YouTube’s Arnauddd Videau has made a fan cinematic for Dino Crisis using Unreal Engine 5. Given that this is created by a single person, it looks pretty cool. And since it’s Sunday, I thought it’d be fun to share it with you. So, go ahead and take a look at it. In this cinematic video, … Continue reading Dino Crisis Got a Cool Fan-Made Cinematic Unreal Engine 5 Video→
Unreal Engine is probably the most well-known video game tool set in the world. Its fifth iteration is the system that forms the foundation of Fortnite and dozens of other games, including Black Myth: Wukong, the Oblivion remaster, and the upcoming Witcher 4. But did you know that Unreal Engine is used for more than just making video games? The technology, developed by Epic Games, has also been used to create theme park rides, television shows, and movies – and is fast becoming a regular tool for the entertainment industry.
Taking centre stage in Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars-themed section of Disney’s parks in Florida and California, is the Millennium Falcon. Head inside and you can ride Smuggler’s Run, a simulator experience that lets you pilot the iconic ship. It is genuinely impressive – you and your six-person crew have direct (if limited) control over the Falcon’s movements and weapons, and so as you alter the pitch and yaw of the ship, not only does the entire cockpit physically lurch around, your inputs are reflected in the flight path and enemy encounters. All this means that the world beyond the cockpit’s windows isn’t just a simple video. It’s dynamic and interactive. Simply put, the team at Walt Disney Imagineering have created a video game. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s built in Unreal Engine.
During a recent presentation as part of Unreal Fest Orlando, Disney Imagineering’s Executive VP of Creative & Interactive Experiences, Asa Kalama, explained that Smuggler’s Run is based on a “custom fork of Unreal Engine version four that supports a number of special effects that we and our partners at Industrial Light & Magic felt were really important to deliver something that feels cinematic. It feels like you’re in the movie.”
“[We did] a lot of work to develop custom shaders and custom full screen space effects like bloom,” Kalama explains. “Motion blur was something that we actually had a lot of interesting philosophical conversations around, because in real life there's no motion blur, but a key quality of making something feel like Star Wars and feel really cinematic is the ability to have that effect on. So after a lot of testing and a lot of evaluation, we actually determined that that was something that made it feel more real, even though in fact it was actually slightly less real.”
Many of Unreal’s built-in effects were not usable by Disney’s team, as Smuggler’s Run’s five interlinked projectors needed to use a cube map rendering technique, which was incompatible with many typical Unreal features. But the resulting custom branch of Unreal Engine 4, complete with assets taken directly from Industrial Light & Magic’s library, means the ride’s digital effects both work as intended and feel authentic.
The current mission used by Smuggler’s Run opened in 2019, but a brand new one is currently in development, which is planned to launch alongside the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in May 2026. While not linked to the events of the new movie, Mando and his little friend will still feature as part of the mission, which sees crews hunt down a high-stakes bounty.
“We're upgrading our show game computer, so latest generation CPU graphics cards,” Kalama reveals. “And then we're also moving from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5, and we're really excited about all the additional visual fidelity that that's ultimately going to unlock for us.”
The mission will also feature branching pathways, allowing crews to explore either Cloud City, Corouscant, or the wreckage of the Death Star depending on the flight path they choose. “And then, even within each of the level environments themselves, we've worked with our partners at ILM to develop levels that have considerably more branching,” Kalama adds. “So that even if you return to the same destination, there's a new route or new secrets to uncover.”
It seems like the idea is to further blur the line between theme park ride and video game, which in turn will enhance the immersive effect of actually commanding the Millennium Falcon. Of course, Smuggler’s Run is far from the first Star Wars project to use Unreal Engine in an unconventional way. The system has been used to create the digital backdrops used in TV shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. The Third Floor, a visual effects company based in LA, has worked alongside Industrial Light & Magic to create those Star Wars shows.
“We started experimenting with game engines with various options in the 2010s,” recalls The Third Floor’s Chief Creative Officer, Joshua Wassung. “And really, just as Unreal matured in the mid 2010s, we started getting really excited about moving into that platform and really dove all in for The Mandalorian in 2019. [That’s] when we made the big shift."
It was the flexibility of the engine that allowed us to really push that particular "moving concept art" look that we were going for.
Star Wars may be in a galaxy far, far away, but The Third Floor recently took Unreal Engine to a whole new frontier – the world of The Predator. The new movie from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, Predator: Killer of Killers, was entirely animated using Unreal Engine 5.
“Unreal is a system that lets you do so many different things,” Wassung enthuses. “It lets you pursue your own art. So our particular approach was that we really wanted to lean into moving concept art. We wanted everything to be hand painted.” Unreal Engine was used to ingest hundreds of paintings, which were then used by a real-time compositing system to blend multiple layers together. “It was the flexibility of the engine that allowed us to really push that particular look that we were going for,” says Wassung.
One of the most impressive sequences in Predator: Killer of Killers replicates the “one-shot” style of filmmaking. In it we see a Viking woman, Ursa, fight against an array of enemies in one continuous, unbroken shot. This style is among the most complex approaches to create in live-action filmmaking, demanding extensive rehearsal, strict timing, and pin-point precision. It’s a different story when animating in Unreal, where there’s no chance of an actor flubbing their line or missing their mark. But that’s not to say there aren’t any challenges.
“There's so many parts,” says Wassung. “I think we had 98 characters all fighting in that scene. And so we have maybe just a handful of animators. So juggling how to choreograph them is incredibly complex. But then you also have to animate the camera in a way that feels like you're really there. It's just so much thought goes into it, and it took months, but we love the result.”
But while creating a “one-shot”, or indeed any shot, in Unreal is far from a walk in the park, there are many tools available in the engine that help ease production woes. Ambitious projects can be made relatively quickly, which in turn can reduce budgets.
“Unreal does let you work in parallel, so that you have teams working a bit more simultaneously, which does speed up the production, and time is money,” Wassung says.
“But the other thing is the real-time feedback,” he notes. “Typically, shots in an animated feature might take an artist say one, two, even three weeks for one shot. Our quota, once the team got going, was four to five hours per shot per artist for First Pass, which is just insanely quick. So it's really the time, the fact that you can go faster allows you to save costs overall.”
This cost saving element is unlocking new filmmaking possibilities. Rebellion Developments, the owner of Judge Dredd and the wider 2000 AD comics universe, is currently developing a new Rogue Trooper movie. Set on the violent battlefields of the far future, this comic adaptation would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce if made using more traditional filmmaking techniques. But Rogue Trooper is not a live-action movie, nor a classically-developed CGI film. Instead, it is being made in Unreal Engine 5.
One of the key points was to make it very much not look like a video game.
“We're significantly cheaper,” Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley told IGN in an interview last year. “We've done it on an indie budget. We've by necessity had to manage the cash flow because it's us making this. It's not a big studio doing it.”
Kingsley goes on to note that such savings “perhaps takes some of the shackles of limited budget off people who want to make something indie and creative. I hope it does. I hope it's the beginning of something really exciting.”
While Rebellion is the custodian of 2000 AD, the company is best known for developing video games, such as the Sniper Elite series. And so comes the big question: without the Hollywood-grade tools used by the likes of Industrial Light & Magic and Wētā FX, will Rogue Trooper just be a feature-length video game cutscene?
“One of the key points was to make it very much not look like a video game,” Kingsley emphasises. “So we have professional movie makers working on this. We have cinematographers, we have movie lighting experts, we've got all the people with the qualifications to make the best possible movies.”
Among those people with qualifications is Duncan Jones, director of Moon, Source Code, and the CGI effects-heavy Warcraft movie. With Jones at the helm and a small army of professional filmmakers backing him, Rebellion has all the people required to ensure Rogue Trooper doesn’t look like it’s running on an Xbox.
Rogue Trooper’s cast, which features Aneurin Barnard, Hayley Atwell, Sean Bean, and Matt Berry among many others, is being brought to life with the aid of MetaHuman rigs, a character creation and motion-capture technology built into Unreal Engine 5. The system was not used by The Third Floor for Predator: Killer of Killers, but Wassung still sees a lot of value in it.
“So many times you're making CG humans for whatever reason. They might be just doubles for a stunt, or they might be your lead character. You're kind of doing the same work over and over again, at least on a base level,” he explains. “And I think that MetaHuman is this enormous shortcut because a lot of that work is now already built into this tool. So I think that that allows a young filmmaker by themselves to jump right into a character that's already at this very high level.”
For Rebellion and its animation partners at Treehouse Digital, features like MetaHumans and the visual effects that Unreal Engine 5 is capable of have been key to bringing the strange world of Rogue Trooper to life. “What we're not trying to do is make it look exactly the same as it would if we were filming live action,” says Kingsley. “We are taking advantage of the digital space so we can do more with volumetric fogging, for example, than you could in real life.”
While Unreal Engine may still be predominantly known for its use in video game development, it’s clear that it has quietly spread its reach throughout many other sectors of the entertainment industries. The galaxy of Star Wars is practically united by Unreal, with shows, games, and theme park rides all making use of the engine. Elsewhere, we’re seeing the tech used in many filmmaking corners, from the pre-planning of the desert sequences in Dune: Part 2, to entire movies created in the engine, such as Predator: Killer of Killers and Rogue Trooper. One thing seems certain: that list will only keep on growing as new studios and new creatives begin to experiment with Epic Games’ versatile technology.
Last week, we shared the latest version of the RTX Remix Mod for the original Need for Speed: Underground. And today, we’re excited to share a new version of a similar mod for its sequel. Need for Speed: Underground 2 RTX Remix Mod v0.4 is now available for download and comes with numerous improvements. So, … Continue reading Need for Speed: Underground 2 RTX Remix Mod V0.4 Released→
Last week, NACON released the standalone sequel to RoboCop: Rogue City, Unfinished Business. The game is powered by Unreal Engine 5, and it supports DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Gen. As such, we’ve decided to benchmark it at 4K and 8K. So, let’s see how yet another UE5 game runs. For these benchmarks, I used an … Continue reading RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business | 4K, 8K & DLSS 4 Benchmarks→
The studio behind the popular multiplayer space ninja action game and its free-to-play fantasy follow-up treated in-person and remote fans to hours of announcements, including a fresh look at never-before-seen gameplay, new cosmetics, and some of the major updates still yet to come in 2025. It was yet another jam-packed showing for the Digital Extremes team as it careens toward the launch of more story expansions for Warframe and the eventual launch of Soulframe.
From Warframe’s new The Old Peace Narrative Chapter and the devil-frame Uriel to Soulframe’s fresh gameplay updates, we’ve gathered all of the highlights from today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream presentation for you to check out right here. Plus, whether you’re seeing everything for the first time or just looking for a refresher, we’ve also included information Digital Extremes shared with press during a TennoCon preview event IGN attended earlier this month.
Soulframe
Soulframe is still very much in development, but that didn’t stop Digital Extremes from providing attendees with a new gameplay deep dive. Just like TennoCon 2024, this year’s Soulframe presentation gives fans a live look at the team’s progress, highlighting all of the improvements, big and small.
Extensive customization options are one element Digital Extremes plans to carry from Warframe to Soulframe, with the team doubling down on that idea during TennoCon today. Additionally, while Soulframe Preludes, a private early access build that is open for all this weekend, has largely seen players focus on up-close, methodical combat with swords and shields, the team has been experimenting with other options, including sidearms. More love for fans of two-handed weapons is also something Digital Extremes says is “absolutely” in the works.
“You’ll see that, now, the game now supports casting playstyles and archery playstyles,” Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair said during the preview event. “So, there’s a lot of choice now in the game, not just that up-close, sweaty, parry stuff… and because you now have a sidearm, you can mix and match those if you want as well.”
The TennoCon 2025 Soulframe gameplay showcase kicked off with a conversation with quest-giver and customization NPC Verminia. After trailing her winged rat friend, fans were able to catch a glimpse an Envoy ability that allows players to transform into a blue butterfly, opening up a window to become closer with nature in the land of Alca while also sneaking up on unsuspecting enemies. As the demo continued, audiences were able to catch glimpse of the Neath'uns underground as well as a fight against a three-headed, corrupted foe known as The Waste Bear.
The player featured in today’s build can also be seen casting green magic at their enemies from a distance. The Soulframe team says the combat shown in the TennoCon demo is “more casual” than what’s been offered so far, as players will have the freedom to hurl energy at their foes by using a staff and potentially other tools, too.
“Over a year now of players going hands-on with Soulframe in our Preludes pre-alpha builds, we’ve learned so many lessons and built a lot of new features for us as a studio,” Soulframe Creative Director Geoff Crookes said in a statement. “After last TennoCon, we put a huge amount of effort into improving combat fluidity and continued that passionate work into exploring brand new features like player social hubs, asynchronous player messaging with World Trees, among so many other additions. Today, we shared what the latest additions to our next Preludes build would be and beyond. We promise to all existing and future players to keep trying new things outside our comfort zone and work with you to create something we’ve all been looking for.”
You can see how things are shaping up, along with a first look at combat against the Bromius Omen Beast and the Wazzard of Wastes, in the TennoCon 2025 Soulframe gameplay trailer below.
During a press Q&A session, Digital Extremes shared more about what players can expect to see come to Soulframe in the future. For those hoping to see some version of an extended open Preludes period, the team says it needs more time before committing to any plans, but it at least sounds like the idea isn’t off the table should development progress smoothly.
Warframe: The Old Peace
Following a week of teasers and excitement from the community, Digital Extremes has revealed that the next major Warframe narrative chapter is an Operator-focused story titled The Old Peace. Centered around a peaceful time in the past, this new chapter is expected to launch later this year.
Gameplay footage for The Old Peace reveals a remastered look for players’ Tenno Operators as they bounce between the present and the past. It's a lot to take in, with one lengthy segment revealing a mission that features a crucial bit of fan service: a playable version of Excalibur Prime. This specific Warframe, previously made available only to early Warframe adopters, won’t become available ever again, but The Old Peace will at least allow players to finally step into his shoes for a few cinematic, story-driven sequences.
Digital Extremes released a brief teaser for the content alongside its demo debut: “Think far back and remember the long-forgotten tale of Tau, a childhood Sentient friend named Adis, as well as the war-scarring conflict between the Orokin, their creations, and a coalition of Dax Anarch Warriors upon the Perita moon.”
The Old Peace will also feature a side story known as The Devil’s Triad. How exactly its contents fit into Warframe lore remains somewhat of a mystery, but we do know that it will introduce two new Protoframes into the mix. Despite fears that Digital Extremes would refrain from releasing more of these human-infused Warframe styles, fans can rest easy knowing that the story content features Protoframes for both Harrow and Wisp.
The Devil’s Triad will also serve as a welcome mat for Uriel, the next new Warframe. This Frame is said to be inspired by the devil, featuring glowing red highlights that cover his tar-like design. Details about Uriel’s abilities have yet to be revealed.
Alongside some of The Old Peace’s most notable additions comes the promise of a mysterious new faction and a Tauros Focus expansion, which comes with a new Operator ultimate ability. Digital Extremes is also maintaining its commitment to providing Warframe fans with a solid listening experience by publishing its new song, Lullaby of the Manifold, for free on YouTube. The track was featured in today’s The Old Peace gameplay demo and will become available on most music platforms starting July 21, 2025.
Digital Extremes Has More Warframe Content in the Works
The Old Peace is no doubt the biggest card Digital Extremes has up its sleeve for 2025, but there is so much more in store, too. The swift and sharp Valkyr will receive her Heirloom cosmetic bundle July 21, giving longtime fans of the clawed warrior a collection created in collaboration with community artist Pertti Bahaa. The Warframe team is also partnering with tabletop RPG developer Paizo to create Warframe x Starfinder: Operation Orias, which is set to arrive for tabletop fans this October.
Also set to arrive at an unspecified point this fall is what Digital Extremes is calling its “Untitled Fall Update.” It’s set to be one of the most substantial additions to Warframe ever, promising content that includes a ground-up rework for the nature-themed Oberon, a Lavos deluxe skin, and the 62nd Warframe.
This new content, along with a host of quality-of-life features, sounds promising, but the real reason to get excited is a new tutorial Quest called The Teacher. The mission will finally introduce a streamlined introduction to how Warframe’s Mod system works as Digital Extremes works to address criticisms regarding its game’s steep learning curve for new players.
More about the Untitled Fall Update will be revealed during the September Devstream. In the meantime, players can also look forward to a Warframe Android closed beta in the fall (sign up here), as well as Caliban Prime access. The latter was briefly featured during today’s The Old Peace gameplay showcase and is set to be released before the new Narrative Chapter launches.
As for a proper Nintendo Switch 2 Warframe port, Sinclair shared during the Q&A session that the Digital Extremes tech team is “so excited” to utilize the power of Nintendo’s sequel hybrid console, teasing potential upgrades like faster load times. There’s just one problem: they need dev kits.
“Our tech team is so excited to take advantage of the high-speed cores and the other really cool features of it,” Sinclair said. “There’s just such a backlog for dev kits. So, yeah, if you know anyone… just one, that’s all it would take. I know our programmers are just, like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait.’ We definitely have plans. When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.”
Warframe content for 2025 is locked in, with much of it shown off during all of the TennoCon 2025 festivities. For 2026, meanwhile, Digital Extremes is teasing a full-on Tau Narrative Chapter. Information on how it will pick up from where The Old Peace leaves off remains tightly under wraps for now, with no release date or window given, outside of the promise that it will launch next year.
10 Years of TennoCon in the Books
Soulframe looks like another ambitious online experience from Digital Extremes, but TennoCon would be nothing without the game that started it all. Warframe Creative Director Rebecca Ford touched on the journey so far when speaking about the 10-year TennoCon anniversary.
"10 years of TennoCon is such a mind-boggling thing to say out loud,” Ford said. “When we first started this celebration event back in 2016, we had no idea it would grow to what it is today. Our community is everything to us; we wouldn’t be here without them. To be able to continue TennoCon and bring together more players in person from around the world and treat them to the latest announcements, hijinks, and simply celebrate the world of Warframe is a privilege we don’t take for granted.”
She continued: “The 10th TennoCon has been a deeply special, unforgettable journey. We want to thank our community to Tau and back for joining us on this monumental milestone. See you all next year!”
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).
Digital Extremes says the "backlog" of dev kits is the reason players have yet to see an official Nintendo Switch 2 port for Warframe.
Studio CEO Steve Sinclair explained why the team behind the popular space ninja action game hasn’t created a port for Nintendo’s sequel hybrid console during a press Q&A IGN attended ahead of today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream. He said the Digital Extremes tech team is “so excited” to see what a Nintendo Switch 2 Warframe port would look like but can’t even begin development until they get their hands on the necessary hardware.
“Our tech team is so excited to take advantage of the high-speed cores and the other really cool features of it,” Sinclair said. “There’s just such a backlog for dev kits. So, yeah, if you know anyone… just one, that’s all it would take.”
Digital Extremes brought its 12-year-old multiplayer hit to Switch in 2018, allowing longtime players to enjoy all that Warframe has to offer, at home and on the go. It is available to play through Nintendo's new console but only through backward compatibility, with Nintendo including it on a list of Switch 2 titles that still suffer from start-up issues.
When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.
Digital Extremes said it’s still investigating the cause of these hangups, but it’s the enhancements that a Switch 2 version of Warframe could bring that have players truly excited. Sinclair teased faster load times as just one of the potential upgrades.
“I know our programmers are just, like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait.’ We definitely have plans. When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.”
The Switch 2 launched on June 5, 2025, introducing new features such as Joy-Con mouse functionality, improved graphics, and enhanced social tools. Although its launch lineup was able to lean on third-party support with titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Deltarune Chapter 1 – 4, Split Fiction, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, and Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, early adopters remain on the lookout for more games to fill out their libraries.
As players clamor for more games, other indie developers say they, too, are in need of dev kit access. Into the Restless Ruins creator Ant Workshop, Citizen Sleeper 2 developer Fellow Traveller Games, Unreal Engine support studio Tanglewood Games, and more spoke about dev kit scarcity with GamesIndustry.biz last month. Insider Nate the Hate also reported that many developers across the indie and third-party spaces have been unable to start work on Switch 2 games due to a lack of dev kit access (via TheGamer). It's currently unclear which publishers currently have access to Switch 2 dev kits or when they will become more available.
For now, there’s no word on when Digital Extremes or many of the other dozens of developers without dev kits will receive the tools they need to bring their games to Switch 2. As more titles slowly trickle in, you can read our 7/10 Nintendo Switch 2 launch review. You can also check out everything revealed during today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream here.
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).
We've rounded up the best deals for Saturday, July 19, below, so don't miss out on these limited-time offers.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for $47.99
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition launched earlier this year, and it's still one of the biggest RPGs you can jump into on any platform. The remaster introduced numerous quality-of-life updates that were much needed, in addition to a brand-new epilogue chapter. We gave the game a 9/10 in our review, stating, "Xenoblade Chronicles X was already one of the Wii U’s best games, and this Definitive Edition does more than enough to justify another trip to planet Mira."
Donkey Kong Switch Games Are on Sale at Woot
With Donkey Kong Bananza out now, there has never been a better time to jump in and experience the Nintendo Switch library of Donkey Kong games. Woot has each of these games on sale this weekend, with the absolutely stellar Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD included.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake for $34.99
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was one of the most enjoyable RPGs of 2024, featuring a gorgeous remade HD-2D world and voice acting. If you haven't had the chance to check this one out yet, Amazon has Nintendo Switch copies available for only $34.99. In my opinion, the Switch has to be the definitive way to experience this classic, and now is the perfect time to catch up before Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake this Fall.
Request A Nintendo Switch 2 Invitation on Amazon
Amazon has at last listed the Nintendo Switch 2, and you can request an invite to purchase the console now. Once you are selected, you will receive an email that will allow you to add the system to your cart and purchase it. There is no telling when these invites will run out, so I recommend requesting one, even if you might purchase the Switch 2 elsewhere.
Bose Ultra Open-Ear Wireless Earbuds for $199
Best Buy has the Bose Ultra Open Ear Wireless Earbuds for $199 this weekend. Despite their open design, these earbuds allow for private listening that still keeps important outside noises included. These earbuds feature up to seven hours of play time, with an extra 19.5 hours of power packed into the charging case. Plus, you can control and personalize your earbuds through the Bose app.
Save on Super Mario Party Jamboree Just in Time for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
With the rcent reveal of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, it's no question that you are going to want to save anywhere you can. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Party Jamboree is set to cost $79.99, but you can upgrade from a Nintendo Switch copy for $20. This weekend, save your cash and pick up a copy of Super Mario Party Jamboree from Woot for only $44.99. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is set to launch next week, so now is the time to secure your copy while you can.
Elden Ring Nightreign Deluxe Edition for $46.19
Elden Ring Nightreign is a great time with friends, and you can save on the Deluxe Edition of the game this weekend at Amazon. This edition of the game includes additional DLC content, feautring additional playable characters and bosses, in addition to a digital artbook and mini soundtrack. Bandai Namco has continued to release new content for Nightreign, so this is a great time to jump in.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
Digital Extremes has released the pre-alpha version of its new free-to-play game, Soulframe: Preludes. This means that during TennoCon 2025, everyone can try out this early version of the action MMORPG and see what it’s like. So, if you’re interested, you should download it now. Soulframe: Preludes is an early test version of Soulframe, which … Continue reading You can now play Digital Extremes’ free-to-play action hybrid MMORPG, Soulframe: Preludes→
A new season full of anime is here to check out! An evil eye, an abyss of trash, and the return of kaijus are what you can expect this summer anime season. There's a new season full of anime to check out this Summer like the return of the highly anticipated Dan Da Dan, Keiichi Arawi’s CITY The Animation, and the ugly world of Gachiakuta. Across Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, Hulu, and Netflix, as well as others, there are a lot of places to enjoy anime at the moment.
Check out some anticipated series in the video above or the slideshow gallery below, followed by the full list of new Summer season 2025 anime and where to watch them in the U.S. and their respective streaming platforms. Anime listed are available now unless otherwise stated.
Dan Da Dan Season 2 (Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu)
Dan Da Dan finally returns this season after that wicked cliffhanger they left us on. Okarun and the gang have another supernatural event on their hands, but this time we see the newest addition, Jiji, shine in the first few episodes. Studio Science Saru is back for Season 2, so expect great character designs and more amazing action sequences. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the season unfolds as the crew’s little bubble seems to blow up. Dan Da Dan Season 2 is available now on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu.
My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 (Crunchyroll)
The beloved rom-com My Dress-Up Darling is back with Season 2! For those not familiar, the series follows Marin, a cosplayer who develops a close relationship with Wakana, who is very skilled at making clothes. Cloverworks returns to helm animation for Season 2, and they really stepped up their game this season. Although subtle at times, some sequences just appear to be on a different level, so props to the team. My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 is available now on Crunchyroll.
The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity (Netflix)
Another highly anticipated romance series this season is The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity. The series follows Rintaro, a seemingly delinquent student who meets Kaoruko, a student from an all-girls school, at the bakery where he works. The pair have a customer relationship at first, so we’ll get to see how their bond grows over the course of the season. Cloverworks is also the studio behind this romance series, so expect some quality work for its anime adaptation debut. The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity will premiere on Netflix on September 7.
Call of the Night Season 2 (HIDIVE)
Continuing on the great romance series train this summer, we have the return of Call of the Night with Season 2! The series follows Kou, a young boy who, due to his insomnia, meets a mysterious girl in the dead of night. Turns out this girl is a vampire, and meeting her changes Kou’s perspective on life. LIDENFILMS, the studio behind Tokyo Revengers and Kotaro Lives Alone, is back leading animation production for the second season. If the new opening sequence alongside the latest music banger from Creepy Nuts is any indication, this second season will have an interesting development with some fighting action. Call of the Night Season 2 is available now on HIDIVE.
Takopi's Original Sin (Crunchyroll)
One of the most talked about series this summer season is Takopi’s Original Sin. The series follows a squid-like alien on a quest to spread happiness across the universe. Eventually it’s rescued by a young girl, and so the alien, now named Takopii, hopes to understand more about the humans of this planet. Please note: This series deals with bullying and suicide and features disturbing images and behaviors. So please take the utmost care around this series. Takopi’s Original Sin is available now on Crunchyroll.
CITY The Animation (Amazon Prime)
On a lighter note, If you miss the likes of the Keiichi Arawi’s Nichijou, there’s a new series for you this summer. CITY The Animation follows a group of girls in their everyday lives, and is filled with some of the most ridiculous and hilarious situations you’ve seen in any anime. Kyoto Animation, the studio previously behind Nichijou, is also taking point on CITY The Animation so expect some very entertaining sequences as the season progresses. City The Animation is available now on Amazon Prime.
Leviathan (Netflix)
Are you interested in alternate timeline stories? If so, then the new Leviathan series may be a good fit for you! Set in 1914 and depicting the start of World War I, the series follows Sharp, a young girl disguised as a boy in hopes of joining the military, and a young prince who flees his country after his parents’ assassination. The kicker is that there are creatures that exist in this world that are used for military purposes, like a giant, floating jellyfish and weaponized bats – and these pop up among all the political drama. Studio Orange, known for Beastars and Trigun Stampede, is leading production for this series, so expect some amazing 3D animation. Leviathan is available now on Netlfix.
The Summer Hikaru Died (Netflix)
Speaking of Netflix anime, another talked about series this season is The Summer Hikaru Died. The series follows best friends Yoshiki and Hikaru, except this is not the same Hikaru that Yoshiki grew up with. It’s a mysterious creature that took the form of Hikaru and Yoshiki accepts it for now as part of his grief. CygamesPictures, the studio known for Apocalypse Hotel and Brave Bang Bravern!, is behind this anime adaptation. It’ll be interesting to see how Yoshiki keeps up this facade as the season progresses. The Summer Hikaru Died is available now on Netflix.
Gachiakuta (Crunchyroll)
One of the most anticipated shonen this summer season is here with Gachiakuta. The series follows Rudo, a young boy who lives in the slums surrounding a somewhat perfect society. He is mistakenly accused of murder and it leads to him being thrown into a gaping abyss where all the trash in this society is dumped. Bones Film, the studio behind the recent My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, will be heading animation for this series. Gachiakuta has all you need for action-packed shonen, so expect some flash action sequences as Rudo seeks revenge throughout the season. Gachiakuta is available now on Crunchyroll.
Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 (Crunchyroll)
Finally, the highly anticipated Kaiju No. 8 is back with Season 2! Last we saw Kafka and the Third Division, there was major destruction after the climatic battle. As rebuilding takes place, the crew is split up for what seems to be training opportunities. Production I.G. returns to helm animation production, so we’ll see more glorious Kaiju battle action as the season progresses. Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 is available now on Crunchyroll.
Those are some anticipated new and returning anime available to watch this summer 2025 season. If you want more anime, check out our list of the Biggest Anime Coming in 2025 and also our list of the spring 2025 anime in case you missed the last batch of new series.
All the New Anime Arriving in Summer 2025
Here’s the full list of anime coming out in Summer 2025 that will be available to watch in the US:
We are in the era of handhelds, and there's no denying that the Steam Deck led the way for handheld gaming PCs to prosper. But are modern iterations finally dethroning the first monarch? Lenovo most certainly threw down the gauntlet.
The Lenovo Legion Go S is now our favorite handheld gaming PC, and one huge feature it has in common with the Steam Deck is that it runs SteamOS. If you don’t know, the Legion Go S is currently the only third-party handheld gaming PC that officially supports SteamOS.
SteamOS is one of the major reasons why the Steam Deck is beloved, and why we loved the Legion Go S so much. But if you’re hunting for a handheld gaming PC with this way-better-than-windows OS, which do you get?
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Specs
We’ve established that the Legion Go S and Steam Deck both share SteamOS, but which can run it better?
As much as the Steam Deck is a fan favorite, it’s getting a bit old — it launched in 2022. That’s not too long ago, but it’s packing an AMD 4-core, 8-thread Zen 2 CPU and 8-core RDNA 2 GPU. Those launched in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The Lenovo Legion Go S sports the AMD Z1 Extreme chipset (launched in 2023), which includes a Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 GPU.
But does a few years really make that much of a difference? Well, yes. Matching the Steam Deck’s resolution at 1280 x 800, the Legion Go S managed to run one of the most terribly optimized games at 30 frames per second (aka Monster Hunter Wilds). Capcom’s latest entry in the Monster Hunter franchise is straight up unplayable on the Steam Deck, at an average of 19 fps. I’m actually surprised it ran at all – I’ve seen the game crash on a friend’s Steam Deck.
That’s not to say that you’re getting stuck with a terrible chipset if you decide to go with the Steam Deck. It can run plenty of AAA games on lower settings, even Cyberpunk 2077. It won’t be as good as the Legion Go S, but if you want the bare minimum, it works.
Outside of their chipsets, the Steam Deck is outfitted with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for the LCD model and a 512GB or 1TB SSD for the OLED variation. Meanwhile, the Legion Go S features 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. 16GB of RAM is solid, but 32GB definitely helps if you’re trying to run more taxing games.
The Steam Deck is still a solid piece of gaming tech, but if you put it in a room with the Legion Go S, you won’t find any Steam Decks in Ba Sing Se.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Battery Life
Battery life is a weird one to test and talk about with handheld gaming PCs because it so heavily varies depending on what you play. But when pitting the Legion Go S and Steam Deck against each other, there is a “simple” answer.
On the PCMark 10 Battery Test, the Legion Go S lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes while the Steam Deck survived 8 hours and 8 minutes. Now, I put “simple” in quotation marks because very few people, if anyone, is using handheld gaming PCs the way that PCMark 10 is testing them.
You might get a few hours out of each of them at a time, and what you play will impact how long it lasts. I got a solid couple hours out of the Legion Go S while playing The Messenger before I had to charge it.
But in theory, the Steam Deck should last a little longer. I doubt it’ll be 1 hour and 43 minutes longer, but longer nonetheless. Just don’t let this be what heavily impacts your buying decision.
Winner: Steam Deck
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Design and Comfort
There are significant design differences between the Legion Go S and the Steam Deck. Some may come down to preference, but I legitimately believe the Legion Go S is superior in this regard.
The Legion Go S isn’t perfect, but the overall button layout on its face resembles a traditional Xbox controller, which is relatively comfortable. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck buttons are all in… unique (wrong) places. All of the traditional buttons are squeezed together in the top corners of the device, and that’s to make room for the dual trackpads at the center. This may just be me, but you could not pay me to play games with those things.
Despite my gripes with the Steam Deck’s button layout, the Legion Go S is a chunky boy. So much so that I need to put more pressure into holding it up, and occasionally my hands will get tingly from the lack of blood flow. I’m not saying that’ll happen to you, but keep in mind that this thing weighs a solid 1.6 pounds. That may not seem like much, but when you’re holding it up for a few hours, you’ll notice it. The Steam Deck is a little lighter, at 1.4 pounds. Again, those numbers are deceiving — it will make a difference.
Unless you’re dying to use a trackpad, or you want the lightest SteamOS handheld gaming PC, then the Legion Go S offers the superior gaming experience.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Display
This is where things get a little tricky. The Legion Go S was set up to win this round instantly. It sports an 8-inch, 1920 x 1200, 120Hz display. Those are some solid specs for a handheld gaming PC, but there’s arguably one flaw: it’s an IPS panel.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with an IPS panel, but I was there when the Nintendo Switch OLED launched, and let me tell you, it completely changed how handheld gaming felt. I wasn’t carrying around a screen anymore, I was holding a window, a tear in time and space into my favorite worlds… that’s hyperbole, but it was really freakin’ pretty, okay?
Where Steam Deck shines is its OLED display. Obviously, I love OLED displays, so much so that I could forgive its lower specs, like its 7.4-inch display size, 1280 x 800 resolution, and 90Hz refresh rate.
But I got to say, I snuggled in bed with the Legion Go S one night, and I couldn’t help but be awestruck by the gorgeous background art of The Messenger as I suffered a series of terrible deaths at the hands of some OSHA-violating Wile E. Coyote traps.
So yes, technically OLED will look more bold due to its infinite contrast and self-emitting diodes, but the Legion Go S has so much going for it that I might give up the OLED, but I’ll weep for it.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Price
As you can see, the Lenovo Legion Go S is killing the Steam Deck, but if you haven’t already guessed, it’s going to kill your wallet, too.
The Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS and the Z1 Extreme chipset costs costs$829 at Best Buy. Meanwhile, the most expensive model of the Steam Deck (OLED, 1TB SSD) costs $649 on Steam. That’s nearly a $200 difference.
You can technically get the worse Legion Go S with Ryzen Z2 Go and 16GB of RAM for . If you go with the Steam Deck’s LCD model, you can save the most money, as it runs for $399, which is technically cheaper than a $599 at Best Buy ($450).
You can literally see which has the better price, but which offers the better value? It depends on what you want. Do you just want a handheld gaming PC with no frills? Then the LCD Steam Deck is the way to go. But if you have the disposable income, the Legion Go S is worth the extra $200. You can’t deny the performance gain or even the boost to display specs. Yeah, it’s not OLED, but 1080p/1200p is the standard for handheld gaming PCs in 2025.
Winner: Steam Deck for cheapest / Lenovo Legion Go S for value
The Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S
Handheld gaming PCs are improving every year, and the Lenovo Legion Go S seems like a natural evolution of the handhelds that came before, and a massive leap for the second handheld to use SteamOS.
From performance to design, the Legion Go S is the better handheld gaming PC. For its price and battery life, the Steam Deck still has a lot going for it, and especially so if you’re attached to OLED displays like I am. Unfortunately, I can’t get over the wonky button layout. If you’re a console gamer, the Legion Go S will feel like the smoothest transition.
However, with the Xbox Ally X launching at the end of the year, I am excited to see how Microsoft plans to outmatch SteamOS in design and performance. Windows is a significantly heavier operating system, so unless Microsoft strips it down to its barebones, it’ll lose out the performance gains from the Z2 Extreme.
But if you’re dead set on a SteamOS handheld gaming PC, then the Lenovo Legion Go S should be at the top of your letter to Santa.
Rami Tabari is a contributing writer at IGN with over 9 years of experience in the tech and gaming industry. You can find his bylines at Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide (and on a random Predator review at Space.com). When Rami isn't wading through a sea of the latest gaming tech, he's agonizing over the worldbuilding in his upcoming novella.
Connexion
