We heard last week how the upcoming release Pokémon Legends: Z-A had already received an update on the Switch and Switch 2, and since then, it’s gone live.
If you’ve already got this game digitally pre-loaded on your system, the update should already be applied. As for the content of this update, it appears to unlock the game’s online features. Here’s a rough translation of the official patch notes, courtesy of the Japanese Pokémon website:
The release of another major Pokémon entry is upon us, and the reviews are beginning to roll in. Now that we’ve heard from the critics, it’s got us wondering what Pokémon and Nintendo fans are planning to do when we hit the launch date on 16th October 2025.
Have the reviews for Pokémon Legends: Z-A sold you, or do you still need to find out more about this latest entry in Game Freak’s long-running series before you commit? If you haven’t already seen it, here’s a quick sample from our own review here on Nintendo Life:
Battlefield 6’s multiplayer action is all about layers. You have an infantry layer, where teams exchange gunfire on foot; there’s the land vehicle layer, where tanks and armored cars reshape the front lines with powerful weapons capable of decimating infantry and bringing entire buildings to the ground; and then there’s sky layer, where a small number of flyers hold dominion over the air, with the potential to flatten ground forces outright. What’s impressive is not only that each layer is so different, but also so well constructed, and somehow they all fit together seamlessly. A few of the maps have a bad habit of becoming sniper-infested hellscapes, and it takes a little too long to unlock the better equipment that makes your loadouts really interesting, but those are minor gripes with what is otherwise one of the best multiplayer shooters of the year.
Most of the fighting happens between general infantry, and great moment-to-moment gunplay is the anchor of the whole experience. Weapons look and sound awesome, especially if you have headphones or a good sound system to pick up the deep booms and subtle details like bullet casings falling to the ground. Guns are accurate, but account for bullet travel and drop just enough to reward skillful shooting – though the modest recoil and bullet spread in most weapons also means you don’t need to be a hardcore shooter veteran to be able to land shots.
There are four classes to choose from that are well balanced overall despite having very distinct identities. Running and gunning as the Assault Class is a lot of fun, but switching gears and focusing on keeping your allies alive as a Medic is rewarding in its own right. Using your defibrillator to keep your team’s collective stock of lives from draining while simultaneously getting one of your fighters back in the action can help turn a match of attrition, even if you choose to be less involved in the actual combat. It’s great for ensuring that anyone can contribute by playing a role well.
That said, I have some mixed feelings about how the Loadouts are assembled. Any class can equip any gun, and while I appreciate the freedom, it’s hard not to want to just put my favorite assault rifle on every class and call it a day. Sure, there’s a bonus effect for using the weapons traditionally associated with each class, like how the sniping-focused Recon class has a faster rate of fire and better accuracy while using snipers, but the effects are modest enough that I quickly found myself ignoring them. That’s not to say that classes don’t matter – you still need to be an Engineer in order to repair tanks, for example – but the lines are a little too blurry for my taste.
Being a good tank commander can make or break a match.
The other issue is with how long it takes to unlock things between matches. Most equipment and weapon options require you to reach certain levels or complete multi-tiered challenges to access them. That’s all well and good, and a standard set of daily and weekly challenges help keep the level ups from being a painful slog, but the level requirements are too high. You can’t even start working on the class specific challenges, which are necessary for earning alternate sub-class-like training paths, until you hit level 20, which could take dozens of hours. Given that really powerful equipment options like the Deploy Beacon, which acts as remote spawn point for your squad, are locked behind that, it holds back the early experience an unfortunate amount before eventually hitting its stride.
The next layer up is when vehicles get involved – while relegated to the larger maps, all hell starts to break loose in the best way with their arrival. A tank rolling down the street creates equal parts control and chaos. They are a focal point of every fight, able to send the enemy scattering as its machine guns and cannon erupt. As buildings explode and debris rains down, they also become the most important target to clear. Whether that means calling in a tank of your own, switching to the Engineer class after getting taken out so you can fire rockets, or something else entirely is up to you, but the way vehicles flip strategic calculus is extremely effective for keeping matches interesting. I also appreciate that, while not necessarily hard to use, tanks do have a higher skill requirement than fighting on foot. Knowing when to use defensive countermeasures or when to push forward to seize territory rather than retreat and let friendly Engineers repair you means a good tank commander stands out, and they can make or break a match if handled correctly.
As a bit of an aviation nerd, I’m a sucker for the final layer: the skies. I love getting in a jet, winning dogfights, then strafing the other team, with some bombing runs mixed in for good measure. Airplanes and helicopters make it fun to be in the skies, terrifying to be underneath, and so satisfying to shoot someone down with a well-placed rocket while on foot. They have the highest skill requirement, asking you to learn a complex set of controls and have a more nuanced understanding of how aircraft operate in order to best utilize them. I’m ok with that in principle, but the lack of a good method to train or practice those skills also means it’s extremely difficult for newcomers to learn to fly. There’s a great firing range for trying out guns, and the lack of a similar option to practice flying means fewer players will be able to enjoy success in the skies.
The classic smattering of Battlefield modes returns, and they are just as fun as ever. Team Deathmatch is a good warmup, but the 64-player battles of Breakthrough and Conquest remain the standouts due to their stunningly massive scope – the former asks one team with limited lives to capture points and advance the frontline against limitless waves of defenders, while the latter has both teams fight for control of shared territory. They are as good as ever at funneling the action towards specific areas, leaving room for big battles in the streets and skies while up-close and personal skirmishes happen on the objectives.
The maps are generally strong, though some have been taken over by snipers.
Beyond that you have options like Rush, a Counterstrike-like mode focused on smaller groups that became another one of my favorites due to it’s instant action and short duration, making it a good alternative for quicker sessions where I don’t have time for a prolonged tug-of-war. The brand new Escalation mode has also impressed, having you fight for a large number of control points that decreases over time, forcing more and more intense battles as you near the end. I like that quite a bit, as the changing shape of the battlefield necessitates a fun shift in tactics throughout.
There are nine maps at launch that are generally strong, ranging from the crowded streets of Saints Quarter, which is perfect for close quarters action, to the enormous, vehicle-filled Operation Firestorm. Empire State is one of my favorites, with a great mix of open areas full of roads, buildings to duck into, and rooftops to snipe from. It’s a tactical advantage to learn the maps, and knowing that seizing the rooftop of a building opposite an objective point so you can wipe out an enemy squad from on high emphasizes the thoughtful nature of Battlefield 6’s combat.
Not every map is a winner right out of the gate, however. Liberation Peak has already become a well deserved meme in the community because of how one hill is always filled with snipers, which really takes away from the class balance that Battlefield thrives on. Mirak Valley is pretty similar, particularly in games of Breakthrough, where the attackers have too little cover in their push against a team of sharpshooters. And while I really like New Sobek City overall, with varied terrain and joyfully destructible structures that help it stand out, it can also become littered with anti-vehicle mines to the point of rendering tanks useless. That might be more of an issue with how the mines themselves are balanced, as they have a tendency to become far too numerous very quickly, but it takes away from what is otherwise a top tier place to fight.
It certainly helps that the maps all look great, especially once you factor in their excellent destructibility. Chunks of cement rain down as bullets collide with buildings. Cars and buses explode, and cover can be erased in an instant with a well placed shot from a grenade launcher. Bring a tank to bear and you can crumble entire buildings (which is terrifying to be on the wrong side of), changing the terrain in ways that are meaningful, and never quite the same from match to match.
But the most impressive part is how all of it – the combat, the levels, the destruction – comes together. There was one moment where I was in a pitched battle for control of a zone in the construction sites of New Sobek City. The enemy was entrenched until I rode my tank in, smashing through a wall and a few support columns in the process. Dust and debris covered everything, but I ignored it as I sprayed gunfire from my machine gun, and my teammates mopped up the rest. It was gorgeous, and something you simply won’t find at this scale in any other game.
In Silly Polly Beast, you’ll join the ever-unlucky Polly as she escapes from the nightmare of an orphanage she was raised in, only to plunge into the darkness of the underworld. In this eclectic, genre-bending shooter-meets-survival horror adventure, you’ll traverse otherworldly, often abstract environments and overcome hellish challenges to fight not only for your freedom, but for the only thing you have left – Alice. Prepare yourself for the ultimate fight for freedom in Silly Polly Beast on October 28th on both Xbox Series S|X and Xbox One Systems – and by the way, stay clear of the fog.
Alongside Polly, you’ll traverse through the underworld, avoiding the dreaded fog. Along the way you’ll engage in aggressive gun fights, outsmart enemies, sneak in the shadows, solve puzzles, work with unlikely allies, and travel with your trusty skateboard. The world of Silly Polly Beast is a unique experience set in a world that treads the line between fever dream nightmare and idyllic eastern bloc fantasy. How far will you go in the fight for your freedom?
Poor Polly isn’t alone in the underworld. It’s filled with an odd, sundry mix of denizens that lurk in the shadows, often with their own goals – and morals. Not all of these denizens will be against you – but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily on your side either. As you interact with these odd figures, remember – you ultimately have but one goal. Are they really aiding you, or distracting you? No matter what events may unfold, remember – never forget the pact which plunged you into the abyss.
Silly Polly Beast features a truly unique gameplay experience which fluidly blends world exploration and puzzle solving with high octane, perspective-shifting battles. As the narrative deepens, you’ll encounter an eclectic mix of top-down and side scrolling shooter battles, survival horror segments, and even skateboarding ones. Polly’s power will grow deadlier over time – master forbidden spells and remember your goals.
A labor of love developed by a solo developer over the course of several years, Silly Polly Beast promises a unique, auteur-lead vision that isn’t bound by normal genre conventions. The narrative will shift and change just as much as the gameplay as you make your way through the underworld. Along the way you’ll explore eerie realms, confront figures which haunt Polly’s past, and master forbidden spells. Will you escape, or will the demons claim you first?
Developed by Andrei Chernyshov with co-development help, porting assistance for Xbox, and publishing by Top Hat Studios, Silly Polly Beast launches on October 28th. Add it to your wishlist now!
An otherworldly, story-driven shooter with aggressive gunfights and terrifying monsters awaits you. This is the story of a girl who, by the will of fate, faced the beast – and in order to become free, she was forced to study its nature. How far can you go in the fight for your freedom?
Embrace your inner demon or be consumed by it.
Perpetually unlucky Polly escapes a nightmarish orphanage… only to find herself trapped in the underworld.
The city was shrouded in fog. Deadly fog. They say that if you see such a sign, be careful. Your fog bracelet will illuminate the deadly fog red when it’s very close.
You’ll encounter denizens of the otherworldly realm – not all of which are against you – but none of whom are on your side. No matter how events unfold, never forget the pledge & pact you took that plunged you into this abyss.
Prepare for a unique gameplay experience, blending world exploration with battles from both side and top-down perspectives. Ancient forbidden knowledge will bolster your strength. With each new spell mastered, Polly’s power grows deadlier.
Explore eerie realms, confront haunting figures from Polly’s past, and master forbidden spells in a fight for freedom. Will you escape, or will the demon claim you first?
Soon, I will eat more than one moon. But for now, both you and I can eat a single moon as a demo starter for the main course Skate Story‘ll ollie into our lives when it releases in December. It’ll have to do, washed down with a glass skater making a stone philosopher feel some type of way by busting out sick combos.
We finally did it, Trainers! Pokémon Legends: Z-A launch week is upon us and, with just two days to go, reviews have started rolling in.
Here at Nintendo Life, we had a perfectly pleasant time with TPC’s latest. Our very own Ace Trainer Alana awarded it a 7/10 in our review, calling the new real-time combat mechanics “the best Pokémon battles have ever felt”, but struggling with the whole set up of Lumiose City. Here’s a snippet:
How Overload Brings a Package of Competitive Fun to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Multiplayer
Summary
Overload is a brand-new mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Multiplayer that mixes in a variety of community favorites like Capture the Flag and Uplink into a singular new experience.
Design Director Matt Scronce and Senior Director of Production Yale Miller share insights into how the new Multiplayer mode was created.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches November 14, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, and Cloud – with support for Xbox Play Anywhere and day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass – as well as PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Battle.net, and Steam.
I look at my HUD and see that the Overload Device is on the move again. I break off and circle back to my team’s control zone, hoping to intercept my opponent before he can score the winning point. I turn a corner, and we meet. They break into a slide to duck under fire – but that’s exactly what I planned for. He falls short with the package sitting idle just outside the zone… then his teammate takes me out, picks up the device, and finishes the job. Match point.
Overload brings a lot of competitive excitement to the wealth of gameplay modes that will launch day one in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Multiplayer, a package that includes favorites like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, and the return of large-scale battles with Skirmish. But with Overload we get a fresh new toy to play with, one that mixes in a variety of community favorites like Capture the Flag and Uplink into a singular new experience.
Here, two teams of six square off to fight over an Overload Device that must be escorted into enemy control zones to score a point. Once a team has picked up the device, they’ll appear on the HUD and Tac-Map for all players to see, and only one device will spawn on the map at a time – so expect some high stakes firefights surrounding the device once it spawns in. As a support, you can help escort your teammate to the enemy controlled zones, whereas the opponents want to stop them from doing so. Teams will switch sides at “half-time” and the first one to score 8 points, or whoever has the highest score once the clock expires, wins.
“Overload started with a real desire to create a new competitive mode,” explains Design Director Matt Scronce. “Of course we’ve got the favorites – Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed – but the team really wanted to push on a Call of Duty competitive mode. Treyarch has a long-standing support and pedigree with the competitive community, and it started with how we can make a new mode work with the competitive players across the community and the Call of Duty League on supporting that. How can we make it the best? That’s where it started.”
As I learned during our discussion around this new mode, when the team sits down to start working on the creation of a competitive mode like Overload, it starts by establishing a different set of governing rules as opposed to making something that will have a wide-ranging appeal. They’re looking at establishing factors like how it can encourage team play, and how it can utilize new gameplay mechanics like Active Camo or the Overclock system, for example. It also comes down to which community they’re trying to serve – in this case, it was to give the competitive community something new.
As Scronce tells me, the initial pitch for Overload was to create a new, objective-based competitive mode, something that could be played 6v6 but scaled down to 4v4 for Call of Duty League. It also needed to have an objective in the map that can be picked up and carried, and this came from inspiration from previous modes that they’ve done like Capture the Flag, Uplink, Search and Destroy, and Sabotage.
“We looked at all of them, ranging back to… 2007? We looked at everything we’ve done, because we’ve done a lot,” adds Scronce. “And we can see what worked here, what didn’t work there, and what do we think we can add to make it kind of fresh and work with Black Ops 7? Obviously, we’ve got the next-level Omnimovement and wall jumps. And some of our new 2035 era of gear, guns, and gadgets – we’ve talked a lot about how those can fit and make sense in Overload.”
One example the team is mulling over is how someone using the Active Camo Field Upgrade, where I can deploy camouflage, should be able to pick up the objective and remain camouflaged. “That’s just one very specific example of something, like the rule set of ‘should you be able to remain in Active Camo and hold the objective’ – the answer right now is yes, because it’s fun,” says Scronce.
Playing Overload, I really do get the sense that this is a great fusion of competitive teamplay, but also a lot of fun. It creates a constant series of mini objectives throughout a match that I must consider, which really keeps me engaged: anticipating where a chokepoint might be, the best route to track down an enemy carrier, or where to set up shop to take out enemies who are lured to a device location.
“We had the pro players in recently and they were very loud in playtesting,” says Senior Director of Production Yale Miller. “The noise they were making was ringing through the studio. We’ve been working so hard on Black Ops 7 and we’re very proud of it and we want people to love it. So, when we hear people having fun and hollering and WTFs and all that – that’s music to our ears.”
Teamplay and communication are keys for success in Overload, ensuring you’re all on the same page of when to push to the objective, or being able to grab the device if someone goes down. Or just simply having a teammate nearby who can come in and back you up.
“If you’re a lone wolf you might get hung out to dry,” adds Miller. “It really forces that kind of team dynamic where suddenly people are talking because they kind of must, right? To be successful, you must be like, ‘Let’s go, we’re all going to push together,’ versus if you’re pushing by yourself, you’re probably in trouble. Forcing that teamwork is key because of the objective.”
And this dynamic plays out evenly on both sides – evidence that the team at Treyarch really seems to have been able to tap into a competitive (and fun) mode for players. Overload rounds out a great list of modes launching with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 that really pluses up the entirety of its Multiplayer package that the team is really excited for.
“At the end of the day, it’s one of 10 key multiplayer modes. And then obviously we have Zombies, and our Co-op Campaign for the first time,” says Miller. “It’s part of the whole package, and we think for us a lot of what we talk about is what’s the full package of Black Ops 7 and making sure that we’re hitting everything. You can’t really beat the value in our minds.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches November 14, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, and Cloud – with support for Xbox Play Anywhere and day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass – as well as PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Battle.net, and Steam. Pre-order any digital edition or subscribe to select Game Pass plans to receive the Reznov Challenge Pack and Guild Override Weapon Camo for immediate use in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone (Terms).
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty®: Warzone*:
— Reznov Challenge Pack – unlock the SOG Reznov Operator Skin. Plus, get access to unlock the Stalingrad Reznov and Memory Reznov Operator Skins
— Guild Override Weapon Camo – unlock the Guild Override dynamic Weapon Camo
The Vault Edition includes:
– Cross-Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7
— Includes Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Xbox PC versions of the game
– BlackCell (1 Season)**
— Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more
– Operator Collection
— 4 Operator Skins: Harper, Karma, T.E.D.D. and Reaper EWR-3
– Mastercraft Collection
— 5 Mastercraft Weapons
– Ultra GobbleGum Pack for Zombies
— 8 GobbleGums of Ultra rarity for Black Ops 7
– Permanent Unlock Token for Black Ops 7 (available at launch)
In Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7, Treyarch and Raven Software are bringing players the most mind-bending Black Ops ever.
The year is 2035 and the world is on the brink of chaos, ravaged by violent conflict and psychological warfare. David Mason leads an elite team on a covert mission to the sprawling city of Avalon. While there, they discover a sophisticated plot that won’t just plunge the world into chaos, it will pull them into their own haunting pasts.
Squad up or go solo in an innovative Co-Op Campaign that redefines the Black Ops experience.
Multiplayer explodes out of the gate with 16 electrifying 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps at launch. Master a cutting-edge arsenal and outmaneuver your enemies with an evolved Omnimovement system.
In Treyarch’s legendary Round-Based Zombies mode, the nightmare begins where reality ends. Trapped in the heart of the Dark Aether, the crew is thrust into a vast, ever-shifting hellscape.
Game requires a Game Pass Core subscription (sold separately).
TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm.
*Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by November 14th, 2026.
**BlackCell, Battle Pass, Call of Duty® Points and Tier Skips will be accessible in Black Ops 7 upon availability of the Season 1 Battle Pass in-game. Redemption applies to one Season of the Black Ops 7 Battle Pass only.
Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate.
Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Black Ops 7.
Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.
Upgrade to the Vault Edition and receive the following bonus content*:
– BlackCell (1 Season)**
— Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more
– Operator Collection
— 4 Operator Skins: Harper, Karma, T.E.D.D. and Reaper EWR-3
– Mastercraft Collection
— 5 Mastercraft Weapons
– Ultra GobbleGum Pack for Zombies
— 8 GobbleGums of Ultra rarity for Black Ops 7
– Permanent Unlock Token for Black Ops 7 (available at launch)
*Requires existing ownership of the digital version of the Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 – Cross-Gen Bundle on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC (sold separately), or active subscription to select Game Pass plans (Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass PC, or Game Pass Console).
**BlackCell, Battle Pass, Call of Duty® Points and Tier Skips will be accessible in Black Ops 7 upon availability of the Season 1 Battle Pass in-game. Redemption applies to one Season of the Black Ops 7 Battle Pass only.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.
Pre-order any digital edition or subscribe to select Game Pass plans* and receive:
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty®: Warzone**:
— Reznov Challenge Pack – unlock the SOG Reznov Operator Skin. Plus, get access to unlock the Stalingrad Reznov and Memory Reznov Operator Skins
— Guild Override Weapon Camo – unlock the Guild Override dynamic Weapon Camo
Includes:
– Cross-Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7
— Includes Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Xbox PC versions of the game
In Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7, Treyarch and Raven Software are bringing players the most mind-bending Black Ops ever.
The year is 2035 and the world is on the brink of chaos, ravaged by violent conflict and psychological warfare. David Mason leads an elite JSOC team on a covert mission to the sprawling Mediterranean city of Avalon. While there, they discover a sophisticated plot that won’t just plunge the world into chaos, it will pull them into their own haunting pasts.
Squad up or go solo in an innovative Co-Op Campaign that redefines the Black Ops experience. Take on high-stakes challenges across a wide spectrum of environments, from the neon-lit rooftops of Japan to the Mediterranean coast, and even into the deepest corners of the human psyche.
Multiplayer explodes out of the gate with 16 electrifying 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps at launch. From futuristic Tokyo vistas to the frozen, unforgiving wilds of Alaska, every environment is brimming with danger and opportunity. Master a cutting-edge arsenal and outmaneuver your enemies with an evolved Omnimovement system.
In Treyarch’s legendary Round-Based Zombies mode, the nightmare begins where reality ends. Trapped in the heart of the Dark Aether, the crew is thrust into a vast, ever-shifting hellscape. This isn’t just survival. It’s a descent into madness.
Game requires a Game Pass Core subscription (sold separately).
TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm.
*Requires active subscription to Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass PC, or Game Pass Console. Subscribers must login to Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC by November 14, 2025 to redeem the Reznov Challenge Pack.
**Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by November 14th, 2026.
Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate.
Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Black Ops 7.
Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.
It’s time for my weekly Pokémon TCG sealed product price watch. Suprise suprise, the secondary market in TCGPlayer is giving big box retailers like Amazon a run for their money. Let’s just keep in mind that TCGPlayer is a marketplace, so this is small to medium sellers undercutting billion and trillion dollar companies here.
TL;DR: Deals for Today
I’ll give it to Amazon, some in-demand products are cheaper on there today too, we’re talking Mega Evolution sealed product, Black Bolt and even a premium collection ex box. Don’t forget that Pokémon Legends: Z-A drops on Thursday too, and I’ve got all the preorder links you’ll need above and below. There’s a song in that somewhere? Let’s get into it:
TCGPlayer is really showing up big box retailers. The secondary market is saving trainers a fortune right now, and will continue doing so until the Pokémon Company floods the marketplace with sealed product, which will happen eventually. A good example here is the Surging Sparks ETB, which is currently $92.94 on Amazon. If you check over on TCGPlayer right now, you’ll pay $74.95. That’s nearly $20 over market value, and there’s plenty more where that came from in the carosel above.
MTG: TMNT Preorders are Live
New game mode aside, MTGs latest Universes Beyond addition is another huge IP with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Play Boosters are available, so getting a box is a great idea before preorders sell out and it becomes harder to build a deck. The Commander Deck is ideal if you want a solid foundation for a game of Commander but want to modify it with single cards down the line. Of course, the TMNT bundle comes with a few goodies including 9 play boosters, foil alt art promo card, 30 land cards and some tidy accessories.
Pokémon Legends: L-A Preorders
It’s nearly time trainers! Thursday see’s the release of the most radiacally different mainline Pokémon game, Legends: Z-A. Set as a continuation of Pokémon X and Y and continuing the game mechanic changes seen in Legends: Arceus, Legends: Z-A is going full real-time combat over it’s tried and tested turn-based battle style. It’s going to be a landmark moment for the worlds most popular entertainment franchise, so make sure you have your preorder in.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3 Months)
Well, Xbox isn’t in the good books of gamers worldwide right now, but you can dodge the Game Pass (eventual) price hike with 3 months of Ultimate for $59.99, which is $30 cheaper than the dramatic price hikes. If you’re on Xbox, this is a good time to stack up on Game Pass.
Final Fantasy IX (Nintendo Switch)
We gave Final Fantasy IX a 9.2 back in 2000, so $40 for a JRPG classic isn’t much to ask, right? Well if the re-release hasn’t sold you on it’s own, this version comes with high resolution cut scenes, and game modifiers including high speed and no encounter modes topped off with an Auto Save function. Also, character models are high resolution now too, so this physical edition of FFIX should wet you nostalgia appetite.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
Ubisoft staff were informed of the news this afternoon via an internal email which simultaneously discussed the need for Vantage Studios’ leadership team to be “aligned” with its core goals, while wishing Côté well for the future. IGN understands that Côté was offered a role as part of Vantage Studios’ leadership, but declined.
In an internal note to Ubisoft staff obtained by IGN, Vantage Studios co-CEO Christophe Derennes said he was “disappointed” by Côté’s decision, and that the former leader “had his own expectations and priorities related to Vantage Studios’ creation and future.”
“Following the organizational restructuring announced in March 2025, Marc-Alexis Côté has chosen to pursue a new path elsewhere outside of Ubisoft,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told IGN today. “While we are saddened to see him go, we’re confident that our talented teams will carry forward the strong foundation he helped build.
“We are deeply grateful for the impact Marc-Alexis has had over the years, particularly in shaping the Assassin’s Creed brand into what it is today. His leadership, creativity, and dedication have left a lasting mark on our teams and our players. We thank him sincerely for his many contributions and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.”
Côté, known internally by his initials as Mac, joined Ubisoft in 2005 as a software engineer, before working as a lead engine programmer on Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. From there, he joined the Assassin’s Creed series in time for Brotherhood, working as a lead level designer, before serving as a game director on Assassin’s Creed 3.
As creative director, Côté led development on a string of projects built at Ubisoft Quebec, the talented team which made Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag DLC Freedom Cry, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, and then Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, for which Côté served as senior producer.
In March 2022, as Quebec worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ubisoft sought to relaunch the series with a more consistent story focus via the Animus Hub (then referred to as Assassin’s Creed Infinity), it was Côté that took the reigns on the entire franchise, laying out a Marvel-style slate of upcoming projects that included the forthcoming Assassin’s Creed Hexe, which still lacks a release date.
More to follow…
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 Pokémon Legends: Z-A was first revealed, we all immediately got to work speculating on when it would take place in the Pokémon timeline. Not where, we knew that: it takes place entirely in Lumiose City from Pokémon X and Y’s Kalos region. But given that Legends: Arceus was a time-traveling narrative going back hundreds of years into Sinnoh’s past, we had every expectation based on trailers that Z-A would be many, many years in Lumiose City’s future.
We were incorrect! We now know exactly when it takes place, and it’s not nearly as big a leap as you’d think.
We’ve been playing Pokémon Legends: Z-A for review and the embargo has now lifted. So we can confirm, from first-hand experience talking to multiple characters (most of which we unfortunately can’t directly cite or show due to the ongoing embargo restrictions), that Z-A takes place just five years after the events of X and Y. It’s not a time traveling narrative, it’s a direct sequel that offers a follow-up to many of the characters and situations introduced in X and Y.
For instance, we already know that you get to hang out with AZ, a 3,000-year-old man who plays a pivotal role in X and Y. We also know that Mable, a former member of Team Flare, takes on the role of Pokémon professor in this game and sends you out to catch Pokémon with various challenges. Other characters you’ll remember from X and Y show up as well, some of them dramatically changed, but we can’t and won’t spoil them just yet.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A being a direct sequel is actually a pretty big deal. The Pokémon universe has been real hand-wavey with how the different games and regions relate to one another over the years. While there have been some direct sequels before (Gold and Silver after Red and Blue, Black and White 2 after Black and White, etc), later games have introduced time travel (Legends: Arceus), alternative universes (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire), and basically every game has implied that all the other games’ locations and monsters exist in the same world, but events taking place in those games may or may not be canon depending on which one you’re playing. The Pokémon timeline, if drawn out, probably looks far more ridiculous than the Zelda one at this point.
But if you were wondering what happened to most of the main cast of X and Y five years after the events of the game, here you go: this is just a straightforward sequel! In hindsight, we should have seen this coming when they named it “Z-A” after X and Y.
My review-in-progress of Pokémon Legends: Z-A is now live, if you want to check out my impressions of the first 24 hours, with a full review coming next week. I’ve also been writing about how the Nurse Joy job is now open to people who don’t look exactly identical to the original Nurse Joy after 27 years in Z-A.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
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