Preorders for Pokémon TCG’s new Scarlet & Violet expansions, Black Bolt and White Flare, are expected to go live at major retailers like Best Buy and Amazon from May 8 onwards in the US.
So what’s the latest? While the Pokémon Center and Best Buy drops have come and gone, we’re also expecting Amazon and Target preorders to go live soon.
Amazon’s listings are up but not live yet, so bookmark each so you’re ready to lock in your preorder ASAP when each set goes live.
You can also see our full list of trusted retailers just below that will likely host preorders between now and release on July 18.
Best Buy is also putting restrictions in place for those looking to preorder, so make sure to check the following on your Best Buy account, as well as every other retailer:
Make sure you have an account set up and logged in.
Confirm your location and address for store pickup or shipping.
Add the item to your cart as soon as you can for account verification and inventory checks.
Make sure to follow on-screen prompts and not refresh or close your browser window.
Don’t try and use multiple devices to secure stock, retailers usually track your IP Address (Sometimes bypassing VPNS).
Complete the purchase as soon as possible when adding to basket.
Where To Preorder: Pokémon TCG Black Bolt
Like previous sets, Black Bolt and White Flare will likely sell out incredibly quickly, so it’ll be a massive task to find the expansions in stock.
I’ll be keeping track on retailers and updating this article as preorders go live, as I’ll be looking to pick up a few sealed boosters myself.
The everything below also be found at The Pokémon Center, although its currently out of stock, and its queue system when new stock is added can take a rather long time with no guarantees.
Pokémon TCG’s release schedule is looking chock full over the next few months, alongside the split explansion set Black Bolt and White Flare, there’s also Destined Rivals releasing on May 30.
Black Bolt and White Flare will have a staggered release between July 18 – August 22, and you can find all the relevant dates to note down just below.
Available July 18, 2025:
Scarlet & Violet: Black Bolt or White Flare Elite Trainer Box, each containing nine booster packs, an illustration rare promo card featuring Thundurus or Tornadus, and gameplay accessories
Binder Collection, including five booster packs and a nine-pocket album featuring Zekrom or Reshiram
Unova Poster Collection, with two booster packs from each expansion, three promo cards featuring Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott, and a full-size double-sided poster
Unova Mini Tin, including one booster pack from each expansion, one art card, and one sticker card
Available August 1, 2025:
Tech Sticker Collection, with three booster packs, a promo card featuring Reuniclus or Gothitelle, and a themed sticker sheet
Unova Victini Illustration Collection, with four booster packs, a foil promo card featuring Victini, a premium parallel Poké Ball version of Victini, and an oversized foil card
Available August 22, 2025:
Booster Bundle, including six booster packs from either Black Bolt or White Flare
Key Features: Black Bolt and White Flare
Six Pokémon ex
Eight ultra rare Pokémon and Supporter cards
One illustration rare or special illustration rare card for each Unova Pokémon
One special illustration rare Supporter card
A new card style, called Black White rare, will also debut. These cards will feature full artwork in either black or white monochrome, depending on the expansion.
Players will also be able to access Scarlet & Violet: Black Bolt and White Flare digitally starting July 17, 2025, through the Pokémon TCG Live app on iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. The digital release allows players to collect and battle with new Unova-region cards and earn in-game login bonuses.
Pokémon TCG: Best Deals Today
If you’re trying to keep up with Pokémon TCG without getting ripped off or left behind, here’s where to start, including the latest update on what can be bought here and now from trusted retailers in the US.
While Rayquaza VMAX and Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat are making moves in the opposite direction. Whether you’re hunting bargains or watching the next big spike, here’s what to buy and what to keep an eye on 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.
Additional contributions included by Robert Anderson.
XCOM is one of the most beloved strategy game series of all time, with many entries since the first game’s release in 1994. Right now, you can take home every single mainline XCOM game on Steam for just $10. This includes the mainline games from the 1990s and the rebooted series from 2012 onwards. With over 15,000 bundles already sold, don’t miss your chance to secure to entire XCOM collection for only $10 (if purchased separately at MSRP, the total would be $269).
These games are sent as Steam codes, which are yours to keep forever. You can play them on a desktop, laptop, Steam Deck, or even send them to a friend if you already have the game or want to gift one! In addition to the above games, you will also gain access to all major XCOM 2 DLC, including XCOM 2: War of the Chosen.
The XCOM Complete Bundle supports the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Founded in 2000, the MJFF is aimed at supporting those with Parkinson’s diseases and finding a cure for it. To this day, no cure is available for Parkinson’s, despite over six million people affected around the world. Each bundle purchase will help contribute toward the fight for a cure.
More Game Bundles Available Right Now:
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
The most dramatic crash this week is Greninja ex 214/167, crashing by nearly half when compared the the start of this year. We’re also seeing some nice price drops across Obsidian Flames and the elusive 151 expansions. Meanwhile, Dragonite V from Evolving Skies is doing the opposite, nearly doubling in value compared to the start of this year, and the artwork alone always made this card undervalued.
Charizard V Alt Art is also a banger, depicting a Pokémon battle against Venusaur whilst slowly climbing up in value. But Rayquazza VMAX Alt Art is quite literally soaring high, scoring an extra $100 in value since the start of this year. Let’s dig into all the rest of the biggest Pokémon TCG climbers and crashers of the week.
Pokémon Card Crashes
Whilst we’re finally seeing a noticeable climb in Sword and Shield era Pokémon Cards, Scarlet and Violet series cards are settling back down into the realm of reality for the most part.
Alakazam ex SIR from 151 is a georgous card, and it’s 34% lower in price than the beggining of March. There’s absolutley no reason for not having Uri Gellars Grandad claiming a spot in your binder this year.
Bulbasaur was my first starter Pokémon when I first loaded up Pokémon Blue way back when, so this Bulbasaur IR has a special place in my heart. This card has dropped by a massive 52% since mid-March, so there’s no reason to not catch this beautiful card.
Moving onto Obsidian Flames, Ninetales IR has always been one of the best cards of the set. If you agree then it’s time to snap this card up seeing as it’s crashed by 40% from Feburary so a reasonable $18.17.
People can complain about Obsidian Flames all they want, but it’s Charizard ex SIR so cool. Rocking a stained glass look in it’s Tera form, it’s a show stopper for sure. Granted it’s not come down too much since March, but $5 less is $5 saved.
Finally the biggest crasher this month is Greninja ex SIR, which at one point was set to become the most expensive Scarlet and Violet era card. Then Prismatic Evolutions came along and took the FOMO up 10 notches. It’s still a class card that’s holding it’s weight at $275, but imagine reading this and paying $411.62 at the end of Feburary. Oh dear.
Pokémon Card Climbers
Moving onto this weeks climbers, Rayquazza VMAX alt art is one of the main grails of the Sword and Shield era. It was already a $500+ card, but at $649.99 it shows no signs of slowing down. This could arguably hit the $1,000 mark in a few years, so i’d get one fi you can afford it.
There can’t be enough Kanto love in my book, and Charizard V Alt Art smashes it out of the park with this Venusaur battle. The angle is great and it feels like a moving card instead of a static body shot so many Pokémon cards are guilty of (Looking at you, WotC era). It’s earned another $40 since January, and there’s no reason why this card can’t get over $200 before the year is out.
Dragonite V Alt Art is one of the highlights of Evolving Skies. It’s a fan favorite Pokémon that can look cute as hell or ready to rip another mon’s face off. It’s a full package that looks nothing like it’s pre evolutions, but that’s ok because it’s Dragonite.
It’s cute side comes out in this artwork, and that’s exactly why it’s nearly doubled in value since the middle of January. It’s now rocking a solid $225, so make sure to grab yours before it flies any higher. Did you catch last week’s article? There are some bangers on there too.
Pokémon Card Sealed Boosters
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, we’re in a wierd spot as Pokémon trainers right now, so don’t pay more than what you have too.
Here’s the Pokémon TCG full Release Schedule so far for this year too so you don’t miss anything. Buying singles is the cheapest way to collect right now, but don’t feel like you have to “Catch Em’ All!”.
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.
There have been some truly inspired collabs in gaming, but I never saw this one coming: Overwatch 2 is getting a Street Fighter 6 crossover event.
As revealed on X/Twitter — and leaked a few days ago by PlayStation Network — the event goes live on May 20, “taking your fighting skills to the next level when the legendary characters from Street Fighter 6 square off in Overwatch 2,” letting Overwatch fans “discover the martial artist in you.”
Though the teaser isn’t very long, it does give us a peek at the characters getting a fresh skin for the collab, including Zenyatta as Dhalsim, Winston as Blanka, Sigma as M. Bison, Hanzo as Ryu, Juno as the inimitable Chun Li, and Soldier: 76 as Guile. We also get to see Chun Li kick the crap out of a truck — never a bad thing — and some more familiar faces sure to make both Overwatch and Street Fighter fans very, very happy.
“Soldier 76 as Guile is sending me,” laughed one commenter, whereas another simply said: “Genuinely such a stacked collab.”
“A COLLAB WITH TWO OF MY FAVORITE FRANCHISES?!?” cried this player. “THIS HAS TO BE [Overwatch’s] BEST ONE YET!”
Not everyone is convinced, though, with some players questioning the skin choices.
“Glad to see Winston and Sig get anything, but not having any SF6 original characters in a SF6 collab feels weak,” suggested this commenter. “Manon was right there for Widow. Marisa Zarya. Jamie Weaver. Doomfist also should have probably been a lock for this, he’s the best character that fits the theme.”
“Genuine question. Juri is literally a spider — why is she not Widowmaker lol?” asked this player.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
After nine years, Behaviour Interactive is finally bringing Five Nights at Freddy’s to Dead by Daylight – and Matthew Lillard is joining in on the fun.
It’s a collaboration that has been in the works for a while, but it wasn’t until today’s Dead by Daylight PAX East presentation that the studio was ready to reveal exactly how it will keep players scared as the asymmetrical multiplayer game approaches its ninth birthday. Freddy Fazbear and his animatronic-filled pizza emporium headline Behviour’s plans for this year’s anniversary chapter, which is expected to arrive in June.
Lillard, who starred as William Afton in 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s movie adaptation, has embodied the spirit of the role once again to lend his likeness and record new voice lines for Dead by Daylight’s latest Killer: Springtrap. This evil animatronic bunny, otherwise known as Yellow Rabbit or Spring Bonnie, will be available as a Legendary Outfit when the collection eventually arrives.
Behaviour calls Five Nights at Freddy’s the “most requested license in Dead by Daylight history,” so fans should be excited to hear that the content drop will also include a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza map that is said to be filled with a buffet of Easter Eggs and surprises to uncover. More news, including a specific release date, is expected to arrive in the near future.
Wind’s Howling
A Five Nights at Freddy’s Dead by Daylight crossover has been a long time coming, but it’s not the only gaming collaboration in the cards. Also revealed at PAX East was the news that CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher series is also set to make an appearance in Behviour’s hit horror experience.
The set will make its mark as a special Witcher Collection June 3 and includes outfits inspired by the popular fantasy RPG universe. This includes a Legendary piece inspired by the White Wolf himself, Geralt of Rivia, as well as Very Rare outfits for Yennefer, Ciri, Triss, and Eredin. As an added bonus, those who pick up the Geralt costume will notice that original voice actor Doug Cockle contributed new voice lines just for this very occasion.
“Our favorite of the Collection is, of course, Geralt’s Legendary Outfit for Vittorio Toscano,” Dead by Daylight Product Director Rose Li said in a statement. “Not only will it let players essentially take on the exact look of The White Wolf, but we’ve also added some really nice details as part of this Outfit. Geralt will have unique lobby animations, and best of all, brand-new voice lines recorded for our game by the original voice actor, Doug Cockle.”
Dragula, Shudder’s monster-themed drag reality competition series, is also doubling down on its relationship with Dead by Daylight. Players can look forward to picking up a Boulet Brothers Collection come July 8, which includes a Winter Warrior outfit for The Huntress and the Boulet Brothers Artist outfit for The Artist.
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Also included in Behaviour’s PAX East showcase was the promise that the team will deliver fresh quality of life updates throughout 2025 and beyond. June highlights include a The Archives revamp and adjusted Gamma Settings, with the months ahead set to bring updates that add more spectators in Custom Matches, map and key item rebalancing, an MMR rework, and more balance tweaks.
Creative Director Dave Richard also teased something completely new: a Dead by Daylight Chapter entirely created by fans. It’s a move that will see Behaviour working with its community to create a Killer and Survivor from the ground up in what sounds like a choose-your-own-adventure-style narrative, meaning everything about each character will be voted on by the players. It’s due out in 2026, so we’ll have to wait a while to learn more.
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).
If there’s one thing that’s kept the name Doom up near the top of the list of first-person shooters, it’s how it’s always boldly reinventing being a badass, super powered, one-man army against the armies of Hell. Three decades ago we got the original old-school run-and-guns, then a jumpscare-laden horror shooter, then a modern reimagining of the old-school run-and-gun, and a mobility-focused action shooter in 2020’s Doom Eternal. The form that Doom: The Dark Ages takes on is actually one that is very different from Eternal, a game that I rank as one of my favorite shooters of all time. In fact, it’s so different that initially I was turned off by the heavier feel of the movement, the lack of a double jump or airdash, and the sheer chaos of having wide-open fields with seemingly hundreds of enemies closing in on me from all sides.
But a few hours into the 20+ hour campaign, my arsenal had expanded, the ways in which I could dispatch enemies had diversified, and I’d started to better understand and appreciate what Doom: The Dark Ages was and what it wasn’t. By the end of it I was left grinning like a Doomguy that just picked up a Super Shotgun as I ripped and tore until it was done
Doom: The Dark Ages’s campaign is all about setting up the dark sci-fi fantasy vibes. It follows our strong, (mostly) silent Doom Slayer before he was awoken in a Sarcophagus in a UAC space station back in Doom 2016. Of course, the Slayer himself isn’t much more than just a vehicle for badassery, so it’s not like we’re seeing a new side of him or getting any sort of deeper look at his character’s origins or motivations. Instead, The Dark Ages’ story is more about filling in the blanks in the Doom universe, diving into the history of the conflict between humans and demons, and further fleshing out both the faction of humanity defending Sentinels and the deity-like Maykrs. And in that way, it’s not only serviceable, but it also does a good job of at least taking us to both a wide variety of hellish landscapes that includes sci-fi themed medieval castles, and a very welcome trip to the Lovecraftian-inspired Cosmic Realm, which features a ton of really cool mind bending puzzles and creepy settings that are different from what we’ve seen before.
This is the strongest a Doom story has ever been.
Perhaps the best thing about the story is that it no longer feels like it’s just the Slayer against the nameless forces of Hell. There are human companions that are central to the plot: it regularly feels like you’re fighting alongside humanity in this giant all-out war against the demons, and there’s actual intrigue involving the mysterious Maykrs and their role in this whole conflict. This is the strongest a Doom story has ever been, even if that’s not a bar you’d have to double-jump over.
Captain Doom Slayer
Besides the setting, the big thing that separates Doom: The Dark Ages from prior entries in the series is the addition of the Slayer’s Shield, and all of the abilities that come with it. Now, rather than being forced to avoid taking damage by constantly staying on the move and jumping around like a madman, you’re often encouraged to charge straight forward into danger with your shield at the ready to either block or deflect enemy attacks. Any attack that is red can be blocked until your shield’s depleted, and anything that’s green can be reflected with a well-timed guard to not only deal substantial damage, but also stun most monsters it hits. Even on Nightmare difficulty, which is what I did my playthrough on, the parry timing is very generous, but fortunately you can fine tune it however you like in the menus, along with a ton of other handy difficulty modifiers.
The other key shield technique is a charging bash attack that can be used to quickly close the distance between you and the enemy. Think the Super Shotgun’s grapple in Doom Eternal, only faster, you can use it with any weapon, and it’s on a relatively quick cooldown. This combination of being able to use the shield both defensively to block and stun, and then offensively to quickly zip in or out, is what really elevates The Dark Ages’ combat to the stratosphere by making it still feel very fast and exciting even with the removal of things like double jumps, quick dashes, and fast weapon swaps. We get the best of both worlds, in that this Slayer is still extremely mobile, but also feels like a heavily armored tank thanks to loud footsteps and a shockwave when you land from a high jump.
The Slayer is still very mobile, but also feels like a heavily armored tank.
The shield’s utility doesn’t end there, either. Eventually, you’ll also get the ability to toss the shield out, Captain America style, to instantly decapitate tons of fodder enemies at once. Or, if you use it against larger enemies, it will continuously buzzsaw into them, keeping them incapacitated for a short while. This is an extremely useful skill, but I found this to be especially potent against the Arachnotron enemies that like to pepper me with a constant stream of non-refelctable bullets. If they’re unarmored, I can just toss my shield to stop them from shooting, dash in, and all it takes is a single super shotgun blast to ready them for an execution.
Those abilities are key to surviving tough fights because almost every enemy in Doom: The Dark Ages has some sort of weakness like this – and unlike Doom Eternal, they are rarely weapon-specific. There’s no more switching to the combat shotgun specifically to pop a grenade into a Cacodemon’s mouth, then swapping to the rifle to snipe the guns off a Revenant, then swapping between shots of your super shotgun and ballistae to quickly burst down a Marauder or other big and beefy enemy, etc. That’s fun in its own way, and I’m sure there will be those out there like myself who will still prefer it overall, but The Dark Ages still manages to find a way to be an absolute blast without requiring a StarCraft pro’s level of APM (Actions Per Minute) on the harder difficulties.
The enemies are largely the usual suspects that have been in most of the other Dooms, You’ve got your Imps, Hell Knights, the aforementioned Mancubi and Arachnotron, and even the Cyberdemon, all of whom behave as you’d expect. Others have gotten new facelifts to better match with the new setting, like the Pinkie who’s now a mount with a demon archer riding him, and the new Cacodemon that hails from the Cosmic Realm. The Dark Ages even brings back the Vagary as a mini-boss, who hasn’t been seen since Doom 3. Overall, there’s a nice variety in the enemies, and even those you’ve fought a million times before have a few new tricks to make them fit better in The Dark Ages’ combat.
Id has exponentially jacked up the number of on-screen nasties.
Speaking of enemies, It’s worth mentioning as well that Id has exponentially jacked up the number of on-screen nasties relative to Doom or Eternal. When you get a bird’s-eye view of a battlefield, it truly looks like all-out war against the minions of Hell. This did lead to a bit of frustration for me early on because I was often getting attacked from behind by enemies that would spawn in without warning, but all it took was some adjustment in how I approached certain combat encounters. I had to make sure that I used my shield basq2sh to disengage in addition to engaging to keep them off my back.
One noteworthy omission from The Dark Ages is the iconic Chainsaw that has been used since Doom 2016 as a way to instantly kill a single enemy and regain ammo in the process. That has been replaced by an all new melee system that lets you get up close and personal and engage in melee brawls that also restore your ammo. I do miss the satisfaction of just sawing an Imp or other small enemy in half, but this system works better for what Doom the Dark Ages is trying to achieve by again making you rush towards the fight rather than away from it. The “ammo” pick ups for your melee attack are also much more plentiful than the gas for the Chainsaw was in either Doom 2016 or Eternal, making me run out of ammo far less, which was something I very much appreciated.
The Tools of Doom
As far as the actual weapons go, The Dark Ages plays around a lot with the look of each weapon to give it an old-timey flavor, but the functions are generally all the same as what we’ve come to know and love from this series. All the satisfyingly punchy stalwarts are accounted for: The combat and super shotguns, an assault rifle that shoots out railspikes instead of bullets (but don’t call it a railgun), a plasma rifle, and a single-shot sniper rifle-like weapon in the form of a satisfying steel ball launcher, just to name a handful. The only unique weapon of the bunch is the Skullcrusher Pulverizer, which sort of behaves like the chaingun but has a ridiculous spread that can just absolutely shred a football field’s worth of fodder enemies. It’s a fun weapon that goes great with The Dark Age’s absolutely insane amount of on-screen enemies at once, even though I typically opted to use the shield throw to mow down the hordes of fodder since there’s an upgrade that powers up the shield charge when you do so.
One interesting twist for how The Dark Ages handles its arsenal is that every gun has a sister weapon that uses the same ammo type and can be hotswapped between with the press of a button. So for example, along with a rocket launcher, there’s a grenade launcher; in addition to the aforementioned Pulverizer that does a little bit of damage spread out over a wide area, there’s a Ravager that concentrates the fire to hit single enemies. It all adds up to a ton of variety in the gunplay, and while I was never forced to swap between my weapons in the same way that I was in Doom Eternal, I still found myself jumping around from gun to gun simply because it’s fun.
I still found myself jumping around from gun to gun simply because it’s fun.
But the absolute best part about the toolbox in The Dark Ages is – and this is a credit to the weapon designers at Id, because this is true for just about every Doom game – that every gun retains its usefulness throughout the entire game. Sure, I might have my favorites and gravitate more towards the Super Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, and Steelshot, but even the early weapons stay relevant once you get some upgrades into them. If I’m low on armor, I can swap to the combat shotgun that I upgraded to ignite enemies and make them drop armor shards; if I need health, I can swap to the Ravager to make them bleed h ealth pickups; and if I need to incapacitate an enemy while also dealing damage to others nearby I can throw my shield into a baddie, shoot the shield, and watch as my bullets ricochet and hit everyone else around.
To sweeten the pot, all of these abilities and weapons are sprinkled at a measured pace throughout the campaign. There was never even a chance for the gunplay to get stale because every level would give me a new gun, or a new ability for my shield, or a new melee weapon, or I’d find enough gold to afford a new upgrade at the shop that would alter something I already had in a way that made me want to use it more.
And it’s this need to upgrade that fed into my desire to explore and find both upgrade currencies and more traditional Doom collectibles like figurines, weapon skins, and lore pick ups. Appropriately, the levels of The Dark Ages welcome that exploration with open arms. While they all vary in size, the smaller stages are still big by the series standards, and the big levels are gigantic. They’re huge, open battlefields with tons of secrets, challenging enemy encounters, and more than a few breathtaking vistas.
Doomazord Power
Breaking up all of the running and gunning are giant mecha battles and flying sections where you pilot the Slayer’s dragon. Yes, the Doom Slayer has a dragon, because why not. These sections are shallow compared to the rest of The Dark Ages, with the mecha sections amounting to little more than a simple game of dodge, punch, punch, dodge, punch, punch, etc. And the dragon bits are little more than dodge, shoot, shoot, dodge, shoot, shoot. That said, they’re kind of like a turret sequence in that they’re infrequent and brief enough to never drag the pacing down, and they at least provide some cool moments in the cutscenes that precede and follow them.
And then there’s the soundtrack: holy hell. If you’ve played a Doom game before you probably know what to expect going in, but even so I was gleefully into it. It’s another banger of a heavy metal soundtrack that had me coming back to certain levels after beating the campaign and just turning down all the volume except for the music so I could listen without it being overpowered by all the sounds of shotgun blasts, explosions, and dying demons.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive has released Patch 1.2.3 for its well-received role-playing game across all platforms.
The update makes a long list of fixes and, crucially, balance changes, including nerfing Clair Obscur’s most game-breaking build (patch notes below).
Sandfall had signalled this change was coming, saying it hadn’t planned to make any balance tweaks this early — just bug fixes, “unless something clearly stood out.”
“Well, Stendhal did,” the developer continued.
The build in question is (was!) for young fencer Maelle and a sword called Medalum, which unlocks a Virtuose stance that deals 200% bonus damage. Players were combining this with ability-stacking and the Stendahl skill, which deals extreme single target Void damage, to dish out billions of damage, enough to kill the final boss in just one hit.
“It was underwhelming for most of development, so in our final pre-release balance pass, we gave it a big damage boost — and clearly overdid it. It ended up overshadowing most other options,” Sandfall said.
“We still want you to be able to break the game — and you absolutely still can — but Stendhal was making it a bit too easy.”
The nerf is included in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s first full hotfix set. While Stendhal is still a strong single-hit skill with great synergy potential, it’s now more in-line with everything else.
Here’s the relevant points from today’s patch notes:
Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.
Clair Obscur is a breakout hit for Sandfall, and has already sold over 2 million copies. It’s worth remembering that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was, alongside Bethesda’s Oblivion Remastered, a day-one Game Pass title. That makes this sales milestone all the more impressive.
When Bethesda shadow-dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered amid the launch of fellow role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, most thought there could be only one winner. However, it turned out that there was plenty of room for both games to succeed.
Fixed backgrounds of various menus not displaying properly on the Steam Deck
Various Ultrawide Fixes
Gameplay no longer becomes zoomed after a cutscene occurs in ultrawide resolutions
The Options menu image will no longer be stretched in ultrawide resolutions
Combat UI now adapts correctly to ultrawide resolutions
Game will no longer minimize upon changing settings in ultrawide resolution
Cutscenes won’t letterbox in 32:9 aspect ratio
Title screen now displays fullscreen when the game is launched in ultrawide resolution
Mouse and Keyboard
UI button prompts in Expedition Menu are now visible and fully able to be triggered with Keyboard
Mouse buttons do not become unresponsive after first use
With mouse cursor on screen, using ‘WSAD’ or directional arrows to navigate in UI or trigger any other functionality will no longer hide the cursor instead of doing the intended action
Left Mouse-button click will no longer block the player from using Keyboard to navigate menus
Mouse input is not lost after the first Jump counter attack if it is pressed only once
Fixed areas of the world map where you can get stuck:
Between lanterns scattered on the ground near Stone Wave Cliff portal
While walking on the ship wreck near the Forgotten Battlefield level entrance
Between lanterns on the ground near Bourgeon encounter next to Stone Wave Cliffs level
Between two small rocks located between Spring Meadows and Abbest Cave
Between vases and corals when jumping from rooftopps
Between various rocks
In ruins behind Flying Manor level entrance
Near the bridge between Flying Waters and Spring Meadows
In the rocks on the World Map, near Flying Waters
Next to hardened land, close to the Flying Waters location exit
Fixed situations where Esquie specifically would get stuck (poor guy):
When taking off from paint bridges, making him fall through the bridge and restrict movement
When flying into bottom parts of levitating structures near Visages
Near the Flying Waters entrance level
Near a giant hammer when traversing close to Blades’ Graveyard level
Weapon and skill fixes and tuning:
Fixed Lithelim attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Vitality scaling from A to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Luck scaling starting at D.
Fixed Blizzon attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Luck scaling from B to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Defense scaling starting at D.
Fixed Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of doubling only Burn damage.
Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.
Other fixes
Boss encounter in Stone Wave Cliffs can now be finished on NG+
You will no longer be blocked by the Journal UI window after opening the first Journal in the Spring Meadows
Fixed being unable to shoot in Free aim while exploring levels due to worn triggers
Lune and Monoco no longer spawn in same place during end of theirs Level 6 relationship quests if they are completed without going to camp
If at camp you pick “remember the objective”, then quickly choose to “go to sleep” and immediately after press “leave”, the screen no longer goes black
You can no longer trigger the “Discovering the truth” cutscene in Old Lumière a second time in a row, splitting the party forever with only Verso and Maelle in it.
Update to rolling credits
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.
According to Cineverse, which has acquired the rights for the third Silent Hill film in the U.S. when it releases later this year, Return to Silent Hill will be a “faithful adaptation” of the original Silent Hill 2’s story.
“Silent Hill is one of the best video game franchises, period, and Christophe Gans did a phenomenal job capturing the atmosphere of the games once again with Return to Silent Hill,” Cineverse executive director of acquisitions, Brandon Hill, told Variety.
Director Christophe Gans added: “I am delighted to partner with Cineverse, which has shown a genuine understanding of fanship. Return to Silent Hill is an adaptation created out of deep respect for a true masterpiece of a game, Konami’s iconic Silent Hill 2. I hope fans will enjoy and be fulfilled with the experience this new film has to offer.”
The film’s plot will feel familiar to anyone who played the original Silent Hill 2 or the 2024 Bloober remake. It follows “James (Jeremy Irvine), a man broken after being separated from his one true love (Hannah Emily Anderson). When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil” and “terrifying figures both familiar and new.” It was unveiled in October 2022, but it took until May 2024 for us to get our first glimpse at Return to Silent Hill’s version of Red Pyramid Thing — AKA Pyramid Head.
Gans’ first Silent Hill movie, based loosely upon the first game, follows mother Rose as she searches for her missing daughter, Sharon, in a town where it snows during summer. Although the screenplay was written by Oscar-winning writer Roger Avary, who wrote Pulp Fiction, we thought Gans’ first adaptation was a mediocre 5/10, writing: “So there we have it. Our worst fears realized yet again. The video game-to-film genre has endured more than a decade of mediocrity. Silent Hill is probably the smartest and best-looking video game adaptation yet, it just doesn’t have much else going for it. After all, video games are about entertainment, and Silent Hill is a chore to sit through.”
The second movie, Silent Hill: Revelation — which was not directed by Gans but instead by Michael J. Bassett — was based loosely on sequel Silent Hill 3. That secured a less favorable 4.5 in our review: “Silent Hill Revelation 3D is an inferior sequel in every way, shape and form, a horror sequel that fails to either intrigue or scare, and one that just might have killed the franchise cold-dead.”
Return to Silent Hill is slated to release sometime later this year, with Cineverse promising a “wide theatrical release in America.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
If you’ve ever wondered what a prospective Pope does to pass the time, wonder no more; according to a close family member, the recently elected Pope Leo XIV is just like us, playing games and watching movies in his downtime.
As we reported earlier this week, Edward Berger’s sensational papal thriller Conclave took moviegoers by storm last year, prompting some real-life religious leaders — including those who had participated in this week’s actual conclave to select a new Pope — to look to the film for guidance given its “remarkably accurate” portrayal of the process. That included Robert Francis Prevost, who’s just been elected as Pope Leo XIV.
Talking to NBC, the Pope’s older brother, John Prevost, shared details of his last conversation with his brother before he was appointed. In amongst talking about Wordle and Words with Friends — it’s true, Pope Leo XIV is a gamer; the brothers play the word games together every single day — the elder brother asked if his sibling had watched the movie Conclave for tips.
“He had just finished watching the movie Conclave,” Provost revealed. “So he knew how to behave. So, it’s that kind of stuff [that we talk about] — I just wanted to take his mind off of [the upcoming conclave]. Laugh about something.”
From director Edward Berger, the BAFTA and Oscar-winning Conclave follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events — selecting a new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy and discovers a secret that could shake the very foundation of The Church.
Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
If you’re hunting for some Untitled Boxing Game codes in Roblox, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve scoured the game’s official social media pages and compiled all of the game’s redeemable codes for May 2025 in one place so you can get your hands on some free spins, coins, and emotes.
If you want to keep up to date with the latest codes in Untitled Boxing Game, you can also find them across the game’s various pages and social media platforms. The best two spots to check are the game’s official Roblox page, where the codes are posted directly below the description, or on its Trello page in the “Codes” tab. You can also become a member of the DrowningSome Discord server, where you’ll find members of the community frequently sharing codes they’ve come across. Or, of course, you can keep track of all active Untitled Boxing Game codes here in this article.
Active Untitled Boxing Game Codes (May 2025)
Make sure to type the codes exactly as they appear below. Untitled Boxing Game’s codes are case-sensitive, so if you don’t type them exactly as shown, the code won’t be accepted.
disjoints – 5 Spins (NEW)
whitecash – 14999 Cash
joeisreal – 10 Spins
vexthegoat – 15 Spins
void – 9999 Cash
bringus – 15 Spins
lovereturns – 2999 Cash
matchmaking – 5 Spins
newyear – 2999 Cash
jolly2 – 5 Spins
morefeints – 3 Spins
avatar –4999 Cash
fastservers – 2 Spins
dualemotes –Free emote spin
freeemoteforall – Free emote spin
ubgforever – 5 Spins
freecrates – 3000 cash
teleport – 3 Freespins
Expired Codes
As of May 2025, these are the codes that no longer work:
bigbigcode
supersecret
sale
knockdownfits
halloween
spooky
powerlevel
asura
weball
brazil
activateboost
jumpscare
animetime
animecrates
shotgunrework
bigcode
comingsoon
thegames
kocash
500mil
manyfixes
oneyear
ipposreturn
freeemote2
settings
cashcashcash
beefy
beefy2
koanims
watwatwat
balrog
delayapology
chronose
pocketchange
morecash
delayingsome
vegeta
yamcha
hammer
randomcode
feint
200mil
freeemote1
How to Redeem Untitled Boxing Game Codes
To redeem Untitled Boxing Game Codes, all you need to do is head into the game itself and look for the “Codes” tab on the left-hand side of the screen. Click the tab, type in your code and hit enter. If the code is accepted, you’ll see your redeemed award appear above the enter button. If the code isn’t accepted, you’ll get an error message reading “Invalid Code”.
Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a game critic, news reporter, guides writer and features writer.