Marvel's decision to reintroduce Chris Evans' character Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday has prompted backlash online, with many fans criticizing the move as a "desperate" attempt to win back audiences at the expense of newer characters, and especially Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson.

Today's Avengers: Doomsday trailer, which is available to watch now in theaters attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash, confirms what had previously been leaked: that Marvel has more story to tell featuring Steve Rogers, following what appeared to be a final send-off to the character in Avengers: Endgame.

One of Endgame's most memorable scenes saw Steve passing his shield to Sam, physically handing over the mantle of Captain America as he bowed out of the role. Now, fans say, this moment has effectively been undone, with numerous comments calling it a snub both to Sam, and to Mackie's tenure.

"The MCU just keeps on disrespecting Sam Wilson and I am TIREDDD," wrote one fan on X. "It feels like Marvel is belittling Sam Wilson's efforts to prove himself worthy of the shield Steve passed on to him," added another, sharing a clip of Sam's training from Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

"All I have to say about Avengers: Doomsday is that I will not tolerate the Sam Wilson disrespect!" added another. "What is the point! That whole ass movie about exactly this scenario only for them to bring back Steve anyway????!"

Numerous comments have pointed to the tough journey Sam Wilson has faced since being given the shield by Steve. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier effectively negates Steve's decision by placing a question mark on Sam's claim (and personal desire) to be Cap, only for him to emerge as the hero by the series' end.

Mackie's only lead movie in the years since, Captain America: Brave New World, was then widely panned by critics and fans alike for its underwhelming and heavily-reshot story, though many still praised Mackie's performance as the actor doing the best he could with the material he was given. (In IGN's 5/10 Captain America: Brave New World review, we described the movie as "neither brave, nor all that new, falling short of strong performances from Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, and Carl Lumbly.")

Regardless, Marvel boss Kevin Feige subsequently raised eyebrows by subsequently pinning the film's financial failure on being "the first without Chris Evans." No plans have since been announced for a fresh Captain America sequel.

Alongside criticism specifically of Steve Rogers' former Captain America returning, more general disdain has been expressed at Marvel yet again returning to a name from the franchise's Infinity Saga, after previously casting former Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.

"They spent six years introducing new characters only to do this," wrote a fan on X, labelling the decision as "pathetic and desperate."

"Y'all bashed Eternals, Marvels, Fantastic Four, Multiverse of Madness, etc," another fan countered. "Now y'all complaining about bringing back the OGs. Anything Marvel does will be considered pathetic and desperate."

While the many Marvel releases since Avengers: Endgame have been mixed in quality, and nothing has come close to rivalling that movie's enormous $2.8 billion box office haul, the MCU has still had some notable successes. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness earned $955 million, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever drew in $859 million. Deadpool and Wolverine, meanwhile, made over $1.38 billion.

Still, it's notable that Marvel seems keen to market Avengers: Doomsday to the huge audience that turned for Endgame, rather than those who watched anything since. The movie's big market beats so far have been Downey Jr. getting announced as Doctor Doom, and now Evans getting announced as Steve Rogers (whether he ends up as Captain America again, or not).

A leaked plan for three more Avengers: Doomsday trailers has suggested that yet another OG Avengers actor, Chris Hemsworth, will be given his own trailer next, before a trailer that fully reveals Downey Jr. as Doom follows that. Only after all of those, will the movie get a more general trailer — which may be where we finally see more of Marvel's current roster.

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

With the theatrical release of our first look at Avengers: Doomsday, previously-leaked details surrounding three more upcoming trailers now appear to have been confirmed.

Last week, it was reported that Disney would launch four different Avengers: Doomsday trailers attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash over the course of four weeks. Subsequent claims then pointed to the first of these revealing the return of Steve Rogers — something that's now been proven accurate.

So what's next? Well, fans are expecting the remaining three trailers to feature similar, character-focused reveals for Thor and Doctor Doom, before a final trailer that's more of a general tease for the whole movie.

With Steve Rogers' turn in the spotlight now available to watch publicly by Avatar: Fire and Ash theater attendees, fans expect Thor's trailer to launch next week, right around Christmas Day. The Doctor Doom-focused trailer is then expected around New Year's Day, before the overall Doomsday trailer hits slightly later in January.

At least, that's what fans believe based on leaks that got Captain America's return right. So far, Disney has not said anything officially about its plans to promote Doomsday, or how it will release these trailers online, rather than as something designed to get people into theaters to watch the new Avatar movie.

Purported details of Thor's trailer are also already floating around the internet, and claim it will show a more sober take on the character than the wackier version seen in Taika Waititi's largely-panned Thor: Love and Thunder. While Chris Hemsworth was previously confirmed for the movie, re-establishing his character (and reminding audiences that another core Avengers member will be back) will likely be a draw.

As for Doctor Doom, well, audiences are yet to properly see former Iron Man legend Robert Downey Jr. in the role — save for his shock appearance in costume at Comic-Con to announce his involvement, back in July 2024.

Earlier today, Avengers: Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo posted their own short teaser for their upcoming Marvel blockbuster, exactly 12 months before its theatrical release. The next month should be an interesting one for Avengers fans, as the wait for December 18, 2026 continues.

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

Heads up: AirPods Pro 3 earbuds just got a new price cut that beats all previous deals, including Black Friday. Several retailers have once again lowered the price of the Apple AirPods Pro 3 earbuds to $199. That's $20 lower than the Black Friday sale price, and a big drop compared to the retail price of $249. This would make a fantastic (albeit extremely generous) gift for any iOS user, even if that person already has an older generation AirPods Pro. Some of the retailers can still have it delivered by Christmas, although at this point you certainly don't want to dawdle.

AirPods Pro 3 Earbuds for $199 (New All-Time Low Price)

It's now official: Captain America star Chris Evans will be back in Avengers: Doomsday.

Disney's first trailer for the December 2026 blockbuster — which first leaked online earlier this week — has now been officially released in theaters alongside the first showings of Avatar: Fire and Ash. And with this, Evans' return is now set in stone.

The minute-long trailer begins with a familiar figure parking a motorcycle outside a 1950s-style house. After carefully folding away his Captain America uniform, Evans is then revealed — and we see him holding a baby. The trailer then cuts to black, before on-screen text confirms: "Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday." Finally, we see a ticking countdown clock, tracking the months, days, hours, minutes and seconds until Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters a year from now, on December 18, 2026.

Earlier today, Avengers: Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo posted their own short teaser for their upcoming Marvel blockbuster, exactly 12 months before its theatrical release — featuring the countdown clock now seen in the Steve Rogers reveal trailer.

And as IGN reported this morning, today has seen fans heading into Avatar: Fire and Ash screening around the world expecting to see the Doomsday trailer, though many (but not all) have been left disappointed. Disney appears to have kept the trailer to a very limited release until now, with clips posted to social media still being removed by copyright claim.

For many Marvel fans, Evans' return will not come as too much of a surprise. Outside of the trailer's leak online this week, filming reports from this summer appeared to show the same 1950s-style house being secretly constructed, with many fans recognizing its design from the final scene in Avengers: Endgame. Fans also spent a good deal of time analysing recent photos of Evans' real-life arms, and noted that he appeared to have returned to his Captain America physique.

Now, the spoiler tag has well and truly been snipped off by Marvel, which is clearly keen to tell audiences to expect more from Evans' character, a year in advance of Doomsday's release.

So, what's going on here, story-wise? Of course, the last time we saw Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame, he was off to return the Infinity Stones to their original places across reality. Following that, he was expected to return to the present — but instead stayed in the 1950s, apparently to live out a peaceful life with his sweetheart Peggy Carter.

But fans think there's more story to tell here — story which would then take place before Steve turns up as an old man and hands his shield over to Sam Wilson, something that also happened in Endgame. Could Steve's multiversal mission have somehow attracted the attention of Doctor Doom, setting up a fresh rivalry between Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans' characters?

The idea of more story for Steve Rogers is also something Avengers: Endgame and Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo have teased, as early as 2021. Could everything that's about to happen in Doomsday (and Secret Wars) take place before Steve hands over the shield? And how will the fact that Steve Rogers is now a father play out? Is his baby about to be kid-napped by Doctor Doom, just as Sue and Reed Richards' toddler Franklin was? It's going to be a long 12 months until we find out.

Disney's theatrical release of the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer is reportedly just the first of four separate trailers set to be shown with Avatar over the next four weeks, in a move designed to encourage repeat viewings and keep audiences entertained with a series of big reveals. Confirmation of Steve Rogers' return is certainly a strong start.

For more on Cap's return, check out how Chris Evans coming back for Avengers: Doomsday might just be Marvel admitting their biggest failure.

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

Ever since Kevin Feige and Robert Downey, Jr. heralded the arrival of Avengers: Doomsday at Comic-Con 2024, fans have been clinging to any scrap of news they can find about this hotly anticipated sequel. What is Doomsday really about? Why is Downey playing this iconic Marvel villain? How will this film cap off the MCU’s Multiverse Saga?

At long last, the first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday is here, and we get answers to exactly none of those questions. Instead, Marvel has opted to tease the next Avengers movie by giving us a new glimpse of a familiar hero. Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers will be back for the fifth Avengers movie, and he’s got a baby in tow.

In some ways, this is indeed a big reveal, giving us hints about the plot and direction of Doomsday. But in other ways, it’s a surprisingly disappointing way of kicking off the film’s marketing. Why is a movie that’s supposed to bring together the current generation of MCU heroes so preoccupied with the former Captain America? Let’s discuss why this teaser has us so disappointed.

What Happens in the Avengers: Doomsday Teaser?

The cast of Avengers: Doomsday is going to be massive, as evidenced by the livestream from a few months back featuring dozens of actors’ chairs and culminating with Downey himself. But the first teaser focuses on none of those actors. Instead, we get the first confirmation of the pervasive rumor that Evans is reprising the Steve Rogers role in Doomsday. He’s not only back, but he apparently has a pretty big part to play if he’s getting his own teaser.

This short trailer is more a tone piece than anything that sheds much light on the plot of Doomsday. We hear a somber piano rendition of Alan Silvestri’s iconic Avengers theme and see sun-drenched scenes of Steve riding his motorcycle home, handling his old Captain America uniform, and cradling a newborn baby. Clearly, retirement and domestic anonymity are treating him well.

And that’s about it. The trailer then cuts to black and promises “Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday.” The footage then ends with a countdown timer to Doomsday’s theatrical release in December 2026.

On the surface, this teaser doesn’t do much more than confirm Evans’ appearance in Doomsday. Which is nice and all, but it was already pretty widely assumed he’d be back in some capacity. Why not just throw a Chris Evans chair in along with the rest in that previous livestream and leave it at that?

The emphasis on Steve and Peggy Carter’s child is an interesting wrinkle, though. How will the baby factor into the plot of Doomsday? What does it mean that Steve and Peggy had a baby in the first place? There are a lot of lingering questions about Steve’s status quo at the end of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Did Steve affect the MCU’s Sacred Timeline by travelling back to the past and staying there? Will there be far-reaching, unintended consequences of that act?

Perhaps the biggest question is how Downey’s Doctor Doom factors into all of this. We’re still waiting to find out if Downey is actually playing Victor von Doom or if this character is a variant of Tony Stark. We have to wonder if Steve’s act of travelling back in time and fathering a child who shouldn’t exist creates a splinter timeline where things go wrong for the MCU. Is Doom also a product of that timeline? Does he harbor a grudge against Cap for altering the natural order of things? Steve may wind up having to atone for his decision to retire and muck about with time, however harmless his intentions. Yes, the poor guy deserved that long-overdue dance, but at what cost?

Those are all questions worth considering as we wait for more Avengers: Doomsday footage. But that’s not really why we’re here. Rather than being excited by the possibilities stirred up in this teaser, we come away merely with a feeling of resignation. Steve Rogers is back, and we couldn’t be more disappointed.

Why Cap’s Return Is So Disappointing

To be clear, we’re not disappointed that Evans is returning to the Marvel fold. Steve’s story in Endgame wrapped on enough of an open-ended note that there’s obviously still more to explore with the character. The problem is more the way in which this trailer suggests that Steve is going to be a focal point of Doomsday (and by extension Secret Wars, too). It’s no accident that Marvel is making Evans’ character the sole focal point of the first Doomsday footage. They’re telegraphing the fact that he has an integral part to play in this story about the Marvel multiverse collapsing.

Again, we have no problem with Steve playing a supporting role in Doomsday and Secret Wars. He’s still the hero so many other characters revere and respect. He has valuable experience to bring to the table. And as the walls between universes begin to crumble, there’s plenty of potential for Evans to have fun playing multiversal variants of Steve Rogers.

But why is he being positioned as one of the main characters of Doomsday? Hasn’t Steve had his time in the spotlight by now? What about the many, many characters Marvel has spent the past seven years and three phases introducing? Heck, we have a new Captain America in Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. Why isn’t he getting his own trailer? Or what about other major players like Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic, or Letitia Wright’s Black Panther? What about Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and her fellow New Avengers?

Apparently, Steve is a bigger priority for Marvel than any of those characters. And not just him. Recent leaks have suggested that Marvel will be following up this Steve Rogers trailer with a second focused on Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and a third focused on Downey’s Doom before finally dropping a fourth, more traditional trailer. Assuming those leaks are true (and this trailer makes it seem like they are), that means Marvel’s early marketing for Doomsday will center entirely around the core trinity of Evans, Hemsworth, and Downey. This Avengers sequel is showing every sign of being centered around the same core trinity that the previous four films were. Is this 2025 or 2015?

That speaks volumes about Marvel’s approach to Doomsday and their lack of faith in the newer characters they’ve tried so hard to establish post-Endgame. They clearly don’t trust characters like Sam Wilson or the New Avengers to generate the excitement and hype they’re looking for. Instead, this is Marvel playing the old hits and banking on the proven favorites.

This suggests that Marvel has pretty much given up trying to salvage the Multiverse Saga as it has been. Not that we can entirely blame them. The MCU has grown far more inconsistent in recent years in terms of both quality and box office performance. Audiences have struggled to connect with these newer characters in the same way they did the classic Avengers lineup. Even with Marvel pivoting to more of a quality over quantity approach in 2025, the box office returns have remained pretty sluggish.

There have been some major successes during the Multiverse Saga, most notably 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. But it’s also telling that both of those films trade so heavily on nostalgia for older superhero characters. No Way Home probably wouldn’t have soared past a billion dollars without the help of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, nor would Deadpool have without the help of Hugh Jackman coming back as Wolverine. Marvel must be looking at those numbers and deciding that nostalgia is the best, easiest way to ensure that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are successful. Forget the hardcore fans who have memorized every name and face in the MCU. It’s time to target the casual audiences who checked out of the MCU once Evans and Downey did.

We can certainly understand the studio’s reasoning here. It’s easier to pivot to nostalgia than try to fundamentally repair what hasn’t been working for the past seven years. But that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. Flawed or not, there’s still a lot of potential in the current MCU. The whole problem with the Multiverse Saga is that Marvel has spent so much time and energy introducing new characters and not nearly enough on bringing them together and building connections between them. Heck, the out-of-continuity Marvel Zombies series did more on that front than anything else.

Doomsday should mark the point where Marvel finally addresses that fundamental flaw. This is where we finally see two teams of Avengers butt heads while the fate of their world and countless others hangs in the balance. This is where those newer characters have to finally sink or swim. Instead, they’re all going to be playing second fiddle to the original Cap, Thor, and a guy who looks like Iron Man.

Will Marvel’s nostalgia ploy work? Probably. Again, casual audiences will be thrilled to see these old favorites again. These trailers will no doubt build additional hype for the next Avengers movies and help gin up the numbers for Avatar: Fire and Ash in the process, since they’re playing before the new James Cameron film. Throw in the inevitable return of key players like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in Secret Wars and it’s safe to assume that Marvel Studios has a giant pile of cash coming its way.

But that doesn’t change the fact that this is the easy, cynical way out. Marvel used to be skilled at making audiences care about heroes they had never heard of before. Just look at the success of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Now they seem to have lost their touch, and they’ve given up trying to get that mojo back.

Nostalgia will probably help the MCU in the short term. But what about after Phase 6? What happens when the time comes again for Marvel to focus on a new generation of characters and new storylines. They certainly can’t count on Evans and Downey to stick around forever. What reason is there to assume things will be any different next time around? Is Marvel just hoping to coast along until the time comes to introduce the MCU version of the X-Men?

The most we can hope for is that Marvel ultimately finds a way to balance the classic Avengers trinity with the newer generation of MCU heroes. But with a cast this massive, that’s far easier said than done. Doomsday is a make-or-break moment for the MCU, and Marvel has opted for the easier path. We’ll see how well that works out for them.

For more on Avengers: Doomsday, see what the current status quo of the MCU is right now and brush up on every Marvel movie and series in development.

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

Following multiple days of criticism from fans and fellow game developers over the studio's use of generative AI, Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity maker Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has announced an AMA (Ask Me Anything, typically on Reddit) in the new year, inviting people to ask members of different Larian departments "any questions you have about Divinity and our dev process directly."

In a post to Twitter/X, Vincke said that since the announcement of the studio's next game, Divinity, at The Game Awards last week, "a lot has become lost in translation." He continued, saying that "Larian's DNA is agency" and said it would be irresponsible of the studio not to "evaluate new technologies," presumably referring to the generative AI discussion that started the controversy. But he also appeared to backpedal somewhat on the idea, adding that "our processes are always evolving, and where they are not efficient or fail to align with who we are, we will make changes."

Vincke's full statement is below:

It’s been a week since we announced Divinity, our next RPG, and a lot has become lost in translation.

Larian’s DNA is agency. Everything we work towards is to the benefit of our teams, games, and players. A better work day, and a better game. Our successes come from empowering people to work in their own way and bring the best out of their skill & craft, so that we can make the best RPGs we can possibly make.

In that context, it would be irresponsible for us not to evaluate new technologies. However, our processes are always evolving, and where they are not efficient or fail to align with who we are, we will make changes.

To give you more insight, we’ll do an AMA featuring our different departments after the holiday break, in which you’ll get the opportunity to ask us any questions you have about Divinity and our dev process directly.

We’ll announce the date in the new year. In the meantime, I wish you all happy holidays!

Vincke's statement comes in response to criticism of his own remarks in interviews following the announcement of a new Divinity last week. In a Bloomberg interview, Vincke admitted that Larian has been pushing generative AI internally, even though it hasn't led to gains in efficiency or speed. Some examples given included using the technology for brainstorming, PowerPoint presentations, pitching concept art, and writing placeholder text.

In response, a number of players across various social platforms, as well as game developers and even former Larian employees criticized the studio, arguing that the listed uses for generative AI at Larian either seemed like things that didn't benefit from generative AI at all (such as placeholder text), or alternatively were key parts of the artistic process and would suffer from not having humans at the helm throughout (concept art).

Vincke then responded with multiple statements, one given to us, and another posted on Twitter/X, where he claimed that critics were misunderstanding what Larian was doing and that "We are neither releasing a game with any AI components, nor are we looking at trimming down teams to replace them with AI."

We also had our own interview with Vincke about Divinity, which you can read in full here.

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

If you're a lucky owner of a brand new Nintendo Switch 2 console, you'll definitely want to pick up some extra storage. The Switch 2 only has 256GB of onboard storage, and chances are you'll probably need to expand it down the road. Amazon just lowered the price of the 256GB Samsung P9 MicroSD Express card, which will double your available storage, for just $32.99. As a comparison, the best previous deal I saw on a 256GB memory card was during Cyber Monday for $39.99. You don't have to worry about performance, either. We recently reviewed this exact card and strongly recommend it.

256GB Samsung P9 MicroSD Express Memory Card

Nintendo Switch 2 compatible

Let's make this simple: You want to know if there are any mid- or post-credits scenes in Avatar: Fire and Ash. The answer is no; James Cameron has never included a closing credits scene in any of his movies, and that doesn’t change here.

The third chapter in James Cameron’s Avatar saga, Avatar: Fire and Ash, picks up with the Sully family now fully immersed within the Metkayina, the clan that gave them safe shelter in Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). They’re still mourning the loss of Neteyam – the eldest son of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) – who was killed in that second film.

There are also looming concerns about the human boy known as Spider (Jack Champion) – the biological son of the Sullys’ sworn enemy, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). He’s grown up alongside the Sullys and is treated like a family member by all of them… well, all except Neytiri, who always kept him at arm’s length thanks to his humanity, and who has now grown even more openly hostile towards him in the wake of Neteyam’s death.

This will lead to the latest adventure for our Na'vi heroes on Pandora... which we'll get into with a full spoiler discussion on Friday. So be sure to check back on this page then, and in the meantime take a look at our chat with Cameron and Sigourney Weaver about how the director has changed between Aliens and Avatar, or watch our Avatar movies recap below to catch up on the story of Jake, Neytiri and the rest.

Does Avatar: Fire and Ash Have a Mid- or Post-Credits Scene?

It does not, though as you’re listening to Miley Cyrus sing over the closing credits, you do get the standard “Visit Scenic Pandora”-style shots of the planet’s landscapes, seascapes, and wildlife that also concluded the first two films. This time, they switch it up a bit, because there are also shots of the primary characters pulled from footage we’ve seen so far.

The Game Awards included a reveal trailer for NO LAW, a cyberpunk first-person shooter from developer Neon Giant and publisher Krafton that’s coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The trailer gave us a first look at the sleazy, lawless city of Port Desire and ended on a line that hints at the game’s tone: “Reap what you sow.”

You play as Grey Harker, a seasoned military veteran who barely survived his last deployment. So he decided to leave war behind to lead a life of peace and gardening, but of course, that peaceful life wasn’t in the cards. Trouble came knocking on his door (or more like bulldozing through it), and now it’s time for some payback.

Trouble isn’t exactly rare in Port Desire. As the trailer says, it’s a city with no laws and no oversight. It’s located on the coast where the borders of three nations meet, leading to a melting pot of both people and environments. There are seedy areas soaked in neon, tall buildings that stretch into the smog-filled sky, as well as lush areas where the jungle has started encroaching on the city. And you’ll see all of it as you travel across the dense open-world city.

The Mayors have used violence and intimidation to establish a kind of order, but it’s tenuous at best. Everyone is out for themselves, justice is self-defined, and you’re seemingly always one step away from crossing the wrong person. In this den of danger and vice, Grey’s decisions are up to you.

The open-ended story of NO LAW evolves depending on the decisions you make. Will you help and protect those who need it? Or will you take what you want when you want it, whoever gets in your way be damned? These decisions have consequences, and each decision and consequence compound on each other to make each playthrough different. After all, “reap what you sow” doesn’t just apply to the people who’ve wronged Grey. It also applies to you, the player. This is the kind of story where it won’t be possible to see every path and outcome in one playthrough, and your relationships will be shaped by your choices.

Grey’s morality isn’t the only thing you’ll have control over. It’ll also be up to you how to approach combat, with several tools at your disposal. Having been in the military, Grey has training in gunplay, stealth, and hacking, but you’ll be the one to decide if he should specialize in one of these paths or be a jack-of-all-trades. He can stick to the shadows and strategically eliminate foes, use devices and hacking to outsmart them, or say to hell with all that and just rush in guns blazing, driven purely by rage.

The trailer shows some of that in action, including sneaking through vents to get the drop on enemies from above, using a device to map a room, and facing a giant mech in a 1-on-1 shootout in the street using explosives in the environment. You can also see in the trailer that environments are built with verticality in mind, providing ample opportunity for both catching enemies unawares and violently kicking them off elevated surfaces to their deaths.

This is the first look at NO LAW, but there are sure to be many more details revealed in the future. No release information was given, but we know it’s coming to Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, and it’s available to wishlist now. If you want to get the latest updates on its progress, you can follow NO LAW on Discord, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook.

The Nintendo Switch port of 1–4-player survival game Oppidum is officially out, completing its list of platforms after it came to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox earlier this year.

Oppidum was created by Spanish indie developer EP Games with a team so small it only has one programmer, though you wouldn’t know it from the scope of the game. It has more than 40 hours of story content and a ton of features. It takes place on the once beautiful and magical island of Insule, but now corruption has spread across it and its creatures. And you're the hero who comes to break the curse that looms over the island.

You’ll establish a camp that’s your safe space, then explore the island’s woods, swamps, and caves to try to locate the source of the corruption. These areas are full of creatures you’ll need to deal with, some of which are still touched by the magic that imbues the island.

Combat is real-time and you’ll often face groups of enemies, so you need to pay attention to the skills of each to figure out which ones to take out first. For example, one enemy might charge you with its shield raised and seem like the most immediate threat. But it could be protecting a nearby healer, so you’ll need to avoid the aggressive attacker and take out the healer first.

Enemies will drop resources, and you can gather others by chopping down trees, taking a pickaxe to rocks, or opening treasure chests (some of which are locked until you clear the surrounding area of enemies). You’ll notice that after chopping down a tree, a glowing silhouette of it will remain. That means it will eventually regrow in that same spot, powered by the energy of the island. With the materials you gather, you can construct buildings, craft tools, upgrade your weapons, plant and tend crops, take care of animals, and cook meals.

As you venture across the island, you’ll meet and build relationships with its inhabitants. They’ll have new quests for you, and as you help them, they’ll help you in return. They’ll move the story forward and inform you about local customs and lore, deepening your connection to the world around you. And completing their quests can score you rewards like increased health and blueprints to improve your camp and equipment, so it’s worth helping everyone you find. As your gear improves, you’ll be able to tackle new areas, where you’ll find new residents to help, new mysteries to solve, and new information to uncover.

Completing objectives can also open up unexpected new possibilities. For example, when you defeat a boss, it’ll unlock its Altars, where you can make offerings to get new upgrades. That includes things like expanding your inventory, increasing your health, increasing how many of one item can be included in a stack, and more. This gameplay loop guarantees that through Oppidum’s 40+ hours of content, there’s always something new to discover and new goals to accomplish.

You can do all of this solo or with up to three other players at the same time. There’s cross-play between all platforms, with options for shared or private playthroughs. A shared game allows everyone to invite new people, nobody can be kicked out, all players can connect at any time (meaning you don’t need a particular person to be online in order to play), and if someone leaves the realm, their slot can’t be used by someone else. A private game is created by one person, and only they have the power to invite or kick out other players. It’s also only possible to join the game while the creator is online, but if someone leaves the realm or is kicked, they can be replaced by another player.

The experience can also be fully customized, including difficulty level and gameplay options. Difficulty can be altered with multiple different presets to tailor it to exactly what you’re looking for. If you just want stress-free gameplay where you gather resources and build up your camp without facing any real danger, you can turn on the Relaxed option, which makes it impossible for you to die. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re looking for more of a challenge, you can activate Hardcore mode, which makes enemies much tougher and survival mechanics harsher.

If you want to get into more nitty gritty gameplay options, you can do that too. You can change things like enemies’ aggro range and how long an in-game day lasts. And there are accessibility options like disabling the need to hold buttons, adjusting durability settings for your tools and gear (which includes turning off the durability system altogether), simplifying fishing, and several more. The breadth of options earned Oppidum the Best Accessibility award at Spain’s Iris Games Awards, so needless to say it’s one of the game’s strongest features.

The Nintendo Switch launch of Oppidum also includes the recently released Patch 1.2.0, which added a bunch of new features and content. The headlining additions are two new minigames. Beach Pong is what it sounds like, and you can play against a friend or bennies, the island’s native creatures. In Battle Arena, you can earn rewards for fighting off waves of enemies. You can play in co-op with up to four players, or compete against each other in PvP.

The patch also added a new cue to let you know the right time to parry an enemy, a “snap to grid” option during building construction, a new pause feature, and lots more. For full specifics on the patch and everything it added, check out EP Games’ official website. For the latest news and updates, you can follow the game on X/Twitter or Bluesky.

Missed out on the budget gaming PC deals during Black Friday? Don't fret because here's an even better opportunity. Walmart is currently offering the iBuypower Element SE RTX 5060 Ti gaming PC for just $899 with free delivery. This is the lowest price I've seen for any RTX 5060 Ti equipped gaming PC, and beats the previous Black Friday deal by $100. It's even estimated to be delivered before Christmas (depending on your zip code) in case you need to pack this off as a gift.

iBuypower RTX 5060 Ti Gaming PC for $899

Evangelion is one of the most influential and revered anime series ever created, with a fan base that continues to grow with each passing year. If you’re someone looking to jump in for the very first time, things can become rather daunting quickly, especially once you start looking at all of the titles.

With an original series, a reboot, and a recap, there's plenty to discover in the iconic sci-fi anime. To help you get started, I put together my recommended watch order for the full franchise. As we gear up for the original series' 30th anniversary next year, it's time to get in the robot and experience the world of Evangelion.

At a Glance: Evangelion Watch Order

If you have all of Eva lined out in front of you, here's a quick look at our recommended watch order. For more information on the series and its development, scroll on.

What Is Evangelion?

Neon Genesis Evangelion first began as a manga series in December 1994. The anime premiered in October 1995 and aired on TV until March 1996. The series was both created and written by Hideaki Anno, with production occurring at Studio Gainax. Following the TV anime, Evangelion became incredibly popular, resulting in the development of The End of Evangelion to provide an alternate ending to the series.

Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise has shared a first peek at his upcoming offbeat comedy movie Digger, which looks set to be a startling departure from the actor's typical Hollywood blockbuster fare.

Digger will be directed by The Revenant's Alejandro G. Iñárritu from a script by the co-writers of Birdman. Argo's John Goodman, Dopesick's Michael Stuhlbarg, Breaking Bad's Jesse Plemons and House of the Dragons' Emma D'Arcy will also star.

Rounding out the cast are German actress Sandra Hüller, Eden's Sophie Wilde, Star Wars: Rogue One's Riz Ahmed, Torchwood's Burn Gorman and The Crown's Pip Torrens.

Little is known of the film's plot, with today's odd teaser giving next to nothing away. The trailer begins with a spade hitting a carpeted floor, as a man in shorts and cowboy boots flexes and prepares to start digging. The scene then changes to what looks like the end of a dock or pier, as seagulls can be heard. The same man skips along the top of a set of railings, still carrying his shovel.

It seems obvious the figure in the trailer is Cruise, though from what can be seen of him, the actor seems to be wearing heavy makeup or prosthetics. All of which points to a very different looking project for Cruise than the actor's recent string of Mission Impossible sequels. The actor has portrayed quirkier roles before (such as in 1999 ensemble drama Magnolia), though not often.

Warner Bros.' first poster for the movie, meanwhile, features a tagline describing the project as "a comedy of catastrophic proportions." Today's announcement also comes with confirmation of an October 2, 2026 release date.

Image credit: Warner Bros.

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

When I sat down to play High on Life 2 for the first time, I was optimistic but also slightly skeptical. I’m hardly alone when I say that I loved the first one – it was a rare example of a genuinely funny game and it happened to be an excellent first-person shooter to boot. But making sequels to comedies is no sure thing – just look at the long list of great comedy films that got bad follow-ups. How would a video game comedy sequel fare?

If the hour of High on Life 2 I played is any indication, it’s got a great chance to be as funny as – and possibly even more fun on the gameplay side than – the 2022 original. In that hour alone, I wandered around a beautiful beachside alien town, met a semi-depressed new gun named Travis and got completely wasted with him, impressed some alien teenagers with my skateboarding skills, circumcised a giant alien phallus with a laser, stole the fedora from the 1996 movie Dunston Checks In, tried (unsuccessfully) to solve a murder mystery, and bounty-hunted a billionaire who, yes, met his demise. Did I laugh along the way? Yup. Is the first-person shooter combat improved from the original? Certainly. Did I appreciate the variety of gameplay within this small slice of the campaign? Most definitely yes. Like I said, I went in optimistic, but when my demo ended I was more excited than ever for High on Life 2’s February 13, 2026 release.

Skate or Die

I began in Pinkline Harbor, a beach town with a bar, a skate shop, a bar and grill overlooking the sea, and more. It didn’t take long for me to find trouble, as a pair of fellow bounty hunters accosted me and eventually recognized me as a mark with a big bounty on my own head. After taking them out, the bottleneck was clear and I was free to explore the harbor.

This gave me my first taste of High on Life 2’s new traversal mechanic: skateboarding. I’ve played a lot of first-person shooters in my day, but I’m not sure I’ve ever played an FPS with skateboarding in it until now. And I have to say, I love how developer Squanch Games has implemented it here. It’s basically your run function. When you press the sprint button, your outlaw hero deploys their board and starts riding. You can grind on rails to really get around the open playspaces faster, and you’ve got momentum like an actual skateboard does, too, allowing you to catch air if you’re skating in, say, an empty pool on a cruise ship. I’m really interested to see how the skateboarding gets utilized throughout the campaign; I already saw it incorporated into a basic puzzle in my demo.

After solving that simple locked-door puzzle with the help of my skateboard, I cruised into Pinkbellies Bar and Grill and met Travis, a down-on-his-luck alien (who happens to be a gun) who’s getting drunk at the bar after a fight with his wife. It’s here we see a welcome tweak to the first High on Life: you now have dialogue choices for each of your gun characters; if you choose one that’s from a different gun than what you’re holding, you’ll put that gun away and take out the one whose response you’ve chosen. This allows for plenty of funny options, and while I wouldn’t say this alone encourages replayability, if you do happen to run through High on Life 2 more than once, at least you can ensure that you won’t hear all of the exact same dialogue.

Hold Your Liquor

You’ve got to keep Travis happy as you pretend to be his drinking buddy, as he’s got a spare ticket for the cruise ship you need to get aboard, since that’s where your target – the billionaire Larry Pinkstock – is believed to be. And so there’s a literal Happy-O-Meter that you’ll fill by dancing in a DDR-like minigame, playing darts while hammered, and drawing a portrait of Travis. Naturally, this leads to a bar fight and you vomiting and blacking out and waking up on the beach. Did my actions during any part of this gameplay sequence seem to really matter? Not really. But did I laugh throughout it? Absolutely.

Naturally, getting aboard the ship isn’t as easy as simply walking onto it; you’ll need to fight your way through some more bounty-hunting bad guys. This battle gives you a good sense of how traversal – from the skateboard to using Knifey as a grappling hook – is organically woven into combat. If you keep moving you’ll be tough to bring down, particularly when you mix in frequent use of each gun’s special attack; they’re each on a cooldown, so you can’t spam them. Combat definitely feels more layered in this sequel than it did in the first game. In other words, you’ve got more options at your disposal in any given encounter, and that’s a good thing.

Once aboard the ship, called the Pinkline Panacea, you’ll need to give up your guns at the security checkpoint before enjoying the perks of your VIP ticket – which includes the highlight of the evening, a murder mystery party. Thus, getting dressed up for the big event is a must, so Travis buys you both wild, matching Austin Powers-looking purple suits from a vendor who looks suspiciously like an alien version of John Waters.

Laser That Wiener

Anyway, I needed to get my friends – aka my guns – back, and so Travis and I wandered into Pinkstock’s museum to search for them. We didn’t find them, but we did find the fedora worn by Dunston the orangutan in Dunston Checks In, which Travis instantly became obsessed with. So, how to get it for him without alerting security? Well, as luck would have it, the adjacent museum piece is a giant alien phallus, set up for museum patrons to circumcise using the circumcision laser. I won’t spoil the puzzle solution, but let’s just say that yes, I did get Travis that fedora. And acquiring it was a very funny process.

More exploration of the ship led us to the Lido Deck, where a gang of unruly teens had managed to get their hands on Knifey. And in a clear humorous nod to Tony Hawk, the teens agreed to return Knifey – if I showed off my skateboarding skills by collecting the letters scattered around the deck…that happened to spell out the word “gonads.” L-O-L. And as you can already see, High on Life 2 is chock full of variety, and I haven’t even told you about the best part of my demo yet…

Whodunnit?

After battling some more bounty hunters on the Lido Deck who were looking to cash in on the price on my head, I made my way back to my cabin and passed out before the party. Once we got to the VIP murder mystery bash, I found four strange fellow guests, and soon our mysterious host appeared.

I expected a very light bit of clue-gathering in this sequence, and if that’s all it had been, High on Life 2 still would’ve earned points in my book for continuing to mix up the gameplay. However, developer Squanch Games had other ideas. The murder mystery is no joke, both tonally and difficulty-wise. The team clearly took this section very seriously, and as such you’ll need to talk to all four suspects repeatedly, scour the room for both obvious and hidden clues, make notes in your on-screen notepad, and eventually not just accuse one of the four, but have collected enough evidence and made enough connections to establish a motive and credibly pin the crime on one of them. I’m purposely not going to say any more about this because I don’t want to spoil any of it for you, but I’ll admit that while I did end up accusing the correct person, I hadn’t solidly established a motive, and thus, I failed to solve the murder mystery. I can’t wait to play this again in the final version of the game in order to take another crack at it.

Who’s the Boss?

I escaped the murder mystery via a water slide that took me to the lower deck. This led to another big battle where I got to test out another new weapon in High on Life 2: the Flint Turtles. They’re temporary-use pickups in the practical sense, and in the literal sense, they’re adorable reptiles who happen to breathe fire, making for convenient single-use flamethrowers. One miniboss fight and a few more rounds of regular combat later and I finally found myself at the end of my demo in a proper boss fight against Kreg, the leader of the bounty hunter gang that had been harassing me throughout my demo.

Kreg proved to be a pretty traditional first-person shooter boss foe. He had attack patterns to learn and weak moments where I could really let him have it. I wouldn’t say this fight was better than the excellent boss battles in the first High on Life, but it was an engaging enough encounter.

All told, I was pleasantly surprised by my hour with High on Life 2. Not surprised that it was good, to be clear – I expected that – but rather delighted by just how nicely the gameplay has evolved from the first game, and how much smart, funny, and unexpected variety there was throughout the gameplay. I wasn’t simply shooting the entire time. Far from it! If the whole of High on Life 2 matches what my one-hour slice brought to the table, then it’s going to be a very welcome addition to Xbox – including Game Pass on day one – PC, and PS5.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

In 2024, it felt like the passion and hunger for anime was at its apex. But as we've seen this year, that growth shows no sign of stopping. In fact, in 2025 anime is being watched by more people now than probably ever before. Thanks to streamers like Netflix and Crunchyroll, we've begun to understand just how many millions of people are watching anime around the world. We’re at a level of anime viewership we've never had in North America before, and this also means we've gotten access to many incredible shows this past year.

This was the year when even the niche became mainstream in anime spaces. No need for simple set-ups or universally appealing themes; instead, we got huge swings, new genre hits, and tons of absolutely manic action! Netflix audiences were open to the slice-of-life assassin genre as much as they were to the rom-com and shonen series that were released into the world. Crunchyroll had a bigger year than ever and announced a series of anime screenings in conjunction with the Alamo Drafthouse heading into 2026. Basically, anime is making a bigger impact on an even larger audience than ever before, and we're all the better for it.

Honorable Mentions

The smorgasbord of brilliant anime offerings this year made it incredibly hard to narrow down our finalists, but before we get to the cream of the crop, we want to shout out some of the other incredible series that almost made our list. Netflix started its year strong with the charming and delightful Sakamoto Days. The story of an assassin turned convenience store owner ranked as one of the biggest anime hits for the streamer this year, and one of the biggest fan faves. There were also outliers that became smash hits like To Be Hero X, a Chinese animated series that broke through the noise with its unique animation style and superhero lore – in this series’ world, belief allows superpowers to become real.

Another big trend this year was the power of the returning series. We had hugely anticipated shows like Solo Leveling Season 2, which became the most popular series ever on Crunchyroll and is also one of the series with the most-liked episodes on the platform too. It wasn't just those epic action shows making waves though, as there was also My Dress Up Darling Season 2, which took the character-focused slice of life hit about two cosplay pals and elevated it into one of the best second seasons in ages. We even had class series like Dr. Stone Science Future Parts 1 & 2 return, bringing some nostalgic vibes to our longlist.

Ultimately though, after many rewatches, rounds of voting, and deliberation, we came to a decision on our best anime of the year and runners-up, which you can find below!

Runner Up: Zenshu

A rare original anime, aka not based on an existing manga, light novel, or other source material, Zenshu took the action-packed isekai genre and smashed it into the coziness of animation and slice of life to great success. While struggling to craft her second anime series after the massive success of her first, a young animator finds herself in the world of her favorite childhood movie, called A Tale of Perishing. Once she arrives there, she discovers that the incredible and prodigious talent as an artist and animator that gave her success means that now she's been transported to the fake world she grew up with, where she can bring her illustrations to life.

Coming from Studio MAPPA, this is, as to be expected, one of the best-looking and most fun series of the year, and it'll make you nostalgic for the stories that shaped your childhood and tastes. But there's extra magic too as our hero can fix the tragedies that plagued the fictional world that she once loved so much. If you enjoy quest anime, medieval isekai, or even high-tech fantasies like Sword Art Online, this will be perfect for your pop culture taste buds.

Runner Up: Takopi's Original Sin

Taizan 5 has been devastating readers since his manga Takopi's Original Sin first debuted in 2021. But it was when the show hit screens this year that it gained a true cult following, and anyone who watches it will instantly understand why. The series begins as a beautiful tale about a sweet alien being who wants to make people happy but finds himself entangled instead with a deeply depressed and dysfunctional community of children. Warning: In case that little taster didn't make it clear, this is a really sad series that doesn't shy away from the bleaker parts of life, love, growing up and all the things that you lose along the way. But what is so special about the show is that you still want to keep watching and keep hoping for something better to happen.

Whether you're a fan of haunting horror like Tomie or mystery thrillers like Erased, you'll find something to love in this distressing yet engaging series that asks what it takes to become happy and whether it's ever right to truly pursue that happiness to its end no matter the cost. It's another sign of just how much anime is changing the way that people interact with stories too, as this is not an easy jumping on point for the art form; it’s a dark, challenging, and often brutal tale that still managed to connect with a huge audience, including many on our staff.

Runner Up: The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

After the first season of this awesome period mystery of the week made it onto our 2024 best of list, it's no surprise that the brilliant follow-up did too. The series is centered around a young girl named Maomao who is sold into servitude in the court only to rise up its ranks thanks to her knack for potions, detective work, and science. Expanding the world of the walled Imperial Court and those who inhabit it, this season became a court intrigue of near Game of Thrones-level proportions. With pregnancies, backstabbing, royal poisonings, and more, the first season of The Apothecary Diaries was one of the most engaging and talked about anime when it debuted, but how do you top that? By shifting into a more serious and unexpected genre than the slice-of-life mystery of S1.

In its second season, The Apothecary Diaries didn't play it safe and instead turned towards a deeper political intrigue that delved into the inner workings of the Imperial Kingdom and those who run it. It's the kind of choice that can either sink your anime or make it an even bigger hit, and here it was definitely the latter as the heated court drama began to entice historical anime viewers and even shonen fans who stayed to try to solve the dark mysteries at the show's heart.

Runner Up: Dan Da Dan Season 2

Probably the most anticipated returning series of the year, Dan Da Dan Season 2 easily made our shortlist despite its controversial change of theme song. After Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, the movie previewing the first three episodes of the second season, opened to over $3 million in North America, it became very clear that the 2024 smash was turning into a cultural phenomenon. Whether you were counting Turbo Granny t-shirts at Comic-Con or hearing people talk about Momo on a regular basis, it's unlikely you've yet to hear about this smash hit series, which in its sophomore season managed to keep up the quality and strangeness that makes it so great.

Following up the monstrously popular first season was never gonna be an easy feat for studio Science Saru, but as always they delivered in spades. Back with all the same action and humor that made it such a standout when it debuted, the continued adventures of Okarun and Momo followed the pair on more paranormal and supernatural adventures. But it also showcased an ability to shift between genres and expand beyond any barriers that one might expect from a massively popular action anime. If anything, it leaned into the weird and doubled-down on what made it so popular in the first place.

Winner: The Summer Hikaru Died

This year our winner offered up something totally unique: a haunting horror that harkened back to the brutal yet melancholy cult movies of the ’00s like Battle Royale, All About Lily Chou Chou, and A Tale of Two Sisters. This enigmatic and beautifully animated series centers on the disappearance and subsequent reappearance of the titular Hikaru. Although it seems like a cause for celebration, his close friends soon begin to suspect that their friend didn't really come back and instead has been replaced by someone or something else...

To reveal any more of the exact details of the story is to destroy at least a little of the magic that this esoteric, moody, atmospheric, gorgeous, and heartbreaking show has to offer.

Adapted from the manga of the same name by Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died centers on a cast of funny, nimble, and very much alive young characters who navigate the world in a way that'll spark your nostalgia while still surprising you. This is the kind of show that you know is something special as you watch, not only conceptually but also in how it's brought to life. This has become an instant existential classic and thanks to the immense platform of Netflix it's been able to find an equally large and appreciative audience.

Although it was a very close battle, Hikaru ultimately pulled ahead on our list and deservedly so. Strange, haunting, emotional, and always deeply entertaining, The Summer Hikaru Died is IGN's Best Anime of 2025.

So what do you think? Did The Summer Hikaru Died deserve the top spot this year? Let’s talk about it in the comments, and don’t forget to vote in the poll above. And make sure to check out all our IGN Awards for 2025 across film, TV, gaming, anime, and comics!

Note: For IGN's best anime series award, anime must have completed airing their season or cour/parts in the U.S. by our 2025 voting period in order to be eligible. For example, Gachiakuta will be considered for the following year.

Grab your mouse and get clicking, because it's been a great year for games, and the PC has seen nearly all of them cross its path. The IGN staff has rounded up the best PC gaming had to offer in 2025 and pitted them against each other in a free-for-all Quake match for the crown… okay, actually we just nominated our top five and then voted on a winner, though we'll also be shouting out a few more standouts that are worth highlighting alongside them.

As always, the PC list comes with a few funny caveats alongside its console-based competition – or, more specifically, because of the fact that it's not really trying to fight in that age-old war. PCs have long acted as a bit of a catchall for gaming as a hobby, and that's been more true than ever in recent years as nearly every (non-Nintendo) "exclusive" seems to make its way to Steam at some point. Certain games on this list can feel a little more PC-focused than others, but some of the selections here might look a bit familiar if you've followed out console awards. That's the nature of our multi-platform hobby.

Honorable Mentions

Two games worth shouting out that didn't make our best PC shortlist are Europa Universalis 5 and Anno 117: Pax Romana – strategy games have a comfy home here, and while the genre is is a little tougher to penetrate than likes of RPGs and action games, its undeniable that 2025 has been a great year for 4X fans. Similarly, mouse-and-keyboard diehards had plenty to sink their teeth into this year with awesome FPS options like Doom: The Dark Ages, Arc Raiders, and Battlefield 6, all of which are sitting comfortably as nominees for our Best Shooter category. There were also some excellent indie roguelike hits like Ball x Pit, Megabonk, and Monster Train 2 that can feel at home on PC. That's not to mention another great RPG that just got pushed out of the top five here in The Outer Worlds 2, as well as the excellent Split Fiction, both of which made our Best Xbox nominations.

Runner-Up – Hollow Knight: Silksong

The conversation around the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong was almost entirely dominated by difficulty when it first arrived. It's a brutally challenging platformer, often unforgiving but never outright unfair, and one that truly tested those who tried to conquer its seemingly endless map. But to boil Silksong down to only discussions of difficulty does it a disservice. Whether or not that one run back to a boss is too long, or that fake save bench that actually drops you into a pit of poison water is too mean (it's not, it's hilarious), there is so much Silksong does right, or more often brilliantly, that make it a truly stunning achievement overall. Its world is detailed and beautiful, its characters are charming and cleverly written, its music is consistently fantastic, and its branching paths let you explore and grow stronger no matter which direction you go, always giving you options if you hit a physical or metaphorical wall. The story it tells is also touching and nuanced, told through a lead character that has become a standout. Silksong is a game that nails nearly everything it attempts, and a sequel that was absolutely worth the wait.

Runner-Up – Blue Prince

It's easy to underestimate Blue Prince. In fact, it's easy to reach the credits, play deep into its endgame, and still underestimate just how much is hidden in the shifting halls of the roguelike puzzler. A smart blend of genres that come together to make something not quite like anything else we've played before, Blue Prince is one of those singular puzzle games that hooks you hard and then makes you wish you could wipe your mind and play it all over again once you're finally through. Its only frustration comes in the form of its randomness, but even that is woven in masterfully as a beast that can be tamed with skill, knowledge, and plenty of permanent upgrades. It somehow strikes the same tone as games like Myst, but with the enticing "just one more run" of wildly different all-time contenders like Slay The Spire. That's a hard line to walk, but Blue Prince strides along it with grace.

Runner-Up – Hades 2

Similar to Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2 had the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of an absolute giant. How do you improve on something already so close to perfection? Well, developer Supergiant's strategy was to go bigger bigger bigger. It doesn't revolutionize what made the original Hades so incredible, but it does offer a distinctly different flavor of it, and then stuffs that refreshed package full of so many new areas, enemies, systems, and upgrade options that it more than fulfills the role of a true and proper sequel. Melinoë's journey to kill the titan of time is also a fun twist on a familiar formula, and her moveset and weapon options masterfully shake up the still excellent action without overcomplicating anything – that's why although it didn't win the top spot here, it was crowned our best action game of 2025. And, of course, all of that is complimented by the same gorgeous sense of style and hypnotizing soundtrack that helped the first game leave such a lasting mark.

Runner-Up – Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may command the center of the RPG stage in 2025, but overlooking Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dancing right alongside it would be a mistake. This massive medieval adventure could keep you playing well past the 100-hour mark, with tons of stories to unravel and quests to complete. Most notably of all, those tasks come with lots of choices to make that give you a hand in how this tale plays out, as well as the burden of living with the consequences of your actions. We've been waiting a long time already for The Elder Scrolls 6, and it seems like we'll be waiting a long time still, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a phenomenal alternative before that day ever comes – and is far from a consolation prize in the meantime, standing as a very impressive RPG that very well could have been claiming the top spot of many a list in a year that wasn't dominated by a certain French game...

Winner – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

I wouldn't blame you if you feel like rolling your eyes at the absolute sweep Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has rolled out for award ceremonies across both IGN and the games industry as a whole, but becoming so used to it winning everything from best-ofs to costume contests throughout the month of December doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to. This distinctly (perhaps even aggressively) French RPG doesn't really do a ton we haven't seen elsewhere before, transparently owing loads to the plenty of Japanese-made RPGs that so clearly inspired it – but it does bring together loads of familiar pieces and assembles them in a way that feels fresh and new. The exciting and varied action elements of its turn-based combat, the interesting twist on a post-apocalyptic plot, and the powerhouse strength of the ensemble cast fueling the heart of it all. Add to all this that it's come from a brand new developer that clearly understands how to punch above its weight – not to mention it came out of the gate swinging with a PC version that didn't require frantic post-launch patching to be optimized – and it's not hard to understand why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is our winner for Best PC Game of 2025.

Got a different pick? Tell us what your favourite PC game of 2025 was in the comments! For more IGN awards, you can check them all out in one place here, including our picks for the best Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo games of the year.

What's IGN's pick for the best TV show of 2025?

Just about every TV series on our list this year feels socially and politically relevant, in both big and small ways. And since art is a reflection of the era and its people, then it makes sense for our current anxiety and turmoil to show up in our entertainment - whether it's a future run by five greedy tech corporations, a mass shooting event at a music festival, a nightmarish workplace that splits your identity and keeps half of you in prison, an entire world becoming void of free will, or the literal life and death battle against tyranny.

In 2025, we saw Breaking Bad's Vince Gilligan return to TV in a triumphant way, bringing Better Call Saul's secret weapon, Rhea Seehorn, along for the ride. We also saw the debut of a fantastic new medical series from ER's R. Scott Gemmill and John Wells, and witnessed the Alien franchise switch gears and soar to new heights on TV (bringing Xenomorphs to our world in a way the movies have promised since 1991 when teasers told us Alien 3 would be on Earth). We also got stunning second seasons from both Severance and Andor. So which was the best? What series will take home Best in Show? Let's find out...

Honorable Mentions

There was no shortage of great TV in 2025. So much so that impressive oner-fueled projects like The Studio and miniseries Adolescence didn't even make our nominations list. Of course, those two shows are on polar opposite ends of the feelings spectrum -- one being the ultimate in Hollywood-skewering cringe comedy and the other a dire, dramatic look at dangerous online teenage manosphere indoctrination.

It's also worth mentioning Netflix's excellent, insightful Death By Lightning, about the assassination of President James A. Garfield, as it was one of the year's best series. Gen V offered up a continuation of The Boys universe. And while the first batch of Stranger Things episodes has already been released, we've yet to see the rest of the season so really couldn't include it on this list.

Runner-Up: Pluribus

Vince Gilligan cleverly calls upon his X-Files past for a delightfully disturbing twist on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The superb Rhea Seehorn stars as a curmudgeonly romance author, Carol, who becomes one of the few people left on Earth after the rest of humanity joins together in a happy hippie hive mind. Pluribus is a witty, probing dramedy that simultaneously acts as a grand sci-fi thought experiment, with a style that scratches many a Breaking Bad itch. It needed no time to hook viewers and it's continued to mesmerize on a weekly basis as Carol finds herself simultaneously surrounded by everyone on the planet while also becoming the most lonely person in existence.

Read IGN's review of the Pluribus premiere. (Note: IGN staff have seen the entire season of Pluribus, making it eligible for consideration in this category.)

Runner-Up: Severance

Severance's second season was one of the most anticipated follow-ups in recent TV history, and after three long years (and a WGA/SAG strike) it finally arrived, delivering in big big ways on its promise of stylish, twisty, and emotionally devastating sci-fi. Season 2 gifted us with some answers to core mysteries while also honing in on the conflict between each character’s Innie and Outie self, as Lumon scion Helena (Britt Lower) worked to manipulate both versions of Adam Scott's Mark, who we learned is the company's most important severed worker. Severance continues to be a scathing commentary on corporate culture through the lens of liminal space dystopia.

Read IGN's review of Severance: Season 2.

Runner-Up: The Rehearsal

The Rehearsal, comedian/madman Nathan Fielder's fascinating experiment about controlling your life narrative, returned for an acclaimed second season this past spring, providing courageous viewers with more more cringey scenarios and audacious laughs. Stirring up more real-world controversy, just like he did in Season 1, Fielder ramped up The Rehearsal's jarring meta-aspects in 2025 by exploring (or ignoring) his own personal difficulties with human connection. The jaw-dropping season finale is not to be missed.

Runner-Up: The Pitt

Combine the best of ER and 24 and you get the ridiculously riveting new series The Pitt, where we follow both tenured doctors and first-day postgrad residents over the course of 15 hours (many of which are harrowing) in a Pittsburgh trauma center emergency room. The Pitt is a premium medical drama that harkens back to the heyday of appointment television, starring one of must-see TV's most beloved stars, Noah Wyle. It's kooky one moment and soul-crushing the next as Wyle's Dr. Robbie and his team deal with crises big and small, all while he tries to manage his own painful memories of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's smart, spectacular ensemble television.

Read IGN's review of The Pitt.

Runner-Up: Alien: Earth

Noah Hawley, the mad genius behind FX's Fargo anthology series (and the beloved batshit X-Men-adjacent series Legion), was the perfect pull to make the first-ever Alien franchise TV series, filling our home screens with not just ferocious Xenomorphs and precocious Synthetics, but also throwing in cyborgs, hybrids, life-sucking space flies, blood-draining space ticks, and a crowd-pleasing, body-snatching space eyeball that stares into your soul. Add some '90s rock and a recurring Peter Pan theme and you've got the impressive, oddball Alien: Earth. Does Alien: Earth fit seamlessly into the Alien Timeline? Not entirely, but in what world would Hawley ever 100% play ball? And it what world would we want him to?

Read IGN's review of Alien: Earth and check out our full Alien franchise Guide/Wiki too!

Winner: Andor

Given how fantastic the first season of Andor was, fans were confident about the second, and final, season being an event to behold. And it was. It was unparalleled storytelling. But also, nestled within it, was the narrative miracle of converting three seasons into one. Andor was originally envisioned as a five-season series, with each season covering a year in the rebellion through the lives of its ensemble. The challenge then became to cover the four years that remained, leading up to Rogue One, in 12 episodes.

Creating three-episode blocks for each rebel year -- mini movies, in a way, building the full season -- Andor was able to soar in scope, triumph in theme, and demonstrate why it towers as superior sci-fi. From Mon Mothma's dance spiral to the reveal of Luthen and Kleya's backstory to the entire Ghorman travesty and tragedy, Andor was exceptional on all levels. Should all Star Wars be like Andor? No, not really. But we needed Andor to be Andor to tell this story. To remind us that Star Wars, even as space fantasy, is about toppling fascism. It's truly the first time that these characters from a long time ago, in this galaxy far, far away, felt like us.

Read IGN's review of Andor: Season 2.

What do you think? Was Andor the best TV show of the year? Should the win have gone to something else? Let’s talk in the comments, and don’t forget to vote in the poll above. And make sure to check out all our IGN Awards for 2025 across film, TV, gaming, anime, and comics!

Universal Tower Defense Codes will earn you free Rerolls and Gems, which will help you build the ultimate team of heroes inspired by some of the most popular animes. In this Roblox tower defense experience, you'll need to fend off waves of enemies, all while completing daily, weekly, and personal quests.

Don't like your crew of anime-inspired icons? Use your Gems to summon characters that range from Rare all the way to Mythic and Secret. The better the unit, the easiest you'll be able to defend your base.

Working Universal Tower Defense Codes (December 2025)

Use these currently active codes:

• ThankYou100k - Free Trait Rerolls x100 (Must reach level 50 to redeem)
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• MaxedOut! - Free Gems x600 and Trait Rerolls x10 (Must reach level 5 to redeem)
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Expired Universal Tower Defense Codes (December 2025)

These codes for Universal Tower Defense have now expired and can no longer be used:

• 40kCCU!

How to Use Universal Tower Defense Codes

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

1. Load up Universal Tower Defense on Roblox
2. Look for the blue icon on the right side of your screen, which says "Codes"
3. Copy the code from this article and paste it into the "Enter code here" bar
4. Click "Redeem"

Why Isn't My Code for Universal Tower Defense Working?

When a code doesn't work for Universal Tower Defense, it's usually because of two reasons:

• The code for Universal Tower Defense 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 Universal Tower Defense

We regularly check and test new codes for popular Roblox experiences, so the best way to get more codes for Universal Tower Defense is to visit this article. But if you want to search for codes yourself, the best place to go is the Universal Tower Defense Discord.

When Is the Next Update or Event in Universal Tower Defense?

Universal Tower Defense is currently celebrating its release and the team behind it are hard at work releasing small and updates and fixes at the moment. If you login daily during the Release event, you'll be able to claim Release Rewards earning you a Rogue Oni Limited-Time Exclusive unit on Day 7. As soon as a new event is announced, we'll be sure to add it to this article.

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.

Are you as pumped for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey as we are? Then you’re going to love this new poster for the movie, which is set to premiere in theaters next summer.

The brand new visual for the film features a soldier, presumably main character Odysseus played by Matt Damon, from the shoulder up. His back is to the camera, showing off his robust helmet, featuring some gold detailing that resembles a bone-like spine at the neck.

The Odyssey is still over half a year away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get hyped for it now. In fact, the film’s six-minute prologue will be shown in select IMAX theaters nationwide ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash, which premieres in theaters on December 19. Previously, the prologue played last weekend ahead of 70mm screenings of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners in select IMAX locations.

According to Variety, Nolan specifically decided to release this six-minute sneak peak now because of the busy holiday season, which is bound to afford him some eyes and attention. He also specifically chose to release in 70mm IMAX because he considers it to be his preferred format.

We got our first glimpse of the film back in February, when a still of Matt Damon as Odysseus in his suit of armor was revealed. A few months later in July, a teaser trailer was released in theaters... and tickets officially went on sale for the film’s theatrical run, nearly exactly a year ahead of its release — which some fans felt was a bit excessive.

The upcoming film, which is an adaptation of Homer’s legendary epic poem of the same name from ancient Greece, has a massive star-studded cast that includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo, Mia Goth, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal.

Nolan's 13th film will premiere in theaters nationwide on July 17, 2026.

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

Stephen King fans, it's time to clear out a little extra space in your physical media library. The first season of IT: Welcome to Derry is set to get a 4K limited edition steelbook, and preorders are already live if you're itching to get your hands on it (see the steelbook here at Amazon for $44.99).

It's not releasing until May 5 next year, but by preordering it now you can secure a copy for yourself for when it's out. Limited edition steelbooks can sometimes sell out faster than you'd expect, so it's better to act fast to get your preorder in while it's still available.

Preorder IT: Welcome to Derry Season One 4K Steelbook

Blu-ray

• See at Amazon - $34.95
• See at Walmart - $40.75

Alongside a creepy cover with Pennywise's face lurking behind a red balloon, this 4K steelbook also comes with a collection of retro collector's art cards, which can be seen in the image below.

IT: Welcome to Derry Season One 4K Steelbook Bonus Features

There's even a couple of bonus features that come with the physical release, alongside all episodes from the first season. According to the press release, they are:

• Inside Derry – (3) extended behind-the-episode featurettes
• Fear the Other – Bonus featurette that explores the societal dynamics of 1962 Derry, Jim Crow, the Red Scare, and the government trespassing on indigenous lands that wreak terror in this tiny New England town.

We enjoyed the first season of IT: Welcome to Derry, with IGN's Tom Jorgensen saying in his season finale review that the show, "saves its biggest, weirdest swings for last. The twists and turns may not all succeed, but by the end, there’s plenty established to get excited about coming back for next season."

Looking for even more movies and shows to keep on your radar as we head into 2026? Our roundup of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays can help you plan ahead on what's to come over the next few months, so you can start making space for more physical media pick-ups.

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

Mark Hamill has commented once again on Luke Skywalker's death in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and said that if "an overdose of the Force" had been a real risk, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda should have warned him.

Hamill's legendary character passed away during The Last Jedi's climax after expending the last of his life energy on a Force projection of himself, which served as a distraction for Kylo Ren while the Resistance began their escape.

The death of Star Wars' original hero is a controversial topic among the franchise's fans, and even Hamill has admitted he had issues with his character's role in the movie. Now, in fresh comments on Luke Skywalker's demise, Hamill has said he'd have expected mentors Obi-Wan and Yoda to have mentioned the dangers of using the Force, ahead of Luke's usage "overdose."

Apple TV has announced an expansion of Legendary’s Monsterverse with a brand new, untitled young Lee Shaw prequel with Marvel's Thunderbolts star Wyatt Russell in its lead role.

The new show, which is a spinoff series of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, will be led by screenwriter and producer Joby Harold, who will serve as showrunner, as well as the lead on the entire Monsterverse franchise for the streamer. Harold is perhaps best known for his writing and producing work on Obi-Wan Kenobi, for which he was nominated for five Emmy awards, as well as his work on the John Wick franchise. Russell will also executive produce in addition to starring.

The show “will follow the story of Colonel Lee Shaw, an American operative who in 1984 went on a secret mission behind enemy lines in an attempt to stop the Soviets from unleashing a horrific new Titan big enough to destroy the U.S. and turn the tide of the Cold War,” according to the streamer, which calls the Monsterverse “an expansive cross-platform story universe centering around humanity’s battle to survive in a world facing a catastrophic new reality – the monsters of our myths and legends are real.”

As of now, the Monsterverse consists of five films: 2014’s Godzilla, 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire. The next film of the franchise Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, coming in 2027. The universe expanded to include the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters series in 2023.

“Viewers around the world haven’t been able to get enough of ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ since its global debut, and we cannot wait to unleash the electrifying new stories that Joby and the entire cast and creative team have been working on,” Apple TV’s head of international development Morgan Wandell said in a statement. “With Joby at the helm, and alongside our terrific partners at Legendary, this new spinoff will kick off an epic Monsterverse expansion that brings audiences even closer to their favorite Titans along with fantastic character-driven storytelling.”

Showrunner Harold added, “I could not feel more privileged to be a part of building out this wildly iconic universe. Apple and Legendary have been exemplary partners throughout this process, and we will continue to bring these Titans of cinematic history to audiences with the reverence they deserve.”

The first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is now available to stream on Apple TV+, with the second season arriving on February 27, 2026.

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

The popular Cult of the Lamb franchise has taken on new life on the printed page, already spawning a graphic novel adaptation called Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse and the follow-up one-shot Cult of the Lamb: Schism Special. Now Oni Press is back again with another sequel dubbed Cult of the Lamb: Last Sacrament Special #1.

Last Sacrament Special reunites writer Alex Paknadel and artist Troy Little for a new 48-page adventure. This issue is again a collaboration between comic book publisher Oni Press, game publisher Devolver Digital, and development studio Massive Monster.

Best Buy's 12 Days of Gaming sale is a great opportunity to stock up on some new games to play over the holidays at a lower price than usual. As for today's selection, one of the best deals available from the retailer is on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch, which has seen its price drop to $39.99.

This is $30 off its PS5 and Xbox Series X price and $20 off its Switch price, but these discounts won't last for long. These offers are only running through the end of today, so in true Sonic fashion, you gotta go fast to grab them on sale while the deals are still available.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for $40