Right, time for some box news. The Steam Machine. Valve have confirmed, or reaffirmed, that its yet-to-be-revealed price will be in line with a regular PC built to similar specs, rather than subsidised in order to try and compete with consoles.
Maybe it’s time to ask Santa for MicroSD Express cards.
Storage-hungry consumers in Japan have been jumping on available stocks of super-fast MicroSD cards as an ongoing memory shortage continues across the computer industry, with no signs of getting better in the immediate future.
As reported by Tom’s Hardware, a spiralling issue of rising costs and demand that’s far exceeding availability means empty shelves and insane prices as regular consumers swoop on anything that’s left over once large data centres and AI companies have bought up their fill. Oh, AI, is there anything you can’t make worse?
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
PlayStation’s 2025 Black Friday sale is well underway, running right through to December 1, and a fresh wave of newly added games has just dropped into the mix.
A stack of strong PS5 titles are already discounted across every major retailer, including standouts like Astro Bot at $39.99, Battlefield 6 at $52.99, and Spider-Man 2 at $29.99.
To keep things straight, I’ve broken out my top picks into two buckets: the newest heavy hitters of 2025 and the rest of the must-play releases from the PS5’s nearly five-year run.
For the uninitiated, Black Friday deals tend to go live a week early these days, so while Black Friday isn’t until Nov. 28, we’ve already got all the best discounts on PS5 games to check out.
Standout offers for 2025 PS5 games include a few of my personal favorites, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for $44.99, alongside Assassin’s Creed Shadows for just $34.99.
I also love to sing the praises of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 as well, and that’s just hit its lowest price ever as part of the Black Friday sales. It’s just $30 at Amazon right now, a huge $40 in savings.
There’s also a great deal from Amazon Resale, where an extra 30% off at checkout will bag you Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for just $42.99.
That’s a “Used – Like New” copy, so you’re getting the best possible condition, at the best possible price. This can sell out quic, though, so snap it up fast while you still can.
While it came out for Xbox and PC in 2024, it hit PS5 in 2025, so this just scrapes through as a new game for PlayStation users. I love a cheeky Black Friday loophole.
There’s some big discounts on first party PlayStation games in the sale as well, especially from the past few years. My top pick is Game of the Year 2024 winner, Astro Bot, for $39.99, which is endless amounts of fun.
You can also pick up Helldivers 2, Spider-Man 2, The Last of Us 1 and 2, all for $29.99. Stellar Blade is down to $39.99, and you can even pick up Horizon Forbidden West for just $19.99.
There’s also games like Final Fantasy’s 1-6 Pixel Collection for $39.99, which has dropped to its lowest price ever, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake for $34.99, while Elden Ring and Star Wars Outlaws are both just $19.99 right now as well.
I’ve barely scratched the surface across the sales as well, as there’s even more games to check out between now and Black Friday, including a 2025 Game of the Year nominee, Death Stranding 2, for $49.69. That’s $20 off, and matches the best deal on the game so far this year.
There’s also $20 discounts on big Konami hits like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and Silent Hill f, both also down to $48.99 from $69.99. Both of these can be found in Best Buy’s Black Friday sales, or via the PlayStation Store’s digital storefront.
That’s alongside new all time low prices on physical copies of Battlefield 6, down to $52.99, EA Sports FC 26 for $29.99, Borderlands 4 for $47.99, and more. These are cheaper than buying digitally, small differences for some, while bigger for others.
For example, Battlefield 6 is a significally better deal when buying a physical copy ($52.99 vs $59.49), while where as some games like Death Stranding 2 are just a tiny bit cheaper digitally ($49.69 vs $49.99). So, sometimes it comes in handy to have a disc drive (I’m looking at you, PS5 Pro owners).
Other standout offers in the PlayStation 2025 Black Friday sale include $100 off PS5 consoles and PlayStation VR2 bundles, $20 off DualSense Controllers and PlayStation Portal, and up to 33% off PlayStation Plus memberships.
There are plenty more games on sale that we haven’t mentioned either, so be sure to check out the full PS5 sales pages at retailers like Amazon as well.
Black Friday deals are a bit of a mess these days. Retailers spend the whole of November dangling so called limited time offers, but the truth is simple, the real discounts always land about a week before what I call “Black Friday proper”. And we’re already in the endgame now.
After over six years of tracking PlayStation pricing, one pattern never breaks, once a PlayStation deal goes live, it barely moves. So the prices you’re seeing right now on consoles, controllers, and games are almost certainly the prices you’ll be looking at through to early December.
If you’ve been sitting on your hands waiting for something better, stop. This is as good as it’s getting. Grab what you’ve been eyeing up, because the only thing you’re risking at this point is missing out.
Planning to grab anything in PlayStation’s Black Friday sale? Drop a comment, and keep an eye on IGN for daily updates as we track the best deals of 2025.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
Ubisoft racer The Crew has avoided yet another shutdown after being ressurected in server-emulated form by fans earlier this year. According to the modders behind its revival project, The Crew Unlimited, a bug would have seen the game stop working once 2029 rolled around. Thankfully, they say a solution’s been found.
Udo Kier, the German actor who starred in over 200 films, has died aged 81.
Kier, who appeared in 275 roles including in My Own Private Idaho, Blade, Armageddon, and Dogville, as well as Madonna music videos and video games, died on Sunday morning, his partner Delbert McBride confirmed to Variety. Photographer Michael Childers took to social media to say Kier died in hospital in Palm Springs, California. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.
The horror film specialist had a breakout role in 1970’s Mark of the Devil, before being cast as Frankenstein in 1973’s Flesh for Frankenstein, then Dracula in 1974’s Blood for Dracula — both produced by artist Andy Warhol. His first American role came in 1991 film My Own Private Idaho, which starred River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. Madonna, a fan of Kier’s work, cast him in her music videos for Erotica and Deeper and Deeper. Later notable roles came in the likes of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Johnny Mnemonic, Armageddon, End of Days, and Blade. Kier’s final film was the political thriller The Secret Agent, in which he played a Jewish Holocaust survivor caught in the final years of the Brazilian military dictatorship.
As well as starring in hundreds of films, Kier was no stranger to the world of video games. He famously played Yuri in the live-action cutscenes that formed a part of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2’s story, and reprised the role in 2001’s Command & Conquer: Yuri’s Revenge.
RIP Udo Kier, who passed away today at the age of 81.
His performance as Yuri in Red Alert 2 has always stuck with me, and it’s one I constantly reference. I’m sad we won’t get to see you in Kojima’s OD but thank you for the great memories. pic.twitter.com/d8Y2ZBmV5r
— Bucky | Palworld (@Bucky_cm) November 24, 2025
Later, he had voice roles in 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII, and 2022’s Martha is Dead. He was set to appear in OD, the upcoming horror video game by Hideo Kojima and producer Jordan Peele, and indeed was a part of its teaser trailer, below, showing initial face scan work. It is unclear whether Kier will now be recast in the upcoming Microsoft game.
Kojima took to social media to pay tribute to Kier, expressing his shock at the news.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Kojima said. “It all happened far too suddenly. Because of the strike, we weren’t able to shoot OD for a long time, and we were forced to reschedule to next year. Even during that time, Udo and I exchanged emails frequently. We stayed in close contact. When we met in Milan at the end of September, he told me how much he was looking forward to the shoot starting up again next year. He was full of energy then too, making me laugh with his usual ‘Udo-isms.’
“I still can’t believe this. Udo wasn’t just an actor. He was truly an ‘icon’ of his time. We’ve lost a great ‘icon.’ There will never be another like him. Udo, rest in peace. I will never forget you.”
The tweet video below, shows Kojima and Kier together in Milan in September.
With Udo Kier. pic.twitter.com/6tdXYLY8aW
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 26, 2025
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
November is… merry! As the great grim centipede of people and property that is Videogaming continues its progress of the midnight wood, a dozen auteur designers from theatre backgrounds don coxcomb hats and sequined codpieces. They climb onto carts and stage a chariot race, beating each other with bladders decorated to look like Roger Ebert. There is laughter up and down the train. Meanwhile, the industry seers and marketing-mancers have received hopeful tidings from their friends among the owls and bats. The trees are thinning out ahead. The stars can sometimes be seen. There is wild talk that third-person cover shooters are about to come back into fashion.
That isn’t all the owls and bats have seen, however. As the path curves, we find ourselves in the courtyard of a squat and forbidding tower. Five levels of blood-flecked obsidian and pixelated braziers, each named for a day of the week, each infested by perfectly terrifying new PC games. Never mind that the edifice has clearly been slapped together using assets lifted from a webinar. Never mind that you can see fuchsia checkerboards everywhere. The tower’s frightful denizens must be defeated – or possibly even bought – if the convoy is to proceed.
Samus returns this December.
Nintendo has been promoting the Switch 2 in stores with kiosks, where you can go and play the latest and upcoming titles.
We’ve already seen games such as Donkey Kong Bananza added to these store units, and now, in a very exciting update, it seems Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is playable at select locations in the US.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Black Myth Wukong has been a conversation-starter since its earliest gameplay footage was shown, and the mythology-inspired action-RPG has kept a pretty high price since it debuted.
Now, thanks to PlayStation Black Friday sales, it’s dropped to its lowest price at Amazon with a 22% discount from the MSRP, bringing the game down to just over $50. It’s not a huge discount, admittedly, but if you’ve been waiting for a chance to put yourself in Heroic Monkey’s shoes, then now’s the time.
Thanks to this discount, Black Myth Wukong on PS5 is now $50.55, down from its $64.99 MSRP.
The game is inspired by ancient Chinese mythology, and sees Heroic Monkey taking the fight to bosses and beasts alike in a pseudo-retelling of the Journey to the West story, only with a lot more combat. Thankfully, the combat is the best part, so you won’t see us complaining.
If you have held out, then now really is a great time because developer Game Science dropped a massive patch for the game last month.
It promises improved performance, like faster loading speeds, better texture clarity, and improved CPU and rendering performance, making a great game even better.
That’s particularly important because, in IGN’s review, Mitchell Saltzman noted the game’s bugs.
“Despite some frustrating technical issues, Black Myth: Wukong is a great action game with fantastic combat, exciting bosses, tantalizing secrets, and a beautiful world,” he concluded.
The game is getting a sequel, Black Myth: Zhong Kui, as revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live this year, but rumors continue to swirl about Wukong getting some kind of DLC. The game launched on Xbox platforms earlier this year.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Horizon has become an enduring franchise for PlayStation since its debut in 2017, and while there are only two mainline games, the series’ presence can be felt in everything from a LEGO spinoff to toys and a PlayStation VR 2 game.
If you’re yet to get acquainted with hero Aloy, then there’s good news for you and your wallet – Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West is down to its new lowest price, and the complete edition is reduced, too.
Over at Amazon, you can pick up Aloy’s second adventure, Forbidden West, for just $19.99. That’s a huge 71% discount on one of the best games on PlayStation 5.
It’s packed with a lush open world to explore, as well as excellent combat that utilizes our heroine’s bow and traps to devastating effect against robot dinosaurs in a ‘post-post-apocalypse’.
That’s the lowest price we’ve seen from Amazon, and there’s another option if you want the Burning Shores expansion, too.
The Horizon: Forbidden West Complete Edition includes the game and the DLC in one package for $29.99. That’s half price from the MSRP.
Reviewer Simon Cardy gave Horizon: Forbidden West a 9 out of 10 in his review, and said: ”A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5.”
As for the expansion, that got an 8 out of 10 rating, too, and it includes a new area and fearsome new robot foes to fight.
The series is getting an MMORPG spinoff called Horizon: Steel Frontiers, but it’s only coming to PC and mobile for now.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Cracking packs for Magic: The Gathering’s latest Universes Beyond set, Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Us two, and with the new set finally back in stock online, it looks as though it might be a set you can more readily buy.
So, what are the chase cards? What are the most powerful characters, and which are the rarest? We’ve broken down the top 10 most valuable cards using data from the folks at TCGPlayer.
Before we begin, however, it’s worth remembering that we are talking close to launch prices here, and we’ve taken them as close to the set’s launch date to try and keep things as accurate as possible.
This Ozai, the Phoenix King (Borderless) variant has striking artwork, the firebending keyword, and a high mana cost – but can be indestructible if you have enough unspent mana.
Aang’s faithful companion is not only adorable, but he has airbending potential on the battlefield, too. This borderless version is up to $22 at the time of writing. Yip yip!
Fire Lord Azula can firebend 2, and can double your spells while attacking, while being a 4/4 in its own right. It’s up to around $30 for this awesome borderless variant.
Sitting at $35, Avatar Aang is a transforming card that switches to Aang, Master of Elements if you bend all four elements in a single turn. The colorless artwork looks really great on both sides of this borderless option.
It may seem a strange card to climb in value, but Badgermole Cub now only earthbends 1, but it can also add additional mana when you’re tapping creatures. That means even the standard version is valued at $50 – and it’s climbing.
Wan Shi Tong, Librarian can rack up counters, has Flash, Flying, and Vigilance, and gives you card draw, too. What’s not to love? This standard version is up to $54.
Another printing of Ozai, this version has an inky-black background but performs the same as the other Borderless version on this list.
Functionally identical to the Badgermole Cub above, this one has a borderless design and is $60 or $94 in foil right now.
The same card as number 5 on this list, this borderless variant looks even betterbut will set you back around $90
If you crack open a pack and find a Neon Ink Foil version of Aang, Swift Savior, Fire Lord Zuko, Katara, the Fearless, or Toph, the First Metalbender, they’re going for $2,000 and up right now – good luck!
Magic’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Collector Booster Box is finally back in stock and available to buy at Amazon, priced at $455.88. This is the best way to hunt down the rarest Avatar x MTG cards, if you got the cash to flash.
This is much cheaper compared to the market price, as seen at TCGplayer, which has it listed at around $528. These collector boosters have been incredibly hard to come by, hence the high pricing.
But, if you play your cards right, there are also a couple of amazing promo offers that could bag you this crazy expensive booster box for under $250. If you fancy saving a small fortune, you’ll need to check if you’re eligible for an Amazon Visa card (see here).
After signing up, you’ll receive an instant $60 gift card credited to your Amazon account. This will bring down the total price to $489.99, which is well below market value.
One more thing before you go, Trading card game players rejoice; TCGPlayer is having a nice Black Friday promotion. From November 28 at 9 AM ET to December 1 at 11 PM ET, you can get 10% cash back in store credits on all purchases.
This includes both single cards and sealed products. Plus, if you’re a TCGPlayer subscriber, you’ll get 13% or more back (12% base plus 1-3% monthly loyalty bonus). That’s pretty great, all things considered.
If you’re looking to buy any singles, it’s worth holding off until then to get the best deal possible.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
