The upcoming set, which will debut on August 1, hasn’t had any card spoilers just yet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know at least a little about what’s coming.
Here’s everything we know about Magic: The Gathering: Edge of Eternities so far.
What is MTG Edge of Eternities?
This year, Wizards of the Coast is leaning hard into Universes Beyond sets, with Final Fantasy the first of three sets this year which leans on established franchises outside of the company’s own characters and settings, followed up by Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender last in the year.
Whatever your thoughts on that, Edge of Eternities is the opposite, offering a new set with a more cosmic focus but still within Magic’s own universe (although it is sandwiched between Final Fantasy and Spider-Man).
We’ve seen little more than concept art, but we do know the new set will mark the beginning of the final story arc of the Metronome storyline, which began with Wilds of Eldraine (if you’re still following).
Play Boosters
Play Boosters have become the de facto way to open packs now, replacing Set Boosters and Draft Boosters.
These packs are draftable for sealed play, and contain 15 cards each (although the last one in the pack is usually an advert, art card, or token). Cards 1 to 6 are commons, while card 7 is a common card that can be a reprint.
Cards 8, 9 and 10 are uncommons, while card 11 offers your rare/mythic. Card 12 is a Land card, and can be foil or have full art, while card 13 is a “wildcard” that can be any card from the set.
Then you get a wildcard that’s a guaranteed foil for card 14, with the idea being that players have more of a chance to get chase cards from these packs. You can buy Play Boosters individually or pick up a booster box.
Collector Boosters
Collector Boosters are much pricier than their Play Booster counterparts, and offer 16 cards (although again, one is a token).
In these, you can find five rare or mythic rares, as well as four uncommons and five commons, as well as one land.
They’ll also come with a slicker frame design in many instances, with 12 – 13 of the cards included being foils.
Again, you can pick them up individually or as a box, but expect to pay a high price.
Commander Decks
Commander has become Magic’s most popular format, with the thrill of “last player standing” matches and 100-card decks playable right out of the box making for a great jumping-on point for new players.
The number of decks included in each set has varied wildly this year. For example, Aetherdrift offered two Commander options, while Tarkir: Dragonstorm had a whopping five, and Final Fantasy offers four.
Edge of Eternities is scaling back the volume, with two decks: World Shaper and Counter Intelligence.
The former comes in Black, Red, and Green colors (Jund), and the text on the box says players will “Sacrifice Lands” and “Grow Back Stronger”.
Counter Intelligence, on the other hand, is Blue, Red, and White (Jeskai) and says you can use its contents to “Boost Artifacts” and “Proliferate Counters”.
Bundles and Prerelease Packs
Finally, as is tradition now you’ll be able to pick up a Bundle and Prerelease Pack for the new set.
Bundles include a series of 9 Play Boosters, as well as one promo card with exclusive alternate art, as well as a full set of 10 Full-Art Lands in foil and non-foil, as well as a spindown dice and a card storage box. Prerelease works a little differently, with the idea being that the set is used at a prerelease event.
Players open the box, and use the six Play Boosters inside to build a deck comprising of 40 cards. Prerelease boxes are found at your local game store.
Lloyd Coombes is Gaming Editor @ Daily Star. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay. He’s also a tech, gaming, and fitness freelancer seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, IGN, and more.
This article includes contributions from Hannah Hoolihan.
Renewed calls for a fresh Star Wars Battlefront game have been given a boost by an actor from critically-acclaimed TV series Andor.
The past month has seen fans flock back to 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 — generating the game’s best player count on Steam in years, despite support from developer DICE ending a long time ago.
Now, Andor’s Muhannad Ben Amor, who plays the heroic Wilmon Paak, has taken to social media to help campaign for a fully-operational sequel.
“Star Wars gotta give us Battlefront 3 ASAP,” Amor wrote on Instagram (thanks, Comicbook), revealing he had played Battlefront 2 for 469 hours. That’s great kid, but don’t get cocky.
“Grew up with Battlefront 2 — been a veteran since day one,” Amor continued. “Let’s HOPE Battlefront 3 happens.”
The past month has seen the popularity of Star Wars Battlefront 2 soar, thanks in part to the success of Andor’s climactic second season, and other Star Wars activity surrounding the franchise’s annual May 4 celebrations.
After years averaging a Steam player count of around 2,000 players, the game’s popularity has been steadily climbing over the past few weeks, and is now close to topping its 10,000-player all-time concurrent Steam peak.
DICE may also still hold some reluctance to revisit the series, after Battlefront 2 originally launched amid a huge controversy over its loot boxes. Over time, however, sentiment towards the game has shifted. And while publisher EA, DICE’s owner, is no longer exclusively making Star Wars games, Respawn is still at work in the galaxy far, far away making a Star Wars Jedi threequel.
“Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a redemption story worthy of the Skywalker saga,” IGN wrote in its 2019 Star Wars Battlefront 2 re-review. “Overall, it’s a great package now that serves as one of the best and most thrilling ways to have an authentic Star Wars gaming experience.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
From soaring with dragons to facing off against Sephiroth and Aang, Magic: The Gathering has a packed year ahead. 2025 marks the first full cycle under Wizards of the Coast’s new release strategy, which splits the calendar evenly between the more classic Magic-original sets and the wildly popular “Universes Beyond” crossovers.
Most of the year’s main sets (aside from Avatar: The Last Airbender) are already available to preorder or buy on Amazon. That said, please also consult your local game store to find out when they’re accepting preorders as well.
MTG: 2025 Release Calendar – At a Glance
Here’s your set-by-set guide to what’s dropping in 2025, breaking down release dates, when you can get your hands on everything, where you can preorder, and even includes a running list of every Secret Lair drop so far this year. We’re starting off with a quick glance over the 2025 release calendar, but let’s jump into a more in-depth look as well.
Already revealed to be the best-selling Magic set in the game’s almost 35-year history, and it isn’t even out yet, the Universes Beyond Final Fantasy set is a love letter designed by fans of RPG for fans.
Featuring a larger set than normal, the cards here will showcase each of the 16 core entries featuring their iconic heroes, villains, creatures, and locations.
Each of the four preconstructed Commander decks is based around specific games, including VI, VII, X, and the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, each of which is available as both standard and collector versions.
This release looks to be one of the biggest launches this year, so grab your gunblade and get ready. We also recently explored our top ten picks to keep an eye out for when ripping open your sealed boosters in a few weeks.
While most of the commander decks and various other bundles are currently out of stock at major retailers, here’s the pages to bookmark come June 13 in case anywhere restocks on the day. It’s also worth bookmarking this page, and following @IGNDeals on Twitter/X and Bluesky for further updates on restocks in the coming weeks.
Rare Cards to Look Out For on Release Day
With nearly 700 cards in the Final Fantasy set, including Extended Art, Borderless, and Surge Foil variants, there’s a lot to track. But a few standout rares are already turning heads ahead of launch on June 5.
Buying before release day is always a risk, as prices can drop fast once the full set hits, so holster that gunblade, and simply observe for now. Still, if you’re watching the market or planning your pulls, these are the biggest rare cards to keep an eye on right now.
Secret Lair X Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy is also getting its very own Secret Lair release as well on June 9, costing $399.99.
These drops will go on sale as part of our Summer Superdrop on June 9, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT (June 10 at 1 a.m. JST), exclusively at MagicSecretLair.
These drops are available in limited quantities. Here’s everything in the set.
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Game Over (Jun 9) – 5 cards
Spira’s Punishment (Day of Judgement)
Absorb into Time (Temporal Extortion)
Merciless Poisoning (Toxic Deluge)
Unseat the Usurper (Praetor’s Grasp)
Meteorfall (Star of Extinction)
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Grimoire (Jun 9) – 5 cards
Yuna’s Holy Magic (Prismatic Ending)
Hope’s Aero Magic (Cyclonic Rift)
Noctis’ Death Magic (Damn)
Vivi’s Thunder Magic (Lightning Bolt)
Aerith’s Curage Magic (Heroic Intervention)
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Weapons (Jun 9) – 5 cards
Yuna’s Sending Staff (Staff of the Storyteller)
Clive’s Invictus Blade (Blade of Selves)
Cloud’s Buster Sword (Umezawa’s Jitte)
Gaia’s Dark Hammer (Colossus Hammer)
Tidus’s Brotherhood Sword (Sword of Truth and Justice)
Edge of Eternities – Aug. 1
Space, the final frontier. This is the theme for Edge of Eternities, the Summertime Magic set. Its mission, to introduce space-fantasy into the realm of Magic: The Gathering, explore strange new worlds, and to seek out new planeswalkers and combos, to tap things that have never been tapped before.
This will mark the first time that Wizards is taking players into a more space-fantasy landscape, including slinging spells against aliens. It remains to be seen if there will be space wizards with swords made of light, however.
Marvel’s Spider-Man – Sept. 26
The debut set of the Marvel and Wizards of the Coast partnership features Spider-Man and will be swinging onto shelves this fall!
Players can expect to see cards based around not only Spidey himself but also members of his rogues gallery, including the Green Goblin, Doc Oc, and even the winner of 1988’s “Best Tongue Award”, Venom. Unfortunately, this set won’t see any preconstructed decks.
This set will be getting a special type of product, however, with the Scene Box. Along with three play boosters, this set will give you six special borderless art cards that can be positioned to form a single action-packed scene that looks like it was pulled straight from the comics, featuring Spidey fending off villains, which can be displayed on the included paper easel.
Players on Wizards’ digital MTG client, Magic Arena and Magic Online, will also see Spider-Man set, albeit without Spider-Man. Wizards has opted to create a duplicate Marvel-free set that is functionally identical but without any of the characters or imagery, referred to as “Through the Omenpaths” as a digital-only release.
Universes Beyond Avatar: The Last Airbender – Nov. 21
Closing out the year will be Aang and company with Universes Beyond – Avatar: The Last Airbender. Currently, outside of its existence, very little is known about this set, including what products will be released for it.
All we know is that we players can expect their favorite characters to show up, beautiful artwork, and an elemental showdown. But, if Wizards of the Coast nails the artwork and card mechanics, this could be one of the coolest Universes Beyond sets we have ever seen. Stay tuned for more news.
Every MTG Set Released So Far in 2025
Here’s every Magic: The Gathering set released in 2025 so far, ordered from most recent release (Tarkir Dragonstorm), all the way to the first release of the year (Innistrad Remastered).
Tarkir Dragonstorm – Apr. 11 2025 (Out Now)
Tarkir Dragonstorm returns players to the plane of Tarkir, which was last seen back in 2014, and once again features not only a ton of powerful dragons but also the various clans that rule this land.
The five clans, the Abzan Houses, the Jeskai Way, the Sultai Brood, Mardu Horde, and the Temur Froniter, each are built around different slices of the color pie, and this uniqueness is further expanded on with Dragonstor, with each clan, along with the dragons themselves, featuring new specialty mechanics tailored to their playstyle.
Big creatures, cool abilities, and more dragons to cram into your Ur Dragon EDH deck are here for fans, and on the topic of Commander, this set also features five different precon decks, with each one made for each clan.
Aetherdrift – Feb. 14 2025 (Out Now)
If you were to summarize Aetherdrift as “Magic with racecars,” you would be a good 80% there. A large, multiversal race, known as the Ghirapur Grand Prix, is taking place in Avishkar, and racers from planes including Duskmourn and Amonket, among others are in attendance.
One of the special mechanics unique to Aetherdrift is “Speed,” where cards can get better, the more of these speed tokens they have, and along with the special showcase art cards, which resemble ’80s racing posters, really help the “professional racing” aesthetic land with this set. It also has Chandra the Planeswalker doing the Akira slide on a card.
Innistrad Remastered – Jan. 24. 2025 (Out Now)
Innistrad is Magic’s original Gothic Horror plane that first dropped back in 2011. These Remastered sets are special releases that include beloved card reprints and mechanics with some updates sprinkled in.
Innistrad Remastered started out the year giving players a new chance to get fan-favorite cards like Edgar Markov, Liliana of the Veil, and Archangel Avacyn. This set is a great way to introduce newer players to some of the game’s fabled history.
Secret Lair Releases – 2025 So Far
Featuring: Jack Teagle (Feb. 3) – 5 cards
Mulldrifter
All Will Be One
Benevolent Hydra
Forgotten Ancient
Animar, Soul of Elements
Artist Series: Jesper Ejsing (Feb. 10) – 5 cards
Llanowar Elves
Sun Titan
Breeches, Eager Pillager
Deflecting Swat
Llanowar Elves
Lorwyn Lightboxes (Feb. 10) – 5 cards
Ancient Amphitheater
Auntie’s Hovel
Gilt-Leaf Palace
Secluded Glen
Wanderwine Hub
City Styles 2: Dressed to Kill (Feb. 10) – 5 cards
Sandy Cheeks, Martial Astronaut (Toski, Bearer of Secrets)
Patrick Star (Barktooth Warbeard)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Jodah, the Unifer)
Spongebob SquarePants: Lands under the Sea (Mar. 24) – 6 cards
5 basic lands
Command Tower
SpongeBob SquarePants: Internet Sensation (Mar. 24) – 9 cards
Counterspell
Daze
Inevitable Betrayal
Force of Despair
Night’s Whisper
Food token
Smothering Tithe
cOuNTeRspELl
Dismember
Twisted Toons (Mar. 24) – 5 cards
Silence
Winds of Abandon
Culling the Weak
Fatal Push
Young Wolf
Tragic Romance (Mar. 24) – 4 cards
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Kaalia of the Vast
Angel of Despair
Master of Cruelties
They Grow Up So Fast (Mar. 24) – 5 cards
Dragonlord Atarka
Dragonlord Dromoka
Dragonlord Kolaghan
Dragonlord Ojutai
Dragonlord Silumgar
Secret Lair: Class of ‘87 (Mar. 24) – 4 cards
Aesi, Tyran of Gyre Strait
Anje Falkenrath
Chulane, Teller of Tales
Radha, Heart of Keld
Pick’em and Stick’em (Mar. 24) – 10 cards
5 sticker cards
Thalia, Heretic Cathar
Clever Impersonator
Hedron Crab
Pitiliss Plunderer
Treasure token
Garden Buds (Mar. 24) – 5 cards
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
Elvish Reclaimer
Harrow
World Shaper
Horn of Greed
Oishi! Tokens (Mar. 26) – 4 cards
4 Food tokens
Secret Lair X Marvel’s Deadpool (Apr. 1) – 7 cards
Harmless Offering
Blacker Lotus
Deadpool, Trading Card
Deadly Rolick
Saw in Half
Blasphemous Act
Vandalblast
Adventures of the Little Witch (Apr. 22) – 4 cards
Secret Rendezvous
Serenity
Esika’s Chariot
Realms Uncharted
VROOOOOMMMMMM! (Apr. 28) – 5 cards
Lava Dart
Monastery Swiftspear
Soul-Scar Mage
Underworld Breach
Mishra’s Bauble
Everything Is On Fire (Apr. 28) – 5 cards
Chain Lightning
Dragon’s Rage Channeler
Lava Spike
Rift Bolt
Skewer the Critics
Featuring: Jay Howell (Apr. 28) – 5 cards
Agent of Treachery
Priest of Forgotten Gods
Treasonous Ogre
Uncivil Unrest
Marchesa, the Black Rose
Secret Lair X KEXP: Where the Music Matters (Apr. 28) – 6 cards
5 basic lands
Command Tower
Secret Lair X KEXP: You Are Not Alone (Apr. 28) – 6 cards
Cultural Exchange
Folio of Fancies
Concordant Crossroads
Rites of Flourishing
Font of Mythos
Minds Aglow
Everyone’s Invited! (May 12) – 15 cards
Morophon, the Boundless
Raise the Palisade
Bitterblossom
Taurean Mauler
Avenger of Zendikar
Kindred Summons
Tendershoot Dryad
Coat of Arms
Maskwood Nexus
Sol Ring
Rin and Seri, Inseparable
4 Shapeshifter tokens
Slay the Day (May 19) – 4 cards
Marwyn, the Nurturer
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Sythis, Harvest’s Hand
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Game Over (Jun 9) – 5 cards
Spira’s Punishment (Day of Judgement)
Absorb into Time (Temporal Extortion)
Merciless Poisoning (Toxic Deluge)
Unseat the Usurper (Praetor’s Grasp)
Meteorfall (Star of Extinction)
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Grimoire (Jun 9) – 5 cards
Yuna’s Holy Magic (Prismatic Ending)
Hope’s Aero Magic (Cyclonic Rift)
Noctis’ Death Magic (Damn)
Vivi’s Thunder Magic (Lightning Bolt)
Aerith’s Curage Magic (Heroic Intervention)
Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Weapons (Jun 9) – 5 cards
Yuna’s Sending Staff (Staff of the Storyteller)
Clive’s Invictus Blade (Blade of Selves)
Cloud’s Buster Sword (Umezawa’s Jitte)
Gaia’s Dark Hammer (Colossus Hammer)
Tidus’s Brotherhood Sword (Sword of Truth and Justice)
Product Key – What to Buy?
Here is a breakdown of the standard types of products that sets release with and what they include.
Play Boosters
These are standard bread-and-butter 15-card packs of random cards. Each pack is composed of 7 common cards, 3 uncommon cards, 1 rare or mythic rare card, 1 basic land, 1 non-foil wild car, 1 foil wild card, and 1 ad, token, helper, or art card.
Most booster boxes contain 30 of these 15-card packs, though some special sets may contain fewer (usually 24).
Collector Boosters
Much like the Play Boosters, Collector Boosters also have 15 random cards in the pack. Still, these special packs contain more cards of higher rarities, special foiling, unique art or bordered cards, double-sided tokens, and potentially other bonuses.
These packs are also far more expensive than a typical Play Booster, and Collector Booster Boxes also only contain 12 packs of these elusive cards.
Commander Decks
The Commander format may have started as a community-driven format, but Wizards of the Coast has adopted it and now releases its own preconstructed 100-card Commander decks.
Each deck comes with two possible cards that can serve as the deck’s commander (Commander creatures have to be a Legendary creature, and whose color identity dictates the color cards that can be included in the deck.)
Each deck contains any required tokens for the deck, a 2-card Collector Booster sample pack, a strategy insert explaining its respective deck, and a reference card.
Collector’s Edition Commander Decks
Similar to Collector Boosters, these special Commander decks are functionally identical to their standard version counterparts, except with some special art and foiling for collectors.
Their prices are also far higher, and their lower print runs make them tough to get.
Bundle
Bundle products are great options for gifts, or if you want some packs of cards but also some nifty extras, too. Each bundle comes with 9 Play Booster packs, a bunch of basic land cards (unique to the given set), a pretty dice (usually a d20), and a storage box.
If you and each friend get a bundle, it can make for a fun draft experience, too.
Gift Bundle
The Gift Bundle is nearly identical to the standard bundle except for two things—it comes with a Collector Booster in addition to the standard nine play boosters, and the storage box has a bit more flair and foiling.
Prerelease Packs
Prerelease packs are special releases that you can get at your local game store during a set’s Prerelease launch event, containing six play boosters, a special promo card, and a special life counter – everything you need to create a small 40-card deck to compete against other attendees.
There tend to be various themes of these packs for players to pick from, with some cards that are more tailored to that specific faction or color combination.
Starter Kit
The Starter Kit is a product designed to introduce the game to new players. It contains two 60-card decks, boxes to store them, and instructional aids to help walk the two players through their first games.
As an added bonus, these also tend to include redemption codes to unlock the decks on Magic Arena, the digital Magic: The Gathering platform.
Released Sets of 2024: A Look Back
Magic: The Gathering Foundations – November 15, 2024
Capping off the year, Foundations arrived as Magic’s new entry-level product aimed squarely at newcomers. With simplified cards, curated reprints, and a structure reminiscent of Jumpstart, it was designed to make onboarding smoother than ever.
It’s the clearest sign yet that Wizards wants to bolster Magic’s long-term future by making the game more accessible without sacrificing its core identity.
Duskmourn: House of Horror – October 2024
Halloween season brought with it Duskmourn: House of Horror, one of the boldest thematic swings Magic has taken in years. Set entirely within a haunted mansion, it channeled modern horror vibes through its claustrophobic design, disturbing card art, and jump scare flavor. Instead of the usual plane-spanning scope, this set kept things intimate and creepy — and it worked.
Bloomburrow – August 2, 2024
If Duskmourn was the year’s most terrifying set, Bloomburrow was its most adorable. Set on a plane with no humans, it introduced a cast of heroic woodland critters — squirrels, frogs, bats, and more — banding together to defend their home. With its storybook aesthetic and approachable mechanics, Bloomburrow offered a lighter, friendlier take on the game that still held plenty of strategic depth.
Secret Lair: Monty Python and the Holy Grail – July 29, 2024
A standout among this year’s Secret Lair drops, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail collaboration leaned fully into the absurd. Split across two releases, it packed classic Magic cards with deeply specific Python references — from coconuts-as-horses to the European vs. African swallow gag — making it a bizarre, quotable delight for fans of the 1975 film.
Universes Beyond: Assassin’s Creed – July 5, 2024
July also saw the release of Magic’s crossover with Assassin’s Creed, adding another chapter to the Universes Beyond initiative. Sold in Beyond Boosters rather than traditional draft packs, the set emphasized thematic resonance over gameplay structure. Featuring major characters like Ezio, Altair, and historical icons like Leonardo da Vinci, it managed to blend stealth and strategy while staying Modern-legal.
Modern Horizons 3 – June 14, 2024
The third Modern Horizons entry didn’t hold back. Released in June, it introduced powerful new cards, format-defining reprints, and returning mechanics like Energy. Double-faced planeswalkers made a triumphant comeback, echoing Magic Origins, and familiar worlds like Zendikar and Theros helped inject a nostalgic punch. The draft format, meanwhile, was one of the deepest of the year.
Outlaws of Thunder Junction – April 19, 2024
Magic went full Western in April with Outlaws of Thunder Junction, a stylish and surprisingly villain-centric set. This was a rootin’-tootin’ showcase of bandits, bounty hunters, and black hats, complete with new mechanics like Plot and Spree. It pushed flavor to the forefront, giving Magic one of its most cohesive and playful settings in recent memory.
Universes Beyond: Fallout – March 8, 2024
March gave Commander players a radioactive treat with Universes Beyond: Fallout. The set delivered four thematically distinct Commander decks, tapping into iconic factions and characters from the Fallout games — Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutants, Vault Dwellers, and more. With its retro-futuristic flair and solid deck construction, it proved a strong crossover effort.
Murders at Karlov Manor – February 9, 2024
Murders at Karlov Manor reimagined Ravnica through the lens of a murder mystery, complete with suspects, disguises, and evidence to collect. It introduced new mechanics to match the whodunit theme and even crossed over with Clue for an extra meta twist. It was a narrative-forward set that let Magic flex some genre muscles outside of its usual fantasy fare.
Ravnica Remastered – January 12, 2024
The year opened with a love letter to one of Magic’s most beloved settings. Ravnica Remastered compiled highlights from the city-plane’s long history, featuring cards from across its three blocks with updated art and retro-frame treatments. From powerful shock lands to fan-favorite guild cards, it was a nostalgia-rich start to the year for both collectors and players alike.
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.
Includes contributions from Christian Wait and Robert Anderson.
Google has launched an advanced AI video generation tool capable of creating Fortnite gameplay clips that look almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Veo 3 launched this week and has already raised eyebrows for its dystopian ability to create life-like video clips from simple text-based prompts and include realistic-sounding audio.
Other generative AI programs, such as OpenAI’s Sora, have been doing similar for some time — but the ability for Veo 3 to include lifelike audio really is a remarkable, if chilling, step forward.
Veo 3 users are still testing out what the tool is capable of, but within two days have begun producing Fortnite gameplay with a fake streamer commenting over the top. The quality is good enough that, while scrolling on social media, you’d think it was a legimate clip from YouTube or Twitch.
Technically, Veo 3 should not be infringing on anyone’s copyrighted material — and it’s safe to assume Fortnite developer Epic Games did not sign this one off. But clearly the AI tool has had access to the millions of hours of Fortnite gameplay posted online, and is now able to reproduce a convincing representation on command.
One clip, showing a streamer celebrating as they win a match using only their pickaxe, was apparently created within Veo 3 using a text-based prompt of nine words: “Streamer getting a victory royale with just his pickaxe”.
In writing this prompt, Veo 3 has not been told specifically to create Fortnite gameplay. Still, it understands from the context what game the user is referring to.
Veo 3’s abilities throw up all sorts of questions, and far more pressing ones than simple copyright concerns. The ability to create footage like this undoubtedly aids users looking to fool others with disinformation, and in so doing undermine trust in legitimate footage.
“I can not tell if this is real or not,” reads one reply. “We’re cooked,” reads another.
“The only way this is possible is if Veo 3 was trained on an enormous amount of Fortnite content,” a third reply reads. “Wouldn’t be surprised if everything that gets uploaded to YouTube is now being trained on despite copyright laws.”
IGN has asked Epic for comment.
For a better look at what Veo 3 is capable of outside of video games, here’s a clip of the algorithm creating a fake news report on an automobile trade show that doesn’t exist, with fake interviewees answering fake questions.
Before you ask: yes, everything is AI here. The video and sound both coming from a single text prompt using #Veo3 by @GoogleDeepMind .Whoever is cooking the model, let him cook! Congrats @Totemko and the team for the Google I/O live stream and the new Veo site! pic.twitter.com/sxZuvFU49s
Microsoft has been interested in creating its own AI-generated footage of video games, and recently unveiled the early results of its Muse program, which it said it had trained on countless hours of Xbox shooter Bleeding Edge. Xbox boss Phil Spencer suggested Muse could be used to help ideate game concepts in the future, and even somehow aid in game preservation.
Summer is fast approaching, which means it’s time for Warhammer Skulls. The ultimate showcase of Warhammer video games is back for its ninth year, hosted for the third time by actor and superfan Rahul Kohli. There will be world premieres, exclusive reveals, and update announcements, and you can watch it all live.
Showcase Date, Time, and Where to Watch
The festivities will begin on May 22 at 5:00 p.m. BST, which means 12:00 p.m. Eastern / 11: 00 a.m. Central / 9:00 a.m. Pacific. You can see times for other regions in the graphic at the bottom of this page. IGN will livestream the full event, which will be around 50 minutes long. You can tune in on any of these channels:
If you’re not able to watch the showcase live, no worries. We’ll post the whole event on YouTube after it’s finished, like we did for last year’s show.
What to Expect from This Year’s Showcase
As usual, this year’s showcase will feature exciting world premieres, reveals, and updates for several games. You can count on updates for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, since we know Patch 8 and Horde Mode (or whatever it ends up officially being called) are on the horizon. Publisher Focus Entertainment previously gave an overview of Horde Mode, saying you can play with three players (or bots replacing the other players) and that the map will be in Kadaku. However, we don’t have a release date or know everything else that’s coming in Patch 8.
That’s the game we can be most confident in being part of the show, but there are several others that should be in line for updates and new info too. There’s Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II, which was announced with a trailer at last year’s Warhammer Skulls. There’s Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, which as of December is now available on PS5 in addition to Xbox Series X/S and PC. Now that it’s established itself across platforms, there will be new content coming.
We know there’s DLC coming for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, but so far only know it’s planned to release in the summer. And there are plenty of other games that could see updates or new content — like Total War: Warhammer 3, Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge, and Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector. Plus, there’s sure to be brand-new premieres and announcements nobody could predict.
On top of all that, the showcase on May 22 also marks the beginning of a week-long celebration with marked down prices and freebies. During that week, you can get up to 90% off Warhammer titles, and there will be new content, DLCs, and free updates across several platforms, including Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, GOG, and Geforce Now.
The Heart of Democracy update for Helldivers 2 has marked out a new battlefield on Super Earth itself. And it looks like Helldivers are jumping back on to help hold the line against the Illuminate invasion.
Earlier this week, the Illuminate officially launched an invasion of Super Earth as part of the Heart of Democracy update in Helldivers 2. After a long build-up involving a mobile black hole, Super Earth has become a zone of conflict, and Helldivers are dropping into various cities to assist with the defense efforts.
There are quite a few more Helldivers dropping in now, too. A quick look at SteamDB shows the player count rebounding back up alongside the Heart of Democracy update’s drop, currently sitting at a 24-hour peak of just over 163,000 players. It’s a number that exceeds the peak of the Omens of Tyranny update, though it’s still far off from the release window peaks for Helldivers 2.
Over on X/Twitter, Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt posted a few fascinating numbers. First, that this surge might be one of the largest simultaneous returns of players for Helldivers:
I think this is the largest simultaneous return of players for Helldivers? 🤔
And second, that around 2.5 million Helldivers have been playing the game every week. It’s a pretty staggering number for any live service game, but shows how the community has stayed attached.
Around 2.5 million Helldivers playing the game every week, super excited to see how many more log in with this update!
So happy and blessed that we have such an amazing community!
Over on the Helldivers Discord (via VG247), Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani responded to players congratulating the team on the player count surge. “It’s all you folks and your amazing support,” said Jorjani.
If you’re eager to dive back in yourself, I can attest to it being a good time to play right now. The new Super Earth battlefields are great fun, and you can even recruit some SEAF helpers to assist in holding back the Illuminate threat. Just be mindful of all the chaos and destruction.
Nintendo has discussed Mario Kart World’s fan-favourite new character, Cow, and shown off the piece of concept art that secured her place in the game as a playable character.
Speaking as part of a fascinating Ask the Developer interview, the Mario Kart World development team revealed their “silly sketch” that convinced the game’s development team to upgrade Cow from a background character to a fully-fledged part of the game’s roster.
“In previous games in the series, Cow was part of the scenery or an obstacle on one of the courses,” producer Kosuke Yabuki said. “But when we were working on an early version of a course in this game set on a ranch that players can drive through, this sketch came up.”
The sketch, which shows a smiling Cow driving a truck and looking like she does not have a care in the world, was immediately seized upon as inspiration for Cow to become Mario Kart’s next playable character — and led to other background NPCs becoming playable, too.
“Each new Mario Kart game features new characters to race with, but since we added so many to the previous game, we wondered where we could go from there,” art director Masaaki Ishikawa continued.
“And then one of the designers came up with that silly sketch of Cow cruising along, and I thought to myself, ‘This is it!’ (Laughs) So that’s when we realized the course surroundings actually contained a lot of untapped resources.”
Cow’s addition to the Mario Kart World roster was quickly followed by Cheep Cheep (the red fish Mario often has to dodge) and Pokey (the smiling, wiggling cactus character) also becoming playable.
“It was like, ‘They’re NPCs, but they’re playable? Which is it?'” Yabuki continued. “It’s pretty funny to see a four-legged Cow holding onto motorcycle handlebars with her front hooves.”
“But when she jumps, she strikes a proper quadrupedal pose,” Ishikawa added. “So I’m pretty sure Cow is still in touch with her animal nature. (Laughs)”
Elsewhere in the same interview, Yabuki confirmed that Nintendo had the name Mario Kart World in mind “from the early stages of development” when the game’s open-world nature was already being worked on.
“If the idea had just been to add more courses, then I think we would’ve called it Mario Kart 9,” Yabuki said. “But, that wasn’t our approach this time. We wanted to take the series to the next level. So, we decided to drop the numbering this time and go with a completely new title.”
Finally, the development team discussed Mario Kart World’s addition of unlockable character costumes, found by snacking on food at Yoshi’s drive-thru restaurants in different in-game regions.
Each region will unlock its own costumes, and offer its own food varieties. One example given is a Yoshi’s drive-thru in a volcano region selling hot soup inspired by Bowser.
Originally, Nintendo says it hadn’t linked its ideas for unlockable costumes and food together, with the former simply being planned to be purchasable from in-game shop locations. But stopping at these interrupted the game’s open-world driving experience, developers said, and anyway — didn’t Mario magically transform costumes already when he gobbled food up?
“The question came up: ‘Does Mario, in fact, eat mushrooms?’,” Yabuki laughed. The query prompted Mario Kart World’s development team to hunt down Nintendo legend Takashi Tezuka, and get his verdict.
“Tezuka-san [answered], ‘Yeah, he is’,” Yabuki confirmed. And thus, Mario Kart World’s costume-producing food was born.
Xbox console exclusive Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will come to PlayStation 5 this summer in an Enhanced Edition with new features, Microsoft has announced.
There’s no firm launch date yet for the game on Sony’s console, and developer Ninja Theory is yet to detail what this Enhanced Edition’s new features will be.
Still, in a video update posted to social media today — the anniversary of the game’s original PC and Xbox launch — the developer said these extras would also arrive as a free update on other platforms.
“The team have been working hard to optimise Hellblade 2 for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro to give you the very best experience we can,” Ninja Theory said. “We look forward to sharing more details with you soon.”
Microsoft bought Ninja Theory back in 2018, a year after the original Hellblade launched as a timed PlayStation console exclusive. Now, seven years’ later, the sequel’s console exclusivity is being dropped for a very different reason.
“A spellbinding adventure packed with cinematic spectacle and story surprises that maintains a surging sense of forward momentum and never wastes a second of its slender run time,” IGN wrote of the game in our Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 review.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
The backlash to Randy Pitchford’s controversial Borderlands 4 $80 comment has leveled up, with video game publishers jumping on the bandwagon to promote their games. Meanwhile, Pitchford himself has pointed to previous comments he made about Borderlands 4’s price, declaring: “If you want the truth, here it is.”
One such publisher is Devolver Digital, which has a reputation for edgy marketing that often takes advantage of hot topics on social media. Devolver, which is behind the likes of Hotline Miami and Cult of the Lamb, has done just that with Pitchford here.
If you’re late to the party, Pitchford sparked a backlash by responding to a fan who expressed concern about the prospect of paying $80 for Borderlands 4 by saying: “if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”
Here’s the exchange:
“Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don’t take that risk, a lot of gamers aren’t gonna pay 80 dollars and feed this notion of constant increase of the price tag. You are the CEO, you have some say with the price when it comes to your publisher.”
And here’s Randy Pitchford’s response:
“A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.”
Devolver QT’d IGN’s X / Twitter post on this story to promote Mycopunk, its upcoming Borderlands-style mission-based co-op first-person shooter, saying: “You’re gonna be able to buy Mycopunk for you and three of your friends for the price of one copy of Borderlands 4.”
Pitchford himself caught wind of the tweet, and QT’d it himself, saying: “Mycopunk is cheaper than a point of meth – probably has fewer side effects, too!”
Mycopunk is cheaper than a point of meth – probably has fewer side effects, too! https://t.co/ICgEYZ7FEq
As you’d expect, the response to that tweet has been mostly negative. “I am going to pirate Borderlands 4,” said one X / Twitter user. “Please stop. Just apologize and move on. This isn’t fair on your developers. If you care about them, just do the right thing dude,” added another. “Randy we are begging you to stop. BL4 had so much hype and it’s being ruined in a day. Let people want to like and support the game and all the amazing people who made it,” said one commenter.
At the time of this article’s publication, Pitchford has yet to retract his comment or apologize for it. But he did point to a recent answer he gave on-stage at PAX East on Borderlands 4’s price, calling it: “If you want the truth, here it is.”
Last week, during a PAX East panel, Pitchford insisted that he didn’t know the Borderlands 4 price but refused to rule out $80.
“I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t know. That is the truth. I’ll hit it straight on. It’s an interesting time,” he said.
“On one level, we’ve got a competitive marketplace where the people that make those choices want to sell as many units as possible and they want to be careful about people that are price-sensitive. There are some folks who don’t want to see prices go up, even the ones deciding what the prices are.
“There’s other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there’s tariffs for the retail packaging. It’s getting gnarly out there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget than Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the truth is, I don’t know what the price is going to be.”
Pitchford continued: “Here’s the philosophy we have, whatever the price is: we’re entertainers. Yes, we want to get more resources so we can make bigger and better games. There’s a reason why Borderlands 4 is so awesome: it’s because you guys showed up and supported Borderlands 3 and we had the budget. So we could more than double the budget and feel confident in that. And that’s awesome. When the revenue comes in we can spend it to make bigger and better games.
“As artists we want everybody to have it. We want to make it as easy as possible for everybody to enjoy what we’re creating. So it’s a weird thing. The fundamental philosophy is, we want people to buy it so we have the resources to make more, but we want everyone who buys and plays a Gearbox game to feel certain that they got the better end of the bargain, whatever the price is that they got the best value. And that’s the philosophy we live by.
“And so we’re going to have the price set soon. It might be the new price that Nintendo and Microsoft have led with. It might be that we stay back. It’s going to be the people at the publishing house that decide that. And if it is cheaper, then maybe we’ll sell you that mini-map that you guys want that we’ll develop later. How bad do you want that? 10 bucks? I’m just kidding… or am I?”
He concluded: “Borderlands is f***ing amazing and it’s worth it.”
Some social media users have said Pitchford’s PAX East comment would have been worth pointing to in the first place, with the backlash now a significant brand problem for Borderlands 4 ahead of launch.
“This was a perfect response and should have been left at this,” said Borderlands streamer Moxsy. “Your second response is receiving backlash not because of the price of the game but because of the wording. Every game is gonna be 80 dollars by this time next year. However fans of Borderlands want the price to be justified because of the ambition, the passion, and the quality that BL4 will have. They want to feel good about the purchase they are making in a franchise they have loved for more than a decade and support the devs that have had a real impact on their lives. This toxic “not a real fan” mentality is not it and is only hurting the people that want to support the game.”
Publisher 2K Games is expected to announce the price of Borderlands 4 when pre-orders go live soon. Borderlands 4 is due out September 12, 2025.
In a recent interview, IGN asked Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick if the company would go to $80 for its games. Zelnick wouldn’t say either way, but did say consumers would be “willing to pay for the very best.”
“I have said for a long time that we offer enormous value and that that’s our job,” Zelnick said. “Of course, we certainly believe that compared to other forms of entertainment, whether that’s movie tickets or live events or streaming services, the value for our entertainment that we offer is just astonishing, and it’s our job. It’s our job to deliver much more value than what we charge. That’s our goal. We think consumers are willing to pay for the very best. It’s our job to make the very best.”
Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Lionsgate. Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Avowed director Carrie Patel has quit legendary RPG company Obsidian Entertainment, just months after its most recent game’s launch.
In an update to her LinkedIn page, Patel revealed she had begun a new job at Night School, the Netflix-owned developer behind the Oxenfree series of narrative adventures.
“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Game Director at Night School: A Netflix Game Studio!” Patel wrote in a brief update. Patel’s new role at Night School will again be as a game director, though what she’s working on remains unannounced.
Night School is most famous for its Oxenfree series of games, the most recent being 2023’s Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals. The Netflix-owned studio launched Black Mirror spin-off Thronglets earlier this year, around the same time it suffered an unknown number of layoffs. Months before, Netflix completely shut down another of its studios, working on a AAA game project headed up by Halo veteran Joseph Staten.
Patel had been a veteran of Avowed developer Obsidian, and over 11 years worked in various senior positions on games such as Xbox sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds and the classic Pillars of Eternity series.
More recently, Patel had taken on the reigns of directing Avowed after the game was rebooted early in its development. Avowed had initially been planned with a darker fantasy setting closer to The Elder Scrolls, with one big open world and multiplayer co-op.
Ultimately, Patel steered the game to launch as a brighter, more unique-looking experience, now featuring multiple large individual maps to explore, and an entirely single-player experience.
The response to Avowed was mostly positive, and Patel had initially discussed plans for the franchise to continue — either with expansions, a fully-fledged sequel, or both. Now, however, Patel won’t be part of that future.
“With awesome worldbuilding and stellar character writing, Avowed reminds me why I fell in love with Obsidian’s RPGs in the first place,” reads IGN’s Avowed review. “However, the bigger picture is that it plays it quite safe, with a by-the-numbers fantasy adventure that’s more familiar than evolutionary.”
Obsidian’s next project to launch is The Outer Worlds 2, which is due to be shown off in detail at this year’s Xbox Games Showcase in June.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
