Archetype Entertainment has released some new screenshots from its upcoming Mass Effect-like sci-fi action adventure game, EXODUS. This is a game most Mass Effect fans should keep an eye on. So, if you are one of them, you should check out these new screenshots. EXODUS is the debut game from RPG creator James Ohlen’s new … Continue reading New EXODUS Screenshots Tease a Mass Effect-Style Sci-Fi Adventure from Ex-BioWare Devs→
Grey State Studio has just announced a new horror tactical free to play PvPvE shooter, called Rules of Engagement: The Grey State. To celebrate this announcement, the team shared a cinematic and gameplay trailer. In Rules of Engagement: The Grey State, you play as a Strider, an elite operative sent into the Grey State to … Continue reading Rules of Engagement: The Grey State is a new horror free to play PvPvE extraction shooter→
Looking for the best preorder deal on Magic: The Gathering current sets or preorders? Of course you are, why wouldn't you be? Avatar: The Last Airbender, Marvel's Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are either hitting playmats or are on the slate for later this year and next year. You can even bust out your Fallout chops in a game of MTG if you want, which for me is the real "magic" of the worlds biggest trading card game.
TL;DR: Deals for Today
Hulu + Live TV Deal
If you're looking to cut the cord with cable, then Hulu + Live TV is one of the best alternatives around right now. Hulu + Live TV is a complete streaming package that includes Hulu (with ads) plus over 95 channels of live TV service, Disney+ (with ads), and ESPN+ (with ads). It's normally $85 per month for the package, but for a limited time you can get your first 3 months of $64.99 with no hidden fees to worry about. That means you've got access to the massive Disney catalog that includes the Marvel movies and TV shows, Star Wars movies and TV shows, Pixar movies, and so much more.
TCGPlayer is really showing up big box retailers. The secondary market is saving trainers a fortune right now, and will continue doing so until the Pokémon Company floods the marketplace with sealed product, which will happen eventually. A good example here is the Surging Sparks ETB, which is currently $92.94 on Amazon. If you check over on TCGPlayer right now, you'll pay $74.95. That's nearly $20 over market value, and there's plenty more where that came from in the carosel above.
MTG: TMNT Preorders are Live
New game mode aside, MTGs latest Universes Beyond addition is another huge IP with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Play Boosters are available, so getting a box is a great idea before preorders sell out and it becomes harder to build a deck. The Commander Deck is ideal if you want a solid foundation for a game of Commander but want to modify it with single cards down the line. Of course, the TMNT bundle comes with a few goodies including 9 play boosters, foil alt art promo card, 30 land cards and some tidy accessories.
Pokémon Legends: L-A Preorders
It's nearly time trainers! Thursday see's the release of the most radiacally different mainline Pokémon game, Legends: Z-A. Set as a continuation of Pokémon X and Y and continuing the game mechanic changes seen in Legends: Arceus, Legends: Z-A is going full real-time combat over it's tried and tested turn-based battle style. It's going to be a landmark moment for the worlds most popular entertainment franchise, so make sure you have your preorder in.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3 Months)
Well, Xbox isn't in the good books of gamers worldwide right now, but you can dodge the Game Pass (eventual) price hike with 3 months of Ultimate for $59.99, which is $30 cheaper than the dramatic price hikes. If you're on Xbox, this is a good time to stack up on Game Pass.
Final Fantasy IX (Nintendo Switch)
We gave Final Fantasy IX a 9.2 back in 2000, so $40 for a JRPG classic isn't much to ask, right? Well if the re-release hasn't sold you on it's own, this version comes with high resolution cut scenes, and game modifiers including high speed and no encounter modes topped off with an Auto Save function. Also, character models are high resolution now too, so this physical edition of FFIX should wet you nostalgia appetite.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
To say that Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's 1981 memoir Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window was a success would be a huge understatement. Decades later, it remains the best-selling book in the country's history and has become a major hallmark of Japan's postwar cultural movement. Now, at long last, the sequel is coming to US shores.
Kodansha will release Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel on November 18, 2025. The book features an English translation by Yuki Tejima and recurring spot artwork.
To celebrate that release, Kodansha will hold a series of book-launch events in the month of October:
Book talk with Translator Yuki Tejima at the New York Public Library 53rd Street Branch
Date/Time: Saturday, November 22, 2025
Location: 18 West 53rd Street, New York
Admission: free
Book signing with Translator Yuki Tejima at Kinokuniya Bookstore
Date/Time: 6-8pm ET, Monday, November 24, 2025
Location: 1073 Avenue of the Americas, New York
Admission: free
Screening of Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window feature anime and panel discussion at the Japan Society
Featuring: Yuki Tejima, translator; Alexandra McCullough-Garcia, editor; Nathan Shockey, Associate Professor of Japanese at Bard College
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Time: Doors 6 p.m, Screening 7 p.m.
Location: 333 E 47th Street, New York
Admission: $16 general admission; $12 students/seniors/persons with disabilities; $8 members
Xbox president Sarah Bond has hosted a rare tour of Microsoft's gaming hardware development offices, including the briefest of looks at where the company's next-generation consoles are being built.
In a segment broadcast today on Good Morning America highlighting this week's launch of the Xbox Ally handheld, Bond took ABC News reporter Becky Worley around an area normally off-limits to all but a select few.
"This is Microsoft Building 87," Bond says, taking Worley into one of the company's most secretive areas — which, somewhat anticlimactically, is really just an area filled with a forest of desks and screens. The pair then examine a large 3D printer, used to create test versions of Xbox hardware products.
"This is where the team is actually designing, prototyping and testing for the next generation of Xbox," Bond continues. "It is top secret. So we very, very rarely take people in here."
At one point, Bond and Worley inexplicably sit down in a replica section of an airplane that's also included in the building, though there's no explanation given for what this space is used for. A place to test wireless signals within a mocked up cabin, or just a themed seating area? It's unclear.
Today's visit feels well timed, beyond being just a simple photo opp for the Xbox Ally handhelds. Earlier this month, after a bruising summer of layoffs, price rises and rumors around its future in the hardware business, Xbox issued a statement that attempted to clear the air by re-committing to its plans to build next-gen console hardware.
"We are actively investing in our future first-party consoles and devices designed, engineered and built by Xbox," Microsoft said in a statement to Windows Central. "For more details, the community can revisit our agreement announcement with AMD."
Exactly when Microsoft will launch its new console(s) remains unclear, with the expectation among fans being that the current Xbox Series X and S will remain the company's current offering for a couple of years yet.
As for the Xbox Ally X, IGN's freshly-published Asus ROG Xbox Ally X hardware review has dubbed the device as "the new handheld gaming PC to beat."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Remember that fake AI actress Tilly Norwood? The one that sparked a Hollywood backlash? Well, one actor is taking a stand against her, albeit a funny one: Ryan Reynolds. The Deadpool actor announced his company Mint Mobile’s first foray into providing Wifi, and he found a real-life actress named Tilly Norwood to help him out.
Tilly Norwood (the fake one) is a viral AI-generated creation pushed as the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman. It was created by Eline Van der Velden, the Dutch founder of AI company Particle 6 Productions. Van der Velden sparked a backlash after announcing new talent studio Xicoia, which Deadline reported was already in talks with a number of talent agents interested in signing Tilly Norwood.
In 20 seconds I fought monsters, fled explosions, sold you a car, and nearly won an Oscar.
The Hollywood community was quick to condemn Tilly Norwood and its creators, as well as warn producers against dealing with it. Scream’s Melissa Barrera wrote: "Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$. How gross, read the room.” Matilda’s Mara Wilson said: "Shame on these people. They have stolen the faces of hundreds of young women to make this AI ‘actress.’ They’re not creators. They’re identity thieves."
The Fantastic Four’s Ralph Ineson, who played Galactus in the MCU movie, was more direct, posting “F*** off” on X / Twitter.
Now, in his new advertisement, Reynolds introduces MINTernet, a low-cost option for home internet via the Mint Mobile network, which is powered by T-Mobile. Next to him stood Natalie “Tilly” Norwood.
“Everything about Mint Mobile seems unreal. And now, we’re introducing 5G home internet for $30 a month. Yes, that’s real,” Reynolds said in the ad. “That’s why we invited Tilly Norwood, a real Mint customer, to help us announce it.”
Reynolds then asked the actress, “You are real, right?” After she answered in the affirmative, the actor double-checked. “Not an AI-generated combination of actors?” Norwood cheekily responded: “I’m a combination of my parents.”
At the end of the ad, a voiceover went on to mention that the new Mint Mobile internet deal is only available to “carbon-based organisms." AI need not apply. What do they need internet for anyway? Actually, don’t answer that.
With this ad, Reynolds is putting his company, one of his key moneymakers aside from his entertainment career, on the line to express a very clear stance against AI. That said, Reynolds isn’t the first actor to speak out against the Tilly Norwood controversy. GLOW alum Betty Gilpin recently penned an open letter to the AI actress that was published in The Hollywood Reporter, in which she tried her hardest to relate to the computer-generated performer but hilariously kept coming up short because Gilpin is, unlike Tilly, human. SAG-AFTRA, the union for actors on film and television, also came out and condemned the AI creation.
Creator Van der Velden addressed the backlash to insist Tilly Norwood “is not a replacement for a human being.”
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” Van der Velden said in a post released on the Tilly Norwood social media pages. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself, and nothing — certainly not an AI character — can take away the craft or joy of human performance.
"Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance. It takes time, skill, and iteration to bring such a character to life. She represents experimentation, not substitution. Much of my work has always been about holding up a mirror to society through satire, and this is no different."
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
The new Disney Lorcana expansion, Whispers in The Well, is now available to preorder. Amazon has preorders up at the moment for a booster box, the Illumineer's Trove box, a single booster pack, and two single-player decks: Amber & Emerald and Sapphire & Steel. All of these are set to be released on November 14 this year as well, so thankfully you only have about a month to wait before you can get your hands on them. Get your preorders in at the links below before they sell out.
Preorder Disney Lorcana Whispers in The Well Expansion
On top of the expansion, there's also two new Disney Lorcana playmats that are releasing on the same day. One of these is a delightful playmat featuring a design of Mickey Mouse while the other features Jasmine from Aladdin. At the moment, they are both available to preorder for $19.99 a piece.
If the big booster box has caught your eye, it comes with 24 booster packs that each contain 12 randomized cards. Illumineer's Trove, on the other hand, comes with 8 booster packs alongside six damage-counter dice, six card dividers, one lore counter, and a card storage box. If you're not looking to splash out on these big sets, though, the single booster pack will just set you up with 12 cards. As for the single-player decks, these come with 60 cards (including two foil cards of the characters featured on the front of the package), 11 damage tokens, a bonus booster pack, and a rulebook.
The Battlefield 6 team at EA and Battlefield Studios is shrinking ticket sizes for their large-scale Conquest multiplayer game mode, but players aren’t sold that these changes will improve the pace of matches.
An update to the structure of Conquest matches arrived in an official post from the Battlefield Comms X/Twitter account. It details blanket changes across every Conquest map in Battlefield 6, as the developers aim to ensure matches “finish at a more natural pace.”
To achieve this, BF Studios says it has reduced ticket sizes – which essentially represent each team's available reinforcements – from 1000 tickets to a unique ticket goal for each map. These range from 900 tickets on maps like Siege of Cairo and Empire State to 700 tickets on maps like Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm. You can see the full breakdown below.
New Conquest Ticket Sizes in Battlefield 6
Siege of Cairo from 1000 to 900
Empire State from 1000 to 900
Iberian Offensive from 1000 to 900
Liberation Peak From 1000 to 800
Manhattan Bridge From 1000 to 800
Operation Firestorm From 1000 to 700
New Sobek City from 1000 to 900
Mirak Valley from 1000 to 700
"Previously, many rounds were hitting the time limit instead of ending when one team ran out of tickets," the post explains. "We'll keep monitoring feedback and data to make sure the flow of each match feels right."
BF Studios says its goal is to keep matches moving at a more natural pace, but players aren’t convinced that reduced ticket requirements are what Battlefield 6 needs. In fact, many now say they're happy to play out 1000-ticket matches and enjoy the stress of last-minute comebacks. What's really hampering the pace for many isn't large ticket requirement that result in the timer running out – it's the timer itself.
why have a time limit? what’s wrong with longer games? i swear back in the day a conquest game used to run for 30-40 minutes
"The easier solution would just be to remove the time limits," content creator @MoiDawg replied. "Close games are incredible and this artifical time limit ruins comebacks. Just let us play Conquest. I'm not joining a Conquest game thinking it'll be over in 20 minutes. Huge L."
Other Battlefield 6 fans agree, with many already taking to the replies of the post to recommend simply increasing the timer or removing it altogether. Some are surprised to see any changes at all, explaining that they have yet to see a match reach the time limit even after dozens of hours of Conquest play time. There are some who report experiencing matches that run through the time limit, but even they believe slightly longer matches could remedy the problem altogether.
"God forbid a conquest match lasts more than 15 minutes," another X reply adds.
Meanwhile, BF Studios added in a separate post that the Out of Bounds timer for vehicles on Battlefield 6’s Manhattan Bridge map in Conquest and Escalation have been increased from five to 10 seconds. While the community already appears to be accepting this change with open arms, the announcement post itself has already been met with more calls to revert the new Conquest ticket changes.
Players who load into a Battlefield 6 Conquest match are currently told to expect the average match to last 20 minutes, though games have been known to last anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. Today's hotfix is already in effect, so it's unclear if BF Studios and EA have any plans to walk back the changes quite yet.
Battlefield 6 launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S October 10. The BF Studios team has kept up communication in the days since, delivering hotfix after hotfix as it works to adjust to the desires of a player base that quickly exploded upon its release.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
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