Update: The Pokémon Company has officially announced its new series for its popular trading card game, Mega Evolution. Its first expansion will be titled “Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution.” More information will be revealed on July 10, 2025.
It’s expected to launch in September this year, while Japan’s equivalents, “Mega Brave” and “Mega Symphonia”, will launch in August. The original story continues below.
Just when you thought the Pokémon TCG had enough going on with Destined Rivals and Black Bolt and White Flare, in comes a brand new series altogether with the Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia sets (Update: Mega Evolution for English markets).
Originally announced at Japan’s Championship tournament, as reported by PokeBeach and later confirmed by The Pokémon Company, the two new sets featuring Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex mark the popular trading card game stepping away from its Scarlet and Violet era.
Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia will release on August 1, 2025, in Japan, and in September for English markets as “Mega Evolution”.
Instead of the long-running Scarlet and Violet block, it will now focus on the Mega Evolutions from the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A game.
Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia will contain 63 cards each, before secret rares are taken into account, and officially kick off the new Mega block of cards. Visually impressive full-art Pokémon and item cards were shown off as well. These include Rare Candy, Night Stretcher, Bulbasaur, Vulpix, and Inteleon.
Both sets have been reported to have a Pokémon Center Mega set, including 60 packs of cards amongst two boxes, a card storage box featuring the respective set’s cover Pokémon, four dividers, a deck box featuring Acerola or Lillie, and card sleeves featuring the same character. This has been priced at 12,800 yen (around $87 today), although the official US pricing hasn’t been revealed yet.
Better quality images of Bulbasaur, Vulpix & Inteleon AR’s from Pokemon Mega Brave & Mega Symphonia pic.twitter.com/VTMqIui97d
There will also be a Premium Trainer Box releasing at 6,350 yen in Japan (around $47), with the official US pricing also currently unknown. This will contain 20 packs, 10 of Mega Brave & Mega Symphonia each, 51 unique cards, a storage box, a Poison/Burn marker, damage counters and case, and a damage storage box.
As also shared by PokeBeach in early June, The Pokémon Company informed tournament organisers at the time that pre-release allocations will be even lower than usual, adding to the TCG’s continued problem of stock shortages.
For when we have more concrete details on preorders for the Pokémon TCG’s English versions of Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia in the US and UK, we’ll update this article so you can try and get a jump on them right away.
Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.
Many libraries offer services where you can experience and even borrow video games. Unfortunately, a 45-year-old Oakland man named Jamal Reed-Obafumi has been arrested after being accused of stealing “approximately $10,000 worth” of Nintendo Switch video games from Marin County Libraries, located in Northern California.
Marin County’s Sheriff’s Detectives arrested Reed-Obafumi last week after he was “connected to a string of at least seven different burglaries of Marin County Libraries”. This took place between April and June 2025 across multiple branches.
Apart from the new free roam mode in Mario Kart World, Nintendo’s latest kart racing outing also brings a new racing mode known as ‘Knockout Tour’. In case you’re not familiar with it, it’s basically Mario Kart’s take on the battle royale genre, where it’s the last kart standing as racers are eliminated after each section of the course.
It’s now almost been one month since the new entry hit the track and it’s got us wondering how much success our community has had so far in this new mode. Have you won a race yet? Have you been on the cusp of greatness but denied by a blue shell at the last minute? Vote in our poll and let us know in the comments below.
We’re seeing serious drops across Final Fantasy cards as more cards enter the market and things start to settle down post-release. That’s a good sign for anyone looking to pick up a few chase cards standalone rather than ripping open more packs than your bank account can handle.
Take Lightning, Army of One, for example. Her Borderless variant was sitting around $90, but has now dropped to around $50. Will it climb again? It’s hard to say, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
The Borderless version of Cloud, Midgar Mercenary is also down to around $50 now, a drop of around $60 from launch week.
Vivi is also still rising in value this week, but it’s still a sharp drop from the $100 market demand last time we looked at him. He can be found for around $55-60 right now, so keep an eye on this one.
Finally, Sephiroth, Fallen Hero’s Extended Art version has crash-landed from around $100 to just $7 since the pre-release day pricing, that’s a big ol’ drop, and a good example as why it’s good to wait and see on how the market will fall post-release of a big set like this.
Magic: The Gathering – Climbers
As we covered recently, Final Fantasy’s cards have bizarrely given some syngizing Doctor Who cards a mega boost in value. For starters, Danny Pink’s ability to draw cards from counters makes him an ideal pickup for your Tidus Commander Deck, but the price has climbed steeply from $4 to over $12 already.
Next up, Barbara Wright might not be the first card you think of when playing Final Fantasy cards, but her Read Ahead ability means she can manipulate Summons from the new set to get to the best effects more quickly. She’s still going for around $4, so she isn’t as pricey as Danny, but she was a dollar not long ago.
Another Tidus synergy, Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus is a Phyrexian Horror that, admittedly, wouldn’t look out of place in a Final Fantasy battle. He can double your proliferation of counters, which is ideal for Tidus’ deck. He’s gone from $6 not long ago to over $14 now.
Aside from our Blitzball star, Vivi Ornitier is getting plenty of love from players (I packed one myself, hooray!). One card that works well with him is the Flame of Anor, an instant with a trio of effects you can pick one of. If you control a Wizard (like our adorable friend), then you can pick two. It’s up to around $3, with the foil going for over $4. Not big numbers, sure, but not long ago it was a $2 card and it could climb yet.
If you’ve ever wanted to upset pals in a casual game of Commander, Mesmeric Orb can pair nicely with either Final Fantasy’s The Water Crystal or if someone at your table is playing the Mothman Fallout deck.
The first of those combos will get your friends milling themselves endlessly, while the latter can spread so many Rad counters that it could end up being the shortest game of Commander in history. Mesmeric Orb just hit $24 and could climb higher, a $7 increase week-on-week.
MTG Sealed Sets
Everything else Final Fantasy is pretty hot right now, so if you manage to find anything in stock, it might be worth picking up ASAP to avoid disapointment.
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.
Thanks to the lovely folks at TCGPlayer for the info and data that informed this article.
Reach is one of the coolest VR games I’ve played in a long time. Chasing the high of classic cinematic action games like Tomb Raider or Uncharted, I had a blast climbing ledges, jumping between buildings, and popping enemies while dual-wielding pistols in NDreams’ latest. With dynamic movement and a surprisingly accurate sense of full-body awareness, I can’t wait to see more from this one, even if I got a little dizzy jumping as I platformed my way through the first level.
VR games often need to tow a delicate balance. Moving in a 3D space with stick-based movement is a surefire way to cause motion sickness for a lot of players, so a majority of VR games are designed in a way that takes both point-and-teleport-based movement and stick-based movement into account. But after a demo that featured a lot of running, jumping, and platforming, I’m pleased to say that I didn’t feel that creeping, bottom-of-the-stomach sensation I sometimes feel in VR.
A majority of the demo I played focused on platforming; I scaled up walls and grabbed onto ledges like in The Climb or Horizon: Call of the Mountain. Combined with sprinting, jumping, and even jumping between holds while climbing, the movement here felt surprisingly smooth and dynamic. Before long, I felt like an acrobatic action star pulling off the kinds of stunts only Tom Cruise could accomplish. Multiple times in my demo, I nearly bungled a jump but managed to snag a ledge in the nick of time, swinging in in a way that felt far more real and natural than I could’ve imagined in VR.
Before long, I felt like an acrobatic action star pulling off the kinds of stunts only Tom Cruise could accomplish.
Moreso than any kind of cool action setpiece or stealth encounter, this kind of little detail – snagging a ledge just in time, saving myself from falling to certain doom – helps break free from the often on-rails feeling VR games can have. In sections where I wasn’t so lucky and wound up replaying a few times, I found myself skipping jumps and getting from point A to B in new ways each time. I love finding ways to maximize the tools in my toolkit to improve my movement in any game I play, but that kind of drive is rarely satisfied in VR. Reach answered that question in spades.
Exploring Reach’s first level wasn’t all running and climbing, though. I wound up in a handful of shootouts with generic militia guys as I made my way to rescue some hostages. There’s a bow with unlimited ammo strapped to your shoulder. With just a reach over your shoulder, you can snipe away at enemies from a safe distance before climbing, jumping, or running to where you need to go. While the section I saw didn’t really focus on stealth, I did run guns-blazing into what was probably supposed to be a stealth segment set in an office space.
There seemed to be some kind of enemy alert system, though by the time I realized what that little bubble above my targets’ heads meant, the arrow destined for my last enemy’s chest cavity had whistled off my bowstring. After that, there were a few more shootouts, though they didn’t task me with navigating an enclosed space in quite the same way. Instead, they took the shape of more traditional shooting gallery-style encounters like you’d find in plenty of other VR games with guns. Bad guys popped out of shutters and stood on balconies, with conveniently placed pistols littering the level for me to grab and unload.
These were considerably less fun and interesting than that stealth segment. As anyone who’s spent even a little time in VR will tell you, plenty of VR games make their bones in these shooting galleries – they have for nearly a decade at this point. So going from a more open, interactive design to a handful of moments I’d already seen before in a handful of other VR shooters was pretty disappointing. But after I cleared them, I went right back to platforming, exploring the very ledges my victims fell off of.
The shooting-gallery parts were considerably less fun and interesting than that stealth segment.
After one last shootout, things escalated. A helicopter started firing at me as I clambered my way to safety after a truck barreled through and propped open a gate, letting me scurry up a high wall. This little extra jolt of danger and tension, with walls exploding and ceilings collapsing behind me as the helicopter closed in on my location set off a last-ditch moment of platforming madness.
Blazing through Reach’s first level was the most fun I’ve had in VR in months, capped off with a charming way to end a demo like this. I can’t wait to see the rest of what NDreams cooks up when it eventually releases sometime later this year on Meta Quest 3, PlayStation VR2, and SteamVR.
Tucked into a corner of Summer Games Fest, Spine is definitely the kind of game meant to turn heads and grab attention. There is a decidedly late-’90s arcade style to the third-person action title that compels players to grab a controller and see what is going on for themselves. While it’s still early, in my hands-on demo with Spine, I can safely say that it’s absolutely something I’m excited to see evolve as it develops.
Aesthetically, Spine fits the cyberpunk-Blade Runner mold of an overcrowded dystopian city with profuse neon-yet-dark corners everywhere. The player assumes the role of a street artist named Redline who, in the demo, has been accused of a crime she did not commit and quickly finds herself surrounded by thugs at a bar. Redline fights off the enemies with deadly force and keeps going while punching and shooting everything that gets in her way.
Players familiar with Sifu will notice an immediate resemblance to that game in the form of the quick jabs, special attacks, and parry-driven finishing moves, but the developer shies away from that particular comparison. Instead, they insist it is a little bit more like Rocksteady’s Arkham series of Batman titles, with a heavy focus on reading tells more than predicting enemy movements.
Rather than comparing combat to Sifu, Spine’s developers insist it is a little bit more like Rocksteady’s Arkham series.
Regardless of inspiration, the true carnival-game feel of Spine comes from the flashy and over-the-top finishers that are earned by parrying enemy attacks. Not for the squeamish or meek at heart, Redline will often force enemies to swallow a bullet with a gun shoved between their teeth or spin around them like John Wick with a well-placed shot to the back of the skull. The camera zooms, spins, and pans around the finishers to showcase the most dramatic and cinematic angles for her gunkata before Redline quickly moves on to the next goon coming her way.
Parrying also works at enemies throwing things or shooting at her as well, allowing her to spot-dodge the incoming projectile with a quick lean or turn that feels immensely satisfying, regardless of the ease to pull off.
Occasionally, Redline will pick up another weapon with limited ammo, such as a shotgun, and blow enemies away in one hit. These sections feel more like Hotline Miami than anything Batman has ever done, and sometimes even adopt that overhead camera angle to complete the allusion, intentional or otherwise.
There is some degree of Sega Genesis vibe going on with Spine that I cannot quite put my finger on, but it absolutely evokes an alternate reality where beat-‘em-ups became the biggest genre in the world in the ‘90s and iterated on that formula for decades. While there is a lot more to see before deciding where in that storied hierarchy Spine will land, I am more than interested in watching it get there.
Rekindling the long-running debate about whether Call of Duty skins have well and truly gone off the deep end, Beavis and Butt-Head are heading to the game.
Beavis and Butt-Head are perhaps the poster boys of the MTV generation and genuine 90s cartoon icons. Created by Mike Judge, Beavis and Butt-Head are two idiotic teen slackers who sit around grunting and giggling at rock music on MTV.
Call of Duty has form when it comes to 90s-themed skins, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to see Beavis and Butt-Head finally get their moment in the shooter. But what is perhaps surprising is how their skins look, which is a jarring combination of the cartoon style fans know Beavis and Butt-Head for, but wearing MilSim outfits.
Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head are coming to Call of Duty Season 04 Reloaded 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3QnIYMv2AN
“Of all the collabs to get military-themed outfits in this game, I definitely did not see Beavis and Butt-Head getting one,” said redditor RdJokr1993. “Lol these are unironically more MilSim than most skins in the game,” added LoneRogue2018.
Others are coming up with on-brand one-liners we might hear Beavis and Butt-Head say in-game. For example: “Heh heh heh heh, he said ‘Duty.’”
In truth, Beavis and Butt-Head shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone who’s played Call of Duty in the last few years. This is a game that has the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a Dragon Knight that looks straight out of Skyrim, and, more recently, a skin made from strips of bacon, all running around realistic, war-torn environments. Activision releases these sorts of skins and players complain about realism, but they sell enough for Activision to keep releasing these sorts of skins. And so the cycle continues.
The question will be how much Beavis and Butt-Head cost. Activision has come under fire recently for its ultra aggressive monetization of Black Ops 6 and Warzone, with some players complaining about the high price of bundles, the introduction of event passes, and ever more expensive battle passes. Earlier this month, Activision pulled controversial adverts placed inside Black Ops 6 and Warzone loadouts, insisting they were a “feature test” published “in error.” It’s worth remembering that Black Ops 6 is a premium, $70 game, and this year’s Black Ops 7 is set to jump to $80.
And will this Beavis and Butt-Head skin carry forward into the recently announced Black Ops 7? Activision has yet to say. But given the timing of its release, the hope is that anyone who forks out for Beavis and Butt-Head will get bang for their buck.
For now, Call of Duty players are speculating that getting a headshot against Beavis and Butt-Head might be a little easier than against other skins in the game. Is this a pay-to-lose bundle?
We don’t know when the Season 4 Reloaded mid-season update is set to launch exactly, but based on how many days players have left to complete the Season 4 battle pass, it should be released on or around June 26.
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.
There’s plenty of sealed Pokémon TCG stock available today, and while most Amazon listings are still above MSRP, a few products are finally trending down. The Prismatic Evolutions Super-Premium Collection is one of the most inflated at $208, while staples like the Lillie Premium Tournament Collection and Destined Rivals booster bundles are more reasonably priced. If you’re looking to crack packs or complete a set, there are a few solid pickups, just be sure to compare with secondary market prices first.
As usual we’re looking at over-inflated pricing at big box stores, but it’s a dependable source of sealed product for trainers looking to add to their collections or rip open boosters. Although we’d recommend checking out secondary market prices first, as big retailers are now regularly selling over market value now too. I’ve already done the hard work for you:
TCG Player and eBay Pokémon Sealed Product
The Most Expensive Japanese Black Bolt White Flare Cards
The most expensive cards from Pokémon TCG’s Black Bolt and White Flare sets are already commanding serious prices in Japan. Top of the list are the Special Illustration Rares of Zekrom ex and Reshiram ex, both featuring intricate, hand-drawn artwork and fetching well over ¥20,000 (around $130–$150 USD) on the secondary market.
Also climbing fast are the new BWR (Black White Rare) cards and the full-art Victini promos from the themed file sets. With stunning clay and knitted art styles also making their debut, collectors are pushing prices up across the board, especially for low-population, high-style secret rares.
This Weeks Pokémon TCG Crashers and Climbers
With Black Bolt and White Flare wrapping up the Scarlet & Violet era, all eyes are now on what’s next—and Mega Evolution is officially back. The Japanese Championships 2025 confirmed MEGA Symphonia and MEGA Brave as the first entries in the new Mega Expansion Packs, launching August 1 in Japan. These sets reintroduce Mega Evolution ex cards in a powerful new form, now Stage 2 Pokémon worth 3 Prize Cards when knocked out. Cards like Mega Gardevoir ex, Mega Venusaur ex, and Mega Lucario ex are leading the charge, and collectors are already snapping up classic Mega cards in anticipation of their return to the spotlight.
MTG Live Preorders
Preorders are now live for Magic: The Gathering’s next major set, Edge of Eternities, ahead of its August 1 release. You can lock in Play Booster Boxes, Bundles, Commander Decks, and Collector Boosters, with prices already dipping below MSRP in some spots. With some chunky lore, borderless cards, and premium packaging teased, now’s a good time to grab your picks before stock tightens closer to launch.
I was going to say how insane MTG Final Fantasy’s popularity is, but it’s completely understandable. Whilst sealed stock is going up in value and becoming harder to get, there’s plenty of option for the most in-demand cards for your deck or collection.
MTG Aetherdrift Chase Cards
Aetherdrift is one of Magic: The Gathering’s more experimental sets, blending high-speed vehicle mechanics with a bold visual style. Released as part of the Universes Beyond series, it introduced new archetypes and card types designed to shake up both casual and competitive formats.
Monster Hunter Wilds PS5 and Xbox Series X
Monster Hunter Wilds has hit its lowest price yet for the standard physical edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X at just $55.99, down from $69.99. This latest entry takes the series into a fully voiced narrative, dynamic biomes, and crossplay multiplayer. If you’ve been waiting for a price drop to jump into the Forbidden Lands, this is a solid time to grab a copy.
Symphonic Journeys Pokémon Red & Blue – IGN Exclusive Vinyl
Symphonic Journeys: Pokémon Red & Blue is now up for preorder in a stunning IGN-exclusive Fire Red vinyl variant. This 1xLP release features orchestrated arrangements of classic tracks like Pallet Town, Gym Leader Battle, and the Pokémon Center theme, performed by the renowned Budapest Scoring orchestra.
Elden Ring Nightreign Official Strategy Guide
The official strategy guide for Elden Ring: Nightreign is now up for preorder, with a hardcover release set for September 30, 2025. Created by Future Press, this companion book dives deep into the game’s new roguelike multiplayer systems, class mechanics, and shifting world of Limveld. You’ll get detailed Nightfarer builds, bestiary entries, system breakdowns, and beautifully illustrated maps plus bonus art prints and lore. Sounds like a bargain to me.
Serrenity Forge Storyteller’s Bundle
Humble’s latest bundle spotlights the thoughtful and emotional storytelling of Serenity Forge, offering 12 indie games for just $12. Titles like Arcadian Atlas, Virgo Versus the Zodiac, and Long Gone Days bring unique mechanics and narrative depth, while cult favorites like LISA: The Painful and Smile For Me round out a powerful lineup. With a total value of $171 and proceeds supporting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, it’s a great way to discover impactful games and support a good cause at the same time.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Donkey Kong Bananza is available now for preorder on Nintendo Switch 2 at $69.99, with a release date set for July 17. This all-new 3D platformer brings DK back into the spotlight with a full physical edition and gameplay reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey. If you’ve been waiting for the return of classic Donkey Kong exploration with modern polish, this looks like the one to watch.
amFilm Switch 2 Tempered Glass Screen
amFilm’s 3-pack tempered glass screen protector for the Nintendo Switch 2 (7.9″) is down to $7.99 and includes everything you need for a smooth installation. The 0.3mm ultra-clear glass offers 9H scratch resistance, touchscreen sensitivity, and an oleophobic coating to reduce smudges. It also comes with a alignment frame, making it easier to apply without bubbles.
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.
Good news if you’ve been a bit frustrated with how Dune: Awakening handles PvE and PvP, specifically in terms of its treacherous Deep Desert. The game’s creative director Joel Bylos has announced some changes coming in response to player feedback on both those and the Landsraad.
Basically, it looks like Funcom have switched up their plans to take the concerns folks have cited into account, aiming for a nice compromise between the original ideas and the practicalities of what’s been happening since the game dropped in full.
Xbox Insiders – Aggregated Gaming Library is Coming to the Xbox PC app
Manisha Oza, Product Manager, Xbox Platform
Hey Xbox Insiders, starting this week users enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview can get a first look at the new aggregated gaming library in the Xbox PC app for Windows 11 PCs and handheld devices. The feature will be available this holiday on the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, where players will see their aggregated gaming library within the new Xbox full screen experience. With this new feature, your Xbox library, hundreds of Game Pass titles (membership required), and all your installed games from other PC game stores are always at your fingertips.
An Aggregated Gaming Library to Launch Your Games
With the aggregated gaming library, players can conveniently launch games from Xbox, Game Pass, Battle.net and other leading PC storefronts from a single library within the Xbox PC app. Whether you’re on a Windows PC or a handheld device, your Xbox library, hundreds of Game Pass titles, and all your installed games from leading PC storefronts will now be at your fingertips.
When a player installs a game from a supported PC storefront, it will automatically appear in “My library” within the Xbox PC app, as well as the “Most recent” list of titles in the sidebar—making it easier than ever to jump back into your games.
And this is just the beginning. We’ll continue rolling out support for additional PC storefronts over time.
How to Get Started
As long as you have game titles installed from supported PC stores, you should see them listed in both My Library as well as the Most Recent section. If you’d prefer not to see those titles listed you can select your profile picture, then select Settings, then Library & Extensions and you will see the available storefronts, then select “Hide” for each storefront and those titles will no longer appear.
How to Get Xbox Insider Support and Share Your Feedback
We want to thank all the Xbox Insiders for the feedback you share with us. Your feedback is a key part of our process. If you’re an Xbox Insider looking for support, please join our community on the Xbox Insider subreddit. Official Xbox staff, moderators, and fellow Xbox Insiders are there to help. We recommend adding to threads with the same topic before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can!
If you aren’t part of the Xbox Insider Program yet and want to help create the future of Xbox and get early access to new features, join the Program today by downloading the Xbox Insider Hub for Xbox Series X|S & Xbox One or Windows PC. For more information on the Xbox Insider Program, follow us on Twitter at @XboxInsider and keep an eye on this blog for all the latest news.
For more information: follow us on X/Twitter at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the Xbox Insider SubReddit.
