Category: IGN

Japan’s Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia Pokémon TCG sets have quickly established themselves as powerhouse expansions in both collector and competitive circles. Released with a focus on iconic Mega Evolutions and beloved Supporter reprints, these sets offer everything from energy-accelerating Psychic titans to nostalgic Trainer cards with new full art treatments.

The current crown jewel, Mega Gardevoir ex 092/063, commands a staggering $664.01, while even mid-tier chase cards hover in the $100 to $300 range, keeping average top 10 prices well above comparable Japanese releases this year.

Japan’s Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia – Best Chase Cards

These cards are commanding such strong values because they combine competitive play power, iconic Pokémon status, and premium rarity tiers like Special Art Rare and Mega Ultra Rare. The artwork across both sets is a major draw, with illustrators leaning into dramatic poses, thematic backgrounds, and rich color palettes that any Pokémon trainer or collector will love.

For collectors, the top cards here represent long term anchor pieces that are likely to remain in demand. For players, many of these cards offer unique abilities or powerful damage scaling that makes them staples in certain deck.

10. Lillie’s Determination – 086/063 ($46.99)

Where to Buy Japan’s Mega Brave and Symphonia Sealed Boosters

Fancy ripping packs and pulling some of these cards yourself? TCGPlayer is the best place to pick up a booster box or pack.

There’s the Premium Trainer Box to kick off the Mega era of Pokémon TCG which is a good deal if you want a mix of both Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia, but I prefer a booster box.

Thanks to Japanese gambling laws, each box is guaranteed one secret art rare, ultra rare (gold card) or secret rare and four to five art rare cards. This is also why Japanese single cards are usually cheaper than English Pokémon cards across the board.

Honorable Mentions

These cards may not crack the top 10 in price, but they pack strong value for what you are paying when considering competitive utility, iconic Pokémon appeal, or just awesome artwork. Several cards from Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia offer outstanding value for their price, making them smart pickups for collectors and players who want quality without paying premium chase card prices.

Mega Absol ex 089/063 stands out at $45.31 with sleek, shadowy art that appeals to Dark type fans, while Wally’s Compassion 091/063 delivers heartfelt Hoenn nostalgia at $23.15. Mega Venusaur ex 076/063 provides both massive Grass type bulk and beautiful jungle art for $28.11, and Mega Lucario ex 078/063 packs high powered Fighting type damage into a bold Mega pose for just $25.35.

Psychic collectors can look to Mega Gardevoir ex 078/063 at $23.80 for a graceful alternative to the more expensive versions, and Mega Latias ex 079/063 offers elegant Legendary appeal at $22.84.

For those building thematic collections, Ivysaur 065/063 at $20.17 and Bulbasaur 064/063 at $19.84 bring the Kanto starter line to life with vibrant and charming illustrations. Acerola’s Mischief 084/063 provides a playful and more budget friendly option for fans of the popular Trainer at $19.38. Alakazam 071/063 remains a classic Psychic powerhouse for just $11.92, while Steelix 073/063 delivers heavy metal appeal for $11.64.

Riolu 068/063 is a lively partner piece to higher end Lucario cards at $8.20, and Helioptile 070/063 rounds out the list with bright, cheerful Electric type artwork for only $3.92. These cards may not top the market in price, but they deliver strong aesthetic, nostalgic, and gameplay value for their cost.

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.

Capcom is “aware” of crashing issues introduced to Monster Hunter Wilds via today’s crucial 1.021 update, and stressed it is now “working on the issue.”

It’s dreadful timing for Capcom, which has been struggling to keep the beleaguered RPG on track so much that yesterday, August 12, the team released early patch notes alongside a message to the community apologizing for the state of the game. However, it now appears that the new patch has introduced a fresh bug that sees your game “crash” should you “faint and return to camp during Fast Travel or a quest under certain conditions.” It doesn’t seem to matter what platform you’re playing on, either.

“We are aware of the following issue being reported in Monster Hunter Wilds on all platforms and are currently working on a fix. Once the fix is complete, we plan to release a patch Ver.1.021.01.00,” Capcom explained on social media.

“We have confirmed that the game may crash when you faint and return to camp during Fast Travel or a quest under certain conditions. Once the update is available, online sessions will be discontinued, and you will need to update to the latest version to continue playing online.”

The statement concluded with: “We are currently working on this issue and will provide further updates when we have them. Thank you for your patience!”

Crucially, the update didn’t provide any timeline on when the update may be available, nor was Capcom able to provide any workarounds in the meantime — though we’ll keep you posted as best we can, of course.

Despite reviewing well initially, Monster Hunter Wilds’ endgame content is sorely lacking compared to past games. It’s also suffering from severe performance issues on PC that have yet to be fully resolved.

Despite new content and seasons, fans remain unsatisfied with the state of the game, to the point where some are taking things too far and apparently harassing and threatening individual Capcom team members over it. Since then, Capcom has committed to releasing the endgame content expansion much sooner than expected after Monster Hunter Wilds experienced “soft sales.”

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.

Chibi-Robo! is the next GameCube classic coming to Nintendo Switch 2‘s Nintendo Switch Online library, and it arrives as soon as next week.

We already knew the cute platformer was coming at some point thanks to Nintendo’s handy summary on the Nintendo eShop, but now Nintendo has revealed when: August 21, 2025. It’ll be the second game added to the library since Switch 2 launched In June, the other being Super Mario Strikers (or Mario Smash Football, as it was known in Europe).

Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription-based online gaming service for the Nintendo Switch gaming platform. Memberships include online functionality, allowing you to compete or cooperate with friends, as well as a collection of classic Nintendo games spanning four decades, including titles from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and, most recently, the new GameCube library. A free seven-day trial is also available.

The GameCube library currently includes games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, Soulcalibur 2, and Super Mario Strikers. Further titles thought to be joining the service include Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, and more, and don’t forget, an extremely cool replica GameCube controller is also available for maximum nostalgia.

We thought Chibi-Robo! was great when it released way back in 2006, awarding it an IGN’s Editor’s Choice award and scoring it a healthy 8.2/10, imploring you to: “Give [it] a chance.”

“I expect that too many people will glance at this game and conclude that it’s not for them, simply because it’s either too weird or too cute,” we wrote in IGN’s Chibi-Robo! review. “Truthfully, it’s both, but it’s also a very enjoyable, fun, and rewarding puzzle-platformer.”

As for the Nintendo Switch 2 itself? It’s off to a strong start, with 3.5 million consoles sold, but an analysis on the console’s launch week sales paints a mixed picture of how well games not made by Nintendo are selling.

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.

I must admit, Magic: The Gathering’s new Edge of Eternities surprised me. I felt it was going to be a relatively soft follow-up to the game’s most popular set ever, Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy, and yet it feels like another home run.

A great new setting, unique designs, and some big chase cards have seen stock selling out fast, particularly when it comes to Collector Boosters. As a result, you can still find them, but you’ll need to brave the secondary market – and pay over the odds, sadly.

Where To Find Magic’s Edge of Eternities Collector Boosters

Because they contain a higher chance of opening chase cards worth hundreds (and maybe even thousands), Collector Boosters cost more than Play Boosters and are also unlikely to be reprinted. Once they’re gone, there’s a good chance they’re gone for good.

That’s why a single pack can cost you as much as $40, with Collector Booster boxes going for over $400.

Thankfully, Play Boosters are looking much more likely to be found closer to MSRP for months. The set is standard legal for a long time yet, meaning you can reasonably expect Play Boosters (and the set’s pair of Commander Decks) to be reprinted pretty regularly.

Play Boosters can be found for as little as $6, with boxes up for around $150. In fact, we’ve already seen Play Booster boxes receive discounts at retailers like Amazon.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.

Blizzard’s Story and Franchise Development team (SFD) has voted in favor of unionization with the Communications Workers of America, according to a press release shared today.

SFD consists of Blizzard workers producing in-house cinematics, animation, trailers, promotional videos, in-game cutscenes, and other narrative content across Blizzard franchises, in addition to archival workers and historians.

These workers join thousands of others at Microsoft and specifically within Activision Blizzard who have voted to unionize with their departments and teams under Microsoft’s labor neutrality agreement in the last few years. Just last year, the entire World of Warcraft team unionized, and the Overwatch developers followed just this past May. Other unions within the company include Raven Software workers who just won their first contract earlier this month, Zenimax QA workers who got a contract in May, the Bethesda union, and several others.

“After more than a decade working at Blizzard, I’ve seen all the highs and lows,” said organizing committee member and principal editor Bucky Fisk. “For years, Blizzard has been a place where people could build their careers and stay for decades, but that stability’s been fading. With a union, we’re able to preserve what makes this place special, secure real transparency in how decisions are made, and make sure policies are applied fairly to everyone.”

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Walmart is offering a steep discount on one of the most recently released themed Xbox Series X wireless controllers. For a limited time, the Xbox Wireless Controller Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition is on sale for $54 with free shipping. It is sold by Walmart directly and not a marketplace vendor. Even if you don’t own an Xbox, this is still a great deal, since it’s also one of the best PC gamepads for the price.

Get Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition Xbox Controller for $54

Krafton has issued a response to a recent lawsuit filed by the former leads of Subnautica 2, offering rebuttals to the developers’ claims and alleging they “resorted to litigation to demand a multimillion-dollar payout they haven’t earned.”

This comes in reply to a legal complaint filed by former Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, and fellow co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, last month. In it, the former leads alleged that Krafton went out of its way to hinder Subnautica 2’s development, delay the game, and ultimately fire them from their roles all in an effort to stop them and other employees from collecting a $250 million bonus payment that would have kicked in if the game’s early access released on time later this year and reached certain sales milestones.

In its response, Krafton says the game was planned for a Q1 2024 release. However, “Cleveland and McGuire abandoned their roles as studio-wide Game Director and Technical Director to focus on their personal passion projects and quit making games for Unknown Worlds entirely. And Gill, who remained, focused on leveraging his operational control to maximize the earnout payment, rather than developing a successful game.”

Krafton goes on to allege that by 2023, Unknown Worlds’ development director had commented on the founders being “checked out,” and that Cleveland in particular had stated publicly he had abandoned video games to pursue filmmaking. The release date of Subnautica slipped to 2024 and then 2025. “An internal assessment of the first playable in March of 2024 made clear that the team had failed to deliver on their promise of developing sufficiently new content. But rather than roll up their sleeves and make the game they had promised, the Key Employees blamed others and overhauled the team.” Krafton also says that the leads continued reducing the scope of the game over time.

The response says that by spring 2025, Krafton was trying to stop them from releasing the game, saying it was not ready. However, Krafton alleges the leads tried to release it anyway in order to get their maximum earnout.

“Krafton, fearing how an underbaked EA Subnautica 2 would be received by both existing fans and the broader market, urged Cleveland and McGuire to return to their posts to generate a market-ready product that would not disappoint fans. Cleveland and McGuire declined. In response to Krafton’s request for the Key Employees to return to lead the development of Subnautica 2, Gill stated that ‘[t]here’s no coming back to a job they didn’t have.'” Krafton further alleges that the leads said they would self-publish the game without Krafton, and that they downloaded “massive amounts of confidential information” from Unknown Worlds.

The Key Employees’ insistence on releasing the game immediately was singularly driven by self-interest in obtaining the earnout. At every turn during development, the Key Employees were laser focused on avoiding “a timeline that doesn’t tank the earnout opportunity” and scheduling the release to maximize their payments. Conversations throughout the post-acquisition period make clear the Key Employee’s [sic] focus was on their payday, and not on the game. As early as 2022, an employee who was due to receive a portion of the earnout stated that despite the significant delays in the game, he was confident “Ted [Gill] will concoct a scheme to get us that earnout.” [emphasis Krafton’s]

The response goes on to issue answers to every claim in the founders’ lawsuit, paragraph by paragraph. Krafton asks the court to rule in its favor, deny the founders’ claims for relief, and award Krafton costs, including attorney fees.

This saga began in July, when Krafton seemingly out of the blue announced it would replace Unknown Worlds’ leads with former Striking Distance CEO Steve Papoutsis. In the weeks that followed, reports emerged surrounding the $250 million bonus promised to staff amid questions as to whether that payout would be honored. While the Subnautica leads claimed in various statements and in their lawsuit that Krafton had tried to delay Subnautica 2 and ultimately fired them to avoid paying them the bonus, Krafton accused them of neglecting their duties, saying Subnautica 2 was not ready to launch. That final claim remains up in the air, with leaked documents since verified by Krafton confirming that Unknown Worlds was receiving feedback from the publisher that the game was not ready for early access launch. However, a report from Bloomberg suggests this may not have been wholly true.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Special Illustration Rares from Temporal Forces have seen significant movement since their highs earlier in the year. Cards like Raging Bolt ex, Iron Crown ex, and Walking Wake ex were once among the most sought-after pulls from the set, but all three have dropped from their spring peaks.

Raging Bolt ex is down 11% from its May value of $82.36 and now trades around $73.45, while Iron Crown ex has fallen 13% in the same timeframe, moving from $55.74 to $48.30. Walking Wake ex has taken the hardest hit of the trio, losing 20% since May, with its price sliding from $50.37 to $40.45. This downturn mirrors a wider cooling in the set’s high-end singles as both players and collectors reassess their priorities.

Twilight Masquerade has seen a more mixed picture, with some cards losing steam while others continue to gain. Perrin has eased down 11% from March, moving from $106.43 to $94.87, and Carmine has dipped the same percentage since June, going from $78.70 to $69.99. Both are Special Illustration Rare Supporters that enjoyed early interest thanks to their unique effects, but neither has become a fixture in competitive lists, leading to softer demand.

At the same time, the set’s Illustration Rares and certain Pokémon ex cards are climbing in value as interest from both casual and competitive buyers grows.Gastly has risen 13% since June, from $35.74 to $40.99, helped by its role in Gengar evolution lines and appealing artwork.

Greninja ex has climbed 17% since January, from $18.44 to $21.59, thanks to its versatile attacks and solid HP. Sinistcha ex and Tatsugiri have each moved up 10% since April, now priced at $21.59 and $18.48 respectively, while Eevee has gained 10% from early August to reach $21.59. These changes highlight how certain cards can gain value steadily over months due to competitive experimentation, collector interest, or them just being stunning cards. Let’s break this all down:

Pokémon Card Crashers

As we exclusively announced earlier this year, we’re finally getting our first first-person Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game – and first TMNT game in VR to boot. It’s called TMNT: Empire City, and in the new developer diary video above, you’ll get a look at some first-person parkour/traversal gameplay in this early look at the upcoming co-op action-adventure starring your favorite heroes in a half-shell.

Creative director Ace St. Germain gives some insight on the first-person VR parkour mechanics of Empire City: “Movement through sewers is slower and stealthier, while above-ground movement emphasizes parkour, allowing for fast and vertical exploration. We’re not recreating the full New York City but are focusing on key areas. The city’s haze and mist are narrative devices, rather than invisible walls. The architecture is inspired by real New York buildings, like the Confucius Plaza (renamed “Wise Man Building”). Using hands for parkour, players can grab ledges, dash mid-air, and launch themselves dynamically. Zip lines and uninterrupted momentum mechanics enhance freedom of movement. This verticality is essential for exploration, combat, and player expression.

You can wishlist TMNT: Empire City on Steam if you’re interested.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Fans of Star Wars: Unlimited have reason to celebrate this week as Amazon rolls out a series of discounts across multiple sets in the fast-growing trading card game. Not every expansion has boosters or bundles that have gotten the price-cut treatment, but for those looking to stock up on boosters or grab a starter kit, there are some standout Star Wars deals worth jumping on before they vanish.

For example, the Twilight of the Republic Booster Display Box, featuring 24 packs steeped in Clone Wars-era drama, has seen one of the biggest drops, plunging 52% down to just $57.98 (was $119.76). Each pack contains 16 cards, including guaranteed rares, a leader, and a base/token card, making it a prime choice for competitive deck builders or collectors chasing those foil highlights.

For those after something a little more beginner-friendly, the Twilight of the Republic Two-Player Starter Set has dipped to $27.54 (was $34.99), complete with two fully built decks, playmats, counters, and a quickstart rulebook.

If the Outer Rim calls louder than Coruscant, the Shadows of the Galaxy Two-Player Starter Set (headlined by The Mandalorian and Moff Gideon) is now $25.36 (down from $34.99), offering the same ready-to-play convenience with exclusive cards you won’t find in boosters. Single Shadows of the Galaxy booster packs are also available for $8.95 (was $10.99), perfect for topping off a deck with Mandalorian-era firepower.

The deals don’t stop there because the Legends of the Force set, only released last month and packed with Jedi, Sith, and iconic Force-users from across the saga, has had its own 24-pack display box dropped down to $88.00, a 27% cut from its original $119.76 price tag.

There’s also Legends of the Force’s Prerelease Box on sale, including six boosters and exclusive promos for $29.95 instead of $38.95.

Spark of Rebellion is on sale, too, though the 24-pack display box is still sitting at over $105 (although better than its original $119.76 price). Altogether, though, the current markdowns on Twilight of the Republic, Shadows of the Galaxy, and Legends of the Force make for a good case to anyone looking to expand their collection without paying full retail.

Since this sale’s dropped, some other items in the Star Wars: Unlimited range have sold out already, so it seems to be only a matter of time before stock sells out and any replenishments are put back at their original MSRP. If you’ve been holding off on building your next Star Wars: Unlimited deck, this looks to be the perfect time to drop some Galactic Credits.

Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.