Warning: This review contains full spoilers for The Pitt Season 2, Episode 10!

The best episodes of The Pitt are nothing if not an ordeal. They leave you physically and emotionally exhausted after an hour of watching these intrepid doctors and nurses frantically scramble to stem the tide of human suffering. Watching the series is equal parts stressful and rewarding, and rarely has that been more true than with Season 2, Episode 10. This latest installment fires on all cylinders as it chronicles another harrowing hour at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.

I won’t even bury the lede here - I think “4:00 PM” is the first 10-worthy installment of Season 2. It’s not that this episode is drastically different from its predecessors. Given the way that this series unfolds in real-time across a single day, there’s obviously a strong throughline linking each and every episode. But all the moving parts combine in a subtle way to create what is easily the most harrowing and gripping installment of Season 2 so far.

The big development in “4:00 PM” involves a new influx of patients injured from a malfunctioning waterslide. That in itself yields plenty of compelling drama. We get the woman with the severed leg (a subplot that benefits from a bit of black humor involving Ogilvie [Lucas Iverson] fumbling over said leg). We get the father more concerned about the whereabouts of his son than his own serious injuries. And we get the mystery of whether the critically injured, potentially paralyzed child is that son. All of this combines to add even more urgency to an already frantic ER.

This drama is only intensified by the fact that several of the doctors are beginning to reach their respective breaking points. Obviously, Dr. Mohan’s panic attack is the most visible sign that things are starting to break down. That scene is easily the highlight of the episode. With the way the sound cuts out and we follow Samira as she’s hyperventilating and being surrounded by angry patients, it’s all too easy to feel her desperation and claustrophobia. This scene brings to mind Dr. Robby’s (Noah Wyle) similarly intense psychological breakdown from Season 1. That’s one of the real strengths of The Pitt. It makes you feel the immense toll this job takes on people in a way few medical dramas can rival.

Speaking of Robby, this episode is very unflattering in its depiction of his handling of the Samira situation. It’s a nice change to see Robby cast in a more antagonistic light, particularly because it allows Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) to emerge as the voice of reason in all this chaos. The season could use a little more of that.

It’s also great seeing the simmering rivalry between Dr. Langdon (Frank Ball) and Dr. Santos (Isa Briones) come to a head in Episode 10. As before, there’s not a lot of overt squabbling between the two; Santos simply responds to every order and interaction with a steadily building dose of passive-aggressive arrogance. Briones and Ball both deliver strong performances here, and you can feel the battle raging between them just beneath the surface.

As fun as that tension is, it’s also a relief to see Santos finally called out for her unprofessional behavior. I noted last week that I’m not really feeling the romantic entanglement between Santos and Dr. Garcia (Alexandra Metz), but this episode does make better use of the pairing as Garcia rips Santos a new one. Who would have thought this sharp-tongued surgeon would emerge as the voice of reason and decorum?

Episode 10 also makes great use of the Roxie (Brittany Allen) subplot as a counterpoint to the bigger, louder drama unfolding in the ER. These scenes are quieter and far more moody, dealing with a different side of emergency medicine and a patient who finally seems ready to die. Allen’s moments are as intense and grueling as anything else in this episode, just in a slightly different, more low-key way. It’s impossible not to be moved by Roxie’s struggle and the ways in which her family members are trying to put a brave face on it all. Javadi’s (Shabana Azeez) brief meltdown feels only too appropriate here.

At this point, I like to check in every week with how the series is faring on the Ogilvie front, as he’s slowly developed into the show’s most frustrating character over the past couple of months. Fortunately, things are definitely beginning to look up here. For one thing, there’s the aforementioned black humor involving Ogilvie dealing with the severed leg. It’s enough just to watch him squirm and suffer a bit. But more importantly, we’re finally starting to get a better sense of Ogilvie as a person with thoughts, feelings, and motivations of his own, and not just as a self-righteous jerk with an empathy problem. There’s still a way to go before Iverson’s character feels as well-rounded as the rest of the main cast, but the show is finally trending in the right direction there.

Apple recently released its newest budget smartphone - the Apple iPhone 17e - on March 11, and orders are now shipping out. The best way to score a deal is through your preferred service provider. Total Wireless, a prepaid no-contract carrier owned by Verizon, is offering one such deal where you can get the iPhone 17e "on us" with no port-in or trade-in required.

Get the New Apple iPhone 17e On Us with a 1 Year Plan

No trade-in or port-in required

Purchase the Apple iPhone 17e smartphone through Total Wireless by Verizon and save the entire retail price of the phone ($599.99). You'll save $300 instantly and an extra $299.99 off in bill credits over 12 months when you sign up for a new line on the Total 5G+ Unlimited plan. Trade-in and port-in are not required and there are zero activation fees.

Total 5G+ Unlimited plan is Total Wireless' best plan. It costs $60 per month for a single line with AutoPay (plus taxes and fees). The plan gives you unlimited talk, text, and data including access to Verizon's highest tier 5G Ultra Wideband network. Other perks include Disney+ Premium (ad-free) subscription and unlimited mobile hotspot. International travelers can benefit from unlimited roaming to 30+ countries including Canada, Mexico, South Korea, China, Japan, and more.

This is a solid deal once you calculate all the fees

A standalone unlocked iPhone 17e costs $599 at the Apple Store. With this deal you're getting the iPhone 17e and one year of Total Wireless' best talk, text, and data plan for $720. In other words, you're only paying $120 ($10 per month) for one year of service, with Disney+ Premium thrown in for good measure. That's a great price no matter how you look at it.

Not only that, Total Wireless unlocks your smartphone after 12 months of active service, which means after this plan is up, the iPhone 17e is yours to keep and you can switch plans and even networks. As long as you are happy with Verizon's reception in your location (very important), you'll save money in the long run with this plan.

Apple iPhone 17e: Release Date on March 11

The iPhone 17e is Apple's newest budget iPhone improves upon its 16e predecessor with a more powerful A19 chip, a new C1X model that offers better cellular performance, MagSafe support (finally), and double the starting storage capacity (256GB vs 128GB). Other more incremental features include a more scratch resistant Ceramic Shield 2 display and improvements to the camera's Portrait mode. The 17e carries over the rest of the 16e specs like the 6.1" 2532x1170 (460ppi) Super Retina XDR OLED display with 60Hz refresh rate, 48MP main camera, and support for Apple Intelligence.

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.

Blight: Survival has reemerged with a new gameplay trailer — and its developers are promising big news in 2026 after a whopping 1.5 million Steam wishlists.

In a new development update, publisher Behaviour Interactive, of Dead by Daylight fame, and developer Haenir Studio, announced small scape playtests to help shape the game’s future.

Blight: Survival is a medieval co-op action horror game whose 2022 announcement trailer — an early look at gameplay — has seen 3.9 million views on IGN’s YouTube channel alone. The new trailer, below, shows new in-engine footage showcasing combat finishers.

After the trailer went viral and those Steam Wishlists piled up, Ulrik Langvandsbråten, creative director and cofounder at Haenir Studio, partnered with Behaviour and set about rebuilding Blight’s core systems from the ground up.

In an interview with IGN, Ashley Pannell, senior creative director on Blight: Survival at Behaviour Interactive, acknowledged the pressure the team is now under following its viral success and the weight of so many Steam Wishlists, but said the pressure will result in a better game.

“We understand the heightened expectations of what we are being asked to deliver upon here,” he said. “What I personally really love about this is somehow the zombie trope is so powerful that it's such an all- encompassing thing that we just have to deliver on those expectations to the best of our ability. And that's really our goal every day, is to try and reach that benchmark to work towards those goals. And yeah, it absolutely is a big responsibility for us to do that. But one of the things that we have as a result of this, is that we have a community with us, and we have a group of people who are on this journey with us. We're not alone here. It wasn't just comments from three years ago. And even now, we are doing small scale play tests with members of the community, with the team, to really try and fulfill those expectations and make sure that we deliver on the game that A, they thought it was going to be, and B, that we believe that it can be at the same time.

“So we're on a journey together. We may have not been loud to the world, but we've been very active with our community, talking to our community, making sure that we get their feedback whenever we can. And like I said, even through actual small scale playtesting already, which we're doing regularly.”

2022 feels like a long time ago now, and gamers have been burnt before by Steam games that have either failed to meet expectations, failed to even come out, or scammed customers outright. People are more sceptical now of flashy, ‘too good to be true’ gameplay reveal trailers from unknown developers than they perhaps were just a few years ago. And this is something Pannell said the team is well aware of.

“From a dev team perspective, we obviously know that we're building a real game every day, every moment,” Pannell said. “So on a day-to-day basis, as a creator, I tend not to think too much about it. But it's true. It's absolutely true and correct that obviously people have been burned by things that have been released. Our goal is to ultimately, as we move forward, prove that we are making a real game, that it is awesome. We're focusing on the fun, we're focusing on the things that really matter to making a good quality, fun game that fulfills these expectations.

“We do talk about it. We do think about it. It does, like anything, that worries us. But then 10 years before that it was, did you have a loopbox in your game? 10 years before that it was something else. There's always something to worry about. And I guess our goal is to manage the expectations and make sure that as we move forward and develop, that we release what we think is right. What is good, what is right and what is fun? And how can we deliver this message in a way that is meaningful to people and especially our community that if anyone is primed for a fall, it's the people who started coming along for the ride in the first place. So yeah, it's a thing we think about, but I wouldn't say it dominates our thoughts. I mean, certainly, before we had this meeting, we had like, this could come up. It's a thing that is real in the world right now and it's important to be able to tackle.”

So, what is Blight: Survival? It’s an action horror co-op game set in a brutal medieval world. “It is a game where tension beats at the heart of the whole experience,” Pannell explained. “So I'm not going to land directly on any obvious genres here other than that overall thing. So as a player, every combat you enter will have a risk and reward. And risk reward is a key element of the overall driving part of many features in the game. So whatever you do, you always have to weigh up your decisions really carefully because every fight might be your last, every investigation might be your last, or it might bring you great reward. It's not just a traditional action horror, it's not a hack and slash, but it definitely is beating at the heart of this tension that is driven by risk and reward wherever we can find it in the situation we have.

“So it borrows from a number of different genres, but I think our closest landing point is action horror. It is a combat driven game with elements of exploration, with extraction light elements that are in there, and other elements also from games of that genre that help us drive the internal tension and the risk the players take whenever they're in a given space.”

As for those extraction elements, don’t expect a clone of Arc Raiders or Marathon. “We have loss in our game, and the decision whether to bank that or keep it at some point in the game will become a key choice the player makes,” Pannell teased. “The decision to take more risk at the consequence of, for want of a description, call it extracting early to bank your reward will or is currently in the game as we would expect and a core component of how the game plays. So we have extraction elements, but it's not driven exclusively as the extraction genre. And we're also taking extraction influence from other types of games, like for example, Helldivers or Deep Rock Galactic, that have extraction components as a core part of the phase of the game.

“Again, not a direct analog, but we have both elements of what we normally consider a round-based game with extraction, plus a pure extraction game too. We have both those elements in our game, and they work in harmony with each other over the course of your playtime.

“The core game loop is you go in, you try and amass what you can, and you can always push for more, but you could always back out when you feel like you've got something that is meaningful.”

Don’t expect a release in 2026, but things are certainly ramping up. There are 45,000 people in the Blight discord, where playtesters will be plucked from. And the developers will then respond to feedback.

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 Alienware Area-51 16 is Dell's highest-end 16" gaming laptop. Much like every gaming laptop on the market, prices have gone up in 2026 due to the increased demand for RTX 50 series GPUs and DDR5 RAM, but fortunately there's still a reliable way to get a good deal if you know where to look.

Dell Outlet - Dell's official site for Dell and Alienware refurbished, scratch and dent, and clearance PCs - just recently restocked its inventory of Alienware Area-51 16 laptops equipped with RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090 GPUs. These have been factory inspected and certified to work and look brand new and even include the same warranty as buying a retail product. Like a retail product, you also have the option to extend the base warranty up to three years if desired.

Alienware Area-51 16" RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Laptop

If you're seeking chart-topping gaming performance, then Alienware's biggest and most powerful prebuilt desktop computer should be high on your list. For just a few more days the Alienware Area-51 AMD Ryzen 9800X3D Edition RTX 5090 gaming PC has dropped in price from $5,650 all the way down to $4,649.99, a savings of $1,000. Alternatively you can upgrade to the 9950X3D CPU for an additional $300, which comes out to $4,949.99. These are both competitive prices considering the fact that most RTX 5090 prebuilts are currently selling for $5,000 or more.

Alienware Area-51 Ryzen Edition RTX 5090 Gaming PC

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best gaming CPU for most people

...but you can also upgrade to the 9950X3D for a reasonable price

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered to be one of the best gaming processors on the market and outperforms any Intel or AMD non-X3D chip in games thanks to AMD's 3D-V-Cache technology. It only has eight cores, but that makes no difference in gaming since most games can't utilize more than eight cores (if that) anyways. That's why its gaming performance is nearly identical to the pricier 9900X3d and 9950X3D.

Now if you regularly use your PC for non-gaming applications that actually do benefit from as many cores as possible, then you can upgrade to an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 16-core processor, which doubles the core count while offering similar gaming performance, for an additional $300.

The RTX 5090 is the most powerful graphics card ever

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although with this generation Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in hardware-based raster performance. If you want the absolute best performance for your gaming PC, there is literally no other option from any other brand.

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.

From portable gaming handhelds to smartphones, our lives rely on portable, untethered electronics, and it can't hurt to always have a charger on hand. Amazon is currently offering a Baseus Picogo AE21 100W 3-port USB Type-C wall charger for just $29.99 after you apply coupon code "8O3OICC2". You actually do not need to be an Amazon Prime member to get this deal. This diminutive adapter can fast charge even the most power hungry handheld gaming PCs like the ROG Xbox Ally X and features a handy digital display.

Baseus Picogo 100W USB-C Wall Charger for $29.99

Amazon Prime membership not needed

If you're in need of a super high capacity power bank that's still pretty compact, check out this Jackery deal from Amazon. Right now you can pick up the Jackery Explorer 240D power bank with a massive 80,000mAh 256Wh battery capacity for just $129 after you apply coupon code "E240D129". The Explorer 240D is a lot smaller and lighter than a full-sized power station but has a much higher capacity and more outlets compared to other power banks.

Jackery Explorer 240D 80,000mAh 256Wh Power Bank for $129

Bluetti is well known for its high quality yet affordable power stations and solar generators. The brand also happens to have an official AliExpress storefront where it sells its products for considerably less than on Amazon. Its best seller is the Bluetti AC70 768Wh 1,000W LiFePO4 Power Station, which is currently available for $264.19 after you apply $35 off coupon code "35USAFFS". This exact same power station (warranty and all) currently sells for $329 on Amazon.

This power station ships free locally from the United States and arrives within 1 to 2 weeks. Since it's brand new and sold by the manufacturer itself, it comes with the original 5 year warranty.

Bluetti AC70 768Wh 1,000W LiFePO4 Power Station for $264

There’s something endlessly endearing about a good-natured dummy. Just a happy, optimistic doofus that can barely scrape two brain cells together to form a thought. You can take your dark and brooding Kratos, or your wisecracking Spider-Man. Give me Dunk from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, or Guybrush Threepwood from The Secret of Monkey Island, heck, even the dog from Up, any day of the week. And soon, give me Davy, the undead nobody, from Stupid Never Dies, the upcoming action-RPG and debut release from the Devil May Cry and Resident Evil veterans at GPTRACK50.

IGN recently met with the team behind Stupid Never Dies for a first look at Davy’s wild adventure. With blazing-fast action, a slick approach to changing combat styles, and a naive goofball of a hero that might just be in over his head, this has the makings of a damned good time. And, like many of the best, most foolish adventures, it starts with a bit of romance.

Romance is (un)dead

Davy is dead. Not figuratively, or metaphorically, he’s literally dead, and risen again as a zombie. The world has gone to hell (again, not a metaphor), and monsters now roam the world, in total control. As a lowly zombie, Davy sits firmly at the bottom rung of monster society. Weak and powerless, he wanders an abandoned shopping mall, his un-life devoid of meaning or purpose, until he “meets” Julia.

Julia, like Davy, is dead. Though in her case being dead stuck. Instead of a zombie roaming around the end of the world, she met her end in a freezer inside of the mall, and has stayed a human popsicle for who knows how long. When Davy shambles upon her one day, it’s love at first sight, and he makes it his mission to bring Julia back to life, and ask her out.

It’s not exactly the sort of meet-cute you’d see in a Hallmark movie, but it’s enough to send Davy delving deep into creature-filled dungeons in hopes of taking on the King of Monsters (or KOM), stealing his powers, and saving Julia. Davy isn’t usually a fighter, but with Julia's life on the line, he’s willing to make an exception.

This not-even-remotely-thought-out mission might seem doomed before it starts, but, thanks to some dumb luck, Davy finds a strange egg, and, feeling a bit hungry, decides to make a meal of it. While eating random mystery eggs is not typically a good idea, in Davy’s case it works out beautifully. That snack turns out to be a phoenix egg, and eating it has awakened Davy's dormant zombie power, and granted him an incredible new ability called Style Eat.

Funky Zombie Action

The KOM rules over monsters from deep within his dungeon, and Davy will need to fight through his armies to reach him. The miasma that permeates the dungeon directly affects Davy. Unlike the surface, where he moves with the classic slow undead shuffly, the miasma turbo charges Davy, allowing him to run, jump, and attack freely. His bite allows him to rip through other monsters, and by sinking his teeth into their core, he activates Style Eat, and that’s when the fun really begins.

Style Eat allows Davy to take on the characteristics and abilities of his enemies. Think Mega Man, or even Kameo, but with more gnawing. Snack on a werewolf, for example, and you’ll gain claws, fur, and beastlike agility, allowing you to rapidly tear through monsters and opening up new traversal options. Or chomp on a Lich to gain the ability to raise an army of skeletons from the enemies you kill. There are 11 styles total, and you can switch between them at the touch of a button – though limited slots mean you won’t be able to equip all of them at once. You can, however, combo the ones you do have. One example given was flying above enemies using the Harpy Style, then transforming into a heavy monster made of rock using the Golem Style, and crashing down on top of enemies.

The other trick up Davy’s infected sleeves is Body Hack, which allows you to customize his arms, head, and legs with special gear to add special effects. We only saw a small selection of the arm modifications, but seeing a missile pod strapped to Davy’s arm, and him unleashing ghoulish hell on a group of monsters was a pretty clear tone-setter. These also persist with the Style Eat transformations, so if you want to go into a fight as a Werewolf with a giant sword for an arm, you’re in luck.

While Stupid Never Dies isn’t necessarily a roguelike, it does have some of that DNA in its approach to progression. Each venture into the dungeon has a time limit, and Davy won’t be able to make it all the way to the KOM right away. You keep any loot you collect, but each fresh run resets Davy’s level back down to zero. However, as you progress further you will build an XP multiplier, allowing you to level up faster, and make it deeper on the next attempt.

With enough persistence, Davy may yet be able to slay KOM and Julia, though it remains to be seen if our lovable, undead-doofus of a protagonist will get the girls in the end. Fortunately, we won’t need to wait too long to sink our teeth into some monsters and find out. Stupid Never Dies on PC and PlayStation 5 later this year.

Despite the rising prices of graphics cards and DDR5 RAM, there are still good deals to be found on prebuilt gaming PCs. B&H Photo is offering a great deal on this well-equipped MSI Codex Z2C RTX 5070 gaming PC for $1,499 with free shipping. This is a well-equipped prebuilt that also includes an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and 32GB of DDR5-6000MHz RAM. The RTX 5070 is an excellent GPU for gaming at 1080p or 1440p, and is even a decent budget option for 4K gaming.

This purchase should be eligible for a free copy of Resident Evil: Requiem. For a limited time, purchase a desktop equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card and get a free digital download code of Resident Evil Requiem Standard Edition on Steam while supplies last. The promotion ends on March 16 and the redemption deadline is April 16. Full details are available on Nvidia's official website. B&H is an authorized MSI and Nvidia reseller.

MSI Codex Z2C RTX 5070 Gaming PC (32GB/2TB) for $1,499

B&H Photo has one of the best deals right now on a 4K-ready gaming PC. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC drops to just $1,899 with free delivery after an $700 discount. Most RTX 5070 Ti prebuilts cost above $2,000 these days, so this is one of the lowest prices I've seen. The RTX 5070 Ti is our best reviewed Nvidia GeForce Blackwell card and has the chops to run games in glorious 4K at 60+fps.

This purchase should be eligible for a free copy of Resident Evil: Requiem. For a limited time, purchase a desktop equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card and get a free digital download code of Resident Evil Requiem Standard Edition on Steam while supplies last. The promotion ends on March 16 and the redemption deadline is April 16. Full details are available on Nvidia's official website. B&H is an authorized Lenovo and Nvidia reseller.

Lenovo Legion RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC for $1,899

Every car owner should have a tire inflator on hand in case of emergencies. If the only reason stopping you is the cost, then this sub-$10 deal should give you no more excuse. Amazon is offering the Airsure 150PSI cordless tire inflator and air compressor for just $9.49 after a 50% off coupon code: "ZBGQICWA". Although I've written about a couple of other tire inflator deals this year, this is the first cordless model that I've seen priced under $10.

Many, if not most, of these off-brand tire inflators on Amazon are probably rebadged variants of the same product, so you basically just want to get the lowest price. They might not have as many fancy features as other more expensive models, but they get the job done and that's what matters.

Airsure Cordless Tire Inflator and Air Compressor for $9.49

If you're in the process of building a new gaming PC, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D should be your top CPU pick, especially with the new sale going at Amazon. For a limited time, this CPU has dropped to $429.95 with free shipping, which is the lowest price I've seen since its launch. Even better, it comes with a free voucher code for the highly anticipated Crimson Desert game, which will be released on March 19. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is widely considered to be one of the best gaming processors on the market and outperforms even pricier AMD and Intel CPUs.

The Gamer's Choice: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU for $430

Includes Crimson Desert

Fortnite fans are in uproar over Epic Games' changes to the pricing and availability of V-Bucks, and now the game's developer has finally acknowledged the wave of negative feedback.

This week, Epic Games announced its biggest ever shakeup to how Fortnite's lucrative in-game currency is doled out, and how much it will cost to buy. In short, you'll now get fewer V-Bucks for your money, fewer V-Bucks in each battle pass, and fewer V-Bucks as part of the game's Fortnite Crew monthly subscription.

The response to these changes has been extremely negative, with complaints on reddit and social media criticizing the financial necessity of the changes, as well as their timing.

Fortnite's recent Chapter 7 relaunch was initially well received, though in-game issues, an ever-increasing amount of premium crossovers, and the sheer length of the most recent season has seen that excitement sour.

Chapter 7 Season 1 is the third-longest in-game season ever, and the first since 2022 to last more than 100 days. It has also featured crossovers with everything from Harry Potter to Kim Kardashian, though outside of a lengthy South Park tie-in, most of these collaborations have simply involved the ability to buy items from the game's shop.

And then there's the brief and blunt explanation for the price rises put forth by Epic Games, a video game developer which makes billions. Here it is in full: "The cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot and we’re raising prices to help pay the bills." It's a blunt message from a video game developer known to profit enormously from Fortnite, stated with no further context on the game's running costs or current performance, to which many fans simply rolled their eyes.

I've been subscribed to Fortnite Crew since its launch in 2020, but today I've decided to cancel it after the news of the V-Bucks reduction & increase in pricing.

The news yesterday was my breaking point with Crew especially because I've been so dissapointed with how its been… pic.twitter.com/noKuJkJ6ID

— Rezztro (@Rezztro) March 11, 2026

"Here's the thing, I don't doubt the cost of running Fortnite has gone up," said Typical Gamer, one of the game's most prolific YouTubers, during a subsequent stream. "But other than that it's tough. We don't have all the inside knowledge of them running the company." Indeed, Epic Games has always shied away from discussing the sheer number of people and studios it utilizes to keep Fortnite's never-ending content machine constantly whirring.

"The community sentiment was truly that there was just collabs, on collabs, on collabs, and that's what Epic was focused on," Typical Gamer continued. "So for that to be the community sentiment and then for them to drop this, it's just not a good mix. And people are angry. They're really, really upset. Some people are saying they're not even going to buy the next season's battle pass in protest.

"If they had just waited a little bit, until after they'd made Save the World free-to-play, focused on the storyline and Fortnite's own characters, brought the storyline back and made a banger of a season... I think at that point you get a lot less community backlash. A lot of people are just feeling like it's a slap in the face after everything that's going on the last few months... But I do feel it's rare that Fortnite turns back this decision. The way they worded it, the way it's so blunt, it's like they just wanted to rip off the bandage and there's no going back."

Responses from fans on social media, meanwhile, have been less measured. "This is the ens***ification of Fortnite," wrote on player in a lengthy thread on reddit. "[Fortnite]’s not growing anymore so the scumbag C suite will try to squeeze as much money out of what is left by lowering the quality of the product (this season was total ass) and charging more for it (v-bucks price changes). So blatant, so predictable."

Other threads show players screenshotting the cancelation screens of their Fortnite Crew subscriptions, and making pledges not to play Fortnite's next season.

"Appreciate the posts in these threads today, everyone," wrote Epic Games staff member EmptyTux, responding after many hours to the many reddit threads on the subject. "There’s been a lot of feedback here not just about the V-Bucks changes, but sharing your feelings about Fortnite as a whole — especially on this current season. Can’t wait to show you next week’s update <3"

Today brought another teaser for that new season, which sees Fortnite's storyline truly kick up a gear. There's word of a fresh in-game story moment this weekend, and another Power Hour to keep players engaged and coming back ahead of next week's new season launch. But will all the players who walked away from Fortnite this week still be there, playing — and paying — as the battle royale soldiers on?

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Best Buy is offering an outstanding deal on a slim and lightweight laptop that still offers plenty of gaming chops. From now through March 14, you can pick up a brand new Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 RTX 5060 gaming laptop for just $1,399.99 after a $500 off instant discount. Choose either free shipping or free in-store pickup. If you want to save a little bit more money, open box "excellent condition" units are on also on sale for $1,256.99.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is one of the thinnest and lightest gaming laptops, measuring 0.63" thick and weighing in at only 3.3 pounds. It features a gorgeous 14" 3K 120Hz OLED display, AMD Ryzen 9 270 CPU, GeForce RTX 5060 GPU, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and 1TB NVEMe SSD. The entire shell is made of CNC-milled aluminum construction keeps the weight down and features premium accents like a glass touchpad and tasteful RGB accents.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 RTX 5060 Gaming Laptop for $1,400

KPop Demon Hunters 2 is golden just days before the first movie’s starring role at this Sunday's Oscars ceremony, with Netflix snapping up directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans for the sequel as part of a multi-year writing and directing deal.

The Hollywood Reporter said Sony Pictures Animation is behind the sequel, as expected, having produced the phenomenally successful original for Netflix last year. While there’s no release window for KPop Demon Hunters 2, THR said the reported 2029 release date is unlikely “given how many years it takes to make an animated project of this size.” This one is at the very early stages, with Kang and Appelhans said to be turning their attention to the sequel once the awards season is wrapped up.

Speaking of which, KPop Demon Hunters is expected to win the best animated feature award at the Oscars this weekend. Meanwhile, the Oscars producers recently confirmed that the 98th annual Academy Awards will include two “moments” highlighting two of last year’s most beloved films, Sinners and of course KPop Demon Hunters, and that they will include even more than the standard performances of the nominated original songs.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the section of the ceremony honoring KPop Demon Hunters will include a performance of the hit track Golden, which is nominated for best original song. The singing voices behind the film’s central girl group HUNTR/X — Rei Ami, Audrey Nuna, and Ejae — will perform the single, with a “fusion of traditional Korean instrumentalists and dance celebrating the folklore and cultural inspiration behind the animated film” rounding out the film’s highlight moment.

“This year, our music performances are inspired by two of the most powerful cultural phenomena in film: Sinners, the most nominated film in Oscars history, and KPop Demon Hunters, a global pop culture sensation,” producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan explained in a statement. “These show moments are more than just performances — they expand into cinematic tributes that celebrate the relationship between music and storytelling and why these films resonated so deeply with audiences around the world.”

There’s a lot more going on at the Oscars this year, including a Marvel reunion “for the superhero fans,” and even a Bridesmaids reunion. The 98th Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC, as well as streaming on Hulu, on Sunday, March 15 beginning at 7pm ET. The Oscars is on high alert amid an FBI warning of a potential Iran drone attack on California in retaliation for the war.

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.

Apple’s new 2026 M5-powered MacBook Air and M5 Pro/Max-powered MacBook Pro may have just released yesterday, but Amazon is already doing something Apple almost never does: offering a discount. You can save $49 on all available models of both new laptops (see at Amazon). For anyone in the market for a new computer, that’s a nice little incentive to pick up Apple’s latest and greatest machines. And if you can get by with last year’s standard M5-powered Pro, you can save $200. It’s unclear how long the discount will last, so I’d order one sooner than later if you’re in the market.

Save $49 on Brand New 2026 MacBooks

Whether you’re interested in the very capable M5 MacBook Air or the extremely capable M5 Pro or Max MacBook Pro, you have a number of options to spec out the machines at a discount.

The M5 MacBook Air comes in two sizes: 13.6” and 15.3” and starts at $1099. It’s available in four color options: silver, sky blue, starlight (champaign gold), and midnight (deep blue/black). Silver is the standard, straightforward color that’s been available on MacBooks for the longest time. The vibrancy of the starlight and sky blue is subtle, while midnight is a deep, rich color. They all look great, and I honestly don’t think you can go wrong.

Whatever color you get, you can choose from three increasingly souped-up configurations that go up in price accordingly. In either size, the baseline Air comes with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. That’s twice the hard drive space of last year’s model. For an extra $200, you can double the storage, and for another $200 on top of that, you can crank it up to 24GB of unified memory.

As for the M5 MacBook Pro, it’s a bigger, more powerful machine than the Air. Size-wise, it comes in 14.2” and 16.2” options, though it’s more limited in its color offerings, with just silver and space black to choose from.

But when it comes to power, the new MacBook Pro models feature the souped-up M5 Pro or the M5 Max chip, both of which give you a computing boost beyond the standard M5. Depending on the chip you want, you’ll get between 16GB and 36GB of unified memory and between 512GB and 2TB of SSD space. These are the most powerful laptops Apple makes, and they’re price accordingly.

As mentioned above, if you can skate by the 2025 MacBook Pro with a regular M5 chip, you can save $200 at Amazon, dropping the price down to a reasonable $1499.99. That’s the lowest price Amazon has ever offered for this machine by $100. That’s a terrific deal.

For those who don't need a ton of power for their computing needs, Apple has just introduced the low-priced MacBook Neo. It's not on sale, but it starts at $599 ($499 for students), so I don't expect to see a discount anytime soon.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

James Gunn's Superman already boasted a wide cast of DC heroes and villains, but it's looking like the sequel will outdo it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Aaron Pierre will reprise the role of John Stewart in 2027's Man of Tomorrow.

Pierre's John Stewart is making his debut in the HBO Max series Lanterns, which is set to debut in August 2026. That series depicts John as a rookie Green Lantern still training under the watchful, cantankerous eye of Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan. Presumably, John will be a full-fledged ring-slinger by the time he returns in Man of Tomorrow.

The character John Stewart was created by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams and first appeared in Green Lantern #87 in December 1971. He achieved wider mainstream popularity thanks to his lead role in the Justice League animated series in the early 2000s, where he was voiced by Phil LaMarr.

This will mark the second time in a row one of Gunn's Superman movies has featured a Green Lantern as a supporting character. Superman introduced Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, another colleague of John's with a less-than-friendly demeanor. It remains to be seen if either Guy or Hal will appear alongside John in Man of Tomorrow.

Man of Tomorrow will bring back many of the main cast from Superman, including David Corenswet's Kal-El, Nicolas Hoult's Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, and Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen. The film forces Superman and Luthor to form a reluctant alliance against the world-conquering villain Brainiac, who will be played by Lars Eidinger.

Man of Tomorrow is written and directed by James Gunn. Production is slated to begin later this year, with the film hitting theaters on July 9, 2027.

For more, find out who's who in the new Lanterns trailer and see why Man of Tomorrow made the right choice by making Brainaic the villain.

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

Resident Evil fans who have yet to get their hands on Requiem, we have some exciting news: Amazon has restocked physical copies for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2. Hooray! All copies are available to pick up for $69.99, though you'll want to be quick to make a move on them. Who knows how much longer they'll be in stock at the retailer, so now is as good a time as any to grab them.

Buy Resident Evil Requiem for PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch 2

A $2.6 billion class-action lawsuit alleges that millions of UK PlayStation users have been subjected to "excessive and unfair" charges by Sony in a new anti-competition court action.

As reported by the BBC, consumer campaigner Alex Neill accuses Sony of implementing a "sustained strategy" of excluding competitors by "monopolizing" the sale of digital games via its "closed eco-system," the PlayStation Store.

"The result is that Sony can and does set the retail prices of all such content itself without facing any retail competition for digital content," said Robert Palmer KC, on behalf of claimant, Neill. "It allows it to obtain monopoly profits from digital distribution, setting retail prices at what it refers to as its target margin of an excessive and unfair 30% above the level of the digital wholesale prices." He also stressed that, as only one of its three consoles contains a disk drive, players are obliged to purchase games via its online store.

If successful, the court case could see an estimated 12.2 million British players compensated for any and all downloads "over a period of about" 10 years, amounting to around $215. Consumers will automatically be included in any judgment on an "opt-out" basis.

Sony told London's Competition Appeal Tribunal that adding third-party stores to its infrastructure could pose a security risk, and claimed that it used game sales to subsidize the costs of its hardware consoles, which are sold with low profit margins. The tribunal is expected to last 10 weeks.

This latest court action follows a similar monopoly claim levied at Steam owner Valve, which is facing a $900 million lawsuit over alleged anti-competitive practices. The lawsuit alleges that Steam unfairly imposes platform parity obligations which prohibit publishers from selling games on rival stores with better terms, causing a restriction of competition. The legal action has also taken aim at the need to continue buying add-ons for games bought through Steam via Valve's own marketplace, leading to a further reduction in competition. It also alleges Valve imposes unnecessarily high commission charges.

Earlier this week, IGN reported Sony is reportedly testing dynamic pricing on the PlayStation Store. Sony is allegedly running an A/B testing system that shows different prices to different users as part of an experiment. The report suggests the test has been running since November 2025, and currently impacts over 150 games in 68 territories.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Spoilers follow for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 10, “Rubincon,” which is available on Paramount Plus now.

Starfleet Academy closes out its first season with a decent if not thrilling wrap-up to last week’s big cliffhanger, a tale that accentuates both what’s great about the show and what can also be its biggest weakness.

By the end of the previous episode, “300th Night,” the gang was in a jam, with the entire Federation surrounded by an array of Omega-47 mines that threatened to detonate and thereby damage subspace for potentially millions of years, ensuring a new Burn-like era for the quadrant. With the USS Athena on the wrong side of the mines, it falls to Captain Ake (Holly Hunter) and the cadets to save the day (of course)... and when Ake is abducted by the Venari Ral, it’s up to the kids to get the job done (with an assist from the delightful Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno).

If you’ve been waiting for Magic: The Gathering’s return to Middle-earth with a Hobbit-focused set this year to jump into buying cardboard versions of your Tolkien favorites, we’ve got good news for you - and bad news for your wallet.

The Commander precons from the Lord of the Rings set are not only back in stock at Amazon, but many of them are cheaper than they have been and remain cheaper than market value (as seen on TCGplayer).

Better yet, they’re all pretty great decks for jumping in and playing with friends, and while they’re technically all above market value, you’ll find them selling for much more elsewhere.

Save On Lord of the Rings Commander Decks Again

The Pan-European Game Information age-ratings body — better known as PEGI, the European equivalent of the ESRB — is revising how games are rated in Europe.

From July 2026, four new categories will be added to PEGI's classification options to better inform parents and players about games that include in-app purchases, paid random items, play-by-appointment features such as daily streaks, and online communities, marking a huge pivot in how games and their mechanics are classified in the UK and Europe.

Before this shake-up, PEGI chiefly rated games according to prevalence of drugs, sex, and violence, but did not explicitly rate games according to "interactive risk."

The hit manga Chainsaw Man from creator Tatsuki Fujimoto will soon end, according to VIZ Media in a quote provided to io9.

The 231st chapter of the series confused fans on release, given an abrupt and unexplained change to the final panel. The page initially concluded with a “Final chapter coming 3/24” stinger, but was later updated in the Shonen Jump app to read: “To be continued.”

VIZ Media, which publishes the series in print outside of Japan, responded to the inquiry by confirming: “Chainsaw Man is ending but details are yet to be confirmed.”

Say it ain’t so, Pochita… 😭

Read Chainsaw Man, Ch. 231 in Shonen Jump for free! https://t.co/6wkiFrCSgz pic.twitter.com/N4WG1z6JaX

— Shonen Jump (@shonenjump) March 10, 2026

There’s every possibility that this ending might be overblown, given that the series has previously continued after an 18-month hiatus, but for now it seems that the story will be ending with the conclusion of its second part.

The anime adaptation from Studio MAPPA is unaffected by this announcement. The most recent entry, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc performed consistently well at the Japanese Box Office. IGN's Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc review returned a 7/10. We said: "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has some issues and it sacrifices some of the first season's experimental approach, but it compensates with a compelling romance and one of the best soundtracks of the year."

A second season that intends to cover the “International Assassins” arc has been announced, but no release date has been given. Chainsaw Man’s influence also extends to other comics, with a recent issue of Absolute Batman paying homage to the series with its wraparound cover.

Art by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Image Credit: Viz Media.

Mat Jones is IGN's UK Social Coordinator, and will turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.