The boss of HBO has commented on what went down between Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, after Martin described their relationship as "worse than rocky" and "abysmal."

While Martin's displeasure with House of the Dragon's ongoing story development was nothing new, a profile piece published by The Hollywood Reporter revealed eye-opening new detail from Martin on the breakdown of his relationship with Condal — and the extent to which HBO executives had to manage the pair behind the scenes of the show's production.

Martin's unhappiness with Condal appears to have reached its zenith during a contentious Zoom call where the showrunner laid out his vision for House of the Dragon's third season. Martin said he responded to Condal's plan with numerous objections, and ultimately stated: "This is not my story any longer."

"I hired Ryan," Martin said, reflecting on happier times. "I thought Ryan and I were partners. And we were all through the first season. I would read early drafts of the scripts. I would give notes. He would change some things. It was working really well — I thought."

The profile piece noted an initial display of support by Martin for Condal towards the end of Season 1, when the latter had a falling out with his fellow co-showrunner on the series, Miguel Sapochnik. Martin says Condal asked for his support, which he gave, and Sapochnik departed the show shortly afterward.

"Then we got into Season 2, and he basically stopped listening to me," Martin continued, discussing how his relationship with Condal began to deteriorate. "I would give notes, and nothing would happen. Sometimes he would explain why he wasn't doing it. Other times, he would tell me, 'Oh, OK, yeah, I'll think about that.'

"It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed. Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes."

This then led to the now-infamous and swiftly-deleted blog post penned by Martin in September 2024, which publicly criticized House of the Dragon's direction and said more "toxic" changes from his books were to come. While offering praise for the series' writing, direction and acting, Martin slammed the plot decision to kill off a particular character and went into detail as to why he disagreed with the choice. At the time, Martin also suggested Condal had gone back on a promise to balance the change with another plot point — that had then seemingly been abandoned.

Within hours, the blog post disappeared from Martin's website, and HBO had issued a statement supporting Condal while attempting to lower the temperature. In the profile piece, Martin said the blog post disappeared after HBO contacted Martin's manager, who had Martin's assistant remove the post while Martin himself was asleep.

"I would've put it back up, but then I would've looked like an idiot," Martin said of the incident. "And 80% of it was praise, but that's not what people focused on."

Now, in an interview with Deadline, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, acknowledged the turmoil behind the scenes, waved away its impact, and expressed support for both Martin’s continued involvement in HBO’s Game of Thrones work, and Condal’s work on House of the Dragon.

“Like any good American family, I would prefer that our dysfunction stays behind closed doors,” Bloys began. “But here we are. What I would say is George introduced us to Ryan as the person that he thought would be the best to create House the Dragon. And I will say Ryan has been an excellent showrunner and a really great partner and collaborator, so we embrace his vision and his creative choices, or we wouldn’t have done it.”

Bloys then confirmed that HBO still has an overall deal with Martin, despite his high-profile and very public criticism of House of the Dragon.

“Listen, I consider it great to have George as the architect of this world,” Bloys said. “I mean, think about what he has created, the world, the families, the battles, all of the history, it’s pretty extraordinary. George is a great partner for us to have. The idea that he is going to agree with every creator or showrunner that is either developing or producing, two artists are not always going to agree. So, some of this comes with the territory.”

In November, HBO announced A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 and House of the Dragon Season 4 as part of a Marvel-style roadmap update for Game of Thrones TV series. House of the Dragon Season 3, meanwhile, debuts in summer 2026, with Season 4 set for 2028. Season 4 will be its last.

Bloys confirmed that Martin “definitely took a step back” in terms of his involvement in Season 3, and has focused on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms instead. Bloys insisted he was “thrilled” with Season 3 creatively, as he is with Seasons 1 and 2.

“If you remind yourself of the Rotten Tomato stores of the first two seasons, it’s 87%,” he said. “This has been a very successful show for us. So, again, I will say I’m thrilled with what Ryan has done, he’s been a great collaborator with us.”

For his part, Condal has chosen not to comment further on the situation, but has pointed to a previously-reported statement he gave which claimed that Martin had become "unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way."

With House of the Dragon coming to an end in 2028, thoughts turn to what’s next for HBO and Game of Thrones. A proposed Game of Thrones sequel series starring Arya Stark is reportedly in the early stages of development, seemingly to replace previous plans to develop a spinoff based around Jon Snow. We also have word that animation icon Genndy Tartakovsky (Primal, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania) is attached to the long-gestating Game of Thrones animated spinoff series 9 Voyages, which will follow the adventures of Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka The Sea Snake. The character is played in House of the Dragon by actor Steve Toussaint.

Photo by Tristar Media/WireImage.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The boss of HBO has indicated The Last of Us will come to an end with Season 3.

Despite the mixed response to Season 2 and subsequent departure of Naughty Dog franchise creator Neil Druckmann, HBO boss Casey Bloys has backed showrunner Craig Mazin's ability to continue on — and to do so successfully despite the series' lead actors changing.

But exactly how long the series would continue had been a topic of debate. In May last year, Mazin indicated a fourth season was pretty much essential for the series. Speaking to Collider, Mazin agreed that in order to wrap up The Last of Us’ story from the two Naughty Dog-developed video games in Season 3 would mean Season 3 itself "would take forever." So, while there was a "decent chance" Season 3 would be longer than Season 2, at the end of the day "there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season."

He continued: "Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome."

However, in a new interview with Deadline, Bloys gave a pretty clear indication that Mazin won’t get the chance to make Season 4.

Deadline asked if Bloys could confirm that the upcoming seasons of Hacks and The Last of Us were their final seasons. Bloys responded: “It certainly seems that way, but on decisions like that, we will defer to the showrunners. So you can ask them.” So, not 100% confirmed The Last of Us ends with Season 3, but as close to confirmation as we can get.

Warning! Spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 follow.

The Season 2 finale teased that, like the game, Season 3 will shift focus to Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) following the death of Joel (Pedro Pascal). It’s unclear exactly how Mazin plans to retell the Seattle section of The Last of Us Part 2 through Abby’s perspective.

Though most of us who played the second game knew what was coming in Season 2, it seems many viewers did not. Mazin has said he still gets bewildered fans asking: "Why did you kill Pedro Pascal?"

"[Game creator and fellow showrunner Neil Druckmann] did a thing. Everyone lost their sh*t, and then I had to do that same thing, because he did the thing. I loved doing the thing, I thought it was great," Mazin said of Joel's death at a Variety panel.

"The big complaint that I've gotten is, 'Why did you kill Pedro Pascal?' And I keep explaining, we didn't kill him! He's a man, he's alive. He's fine. And he's in literally everything else. So I don't know what the problem is!"

“People had very strong reactions to whatever controversial story decision we made,” added Druckmann.

(Check out IGN’s The Last of Us Season 2 finale review to see what we thought of it.)

In August, Ellie actor Bella Ramsey issued a short, sharp message to the louder critics of The Last of Us Season 2, insisting those who hate it can play the video game upon which it is based instead of watching Season 3.

Speaking to The Awardist podcast, Ramsey dismissed the impact of Season 2’s online criticism. "I tried to steer clear as much as I could, to be honest," Ramsey said. “Because there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. The show is out. There’s nothing that can be changed or altered. So I’m like, there’s not really any point in reading or looking at anything.

“People are of course entitled to their opinions. But it doesn’t affect the show, it doesn’t affect how the show continues or anything in any way. They’re very separate things to me. So no, I just don’t really engage.”

Ramsey was then asked what they would tell the “louder critics” of Season 2 going into Season 3. "I would say, you don't have to watch it," Ramsey responded. "If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again. You don’t have to watch it, but if you do want to watch it, then I hope you enjoy it."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon will end with Season 4, HBO has confirmed.

In November, HBO confirmed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 and House of the Dragon Season 4 as part of a Marvel-style roadmap update for Game of Thrones TV series.

In that announcement, HBO extended each series run through 2028. Both series will air on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was renewed for a second season ahead of the Season 1 debut earlier this month, with Season 2 due out in 2027. House of the Dragon Season 3, meanwhile, debuts in summer 2026, with Season 4 set for 2028.

Now, in an interview with Deadline, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, confirmed that Season 4 of House of the Dragon will be its final season.

“Yes, that is the idea,” Bloys said. “The idea has always been to follow the history of the Targaryens. If you know the books, you know how the Targaryens end up. So there is a natural end to this particular history of that House of the Targaryens.”

While Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin has expressed his enthusiasm for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, he’s been critical of House of the Dragon. Indeed, Martin recently discussed his broken relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, which the author candidly described as "worse than rocky" and "abysmal."

While Martin's displeasure with House of the Dragon's ongoing story development is nothing new, a profile piece published by The Hollywood Reporter revealed eye-opening new detail from Martin on the breakdown of his relationship with Condal — and the extent to which HBO executives had to manage the pair behind the scenes of the show's production.

Martin's unhappiness with Condal appears to have reached its zenith during a contentious Zoom call where the showrunner laid out his vision for House of the Dragon's third season. Martin said he responded to Condal's plan with numerous objections, and ultimately stated: "This is not my story any longer."

In March last year, Condal called Martin’s criticisms of House of the Dragon Season 2 “disappointing.”

Deadline asked Bloys if HBO planned a “supersized” final season of House of the Dragon, but he said a decision had yet been made on its episode count. “Ryan is working, like any show like this; he is finishing post on Season 3 and working with the writers on what Season 4 looks like,” Bloys told Deadline. “I don’t know where he’s landed on the episode count yet.”

With House of the Dragon coming to an end in 2028, thoughts turn to what’s next for HBO and Game of Thrones. To that end, a proposed Game of Thrones sequel series starring Arya Stark is reportedly in the early stages of development, seemingly to replace previous plans to develop a spinoff based around Jon Snow. We also have word that animation icon Genndy Tartakovsky (Primal, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania) is attached to the long-gestating Game of Thrones animated spinoff series 9 Voyages, which will follow the adventures of Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka The Sea Snake. The character is played in House of the Dragon by actor Steve Toussaint.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

A new Arc Raiders duplication glitch has fans worried about exploits, but others just want to know why it’s being used to spawn mountains of rubber duck trinkets.

The Headwinds update brought new content, alongside fresh gameplay tweaks, when it launched for Arc Raiders players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S earlier this week. While the 40+ level matchmaking option, Solo vs. Squads, was positioned by developer Embark Studios to be its big selling point, some players are more concerned with the return of an item duplication exploit and how it has affected the in-game (duck) economy.

Although players are no doubt using the dupe glitch to amass piles of rare items like blueprints, it seems a few fans are manipulating the system to make some serious coin – and maybe even a quick joke. The duck has slowly become a bit of a running gag for fans on its own, as the squeaky bath toy is one of a few lightweight trinkets that can be found topside and then sold in Speranza for a decent chunk of Raider Coins. It also happens to be the sillier items in Arc Raiders, so when a recently patched dupe glitched returned in a new form, those looking to exploit the system knew just what to do.

Those who are discovering topside players with hundreds of ducks, however, are just confused.

“Did we come across the duck Santa Clause or something?” one Reddit user said a few days before the launch of Headwinds. “Dupe hacking gone wild? At first we thought it was some joke because the stash was just full of ducks but then we realized they were stacks of 15 ducks each.”

“Okay so I actually came across a guy in blue gate in a random house just spamming ducks on the ground,” another replied. “I assumed he was duping. The floor was littered with them, probably like 100 of them. He wouldn't respond and kinda just stared at me til I walked away.”

Arc Raiders’ mallard problem has only gotten bigger in the aftermath of Headwinds, as the January content update also introduced a handful of more valuable (and more vibrant) ducks to collect as part of the new Bird City map condition. It’s resulted in an abundance of ducks across Buried City…and some very awkward moments.

“A raider caught on fire in Buried City Metro, went down without saying a word, and left behind a mountain of Familiar Ducks,” another user shared. “I extracted with $2.8M. Still confused.”

“Was doing the pharmacist quest for Lance, heard the tell tale duck noise...came upon this silent raider,” one person said, sharing a picture of a solo Raider standing alone in a dark attic.

Referencing a recent cyber-attack against Embark and Arc Raiders, someone replied, “This must be what brought down the servers. DDOS (Duck Duplication on Server).”

In a game that constantly sees players backstabbing each other for a small chance to net worthwhile resources, it’s hard to deny the comedy in PvP players only finding stacks upon stacks of little rubber duckies. Still, it’s definitely the kind of thing Embark promised to clean up earlier this month. Players have complained of cheaters and exploiters in Arc Raiders for weeks, so as goofy as these issues are, they are still causing some players to worry that others have an unfair advantage.

It's especially concerning for those who have kept up with Arc Raiders updates since launch. Embark issued update 1.12.0 January 20 and fixed a handful of exploits, including an item duplication glitch. It took less than a week for players to begin reporting what appears to be a new version of the exploit, and it's unclear how long it will take for the developers to publish a new patch or how many other glitches will be discovered in the meantime.

The Arc Raiders cheater crackdown has seen holes plugged in Stella Montis to try and ward off wall explolits, while some players, like streamer Tfue, have found themselves banned (and then unbanned) without notice. As Embark tries to bring cheats to a halt, players are still finding the fun both in and outside of the game. Some have even looked to the real-world Stella Montis hotel to leave positive reviews. Others are just enjoying Headwinds while they wait for everything else promised in the 2026 roadmap.

For more, you can read about why we think the best Arc Raiders loot needs a serious buff. You can also check out why Embark believes players who spawn into a raid late actually benefit more than most.

Image credit: endgame2937 / reddit.

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).

This review is based on a screening from the Sundance Film Festival.

Beth de Araújo’s Josephine — which won both the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance as well as the festival’s Audience Award — is as visceral as it is delicate. The story of an eight-year-old girl who witnesses a violent sexual assault, and her parents who don’t quite know how to help her cope, the movie’s difficult story, and its rough, raw aesthetic approach, create some of the most challenging parameters for a child actress in recent memory. However, the young performance at its center is as miraculous as the film that slowly coheres around it, resulting in a freight train of emotional impact.

Early one morning in San Francisco, when Josephine (Mason Reeves) and her father Damien (Channing Tatum) go running in Golden Gate Park, they’re briefly separated, and the second grader watches from afar as a mysterious assailant in a green t-shirt (Philip Ettinger) overpowers and assaults an unsuspecting jogger (Syra McCarthy). In a horrifying moment, both victim and perpetrator lock eyes with the young girl, before the attack is broken up and the man is chased and arrested. However, neither Damien nor his wife Claire (Gemma Chan) can decide on the right way to explain to Josephine what she saw, leaving her emotionally adrift as she grows more confused, more resentful of authority, and more violent towards her classmates. As the days go by, she even begins picturing the attacker in the spaces around her — even in the safety of her bedroom.

De Araújo’s frank, unflinching approach to this event stems from having witnessed exactly such an attack at a similar age, imbuing Josephine with an autobiographical quality. Its contours are gradually shaped by the parent characters, and their expertly rendered performances, which lean into Tatum and Chan’s broad types in pursuit of unexpected layers. Damien, although playful at times, is a tough-love kind of parent whose words fail him, but who demands a stiff upper lip from Josephine while trying to navigate the event and its legal aftermath (the victim moves away, leaving Josephine as the only eye witness). Tatum’s comedy has often tapped into a meathead, frat boy persona, and de Araújo’s film is no different, only it captures the difficult domestic eventuality of that masculine mode in the form of a father whose solution to helping his daughter understand the world is stern silence and self-defense classes.

Chan’s gracefulness, on the other hand, informs Claire’s approach in discomforting ways as well. A dancer and an artist, she searches for ways to talk Josephine through this trauma, but falls back on platitudes, and can’t find ways to answer her daughter when she inevitably asks if she’s ever been a victim of a similar assault. There’s no prescribed perfect age for sex education, and certainly none for explaining, to a pre-adolescent, the grey areas of human sexuality — the attacker’s defense attorneys claim the encounter was consensual non-consent — let alone the definition of “rape.” There’s certainly no handbook for what to do when the ideal time for this discussion slips into the past, for reasons beyond a parent’s control. But unlike Claire and Damien, who each fall back on their own parents’ imperfect, cyclical approaches to supposedly taboo topics, Josephine has the internet at her disposal, though the explanations she finds online only confuse her further.

Reeves, who de Araújo discovered at a farmer’s market a few months before filming, brings a shocking naturalism to the part. Josephine is the masculine “Jo” to her father, and the cutesy “JoJo” to her mother, roles which the character and the actress alike effortlessly oscillate between, as they try to find a sense of stability while the floor is pulled out from under them. Josephine’s growing unease is reflected in daring fashion by the young newcomer, whose growing uncertainty — surrounding both human sexuality and human morality — seeps into her mood in the form of subdued frustrations. Reeves holds these close to the chest, until they eventually boil over. She’s practically a ticking time bomb; it’s as magnificent a debut performance as you’ll ever see.

These emotional pieces are all fitted into place by de Araújo’s deft and careful hand, yielding a film with a psychological complexity (surrounding issues of childhood sexual trauma) on the level of Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin. The director’s conception of San Francisco adds to the imposing nature of the story, between its winding streets and the crisscrossing power lines and metal bridge beams that seem to press down on the characters from above. The camera weaves in and out of Josephine’s point of view as though the young girl were being pulled outside herself before being pushed back in, an emotional whiplash further stoked by the use of space. For the most part, de Araújo and cinematographer Greta Zozula place us at eye level and employ telephoto lenses to blur the details of the larger, more imposing adult world in unbroken takes that build in pressure, as though Josephine’s purview were slowly being enveloped by fog. The color green begins to enter her field of view more and more, and eventually, the filmmakers break from their aforementioned blurry approach — with wide lenses that expand space and warp movement — during brief, imaginative moments when Josephine starts to picture the green-shirted attacker in her bedroom, as a specter of the confusion growing in her mind.

Ettinger plays this imagined version of the character with care and caution. He is, at times, an imposing presence, but he can also be ghostly and melancholic, almost sympathetic. He raises questions of what his eyes meeting with Josephine’s in the park may have done to her, and the ways in which her interpretation of the event — and of what led to it — might be forced to change over time as well, when her parents can’t seem to figure out how to connect with her long enough to comfort her. This moment of primal identification with the rapist causes her to turn inward, and to wonder whether she herself has the capacity for evil. That she begins to wear green nail polish goes unremarked upon, but it’s one of the film’s many stark, unmissable details that might cause you to squirm in your seat.

The movie nestles broad philosophical questions within the perspective of a child, which — in tandem with Miles Ross’ brilliantly breathy and propulsive score — inject a terrifying undercurrent into moments of dramatic simplicity. This is centered around the magic of a young performer guiding us through the story’s silent developments by getting lost in thought and self-loathing, and the adult characters who aren’t emotionally equipped to meet her gaze. All this combined makes Josephine one of the most powerful, shattering works of drama to emerge from the modern American independent scene.

2026 is shaping up to be a big year for UFC with plenty of welcome changes for fans, including an entirely new way to watch the biggest events. For the uninitiated, live UFC fights have shifted away from pay-per-view (PPV) events on ESPN+ and will now be available as part of a Paramount+ subscription. So, instead of paying $80 per fight, you can enjoy all UFC numbered events, Fight Nights, and a variety of other UFC programming for the entire year for roughly the same cost.

If you're looking to catch the big rematch between Volkanovski and Lopes at UFC 325 on Saturday, you've come to the right place. We've got information on how to stream the fight, plan prices, and a breakdown of the scheduled fight cards down below.

How to Watch UFC 325 Live Online

With the shift away from ESPN+ (now ESPN Unlimited) for all live UFC matches, you'll need to sign up for a Paramount+ subscription in order to watch UFC 325. While, yes, it's annoying that you have to sign up for yet another streaming service, it beats paying for each PPV event individually, and you can stream some great TV shows, movies, and other live sports while you're at it.

UFC 325 Start Time and Schedule

Like all numbered UFC fights, UFC 325 is split up into three different fight cards: Early Prelims, Prelims, and the Main Card.

The premier fight of the night is the Featherweight Title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes, which will round out the evening after the other fights on the main card that begin at 6:00 PM PST. The two previously fought during UFC 314 in April 2024, with Volkanovski taking the champion's belt after a unanimous victory.

But, this time might be different. Lopes is younger, faster, and has a chip on his shoulder. Although Volkanovski is regarded as one of the best featherweight fighers of all-time, he's 37 now, and he may not be able to match Lopes' aggressive fighting style this time around.

Some additional matchups to look out for this weekend include a trio of (what should be) action-packed lightweight bouts between Dan Hooker and Benoit Saint Denis, Rafael Fiziev and Mauricio Ruffy, and Quillan Salkilld and Jamie Mullarkey.

Here's a quick breakdown of the UFC 325 schedule for Saturday, January 31:

Early Prelims - 2:00 PM PST

• Aaron Tau vs. Namsrai Batbayar - Flyweight bout
• Sulangrangbo vs. Lawerence Lui - Bantamweight bout
• Keiichiro Nakamura vs. Sebastian Szalay - Featherweight bout
• Sangwook Kim vs. Dom Mar Fan - Lightweight bout
• Kaan Ofli vs. Yizha - Featherweight bout

Prelims - 4:00 PM PST

• Jonathan Micallef vs. Oban Elliott - Welterweight bout
• Jacob Malkoun vs. Torrez Finney - Middleweight bout
• Cam Rowston vs. Cody Brundage - Middleweight bout
• Junior Tafa vs. Billy Elekana - Light Heavywight bout

Main Card - 6:00 PM PST

• Quillan Salkilld vs. Jamie Mullarkey - Lightweight bout
• Tai Tuivasa (#12) vs. Tallison Teixeira (#15) - Heavyweight bout
• Rafael Fiziev (#9) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (#14) - Lightweight bout
• Dan Hooker (#6) vs. Benoit Saint Denis (#8) - Lightweight bout
• Alexander Volkanovski (C) vs. Diego Lopes (#2) - Featherweight Title bout

Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

T-Mobile is offering a rare BOGO deal on phone cards for this weekend only. Buy one prepaid phone card and get a second select phone card of equal or lesser value for 10% off. Eligile phone cards include some of the most popular services, including T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, Verizon, Boost Mobile, Cricket, Tracfone, and Simple Mobile. Phone cards are available in denominations of $10 all the way up to $200. Depending on where you live, local phone fees may apply.

Buy One Get One 10% Off Select Prepaid Phone Cards

Stacks with Target Circle 5% discount

This deal is even better if you are a Target Circle Cardmember because it stacks with the flat 5% discount you get on Target purchases (prepaid phone cards are eligible). If you combine the two discounts, you're saving nearly 10% off the entire order, which is usually as good as you can get when it comes to prepaid card discounts.

The Circle Card is Target's own branded credit card that gives you 5% back on most of your Target purchases. There's also no annual fee. One advantage that the Target card has compared to other cashback equivalents from Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart is that this is not a "cashback" or "rewards" offer. You literally get a 5% discount applied to each and every Target purchase on the spot. No further purchase or waiting is necessary.

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.

A gorgeous new 4K TV upgrade must be paired with great sounding, room filling audio to round out the ultimate home theater experience. You simply shouldn't have one without the other. However, if you're like most people and don't look forward to the task of setting up, positioning, and pairing your speakers, then that's where Sonos comes in. Its products offer excellent sound in a compact package with super easy DIY setup.

To celebrate the big football game on February 8, Sonos is kicking off its own big sitewide sale that takes up to 20% off some its best selling speakers including the Sonos Arc Ultra and Beam soundbars, Era 100 and 300 speakers, and Sub Mini and Sub 4 woofers. Shipping is fast and free and you're getting the full manufacturer's warranty.

Up to 20% Off Select Sonos Speakers

Sonos Era 100

If you’ve been waiting to grab any games or accessories, the Amazon-owned Woot has an absolutely Mega Gaming Sale right now. Already marked-down products are an extra 20% off when you use the coupon code GAMER at checkout, and Prime Members get free shipping. Everything from Pokemon Legends: Z-A to an Atari handheld and a Switch controller is discounted. Beyond that, a bunch of LEGO sets that make for a nice Valentine’s gift are on sale, get an Amazon Fire tablet cheap, and more.

TL;DR: Best Deals Today

Nintendo Switch Titles Score Major Price Drop

A bunch of popular Switch games are part of Woot’s gaming sale, where you can score 20% off with the coupon code GAMER. Prime Members even get free shipping. Tears of the Kingdom, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A are all ridiculously great deals, with some hitting the lowest prices ever.

My Arcade Atari Gamestation Go Hits Ridiculously Low Price

Save on LEGO Sets for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, which means if you haven’t gotten a gift for the loves in your life, it’s time to hunker down. A bunch of LEGO sets have seen some nice discounts on Amazon. You can skip the fresh flowers and grab a LEGO bundle deal on a bouquet of roses and a botanical bouquet for 83.99. These LEGO sets are going for $55.58 and $48.49 individually, making this an incredible offer. Other lovable LEGO options include a cute Looney Tunes Sweetheart Tweety Bird, a mini bonsai tree set, or the iconic LOVE sculpture. All of these sets are seeing solid discounts today. If you have a Harry Potter fan in your life, the Hogwarts Express Book Nook is also at its lowest price on Amazon.

Refurbished Amazon Fire HD Tablet for Under $30

Switch PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller Is Under $30

65% Off a SteelSeries Counter-Strike 2 Dragon Lore Limited Edition Wireless Gaming Mouse

MTG x Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box Hits New Low Price

MTG x TMNT Preorder Deals

If you’ve been waiting for the prices to drop on the MTG x TMNT preorder, now is the time to jump. The Booster Box is down to $124.99 on Amazon. In the box are 30 packs, which means each one comes out to about $4.17, which is a great deal. There’s a Bundle Box that includes 9 Play Boosters, 30 Lands, a foil alt-art promo Card, and exclusive accessories that’s on sale for just $60. Or, grab the Turtle Power! Commander Deck and Turtle Team Up Box, as they both have received solid discounts.

While these might be the lowest prices we see for the MTG x TMNT preorder, Amazon even has a nice preorder price guarantee. Whether the price goes up or down, you’re paying the lowest amount. This is the first “Universe Beyond” release of the year, and it’s set to drop on March 6th.

MTG x Marvel Super Heroes Preorder Just Dropped

Jumping further into the future, Amazon just dropped the preorder for the MTG x Marvel Super Heroes set that’s coming out on June 26th. Some things have already sold out, but you can still grab the 30-pack Booster Box for $209.70, the Commander Deck Bundle for $299.96, and more. Be sure to secure your preorder now, as this is already proving to be a popular “Universe Beyond” collab.

After you’ve secured the MTG X Marvel Super Heroes preorder, be sure to check out the MTG: Secrets of Strixhaven preorder, which also just became available on Amazon. It’s set to come out on April 24 and is selling fast.

Enjoy Nearly Half Off The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Illustrated by Alan Lee Box Set

DC Vs. Marvel Omnibus Comic Collection Hardcover Hits New Low Price

To celebrate the big football game on February 8, Sonos is kicking off its own big sitewide sale that discounts some its best selling speakers including the Arc Ultra soundbar and Sub 4 subwoofer. If you were thinking of getting these two specific speakers for your home theater setup, then you can get actually get an even better price by purchasing them as part of Sonos' Premium Entertainment Set for $1,599. If you were to purchase the two speakers separately during the sale, they would total to $1,659. Without the sale, they'd cost $1,998. Shipping is free.

20% Off Sonos Premium Entertainment Set

Less expensive when purchased together

Animation icon Genndy Tartakovsky (Primal, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania) is reportedly attached to the long-gestating Game of Thrones animated spin-off series 9 Voyages, which will follow the adventures of Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka The Sea Snake. The character is played in the live-action series House of the Dragon by actor Steve Toussaint.

News of Tartakovsky’s attachment comes via Deadline's interview with Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content.

“HBO has developed a slew of other offshoots, with a number being rumored to be currently in the works, including a Jon Snow and Arya Stark sequel written by Quoc Dang Tran; an animated Sea Snake project Nine Voyages, with Genndy Tartakovsky said to be attached, as well as 10,000 Ships written by Eboni Booth and Aegon’s Conquest penned by Mattson Tomlin,” Deadline reports.

The site added that “Bloys would not comment on any of the alleged GoT development projects but indicated that the success of the smaller-scale, modestly budgeted A Knight of the Seven Kingdom [sic] is informing their development strategy.”

Lenovo's weekend sale just dropped a great deal on an affordable yet powerful gaming laptop. Through February 1, you can get a Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Gen 10 gaming laptop, equipped with a 16" OLED display and RTX 5070 GPU, for just $1,376.99 after you apply coupon code "LEGIONPOWER26" (may be automatically applied). That's over $500 in savings and an excellent deal considering the build quality of Legion Pro laptops.

Lenovo Legion Pro 5 RTX 5070 Gaming Laptop for $1,377

Hollywood stars and fans alike have come together to share fond memories and moments from across Catherine O’Hara’s career following her passing earlier today.

The Home Alone and Beetlejuice star’s manager confirmed with Variety that she died in her Los Angeles home at 71 following “a brief illness.” It’s news that’s shocked the movie and TV world, prompting responses from co-workers, audience members, friends, and more as they remember a comedy icon and acting legend.

The upcoming HBO TV adaptation of the Harry Potter books still has something shaped like a release window, with HBO CEO Casey Bloys affirming that it will arrive in early 2027.

"Well, we’ve been saying 2027," Bloys said in an interview with Deadline when asked if HBO had narrowed the release window. "I would say, to narrow it down to some extent, early 2027. And now you’re going to ask, does that mean January, February, March, April, that we’re not ready to say. I’ll say early 2027."

We first heard about an early 2027 release window for Harry Potter way back in 2024, but given how uncertain it sounded then, this affirmation from Bloys helps firm things up a bit.

That was the only question and comment on the Harry Potter series from the interview. But we do know quite a bit of other information about the upcoming show, including much of its cast. We know that the main trio of heroes; Harry, Ron, and Hermione, will be played by Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton, respectively. John Lithgow will portray Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essidu joins as Severus Snape and Katherine Parkinson will be Molly Weasley. Sherlock actress Louise Brealey will be the series' Quidditch teacher Madam Rolanda Hooch, Game of Thrones' Anton Lesser is Garrick Ollivander, Bertie Carvel will play Cornelius Fudge, and Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby will portray the Dursleys, Petunia and Vernon. Nick Frost is Rubeus Hagrid, who we got a first look at in costume last July, Janet McTeer is Minerva McGonagall, Luke Thallon will be Quirinus Qirrell, and Paul Whitehouse is Argus Filch.

We've also seen some early set photos from the London Zoo and caught a glimpse of Lithgow in costume, and we just recently learned that Hans Zimmer will score the series.

Blogroll image credit: Aidan Monaghan/HBO

Not every good gaming mouse costs more than $100. There are plenty of perfectly capable options that you can find for an absolute steal, like our favorite budget gaming mouse, the SteelSeries Rival 3 Gen 2, with its reliable performance and durable build for under $50. Here are five of the best budget gaming mice money can buy right now.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Budget Gaming Mice:

These mice all nail the basics, delivering accurate tracking, a comfortable grip, dependable controls, and a reliable connection. You may miss out on features like saving profiles, RGB lighting, or rechargeable batteries, but those are hardly a sacrifice considering the savings. Instead, you can put that extra dough toward other peripherals like a nice gaming keyboard or headset.

1. SteelSeries Rival 3 Gen 2

Best Budget Gaming Mouse

The wired version of the SteelSeries Rival 3 Gen 2 is our budget King: For less than $50 you get a fast, accurate mouse that stands up to more expensive devices in multiplayer matches. As we explain in our review, it's well-built, its clicks are bouncy, its tasteful RGB lighting is fully customizable, and while we wouldn't recommend it in palm grip it's comfortable for both claw and fingertip grippers. The Gen 2 is a step up on the original, adding slicker feet and a cord that's harder to tangle.

The wireless version performs just as well: its connection is stable in both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz modes and its sensor is slightly more powerful than the wired version, tracking your movements precisely. If you pop two AAA batteries in you can get a whopping 450 hours of battery life on Bluetooth, falling to a still-respectable 100 hours on 2.4G Ghz and a 1,000Hz polling rate. For casual single-player games, you can drop the polling rate to extend its life.

The big drawback of the wireless version is its weight: more than 100g with two AAA batteries, or around 95g with one. For those used to lighter mice, it might feel clunky. It's also more expensive and lacks RGB. For those reasons, the wired version is the one we'd recommend for most people.

2. Logitech G305 Lightspeed

Best Budget Wireless Gaming Mouse

3. Razer DeathAdder V3

Best Budget Ergonomic Gaming Mouse

4. Roccat Burst Pro

Best Ultra-Cheap Budget Mouse

5. Glorious Model O Eternal

Best Budget Ultra-Lightweight Gaming Mouse

6. Keychron M3 Mini

Best Small Budget Gaming Mouse

What to Look for in a Budget Gaming Mouse

When grabbing a budget gaming mouse, you’ll probably have to sacrifice a few features, whether that’s extra programmable buttons, a lower DPI sensitivity, or wireless functionality. One thing you should never settle for is subpar performance, and all of our picks are ready to game. But if you want to explore other options on your own, here's what to look for.

Comfort

To start, you want a comfortable mouse that feels great in hand. Some people grip with their fingertips, while others use a claw or palm grip, so the shape of the mouse is important. For left-handers, you’ll have a far more limited pool and often be stuck with ambidextrous options, but there are a good amount of ergonomic right-handed mice. Read both expert and user reviews (Reddit threads are excellent) to get a sense of how a mouse fits different people's hands, and measure your own hands so you know how it compares to the average.

Wired or wireless?

Next, you need to decide on wired versus wireless. These days, the performance differences between the two are negligible, though the price will increase to drop the wire. You’ll have to consider battery life and weight as well when going wireless.

Weight

Weight is a personal preference but as a general rule, a lighter mouse often feels quicker and more free, while a heavier option can add precision for some people.

DPI

The DPI of a mouse is important, and you want an option that lets you switch between sensitivities. If you want to cover your bases for all games, a setting between 400 to 3,600 should be good, and almost every gaming mouse – cheap or expensive – should cover that range.

Controls

Beyond that, you’ll want the typical basic controls such as side buttons and maybe a few more inputs that you can also assign macros to perform different functions. A dedicated DPI button comes in handy for those who want to switch from speedy movements to more precise ones, while those into MOBA and MMO games could use a few extra programmable buttons on the side of the mouse.

Other features like RGB lighting can be a cool addition but unnecessary when trying to save. Overall, you want a mouse that fits into your budget and works well with the games you play.

Best Budget Gaming Mouse FAQ

How to choose a budget gaming mouse

The first and most important thing about choosing the right mouse for you is its shape. Mice can be symmetrical or "ergonomic," where they curve to fit to the shape of your hand. Every mouse – including symmetrical ones – has a different profile, with curves and humps in different places, and different widths or lengths.

To that end, there are also three primary types of mouse grip: palm, fingertip, and claw. For the palm grip technique, where your whole palm is in contact with the base of the mouse, you'll want a mouse with a wider, taller base that can support your hand, as well as some level of pinky and ring finger support. Claw grippers and fingertip grippers, on the other hand, can look for a mouse that's relatively short and has a small footprint.

The best advice is to know your hand size and preferred grip style, and then read reviews of the mouse to get a sense of how it'll fit you. If you're unsure, pick a simpler shape rather than something with lots of curves and ridges.

Is it worth buying a cheap gaming mouse?

In this day and age, you really don't have to sacrifice a lot when you're trying to save a buck on a gaming mouse. Often what you get is a slightly worse sensor, slightly flimsier build quality, and a lower polling rate – although some mice on this list go up to 8,000Hz, and all of them are solidly built and perform well in-game. It all comes down to your budget.

How much should you spend on a budget gaming mouse?

Although some of the best gaming mice brands have a budget option these days that offer decent quality, that doesn't mean you should buy just any cheap option. Although there are sometimes discounts that drop the price of some good wired mice down near $20, you'll usually want to spend a little bit more to get something you won't be disappointed in. The best budget mice tend to cost anywhere between $30 and $60.

Should you buy a PC controller instead of a mouse?

Honestly, it's completely up to you and your preferences, but some games are more suited to controllers than mice (think platformers and third-person action games). For shooters and strategy games, you'll probably want a mouse.

Most PC games support the use of PC controllers, and it can be cheaper than buying both a mouse and keyboard. It's also worth noting that if you already have an Xbox or PS5 controller, you should be able to connect that to your PC via a Bluetooth adapter.

Additional contributions by Danielle Abraham, a tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.

Just one day after the announcement of Genie, Google's generative AI-powered virtual world creator, a number of major video game companies are seeing their stock prices tumble, seemingly because some investors think you can just generate an entire video game with AI now.

Of course, that's not what Genie is. Genie essentially lets you create a virtual "world" by offering prompts to describe the environment, a main character, and first or third-person view. Once it's created, you can control the described character and wander around the world you've made.

And that's...kind of it? While you can walk around these virtual spaces with your keyboard, critically, there's nothing else you can really do. There are no game mechanics, there's no one to talk to, no goals, no scores or meaningful interactions. Additionally, each generation is limited to just 60 seconds. And while you could maybe argue that this is just the first step on a road to eventually getting AI to generate playable 3D video games, there's no real evidence yet that such a thing is possible, or that the games would be good or even coherent. The Verge, for instance, tried to basically copy Breath of the Wild using Genie, and while they got something that essentially looks identical, that's just it. It's not playable, the "Link" looks kind of frightening actually, and Genie had to copy something that already existed to make this. It didn't come up with this on its own.

But that hasn't really stopped a lot of investors from suddenly jumping off the video game train, a conclusion first posed by Investing.com and shared by others, including Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier. Perhaps the most notable decline is Take-Two Interactive, which reached a six-month low this morning and, while it rallied somewhat by the closing bell, still ended down 8%. Engine maker Unity is in a similar spot, dropping 24% today also to a six-month low. Roblox stock also cratered today by 13% by close today, though notably Roblox has been on a downward trend since November. Still, it's a six-month low for Roblox, too.

Not every gaming company is seeing a massive nosedive. Ubisoft is technically down 7% today, but with its stock down to just $1/share, any small movement in either direction will seem significant. The company has been in pretty dire straits for months, even years now, and its announcement of more layoffs, closures, and cancelations earlier this month already had stock even further in a downward spiral. EA stock hasn't changed much today at all, but that's understandable, given EA announced last fall that it was preparing to sell to an investor group headed up by the Saudi Arabian government and will soon exit the public trading market. Meanwhile, Nintendo stock, down just under 5% today at the time this piece was written, has been all over the place all month, following a steady downward trend since November.

The pattern I'm seeing here between Take-Two, Roblox, and Unity is a sudden distrust not in games as an idea, but rather concerns about "platforms". Unity is a game engine. People use it to make games. If Genie can also make games, who needs Unity? In Roblox's case, Roblox is a pure user-generated content (UGC) factory - something that would likely become obsolete quickly if Genie took over. And for Take-Two, the publisher is about to release Grand Theft Auto VI later this year (we hope), which would very likely be accompanied at launch or not long after with some new version of GTA Online. While the current GTA Online doesn't rely on UGC, there have been recent suspicions this new version might. Again, the thinking here is seemingly that if people can just make their own little games in Genie, why would they bother doing it in Roblox or GTA or Minecraft or Fortnite or Unreal or anywhere else (Microsoft, for its part is too big to see any stock impact from Genie today and Epic Games is not publicly traded).

Is selling shares of major game publishers going to pay off for these investors? I'm not a stock expert, but if nothing else, it doesn't seem to be like a good idea to bet against GTA 6 right now (though Take-Two's earnings are next week, so we'll see I guess). And while Genie doesn't seem up to the task of making a whole video game out of nothing, plenty of other studios are coming out on one side of the fence or the other on using generative AI of any kind in their work. It seems that one way or another, the folks betting big money on generative AI will reap whatever harvest of that investment there is sooner rather than later.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

A jump starter is an essential part of car's emergency kit, but you don't need to pay a premium for a cordless model that gets the job done reliably. Amazon is currently offering Amazon Prime members the AstroAI P10 12V 5,000A cordless car jump starter for just $30 after applying coupon code "B9SV8C26". AstroAI is a well known and reputable auto accessory retailer and its jump starters have amassed over 11,000 reviews on Amazon with a 4.6 star rating.

AstroAI P10 12V 5,000A Car Jump Starter for $30

Highguard developer Wildlight has announced a 5v5 limited time game mode available to all players starting today. It will run through the weekend.

The free-to-play PvP raid shooter launched this week and immediately met with a “mostly negative” user review rating on Steam, although that has improved in recent days to ‘mixed.’ Meanwhile, Steam concurrents have fallen after a peak of nearly 100,000, sparking questions about Highguard’s future.

Chief among the criticisms from players is that the size of the map feels too big and empty for a 3v3 competitive shooter. You’re able to summon a mount to get about faster (the mounts are one aspect of Highguard that players seem to universally like), but some thought a 4v4, 5v5, or even 3v3v3 mode would have been a better fit.

Now, just four days after launch, Highguard has a 5v5 mode, albiet for just a few days. Today’s update also introduces a brand new base called Soul Well. check out the patch notes below.

“Wardens can now experiment with this dark relic from a lost age, added to rotation in both 3v3 and 5v5,” Wildlight said. “As one of two major patches released during launch week, this update is emblematic of the Highguard team’s dedication to creating a ‘ready for live service’ game, resulting in immediate action. Just this week, the team has squashed hundreds of bugs, improved performance across the board: yesterday’s update, Patch 1.0.4 introduced a variety of bug fixes, new video settings, and highly-requested features.”

While the addition of 5v5 should go some way to countering that feeling of emptiness in Highguard, it doesn’t address complaints about the resource-gathering phase of each map, which involves what some are calling boring mining and loot farming. Through it all is a feeling that Highguard perhaps suffered from being the “one more thing” reveal at The Game Awards, where it might have better managed expectations in a slot earlier in the show. Wildlight staff have indicated they originally planned a true Apex Legends-style shadowdrop for Highguard, but The Game Awards chief Geoff Keighley asked the team about featuring it at the end of the show. Keighley has suffered a backlash of his own, with some feeling Highguard’ position in The Game Awards’ running order overly hyped the game.

You asked, we listened

All-new 5v5 limited time mode, playable now! ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/wBaFZUOCeZ

— Highguard | LIVE NOW! (@PlayHighguard) January 30, 2026

It’s a big weekend for the game, with Steam concurrents hovering around the 9,000 mark at the time of this article’s publication. Wildlight will be hoping 5v5 gives Highguard the jolt in the arm it clearly needs.

Highguard update January 30, 2026 patch notes:

For our first weekend, we’re excited to drop an experimental 5v5 Raid playlist, a new Base and a bunch of performance improvements for 3v3, along with some more options in the Settings menus for people to customize their game.

5v5 Raid Mode - Experimental Playlist

We heard the feedback!

For the weekend, we are experimenting with a 5v5 Raid Mode.

This is a separate playlist and not meant to replace 3’s.

3v3 Raids are still there for people who enjoy it!

The lobby has been updated to allow for parties of 5 while the mode is live. Grab 4 friends and jump into some hectic raids!

A few small tweaks for this mode:

• Raids are now 10 lives instead of 6
• Respawns are slightly longer during raids to allow generators to be planted/defused

Dev note: As most of you know, we are working on optimizations across the game. Many are in this patch and 3v3 should see good improvements! But… adding 4 more players to the game is not going to improve performance, right? Please keep that in mind as you try 5v5!

Dev note 2: Firing Range does not support 5v5 at this time, so the Play button will be grayed out if your party is over 3.

New Base - Soul Well

Soul Well is a dark relic from a lost age. The Iron Vigil has now prepared this base construct for use in the field where the dead still speak.

This new base will be added to the rotation in all modes.

Optimizations

This patch contains several optimizations that touch on animation performance, projectiles, draw submission times, and other gameplay systems. These optimizations benefit console and PC, but every PC is different, so the exact speedup to overall framerate is dependent on GPU, CPU, and other factors.

Quality of Life

Enabled these visual settings on PC and consoles

• Motion blur toggle for PC and consoles
• Anisotropic materials toggle for consoles (PC has this already)

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Two weeks ago, I happily attended my first-ever pre-release event for a new Magic: the Gathering set. This was for Lorwyn Eclipsed, which veteran players inform me is a long-awaited return to the fantasy stylings of Magic's Lorwyn plane after nearly 20 years. As you can imagine, there were a lot of long-time Magic fans who were very excited about this release, but in the minutes before my pre-release event began, I kept overhearing a tone of anxiety in the conversations around me.

The cause of the anxiety? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

If you've never been to a pre-release event, what happens is this: you're given a nice little box that contains several booster packs, which you will use to build a deck for the event and play some matches with other attendees. The boxes also tend to contain other goodies, which in the case of Lorwyn Eclipsed involved a deck box, a die, and a single foil card from the set. The foil you get is random, but it's supposed to come from the set you're there to play. And when I opened my box, that's what I encountered. A nice little foil of Shadow Urchin.

But the reason for the anxiety at the event was because word had gotten around that some people were not receiving Lorwyn cards as their foil promo card. Instead, a number of social media posts had been circulating showing players with six Lorwyn Eclipsed booster packs and one foil card from the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set.

Now, this is quite the mix-up! Not only is TMNT, uh, very different from Lorwyn, but the TMNT set isn't even supposed to be out yet. It's coming on March 6, just under two months from the date this was happening. So not only was this causing an issue for Lorwyn fans, but TMNT fans excited for the upcoming set were now getting previously unrevealed cards shown off via random social media posts.

This situation also complicated the event itself: normally, a TMNT card would not be legal in a Lorwyn Eclipsed pre-release deck. Fortunately, Wizards of the Coast issued a statement pretty quickly about the situation, saying that stores should replace the TMNT promo cards where possible with Lorwyn cards. Where not possible, players would be allowed to play with the TMNT cards. That... sort of helps, but the fact is that Lorwyn Eclipsed cards are part of a set that's meant to be played together, with cards and mechanics that coordinate with one another to create a balanced game. A single TMNT card is more likely than not going to struggle to fit into decks like that. What's more, shops would have to break into unsold pre-release boxes to take out the replacement foil cards, which essentially just eats through inventory for no reason.

Of course, you could argue, it's just one card! Who cares! And that's fair. But another sentiment I heard both online and at the event I attended was that the turtle invasion felt like a slap in the face to veteran Magic players. Not only has the wait to return to Lorwyn been long, but some long-time players have grown frustrated at how many collaborations with outside IP (dubbed "Universes Beyond") Magic has been doing lately. Wizards has been doing these crossovers since 2020, though at the time Universes Beyond cards weren't planned to be made legal in the Standard format and many of the ones that followed were just reskins, making them fairly easy to put up with if you didn't want to see Transformers or Doctor Who in your Magic game.

But starting last year with Final Fantasy, that changed. The wildly popular Final Fantasy set was dubbed Standard-legal, and this year, Magic is getting more Universes Beyond sets than ever before: TMNT in March, Marvel in June, The Hobbit in August, and Star Trek in November. That's four standard sets - more than Wizards is releasing of non-Universes Beyond sets, of which we are only getting three: Lorwyn Eclipsed, Secrets of Strixhaven, and Reality Fracture. This is a lot to keep up with both mentally and financially, and while you could argue there's no pressure to "keep up," there is if you play the game's Standard format, which always revolves around the most recently-released sets.

It's also worth noting that groups of fans aren't the only ones who are annoyed here. Recently, shareholders of Wizards' parent company, Hasbro, filed a lawsuit against it, alleging that it was overprinting sets of cards, thereby devaluing ones that already existed. In the suit, shareholders also claimed Hasbro had previously done some fairly manipulative things with Magic card sales to cover up shortfalls elsewhere in the company. Regardless of whether or not anything comes of the lawsuit, there are some pretty hefty accusations in the complaint that would understandably sow further distrust among those who already felt Magic was overplaying its hand.

So, back to the pre-release event, you can imagine perhaps being a long-time Magic fan, excited for the return of Lorwyn, ready to play some games involving elves and fairies and merfolk, maybe rubbed the wrong way a bit by the sheer volume of Universes Beyond but trying not to let it bother them, only to open their pre-release pack and find "Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11" in shiny foil. Doesn't feel great. Heck, I've only been playing a year, and I breathed a sigh of relief when my pre-release pack (and, in fact, my entire card shop) was decidedly turtle-free.

To their credit, Wizards has acknowledged fan frustrations and is trying to make good. In a lengthy blog post written by communications director Blake Rasmussen, he apologized for the "shell shock" of seeing a turtle in a Lorwyn box. "We wouldn't blame you if you found it cool, but maybe a bit rude, that Lorwyn Eclipsed had to share the spotlight with an upcoming set," the post reads.

In response, Wizards went ahead and updated its image gallery to include official art of all rares and mythic rares from the main set. "They're already out there if you know where to look, and we'd rather you have them all in one official place," the post reads. "It's ready for you now if you want to take a look."

Rasmussen also announced plans for some sort of make-good event for the stores that had to deal with turtles at the event, though they weren't clear as to what that would look like just yet. Here's what he said:

"Then, to keep the Lorwyn Eclipsed party going, we're going to do—something. We're playing catch up a bit and we wanted to get this article out sooner rather than later, but we're assessing how widespread the issue was and working on some kind of cool, back-end, Lorwyn Eclipsed-related thing we can do for affected stores because we're really proud of this set and we want to make sure it gets its time in the sun. We're going to figure said thing out and get back to you all."

The response to this from the community has been mixed. A lot of people weren't mad about the turtles to begin with. Universes Beyond, some argue, is a great way to get new players into the hobby who might not have otherwise noticed Magic before. Some others who were annoyed with the turtles appear to have been pacified by Wizards' statement and response. Others still aren't happy, believing this is a symptom of a larger problem at Wizards (too much emphasis on Universes Beyond) and an overall lack of care.

We won't really know where the community writ large's heart lies on the broader issues until later this year, when the Magic card deluge has fully arrived and we have a better idea of whether or not people are actually buying all these dang sets. As for Lorwyn Eclipsed, hopefully whatever Wizards is plotting to help assuage the affected stores is appropriately celebratory of Lorwyn, which frankly is a pretty cool setting. I ended up having a grand time at my pre-release event, and will probably attend future ones as a result, provided there are no horror stories of Borg showing up in Strixhaven.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.