Beta test site and small game curator Alpha Beta Gamer have put out their Games To Get Excited About 2025 showcase, and (salt to taste, granted) it’s exactly what it says on the tin. 110 curated trailers in an hour and five minutes, organised and timestamped by genre, with no paid adverts and no teeth-grindingly awful skits. They’ve also made a point to not include any cinematic trailers, although I haven’t watched the whole thing yet. They might be liars. Are you liars, Alpha Beta Gamer? Wait, don’t answer that. I’ve seen Labyrinth like fifty billion times, I know how this ends up.
The game, which serves as a complete remake of the 1999 PS1 original, was developed by Beenox, a studio that has since been gobbled up by the Call of Duty conveyor belt. That said, Nitro-Fueled was well-received upon launch for its faithfulness to the original, but also got quite a bit of heat for its micro-transactions.
Users have noticed the system’s back panel “slightly bulging”.
Some would argue the real tests can only begin when a product is in the hands of consumers and while Nintendo likely ran every scenario it possibly could with the Switch 2 during in-house tests, certain issues are reportedly surfacing now that it’s out in the wild.
To celebrate the release of Nintendo Switch 2 – and the 19(!) different Zelda games that are now playable on the system – the IGN Guides team has made a few upgrades to ensure you’ll have a helping hand when you most need it. Not everyone needs a walkthrough to get to the end, but we hope these new features and upgrades can inspire even the most seasoned Zelda player to return and discover something they may have missed or skipped on a previous playthrough.
Speaking of smooth sailing, we hope you’re as excited as we are to revisit one of GameCube’s best games, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker in its original form. Yes, that means the slow-sailing and long Triforce Chart/Shard quest found in the OG version are back – and you may want to use our guide to make sure you don’t head in the wrong direction. Our Wind Waker guide was originally written in 2002, but we’ve worked on some big upgrades to make it nice and new for Switch 2! Here’s what you can expect:
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Guide and Map
We have overhauled our guide and walkthrough with new high-resolution screenshots, added in-page tracking, checklists, new videos, and radically upgraded our interactive map. Instead of just showing you a desktop or mobile version of the in-game map, we have redone it from the ground up and you can now zoom in all the way and see every island, enemy platform, and submarine up close. Track which Pieces of Heart, charts, and items you’ve collected and start chasing all 135 Nintendo Gallery images to finally get that 100% completion. If you prefer video, you can even track every Treasure Chart via in-video checklists (or jump to the exact spot in the video from the guide). The guide and videos of course also address the Wii U HD vs GameCube/Switch 2 version differences so that it all works for both versions.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Guide and Map
Nintendo’s biggest-ever series reboot arrived on Switch 2 with upgraded framerate and resolution. If you’re like us and you’re itching to go back and see how it plays after sinking hundreds of hours into Tears of the Kingdom, we’ve got you. As a thank you to our returning IGN Guides users, our tracking experience will be completely free for the next three months, giving you enough time to finally find and check off every Korok Seed. Each seed location comes with brief hints for those who want to figure out things on their own – or you can click through to the guide for detailed tips if you’re stumped.
Here are the most popular pages for people trying to 100% the game:
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Guide and Map
We’ve updated our Tears of the Kingdom guide and map to get ready for the Switch 2 re-release as well. While Nintendo hasn’t changed a ton over the original Switch release, there are some updates we’ve detailed in our guide. If you’re jumping back in to finally complete the main quest, you can start with our detailed walkthrough, or embark on the never-ending Korok hunt and track everything on our Interactive Map.
If you’re wondering what changed and need some pointers for the new Switch 2-specific features, check out these links:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Guide and Map
Surprise! We quietly snuck out an update to our classic A Link to the Past guide a few weeks ago – if you’ve never played or finished this 2D openworld gem, you could do worse than playing it via Nintendo Switch Online on either Switch console. It might not have the hundreds of collectibles of its 3D successors, but there are plenty of things to discover on Link to the Past ’s dual map.
We may be a little LTTP (sorry) – but we figured “better late than never” and rolled out a complete interactive map that lets you track every Piece of Heart and discover every cave and secret hidden in the 1991 classic. We also added checklists and all-new screenshots throughout the guide to make it all shiny and new!
The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening Guide and Map
Launched on Nintendo Switch in 2019, Link’s Awakening has finally gotten the update we’ve all been asking for: a smooth framerate. Play it on Switch 2 and you’ll be able to experience Link’s most-charming adventure in a dreamy 60fps at 4K resolution. Our guide helps you get to 100% completion, including all Pieces of Heart. If you used our guide way back when, check out this cool upgrade we made to the videos featured in the guide:
You can check off the collectible figures you’ve collected via the on-screen checklist trackers while watching the video in embed mode.
You can also bring up the in-video checklist by clicking on the button in the lower-right corner.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Guide and Map
Players have made extensive use of our Echoes checklists — and we can tell you that the Rock, the Table, and the Zol Echo are the most collected Echoes overall. But we were also shocked that so many players who played Echoes of Wisdom outright skipped Dampe’s Automaton side quest! With the upgraded resolution and framerate on Switch 2, you may want to take another look and get all six mechanical helpers. We made it easy by providing a handy table that you can sort and filter.
Beyond these select Zelda games and guides that received upgrades this month, there is of course plenty more Zelda to be found on Nintendo Switch 2. Whether it’s the Hyrule Warriors spin-offs, Skyward Sword, the NES, Game Boy Color, and Advance classics, or our two 64-bit favorites, IGN Guides has you covered. And if enough people find our Link to the Past and Wind Waker maps helpful, maybe we’ll give some of those guides some upgrades as well.
Peer Schneider originally launched IGN Guides in 1999 and is now heading up IGN Entertainment’s guides, tools, and game assist teams across IGN, Map Genie, Maxroll, and Gamer Network.
The price of Borderlands 4 was officially confirmed this morning as preorder listings for the upcoming game went live for the Standard, Deluxe Edition, and Super Deluxe Edition. The initial wave of preorders only included digital versions of the game, but Amazon has jumped in late in the day with the first round of physical copies.
These new Amazon listings are currently only for the PS5 and Xbox versions of the game and only two editions are currently up for preorder: Standard and Super Deluxe. You can check out the preorder pages at the links below. The current release date is set for September 12, 2025 for the console and PC versions of the game. We do not yet have a release date for the Switch 2 version, but it is coming sometime in 2025.
Preorder Borderlands 4 – Physical Copies
Standard Edition – $69.99
The standard edition of the game is exactly what it sounds like, but you do get a preorder bonus if you make your purchase before the game releases. Alongside the game itself you’ll receive the Gilded Glory Pack that features a Vault Hunter Skin, a Weapon Skin, and an Echo-4 Drone Skin. The only other bonus you get is Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, which is only useful if Amazon ever drops the price before the game ships.
Super Deluxe Edition – $129.99
The super deluxe edition of the game includes the same Gilded Glory Pack as a preorder bonus. In addition to that you’ll get the special edition game case and some other additional extra content included. Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll get that’s different from the standard edition:
Firehawk’s Fury Weapon Skin
Bounty Pack Bundle
Ornate Order Pack
Vault Hunter Pack
The Art of Borderlands 4 Is Also Up for Preorder
In addition to the two versions of the game you can now preorder on Amazon, there’s also a pretty cool art book that is set to release later in September as well. The Art of Borderlands 4 is currently set to release on September 30, 2025 for $55. The book will feature 224 pages about the art and development of the upcoming game.
What Is Amazon’s Preorder Price Guarantee?
If you’ve never actually preordered anything from Amazon before, it’s worth noting that if you purchase this art book ahead of the release date, it includes Amazon’s preorder price guarantee. According to Amazon’s own help page, this means that if the price decreases between now and when the item ships, you’ll pay the lowest price. So in this case, if any of these editions of the game get a discount before they actually start shipping then you’ll pay whatever it dropped to rather than the full price.
Although not every preorder gets discounted, physical editions of games especially seem to rarely drop in price compared to other product categories.
One of the biggest problems in fighting games is preservation. It doesn’t matter how good the game is, or how influential it was, or whether it’s a beloved classic or a flash in the pan or anything in-between. It’s just hard to play old fighting games on modern hardware. If you want to play any Tekken earlier than 7, you’d better have an old console hooked up. SoulCalibur? I hope you have a Switch 2 and/or the delisted re-releases or physical discs. The best version of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike? Still trapped on the Xbox 360 and PS3. And on and on and on it goes. Some have done better than others (Capcom, SNK, Arc System Works), but the reality is that a lot of the best, most important fighting games of yesteryear are lost to time or trapped on old hardware or saddled with bad ports that make them essentially unplayable at worst and deeply flawed at best. And that’s the best-case scenario. The ones that burned out or faded away? You probably can’t legally play them at all. Rest in peace, Masters of Teras Kasi fans.
That’s the situation Digital Eclipse is stepping into with Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection, a compilation of Mortal Kombat’s glory days from the early days. If Digital Eclipse seems like the right studio for this type of thing, it’s probably because they have a lot of history doing it, having made Tetris Forever, Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection, and, my personal favorite, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, among many, many others. They know what they’re doing here; the only question will be execution.
The most important things, of course, are the games themselves. The classics are all here: Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat 4. But it’s not just the arcade games. The console and handheld versions are here, too. If you prefer the sweaty SNES release of the original Mortal Kombat, it’s there for you. If you’re more into the gory Genesis game, that’s here, too. Me, I’m an arcade purist, but it’s nice that there are options here for people who aren’t, or who’d just like to see the different versions of each one.
The weird stuff is here, too.
But we’re not limited to the klassic (sorry) versions that everybody and their mama played. The weird stuff is here, too. That means the Game Boy Advance version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is included, plus things like the 32X version of Mortal Kombat II and the Game Boy and Game Gear versions of the original Mortal Kombat. I didn’t even know they made a Game Boy version of the original Mortal Kombat, but it’s here for you if you want it.
In addition, every game in the Legacy Kollection will support online multiplayer with rollback netcode powered by GGPO, one of the best rollback solutions in the business. This release will mark the first time most of the games in this collection have online play. That’s meant a lot of extra work for Digital Eclipse (adding online play to fighting games that don’t already have it is a notoriously difficult undertaking), but if they can get it right, it’ll be an enormous accomplishment.
Online play isn’t the only new deal in this package, though. Digital Eclipse is letting you unlock every secret with the touch of a button. That means characters, game settings, hidden developer menus, the whole enchilada. If you’d rather do things like unlock Reptile normally (seriously, go look up the process for that in the original MK just to remember how wild some of MK’s arcade secrets were), you can do that. But if you don’t want the hassle, every secret is at your fingertips.
What I’m most looking forward to, however, is Digital Eclipse’s propensity for archival work, which will appear in the Legacy Kollection. That means interviews with the likes of Ed Boon, John Tobias, Dan Forden, John Vogel, and many, many more – but also archival stuff, like footage of the actors that was scanned into the game and the Mortal Kombat prequel comic book, written and illustrated by Tobias himself, that you could send away for by mail and is, like all collectors items, now prohibitively expensive to acquire. Throw in a timeline of the series that traces each character’s history and the story of MK’s various realms, and it sounds like the Legacy Kollection will have everything an oldhead MK fan (and young guns looking to learn the series history) could want. And as someone who grew up in the arcade with those games, I’m glad that they’ll be available for everyone. I’ll see you online in UMK3.
NVIDIA’s latest GPUs are here, and whatever you think about them, the combination of DLSS, Reflex, frame generation and more makes them impressively capable.
In the last Crashers and Climbers, I was focused on Destined Rivals, thanks to it just launching. I was going to look into older sets this week, but the volatility of this set right now forced me to revisit some of the market values on this set.
It’s also a good time to be savvy on the secondary card market right now and pay attention to pricing trends and market values across the whole of Pokémon TCG.
After prices plummeted as predicted following the launch weekend, most cards are once again trending up if they haven’t already.
It doesn’t help that there’s a rise in sellers on TCGPlayer charging way above market value for their stock. It sticks out like a sore thumb and could be a collective push to artificially inflate market values.
Pokémon Card Crashers
The main point I want to focus on with crashers this week is amazing illustration rares being insanely more affordable than a couple of weeks ago. First up is Shaymin – 185/182, which was a chase card for many out of the gate with Destined Rivals. This gorgeous card is currently down by 56%, from $46.48 near launch to $18.34 currently. Worth every penny in my opinion.
Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex – 230/182 was one of my main chase cards from Destined Rivals, and I’m still after one. Now might be a good time to take the plunge with a massive 38% drop from $202.05 near launch to a much more digestable $126.
Team Rocket’s Houndoom – 191/182 is another banger. This is what I love about Destined Rivals: a lot of the artwork captures a cool or sweet moment in time or an amazing angle mid-battle. Down almost 50%, I could see why this card was around $38.62 a couple of weeks ago, but $19.75 at the time of writing is a solid price.
Team Rocket’s Meowth – 203/182 is a brilliant example of this set being brave enough to show a sweet moment that should be out of place in a set focusing on an iconic crime entity, but it works so well.
In a set marketed with Giovanni looking at you like he’d steal your Christmas tree, this moment of him showing love for his Meowth is just fantastic. Again, this card is 56% off compared to a couple of weeks ago, crashing from $58.64 to current listing at around $26. Love to see it.
With Team Rocket’s Mewtwo SIR still going for daft money (More on that shortly), it’s nice to have an option with an equally cool design that is a solid chase card in it’s own right. Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex – 213/182 is a banger card and it’s nice to see Ultra Rares holding their value.
It was just over the half tonne line at $52.34, with listings now sitting at around $25 at the time of writing. I’m going to snap one of these bad boys up before they start to rise again, because they will.
The thing with the secret art rare’s from Destined Rivals is their odd value trends, that for the most part look like the English Chanel (Choppy). Most of them are crashing out from launch then climbing back up, more about this below.
Pokémon Card Climbers
A prime example of the wierd volatility of higher end cards in Destined Rivals right now is Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex – 231/182. This ridiculously awesome card was already touching $400 a couple of weeks ago, which has since down down then back over in value to recent listings around $460, then back down to $385 most recently.
What the hell is going on? Personally I think it’s sellers pushing their luck, so vote with your Pokécoins trainers. This market is all based around what trainers are willing to pay, so don’t pay it if it’s too much! Sellers don’t want to be sat on these cards, we do.
Cynthia’s Garchomp ex – 232/182 is another example of SIR madness. It’s a damn sight more reasonable in value than Mewtwo, but the story is the same. Up, down then back up again at over $40 more than when the set was birthed. That’s $194.79 in old money, ramping up to $209.75 at the time of writing. Hold tight people, this isn’t a good deal.
Misty’s Lapras – 194/182 is a much more understandable price hike. It’s only gone up a few dollars since launch, and still a reasonable price for a gorgeous illustration rare. It popped out on the market at $29.56, jumped to $34.99 last week, and is now $46.48. Can’t argue with that spike in value, certainly if it’s a flaunt for a deck or going into a trainers stunning IR collection.
I honestly thought Team Rocket’s Nidoking ex – 233/182 was going to be more valuable. This is a scene straight out of the anime, and who didn’t love seeing Garry Oak getting absolutley humbled? The value is going the right way at $118.71 last week, it was going for $90.96 a couple of weeks ago, but has since dipped again to $87.99. If you have nostalgia for this scene or card then go for it, but I reckon this card will plateau fairly soon as a sub $150 SIR. I’ve kept it in climbers for now as it just seems to be so all over the place, it’s hard to tell where it’s going to settle right now.
Another day of ridiculous pricing on Amazon for Pokémon TCG sealed products, but keeping an eye on it so you all have options is still important.
If you can’t find other sealed products for a decent price, I can almost guarantee the market value on TCG Player is cheaper right now.
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.
PC gaming mod hub Nexus Mods is under new ownership for the first time in 24 years as creator Robin “Dark0ne” Scott hands off the baton for the sake of his mental health.
The figurehead of one of the biggest gaming sites on the internet posted about its next chapter in a message published today. It comes with confirmation that Scott has already officially stepped away from Nexus Mods, “following months of meetings, face-to-face talks, and a whole lot of soul searching.”
The message keeps many of the behind-the-scenes details under wraps but says two new individuals — one named Victor (a.k.a. Foledinho) and another named Marinus (a.k.a. Rapsak) — have adopted the leadership role, with both of their profiles now bearing the “Site Owner” title. The leadership change signals the beginning of a new era for Nexus Mods, and for Scott, a much-needed break.
“The strain of being responsible for the behemoth I created has taken its toll.
“The strain of being responsible for the behemoth I created has taken its toll,” Scott explained. “The stress of the job has been a regular source of anxiety and stress-related health issues. I realised that I have been burning out and this started to have an impact on my staff and Nexus Mods as a whole. So, I firmly believe that the best thing for the future of Nexus Mods is for me to step aside and bring in new leadership to steer the business forward with renewed energy to make Nexus Mods the modding community we all truly deserve.”
The small project born in Scott’s bedroom for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind eventually ballooned into a massive entity in the gaming space. The Nexus Mods About Us page notes that this beating heart of the PC gaming community is made up of 63.4 million users and 16.8 billion file downloads, positioning it as one of the most highly trafficked UK-based websites on the planet.
As Nexus Mods has grown, so too has its impact on Scott, who has spent “every single day” for more than 20 years “on call.” Losing his direct input in the day-to-day operations of Nexus Mods will surely result in some changes, but Scott assured modders and gamers alike that the shift should not be cause for concern.
This is me doing something I probably should’ve done years ago: taking care of myself.
“Behind the scenes, I’ve already been stepping back bit by bit,” Scott clarifies. “Over the past few years, the team has taken on more of the weight and the site’s been doing better than ever. What’s changing now is simply the formality of it, making sure the right people are in place to guide Nexus Mods into the next era.”
Scott says his stepping down from Nexus Mods, as well as a few small structural changes, are moves made to ensure “long-term stability” and won’t impact how the site has been operating recently. He goes as far as to say, “Nexus Mods is community-first and mod-author focused, that’s not up for negotiation.”
As Scott steps away from his direct leadership position, the modding creator says he’ll still engage with the Nexus Mods community on its Mod Author Discord, forums, and more. He’ll also help guide the site’s 40-person team as the page is turned, relieving his duties as its face and figurehead.
“So yes, the ownership of Nexus Mods has changed hands, but I want to be clear, this isn’t some corporate ‘exit’ or a backroom deal,” Scott adds. “This is me doing something I probably should’ve done years ago: taking care of myself. Reclaiming some headspace. And finally letting go of the idea that I have to do everything and be responsible for everything myself.”
Nexus Mods has housed thousands of fan-made creations for games like franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Stardew Valley, Baldur’s Gate, Cyberpunk 2077, and many, many more for decades. In fact, just moments after The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion shadow-dropped earlier this year, dozens of minor mods had already been published on the site. It’s the go-to place for PC gamers to modify their games to their liking, and with its first change in leadership in 24 years comes a fair amount of uncertainty for its future.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
