Sellers of revamped retro PC games and also newer PC games GOG have been accused of using AI-generated artwork to promote their store’s new year sale. Meanwhile, a job listing the Polish company have recently posted for a senior software engineer to work on their desktop app GOG Galaxy lists among the role’s responsibilities that they must “actively use and promote AI-assisted development tools”.
Big(goron) envy.
It’s been a cracking start to the year for Nintendo-themed LEGO sets, and one of the builds we’re the most excited about is the upcoming ‘Final Battle’ diorama, inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s grand finale.
The set itself launches on 1st March 2026 for £99.99 / $129.99, packing in three Minifigures for Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, plus a big ‘mech’ build for ol’ boar-form Ganon. Naturally, there are a handful of little easter eggs sprinkled in for fans as well, like a tiny Navi that accompanies Link in his airborne pose, and a hidden Megaton Hammer in the ruins of Ganondorf’s Castle.
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Magic: The Gathering had some great sets in 2025 (we see you, Edge of Eternities), but it also became clear some of the fanbase is suffering from, uh, ‘non-franchise fatigue’. As crossovers became more prevalent, many felt it just wasn’t the same game anymore.
That’s not to say Universes Beyond was a total bust. Final Fantasy brought in record-breaking numbers of players, and Avatar: The Last Airbender was a return to some semblance of form after the disappointment of Spider-Man.
Still, cardboard waits for no Planeswalker, and there are more sets in 2026 – seven, in total. That’s before we even get into the myriad of Secret Lair drops, and perhaps most worryingly, four of those sets are Universes Beyond.
Will they end up being closer to Final Fantasy or Spider-Man? And will the in-universe sets live up to the high bar set by Tarkir: Dragonstorm or Edge of Eternities? Here’s everything coming to Magic: The Gathering in 2026.
If you’ve been yearning for a return to Lorwyn, the first set of 2026 is here to get things started. The set is a Universes Within to kick off the year, and marks the debut of the Draft Night Box.
You can order it now, and it marks the return of Commander Decks for the first time since 2025’s Edge of Eternities with two options: Dance of the Elements or Blight Curse.
Wizards of the Coast revealed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Comic-Con New York, with Universes Beyond going back to The Big Apple for the second time in a few months.
Still, expect colorful new art of the Heroes in a Half Shell, their assorted rogues gallery, and the debut of a Turtle Team Up co-op game mode.
We’ve got a full rundown of the product lineup, so be sure to check out the preorder guide, including a five-color Commander deck that stars all four Turtles.
We still don’t know a great deal about our return to Strixhaven, but it is getting its own tie-in novel.
This Plane has been fertile ground for fun card designs and characters in the past, so here’s hoping for something good when it arrives in April. You can already preorder the full Secrets of Strixhaven set ahead of its release date.
That includes five Commander decks, a la Tarkir Dragonstorm.
Spider-Man arrived in 2025, and now more Marvel heroes are coming to MTG, too.
We’ve already seen cards for Iron Man, Black Panther, Fantastic Four, and more, and the set will lean on comic book versions of the Marvel universe’s characters. Will it be better than the underwhelming Spider-Man set, though? We’re at least hoping the increased roster of heroes and (hopefully) villains will make this more exciting. You can now preorder all of the Marvel Super Heroes boosters and bundles ahead of their June 26 release date, with four Commander Precons and a new Beginner Box in the lineup.
We’re going back to Middle-earth! Universes Beyond: Lord of the Rings was a colossal win for Magic: The Gathering, and the fact its fantasy theming fit so well with the card game means it feels a lot less jarring than other crossovers.
The only information we have so far is the following:
“Join Bilbo’s adventure of a lifetime with Dwarves to befriend, Trolls to trick, Elves to outwit, and songs to sing. There’s gold or dragon’s fire at the end, so enjoy the journey!”
Give us some Five Armies Commander Decks, please, or at least a Smaug card that isn’t just a Token creature.
The last in-universe set of 2026 is Reality Fracture, and it’ll feature callbacks to Tarkir: Dragonstorm and Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
The team has suggested it has a theme players have wanted for a long time, but that’s all we know so far.
If you felt Wizards had got the sci-fi out of their system with the (excellent) Edge of Eternities, think again.
November 2026 will see the arrival of a Star Trek set to celebrate that franchise’s 60th Anniversary, and it’ll incorporate everything from the original series to Strange New Worlds. It even got a trailer.
It’s also good idea to take stock of 2025’s sets, because it was definitely a year that divided opinion.
That’s seven sets in total, with three of those being Universes Beyond collaborations with the likes of Square Enix, Marvel, and Nickelodeon. And, from looking at the 2026 schedule, it looks as though Wizards is looking to stick to that ratio.
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 Pokémon Company has officially delayed the Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution – Ascended Heroes Erika/Larry two-pack blisters from its original release date of January 30, 2026, to February 20 in the US and Canada.
Ascended Heroes is the latest Pokémon TCG set from the new Mega Evolution series. But, with the latest delay, this means that just a single sealed product will now be available to fans during its release week.
— Pokémon TCG (@PokemonTCG) January 28, 2026
The new set is already getting a fairly staggered release, with the majority of products now releasing between February 20 and April 24. That includes some of the most popular items from a new Pokémon card set, such as the Elite Trainer Box, Booster Bundles, and more.
The delayed booster set features a promo card with either Erika’s Tangela or Larry’s Komala, a metallic coin featuring the chosen Gym Leader, and two booster packs from the Mega Evolution – Ascended Heroes expansion.
The only new booster set available in release week will be the Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker Collection, featuring Charmander and Ghastly as a foil promo card, plus a sheet of tech stickers featuring Mega Charizard Y and Mega Gengar, plus three Ascended Heroes boosters.
It’s already been hard to come by Ascended Heroes preorders, and undoubtedly this delay won’t make it any easier for fans after release day. Ascended Heroes ETBs, for example, are currently averaging around $115-120 on resale markets – around a 135% markup from its MSRP of $49.99.
Ascended Heroes’ Booster Bundles are also looking a little steep right now, and sit at $79.10 market price. That’s a fair lot more than its $26.94 list price, roughly a 194% markup, and almost triple the cost for what accounts for just six boosters.
It’s a similar story across the board, with fans likely to find it tough to find boosters from the new expansion outside of retailers like TCGplayer. That’s also consistent with the follow up expansion for Mega Evolution, Perfect Order.
Ascended Heroes being hard to come by won’t be surprising for most fans. The scarcity of the Mega Evolution series isn’t exactly an outlier for Pokémon TCG, with stock issues, lack of common availibility, and delays plaguing the world’s most popular trading card game for the past couple of years, at least, and stretches back through its Scarlet and Violet series as well.
Robert Anderson, Senior Commerce Editor, and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
“We want to put Runescape back on the map,” associate director of design Ryan Philpott says. But, reader, I need you to know the cost of this metaphorical cartography. Over the years, the Monty Python-infused medieval world of RuneScape has expanded in many directions. It’s gained new landmasses, professions, raids, and characters, but also many many many odder cosmetics. Some of them, like the delightful sharksuit, walk a distinctly non-medieval path.
Philpott says these are a problem. The meanie.
Magic: The Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed set is here to kick off 2026, and marks our first ‘Universes Within’ set since Edge of Eternities back in August.
Early signs suggest it’s a welcome return to a much-beloved Plane, too, having been delayed from 2025. Lorwyn has been part of Magic’s locations since 2007, and there are some great cards in the set – including some that are already spiking in value.
We’ve got the most expensive Lorwyn Eclipsed cards you can find right now listed below, courtesy of data from the lovely folks at TCGPlayer.
Don’t forget, if you’re after these cards, you’ll likely want to pick up Collector Boosters – but those aren’t cheap.
At the time of writing, this Showcase Bloom Tender is being sold for around $80.
It’s a 1/1 Elf Druid, but it taps for mana from permanents you control. Could be a good inclusion if you’re upgrading the Dance of the Elements precon.
This eight-cost Sorcery brings back all creatures of a chosen type from the graveyard to the battlefield – and I think I’m going to need it for my Sultai Arisen precon upgrade.
Bloodline Bidding is currently sitting at a market value of $83, but it’s recently sold for around $68.
This five-cost Enchantment doubles damage of a chosen creature type, making it an ideal inclusion in just about any typal deck that has access to Red.
It’ll set you back $188 with current listings, but Collective Inferno’s Showcase (Fracture Foil) version’s actual value is closer to $95.
This three-cost Faerie Wizard has some absolutely stunning artwork, and can be cast with Flash. It’s a 3/4 with flying, but arrives with a -1/-1 counter, which can be removed as an activated ability that also counters a noncreature spell.
That’s a lot to remember, but if you find Glen Elendra Guardian in Fractured Foil Showcase art, you could earn around $96.
This six-cost Instant has Convoke, and lets you draw cards based on the number of cards you have in that type. There’s great artwork, too, showing merfolk singing.
It looks as though the price will drop, but for now, the Showcase version of Harmonized Crescendo in Fracture Foil is north of one-hundred bucks.
This version of Winnowing just about breaks the $200 barrier, with some gorgeous, colorful art and that always impressive Fracture Foil treatment.
As for what it does, this six-cost Sorcery has Convoke and allows you to essentially boardwipe all but one of your opponents’ creatures.
A late addition post-launch, Spinerock Tyrant is a 6/6 flying dragon with Wither and the option to copy single-target instants and sorceries.
It’s sitting at around $200 right now, with some amazing artwork in the Fracture Foil treatment.
Yep, that’s a big jump for this version of Moonshadow, which is functionally the same as any other Moonshadow card in the set.
This Fracture Foil variant commands a fee of almost $231 post-launch.
TCGPlayer marks the current market value of Selfless Safewright in Showcase Fracture Foil at $298, but it’s been sold for less already.
This version of Bloom Tender is gorgeous, and could net you a sizeable windfall if you open a pack and find it waiting for you.
It’s sitting at around $480 for market value, and the most recent sale is around the same amount. Happy hunting!
For more on Magic: The Gathering’s latest set, be sure to check out our guide to the two new Commander precon decks: Blight Curse and Dance of the Elements.
Not only is Lorwyn Eclipsed the first set of a fairly packed year for Magic fans, but it marks big changes to the product lineup as well.
For starters, theme decks are back for Standard play, while a new Draft Night boxed product encourages players to, well, draft cards to build their decks. Then there’s our first Commander decks since Edge of Eternities, and both look pretty great.
If you’re looking to pick up the rarest cards going, then you’ll want to invest in the Collector Booster Box, as it has the highest pull rates going. Good luck, and let us know if you manage to score anything good when cracking those new packs.
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.
Following Three Kingdoms.
To kick off the new year, Arc System Works has announced it will be releasing a new River City Saga game.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Here’s how it holds up.
GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition speeds onto the Switch 2 this week, and it just might be the best-looking game to date on Nintendo’s new hybrid system.
Digital Foundry has now taken a look, and here’s exactly what you can expect when it comes to the game’s performance and resolution across the docked and handheld modes.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
We weren’t expecting this!
Nintendo released a major update for Splatoon 3 this week, and in case you missed it, it adds health bars to the game.
This has come as a real surprise to Splatoon players, as up until now, the enemy’s health in multiplayer was displayed through visual cues. As Nintendo notes, the remaining health of opponents will now be shown above their heads for “a few seconds” when they’re visible. Certain abilities can also make this bar visible.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
The nostalgia-packed The Disney Afternoon Collection finally has a Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 release date, and it’s bringing two more games for patient fans.
A Switch version of the bundle of ‘90s Disney video games was announced today after first launching for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One back in 2017. Retro remaster developer Digital Eclipse has the original collection – which includes DuckTales, DuckTales 2, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers 2, Darkwing Duck, and TaleSpin – set with a digital Switch release date of February 26, 2026, with Goof Troop and Bonkers packed in, too.
Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 announcement trailer for The Disney Afternoon Collection. Eight games total: DuckTales, DuckTales 2, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers 2, Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin and they’re adding Goof Troop and Bonkers. pic.twitter.com/BHXAClWaiD
— IGN Deals (@IGNDeals) January 28, 2026
Both are Capcom games that made their way to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the ‘90s, and both will only be available on the Switch and Switch 2 versions of The Disney Afternoon Collection. Goof Troop sees Goofy and his son, Max, go on a swashbuckling co-op adventure to save Pete and PJ, while Bonkers follows Bonkers D. Bobcat as he solves crimes in Toontown.
It’s a bundle fit for the biggest fans of classic gaming from the House of Mouse, with the total game count now reaching eight. The February re-release will finally bring the bundle to Nintendo’s hybrid consoles, with access to soundtracks, a behind-the-scenes gallery, and rewind features, available, too. There are also Time Attack and Boss Rush modes for those looking to shake up that classic gameplay.
A Disney Afternoon Collection physical edition is also confirmed to be in development for those willing to wait until after the February digital release. Disney says the physical Switch release – which comes with the game cartridge, two sticker sheets, eight retro milk caps, and three collectible cards – is now available for pre-order and will ship “at a later date.”
The Disney Afternoon Collection launches digitally next month. For more, you can check out our 7/10 review from 2017.
“With three hits and three duds from Capcom/Disney years that you might remember with varying levels of fondness,” we said at the time, “the Disney Afternoon Collection is clearly aimed at children of the 90s. I have trouble seeing its appeal to anyone else. But if vintage duck-based platformers are your thing, grab a Capri Sun and a handful of Gushers and invite your friends over to play.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
