TIME Magazine Is Celebrating Pokémon’s 30th Anniversary With Three Exclusive Covers

February 27 is Pokémon’s big 30th anniversary of its original launch in Japan, and while details are slowly trickling in on how Nintendo and Game Freak plan to celebrate, TIME Magazine is already getting into the spirit.

The 96-page special edition issue of the magazine is coming out with three different covers, each featuring iconic pocket monsters from over the year – one cover depicts Mega Charizard X, one has Lugia and Ho-Oh, while the third shows off Rayquaza. You can purchase any of the three covers for $14.99 each on Amazon now.

The special oversized issue of TIME Magazine takes readers on a deep dive through Pokémon’s history, analyzing its rise to iconic status, how it’s garnered such staying power, and even gives a few tricks and tips on how to get better at playing Pokémon GO.

It doesn’t just focus on the video games, either; you’ll get a detailed retrospective of the Pokémon anime and its many spin-offs, as well as education on the Pokémon trading card game and how to navigate the secondary market.

With Pokémon celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, fans are expecting big things. We got a special video during Super Bowl LX, with celebrities like Lady Gaga gushing about their favorite Pokémon.

With Pokémon Legends: Z-A being as big of a hit as it was on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 and Pokémon Pokopia launching in just a few short weeks, fans still have plenty to do until the inevitable Pokémon Presents comes out, detailing what we can expect for the rest of the year and beyond.

Personally, I’d love to see the original Game Boy games onto the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. Those games desperately need better accessibility.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

What to Expect from This Week’s PlayStation State of Play

A lengthy, 60-plus minutes Sony State of Play is heading our way this Thursday, February 12, and promises new looks at “third-party and indie games headed to PS5, along with the latest from teams at PlayStation Studios.” So, what upcoming games can we expect to see fresh reveals for and gameplay of? Well, here’s what we think is likely to show up, as well as a few out-there guesses.

Exclusives

Seeing as it’s shaping up to be PlayStation’s biggest game of 2026, you’d perhaps have expected Wolverine to show up in Thursday’s stream. Well, a late spanner has been thrown into the works via Insomniac’s official X account, which claims that we won’t be seeing any more of its latest Marvel game until “Spring 2026”. Last time I checked, February was in Winter, so maybe we’ll have to wait a little longer.

At the last State of Play, back in September 2025, Insomniac Games gave us a first look at Marvel’s Wolverine in action. As one of Sony’s tentpole releases for this year, it certainly wouldn’t be a shock to see some more X-Men gameplay, as well as perhaps a release date for Logan’s latest adventure. Could we also catch a glimpse of Daredevil, who has been teased to be making an appearance, too?

PlayStation Studio’s first big exclusive of the year comes in the shape of Marathon, Bungie’s extraction shooter, which will be looking to emulate the success of last year’s Arc Raiders. It’s been a bumpy road for the Destiny developer, such as a plagiarism scandal and poor reception to its alpha, but this week’s State of Play will be one of the last chances for it to convince players to hop into its world on March 5.

Later in Spring, we have Saros, Housemarque’s follow-up to Returnal, which will be dropping on April 30. We’ve seen it pop up regularly on recent State of Play streams, and it would make perfect sense to see it here, too, seeing as we’re only 10 weeks away from launch.

Another PS5 console exclusive is Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, the upcoming superhero fighting game from Guilty Gear Strive developer Arc System Works. Due for release this year, the flashy-looking fighter suffered from an unfortunate leak earlier this week that revealed a few key details about the game, such as the size of its roster. It would not be a shock to see some of this information officially confirmed as fact on Thursday.

PS5 console exclusive Phantom Blade Zero is a hotly anticipated wuxia action RPG coming from Chinese developer S-Game. The lead character is called Soul, so you can probably guess what genre this project borrows heavily from, too. It’s all looking very impressive, and maybe we’ll get yet another look at it in action this week ahead of its September 9 launch.

Then there’s the freshly revealed Horizon Hunters Gathering, yet another spin-off of the mechanical monster-hunting series created by Guerrilla Games. A 3-player live-service co-op action game, it’s getting its first playtest at the end of this month, so, again, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we were to get a further look at some gameplay in this State of Play.

Unveiled at The Game Awards, 4:Loop is a PS5 and PC exclusive that appears to infuse some roguelike elements with the co-op shooting of games like Helldivers and Left 4 Dead. That makes more sense when you consider that Left 4 Dead creator Mike Booth is behind the project, working with Bad Robot Games, the video game wing of film director J.J. Abrams’ production company. No release date has been given yet, but playtesting will start soon, with maybe a timing for that revealed at this State of Play.

One exclusive that we don’t think is coming this year, but would certainly love to see more of, is Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The Last of Us and Uncharted studio’s upcoming sci-fi action-adventure has gone very quiet since its initial reveal back at the 2024 Game Awards. So, is it time for a deeper look into what this new world has to offer? Let’s hope so.

As for what the other PlayStation Studios are up to, your guess is as good as mine, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect one or two surprise reveals or updates. This State of Play stream is over an hour long, after all, so surely there’s something brand-new in there? Perhaps a look at the next project from God of War developer Sony Santa Monica, or a look into the world of Ghost of Yotei: Legends from Sucker Punch? Maybe the time is right for a first sighting of Gran Turismo 8, or an update on the development of Haven Studios’ Fairgames — if we don’t see this one soon, we’ll really start to get worried about it. Then there are two of Sony’s most creative studios, Media Molecule and Team Asobi. We’ve certainly been waiting a lot longer for a follow-up to Dreams than we have Astro Bot, but you never know what’s been going on behind those doors…

Multiplatform

Will we see GTA 6 at this Sony State of Play? No. I will eat my whole fist if we do.

There are a fair few other exciting games that we wouldn’t put body parts on the line for in terms of their likelihood, though. Resident Evil Requiem is imminent, so now seems like as good a time as any to show us one last slice of Leon Kennedy action before the big day on February 27. Sticking with survival horror, Konami has curiously announced a Silent Hill stream will be taking place just two hours after the State of Play. Is this a signal that a more in-depth look at a new Silent Hill game will be at that show, following its reveal just minutes prior as part of PlayStation’s stream? Perhaps this week is when we’ll see Bloober Team’s remake of the original in the series, or – more likely – our first proper look at the Annapurna-published Silent Hill: Townfall, which was first announced in 2022 and has been MIA since.

Back at Capcom briefly, and you can likely expect to see something from one of, if not both, Pragmata and Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Final Fantasy 7 remake director, Naoki Hamaguchi, recently teased that Square Enix will “share more updates than ever before” about the project this year. Does that mean a potential reveal of the third part in the modernised RPG trilogy will happen at this State of Play? Or could we get an Intergrade-style bridging chapter as DLC for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

But, before we get too sidetracked, let’s stick with games closer on the horizon, such as Hitman developer IO Interactive’s 007 First Light, and Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight from Warner Bros. Games. Both are coming this May, and their respective developers could share further info on Thursday. Before those, though, March will bring with it Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss’ ambitious open-world action-adventure that looks set to push the PS5 to its limits. No stranger to a trailer, we can likely expect it to turn up here, too.

As for later in the year, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra recently shifted out of its original window of early 2026 to “beyond early 2026”, so your guess is as good as mine as to when we’ll be playing Amy Hennig’s Captain America and Black Panther in World War 2 story. Legendary PlayStation hero Lara Croft will be returning in a “reimagining” of her original game, titled Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and Finnish developer Remedy is back with another entry in its connected universe, Control: Resonant. Also announced at The Game Awards was the pleasantly surprising Star Wars: Galactic Racer from the makers of Burnout and Need For Speed that is scheduled to drop in 2026. All of these are possibilities.

As for indies, outside of the announcement of a PS5 version of Hades 2, there are a few destined for PlayStation that I’d personally love to see more of on Thursday. Namely, Beethoven & Dinosaur’s coming of age story Mixtape, old-school cartoon-inspired shooter Mouse P.I. For Hire, and Japanese convenience store sim inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories.

What game are you most looking forward to seeing more of at this week’s Sony State of Play? Let us know in the comments!

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

Spider-Man Developer Suggests Wolverine Will Skip Tomorrow’s Big State of Play

Marvel’s Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games has set expectations ahead of tomorrow’s big State of Play broadcast from PlayStation, as anticipation mounts for a fresh look at its upcoming Wolverine game.

Sony’s State of Play show is due to air tomorrow, February 12 at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 10pm UK time, and run for at least 60 minutes — suggesting PlayStation has plenty up its sleeves.

But will we get a new flash of adamantium during the showcase? Perhaps not. Overnight, Insomniac Games has posted on social media to lay out when we’ll next see more of Marvel’s Wolverine — seemingly ruling out any big reveal this week.

When asked “when more info” by a fan, Insomniac Games’ official account has now responded: “spring 2026.”

With spring not due to start for another month, that answer seems decisive. Still the news is perhaps surprising, considering the fact that Insomniac appeared to drop a pretty obvious hint at Daredevil being in the game only last week, and the fact that this month’s leaked PlayStation Plus games apparently will include Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 (which would have been a nice chaser to a new Wolverine trailer). But perhaps Sony is instead planning a dedicated Marvel’s Wolverine State of Play to show the game in the months to come?

Sony’s last major State of Play broadcast, held back in September 2025, finally treated fans to a proper reveal of Wolverine gameplay, at least. The game is likely PlayStation’s biggest first-party launch of the year — and, of course, we’re already tracking all of its Marvel Easter eggs. As a reminder, Wolverine currently sits with a vague-ish launch window for the second half of 2026 — though when this will be narrowed down further, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Domina From Overwatch, Will You Be My Valentine?

Have you ever fallen in love?

I did nearly a decade ago, with Overwatch, Blizzard’s hero shooter of near-immaculate design. But that relationship sadly became strained, distant even, ever since its decision to move on from those initial glory days and reinvent itself as a sequel. Well, now Overwatch has gone and seduced me all over again, like a Hanzo scatter arrow delivered straight from Cupid’s bow. And it’s all thanks to one woman: the corporate villainess tank, Domina. And it has absolutely nothing to do with those thighs.

This week saw the launch of a new era for Overwatch. Blizzard has ditched the “2”, implemented a long-overdue menu overhaul, kicked off a brand new, year-long story, and, crucially, added five brand new heroes to the roster. You’ve got Anran, a fire-fan-wielding damage-dealer; Emre, a tactical operative equipped with more firearms than actual arms; Mizuki, a cursed ex-yakuza member with a healing hat; and Jet Pack Cat, who is, well, a cat with a jet pack. And then last, but certainly not least, is Domina, an incredibly destructive tank with a deadly pulse-action laser beam, explosive crystal bombs, and a giant extra pair of mechanical arms that erupt out of her shoulders. I think I love her.

Vaira, if I should be so bold as to use her real name, is the sort of aggressive tank character that I’ve always been drawn to in Overwatch. With nearly 300 hours clocked in dive tank D.Va alone, it’s pretty clear that there’s nothing more satisfying to me than launching a behind-enemy-lines attack on an objective and absorbing all of the opposite team’s attention as I try to cause as much chaos as possible. Domina isn’t a dive tank, though. Yes, she can cause huge amounts of damage like everyone’s favourite South Korean mech enthusiast can, but if I were to compare her to anyone, it would be a powerful combination of the reworked Orisa and Reaper.

Domina is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to taking the enemy head-on, thanks to a couple of skills that deter foes. One is a very large shield that looms high over her and her teammates. I have to say I was initially worried about this ability, since I still carry mental scars from that period when Overwatch was a complete shield-fest five or six years ago — never again do I want to see a Bastion and a Torbjorn turret sitting behind an Orisa and Reinhardt shield combo on that dreadful first Paris choke point. But Domina’s force field has a fun wrinkle that plays tactically into both teams’ approach, as squares can be punched out of it with a moderate amount of damage, creating literal windows of opportunity for those faced with it. It’s a smart approach to shielding in Overwatch that, at least right now, feels balanced for both attackers and defenders.

Then there’s her sonic repulsors, a pair of energy blasts fired from the palms of her extra mechanical hands. They not only deal a bit of damage, but also boop people away from her. I’ve already had maybe too much fun pushing players off the edge of Illios and Lijiang Palace’s perilous points like a super-sized Lucio. Combine that with a crystal grenade that floats through the air towards enemies before detonating, and a laser beam that fires off a shotgun-like burst at the end of a trigger pull, like a devilish combination of Symmetra and Reaper’s weapons, and you have a hero who can single-handedly run an entire match. I did tell you it wasn’t about the thighs.

Look, I’ll admit that she’s probably too powerful right now and will, in all likelihood, be subjected to a nerf in the coming days or weeks. But while she’s here in all her glory, I can’t recommend Domina enough.

That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of fun to be found elsewhere in Overwatch right now — this entire update is a genuinely incredible shift for a game that only a short time ago faced an existential threat, and it’s inarguably more enthralling to play now than it has been in many, many years. That being said, I do still yearn for those glory days of 2017 to 2019, and find myself queuing to play its unranked 6v6 mode more than any other. It still feels the most balanced, satisfying way to play Overwatch, and if Blizzard was ever to fully revert back to the two tank, two support, two DPS team structure of old, I think Overwatch would truly own my heart once again.

My beating chambers belong solely to Domina and her stacked set of skills.

As for now, I fear my beating chambers belong solely to Domina and her stacked set of skills that simultaneously feel fresh, but also referential to the Overwatch of old. As I’m writing this, I’m counting down the hours until I can play as her again and send people falling to their doom down an Illios well, or imprison them in her explosive Panopticon ultimate ability.

I can’t help but smile when I see that Overwatch is benefitting from its highest concurrent player numbers in over a year, and feel happy for the developers who have worked so tirelessly to make sure this universe that people love so much will not die. This update has made me fall back in love with a game I once held closer to my heart more than any, and a large part of that is down to how fun its five new heroes (but mainly Domina, let’s be honest) are. If Overwatch carries forward this momentum into the rest of 2026, it may become a problem for the rest of my social life.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

Overwatch Season 1 Debut Sees Blizzard’s Relaunched Hero Shooter Double Its Steam Player Record

We already knew that Overwatch fans were returning in their thousands with the advent of its new name and “story-driven era,” but Overwatch hasn’t just matched its original Steam release-day fervor, it has smashed it, more than doubling the platform’s concurrent peak set back in 2023.

You’ll remember that Blizzard’s sequel unfortunately stumbled out of the gate, and while it saw a massive surge of players at the start, those numbers dropped in the following year. As time went on, user reviews complained about a number of issues such as monetization and controversies around the cancellation of the game’s long-awaited PvE Hero mode.

Now, however, with the launch of yesterday’s (February 10) first year-long storyline, The Reign of Talon, Overwatch — the game formerly known as Overwatch 2 — smashed its original concurrent Steam peak of 75,608. And while we’d already seen a spike in players over the weekend, Sunday’s peak of 69,135 simultaneous gamers has been almost tripled, with SteamDB recording 165,651 concurrent Steam players overnight, marking an excellent start for the rebooted hero shooter.

The Reign of Talon focuses on the antagonistic faction Talon as it takes over around the world, while Overwatch continues to fight back. In-game events, hero trailers, animated comics, short stories, and map updates will tell a story across six seasons rolled out throughout the entire year, beginning with the launch of five new heroes as the new season kicked off yesterday.

New heroes include Domina (tank), Emre (damage), Mizuki (support), Anran (damage) — who some of us met over the weekend — and Jetpack Cat (support). More heroes will join in the future, with a new hero added in each of Season 2-6 to come. A new story arc is planned to begin with another Season 1 in 2027.

We’re also getting a Hello Kitty-themed in-game event from February 10-23, a new Meta Event called Conquest, where players choose to align with either Overwatch or Talon over five weeks to compete for rewards including lootboxes, skins, and titles. There’s also a major UI and UX overhaul with a new hero lobby and a promise of faster navigation on the way.

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.

Konami is Finally Ready to Show Us Silent Hill: Downfall, And Fans Cannot Wait

Konami is finally ready to share more about the last of the five Silent Hill projects announced back in 2022, Silent Hill: Townfall.

Coming hot on the heels of tomorrow’s PlayStation State of Play broadcast at 2pm PT (5pm ET, 10pm UK), Konami will be revealing the latest updates from its horror series from 4pm PT, including “the latest news on Silent Hill: Townfall.”

Konami similarly hosted a Transmission shortly after a State of Play last year, too. In that presentation, the publisher showed off a little of Silent Hill f in Sony’s showcase, then went into more detail in its bespoke presentation afterwards, so it’s plausible we’ll see the same happen tomorrow (February 12), too.

Without doubt the most mysterious of the five projects announced at the Silent Hill Transmission in 2022, the one-minute teaser that announced Screen Burn’s (formerly known as No Code) Silent Hill: Townfall spawned more questions than answers, complete with a secret message embedded in the spectrogram that ominously read “whatever heart this town had has now stopped.” Four years later, we still know very little about the secretive project, and the silence has been so disconcerting to some that in late 2024, publisher Annapurna was compelled to publicly confirm the game was still in development.

With its abstruse messaging, secrets, and references to Silent Hill 1’s Alessa, some fans hope that, unlike the two most recent projects, Silent Hill: The Short Message and Silent Hill f, Townfall will take us back to the mysterious town itself.

“Whelp, I think this puts to rest all the speculation that Townfall’s been having a troubled development cycle lol,” posited one happy fan. “Konami does this every year, they only focus on one SH project at a time and don’t reveal anything about other projects until a few months after the most recent one has released. Expect to not hear anything else about the Silent Hill 1 Remake until 2027 for this very same reason.”

“I still remember time when all this sub could talk about is old releases, now look at us, there is something new coming up almost every quarter of the year,” joked another. “Say what you want but I am convinced Silent Hill fans are living major these days!”

“Yeah, I’m expecting the SOP into Transmission,” another fan wrote on Discord. “Doubt we will see much of SH1R, but they might mention it in the Transmission. With Townfall we will have officially gotten everything from the original Transmission.”

“We are absolutely getting SH Townfall gameplay finally!” added someone else. “Also a small chance of a[n] actual trailer for SH 1 Remake. Don’t get your hopes up for that SH2 Remake DLC.”

That latter note refers to the dozens of comments from fans desperately wanting the Born from a Wish DLC for Silent Hill 2: Remake. Right across Discord, subreddit, and X/Twitter threads — including the Townfall Transmission tweet — you’ll find loads of fans asking for the Maria-centric story DLC, with others clamoring for some kind of Silent Hill Master Collection.

Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto recently opened up on why Konami revealed three new Silent Hill games at once after a full decade of silence, saying the publisher was keen to stress to old fans and new that it was “serious” about resurrecting the flailing horror series.

Reflecting on how the series has performed since Konami’s inaugural Silent Hill Transmission back in October 2022, Okamoto explained how the impressive Silent Hill 2 Remake was designed with “half new, half old customers in mind” to ensure it could attract new fans to the franchise.

Of all the projects revealed since that 2022 showcase — Silent Hill: The Short Message, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Silent Hill f, Silent Hill: Townfall, and media projects Silent Hill: Ascension and the movie, Return to Silent Hill — the majority have been received well by critics, fans, and new players alike, suggesting it was a gamble worth taking for the Japanese publisher.

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.

Save $35 Off the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Processor and Get a Free Copy of Crimson Desrt

If you’re in the process of building out a new gaming PC and you’re looking for CPU recommendations, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D AM5 processor should most definitely be on your shortlist. Amazon is currently offering it for $443.99 with free shipping after a $35 off instant discount. Even better, it comes with a free voucher code for the highly anticipated Crimson Desert game, which will be released on March 19. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered to be the best gaming processor currently on the market and outperforms even pricier AMD and Intel CPUs.

The Gamer’s Choice: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU for $444

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D boasts a max boost clock of 5.2GHz with 8 cores, 16 threads, and 104MB of L2-L3 cache. What really makes it excel in games, however, is the 3D-V-Cache technology that’s only found in AMD’s X3D lineup. Despite being the least expensive processor in this stack, the 9800X3D performs nearly identically in games compared to its more expensive siblings. It has the fewest number of cores, but that doesn’t matter for gaming. On Passmark, the 9800X3D has the second highest gaming score, trailing a mere 300 points behind the considerably pricier 9900X3D.

Note that there’s a new 9850X3D that’s now available. We reviewed it and, short answer, you’re not missing out.

Crimson Desert is an upcoming open-world RPG for the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X platforms that will be released on March 19. The studio, Pearl Abyss, also created the popular MMORPG Black Desert. Whereas Black Desert was a free-to-play game with microtransactions and gacha elements, Crimson Desert will be a primarily offline single-player experience with a retail price of $69.99. Getting it for free with your CPU upgrade, then, is a great perk.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

The Future of Diablo Will Be Revealed Tomorrow

Blizzard Entertainment is just one day away from unveiling the future of Diablo with its 30th Anniversary Spotlight.

Just like last week’s gargantuan Overwatch Spotlight, the February 11 presentation is said to show an extended look at new announcements and updates for the classic dungeon-crawling franchise. That means reveals for Diablo 4, Diablo 2: Resurrected, and Diablo Immortal, as all three games seek to keep players scrounging for loot in 2026.

Unlike the presentation for its hero shooter, Blizzard has given fans a taste of what to expect. Diablo 4, which launched in June of 2023 and received its Vessel of Hatred expansion in October 2024, is barreling toward the launch of its next expansion, Lord of Hatred, this April. We already know one of its two new classes will be the Paladin, but Blizzard says the Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight will come with a look at the yet-to-be-revealed class, too. The World of Warcraft company also teased that fans should expect a deep dive into “major updates to skill trees” as well as its new endgame systems.

Diablo 2: Resurrected is an unexpected but welcome addition to the Spotlight. Blizzard has been coy when it comes to what it will show for its Diablo 2 remake, only teasing that “there’s a lot we want to share with you,” as it prepares for the launch of Ladder Season 13 February 20. Some are hoping for quality-of-life changes while others speculate about a potential Steam release, but with the 2021 remake largely remaining faithful to the original 2000 experience, it’s hard to say what its future holds.

Finally, there’s Diablo Immortal, Blizzard’s 2022 mobile spinoff. A closer look at the 2026 roadmap is locked in, as the company has told players its ongoing story will carry them “deeper into a world shaped by corruption, conflict, and consequences.” Its blog post on the matter promises more information about a new class, a new region, and “the return of a malevolent force.”

The Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight premieres tomorrow, February 11, at 2pm PT/5pm ET, and can be streamed on Twitch and YouTube. Keep an eye on IGN for a breakdown of all of the biggest announcements and reveals but, in the meantime, you can check out our reviews for Diablo 4, Diablo 2: Resurrected, and Diablo Immortal.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer 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).

Magic: The Gathering Just Had Its Most Successful Year Ever…Again

Magic: The Gathering just had its most financially successful year yet, Hasbro has announced. And it’s largely thanks to its collaborations with other brands, via its Universes Beyond and Secret Lair releases.

In its earnings call today, Hasbro revealed that MTG revenue was up 59% year-over-year, in no small part thanks to the Avatar: The Last Airbender set last year, which is now the third highest-selling set in Magic history after Final Fantasy and Lord of the Rings. Other Universes Beyond sets, as well as Secret Lair, also had a hand in the success.

That 59% is a huge increase, and one that is responsible for Hasbro’s overall numbers looking good. The company overall was up 14% year-over-year, almost entirely driven by 45% growth in the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment (Monopoly Go! also helped a little). Its other segments, Consumer Products and Entertainment, both saw declines of 4% each.

The revenue-raising capabilities of Universes Beyond and Secret Lair are a helpful look for Hasbro’s C-suite, which has found itself the target of a shareholder lawsuit on the very subject recently. The lawsuit alleges that Hasbro has mismanaged Magic: The Gathering by overprinting sets of cards, specifically Universes Beyond and Secret Lair, thereby devaluing existing cards. The complaint itself contains some pretty sharp accusations that the company’s top brass have been holding such sets in reserve to deploy whenever the rest of the company is struggling.

In response, Hasbro has stated that such claims have “no merit,” and has recently moved to dismiss a similar lawsuit with very similar accusations filed in 2024 by the West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund and City of Miami General Employees & Sanitation Employees’ Retirement Trust, on the basis that the complaint has been amended so significantly since it was originally filed that it is no longer related to the original issue.

Hasbro reached out to share the following updated statement on these lawsuits as pertains to its earnings today:

As we shared when you covered the matter in January, these claims have no merit. Our strategic plan for Magic was implemented, and the results underscore the strength of that strategy. As further reflected in our earnings results released this morning, Magic: The Gathering just completed its most successful year ever.

Magic: The Gathering’s next set will be a Universes Beyond set for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, complete with commander deck, and will release on March 6.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Mewgenics Sells Over 150k Copies in First 6 Hours; “This Is Beating Expectations by Quite a Lot”

Mewgenics, the cat-breeding tactics roguelike from the developer of The Binding of Isaac, has hit the ground running to say the least. It’s already made back the cost of its roughly seven-year development, blew past internal sales expectations, and is currently approaching the highest peak concurrent player count of Isaac itself – and it only launched today at 6am PT.

“So far this is beating expectations by quite a lot,” developer Tyler Glaiel tells IGN, saying it likely took less than three hours for development costs to be fully recouped. “Its a bigger launch than any of the Isaac expansions already, and its only been a few hours.”

His partner Edmund McMillen, best known for games like Isaac and Super Meat Boy, put just how wide of a gap that is into a perspective: “I think the highest sales day for any game of mine, release-wise, was [The Binding of Isaac:] Rebirth, and it sold 40,000 units I think day one.” By comparison, McMillen says Mewgenics sold around 152,000 copies in its first five-and-a-half hours. “Isn’t that kind of insane?”

Mewgenics is also sitting at more than 63,000 concurrent players on Steam at time of writing, creeping steadily towards Rebirth’s all-time peak of 70,701. “We knew the game was good and would do good,” Glaiel says, “but Isaac is *HUGE* so we thought it was unlikely to beat that.” There are also almost 85k people watching it on Twitch – one of which is McMillen himself, who says he’s enjoying watching Northernlion be so immediately good at it.

The critical reception for Mewgenics has been glowing as well, currently sitting at an 89 on sites like Metacritic and 96% positive user reviews on Steam (with roughly 1,700 in at the moment). IGN’s own Mewgenics review gave it a 9/10, saying it’s “a fantastic tactical RPG that’s good for more than a hundred hours of roguelike runs. Just when you think you have it figured out it’ll throw something completely unexpected and hilariously gross at you – and probably a catchy new original song, too.”

Tom Marks is IGN’s Associate Reviews Director. He loves puzzles, platformers, puzzle-platformers, and lots more.