As part of their mass layoffs earlier this month, Microsoft cancelled an MMORPG that was in the works at The Elder Scrolls Online developers ZeniMax Online Studios. Now, the union that represents a number of devs left in limbo by that game’s canning have issued an update about the process of fighting for their futures.
ZOS’ MMO, codenamed Project Blackbird, wasn’t the only game Microsoft pulled the plug on as they let go of around 9k people. Rare’s Everwild and The Initiative’s Perfect Dark reboot were also wiped out, with the latter studio being shuttered to boot.
The only officially licensed John Wick video game is being removed from sale just six years after launch.
Bithell Games’ well-received John Wick Hex launched in October 2019. It’s a fast-paced, action-oriented strategy game “that makes you think and strike like John Wick.” John Wick, of course, is the hugely popular action hero made famous by Keanu Reeves.
Fast forward six years and John Wick Hex is set for the digital scrapheap. In an update directed at the game’s community, publisher Big Fan Games (which is part of Devolver Digital) said John Wick Hex will be removed from sale on all platforms beginning July 17, 2025.
After July 17, existing owners of John Wick Hex will still be able to access the game via their digital libraries across PC and console, and of course physical copies will continue to work on console. However, new purchases of John Wick Hex will not be possible, regardless of platform or storefront.
Big Fan Games failed to say why John Wick Hex was being removed from sale, but it seems likely it’s the result of the expiration of its licence with John Wick rights holder Lionsgate Entertainment. IGN has asked Big Fan for comment.
As for Bithell Games, it released Tron: Catalyst last month. The game was developed in collaboration with Disney and Pixar Games, and is set within the world of Tron.
Lionsgate has confirmed it has a John Wick AAA video game in the works, although it has said nothing about it.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
The first thing that happened to me in the demo for The Little Tomb: The Maholova Club And The Search For A Dead Body was a stuffed horse on a spring telling me it knew when and how I’d die. Many such horses. You play as Kofun, a boy shaped like a keyhole tomb who is also sort of an actual keyhole tomb but also a boy who wants to fulfill his destiny as a keyhole tomb, namely by finding a dead body to bury inside of himself. He lives in a park with his mate Haniwa, who is a Haniwa. Haniwa’s secret is that he’s very good at calligraphy. Here’s some visual orientation in case you’re not caught up yet.
Square Enix’s Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is due out on the Switch and Switch 2 this October, and ahead of release, an official FAQ has shared an important detail.
The weekly updates for the mobile app Nintendo Music continue this week with the arrival of Mario Kart 64‘s soundtrack.
Even if you haven’t played this game before, you’ve likely heard some of its music elsewhere over the years. This latest album, which originally debuted alongside the N64 release in 1996/97, features tracks such as Luigi’s Raceway, Rainbow Road and much more.
As you’ve likely seen by now, there’s a new rumour from the latest Nate the Hate podcast about a Nintendo Direct potentially taking place some time after the launch of Donkey Kong Bananza.
In the same episode, the YouTuber and podcaster has touched on the subject of future third-party support for the Switch 2, and how although it might not look like there’s much on the way beyond the initial announcements, there are apparently multiple developers holding back reveals (potentially for Nintendo’s broadcast).
Bomb Busters was recently awarded the highest honor for board games as it was named the 2025 Spiel des Jahres in Germany, beating out Flip 7 and Krakel Orakel for the top honors this year.
The Spiel des Jahres may not be a household name in the U.S., but it’s the most prestigious and influential board game award in the world, similar to winning an Oscar for film. The Spiel des Jahres (literally “Game of the Year”) has been awarded to the best overall board game by an independent jury in Germany since 1979.
This year’s winner, Bomb Busters, is a strategic cooperative game for up to five players that requires everyone to work together to defuse a bomb by cutting the correct wires. It’s basically the tabletop equivalent of the video game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.
This is a great game for families as it’s not too difficult to learn and includes 66 unique scenarios to conquer together. Typical games take around 30 minutes, making it a quick board game to get to the table and play.
Following the news of its big win, Bomb Busters is currently out of stock in the U.S. at Amazon and at the Pegasus Spiele North America store with no anticipated restock date.
Despite not having a big ceremony, winning the Spiel des Jahres is still a massive achievement and helps many board games achieve worldwide recognition. Historically, some of the best modern board games have been awarded the Spiel des Jahres, including Azul, Cascadia, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and Codenames, just to name a few.
In 1989, a second award was added, the Kinderspiel des Jahres, that recognized the best children’s game of the year. The most recent award, the Kennerspiel des Jahres, was added in 2011 to recognize the best “connoisseur,” or expert, game of the year.
This year, the cake-building game Topp die Torte! won the Kinderspiel des Jahres and the cooperative ocean exploration game Endeavor: Deep Sea won the Kennerspiel des Jahres.
Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
Scarlet and Violet base set prices have been anything but steady lately, with some Illustration Rares climbing fast while SIRs cool off just as quickly. I’ve been tracking a handful of cards that stood out this month, with some pulling in surprising gains and others dropping harder than expected. Here’s a quick look at which Pokémon TCG cards are crashing and climbing ahead of the final Scarlet and Violet sets release in Black Bolt and White Flare.
Pokémon TCG Crashers
I’ve been keeping an eye on Scarlet and Violet base set prices lately, and the Psychic-type Illustration Rares seem to be the ones pulling ahead. Ralts 211/198 has been quietly climbing. It’s sitting around $38.99 now, which is up about 28% this month. For a Basic card with simple art and a single Psyshot attack, that’s not something I saw coming. Same goes for Kirlia 212/198. It’s up to $27.99, mirroring Ralts’s percentage jump. That evolution line seems to be gaining popularity as a set, more than just individual play value.
Speaking of evolutions, Gardevoir ex 245/198 is definitely riding that same wave. It’s hit $54.99 recently, up from $41.19 just a month back. I don’t play Gardevoir myself, but the Psychic Embrace ability keeps showing up in deck lists, so the price hike makes sense when you look at both collector and competitive demand feeding into each other. Miraidon ex 244/198 and Koraidon ex 247/198 are seeing their own upticks, both sitting around $23.99 now. Not massive jumps compared to Gardevoir, but steady enough to notice if you’ve been following these since launch. Miraidon especially, thanks to that Tandem Unit ability, looks like it’s still holding value in Lightning-heavy builds.
Pokémon TCG Climbers
On the other end of things, some cards are definitely cooling off. Fidough 213/198 took a 15% hit, now hovering around $13.74. Cute card, but it doesn’t exactly have a standout ability or attack, so this feels more like a natural correction. Armarouge 203/198 dipped too, though only about 11%. I could see it regaining some ground later if Fire decks make a comeback, but for now, it’s sliding. Pachirisu 208/198’s price drop caught my attention more, which is currently down 19%. I feel like that’s tied to Lightning deck meta shifting around; its no-Paralysis ability isn’t moving the needle price-wise anymore.
Dondozo 207/198 and Starly 221/198 both saw the sharpest drops, each now at $9.99. Dondozo lost 30% this month, and Starly even more at 37%. I never really saw much hype for either of these beyond early Scarlet and Violet excitement, so the fall-off doesn’t surprise me. It feels like folks are figuring out what’s actually playable or collectible long-term.
Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Preorders
This is it, the beggining of a new expansion for Pokémon TCG. Best Buy have gone live with their preorder allocation for Mega Evolutions today, which mean Target and Walmart won’t be far behind. Here’s all the links you need and good luck trainers!
Pokémon TCG Price Updates
I can’t believe I’m writing this, but Amazon has quite a bit of sealed Pokémon TCG product for under market value. Whilst that unfortunately means it’s still way above MSRP, some of these sets are at the best prices they’ve been in the last month.
Last Weeks Crashers and Climbers
As newer Pokémon TCG sets grab the spotlight, Paradox Rift is seeing its high-rarity SIR ex cards drop in value while several Illustration Rares quietly climb due to shifting collector interest and low inventory. Cards like Altaria ex, Gholdengo ex, and Steelix have dropped between 16% and 25%, while Illustration Rares including Morpeko, Plusle, Minun, Groudon, and Iron Valiant ex are climbing fast, with Morpeko leading at a 43% increase. This mirrors earlier trends where less flashy cards gain traction as availability tightens.
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.
Dell’s Black Friday in July sale has knocked the price of an Alienware 16 laptop down to $1,099.99, and while it’s not the perfect machine, it’s a decent price for a reasonably affordable mid-range gaming setup.
Amazon’s Prime Day sale this year was pretty good overall for casual board game and puzzle enthusiasts. There were discounts on quite a few popular games and many popular jigsaw puzzle brands had all-time low prices. But if you happened to have miss all of those deals, Woot is currently having a small sale of its own that gives you a second chance at savings.
There aren’t a ton of options in this sale, but there are enough to make it noteworthy. Some of the best deals available here are on 3D puzzles and some lesser known board games, so I’d suggest checking those out first. The popular LEGO board game that was on sale during Prime Day was also included, but has already sold out.
Puzzles and Board Games on Sale Today
Woot has a landing page for all of the discounts currently offered in its sale, and I recommend you just peruse it yourself to see if there’s anything of interest to you. Like I mentioned above, there aren’t that many things available in this sale. The board game side of the discounts are especially lacking in some of our favorite options, but there are still some family games worth picking up in here. The overall best deals are on 3D puzzle builds that are collaborations with popular franchises like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Marvel, and Star Wars. These types of puzzles are excellent LEGO alternatives that were already fairly affordable before getting extra discounted here.
What is Woot?
If you aren’t familiar with Woot, the easiest way to learn more about it is through the about page on its website. In a nutshell, Woot is a daily deals site that was founded back in 2004 and later purchased by Amazon. They offer deals on just about everything that many other retailers don’t often have. The products themselves are always high-quality and backed by Amazon, so it’s legit. Prime members even get free standard shipping on anything they buy on Woot, so you don’t need to worry about hitting a minimum price or total shipping costs if you already have Prime.
