FBC: Firebreak is a bit of a departure from Remedy’s usual games, given that it’s a three-player multiplayer first-person shooter. The shooty bit is nothing new, that’s pretty typical of Remedy’s games, even if the shooting always has something slightly off about it. It’s the multiplayer angle that sets it apart, and, funnily enough, the fact that Remedy don’t always make shooting feel all that great, so it’s left me curious as to how it actually plays. I’m assuming some of you feel the same way, and there’s some sort of good news: you can sign-up to playtest it this week.
TL;DR: These Are the Best Pokémon Card Accessories
There’s nothing wrong with cheap deck boxes and relying on penny sleeves for bulk and budget decks; we all have to start somewhere. But as soon as trainers start putting more money behind chase cards, pulling gem mint cards, or investing in new sets like Destined Rivals, Black Bolt, and White Flare, they must protect what they have.
Here are some great products I’ve found to do just that. From pre-grading your cards to affordable play mats for trainers, I’ve got you covered with decent products that will protect your collection for years to come.
Best Pokémon Card Deck Boxes
All of these deck boxes are felt lined and made of solid materials to protect your decks. If you’re like me and double sleeve your cards, all of these deck boxes have the room to fit a full 60 card deck and change.
Some even hold multiple decks and dice, which is very cool for someone like me who looks way too much into these things. The one I use holds three double-sleeved decks, has a dice drawer with felt lining and even features a faux leather Pokéball design. Perfection.
Best Pokémon Card Grading Accessories
It can cost upwards of $20 to get a single card graded, which is worth it if the Pokémon card is in awesome condition and worth a lot. But grading companies look at your cards down to a microscopic level to check for dints, scratches and other imperfections. You’ll also need to penny sleeve then pop cards in a semi rigid sleeve or they won’t accept them. If you’re looking to get your cards graded, these are some of the accessories we’d recommend.
Best Pokémon Card Display Options
Magnetic card holders are a cheap way to display Pokémon cards on a shelf or stand without forking out a fortune to have all of your cards graded.
I personally use acrylic shelving and LED strips to really make my collection pop. If you want your card holders to stand up straight there’s also a couple of options for acrylic stands too. It really doesn’t have to break the bank to make those illustration rares shine.
Best Pokémon Card Storage
Going to a card show with some trades? They’ll be something here for you. Want to display your grails in a nice looking cabinet? I’ve got you covered there too.
Ripping packs is awesome, but storing all that bulk for a deck-building session isn’t. Our recommendations include everything from basic cardboard boxes with rows and dividers to foam-padded storage boxes with enough room for graded and top-loaded cards.
Best Pokémon Card Sleeves
It’s no good buying these cases, binders and deckboxes without card sleeves. If you like a card or pull anything holo, sleeve it. I personally like the “Perfect Fit” sleeves as they still fit in magnetic card holders, standard and penny sleeves. Double the protection, infinite peace of mind.
I can’t build a deck without double sleeving cards. It’s just a good habit to get into, especially if you’re rocking all shiny energies and higher-end ex cards.
Best Pokémon Card Binders
Binders are one of the cheapest ways to store your Pokémon cards, and it beats any art or coffee table book for casual browsing. All of these binders are double-sided with nine pockets on each side. One even has four front windows to showcase those banger chase cards.
Just don’t forget to sleeve your cards before putting them in. I’m a big fan of good binder behaviour and will 100% judge you otherwise.
Best Pokémon Playmats
I recently found my original Pokémon TCG playmat from when the base set released. It’s literally a bit of fabric so I put a playmat underneath anyway, but how retro is this!? God bless that broken Professor Oak trainer card.
If you’re playing Pokémon TCG, you need a playmat, end of story. You can double-sleeve your all-shiny deck and have a felt-lined deck box all day long, but slamming cards onto hard surfaces is going to deck your deck.
You might notice that some of these playmats are actually mouse pads; that’s because they’re pretty much the same thing. Just do what I do: Pick a cool design and roll with it.
Pokémon TCG: Latest Stock Updates
If you’ve dedicated your life to pulling chase cards yourself, here’s what we can find in stock right now. Just watch out for pricing over MSRP, as we Pokémon trainers are in a weird spot right now, so don’t pay more than what you have to, or consider buying single cards instead of gambling on overpriced ETBs.
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.
Wizards of the Coast has been gradually rolling out what it’s got in store for Magic: The Gathering and its big Final Fantasy crossover this summer. Over the weekend, the team debuted a significant chunk of cards, from both the main set and the Commander decks, and fans are enjoying some of the fun and even surprising cuts from their favorite Final Fantasy games.
The Universes Beyond collaboration with Final Fantasy is getting both the usual Commander treatment and a booster-driven series, so there are a lot of cards to go over. The main set tinkers with the entirety of Final Fantasy’s mainline, numbered games, running from Final Fantasy 1 to Final Fantasy 16. The Commander Decks, meanwhile, focus on four specific games: Final Fantasy 6, 7, 10, and 14, with their respective Commanders of Terra, Cloud, Tidus, and Y’shtola.
Some of the cards shown at last Saturday’s Magic: The Gathering panel at PAX East captured the journey of individual characters throughout their games. Final Fantasy IV’s Cecil, for example, has an entire mechanic around transforming from a Dark Knight into a Paladin. The summons of Final Fantasy utilize a “Saga Creature” set-up, to act as powerful but temporary forces on the field, melding Magic and Final Fantasy concepts in the process.
Then you have cards like Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, with artwork from Square’s Tetsuya Nomura. The transformation along the card illustrates Sephiroth’s various forms throughout the FF7 universe, from a young fighter into, eventually, Safer Sephiroth on the card Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel.
And what would a Final Fantasy be without some Cids? The Final Fantasy set will include a Cid from each of the numbered Final Fantasy games, though Wizards is opting for the older Cid from Final Fantasy XV over his daughter, Cindy.
After Saturday’s panel, though, Wizards of the Coast released the decklist for the four aforementioned Commander decks, and fans started poring over the art and additions to see how the team adapted those four Final Fantasy games into Magic. Pretty well, it turns out.
Reprints, or new versions of existing Magic cards, get some clever crossovers with Final Fantasy lore. Skullclamp, for instance, draws on the Jenova project in Final Fantasy 7 for its art.
Together, Forever also takes an emotional stab at the Final Fantasy 10 fans out there. It shouldn’t be surprising that Final Fantasy 10 has some emotional wellsprings to draw from, with its central protagonists’ journey through a ruined land, on a somber pilgrimage. Several decks’ cards reference some notable character moments, by the way, so you might want to go into these decklists aware that there will be some story spoilers for each respective game.
But to lighten things up, one of Final Fantasy 10’s more iconic, and frequently memed, moments also made the cut with Inspiring Call.
In fact, Wizards found more than a few ways to incorporate Final Fantasy’s less-serious moments into cards. Clever Concealment puts a spin on the Wall Market scene with Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa in dresses, heading to Don Corneo’s, and even has a mechanic that seems fitting for the occassion. I’m a big fan of the Secret Rendezvous card, which has four different versions of the Golden Saucer date scene from Final Fantasy 7 with each potential date: Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, and Barret.
Even still, fans have been discovering the tiny details that show how much homage is being paid to the source material. The Final Fantasy 14 set, in particular, has quite a few references to the critically acclaimed MMORPG. The Hildibrand Manderville card mimics the infamous gentleman’s habit of disappearing and returning, making for quite an interesting White/Black card in the process.
One user on the FFXIV subreddit noted that the Archaeomancer’s Map card uses a real possible location found in a Gaganaskin Treasure Map, for instance.
Even the Tome of Legends card depicts a Wondrous Tails book, with all the little details you see in-game when a player picks up their Tails and, of course, several missed four-in-a-row connections.
There’s some clear attention to detail put into these cards, and it’s certainly got me intrigued to see the full set. While the Commander games got a lot of love in these cards, a few reveals from Saturday’s panel like Commune With Beavers have me eager to see how some of the other Final Fantasy games got adapated into the full Magic set.
Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy set is out on June 13, 2025, with pre-release weekend one week prior.
More than two years on from Microsoft’s last mass round of layoffs, the company is laying off a huge amount of staff once again. As reported by CNBC, the tech giant is laying off 3% of employees across the entire company, meaning all levels, teams, and geographies. While nothing has been directly confirmed as of yet, this does include the possibility that some games studios it owns will be affected too – we’ll provide an update if there is one.
In a statement provided to CNBC, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the company will “continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.” The spokesperson also said that one objective of the layoffs is to reduce layers of management. As always, a ridiculously heartless way to frame such a thing.
It’s been nearly six weeks since the Switch 2 Direct, and we’re now only three-and-a-half more away from the system’s launch. Overall, we were pretty impressed with the hour-long presentation Nintendo assembled to officially pull back the curtain at the start of April. Yes, some mixed messaging and unanswered questions could — and should — have been avoided, but the reveal itself contained loads of great games and a decent look at the hardware. A solid opening salvo after years of speculation.
If we had any notes, we probably wouldn’t have spent five minutes discussing a voice and video chat feature like it was some revolutionary new concept in video game communication. But hey, maybe with some distance from the announcement, we’d understand the angle and appreciate the approach a little more! Several weeks on, though, and we’re still not really sold on or excited about GameChat.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is set to release for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC on September 19. A remake of the 2004 JRPG The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, this new version follows the same adventure led by Joshua and Estelle, but with 3D graphics, new gameplay mechanics, and more quality of life improvements. You can preorder the game now at a variety of retailers (see it at Amazon). Read on for buy links, pricing info, and more.
There are no special, deluxe, or collector’s editions available for Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. So if you want it, the standard edition is your only option.
What Is Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter?
The original game, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, first released in Japan in 2004. It didn’t make its way to the West until 2011, when it came out here for PlayStation Portable. The game has two direct sequels, Trails in the Sky SC and Trails in the Sky the 3rd. The overarching Legend of Heroes series spans much more time, with entries releasing between the 1980s and now.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a remake of the first entry in this sub-series. In it, you play as Estelle and Joshua, two Bracers-in-training who travel around the world, helping people in order to earn full Bracer status. The main overarching storyline revolves around the mystery of what happened to Estelle’s father, who has gone missing. The game is known for its many characters and many lines of dialogue. It’s sort of a relaxed, slow moving, hang-out game that verges on visual novel territory at times. It’s great.
Instead of the PS1-style sprite-based graphics of the original, this remake features full 3D anime-style graphics that look basically like the Tales or Dragon Quest games. It looks pretty great, especially since the story of the original is so good. It will be nice to experience it with a more modern presentation. The original game is still available on Steam.
Other Preorder Guides
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
Anyone that’s played a FromSoftwareSouls game knows how it tells its stories. You meet a wide range of characters, all of which mostly just talk at you in varyingly cryptic ways. There’s also tiny bits of lore offered up from weapons and items too, all of which build up a messy picture. But in something like the upcoming Elden Ring Nightreign, where the main focus is gameplay that encourages you to constantly be on the move, I’ve been left wondering how its story will play out. As it turns out, it’s quite different from the original Elden Ring.
For some time now, Tekken fans have been asking for a trip to Waffle House. Not in real life, mind you, but in-game. And while it sounds like Tekken 8‘s director is fishing for it, there hasn’t been a bit on the line from Waffle House.
Harada said he “fully understands” fans’ requests. So much so, in fact, that he’s already been thinking about it, and apparently taken action to try and make something happen.
“Over the past year or more, I’ve actually tried to make contact through several different channels,” said Harada on X/Twitter. “However, and this is purely my own speculation, I suspect that the lack of response may be due to the fact that the project I’m known for revolves around ‘fighting-themed video games.'”
To be honest, within the bounds of what I can say, I fully understand your (you guys) request—that’s precisely why I had considered taking on this challenge. In fact, I had already been thinking about it quite a while ago.
Harada noted that “no response” equals a very rare case. He also said if using a different name or format is acceptable, as long as “the core message is maintained,” then he would be willing to seriously reconsider and explore this again.
So it seems like Kazuya and Jin won’t be settling their familial differences beneath the yellow light of a Waffle House sign anytime soon. A parody version could happen though, or an in-universe facsimile. Harada suggested “Hustle House” in another post, which isn’t a bad option.
Tekken 8 is currently swinging into a new update with Patch 2.01, after confirming the impending addition of Fahkumram to the Tekken 8 roster. Back in April, Harada responded to fan frustration over Tekken 8’s Season 2, and said the tuning team is working “around the clock” to read feedback and work on future changes for the better.
Now, with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, that tradition lives on, with one player spending seven hours lining up books to get the Dominoes chain reaction just right.
Redditor Muaxh03 uploaded the video below showing their work. We see the books slowly fall and knock the following book in a satisfying fashion.
Muaxh03 said they did not use mods to place the books, rather placed them one by one, which sounds particularly grueling. They admit to spawning the books, however. The entire process took seven hours.
“… almost every time I loaded the save something broke, it was not reliable so yes I had to deal with books falling or glitching most of the time, that’s why you can see some desynchronizing on the books, some fall slower or faster,” Muaxh03 explained.
NPCs were disabled, of course: “I would lose my mind if there was NPCs walking around,” Muaxh03 said.
While this effort is a good start for Oblivion Remastered Dominoes, previous efforts in past Bethesda games were more elaborate and involved varied objects. But playing around with books in Oblivion, even Oblivion Remastered, is a lot harder than you might think because you can’t rotate and place objects in Oblivion in the same way you can in Starfield or Skyrim.
“I spent the first 1-2 hours trying to learn how to place them good, after that the stairs took 2-3 hours because every time I tested it, it gave me different results, every time I loaded the save something broke,” Muaxh03 said.
Reaction from Oblivion players has been universally positive, with a mix of disbelief at the time, effort, and patience that went into placing the books so precisely in a game as fiddly as Oblivion.
What next? “Cool now fill a bookcase!” joked one player. “I would sooner fight a god in hand-to-hand combat unarmed. Last time I tried to put a book back the whole room ended up in shambles — SHAMBLES!”
Oblivion Remastered, developed by remake specialist Virtuos using Unreal Engine 5, has a long list of visual and feature improvements. It runs at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, as you’d expect, but other changes are more meaningful. Everything from the leveling systems to character creation, and combat animations to in-game menus have been improved. Meanwhile, there’s lots of new dialogue, a proper third-person view, and new lip sync technology. The changes are going down well with fans, some of whom believe Oblivion Remastered would be more accurately described as a remake. Bethesda, however, has explained why it went down the remaster route.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Earlier this year the Black Panther(‘s voice actor) suggested that Skydance New Media’s Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra would release in Christmas 2025. We all slept a little easier that night, knowing that King T’Chanda himself had all but rubber-stamped the WW2 action game’s launch window. Well, it turns out the Black Panther was lying to us. Skydance have just announced that it’ll now release in early 2026.
