Ara: History Untold is a game I briefly gave a go last year, back when Civ 7 was still a game we were all yet to play and have a vast slew of different opinions about. I thought the little I played was alright, but didn’t stick with it that long, slipping back into the pair of comfy slippers that were Civ 6.
Now, though, Ara’s just gotten a big update, and it looks like it should solve some of the issues that folks flagged with the base game.
Gears of War: Reloaded‘s upcoming beta weekend will now last a little longer and include more content as developer The Coalition responds to feedback from players.
“We heard you,” the team said on social media. “More maps. More modes. More time.”
As a result, this weekend’s upcoming multiplayer beta has been extended — so the beta now runs from Friday June 20 at 12pm PDT to Sunday June 22 at 9pm PDT — and Execution has now joined the mode pool alongside King of the Hill on Gridlock, Raven Down (Courtyard and War Machine), and Canals. You’ll also be able to play Team Deathmatch on the same maps via social matchmaking, with Gold Rush also in the pool.
That won’t quite quell the issues some players had about server stability but to be honest, that’s precisely what beta tests are for, right? Better to experience that instability now than when the game launches in a few weeks’ time.
Last month Microsoft announced Gears of War: Reloaded, a remaster of the original 2006 game, will launch on August 26 on PC, Xbox, and yes, even PlayStation. The shiny new version will come with improved visuals and audio, crossplay, and cross-progression, and all the DLC from the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
As a little treat for the Gears of War faithful, Gears of War: Reloaded will be a free upgrade for any players who purchased the digital version of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition before the announcement. If you’re one of the special ones, expect a code via a DM from Xbox ahead of the release.
“As we approach the 20th anniversary of Gears of War in 2026, we’re reflecting on what this franchise means. It’s about the stories we’ve told, the friendships we’ve built, and the unforgettable moments we’ve shared together. With Gears of War: Reloaded, we’re opening that door to more players than ever,” Mike Crump, studio head at The Coalition, said at the time.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
A spy by any other name.
Now, you may remember that a few weeks back we reported on Agent 07 – Spy Revenge, a dubious PSN game that appeared to wholesale rip off entire levels and tons of assets from the N64 classic GoldenEye.
Indeed, we detailed how the company behind the game, iOrder SRL, had seemingly ruthlessly raided Rare’s retro romp, resulting in what looks just like the opening Dam level from Bond’s stellar 1997 outing, except…y’know…really janky and terrible.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Capcom has announced a Spotlight digital event set for next week, when it will show more of Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Street Fighter 6.
The Capcom Spotlight livestream is set for 3pm PT / 11pm UK time on Thursday, June 26, and will last 40 minutes.
Capcom said to expect the “latest news” on the company’s upcoming games, as well as interviews with the developers. Specifically, Monster Hunter Wilds fans will get details on Title Update 2, which is set to release at the end of the month.
Capcom announced Resident Evil Requiem during Summer Game Fest earlier this month with an eye-catching trailer. IGN went hands-on with Resident Evil Requiem, which lets you play in either first- or third-person. There’s a new protagonist, Grace Ashcroft, although fans think we’ll also get to play as Leon Kennedy.
Pragmata, meanwhile, reemerged at Sony’s State of Play showcase with a new release date, a trailer, and information on what the game actually is.
Street Fighter 6 also turned up at SGF to reveal its Year 3 roster of playable DLC characters: Sagat is out this summer, C. Viper this fall, Alex early spring 2026, and finally, Ingrid late spring 2026. The trailer released as part of the announcement included a brief look at Sagat gameplay, so perhaps we’ll see more in the spotlight.
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.
Do one of those kick-the-flips. Okay, now do it again but spinny. Wow, fellow teen, that was radical, well done. Here is some video game news for you as a reward: physics-funny skateboarding sim Skate (aka Skate 4) will release in a couple of months. That’s what publishers Electronic Arts say, anyway. You must be very excited to do more dinner tray flips and three-hundred-and-sixty popular shovel-its. Why yes, I am something of a skate boarder myself. How keen-eyed of you to notice.
I actually can’t remember the last time I played a shmup. Maybe a Gradius? I don’t know anything about ZPF’s genremates or even what its name stands for, but I do know a good colourful big bastard turtle when I see one, and that was enough for me to try the Steam demo.
“Great score!” Zam Pankman-Fried told me after I died 45 seconds in. From this, I learned that ZPF is a massive liar, but also that I actually quite like shmups still. Pretty compelling as far as avoid the bad thing ’em ups go.
When the tragically half-empty hooch barrel of potential that was Capone ’em up strategy Empire Of Sin launched back in late 2020, it also sold a pass pledging two story expansions down the line. The first of these arrived in 2021. Time and more time passed, prompting a union of shaking fists to wave grubby promissory notes scrawled on diner hamburger wrappers and brace themselves for a trampling by the proverbial Pinkerton agents on horseback of continued disappointment. Despite this, that second DLC never materialised.
Do not fear the sound you hear. The Pinkerton’s have not found you – it is simply the heavy clopping of legal obligations being grudgingly fulfilled. Hunt For Aurora is now available, assuming there’s anyone left with the energy to avail it.
Expect “approximately 40 minutes” of updates.
It’s that time of year where all sorts of showcases are popping up and following Nintendo’s fantastic Donkey Kong Bananza Direct yesterday, Capcom has now announced it will be hosting another spotlight showcase.
It previously aired one earlier this year and the next broadcast promises to include the latest news about “highly anticipated upcoming Capcom titles” as well as developer interviews. On the Nintendo front, it looks like we’ll be getting more news about the next batch of Street Fighter 6 DLC.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Island life just got better.
Good news villagers, Nintendo has rolled out a new update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons addressing some issues on the Switch 2 and Switch.
This includes a specific bug fix encountered on the Switch, as well as some other fixes and adjustments to improve the overall gameplay experience. Here are the patch notes via Nintendo’s official support page:
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
It’s all well and good grabbing ridiculously expensive Pokémon TCG cards regardless of the climate, and I’m absolutely writhing in jealousy at those who can.
But imagine going back in time and pulling one of those epic chase cards straight off the shelf? Of course, you could today if you hate your bank account that much, but what about the most expensive Pokémon cards in packs right now?
I’m talking about Pokémon TCG bangers that you can pull in a booster pack today, and there are loads. We’re focusing on Destined Rivals, Prismatic Evolutions, Twilight Masquerade, and Surging Sparks for today, so let’s have a deeper look at the mad bangers you could pull from an in-print Pokémon TCG booster pack.
Just to note, the chances of pulling these cards are extremely slim, so if you plan on spending massive amounts of money on Booster Bundles, Booster Boxes, and ETBs, bear in mind that the actual value of the card itself is usually cheaper than ripping packs. Unless you’re mega lucky, of course.
Whilst Lillie’s Clefairy ex SIR is considered the main chase card of Journey Together, it’s quite affordable now. Due to the overhype surrounding this set and scalpers not being able to get the same astronomical amounts for it, this card soon crashed to around the $150 mark. It’s a gorgeous card and a no brainer decision for your binder.
How can anyone not love this card? It’s got action, stunning detail and eye popping color that represents the Team Rocket vibe of Destined Rivals perfectly. It’s a beast in battle too, with Flame Screen doing 110 damage whilst reducing damage from the opposing Pokémon by 50.
Evil Incineration allows trainers to discard a Team Rocket’s Energy in order to immidiately discard an opposing active Pokémon and all attached card. Play this right and it could turn battles on their heads, especially because its a basic Pokémon, so it can be built up straight away on a trainers bench without evolution mechanics getting in the way.
Sharing a dual artwork with Latios Illustration Rare, Latais ex is holding it’s value of nearly $200 and is an absolute stunner playing on a sunset background with Latios.
It’s ability allows you to switch out basic Pokémon to hit swiftly with Eon blade, which does 200 damage and stops it from attacking next turn. All trainers need to do is survive the next turn and switch out with another Pokémon for free. Rinse and repeat, love to see it.
Roaring Moon ex SIR has held it’s value out of the gate since Prismatic Evolutions dropped, which is frankly amazing. The linework in this card is ridiculously intricate, giving it that cave painting vibe that goes well with ancient Pokémon found deep in Area Zero, Paldea.
It’s a cool moment too, seeing Roaring Moon seemingly escaping some sort of cosmic calamity. The more you look at it the better it gets.
I’m calling Destined Rivals as the best Scarlet and Violet set for it sheer amount of detailed and expresive artwork, and Cynthia’s Garchomp ex SIR is a fantastic example of this.
With calls to the Pokémon League in the early anime (See the fire lamps at the top of the stadium) and big screen behind trainers on platforms, Garchomp can be seen lunging forward and breaking ground as it goes. Amazing card and well worth the money.
Pikachu ex SIR is partially to blame for the Pokémon TCG boom that kicked off at the end of October 2024 and is still going today. After peaking at $485 at the end of 2024, it’s finally stabalized at a much for reasonable $295 at the time of writing.
It’s a good time to snap it up, if you’ve got the cash, but the amount of nostalgia and detailed yet soft artwork on this card will make it climb back up as we move away from the Scarlet and Violet era over the years to come.
This was one of my main chase cards from Destined Rivals, just look at it. Not only have we got mental amounts of nostalgia for Pokémon Gold and Silver OGs, but it reminds me so much of the first ever episode of Pokémon when Ho-Oh was revealed for the first time (which was before Pokémon Gold and Silver released). It’s a stunning illustration that means so much to plenty of trainers, and I half expected the $300 market value before release.
Greninja ex SIR is my favorite in this article as I have it graded in a 10 and I’m being completely bias. Joking aside (I’m not) but this is one of the best artworks outside of Prismatic Evolutions in the Scarlet and Violet era.
Twilight Masquerade was a slept on set in my opinion, but the chances of pulling this are stacked. If you have the money upfront, i’d put it into this card instead of trying to rip packs. But I also obviously hate having fun, so the choice is yours.
What a beast of a card! Mewtwo ex SIR captured that Mewtwo’s Revenge energy so hard, immense amounts of nostalgia in this card for me. It looks like everyone agrees considering it’s currently over $450. Destined Rivals cards are up and down day after day, so no doubt we’ll see this settle at a cheaper pricepoint before it crossed the vintage checkpoint in years to come.
We always knew it was going to be insanely priced, and we needed a cheaper Umbreon chase card after Umbreon VMAX (Moonbreon).
Granted, it’s still a mental market price, and over $1,000. But it won’t get cheaper solely because it’s Umbreon and almost anything linked to this dark type Eeveelution holds it’s value, trust me on this.
If you’re brave enough to drop $1,000 on Prismatic Eeveelutions boosters, or even this card standalone, I salute your efforts, and your bank account.
The money in Prismatic Evolution chase cards is insane, and it always will be, which is why the rest of the Eeveelutions need a dedicated section to themselves! These could’ve dominated the whole article, otherwise.
For starters, Glaceon ex SIR is a stunner, but I always prefer seeing Pokémon cards with a bit of movement and action in them. I have to say though, the ornate ice patterns and overall terastalisation of Glaceon is dipicted so well. It’s also one of the less eye-wateringly expensive Eeveelution cards from Prismatic Evolutions at the minute.
Keeping up the trend is one of my favorites, Jolteon ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions. There’s been some banger Jolteon Cards in the past, for me that would be Jolteon from the Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery and the Jolteon V Sword and Shield Promo Card, but this one has unlimited energy. Just look at how expressive this card is, perfectly showcasing Jolteons speed and agility with one of the coolest backgrounds i’ve seen in a Pokémon card.
The cell shading mixed with comic book artstyle of Vaporeon ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions is a stunner. Just look at how light is captured in every drop of water and crystal. Plus I think this is one of the cutest depictions of this water-type Eeveelution we’ve had for some time. Absolute banger of a card and would do a flip terribly if I pulled this beast.
Another beautiful pastel artwork with Espeon ex SIR. On top of Espeon being a fan favorite, it’s easy to see why this card is now over $300. I’ve never seen that many shades of purple in such a small space before, such a stunning piece of art, imagine pulling this, getting a 10 then getting it in your slabbed collection? Stuff of dreams.
I love me a good woodblock print, and Leafeon ex SIR gives me massive tradition Japanese art vibes. The bold colours, thick lines and the overall beauty of this makes it worth the price tag.Verdant storm for a grass and colourless energy can be devestating too, 60 x damage for every energy attached to all of your opponents Pokémon. Lethal!
It’s such a shame Fairy typing didn’t come back for Sylveon ex SIR, because I can’t think of a more Fairy type Pokémon card ever. It’s another stunner with a cute stance and a pastel color pallete that just makes it. There’s that much pink it just works, a fantastic card and its easy to see why it’s over $400, especially as it’s one of the most popular Eeveelutions.
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.
