to wield thanks to its super flexible headband and durability, which also translates to solid comfort that’s easy on the ears.
More importantly, the sound quality you get from the Stealth 500 is nothing to scoff at. While it may struggle in higher frequencies, which tend to sound a bit crunchy, its strong bass and clear mids make games sound full without coming across as artificial. With the Swarm software’s Signature Sound profile, you’ll be set without having to fiddle with too many settings. Its positional audio was great as well, which I sussed out while playing competitive rounds of Counter-Strike 2, so you don’t really need to shell out the big bucks to get that kind of advantage.
Even at this price point, you get Bluetooth capabilities and can swap between devices with the press of a button. While the mic isn’t anything to boast about, it’s serviceable and can be customized in the software as well. It’s no surprise that there are compromises that need to be made in budget-level headsets, but it gets the essentials right, which earned it an 8 in my Stealth 500 review.
Beyerdynamic is one of the many audiophile-focused brands that have entered the gaming headset space in more recent times. Its latest in the MMX 300 Pro and MMX 330 Pro make slight upgrades over its predecessors in overall design, but brings similarly powerful audio performance. It provides the kind of sound quality you’d expect from studio-grade headphones like the DT 770 or DT 990, but packs them into a wired headset that’s easy to wear for hours on end. The two models only have one distinction – the MMX 300 Pro is closed-back and the MMX 330 Pro is open-back. I personally prefer the audio profile of an open-back headset in exchange for natural sound isolation, so it really comes down to preference.
What’s almost as impressive is the microphone clarity, which can rival even some mid-range standalone mics. I tend to see built-in mics on gaming headsets as an afterthought, and so long as my voice comes through intelligibly, that’s all I really need from it – but not with Beyerdynamic. So if you really want that all-in-one gaming headset, especially for streaming or recording content, you’ll find that in these headsets.
Personally, I gravitate towards the intentionality and craftsmanship of a wired, analog-driven headset or pair of headphones, and Beyerdynamic's headsets sound beautiful right out of the box. Of course, you can potentially get more out of it if you drive them through a DAC or amp, but they're already tuned with gaming in mind (to emphasize certain sound effects in competitive games) while also delivering the kind of audio experience in other applications you’d expect from headphones at this price range. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the MMX 300 Pro/MMX 330 Pro in my review.
Sennheiser has long been one of my favorite makers of headphones, starting with the HD 598 years ago, and over that time, it has adapted its audiophile-centric approach to gaming headsets. I find myself coming back to Sennheiser again and again due to the rich audio experiences the headsets provide and the sleek designs that also come with great build quality. The Sennheiser HD 620S is a prime example of that. While I’ve preferred Sennheiser’s open-back options, like the aforementioned HD 598, I very much enjoyed what it did with a new closed-back design in the HD 620S, which excelled particularly while gaming.
The HD 620S sets a new standard for high-end audio by using similar design principles as its lineup of high-end headphones – this means its drivers bring full, balanced, and detailed sound. While spatial audio tends to be better with open-back designs since they give bold sound profiles room to breathe – something that traditional closed-back headsets sometimes struggle with – the HD 620S doesn’t really sacrifice all that much as far as I can tell from several rounds of Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant. There’s a lot of natural sound isolation due to a tight seal around the leatherette earcups, which also turn out to be really comfortable (even though this material does get hot).
There’s a lot of potential in the purely audio department with HD 620S if you drive it through a DAC or amp, and the 6.3mm adapter that comes packaged with it gives you the opportunity to get more out of it. If you’re a self-proclaimed audiophile and want something suited for gaming, I can vouch for the HD 620S as one of the best picks so far.
The Kraken V4 is Razer's flagship headset that's geared more towards luxury features (whereas something like the Blackshark V2 is more tuned for the competitive scene). And with that particular focus, you get one of the best implementations of virutual surround sound in any gaming headset. That's largely due to THX Spatial Audio and the fact that the Kraken V4 was designed with the feature in mind. Instead of it sounding like you're in an empty hall, there's a lot more detail in the positioning and distance of sound effects, especially when the game or movie you're experiencing was designed with spatial audio in mind. It's not something I'd recommend for competitive gaming, but having good theater-like sound on a headset is tough to find.
In my review of the Razer Kraken V4 Pro, I praised its sound quality, comfort, and surround sound capabilities, but it carries a heftier price tag with it being the Pro mode. While it comes with a robust base station, things like Sensa haptics just aren't worth seeking out. You can get the standard Razer Kraken V4 for significantly less and still get the fantastic virtual surround sound features along with that great audio quality and comfort.
Logitech has come a long way with its headsets and I thoroughly enjoyed putting the Logitech G Pro X 2 through its paces for my review. It has to be one of the most complete packages I’ve seen from a gaming headset, and it's a superb all-rounder when it comes to sound quality, durability, comfort, and premium features.
For those particularly looking for one in competitive gaming, I like recommending the G Pro X 2 because of how several smaller features add up to make a versatile headset. Seemingly minor things like the included carrying case for portability and the swiveling earcups that let the headset rest easily around my neck are really nice to have. But its sound quality and positional audio are impressive in their own right, which are really the driving forces for making a good competitive headset suited for esports-type environments. The default leatherette earpads are comfortable and offer better sound isolation, but in more casual settings, swapping in the included velour earpads gives the G Pro X 2 a nice level of customization. And with a not-so-gaudy design, using its simultaneous Bluetooth for other devices is a pretty cool cherry on top.
While its overall microphone quality is serviceable, it's the solid sound isolation that works well for communication in high-stress (and potentially loud) competitive settings. Starting at $250, you’re starting to brush up against audiophile-level headsets and headphones, but it's all the features and design decisions around it that make it worth the price tag.
Over the years, Alienware's forte has been custom built PCs and has explored gaming peripherals since. It rethought its design philosophy and came out with the Pro headset earlier this year with great success, as I detail in my Alienware Pro headset review. I love its slim and sleek design (somewhat matching the design philosophy of Sony's PS5 products), which also makes it easily double-up as a casual everyday pair of headphones, and that really makes its active noise-canceling features sing.
As a gaming headset, it brings booming bass to support all the other frequencies so PS5 games are going to have a powerful low-end to give a proper cinematic experience, but it's also tuned to be fit for competitive games as well. When it comes to comfort, its memory foam earbuds get the job done even though they don't look impressive at first glance. The flexible headband lets the Alienware Pro headset clamp easily on my head to help it stay comfortable for several hours of play.
If you're looking for good ANC above all else, I can easily recommend the Alienware Pro headset since it's very good at drowning out ambient noise and retains solid battery life even though ANC tends to drain battery rapidly. That good ANC extends to the microphone as well, so while the overall microphone quality isn't that impressive, it's fantastic at isolating your voice.
Gaming earbuds are a fairly recent trend with the notable peripheral companies like Razer, Asus, and PlayStation making their own that are suited for games. It's tough because of the limited driver size and battery life, earbuds tend to make sacrifices in one way or another. But the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are so impressive because of how uncompromising these little rounded buds are.
On top of having solid foundations of sound quality, battery life, and long-term comfort, SteelSeries has one of the most robust software suites, which is easily controllable through a mobile app. This takes out the inconvenience of having to flip through PS5 menus to customize the earbuds, while also letting you access its 100+ custom-tuned EQ profiles easily.
Although there are a few minor inconveniences with how some of its quality-of-life features work (autoplay when taking it on and off, connecting through Bluetooth reliably), the GameBuds do all the important things extremely well. While you should definitely use these as your primary earbuds to listen to music on your phone, they really shine in games with the kind of bold audio experience you expect from a headset. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds in my review, and they'll pair nicely with your PS5.
At $160, these have cheaper base price than the Razer Hammerheads I previously recommended. While I still think the Hammerheads have a very slight edge in sound quality, it's the battery life, software support, and overall comfort that make the GameBuds the best all around.
First thing’s first: How much are you willing to spend? Next thing to ask yourself is, what are your biggest priorities when looking for a gaming headset? Is it overall sound quality, comfort, microphone clarity, durability, or something else? And if you want to go wireless, you have to consider battery life and what a headset’s software suite is capable of. You’ll likely want some mix of all those things, but while you don’t have to pick one particular feature or strength to seek out among a wide array of options, some headsets simply do certain things better than others.
For me, sound quality is the primary factor to look for regardless of price range (it’s rather a matter of managing expectations with more budget-friendly options). While the size of the drivers – the actual hardware in each earcup that produces sound – is an easy shorthand for determining a headset’s potential, it’s certainly not the be-all-end-all. How the headset is tuned, the material and physical construction of the drivers, and how it sounds in specific scenarios are things you can only learn about through reviews and first-hand accounts, if you can’t test it for yourself. Pay attention to what reviewers say about frequencies like bass/lows, mids, and highs and the ways they describe their experience. Sometimes bass drowns out other frequencies, mids might be distorted in hectic gameplay, or the highs are harsh at loud volumes – these are the types of things we say when describing audio shortcomings. Some folks like deep bass even if it’s overpowering, so some detractors may not matter as much to some, for example.
Positional or spatial audio is also crucial for competitive gamers. The best headsets are able to express the details and nuances of sound effects, not just produce clear frequencies. This helps you judge direction and distance of footsteps or gunshots in games like Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant, for example, and can also result in a more immersive experience in single-player games or even movies. Some of this can be simulated through software but things like Turtle Beach’s Superhuman Hearing tend to sound too artificial, so be wary.
Comfort is another thing that can be challenging to understand without trying on a headset first. However, you can pay attention to descriptors such as clamp force (how hard a headset latches onto one’s head), the density of the earpads, the type of material used to wrap the earpads, or how the headband rests above the user’s head. Materials like leatherette, sports mesh, and velour all have their pros and cons with the former being better for sound isolation but not as great as the latter for airflow and mitigating sweat around the ears.
When it comes to durability, many premium-level headsets use an aluminum frame, which may be heavier but can withstand much more contortion and mishandling. Some budget-friendly headsets opt for a flexible rubber-like plastic headband that offers a similar level of flexibility, so it doesn’t feel like you’re going to break the thing when putting it on or taking it off. Any gaming headset worth its salt shouldn’t have durability issues, but it is something to consider.
I typically find the built-in microphones on gaming headsets to be an afterthought, mainly because you can get much better sound quality from a standalone external microphone – that’s what I use most of the time. But that doesn’t mean I overlook microphone clarity altogether. It’s rare to find a headset outside of the premium price range with a great mic, but it’s something we as reviewers always test because it’s certainly nice to have. Something like the HyperX Cloud III was truly impressive for a mic on a $100 gaming headset, and the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro is close to approaching mid-range standalone mics – and those who often use voice for communication or some sort of content creation can get a lot out of a good headset mic. Noise isolation is worth paying attention to, as well as how well it picks up your voice – software-side features like controlling the noise gate can also be useful. And don’t overlook the importance of sidetone, which is a rare feature that automatically feeds your voice back to you.
Wireless gaming headsets have evolved to the point where battery life is either a non-issue or manageable with good habits of charging them whenever you can. But for headsets you’re planning on using for multiple purposes (like ones with simultaneous Bluetooth connectivity for music on mobile devices, for example), total battery life can be a more important factor. Many should last in the 40-hour range from a full charge and higher-end ones can last upwards of 80 hours, although several variables feed into how long they last in actuality.
The last thing I’ll mention is customizability, at least through software. Every gaming peripheral manufacturer has its own software suite it wants you to download, and they tend to be all-encompassing apps for all its gaming gear. But good software lets you get granular with your headset, such as Turtle Beach’s Swarm app. You can fiddle with equalization, make your own EQ presets, use premade profiles, control certain aspects of your microphone, and so much more. While it’s not as important as the essentials like sound quality and comfort, a proper software suite can help you get the most out of your purchase.
There are ways to extract audio data from a headset to get a look at how they handle various frequencies, like artificial ear and audio analyzing software, but that alone won’t be able to tell you what the actual audio experience is like. Admittedly, it can be quite abstract to have someone describe what games, music, or movies sound like. Paying attention to descriptors like distortion, drowning, cleanliness, or balance when talking about frequencies are common ways to explain the sound quality of a device, and at some point you need to trust the reviewer’s trained ear.
There’s also the factor of driver size, the actual hardware that delivers the audio. Generally, bigger drivers means better potential for cleaner and bolder sound, but again, that alone isn’t going to determine whether or not a headset sounds good. Quality can also come down to spatial or positional audio which gives the impression of sound effects having distance and direction – it’s important for competitive settings but can make for more immersive experiences outside of trying to get an advantage over your opponents.
Gaming headsets tend to pack additional features that support the actual gaming experience, some of which may be gimmicky, but many that I would call essential. Not everyone wants to have a standalone microphone, for example, but the key feature that separates a headset from headphones, is a built-in microphone. While most headset mics are passable in terms of clarity that can suffice for in-game communication, some go the extra mile to provide better clarity or mitigate ambient noise spilling through.
Good gaming headsets are generally tuned to pick up on certain sound effects and have a more intimate sound profile since you’re an active participant in the experience rather than a passive observer (especially in competitive games). When it comes to wireless capabilities, most gaming headsets come with 2.4GHz USB dongles for the lowest latency possible – something that wireless headphones rarely include. As you’ll see in the next section, software suites for USB-based headsets (wireless or otherwise) have gotten sophisticated as well and sometimes offer a level of customization for specific gaming scenarios.
Of course, it depends on your needs. I still gravitate towards wired headsets and headphones since I tend to prefer the sound profiles of a properly-tuned analog audio device (I also tend to forget about charging devices until it’s too late, but that’s a me-problem). However, battery life and latency of modern gaming headsets have come so far that you rarely, if ever, see them being issues on the latest releases. Good software suites and apps can also help you get more out of your headset by letting you customize EQ settings or swap sound profiles for certain games.
Wireless headsets are also sometimes capable of multi-device connectivity and simultaneous Bluetooth, which makes them versatile and opens them up to more use-cases (especially swapping to a mobile connection within seconds). Even though they tend to be more expensive, there’s a lot of upside to going with a wireless gaming headset, just be sure you know what you’ll be getting out of it.
Virtual surround sound had been a bit of a gimmick when high-end headphones started simulating the experience of a 7.1 speaker setup. But I will admit that the technology has come a long way. It’s not always best suited for gaming, especially in the competitive scene – there’s some artificiality with virtual surround that can lead to misjudging audio cues. But damn does something like DTS Headphone:X or Dolby Atmos sound impressive when done right – especially in action games or movies.
Some virtual surround sound software requires you to purchase a license, and personally I find the overall applicability of them fairly niche, but that doesn’t take away from how they simulate theater-like qualities. Just because a headset is compatible with features like Dolby Atmos or DTS Headphone:X, it doesn’t mean you’ll get an equal virtual surround experience – the headset itself has to be equipped to express a level of nuance in its sound quality for it to work well.
Michael Higham is the tech reviews editor at IGN and has a passion for good audio, which often drives him nuts when picking out headsets, headphones, earbuds, and speakers. He graduated from downloading low bitrate music to seeking lossless versions of his favorite songs at an early age. Having grown up playing Counter-Strike 1.6, and now keeping up with the Valorant competitive scene, he finds positional audio to be just as important as sound quality. But he actually just wants the best and most immersive audio for all the RPGs he plays, especially the ones with banging soundtracks.
It's easy to underestimate just how influential the Dragon Ball franchise is, but the Akira Toriyama manga essentially defined what an action shonen manga would be for the next 40 years. Goku became the archetypical anime protagonist, while his relationship with Vegeta became the standard that all anime rivalries would emulate. It helped popularize power-up transformations, time jumps, and much more in both anime and manga.
Sure, it's easy to boil down Dragon Ball to just having extremely long fight scenes, but the franchise is much more than that. With bold changes in tone, from hilarious gag comedy to meaningful moments of inspiration, as well as a myriad of great side characters, Dragon Ball remains as good as its reputation would suggest.
Still, this is one of the longest-running anime franchises, with dozens of movies in addition to several anime series. It can be hard to navigate the Dragon Ball universe, but that's what this guide is for. Whether you fell off the wagon at one point and want to catch up, or you're looking to embark on your very first journey with Son Goku, here's how to watch every Dragon Ball anime and movie in order.
Inspired by Akira Toriyama's manga of the same name, Dragon Ball includes over 800 episodes across five anime series. There have also been over 20 anime movies set in the Dragon Ball universe, which expand the story or even continue it.
Now, what about canon? That's where it gets a bit complicated. Granted, Toriyama never really cared much about canon, as he constantly tinkered with his story, retconning things whenever he thought of something better than he had before (remember when Goku was just a happy monkey guy and not an alien superhero?). Still, what makes Dragon Ball canon complicated is that while most of the movies aren't technically canon, the last four movies are part of the official Dragon Ball continuity.
Then there's Dragon Ball Daima, a canon anime series that seemed to make Dragon Ball GT, a show long considered to be non-canon, somewhat canon. So what does this mean? Well, it is kind of up to the audience. If you like Dragon Ball GT, then you can think of it as canon. If you prefer to skip it, then by all means, do so.
The full scope of everything Dragon Ball is on Crunchyroll. The anime streaming service is also the only place you'll find most of the movies, though Z Kai and Daima are also streaming on Hulu. For the collectors, all of the Dragon Ball series and movies are available as physical releases.
An alternate retelling of the first saga of the story. Best watched after the Emperor Pilaf Saga rather than have this be your first exposure to the characters.
Goku and Krillin are tasked to save a sleeping princess from Lucifer (yes, that Lucifer). The movie takes place at the start of Goku and Krillin's training.
Goku and Krillin join the World Martial Arts Tournament while Bora hides a Dragon Ball from the emperor's evil forces.
An alternate retelling of the story so far, merging the first two sagas with some cool changes.
Garlic Jr. kidnaps Gohan, so Goku must rescue his son.
A prequel showing the final days of the planet Vegeta before Frieza destroyed it, focusing on Goku's father, Bardock.
Goku and his friends must defeat an evil scientist who kidnaps Bulma, but when Gohan shows his incredible power, the scientist tries to steal his body!
We have pirates now! A Sayian pirate called Turles and his crew attempt to conquer the Earth by planting a magical tree that can absorb all life on the planet and leave it a desolated wasteland.
What if Dragon Ball was Michael Bay's Armageddon? This time, Earth is threatened by a massive asteroid on a collision course towards Earth. While Krillin and Goku head out to stop it, a Namekian conqueror tries to use the Dragon Balls to take over Earth.
A special depicting the post-apocalyptic future that Trunks comes from, and how the sword-wielding teenager went back in time to prevent his future from existing.
Goku and his friends go on a camping trip after the defeat of Frieza, but their celebrations are interrupted when the alien conqueror's older brother comes looking for revenge.
New terrifying murder androids, 13, 14, and 15 are activated after Android 17 and 18 murder Dr. Gero. Now, Goku and the Z Fighters must deal with them.
Cooler is back, and now he's a robot! After enslaving the people of New Namek, Cooler arrives on Earth with an army of robots. Making matters worse, the world-be conqueror claims to have killed Goku.
The Z Fighters are invited to the planet New Vegeta. There, they catch wind of a legendary Super Saiyan hellbent on destroying the universe.
Gohan finally gets the spotlight! The demon Bojack is finally free, and he decides to host the biggest martial arts tournament in the galaxy, and Gohan is the only one capable of saving the Earth.
Broly is back, awakened by Goten's crying (yes, this actually happened). This movie is memorable for having a Father-Sons Kamehameha with Gohan, Goten and Goku's spirit.
Yes, Broly is still somehow around, and he returns yet again as a clone. Goten, Trunks, and best boy Krillin have to stop him.
A fever dream of a movie, featuring villains long dead. Worth watching because of Vegeta and Goku's fusion form, but generally part of its own timeline.
The gang fights a kaiju in this movie, which has some of the best music in the franchise.
The not-quite canon Dragon Ball series originally aired after Dragon Ball Z and is generally considered to be a part of its own timeline. Emperor Pilaf uses the Black Star Dragon Ball to turn Goku into a child.
The most recent Dragon Ball series follows Goku and friends who have been turned into children and must traverse the Demon Realm to become adults again.
The next two Dragon Ball Z movies (Battle of the Gods and Resurrection F) and the first two sagas of Dragon Ball Super cover the same general storylines, but with some key differences. The Dragon Ball Super sagas are considered canon, but it's worth checking both out.
This is the movie where Goku fights a literal god, and all arguments about who can and can't defeat Goku become forever pointless.
No one ever dies in Dragon Ball, so of course Frieza comes back to life and swears revenge on Goku. That's it. That's the movie. Oh, and Vegeta gets a cool new power.
The film tells the story of Broly and his history with Goku, Raditz and Vegeta. In the present, Broly returns yet again to wreak havoc, and it is up to Goku and Vegeta to literally combine forces to stop him.
The best father-son duo, Piccolo and Gohan, finally get the spotlight! We also get the triumphant return of the Red Ribbon Army, who create androids to take over the world.
I wouldn't recommend splitting up Dragon Ball Z like this on your first watch, but the original ending saga technically takes place 10 years after the defeat of Majin Buu. At the very least, it may be worth coming back to these final episodes after watching Dragon Ball Super.
Unfortunately, we don't know yet. Dragon Ball Daima was the very last project creator Akira Toriyama worked on, and after his passing, Dragon Ball Super went into hiatus with the exception of a special one-shot issue earlier this year. At this point it is uncertain how the franchise will move forward without Toriyama, but if Daima was the last we ever see of Goku and his friends, it was a wild and entertaining ride.
Rafael Motamayor is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything anime and animation.
Buckle up because one of IGN’s biggest original shows returns this Saturday!
If you’re not familiar with Devs React to Speedruns, let me fill you in! Devs React to Speedruns is an IGN show that celebrates speedruns in the best way we know how—by showcasing the incredible playthroughs completed by the speedrun community and presenting them to the developers of those games. There’s nothing quite like watching developers who have spent years working on a game witness it being completed in mere minutes.
In the upcoming season of Devs React to Speedruns, we’ve partnered with some of the biggest games and developers in the world to bring you a series of exciting episodes. It all kicks off this Saturday, April 12, at 8:30 AM PT with Larian Studios, where we’ll show them a sub-20-minute speedrun of Baldur’s Gate 3. Will it sadden them to learn that their game can be finished in just 20 minutes? You’ll have to watch to find out!
Following Baldur’s Gate 3, we’ll be releasing a brand-new episode every Saturday for the next couple of months—all at 8:30 AM PT. These new episodes will feature some of the most popular games from world-renowned studios, including Team ASOBI, MachineGames, Bloober Team, Shared Memory, Surgent Studios, and Megagon Industries.
If you’re not already familiar with Devs React to Speedruns, I highly encourage you to check out our extensive 100-episode library! Some highlights include Doom Eternal, Half-Life 2, The Outer Worlds (the very first episode of Devs React), and much, much more!
Sometimes, even the best gaming chairs don’t offer sufficient room, support, or comfort if you’re bigger or taller. That means you need to find chairs designed with your size in mind, like the Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen XL. It’s a premium choice ready for gamers up to 6' 9" and 395lbs. Whether you’re on a budget, want an extra wide seat, or like the breathability of a mesh option, we’ve found great "oversized" gaming chairs for you to try out.
A great seat is one of the best gaming accessories you can invest in, but the wealth of available gaming chairs is overwhelming, and many aren’t suited for larger-than-average gamers. You want to seek out wider seats, taller backs, higher load capacities, and solid ergonomics that ensure your ultimate comfort so you can focus on what matters: the game.
To help in the search, I’ve thoroughly tested and researched a range of seats that won’t come up short (literally!) no matter how long you’re gaming. Take a look at our favorite bigger chair options – and also see which XL gaming chairs are available now in the UK.
Additional contributions by Danielle Abraham
The Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen XL is the best gaming chair for big and tall gamers. It's designed to offer next-level comfort and support, even if you find yourself on the tall side or tipping the scales beyond what the normal Evo Nanogen can handle. It features Secretlab's new fabric and seat cushion and brings through all of the fan-favorite features of the standard Titan Evo. In a word, it's great.
I reviewed most of the mainline gaming chairs that Secretlab has released over the last five years, and the Titan Evo Nanogen XL is easily the best among them. It features a new ultra-soft yet somehow more durable fabric that reminds me of Brisa, a so-called ultra-fabric used on high-end, uber-expensive furniture. This alone would have made a substantial upgrade. Sitting in it, the new material feels much nicer against the skin, and its improved softness and breathability is noticeable in a single gaming session.
Secretlab didn't stop there, however. One of the biggest and most pervasive criticisms the company has gotten is that its cold-cure fabric, while durable over years of heavy use, is very firm out of the box. The Nanogen XL now features a dual-cushioned seat with a softer top layer on top of the traditional long-lasting cold-cure foam. This, alongside the fabric, makes it more comfortable and feel significantly closer to some of the luxury chairs costing hundreds of dollars more.
I reviewed the standard size, but the XL version is bigger and more robust than ever before. It's able to hold a maximum weight of 395lbs and supports gamers up to 6'9". It's also compatible with Secretlab's range of accessories, including its recliner add-on that turns the chair into a feet-up, head-back demonstration of PC gaming luxury.
The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL, which my colleague reviewed, is a spacious racing-style chair with all the quality-of-life features you could want without spending a ton of money. It offers solid lumbar support and adjustability so you can focus on your game instead of fiddling with your chair. Even though it's affordable, it's still very comfy.
The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL learns a lot of lessons from other successful chairs on the market. It offers quality lumbar support that's adjustable using easy-to-control knobs. You can shift the back contour to make sure it matches your actual needs. It also includes 4D armrests, so you can count on support whether you're hammering away on a keyboard or kicking back with a controller.
If you're in need of a quick cat nap, the Kaiser XL offers a deep recline using a familiar car-based lever on the side. There's no footrest, so you'll still need an ottoman (or printer) under your desk. Still, its wide seat makes gaming in different postures easier than ever.
Despite the low cost and handy extras, the Kaiser 3 XL is still a throne meant for larger-than-average gamers with its tall back, along with a sturdy aluminum base and steel frame to hold up to 395lbs. The wide, heavily cushioned seat wrapped in durable PVC leather doesn't have any of the metal bolsters seen in many racing chairs that often dig into the back of your thighs. It's available in nine color options to match your space’s aesthetic.
The Anthros chair doesn't look like a chair for big and tall gamers, but make no mistake – its unique approach to back support centered on the pelvis means that it's able to cater to gamers and computer users of all sizes. It's well made and super comfortable once you get used to its unique method of support. It looks a little alien, but in my review of the Anthros Chair, I found that after a couple days of use, it's hard to go back to a normal lumbar-based desk chair.
Anthros got its start in the wheelchair business. The company is composed of a small team of health experts in designing chairs that people would be sitting in perpetuity. It developed a unique breadth of experience and insight into chair design that actually meets the needs of the human body.
In a meeting, one of Anthros' representatives, a practicing physical therapist, revealed to me that they had trialed virtually all of the leading office chairs and found that just about all of them missed the mark on what is actually required to support positive posture and relieve back pain generated by a wide range of causes. By centering the design of the Anthros Chair on the actual mechanics of the human body and leveraging their deep understanding of its interconnected nature, the Anthros Chair was born.
What makes this chair special is that instead of focusing on lumbar support and thoracic support like the majority of other ergonomic chairs, it instead focuses on pelvic support right at the base of your sit bones. This positions your spine forward, naturally supporting the curvature of the spine.
At first, it does feel a little strange. But once it's properly set up for your body and you've become acclimated to sitting with proper posture, it can feel downright refreshing to return to the Anthros after a traditional ergonomic chair, and especially a gaming chair. It also features one of the best seats I've ever used. It's wide, thickly padded, and has internal cutouts to relieve tension on your sit bones, enhancing your comfort without even realizing that it's doing anything differently in the moment.
There's something magic about this chair, but don't get confused. You should still be trying to stand regularly throughout the day. Even Anthros will say that no chair is a magic bullet. However, this is one that really does approach seating differently, and though very expensive, it clearly succeeds in its goals for postural support and all-day comfort.
If you're tall tall, then you already know how difficult it can be to find a chair that's big enough to match your body. Whether that height comes from your legs or your back, the Razer Iskur XL is your best bet and will elevate your PC gaming setup with one of the most recognizable backrests out there.
In our review of the original Razer Iskur (the non-XL version), we found it to be exceptionally comfortable, and all of that holds true with the XL version. It's bigger, taller, wider, and able to hold significantly more than the standard Iskur, which means that a few extra inches won't hold you back from the comfort and support you desire. It's made for users up to 399lbs and up to 6'10", so no matter how big you are, it’s probably going to work well for you.
Razer has also earned significant acclaim for its unique backrest trimmed in a snakeskin-like pattern. The lumbar is pronounced, working on a tension system to ensure it always matches the position of your back. It's true that some users have found it to be too pronounced, but most people find that they adapt and very much come to like that added support after giving it enough time for their body to acclimate. Once you do, you'll find you can sit for extended gaming sessions completely pain-free.
While its aesthetics won't be for everyone, I find that it delivers where it counts. For any gamer on the tall side, it's definitely worth a closer look.
The Razer Fujin Pro has it all: style, substance, and comfort. With its mesh design, you can happily sink into this chair day or night. While it doesn’t necessarily look the usual part you’d expect from Razer – ditching the big branding and heavy gamer style – you'll still get your money's worth with breathable mesh that will serve you well in all seasons, a comfortable waterfall seat edge, adjustable lumbar support, and overall ergonomic comfort.
If you spend a lot of time at your desk, the investment is definitely worthwhile. It offers a wide range of ergonomic adjustments to ensure that it will properly support your body through long gaming sessions. It’s an outstanding gaming chair that offers plenty of luxury across its understated frame, providing the support you need whenever you’re sitting.
When I reviewed the Razer Fujin Pro, I described it as "Razer, all grown up" and it's true. Razer describes this as a chair for gamers that may want something that will fit just as easily into an office as their gaming space but don't want to sacrifice ergonomics along the way. We definitely think it achieved its goal, and in doing so delivered a competitor to legendary ergonomic chairs like the Herman-Miller Aeron. It will serve you well for years to come, thanks to its unique balance between a productivity and gaming chair.
In deciding which gaming chairs to include on this list, my first consideration is always which chairs I've personally tested and know are worth including from first-hand experience. I, and my colleagues, test a lot of gaming chairs, so drawing on that experience is critical to the process. I strive to recommend only chairs I've personally tested and when that's not possible, do extensive research to find real user feedback on any other compelling options that might exist. For the Best Big and Tall category, I'm looking for three key things: size, support, and durability. Any recommendation I make here is made to last, is known to be supportive, and is big enough to match a wide range of gamers.
Strength and weight capacity: One of the first and easiest things to make sure you’re getting is a sturdy chair. Check the max load capacity to ensure it’s strong enough to hold you up. It’s a good idea to get one that offers a bit of a buffer so the chair’s not always operating near its limit.
Seat width: Many racing chairs have bucket seats that have lightly padded metal bolsters at either side. If that seat is too narrow, the bolsters are going to dig into your thighs and hips. Checking to ensure that a chair’s listed width doesn’t include those bolsters is essential (which we looked out for on the chairs that made this list). Better still, you can find some big and tall gaming chairs that don’t have these bolsters, and that’s a good sign the chair maker knows who they’re building for.
Dimensions and adjustments (seat depth, height, backrest): Your vertical adjustments are going to play a big part in your overall comfort. You’re going to want to ensure the seat is deep enough to come close to the backs of your knees (without pressing into them), tall enough to let your lower legs drop straight to the floor while still touching it, and with a long enough backrest to support your spine. A short backrest may seem like a small problem at first, but if the lumbar and neck pillows, as well as the curves of the seatback, don’t line up with the curve of your spine and shoulder, it will impact your posture.
Ergonomics: If you want to ensure you’re going to get good ergonomics, you may want to also check that the height range from the floor to the top of the armrests overlaps with the height of your desk, as this keeps your arms level with your mouse and keyboard. (This is less of a concern if you’re playing with a controller, though.)
The seats themselves are one of the biggest differences between gaming chairs and office chairs. The ones designed specifically for gaming often come with a long back and a headrest to better support your back and shoulders than a short office chair. Extra lumbar and neck pillows on gaming chairs help keep you sitting straighter, while office chairs often offer more effective lumbar support and better seat adjustability.
Depending on your needs outside of PC gaming, you may also want to explore some XL bean bag chair options you can find within our top bean bag gaming chairs list. We also have our favorite selections of rocking gaming chairs in 2025 which may be interesting to try out as a segue from your couch to a somewhat casual gaming seat.
The biggest thing any gaming chair needs to do is provide you with the support your body needs to game in comfort for extended periods. Beyond that, gaming chairs often come with extra features and bolder designs than traditional office chairs. Their armrests are usually more adjustable to support gaming with a controllers as well as mouse and keyboard. Likewise, the backrests usually offer an extended recline range similar to what you might find in a car. Simply put, the best gaming chairs offer the versatility you need to play games in the position that’s most comfortable in the moment and look good doing it.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. If all you want is a chair that looks good on stream, then the added features of a premium chair aren’t as important. Paying a little more can get you important upgrades, like improved cushioning, greater adjustments, and better materials. With that in mind, gaming chairs are like anything else: There are diminishing returns the higher in price you go. If you care about comfort, it’s best not to cheap out, but you don’t need to lay out $500+ for a quality gaming chair.
Lumbar support varies from chair to chair, but it’s true that some gaming chairs put looks ahead of support. Many gaming chairs have completely flat backrests flanked by bolsters that hold you in a single position. These are what we call “bad gaming chairs.” Thankfully, it’s no longer true that all gaming chairs have poor back support. In fact, there are many that are quite good, like the Razer Iskur XL. When shopping for a gaming chair, be sure to look at the backrest from multiple angles if possible and read up on what lumbar features it actually offers.
Christopher Coke has been covering all things tech for IGN since 2019. He has reviewed more chairs than most people own in a lifetime from brands big and small, gaming to ergo, and more.
Image Credit: Annalee Tsujino is a multi disciplinary designer and illustrator. Check them out on Instagram @antsu_illustrations.
© Ubisoft
© ZeniMax Online Studios
© ZeniMax Online Studios
© Crystal Dynamics
Eventually, a movie will attempt to reboot or continue the story of Gremlins, the Joe Dante horror comedy that hit big in 1984 and had a less profitable but even funnier cult classic spring from its back in 1990. But the lower-stakes animated Gremlins series that’s been quietly streaming on Max makes the case that sometimes a weird Saturday morning-style spinoff is more rewarding than a splashy legacyquel attempting to recapture an old movie’s old magic.
To be fair, Gremlins: The Wild Batch is more ambitious than most movie-related cartoons from the original Gremlins era. (The same goes for its predecessor/first season, which went under the title Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.) Set in the 1920s, the show follows future curiosity-shop owner Sam Wing (Izaac Wang, recently seen in the affecting Didi) in the early days of his custody of the cuddly, apparently centuries-old Mogwai Gizmo. The first season was set in and around Sam’s native Shanghai, which was eventually, inevitably overrun by Gizmo’s accidental spawn: more mischievous Mogwai with a destructive drive to eat after midnight and transform into meaner, toothier gremlins. These antics adapt surprisingly well to a kid-targeted, TV-PG cartoon, where the violence is less explicit, but plenty of chattering beasts can still be squished into green goo, aided by 3D animation with its own cutely caricatured style. At times it’s almost like a Gremlins version of a DreamWorks fantasy cartoon.
The Wild Batch follows Sam, his reformed-thief pal Elle (Gabrielle Nevaeh Green), his adventure-minded grandfather (James Hong), and the ever-adorable Gizmo on an extended trip to the United States, where a ship full of gremlins fled at the end of the first season. This second season has been split in half, which seems unnecessary for a total of only 10 22-minute episodes. But the two batches of five (one dropped last fall, with the rest premiering on Max this week) do make sense as mini-seasons, moving from San Francisco to the fading American West for the final five.
While the first season started out building its characters before unleashing plenty of gremlins mayhem in its later episodes, The Wild Batch evidently feels comfortable enough to make the creatures almost secondary in some episodes. The main storyline involves Elle’s attempt to free her sort-of dead mother Margot (Yael Grobglas) from the clutches of Kung-Kung, the Water God. The whole season entwines Chinese mythology with American iconography, and the final five episodes go especially heavy on this technique, with a ghostly cowboy (Keith David) serving as a prominent supporting character. At times, these elaborations threaten to overwhelm the simple urban-legend appeal of the original movies. It’s almost as if the show’s creators had a whole other idea for an animated fantasy-adventure series and have been forced to figure out what available franchise could possibly accommodate it.
On the other hand, Gremlins is as rich and relatively untapped a world as any, and who can resist Timothy Olyphant voicing the ghost of Johnny Appleseed running a casino populated by spirits and trickster animals? Even as The Wild Batch goes lighter on the anarchic Looney Tunes energy that powered Gremlins 2: The New Batch, it maintains a certain try-anything spirit that feels compatible with that movie. (There’s even a direct homage to a pair of prominent, desert-appropriate Warner Bros. cartoon characters.) The only non-Gizmo Mogwai to carry over from last season is also a New Batch homage: a talking gremlin nicknamed Noggin (George Takei) cleary meant to evoke Tony Randall’s “brain” gremlin from that movie. While some killer instinct remains, Noggin also does a stint as a benevolent crime boss and a psychological counselor for Gizmo, who feels stirrings of his wilder side in these episodes.
That subplot gets a little repetitive, but The Wild Batch makes enough weird detours – gremlins at Alcatraz! A haunted house connected to the ancestors of Gremlins 2 villain Daniel Clamp! Magical travel portals! – that it doesn’t matter too much when the season’s second half takes its time in unleashing the inevitable mayhem. So many spin-offs go heavy on the lore out of some misguided sense of fandom obligation. Gremlins: The Wild Batch does it with true-believer conviction.
The grand opening of Universal Orlando Resort’s newest theme park, Universal Epic Universe, is on the horizon, and IGN got the exciting chance to experience the entire park in the lead-up. I spent a whole nine hours exploring Epic Universe’s five worlds and rode just about every ride–here are my first impressions of the park and some of the coolest things I experienced.
Before I dive into the coolest things, here’s some background information on Epic Universe. The park consists of five uniquely themed worlds: Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Dark Universe (a gothic world of Universal Monsters featuring Darkmoor Village and the Frankenstein Manor), and Super Nintendo World, which also includes Donkey Kong Country.
It’s a clever premise. From the loosely space-themed Celestial Park, the “heart” of the park, you’ll find four portals to the other worlds (and the on-site Helios Grand Hotel). Though lacking the hyper-immersive theming of the other worlds, the original Celestial Park has dazzling bright fountains, statues, and well-manicured gardens, making it nice enough to stroll through between portals, and it’s smartly laid out to make it easy to get to wherever you’re trying to go.
I loved the portal idea and it’s executed superbly. Walking through each of the portals for it to open up into a completely immersive new world was incredible, each world unique and spectacular on its own.
It’s a dense park with tons to see and interact with, not even counting the rides. Though I spent nine hours there and skipped every line while on the media tour, I feel like I barely scratched the surface of everything that Epic Universe has to offer. This is with only a one-hour lunch break and around 45 minutes of “free” time. I didn’t even get to play with the interactive spots that utilize the Harry Potter wands in the Ministry of Magic or the power bands in Super Nintendo World (both, admittedly, at an extra cost.) I also didn’t get to meet Toothless, which I was pretty sad about. That’ll be a next-trip goal.
Now that you’re primed on what Epic Universe is, here are my favorite things I noticed or experienced that sparked a unique sort of joy, in a completely arbituary order.
Sure, a little cliche to include the park's “signature” coaster, but it really was so memorable. I grew up in Florida, so I’ve been on a lot of coasters at all the parks in the sunshine state (bar the more recently launched Jurassic World VelociCoaster, unfortunately), and I can say this is easily the most intense roller coaster I’ve ever ridden–and my media group member’s agreed it was more intense than the VelociCoaster, too. I don’t want to “spoil” the experience for anyone, so I’ll just tell you this: it starts with the intensity of a shooting star and maintains it with barely a single moment of reprieve but with a variety of movements that kept me surprised. Add on the dueling coaster aspect, where the other coaster train is right there, and you have a star of a ride, even if the lead-up to it in the line is a tad under-themed compared to the elaborate set-ups many of the other rides at the park have.
Okay, I love dragons, so the Isle of Berk was absolutely my jam. There are moving dragons, big and small (and sheep!), all around the How to Train Your Dragon-themed world, and I love them all too much to pick just one. If you’re lucky, you’ll see an impressive little robot of Dart, one of Toothless’ and Light Fury’s children, being escorted around the park, too. There’s also a special meet and greet with Toothless and Hiccup you can wait in line for, and occasionally you’ll see Astrid and her dragon Stormfly (who is a person in a suit, not a robot, but still cool!)
My tour ended just thirty minutes before the park closed, and with my free time, I backtracked to Donkey Kong Country to cop one of the fancy floats I saw at The Bubbly Barrel, a snack stand next to the Minecart Madness ride entrance. The line was long, but it moved fairly quickly and was worth the wait. The DK Crush Float includes pineapple soda with banana and pineapple Dole Whip, topped with toffee and chocolate caramel corn, surrounded by a fresh waffle cone. (Quick note, I’ve never seen Banana Dole Whip?) I opted to get it served in this souvenir DK Barrel Cup, which should probably be used to hold plastic cups like in this instance rather than be used straight up. The tasty concoction hit the spot and left me $19 poorer, but the souvenir mug is cool enough to justify it for me. I enjoyed my treat sitting beside the Mine-Cart Madness ride with the DK theme playing in the background as the sun began to set–not a bad way to end a long day!
The Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry of Magic ride has a line that took about 1,300 steps to get through–which is about a half-mile–but the entire thing is decked out to the nines to look exactly like the to-scale inside of the British Ministry of Magic. I have a whole separate article about how the Battle at the Ministry of Magic's line is half a mile long, going over the “magic” of this place, but be prepared to be impressed and, hopefully, entertained enough as you wait for this attraction.
Okay, I’m sure not everyone will be absolutely stunned by the styling of the interior of a restaurant, but I’m a nerd who appreciates William Morris and loved the American craftsman (or “arts and crafts”) vibe of the Oak & Star Tavern in Celestial Park. It even had custom Cocoa-Cola Freestyles to match the crafty, woodland-inspired theming. The whole restaurant had me wanting to live there, which is insane, but you like what you like, right? I wish I had been able to visit any of the other restaurants because, by the look of this one, I assume they must be well put together at the least. May I also add, that the BBQ at the Oak & Star was incredible–I highly recommend the brisket and the mac and cheese.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic world is mostly set in the 1920s “wizarding Paris” from the Fantastic Beasts films, and it does a great job at tricking you into thinking you really are in a city where there are plenty of cafes to try and window shopping to indulge in. One of these windows included piles of ornate locks, and inside was a moving Bowtruckle. This cute little guy made adorable sounds as it worked at picking a lock, something Bowtruckles are adept at. It’s discovering tiny, missable details like this that greatly enhance immersiveness and little moments of joy.
It’s called Super Nintendo World, but this world is clearly Super Mario World that leads to Donkey Kong Country. Stepping through the initial green warp-pipe portal leads you to the parlor of Princess Peach’s Castle, and just outside, the bright colors and many moving parts of the Mushroom Kingdom greet you, complete with Question Blocks, Piranha Plants, Goomba, and even Bowser’s Castle. Turn a corner down the stairs, and you’ll see the clear entrance to Donkey Kong Country–but to the left are a few red Pikmin on the wall! What are you doing here, little guys? What a delightful little discovery.
The Yoshi’s Adventure ride in Super Nintendo World is definitely a slow-moving “kiddie ride,” but it’s highly produced, plays nostalgic music from familiar games throughout, and tasks you with finding three colored eggs during the ride by pressing their corresponding buttons when you see them. At the end, if you found them all, Captain Toad enthusiastically thanks you for the help. Well, since this is the end of the ride, we were a little backed up, and hearing him say this repeatedly in the silly Toad voice had me and my ride partner (The Nerdist’s lovely Rotem Rusak), cracking up.
I admit this is a little silly to include on a “coolest” list, but something about the moment the lush scent of gardenias hit me while I took in the views around the statue of Luna, the Goddess of the Moon, stuck with me. I grew up with the fragrant white flowers in my small yard, so it’s a nostalgic scent for me. When I commented on them, our tour guide said Celestial Park is designed to put the “park” back in “theme park,” and this little moment that encouraged me to stop and smell the “roses” definitely backed that sentiment up.
Dark Universe is a spooky, gothic town with a foreboding castle as its centerpiece and monstrous denizens that inhabit it. I only got to very briefly see two of these characters–The Invisible Man, who menacingly said something along the lines of, “I remember what we talked about,” to our tour guide before stomping away, and a violin-playing vampiress. The vampire stood on a short balcony, telling us we’re only alive because they allow us to be, before aggressively playing her violin and walking away. These characters seem like they’d be so fun to interact with, and I heard there are many, many more to find around the park.
Everything in Epic Universe is themed, some more heavily than others, but you can bet that even the bathrooms match wherever they’re placed. No boring, bland, beige bathrooms here (at least of what I saw!) Though not the fanciest, my favorite was probably the Super Nintendo World bathroom that not only had this cute underwater theme but played the Underwater Theme from Super Mario Bros., too.
Okay, look, hear me out. Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment was an incredible ride with huge production value and the coolest effects. To board the ride, you sit down on seats that are moving on a conveyor belt of sorts. As I approached, I noticed the seats were wet, so I asked the cast member why. He said with a mischievous smile, “Don’t worry about it,” then followed up with, “don’t you know this goes underwater?” Okay, cheeky, I didn’t worry about it. But I was still surprised that the reason those seats were wet was because when the Wolf Man ferociously snarls at you during the ride, his drool slings all over you. Gross. But also, cool.
Universal Epic Universe will officially open on May 22 in Orlando, Florida. What are you most looking forward to experiencing at this immersive, ambitious theme park? Let us know in the comments below.
Casey DeFreitas is a deputy editor of guides at IGN and is the team's resident Floridian. Catch her on social media @ShinyCaseyD
Black Beacon is the newest title from publisher Glohow that recently launched on mobile devices. It’s a mythic sci-fi action RPG with a story that sees you travel through time and visit different eras of history to try to prevent catastrophe.
In this world, there are mysterious substances known as beacons that seemingly defy logic — they change size, shape, and texture depending on who’s observing them and how they’re observed. What stays consistent is their abyssal black color (which gives the game its name) and the fact that anomalies accompany them wherever they’re found.
Throughout human history, the phenomena these beacons created have been considered miracles or revelations, causing them to be worshipped as sacred objects. Ancient humans embedded them in obelisks, sealed them under temples, or cast them into stained glass frames.
That’s the background lore, but the story of Black Beacon picks up with you playing the Seer. You’ve been entrusted with the key to the Library of Babel, which is essentially an endless labyrinth that contains all possible permutations of the past, present, and future. You get a vision of a disastrous future, setting you on your time-traveling path to prevent it.
To accomplish that, you’ll need to gather a team of heroes. That starts with Zero and Ereshan, who will join up with you at the beginning of the story. Zero is a mysterious guardian of the Library of Babel who shows little emotion and doesn’t seem to care about worldly events. Ereshan is the granddaughter of the former director of the Library of Babel who was stripped of her inheritance when Zero showed up, leading to loathing that has since cooled.
You’ll have the opportunity to add plenty of other characters to your crew, from the affable Nanna to the intimidating Shamash to the elegant Viola. There’s more than 10 characters available at launch, with more to be added in the future.
You’re able to take three characters into each combat encounter; you only control one at a time, but can switch between them on the fly. Each character’s abilities are on individual cooldowns, so you need to swap them in and out quickly and efficiently to chain their attacks and abilities together in fluid combat.
The main story progresses in chapters that are further broken down into several stages, some of which are purely cutscenes while others are combat stages. Both advance the story forward and include full voice acting.
As you complete stages, you’ll earn rewards that can be used to improve characters or their weapons. Skill books are used to level up characters, and they each have unique abilities you can also level up. Once characters reach a certain level threshold, you’ll need certain items to let them “breakthrough” that threshold and continue gaining levels.
Weapons have a similar system. Each weapon starts with an innate rarity measured in a star level, up to 5 stars. You can level up weapons to a certain threshold, then use items to “breakthrough” that threshold and both power up the weapon and increase its star rating.
You can earn more of the items necessary for character and weapon progression outside of the main story in the Resources mode, which you can select from the main menu. You can choose to focus on items to level up, increase skills, or break through thresholds. Whichever version you choose, you’ll get new combat encounters that provide rewards for completion as well as goals specific to that stage, like completing it within a certain amount of time.
There’s also an EX mode, which basically acts as a tutorial to teach you how to use particular characters and a practice space to get better with them. And if you want to take a break and just hang out with some of the characters in your squad, you can do that too.
Black Beacon is available now for free through the App Store on iOS, Google Play on Android, and through Google Play Games if you prefer to play on a PC client. For more info, you can check out the game’s official website or follow along with the community on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, or Discord.
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 PC players are flooding Reddit, the official EA forums, and now also IGN's tipline with complaints that the game's various online modes, especially Galactic Assault, have been rendered "completely unplayable" due to hackers.
All 40 player modes on Battlefront 2 are now completely unplayable after no-spawn hack updated to auto-load for every new match/lobby.
byu/kocknocker19 ingaming
According to post after post after post on Reddit and the EA official forums, the ongoing issue is being caused by a hack that prevents PC players in online 40-player modes (especially Galactic Assault, but more recently also Supremacy) from spawning in, rendering matches entirely unplayable. Co-op and other modes with smaller groups of players seem to be unaffected.
Complaints about hackers in Battlefront 2 are nothing new, of course, with posts about the specific hack in question going back months, even years. Many of the posts attribute the hacks to someone going by "Blix", who would frequently post in hacked matches taunting players and promising to "torment" Battlefront 2 players.
Annoying as these hacks were, though, historically it's been simple enough for players to leave any impacted lobby and find a new one, or wait until the hackers in question were offline to play. Now, that seems to no longer be the case. Players are claiming that the situation has worsened in recent weeks to the point where it's almost impossible to get a lobby without hackers having disabled the game. Some posts suggest that this may be due to an updated version of the hack - before, it seems to have required a hacker actively be online to join the game and ruin the lobby from within. Now, however, fans are claiming the hackers have effectively made the hack automatically load in every single match or lobby, at all hours of the day, meaning there simply no way to play either game mode.
What's worse, some players are reporting that the hacker(s) are posting cruel, bigoted, or inappropriate messages in the chat of affected lobbies, and are even impersonating an EA admin account. Others are pointing out that it's impossible to report the players doing this, as their names appear to be hidden from the scoreboard.
What's especially frustrating for Battlefront 2 PC fans is that this is hardly the first time they've struggled with hackers that completely disabled their ability to play. Back in 2022, a different hack circulated that made entire lobbies of characters unkillable, thus rendering games entirely pointless. Like the current hack, the issue persisted for months and worsened over time, until eventually players began reporting not being able to find a single unaffected match. EA did eventually fix the problem, but it took months on end of fan complaints to get it to that point.
The EA forums are currently overflowing with players complaining about the situation going back over the last week, but thus far there's been no response from EA. IGN has reached out to EA for comment on the situation. For now, pretty much the only recourse Battlefront 2 fans have is to play on console if it's an option for them, as console lobbies remain blissfully unimpacted.
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.
Xbox put out a new ad for its broader ecosystem, and the company enlisted directors David Fincher and Romain Chassaing to create it. It's about Xboxes, escaping the mundanity of a humdrum life, and also, rat people.
The Xbox "Wake Up" Brand Trailer sits at a one minute, 23 second run-time. In it, a rat-person wakes up in their bed and goes about their day; working out, commuting, clocking in and out at work. All the while, they see humans occasionally off to the side, using a device or screen.
As it turns out, those are all devices playing Xbox in some way. As the trailer notes, you can play Xbox on your console, or on other hardware, or whatever could wind up being an Xbox.
It's bizarre, but certainly memorable, and a bit more entertaining than the usual console ad. Though, that may not be surprising coming from this directorial duo. David Fincher has garnered acclaim for his work on the likes of Fight Club, Se7en, Gone Girl, and The Social Network. French director Romain Chassaing has also put together some interesting visuals in music videos for "I Own You" by Wax Tailors and "Fade Away" by Vitalic.
The reactions so far? Well, they're surprisingly on-board with the rat people.
"Yesss more weird ads please," one YouTube comment said. "This gave me 2000’s vibes."
Many cite the older, stranger ads of past consoles. Honestly, I'm right there with them. Console and platform ads can use a little bit of the bizarre to spice things up. Even if you're just promoting the cloud streaming capabilities or the general ecosystem, at least it's going to stick in your mind a bit more than the usual stuff.
Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.
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