Five years ago, Nintendo made an appropriately big thing of Super Mario Bros.‘ 35th anniversary, with a bespoke Direct broadcast featuring a bunch of new games and, naturally, merch celebrating the Famicom release of video gaming’s most famous platformer on 13th September 1985.
Half a decade on and the 40th anniversary is just over a month away. With Switch 2 out in the wild and a Mario platformer-shaped gap in Nintendo’s announced lineup, it feels natural that there would be similar celebrations planned for this year. Super Mario Bros. 35 40, anyone?
The latest Magic: The Gathering set, Edge of Eternities, has finally arrived, but if you’re wondering which cards from the new set are worth keeping an eye out for, we’ve got you covered.
From spaceships to planets, this new sci-fi universe is a stark departure even in a year that’s included Aetherdrift, Tarkir, and Final Fantasy, and early impressions seem to be positive.
To clarify, these are the best-selling Edge of Eternities cards so far, thanks to data from TCGPlayer, and it’s changed a fair amount from our initial coverage during pre-release.
Here are the best-selling Magic: The Gathering cards of Edge of Eternities so far.
Breeding Pool
Breeding Pool is the first of a whopping FIVE lands in the top ten, tapping for Green or Blue, but you’ll have to pay life if you don’t want it to enter tapped.
Watery Grave
The Dimir version of Breeding Pool, Watery Grave taps for blue or black but with the same caveat.
Godless Shrine
More land? Yep! At number 8, it’s Godless Shrine which, as you can probably guess, taps for White and Black at the cost of land.
The last land on here, we promise, Evendo, Waking Haven is analogous to Uthros (above), except it taps for green mana for each creature you control.
Exalted Sunborn
Number five is Exalted Sunborn, a flying Angel Wizard with lifelink that gives you a touch of the Doubling Season effect of double tokens. It can also be Warped, meaning you can cast it for less, exile it at the end of the turn, and then summon it back later.
Cosmogrand Zenith
Cosmogrand Zenith is fourth, and lets you create tokens or add counters when you cast a second spell each turn.
Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
Tezzeret, Cruel Captain is up next, and he’s the only Planeswalker on this list. He’s all about using artifacts to power him up before spreading that love to creatures or finding even more of them.
Quantum Riddler
No, not the Batman villain. Quantum Riddler is a space Sphinx that can draw you cards, and potentially draw you a lot of cards if you’re playing them quickly.
Icetill Explorer
Finally, Icetill Explorer is a super easy upgrade for the World Shaper precon since it allows for additional lands to be played, and from your graveyard. That second part is handy in case its Landfall effect mills your lands.
So, there you have it, the most popular cards of Edge of Eternities so far. Which ones are you considering for your deck? Let us know!
Where to Buy MTG Edge of Eternities Sealed Boosters
Play Boosters are now the standard way to crack open Magic packs, having replaced both Set and Draft Boosters. But if you’re on the hunt for rare cards, Collector Boosters are the best option.
These packs are more expensive, but are much more likely to include various foil treatments, extended arts, and all sorts. There are usually 5 Commons, 4 Uncommons, 5 Rare or Mythic Rare cards, a Land and a Token, but the rub here is that 6 of the included cards have a ‘booster Fun frame’ and 12-13 of them are foil.
Surprisingly, stock is already running low on Amazon for most Edge of Eternities boosters. That said, sites like TCGPlayer still have a solid supply, and in some cases, better prices too.
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.
The new Bioshock game in development at Cloud Chamber Games is in difficulties, according to sources of the multiple and anonymous persuasion. Announced in 2019, the game has reportedly failed a recent internal progress review, with its narrative found to be in particular need of revamping.
Quality assurance workers at Raven Software, one of the developers of Call of Duty, have officially ratified their first union contract with Microsoft three years after they first unionized.
In a press release, the union shared several highlights of the new contract, including a guaranteed 10% wage increase over two years plus additional raises through merit and promotions, significant restrictions on mandatory overtime, layoff protections, expanded disability accommodations, and more.
“After more than three years of organizing and bargaining, seeing it finally pay off feels incredible,” said bargaining committee member and QA tester Erin Hall in a statement. “From day one, we made it a priority to include every voice in the room, and the contract we came out with reflects what we need—better pay, real career paths, and protection from burnout. It’s a contract that actually values the work QA does. I’m proud of what we accomplished, and I hope it shows other game workers that organizing works—and it’s worth it.”
Since then, a number of other groups under Microsoft Xbox have unionized, both within Activision Blizzard and in other subsidiaries such as ZeniMax. This past May, QA workers at ZeniMax Media reached a contract agreement with the company, while many others are still at the bargaining table.
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.
Techno-loving hollowtooth Blade has joined the playable cast of Marvel Rivals, but he’s not what I find most interesting about the free-to-play shooter’s latest update. Developers NetEase Games have introduced a new system of penalties for ragequitters, keyboard-away-frommers, and other craven scumbags who abandon a competitive mode match early on because the dishwasher’s overflowing, or similar.
One pro fighting game player’s reaction to losing at Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves was so dramatic that it’s going viral on social media and already showing signs of becoming a meme.
If you’ve been looking at game-related sections of social media today, chances are you have stumbled across a picture or clip of Japanese player Kazuyuki ‘Kojikog’ Koji, mouth open in a scream and clutching his head, while fellow player Goichi “GO1” Kishida looks on with a mixture of concern and bemusement. A couple of stills were even shared by EVO2025’s official X account.
The player in question is KojiKOG, an esports pro from Japan who mainly specializes in fighting games like Street Fighter, the King of Fighters and Guilty Gear. This weekend, he took on fellow Japanese player GO1 (Goichi) in the Winners’ Semi Final for Fatal Fury: City of Wolves at the Evolution Championship Series 2025 (EVO2025).
Although GO1 won both rounds (and went on to win overall), the fights were very close. Upon being defeated, KojiKOG clutched his head with his mouth open in a continuous scream worthy of… well, Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream. This dramatic emotional outburst, plus GO1’s bemusement, resulted in a number of meme-worthy shots.
I swear to God I’m not making fun of this dude but NO ONE HAS EVER LOOKED LIKE THEY SUFFERED LIKE THIS IN HUMAN HISTORY pic.twitter.com/JekIbl1F0a
KojiKOG eventually snaps out of his losing pose and can be seen chatting to GO1 and tidying up. It is clear from this that he was acting. However, shorter clips on social media have caused some who are unfamiliar with KojiKOG’s antics to worry that he was having a real breakdown.
KojiKOG is known for being a bit of a comedian, often doing his screaming pose and pulling funny faces in interviews (like at EWC2025). His dramatic reaction to losing this weekend was likely a reference to when he previously faced off against GO1 at EVO15. As seen in the video below, he did a similar screaming pose- puzzling the Japanese commentators as his antics weren’t well known back then.
10 years ago, GO1 went to EVO for the first time and won 4 side games—Melty Blood, Dengeki Bunko, UNI, and AQUAPAZZA, beating KojiKOG in the finals
Commenting on this, legendary pro fighting game player Daigo Umehara mused that KojiKOG’s reaction was like a character in the SAW movies having their leg cut off. This is why many Japanese fans colloquially refer to KojiKOG’s dramatic pained reaction as the “leg cutting incident” and the like.
Although KojiKOG lost against GO1 at EVO2025, he came in joint fifth place overall, winning 80% of his matches in Fatal Fury: City of Wolves.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
I was munching crisps while watching a showcase of upcoming games from THQ Nordic last week, letting the likes of a new Spongebob Squarepants game and the Gothic Remake wash over me like barely flavoured fizzy water, when Fatekeeper showed up. I straightened up, just a little. It is a fancy looking first-person RPG made with all the hyper detail and vivid lighting you might expect of a game developed in Unreal Engine 5. It is also conjuring a game worth conjuring: the heavy hitting fantasy brawlabout Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic. As I watched the below trailer, I became more and more cautiously hopeful. Looks slick, but where’s the kick?
To return to Ninja Gaiden’s 2D roots in 2025 is a wonderful thing. Dotemu, upon acquiring the license for a series reboot, approached Spanish indie developer The Game Kitchen to get the job done. Known for their remarkable Blasphemous titles, the project was overseen by Team Ninja, who have held the series mantle from 2004 to present. And, while Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is not strictly the Ninja Gaiden one recalls from its NES days, the task here has been carried off with all the panache modern technology can afford, resulting in a blisteringly gorgeous action-platformer.
For those old enough, Ninja Gaiden was once a formidable 8-Bit challenge that either destroyed a child’s willpower or forged them eternal gaming mastery. It was, and still is, brutally hard. While Ragebound echoes this, in that it gets seriously challenging after its first third, its format is far less aggressive. You don’t have lives, you have checkpoints, and respawns come in an infinite flavour. You don’t have entirely linear progression, but a world map where you can return to any substage to earn higher ranks, complete mini challenges, or recover Golden Scarabs. If you’re not well equipped and your reflexes suck, however, the Pirate Stage boss will have you spitting teeth.
Rare Celebrates 40 Years with Ruby-Themed Exclusives and More
1985 was the height of the British home computer scene; an era of games delivered on cassette tapes by young coders producing innovative titles straight out of their bedrooms. Among the most notable of these developers were Ultimate, already responsible for ground-breaking titles like Jetpac and Knight Lore – but the studio’s founders weren’t about to rest on their laurels.
This was the year that Ultimate co-creators Tim and Chris Stamper would form Rare – an ambitious new studio intended to focus on dedicated video game consoles, which had already established themselves in Japan and were about to take the rest of the world by storm.
2025 marks the 40th ‘Ruby’ Anniversary of that bold endeavour, and Rare’s inviting everyone to join the celebration of this impressive milestone, offering free gifts, discounts and plenty of swag to claim in their shared-world pirate adventure, Sea of Thieves.
Pictures, Plaques and Pressings
Celebrations begin today, August 4, the official anniversary date, with the unveiling of a heritage plaque at the site of Ultimate’s first home in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. For those not within striking distance of the English Midlands, however, there are new gamerpics and an Xbox dynamic background (above) starring a who’s-who of Rare characters old and new.
Fangamer are marking the occasion with a range of retro Rare merchandise, including a varsity hoodie, wireframe logo T-shirt and commemorative ruby pin. There’s also a limited edition wireless controller being unveiled courtesy of 8bitdo, shining in the studio’s signature colours and officially licenced by Xbox and Rare.
Meanwhile, iam8bit will be opening pre-orders for their freshly-announced Rare 40th Anniversary vinyl collection later this week, while Evercade enthusiasts can look forward to a new cartridge collection of twelve vintage Rare titles spanning home computer, console and arcade.
A huge heritage sale in Sea of Thieves’ Pirate Emporium begins on August 6, offering discounts on items inspired by classic Rare games, and beginning tomorrow, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to claim an exclusive Rare Ruby Emote as a Perk for use in-game.
Ruby Rewards on the High Seas
The party really starts in Sea of Thieves when its latest Season, Smugglers’ Tide, arrives on August 14, bringing even more anniversary antics in its wake. For a limited time, select Ancient Coin Packs acquired by spending Microsoft Rewards points will come bundled with a Rare Ruby Hat, which can also be earned via the Microsoft Rewards app.
A 40th Anniversary bundle of cosmetics will be arriving on storefronts at the same time, while pirates logging into the game before the month is out will receive the Rare Ruby Eyepatch. An array of ruby-themed items will be arriving in the Outpost shops, while the Pirate Emporium plays host to the limited-time Ruby Reaper’s Mark sails and offers a Seasonal Plunder Pass, featuring Rare Regalia items with a similarly scarlet hue.
Community Spirit
Rounding out August with one last anniversary hoorah are Twitch Drops and Sea of Thieves’ Season 17 Community Weekend, which begins on August 30. Taking part will award players with the Community Weekend flag and Paper Cutout Emote, there’s a Ruby Legend Figurehead to earn from a global community goal, and there’ll be group activities like photo walls and Pop-Up Plunder to enjoy, too.
There’s all this and more besides, including an updated Rare All-Stars EP hitting Spotify on August 15, so be sure to keep tabs on Rare’s social channels for the latest and be sure not to miss out — you only turn 40 once!
Koei Tecmo is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Dynasty Warriors series with a number of announcements. Chief among them is confirmation of a “large-scale” DLC coming to Dynasty Warriors: Origins, and a mystery remaster of a “classic series title.”
That’s all we have for now. Koei Tecmo said further updates regarding upcoming games and special anniversary events will be gradually announced on the new website.
Dynasty Warriors is a tactical action series of games that spans over 20 years and has shipped over 21 million units worldwide. Traditionally, players take on the role of officers from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms while battling through hordes of soldiers in 1 vs. 1,000 gameplay.
The latest game is the aforementioned Dynasty Warriors: Origins, which saw developer Omega Force return to the series’ roots in what is considered one of the best entries in the franchise in years.
IGN’s Dynasty Warriors: Origins review returned a 9/10. We said: “Dynasty Warriors: Origins doesn’t just have the largest amount of enemies the series has thrown on screen at once, it also deepens its combat, improves its storytelling, and provides a healthy amount of replayability.”
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.
