EA and Battlefield Studios are preparing Battlefield 6 players for Season 1: Winter Offensive with a community letter with a list of changes set to be introduced with the upcoming 1.1.3.0 update.

The message, which aims to roll out the welcome mat for what will be yet another feedback-driven update, was posted on the official Battlefield 6 website today. It comes with a breakdown for some of the community talking points BF Studios has attempted to address so far, while giving fans a closer look at what’s to come when Winter Offensive launches December 9.

With anticheat, challenge/progression, and Escalation updates topping the list of recent highlights, BF Studios is turning its attention to a number of key issues across combat, REDSEC, and the overall Battlefield 6 experience. One especially troublesome issue for the community that the team is seeking to fix with update 1.1.3.0 are audio issues that have existed since launch. Players should notice, for example, that footsteps have been tweaked to “improve clarity, distance definition, and positional awareness across the game.”

“We have also continued to work on performance and memory issues that could cause sounds,” BF Studios says, “such as vehicles or footsteps, to sometimes not play as intended, which has been particularly noticeable on larger Battle Royale maps.”

Following last month’s multiplayer mode tweaks is a set of additional adjustments for Rush and Breakthrough. The studio explains the new changes as another step in the balancing act that has seen it attempting to keep matches fair, with the new update ideally improving the experience for attacking players.

Capture volumes and vehicle availability in Breakthrough will also be updated when 1.1.3.0 launches next week, with BF Studios explaining that Siege of Cairo, for example, will feature an additional attacker tank for Sectors 1 and 3 and a reworked capture area for objective B. Rush fans will notice M-COM locations for Manhattan Bridge and Liberation Peak have been adjusted to further refine attacker gameplay.

“These updates are intended to reduce bottlenecks, remove frustration points, and create more consistent and engaging fights around objectives,” BF Studios says.

“Beyond these highlights, we have also made a range of quality-of-life improvements across UI clarity, minimap behavior, controller aiming responsiveness, and more, which you will see detailed in the full notes.”

Another topic plaguing the Battlefield 6 fanbase since launch involves potential hit registration and netcode issues. It’s an area BF Studios has taken aim at before, with update 1.1.3.0 set to, hopefully, buff out even more scratches related to inconsistent gameplay across multiplayer and REDSEC. Also included in the new changes is the promise that Battlefield 6 will be easier on the eyes thanks to changes to close-range soldier visibility, lighting, prone animations, and more.

While players across the experience will likely pick up on “wide-ranging” changes to weapon handling, attachments, and recoil patterns, REDSEC fans can look forward to armor and tank availability changes. Armor changes for the battle royale experience will be detailed in its own dedicated post in the near future, with tank changes also subject to change as fans get their hands on update 1.1.3.0.

“We are actively exploring several areas aimed at improving clarity, responsiveness, and fairness in combat, BF Studios adds. “This includes further work on edge cases related to hit registration, investigating rare desync scenarios with destructible objects, and gathering deeper data on situations where players feel they were eliminated after reaching cover. These areas remain key priorities, and the findings from our ongoing investigations will inform updates planned for the new year.”

This latest communication from the Battlefield team stops short of providing full Battlefield 6 update 1.1.3.0 patch notes. Players are told to expect a more detailed list of all of the new weapon, map, and mode changes in “the next few days.”

Battlefield 6 Season 1 will deliver its third and final chapter when Winter Offensive launches December 9 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S. While the two previous chapters have introduced additional weapons, modes, and two maps – Blackwell Fields and Eastwood – next week’s content update focuses on its Ice Lock event changes. Expect snowy limited-time goodies for Gauntlet and Empire State, as well as an ice climbing axe melee weapon.

Battlefield 6 launched for PC and consoles October 10. As BF Studios continues to refine its gameplay, players have found themselves divided over map sizes and goofy skins while EA boasts record-breaking launch sales.

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).

Stranger Things is taking over as the show approaches its series finale — and now even Google is getting in on the fun by adding an Easter egg to its search engine.

Head to the Google homepage and search for “Stranger Things,” and a Dungeons & Dragons polyhedral die will appear at the bottom of the results screen. If you click it, it’ll roll to a one — which, in turn, makes red bolts of lightning fill up the screen. From there, your results will be vertically flipped… quite literally bringing the page into the Upside Down.

It’s a fun little gimmick that highlights just how popular and powerful Stranger Things has become within the zeitgeist since it started all the way back in 2016.

Speaking of the Upside Down, the most recent trailer for the beloved Netflix series' final season teases that the gang may actually go into it at some point before the show ends. Let’s be real, that would be so cool — and chaotic, which seems to be what we can expect from the last leg of the series.

“I think what's unique about this season is that it starts a little bit in chaos because our heroes ultimately lost at the end of Season 4,” cocreator and showrunner Ross Duffer recently revealed about season 5. “We usually set up their normal life and how they’re going about school, and then we introduce the supernatural element. But in this case, this season is sprinting from the start.”

His brother, fellow cocreator and showrunner Matt Duffer, added that things are very different for the group these days. “They’re not experiencing normal life. Nothing in Hawkins is normal anymore,” he explained. “Their movement is restricted, and there are Big Brother cameras everywhere. So not only are they active — their everyday, normal lives are anything but.”

The last season of Stranger Things is being released in three parts. The first four episodes arrived in time for the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26, with the next three episodes set to debut on Netflix on Christmas Day. The finale will be available to stream on the platform on New Year’s Eve, the same day it will also be released in theaters nationwide.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Wicked: For Good has had a wildly successful run at the box office so far. If you've seen it and can't wait to pick up a physical copy for your library, its 4K release is now available to preorder. That's not all, though. The climactic final part of the Wicked story is also getting a two-film collection, for those hoping to have the whole tale as one 4K bundle, alongside a fancy Amazon-exclusive giftset and a Walmart-exclusive steelbook.

At the moment, these don't have a set release date, which makes sense given how recently the film just opened in theaters. Bonus features haven't been revealed yet either, but we're keeping an eye out for more information and will update accordingly.

Wicked: For Good on 4K

Wicked Two-Film Collection on 4K

Wicked: For Good Walmart Exclusive Steelbook

If steelbooks are up your alley, Wicked: For Good has one coming exclusively from Walmart. This release, which you can see in more detail below, features Glinda in her bubble and Elphaba on her broom on the front cover, with the Emerald City visible between them. It also comes with a 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital copy of the film.

Wicked: For Good Amazon Exclusive Giftset

This is the fanciest release of the bunch. Amazon's exclusive giftset, which comes with a hefty price tag of $229.99, is the ultimate pick-up for Wicked fans. It comes with Wicked: For Good on 4K, Blu-ray, and digital with exclusive packaging, an Emerald City-inspired gold tone metal box, and a numbered certificate of authenticity, which all come packaged in a vibrant pink box.

While we still have to wait a little bit for Wicked: For Good's physical release, there's plenty more coming out this month (and at the start of 2026) that's worth adding to your library. Our breakdown of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays highlights the movies and shows releasing over the next few months, so you can stock up on your favorites.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

Throughout Black Friday and the weekend, there were quite a few worthy gaming PC deals from several retailers including HP, Lenovo, Best Buy, and Walmart. These deals have either sold out or gone up in price. There's really just one retailer that still has its best PC deals still running past Cyber Monday, and that's Alienware. It's still not too late to score a great deal on a powerful gaming PC, but the clock is ticking.

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $1,750

Considering what it offers, Disney+ is one of the best streaming services on the block. From classic Disney animated films to the latest Marvel shows, Star Wars movies, and so much more, Disney+ puts an incredible range of high-quality viewing options at your fingertips. There's tons to watch, but after another round of price hikes, you might want to revisit your streaming subscriptions. We're here to help.

At the moment, one of the best Disney Plus bundle deals available is the massive Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max streaming bundle. This starts at $19.99/month (after a recent price hike) to get you all three streaming services with ads. Bundles are definitely worth considering, especially following the news of Hulu eventually fully integrating into the Disney+ app.

How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max Streaming Bundle

The highly-acclaimed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just added yet another accolade to its name — as it's now the biggest new third-party game launch on Xbox Game Pass in 2025.

Microsoft announced the news today after examining data from every day one Xbox Game Pass launch this year, and ranking every third-party game by the number of unique users during its first 30 days of availability.

It's a hugely impressive achievement for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the debut game from French studio Sandfall Interactive, for several different reasons. Firstly, because the game arrived just two days after Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (which itself also launched via Game Pass). And secondly, because we already know that Clair Obscur went on to sell very well too (5 million copies in five months) — something its launch via Game Pass does not appear to have dented.

"From being there to announce our game back in Summer 2024, to coming to the studio for the Developer_Direct video in January, Xbox helped us get the word out there and reach a lot of players," Sandfall creative director Guillaume Broche said in a statement.

Xbox Game Pass let "a lot of people try our game when maybe they might not have before," Broche continued. "The turn-based RPG genre has a lot of fans but sometimes it might put people who prefer more real-time action games off, but Game Pass lowered that barrier of entry. They could just try it and see how it feels. So a lot of curious players could start the game, explore Lumière and the early game, and realize there's a lot to enjoy here, even if they weren’t expecting it at first."

So, what was Clair Obscur's Xbox Game Pass competition? It's been a long year, so it's worth reminding ourselves of everything the turn-based RPG has beaten to become this year's biggest third-party Xbox Game Pass release. (And remember, this is separate to Microsoft's own first-party output, which will include Avowed and South by Midnight, as well as Bethesda games such as The Outer Worlds 2, and Activision fare like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.)

Other third-party games that arrived day one via Microsoft's subscription service notably included the highly-anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, as well as the post-apocalyptic survival game Atomfall. The highly-acclaimed indie puzzle favorite Blue Prince also arrived this year, as did Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Ball X Pit, and PowerWash Simulator 2.

Congratulations, then, to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — something we may well be hearing a few more times this month, considering its record-breaking number of nominations at The Game Awards. Tempted to give it a try? It's still on Xbox Game Pass, and we have an array of tips for the important things to know before going into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

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

The mega shopping holiday that is Black Friday may have come and gone, but deals still abound in the lead-up to Christmas. Amazon and Best Buy have both unleashed discounts on LEGO sets with prices rivaling anything we saw during the Black Friday period. So if you still have some holiday shopping to do, or you want to pick up a set for yourself (particularly in the video game category), you can save some cash.

Note that stock is not holding steady. Many of the on-sale sets have already sold out, so grab whatever you want sooner rather than later. OK, let’s have a look.

LEGO Sets on Sale

Most of the sets are 40% off, which is a very good discount for LEGO sets. That’s a percentage off you don’t generally see outside of Black Friday. So anytime you see a LEGO set on sale for 40% off, you can rest assured that you’re getting a killer deal. If you’re worried anyway, you can price check the set on Camelcamelcamel, which shows historical pricing on Amazon and is one of my most-used tools in the deal coverage game.

So what sets are on sale? There are a few Star Wars LEGO sets available for cheap. Some Wednesday sets, based on the Netflix show, are discounted. A good number of Animal Crossing sets are on sale as well. Basically, if you see a set that you want, it’s as good of a deal as you’re ever likely to get. So buy with confidence.

LEGO Recent Releases

The LEGO releases have slowed down in a major way after the tsunami of sets that hit in October. November only had three new sets (granted, they were all impressive), while December had literally zero new sets hit the market. But things will pick up again in the new year. LEGO announced a Stranger Things set coming January 1. Also releasing that day is a new Back to the Future Time Machine set and a bunch of new Star Wars sets, among many others. For a look back, you can check out all the major LEGO releases in 2025.

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.

Briana White, the actress who portrays Aerith in Final Fantasy 7, has called on fans to stop tagging voice artists in spicy material featuring their characters.

The discussion began after White saw KPop: Demon Hunters actor Rei Ami discovering adult fanfiction featuring her character Zoey. In response, White suggested fans in general had "forgotten the meaning of the word inappropriate."

"Maybe let's normalize not tagging voice actors in smut of their characters," White wrote in a series of posts on X. But many fans responded by saying Ami had gone on to look for the content purposefully — to which White then suggested it was all a matter of "consent."

"It's really a shame when VAs want to interact with the people who love the characters on social media but just a few creeps ruin it for everyone," White wrote, acknowledging that she had seen all sorts of fan-made Final Fantasy 7 content even though she tried to "actively avoid it."

White portrayed Aerith in the 2020 Final Fantasy 7 Remake, a role she has then continued in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, 2024's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles.

"I'm so associated with FF7 that it gets shown to me every single day anyway," White explained. "As someone said earlier, it is a matter of consent. And it can be almost impossible to know what exactly is acceptable or not to an individual just from knowing their social media persona."

Ultimately, White conceded that while Ami had chosen to seek out the fan-made content that had prompted her initial post, fans should still be mindful of what they share. "Alright alright y'all have spoken and I hear you," White concluded. "Point stands, just not for [Rei Ami]. Carry on."

White is set to return in Square Enix's upcoming third and final entry in its Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy — a game that won't cut content in order to feel "more concise" than the sometimes meandering Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

"It’s about making sure the pacing feels right," series director Naoki Hamaguchi said. "It’s not about cutting out content, it’s making sure that it feels right, the speed that the story progresses at feels right, and it is fairly quick and feels like you can get through it at a reasonable pace. But it has to feel right, so that’s what I mainly intended to say there."

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

Fans seem to be getting very excited to watch the series finale of Stranger Things in theaters soon — but scalpers are clearly just as excited, because they are already selling tickets to the Season 5 ender with a whopping 275% markup.

Tickets went on sale on December 2, and already fans have noticed that passes have shown up on eBay, with one set of two tickets for the Cinemark Woodlands location in Texas going for $150. Cinemark venues sold $20 concessions vouchers to reserve tickets for entry, which means this is a 275% increase in ticket price on this listing.

Other fans, though, are reselling their tickets at a much more reasonable price, depending on where you’re located and how many tickets you’ll need. To that point, there’s another listing offering four tickets for $80, which is face value for the passes, at the 34th street AMC location in New York City. So don’t totally write off resale for this event if you missed out on tickets at your local theater.

It seems as though there will be more listings popping up in the next week as more theaters sell out, and we hope everyone who wants tickets is able to get them safely and affordably (ie, not for 275% more than the listed price).

As far as getting their hands on tickets goes, fans seem to be a bit angry with theater chains Cinemark and Regal, who claimed tickets would be available for purchase at 8am PT/11am ET. However, hours before, concession vouchers were made available — and it was those that were needed in order to reserve, not purchase, seats for this special event.

Because of the confusion in wording and general instructions, fans went on to vent their frustrations on reddit. “Cinemark and Regal completely lied about when finale tickets go on sale,” one user vented in a post on the Stranger Things subreddit.

“I had an alarm set and everything for 7:50am to get tickets for the finale but I just had a hunch not to go to sleep until I got the tickets,” they added. “But, basically Cinemark and Regal started selling finale tickets early last night and now nearly every showing is sold out and people are pissed.”

The decade-long sci-fi series finally comes to an end at the end of the year, with the Season 5 finale set to rubber stamp the much-loved characters’ fates. Netflix has taken the unusual step of releasing the final episode in theaters at 5pm PT on December 31, the exact same time it hits the streamer. The screenings will take place in over 500 theaters in the U.S. and Canada (check the list here) starting on December 31, 2025 at 5pm PT, timed to the finale’s global premiere on Netflix, and run through January 1, 2026. Netflix has also confirmed the run time of the Stranger Things Season 5 finale: 2 hours 5 minutes.

In October, Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer told fans they should only come and see the Stranger Things Season 5 finale in front of a cinema screen if they’re cool with crying in a crowded room.

"The finale. Theaters. New Year’s Eve," Duffer wrote in an Instagram post alongside a photo of the drawing Lucas and Max used to ask each other on a date in Season 4. "This is something my brother and I have dreamed about for years. If you don’t mind crying in front of strangers, GO. And if you’re in LA… maybe we’ll see you there."

Stranger Things Season 5 release dates:

• VOL 1 - November 26, 5pm PT
• VOL 2 - Christmas, 5pm PT
• THE FINALE - New Year’s Eve, 5pm PT

We’ve got plenty more on Stranger Things, including Ross Duffer’s call to arms for fans to turn off “garbage” TV settings before watching Season 5. And be sure to check out our Stranger Things: Season 5, Vol. 1 spoiler review to find out what we think of how the show is going.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Geoff Keighley’s mysterious The Game Awards teaser statue has sparked rampant speculation about which video game announcement it relates to, but so far the internet is stumped.

Keighley kicked off The Game Awards hype train last week by tweeting a picture of a demonic monolith located in the Mojave Desert alongside the confusing caption "regal.inspiring.thickness."

regal.inspiring.thickness pic.twitter.com/lY1duUcE1B

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) November 29, 2025

Windows Central reporter Jez Corden took to social media to say the tease related to an expansion for Blizzard’s action role-playing game, Diablo 4. Blizzard had said Diablo 4 was set to get an expansion in 2026 (alongside a new ranking system and leaderboards), so an appearance at The Game Awards later this month would make sense.

But Corden’s claim was debunked by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who took to ResetEra to insist the statue had nothing to do with a Diablo 4 expansion, although that is not to say Diablo won’t show up at The Game Awards in some form.

“No idea where Jez is getting that, but this statue is not teasing the Diablo 4 expansion,” Schreier said. “I don't currently plan on reporting what it is, sorry, but it's a good one.”

That clarification sparked a new round of speculation, with some fans pointing to the long-awaited reveal of Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 6. Alas, according to Schreier, it’s not that, either.

“I'll do this one more time because people are getting out of control: no the statue isn't teasing Elder Scrolls 6,” Schreier said, again in a post on ResetEra. “Now I'm gonna stop responding about this. Unless someone finds me at the JW bar next week and asks really nicely, then maybe I'll answer, depending on how many drinks I've had.”

Some suggested it might have something to do with Sony’s God of War series, but gaming YouTuber Luke Stephens claimed God of War development chief Cory Barlog popped up during one of his streams to rule that out.

So, what is it then? Given the demonic aspect of the statue, some are suggesting a Doom-related announcement of some kind, perhaps DLC. Some fans are going off the deep end, suggesting everything from Bloodborne 2 to Half-Life 3, the latter of which has seen rumblings of late. In truth, Geoff Keighley’s statue could relate to pretty much any video game with a demonic or hellish theme. That’s a lot of video games. But based on Schreier’s comments (“it’s a good one”) and all the effort that’s gone into making this tease happen, I have high hopes.

The Game Awards kicks off Thursday, December 11, so we don't have long to find out what the statue is about. Let us know your best guess in the comments.

Image credit: Geoff Keighley / Twitter.

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 Forge is a fantasy RPG Roblox experience, where you'll play as one of the many races that inhabit the lands. Whether that's as a human, a goblin, or a dragonborn will all depend on reroll chances. Each race has its unique perks, influencing stats such as health, damage, attack power, and more. But if you don't like the character you get given, our list of The Forge codes will help you out with additional rerolls.

It's no surprise that The Forge focuses heavily on mining. The core gameplay centers around mining for ores, in the hopes of finding rare ores to forge powerful weapons and armor. You'll then throw those ores into a forge, where the blend of resources you use allows you to make items with special traits and designs.

Working The Forge Codes (December 2025)

Want to know how to get rerolls for The Forge? Use these currently active codes:

• PEAK! - Free Rerolls x10 (NEW! - Activates Saturday, December 6)
• SORRYFORSHUTDOWN - Free Rerolls x5 (NEW!)

Expired The Forge Codes (December 2025)

These codes have now expired and can no longer be used:

• 100KLIKES
• 300K!
• 200K!
• 100K!
• 40KLIKES
• 20KLIKES
• 15KLIKES
• 10KLIKES
• 5KLIKES
• BETARELEASE!
• POSTRELEASEQNA
• RELEASE

Roblox Gift Ideas

How to Use The Forge Codes

Ready to redeem the codes above? Here's what you need to do:

1. Load up The Forge on Roblox
2. Open the Settings menu in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of Settings to find the Codes bar
4. Copy the code from this article
5. Enter the code into the "Type Here" bar
6. Press claim

Why Isn't My Code for The Forge Working?

When a code doesn't work for The Forge, it's usually because of two reasons:

• The code for The Forge has expired
• There's a spelling mistake or an additional space in the code

Codes for Roblox experiences are typically case-sensitive, so the best way to ensure you've got a working code is to directly copy it from this article. We check all codes before we upload them, so you can guarantee they're working. Just double-check that you haven't copied over an extra space!

How to Get More Codes for The Forge

We regularly check and test new codes for popular Roblox experiences, so the best way to get more codes for The Forge is to visit this article. But if you want to mine for codes yourself, then the Discord server for The Forge is the best place to go.

When Is the Next Update or Event for The Forge?

The Forge has just released in beta and is currently celebrating its Release Event. No updates have been currently announced, but the creators are teasing a Christmas Event with special rewards. As well as other planned updates later like adding guilds, guild islands, new quests, and more.

Starting Saturday, December 6 to Monday, December 8, The Forge will be running The Forge Weekend! event. During this time, you'll get an extra boost to luck and free rerolls.

Lauren Harper is an Associate Guides Editor. She loves a variety of games but is especially fond of puzzles, horrors, and point-and-click adventures.

Pink Lemonade creator Nick Cagnetti is back with a new horror comic called Spirit of the Shadows, and it's easily one of the most visually stunning horror comics we've seen in a long time. This is definitely a series to watch for in 2026.

IGN can exclusively debut a new extended preview of Spirit of the Shadows #1. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

Spirit of the Shadows is written by Cagnetti and Daniel Ziegler (Elodie), with art by Cagnetti. The first issue features covers by Cagnetti, David Lafuente, Karl Kerschl, and Matt Lesniewski. This limited series is published by Oni Press. Here's the official logline for Spirit of the Shadows:

Once, Erik Leroux was a mortal musician, selflessly devoted to his music and his true love, Katrina . . . until his sudden death plunged his soul into the carnival-like torments of the Spirit World beyond our own. Now, reborn as a phantom with fleeting memories of his life among the living, and forever cursed to bear the arcane costume his corpse wore to the grave, Erik will claw his way back from the infernal planes to uncover the mysteries of his own life . . . and avenge the dark sins that transformed him into the SPIRIT OF THE SHADOWS!

“I guarantee you're not going to find another comic on the stands right now quite like this one—from the story to the art, my friend Daniel and I really tried to create something cohesive and evocative in the way that only this medium can provide,” said Cagnetti in a statement. “To achieve that, I put a lot of care into differentiating styles and techniques for each of the settings the story goes to make them each feel distinct. You're swept up in this dreamlike haze alongside the main character, and you go through all the emotions and revelations alongside him. The end result should really make for a rewarding experience you can reread and look at completely differently the next time, but I'm envious for readers to experience that ride for the first time here soon!”

“Introducing an entirely new world can be one of the most daunting tasks as a writer, so what better way to immerse the reader than to immediately place them in the shoes of the protagonist?” added Ziegler. “As Erik pieces together the forgotten fragments of his life, readers will also embark on that same journey of discovery and revelation, and may find themselves facing more than one moral quandary in the process. This extended preview gives you a taste of the various worlds and varying styles that Nick and I use throughout the series to tell this wholly unique parallel narrative of love, loss, and revenge that we couldn’t be more proud of.”

Spirit of the Shadows #1 will be released on January 28, 2026, with a final order cutoff of January 5. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop.

In other comic book news, see how new Iron Man writer Joshua Williamson is reinventing Tony Stark, and check out an exclusive preview of Star Trek: The Last Starship #3.

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

Walmart has kept its Cyber Monday sale running, and the headline offer hasn’t vanished yet. The retailer is still knocking $50 off the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart bundle, which is the first meaningful discount the console has had since launch.

The bundle is $449, the normal price of the hardware on its own, so Walmart is effectively throwing in Mario Kart World for free. You need to be signed in to a Walmart account to access the deal, and the discount applies automatically once the bundle is in the cart.

Are you finally going to be the proud owner of a Switch 2 after picking up the doorbuster-like deal? Well, fair play to you! While you're at it, it could be worth putting those extra savings into accessories, games, or anything else that might come in handy with your new hybrid console.

A carrying case should be the first accessory on the list for new owners. The PowerA Slim Case for Nintendo Switch 2 is still discounted at Amazon for $15, and it's a genuinely solid pick.

I'd also suggest picking up a new memory card. Switch 2 ships with 256GB internal, which is fine until you start downloading modern games. The Samsung P9 512GB microSD Express card is sitting at $75 (see here), which is the best price yet and a straightforward upgrade.

A power bank is also worth grabbing if you plan on taking the console anywhere. The Baseus Blade 20,000mAh 100W Slim Power Bank is down to $39.99 for Prime members, usually $99.99, and it's one of the few high output models that won't choke when charging a handheld.

If you're shopping beyond deals, the Switch 2 Pro Controller should be on the list, followed by actual games. Metroid Prime 4 Beyond and Donkey Kong Bananza are obvious picks, along with whatever else catches your eye.

Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.

The CEO of Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has responded to fan concern about the choice of Justin Lin as the director of the Helldivers movie, after it emerged he leaned into not being a gamer for his pitch.

Helldivers 2 is an explosive co-op focused action shooter that’s a lot like a video game version of cult sci-fi classic Starship Troopers. You play as a disposable soldier in an ongoing galactic war, defending a fascist Super Earth regime against alien robots called Automatons and bugs called Terminids, all the while preaching "Managed Democracy." (Incidentally, Sony is also working on a new Starship Troopers movie, which should make for a somewhat bizarre one-two punch of sci-fi satire.)

This week, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Justin Lin is set to direct the upcoming Helldivers live-action film adaptation. Lin is best known for his work on the Fast & Furious films, and was the director of the series from 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift to 2013’s Fast & Furious 6. He also directed 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, the final film in the modern Star Trek trilogy, and 2021’s F9.

But it was one paragraph in THR’s story that raised eyebrows within the Helldivers community:

Lin is not a gamer and leaned into that as a strength when pitching his take on the material, said insiders. He aims to find the humanity in the characters and weave timely themes into the story, while building out a world and mythology. There are plenty of details waiting to be drawn in, something that is compelling to the filmmaker.

Some fans are now worried that Lin simply won’t get what Helldivers is about because he’s not a gamer and, presumably, hasn’t played Arrowhead’s shooter. And because of that, some players believe, the Helldivers movie is at risk of missing the video game’s vibe.

Over on the official Helldivers Discord, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani briefly addressed this concern. He first responded to one fan who asked if they could direct the Helldivers movie instead of Lin, saying: “let Justin Lin work his magic.”

Jorjani then responded to the following question from a fan:

“If you guys have any sway with Sony over the movie can you make sure the director plays the game at least once or at least sees some gameplay?”

Jorjani replied: “I trust Justin. He did a great job on the Star Trek movie.”

Arrowhead will likely face this sort of concern until fans see the Helldivers movie in trailer form, or hear from Lin himself on his vision for the film. And Helldivers is not alone in this approach. Amazon’s adaptation of God of War is helmed by Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica’s Ronald D. Moore, who isn’t a gamer either.

But it is in contrast to the situation with the Elden Ring movie, which is being directed by Ex Machina and Civil War director and self-confessed Elden Ring superfan Alex Garland. In June, Garland told IGN he was on his seventh playthrough of FromSoftware's epic fantasy RPG, and revealed the boss he found the toughest to take down.

As for Helldivers, in January, Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt insisted the studio shouldn't have the final say on the Helldivers movie because it doesn't know anything about making films.

"We are not Hollywood people, and we don't know what it takes to make a movie," Pilestedt said. "And therefore we don't, and shouldn't, have final say.”

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.

Bethesda and Xbox have teamed up with Amazon and Samsung to mark the long-anticipated arrival of Season 2 of the Fallout show by streaming Season 1 for free on Samsung TV Plus.

That means the critically acclaimed first season will be available subscription-free on Samsung TV Plus from December 3 through December 25, "giving both new audiences and longtime fans a chance to revisit — or discover — the world of Fallout before season two arrives on Prime Video." Samsung TV Plus is a free, ad-supported streaming service available on Samsung TV, Galaxy, Smart Monitor, and Family Hubs devices.

The Fallout TV show is "based on one of the greatest video game series of all time," set two hundred years after the apocalypse when the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind. The new season picks up in the aftermath of season one’s epic finale and takes audiences "along for a journey through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas."

"When Jonah and I first talked about bringing Fallout to the screen, it was always about doing the world of the games right, but also bringing to life new stories in that world," said Todd Howard, game director at Bethesda.

"Now with The Ghoul coming to Fallout 76, it shows how connected all these stories are. To have Walton bring his unique blend of swagger to the game is awesome. He’s a brilliant actor."

Howard is, of course, talking about Walton Goggins reprising his fan-favorite role as The Ghoul from the Fallout TV show in Fallout 76.

The Ghoul appears in Fallout 76, complete with Goggins' likeness and voice, as part of the free Burning Springs expansion. Burning Springs expands the Fallout 76 map into Ohio, west of the Appalachian region (a fictionalized version of West Virginia and the surrounding areas) already in the game.

We had a great time with Fallout Season 1, writing in IGN's Fallout The Series review that the show is "a bright and funny apocalypse filled with dark punchlines and bursts of ultra-violence [and is] among the best video game adaptations ever made," slapping it with a well-earned 9/10.

To help tide you over until Season 2 premieres on December 17, here's our interview with Todd Howard and Jonathan Nolan covering all our burning questions after the end of Season 1.

Amazon’s Fallout TV show is canon, so the question of which Fallout: New Vegas ending it will rubber-stamp as official has been a burning question within the community ever since it was confirmed that Season 2 would take place in what remains of the city. But recent comments from one of the actors on the show suggest Season 2 will dodge the question entirely.

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.

New gameplay footage of Resident Evil Requiem has teased a glimpse at a fresh area in the game filled with classic zombies — and it all looks very Resident Evil 1.

The snippet comes from a special Resident Evil program that aired recently on Japanese TV, shared online by long-time Capcom leaker DuskGolem. Within the footage, we can see Requiem's lead character Grace Ashcroft approaching a staircase in a dimly-lit mansion, and taking aim at a shuffling zombie.

Ashcroft's shots miss, and the zombie lunges forward to grab the character. It looks like the undead enemy manages to gnaw her arm, before she eventually fights it off — only to find another zombie waiting for her down the corridor.

There was some new Resident Evil Requiem gameplay of a new area with Grace fighting a zombie in the Resident Evil special program that aired on Japanese television. pic.twitter.com/FToPeqi4HW

— AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) December 3, 2025

It's only a short clip, but fans are celebrating the classic Resident Evil vibe it gives off, and the setting for this gameplay segment which looks straight out of the Spencer Mansion. (It's definitely not, but still.)

Of course, another classic element expected to appear in Resident Evil Requiem is a certain fan-favorite Leon S. Kennedy, who has been named in persistent rumors and reports as secretly appearing in the game as a second playable character. Capcom has remained tight-lipped on the matter and refused to discuss Leon's involvement specifically, though recently gave its biggest hint yet when it acknowledged that other classic characters connected to the Raccoon City incident would indeed appear.

Capcom has specifically pitched Resident Evil Requiem as a return not just to the classic location of Raccoon City, but also to the series' "overarching narrative" begun 30 years ago, after more recent games such as Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village focused on events set elsewhere, with fewer connections to past titles.

What has Capcom got in store? Time is beginning to run short for Capcom to reveal much more, as Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S.

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

No Man's Sky fans have claimed that an asset from the sci-fi sandbox game has been repurposed for sale in Once Human without permission — and now the boss of Hello Games has gotten involved.

This week, No Man's Sky fans on reddit flagged an "extremely similar" cosmetic item in Once Human that's now being sold within the post-apocalyptic surival title as a high-tier lootbox reward. The object, No Man's Sky's circular Base Teleport Module, looks to have been repurposed as some kind of sci-fi exercise bike, with the addition of a simple bicyle frame and a fresh paint job.

Now, the controversy has stretched beyond the realm of reddit and reached Sean Murray, the head of No Man's Sky developer Hello Games, after fans flagged their suspicions. Murray's response? One of amusement more than anything else, as he reacted to the asset's apparent use elsewhere.

"Jokes on them," Murray wrote in a post on X. "We forgot to LOD those rivets," he continued, referencing the lack of a lower quality model for the object when viewed from afar — something that could cause performance issues.

Posting about the similarities of the two objects on reddit, No Man's Sky fan Koyonaku noted that Only Human's version "isn’t earned through gameplay — it is obtainable only as the highest-tier reward from a premium lootbox, often at significant cost." This isn't the first time Only Human has been suspected of basing in-game assets on other games, either, the user alleged.

"This was brought up several days ago in the Once Human community, but the item is still being sold without clarification or adjustment," Koyonaku wrote. "There was also a similar past case involving icon resemblance to Rainbow Six, which was quietly replaced. I’m not here to start drama or accuse anyone of legal wrongdoing. But I do think there are times when staying silent lets things like this slide into being treated as normal."

IGN has contacted Only Human developer Starry Studio for comment.

Almost a decade on from launch, No Man's Sky recently celebrated its best-ever player numbers, following the launch of its Breach and Voyagers updates earlier this year. The Breach update lets players salvage wrecks, unlocking new ship building parts along the way, while Voyagers added multiplayer ship crew capabilities and skydiving, among many other features.

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

FromSoftware is pushing out a new patch for Elden Ring Nightreign, introducing a raft of balance adjustments, bug fixes, and improvements ahead of The Forsaken Hollows DLC.

The Forsaken Hollows is Elden Ring Nightreign's first meaty, proper, named DLC. It drops tomorrow (December 4) and includes new bosses, new shifting earth, and new playable Nightfarers.

Today's patch adds support for the DLC, but it also adds a number of new features and important balance changes for all players. The patch notes, below, apply to all versions: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.

Elden Ring Nightreign update 1.03 patch notes:

New features

• Added support for The Forsaken Hollows.
  • If you own the DLC The Forsaken Hollows, it will be displayed in the lower right corner of the title screen.
• Added a display of the currently equipped relics in the Character Selection menu.
  • You can check the effects of equipped relics by toggling the display.
• Added a feature to set names when registering Relics presets in the Relic Rites menu.
• Set names can be changed in the All Presets section.
• The order of presets for each character can now be changed in the All Presets section of the Relic Rites menu.
  • In the Relic Rites menu, you can change the order of presets (but not the order of the character themselves) in the All Relics section.
• Added Deep Large Scenic Flatstone to the Collector Signboard shop.
• The map's layer display can now be toggled in the Results menu.
• The relics equipped by each player can now be displayed in the Results menu.
  • Relics can only be displayed for sessions played in version 1.02 or later.
• Players with a Personal Objective that requires defeating a specific target while Reliving a Remembrance can now embark on Expeditions with players whose Personal Objective does not require defeating a specific target.
  • Personal Objectives that do not require destroying the target will only appear for one player per Expedition.
• The flask count will now be highlighted in the following situations:
• When the flask count is at the maximum capacity,
• When an enemy-induced effect that influences the flask is triggered.
• The vertical position of the compass’ rune icon will now be displayed if the runes dropped upon death are significantly above or below the player character.
• You can now highlight specific events that occur on a map layer that is on a different level from the character’s location in the map menu.
• Adjusted the Dormant Power selection screen so that the HP gauge and other UI elements remain visible while the screen is displayed.
• Adjusted the weapon lineup in Limveld's shops.
• Added Fire Pots to the shop inventory inside the Spirit Shetler.
• The target-lock on enemies that are behind when the tombstone summoned by Raider's Ultimate Art appears no longer gets released.

Balance Adjustments

In general, the trigger conditions of Relic effects that trigger with low HP, equipment passive effects, and special effects have been broadened.

• Added new Passive Effects:
  • Improved Melee Attack Power
  • Improved Dash Attacks
  • Improved Rolling Attacks
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Attack Power when Two-Handing.
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Attack Up when Wielding Two Armaments.
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Chain Attack Finishers.
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Charge Attacks.
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Jump Attacks.
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Guard Counters.
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Improved Skill Attack Power.
  • Increased the effect of the Passive Effect Physical Attack Up.
  • Broadened the trigger conditions and decreased the effectiveness of the Passive Effect Improved Damage Negation at Low HP.
  • Broadened the trigger conditions and decreased the effectiveness of the Talisman Blue-Feathered Branchsword.

• Increased the effect of Physical Attack Up.
• Increased the effect of Improved Initial Standard Attack.
• Increased the effect of Improved Critical Hits.
• Increased the effect of Improved Guard Counters.
• Increased the effect of Improved XXX Damage (excluding bow weapon types).
• Increased the effect of Improved Attack Power with 3+ XX Equipped (excluding bow weapon types).
• Broadened the trigger conditions and decreased the effectiveness of Improved Damage Negation at Low HP.

• Reduced the FP consumption and increased the power of the Wrath of Gold Incantation.

Bug Fixes & improvements

• Fixed a bug in the Augur invasion event where the character would not be properly teleported to the battle area against Augur if the player was performing a critical hit at the time of the teleportation trigger.
• Mitigated an issue where Sites of Grace or Churches would not activate and Leveling Up and Adding Charges to Flask could not be performed under some conditions.
• Fixed a bug where the range of Night's Tide differed from other players upon rejoining a session under some conditions.
• Fixed a bug where Hammer weapons with the Prayerful Strike skill would not appear.
• Fixed a bug where effects that heal or enhance allies did not apply to characters dodging or performing their Ultimate Art.
• Fixed an issue where the weak points created by Ironeye's skill Marking would appear for some players and not others under some conditions.
• Fixed a bug where Raider’s Retaliate skill would be canceled and the character would flinch when receiving some enemy attacks that deal no damage while the skill was active.
• Fixed a bug where affinity residues spawned by Recluse's Elemental Defense passive ability would not appear when hit by some enemy attacks.
• Fixed a bug where Stagger damage was not applied when parrying some enemy attacks with Executor.
• Fixed a bug where the range of rolls to dodge some enemies' darkness-imbued attacks was different than intended.
• Fixed a bug in Depths Relics where the effect Greenspill Crystal Tear in possession at start of expedition did not appear.
• Fixed a bug in the expedition menu where the gauge indicating the Deep of Night rating was not displayed when performing Reduce Depth, resulting in the subsequent gauge not reflecting the rate correctly.
• Fixed a bug in the Relic Rites menu where the icon indicating placement in other Vessels was not displayed correctly.
• Fixed a bug in the Dormant Power selection screen where the UI indicating rarity was not displayed on equipment and item icons.
• Fixed an issue where sorting by FP Consumption in the Sparring Equipment menu and Visual Codex menu of the Sparring Grounds, when displaying the list of Sorceries and Incantations, did not work correctly.
• Fixed a bug in the Results menu and Victor's Record menu where the attributes added by Relics to each character's weapons during an Expedition were not correctly reflected.
• Fixed a bug in the Results menu where the special effects held by other players were not recorded beyond a certain number.
• Fixed an issue where, if a session was disbanded immediately after a player left, the message at the title screen confirming the return to that session would keep appearing even after selecting OK.
• Fixed some graphical rendering issues.
• Fixed an issue where some sound effects did not play correctly.
• Corrected some text.
• Made several other performance improvements and bug fixes.

Nightreign's ultra-hard difficulty mode, Deep of Night, released in September, having been discovered by dataminers back in August. That plus the duos mode was all we had for some time after Nightreign's release, which is why players had grown agitated at the lack of news or updates.

"When Elden Ring Nightreign is played exactly as it was designed to be played, it’s one of the finest examples of a three-player co-op game around," we wrote in IGN's 7/10 Elden Ring: Nightreign review. "But a lack of crossplay, duo matchmaking, and built-in communication tools makes it hard to create the conditions needed to have this kind of experience unless you’re bringing two real-life friends on every run."

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.

Brace yourself: someone has finally actually Escape(d) from Tarkov.

As posted on Escape From Tarkov's Instagram feed, streamer Tigz has somehow actually managed to… well, escape, making them the first player to do so in the eight years the game has been live.

"Congratulations to Tigz on being the first to Escape From Tarkov," the post reads. "You survived. But at what cost."

Nikita Buyanov, director of the ultra hardcore extraction shooter, also celebrated the achievement, albeit confirming poor Tigz secured the "worst ending though… not cool."

Congratulations to @RealTigz on being the first to Escape from Tarkov. You survived. But at what cost. pic.twitter.com/nd4lSWIZIb

— Escape from Tarkov (@tarkov) December 1, 2025

To be fair to other players, escape was only possible since the 1.0 version of the game went live last month, ushering in the crucial final map, Terminal. Nonetheless, it's an incredible accomplishment that took over two weeks to conquer.

For those wanting proof (or just want to see a master at work), you can watch Tigz escape in real-time on his YouTube channel (skip to around 43 minutes). "Thanks for all the love guys and much love to all the haters as well," Tigaz posted to X/Twitter, appending a love heart emoji.

AlexPerch — the first one to complete "Didn't Escape" storyline ending.

He escaped from Tarkov but did not escape from himself.#EscapefromTarkov pic.twitter.com/ktnEaixb4R

— Escape from Tarkov (@tarkov) December 3, 2025

He's not the only MVP getting noticed by developer Battlestate Games, though. Earlier today, December 3, Escape from Tarkov's socials also revealed AlexPerch as the first to complete the Didn't Escape storyline ending, although the developer stressed: "He escaped from Tarkov but did not escape from himself." XinChongg has similarly been immortalized as "one of the first to escape from Tarkov in PvP," and Tsukinogi has just been announced as "the first who escaped with best ending in PvE."

#EscapefromTarkov @nikgeneburn One of the first to escape from Tarkov in PvP. The grind was fun! Thank you, @bstategames, for the awesome game! pic.twitter.com/4eXRncU6tw

— ViiReX (@ViiReX2) December 2, 2025

The first who escaped with best ending in PvE - Tsukinogi pic.twitter.com/kPje8s7RNS

— Nikita Buyanov (@nikgeneburn) December 3, 2025

Escape from Tarkov finally launched on Steam in 1.0 form last month, but with it came a 'mixed' user review rating. Buyanov later apologized to players for what he called a "rough" release, saying the team was "willing to continue fighting" to "finally crack the performance problems." Multiple patches have been released, the latest of which arrived on Monday.

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.

James Cameron has told audiences that no generative AI was used in the making of the upcoming special effects-heavy sci-fi action film, Avatar: Fire and Ash.

The Oscar-winning writer and director told ComicBook.com that he has banned generative AI from being used for all Avatar films, insisting he would never “replace actors.”

“I’m not negative about generative AI,” Cameron began. “I just wanted to point out we don’t use it on the Avatar films. We honor and celebrate actors. We don’t replace actors. That’s going to find its level. I think Hollywood will be self-policing on that. We’ll find our way through that. But we can only find our way through it as artists if we exist. So it’s the existential threat from big AI that worries me more than all that stuff.”

Cameron has talked about generative AI multiple times in the past, but now he’s out promoting Avatar: Fire and Ash’s release later this month, he’s being asked about the tech and its impact on filmmaking more and more.

Earlier this week, Cameron issued strong words on the potential for entire characters to be created with generative AI, saying it’s “horrifying to me.” Speaking to CBS News, Cameron described the process of turning real-life actors into digital characters for the Avatar films, citing performance capture as a crucial component.

"For years, there was this sense that, 'Oh, they're doing something strange with computers and they're replacing actors,' when in fact, once you really drill down and you see what we're doing, it's a celebration of the actor-director moment," he said.

"Now, go to the other end of the spectrum, and you've got generative AI, where they can make up a character," he continued. "They can make up an actor. They can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt. It's like, no. That's horrifying to me. That's the opposite. That's exactly what we're not doing."

Cameron’s comments come as filmmakers and studios grapple with the future of AI performances, with AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood recently sparking the ire of SAG-AFTRA. Speaking to Broadcast International in July, creator Eline Van der Velden said she wanted Tilly Norwood “to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.”

But it's the threat of "big AI" that worries Cameron more. Earlier this year, the Terminator and Titanic director spoke about the dangers of artificial intelligence, particularly as it relates to weapons systems and getting into what he calls a “nuclear arms race” with AI.

Cameron’s thoughts on the cost of making Avatar movies flared up again last week, when he said that if Avatar: Fire and Ash doesn’t make enough money to justify Avatar 4 and 5, he’s ready to walk away from the franchise.

At the PlayStation Partner Awards 2025 Japan Asia held in Tokyo on December 3, Monster Hunter Wilds won the Grand Award and the User's Choice Award.

In an interview held before the award ceremony, Ryozo Tsujimoto, the producer of this work, and Yuya Tokuda, the director, answered questions from local media. IGN Japan was in attendance.

When Monster Hunter Wilds was first released on February 28, some players left harsh feedback, but Tokuda said the team worked to improve the game by taking advantage of that feedback.

"Immediately after the release, we apologized for the inconvenience caused by the volume of content and the difficulty level. Despite this, we were delighted to receive various awards, including Users' Choice awards. We would like to thank all the players who have given their opinions and spoken warm words even in this situation. The development team was able to turn everyone's feedback into an asset and work on the update with all our strength, and I think the result was also the reason why players voted for us," said Tokuda.

Legendary voice actress Jennifer Hale has been replaced as the voice of Samus in Metroid Prime 4, the new game's credits have revealed.

Numerous actors have voiced Samus over the years, though Hale had been the artist behind most of the bounty hunter's grunts and cries in Metroid Prime 1, 2 and 3 (with some additional work from a second artist, Vanessa Marshall).

Many fans had assumed Hale would return as Samus in Nintendo's long-awaited new Prime game, but Nintendo Life has now reported on Metroid Prime 4's credits, which list that Erin Yvette has taken on the role of Samus.

If you're playing Metroid Prime 4 and think Samus' grunts sound familiar, Yvette previously voiced Snow White in The Wolf Among Us, Alex in Oxenfree, and can currently be heard as Blonde Blazer in Dispatch.

The past few years have seen Nintendo replace many of its previous regular voice actors, including the veteran voice of Mario and Luigi, Charles Martinet. Princess Peach and Toad voice actress Samantha Kelly, meanwhile, discovered her 18-year tenure as the Super Mario characters was over on Nintendo Switch 2 launch day — when Mario Kart World released without her in it. Takashi Nagasako, who previously voiced Donkey Kong for 21 years, has also been replaced as of the Switch 2's launch.

IGN recently caught up with Hale and discussed her past work as Samus, and questioned whether she had recorded any new material for Metroid Prime 4 over the course of its lengthy development.

"I don't know," Hale told IGN. "I have no recollection of recording it or signing a contract, so it could be no. When we work, this is the thing, everything's under a code name, so they would've called it Sasquatch or Pineapple or Cookie Jar. And 'okay, I'm going to do Cookie Jar.' And then when you get to the session they'll tell you, but it stays in your brain for so much shorter a time. It doesn't stick as much."

While Hale's work as Samus is limited to the famously silent bounty hunter's range of grunts, she said she still had a full voice for the character in her mind while performing the role.

"I like to have identified a character's way of speaking before I do grunting for them, because how you grunt is different to how I grunt, to how anyone else grunts," Hale explained. "It's very specific. If you are a civilian and you're grunting, you're like... [makes surprised grunt noise] because it's all surprising and it's all new. If you've done it a million times, you're like [makes short grunt noise], because you've gone under fire 1,800 times and you're used to it."

Hale has voiced a string of famous video game characters over the years, including Ratchet and Clank's Rivet, Metal Gear Solid's Naomi Hunter, and BioShock Infinite's Rosalind Lutece. But it's for her role in Mass Effect that she remains perhaps known. Speaking to IGN, Hale said she hadn't been asked to return for Mass Effect 5 yet, but "would be there before they finish the sentence" if BioWare got in touch.

"Not all of Prime 4’s additions work, but this is still an excellent comeback," IGN wrote in our Metroid Prime 4 review, scoring the game an 8/10.

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

Lengthy RPGs are one of the great joys in my life, but it can sometimes feel a bit daunting to pack one into just a few weeks for the review process. As of writing this, I have played just over 70 hours of Octopath Traveler 0 and am nearing the final few chapters in its main questline – and having played these kinds of RPGs most of my life, I already know those "final few chapters" will be anything but short. However, I'm eager to wrap them up in the coming days because it's been a worthwhile journey so far. Between the new wrinkles in its dynamic combat system and some fantastic music that uplift its big battles, Octopath Traveler 0 is hitting the right notes and delivering the things I seek from RPGs. The tales told within its various quest branches have been hit and miss, though, and I'm still waiting to see if the story will come together and hit its stride in this last stretch before I settle with a final, scored review.

With Octopath Traveler 0, Square Enix has adapted the 2022 mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent into a more traditional package, serving as both a prequel to the original and a reconfiguration of what's already available on phones. Regardless of where I land in my final review, I'm glad it exists in this form at all since it ditches the gacha/microtransaction elements that were used to build your party and instead has you recruiting team members through sidequests. Thus, the better parts of the mobile game come to the forefront and highlight that the foundation of the series held up then and still holds up now.

Story is where most of my reservations are since it hits some pretty high highs and fairly low lows. While I'm not expecting it to be the most beautifully written script or deepest character study, I've found several plot beats to fall quite flat due to some shallow storytelling, rudimentary dialogue, or things that happen just because. Comically evil villains make for bosses I get fired up to absolutely destroy, but it's hard to take them seriously at times when their foolish cruelty and thirst for power is the main hook, so I'm not coming away with a sense of satisfaction I've felt elsewhere (namely, Octopath Traveler 2). Like the rest of the series, godly powers linger in the background and slowly reveal themselves as you uncover the real purpose behind the eight divine rings, one of which is assigned to "the chosen one" who is your created protagonist. Despite the inconsistent quality of its storytelling across this long runtime, Octopath Traveler 0 runs at a decent pace and propels you forward without sitting on any one story thread for too long.

A big part of this is in how the main questline is structured; after a tragic prologue where your hometown is burned to the ground, you're given three story branches to pursue the trio of villains responsible. Themed around power, fame, and wealth, respectively, those three paths then converge into a conclusion for what is roughly the first half of the overall story (at about 40 hours). It then splits into three new questlines that pick up those themes once again, and although they retread similar territory, the stakes get higher as more of Octopath's world gets involved. That's a lot to chew on, but it's able to keep momentum rather than trying to build eight separate stories that have to run in parallel. Octopath Traveler 2 was very successful with regard to its cast of eight and made for some of the most memorable RPG stories in recent memory, but this is a smart direction considering that this (and the mobile game) centers around recruiting a lot of characters to swap in and out of your party. Unfortunately this means most party members feel rather disposable, so the disonance it creates is just the trade-off that gets made.

While I haven't experienced the same compelling, emotionally resonant character arcs I saw in the second game, specific moments remind me that there's still some heartfelt stuff tucked within. Whether it's a character wielding their pain from tragedy to summon a new power mid-battle or a quiet, reflective cutscene back at town to remind you what "home" really means, Octopath Traveler 0 has brief moments of greatness. The big picture is solid, too – the alliances and betrayals of various kingdoms don't get bogged down in exposition and deliver good old fashioned drama. The stories around Octopath's world religion get a bit unwieldy when it comes to the greater lore, but it's not incomprehensible and makes the mechanism of the church quite clear. Like the previous game, class warfare and going from nothing to something remains a prominent motif, and even though it sometimes fumbles the messaging here, it's willing to talk about those topics with enough clarity. Whether or not all these threads pay off, well, that's what's left for me to determine as I finish the main story.

Now, that's the A-plot. There's a B-plot that revolves around rebuilding your hometown through an independent but related questline that's tied to the town-building system. In the process of bringing your hometown back to life narratively, you actually rebuild it in a similar vein to Fallout 4 or even Ni no Kuni 2. You collect crafting materials naturally throughout which then allow you to build housing, shops, and decor wherever you like within certain parameters. It’s an enjoyable side activity, with tangible benefits that come from constructing new buildings and recruiting new residents you invite from across the map. You get perks such as discounted shop prices, a self-sufficient flow of materials, and a training ground for inactive party members to continue leveling up, among other things. Town building may seem optional at first, but it becomes almost essential the deeper you get, especially when you consider the story's broader message about what home means to you and the people you care for. It's a bit cheesy at times, but its heart is in the right place as it gets sentimental about what it takes to rebuild after losing everything.

You get a ton of sidequests thrown at you as you progress in the main game, many of which are a short series' of objectives to unlock new party members – some of which are cast members from the original game. It's super cool to see, but don't expect them to have any particular depth as the main story is largely focused on specific, non-optional characters. One thing I do enjoy about Octopath games and RPGs like them is the sense of discovery and stumbling upon secrets or locations you wouldn't visit otherwise, and the sidequests, if anything, have been a good way to pull you in those directions.

I've been on record saying Octopath Traveler 2 has one of my favorite turn-based combat systems ever; it shines here as well and for slightly different reasons. The Boost and Break systems give the typical dynamic of hitting elemental affinities extra depth. Playing the guessing game of discovering what enemies are weak against gets a little tiresome, but once that part is solved, scheming for your plan of attack based on turn order to Break enemies and tee up the big hits is oh so satisfying. Building each party members' Boost points to add extra hits or increase spell potency gives you something to plan around for turns well in advance. And lining up all these variables while juggling the threat of hard-hitting bosses who impose some impactful status ailments have me feeling like a genius tactician. Octopath might be playing on our nostalgia with its HD-2D retro-style visuals, but I honestly believe it has continually set a higher bar for turn-based combat systems in modern gaming.

Party composition is quite different this time around since you have eight active party members at all times – four in the front row and four in the back who you can swap between mid-turn. With 30-something characters in my current roster, it's an overwhelming amount to process and manage. But while the fundamentals of Octopath's combat system are familiar, pairing characters as duos for the column they occupy is a unique strategic layer that allows for a lot of flexibility in combat. And because they build Boost points individually, you can dole out the big hits more frequently and keep up a brisk pace in battle. You sacrifice individual character depth, however, as each party member has just one Job to progress through (aside from your protagonist), but you can at least master specific Job skills to then equip on other characters to diversify their moveset.

I'm not quite ready to say whether I like this combat more or less than Octopath Traveler 2 since I found its character growth more meaningful, but it’s still been a welcome change of pace that hits the turn-based highs that've made the series special. The slow-motion cinematic camera cuts for Max Boost attacks and tide-turning limit breaks still get me hyped up, giving combat the visual flair that truly makes the HD-2D style stand out when the action picks up. The confluence of thoughtful gameplay, fantastic graphics, and a banging soundtrack that contends with some of the RPG greats, showcases why the genre is still in good hands.

Octopath Traveler 0 has so much firing off in parallel with its separate story branches, overarching themes, and complex-but-satisfying RPG combat system, and I'm excited to see how it all concludes as I inch closer to the end. Great RPGs live or die by how their final acts play out – with the expectation of wild boss battles, story revelations, and resolution to an 80-hour-plus journey, a lot is riding on it. And I'm just as eager to finalize my thoughts and feelings on Octopath Traveler 0 soon after.

Fern "Antireal" Hook, the artist who found her own designs and graphics in Bungie's Marathon, has confirmed she has "resolved" the issue with the studio and its parent company Sony.

In a brief update posted to X/Twitter, Hook wrote: "The Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction." She did not provide details of any settlement.

Destiny 2 developer Bungie found itself battling accusations of plagiarism back in May after Hook accused the studio of lifting aspects of her artwork for its upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon. In screenshots taken from Marathon's alpha playtest accompanying the tweet, Hook alleged she could see distinct icons and graphics she designed, some of which were originally shared on social media years ago in 2017.

bungie is of course not obligated to hire me when making a game that draws overwhelmingly from the same design language i have refined for the last decade, but clearly my work was good enough to pillage for ideas and plaster all over their game without pay or attribution. pic.twitter.com/G3FbPtbPJD

— N² (@4nt1r34l) May 15, 2025

Shortly afterwards, Marathon game director Joe Ziegler and art director Joe Cross apologized on a painfully uncomfortable livestream that featured no Marathon art or footage at all, as the team was "still scrubbing all of our assets to make sure that we are being respectful of the situation." The studio commenced an "immediate investigation," eventually acknowledging that a "former Bungie artist" had indeed used Fern Hook's work without compensation or credit.

And then, of course, Marathon was delayed into 2026 as Bungie worked to respond to feedback from playtests. Things went very quiet until Marathon reemerged in October, when Bungie announced the extraction shooter was ready for a limited, invite-only playtest for players in North America and Europe across PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and Steam.

The art issue continues to cast a shadow, though. Last month, the director of the Marathon reveal cinematic short expressed his disbelief that he felt forced to come out and defend the work as "not AI."

Marathon has certainly endured a troubled development and has suffered multiple delays. The pressure is on for Marathon to succeed amid Destiny 2’s high-profile struggles. Earlier this month, parent company Sony said Bungie had failed to meet its sales and user engagement targets, resulting in a $200 million impairment charge.

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.