Netflix’s animated series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, is returning to the streaming service next month, with season two kicking off on 11th December. And look, we even have a trailer!
This second and final season, which once again stars Hayley Atwell in the titular role, sees Lara and co. race across the globe to get their hands on some ancient masks that pack some mysterious powers. There’s an uber-rich “techno-visionary” trying to hunt the relics down too, so no prizes for guessing who the goodies and baddies are in this situation.
We’re honoring Coach John Madden’s legacy with all-new content across game modes in the November 19 title update of Madden NFL 26. From leading your team the way Coach would, to celebrating the latest All-Madden team that represents his ideal player, there’s something for every player during All-Madden.
Throughout Madden NFL 26 we’re infusing Coach Madden from the booth to the turf with new commentary lines speaking everything from John Madden’s Thanksgiving to his impact on NFL players, franchises, and fans. We’ve also added Team Select SFX that include samples from John Madden.
All-Madden Legacy Game
Speaking of, check out the full All-Madden team reveal, then jump into the All-Madden Legacy Game in Kick Off to play with and against iconic legends and NFL superstars in the historic Oakland Coliseum. Not only will you hear the Madden NFL 06 theme song in the pregame flow, you’ll also get original John Madden commentary for some of the featured All-Madden Team players like LaDainian Tomlinson. And when the final whistle blows? Celebrate victory the way Coach would’ve wanted – with a postgame Turducken celebration!
All-Madden Team
Watch our social channels and website for the full reveal, but here are some of the Legends and current Superstars from this year’s All-Madden rosters.
Legends: Peyton Manning, Deion Sanders, Rob Gronkowski, Jason Kelce, JJ Watt, LaDainian Tomlinson Superstars: TJ Watt, Justin Jefferson, Maxx Crosby, Baker Mayfield, Saquon Barkley, Quentin Nelson
Playbooks
Play football the way John Madden designed it with his legendary playbook on both sides of the ball, available to use across Madden NFL 26 game modes. Each is crafted around Coach Madden’s signature style, including several plays recreated from the original John Madden Football game.
Franchise
In Franchise, lead with Coach’s iconic style and philosophy with multiple options. Play as John Madden himself by choosing the Las Vegas Raiders, then select a unique Coach Tile and lead your team on a quest to bring another Super Bowl trophy home to the Silver and Black.
You can also take another direction and lead your Franchise with a new Coach Archetype: Master Motivator. Inspired by Coach’s unmatched passion and leadership, this archetype features 7 new abilities, 2 unique playsheets, and the 2 all-new playbooks.
New abilities:
Boom! Run It Right at ’Em
Make ’Em Cover It All
Win With Four
Jam ’Em Up,
Teach ’Em Up,
All-Madden Effort
Find the Right Guy
New playsheets:
Old-School Football
Hit ’Em at the Line
Superstar
It’s time for your Superstar to step into Coach’s world with brand-new storylines, including a Quest line with an XP Boost reward and John Madden-themed Team Pass.
Ultimate Team
Finally, build a dream team worthy of Coach and chase greatness in Ultimate Team. Get a John Madden Champion player item for your offensive line, check out new player items for All-Madden Legends and current NFL superstars, and complete Challenges that relive key moments from Coach’s career.
This is dedicated to the man who helped define football for generations of players and fans. From his unmistakable voice to his unmatched football wisdom, our John Madden update is a tribute to the coach, the commentator, and the legend whose name lives on every Sunday. Be All-Madden and jump into Madden NFL 26 today and honor the legendary Coach that started it all.
Yoko Taro, the creator of the Nier and Drakenguard games, has been awfully quiet lately. Though he’s worked on some smaller projects (writing scenarios for Voice of Cards, and a few mobile games), the lack of a proper Nier follow-up or other new major game from him has been getting under fans’ skin. But according to Taro, he has been working on projects. They just keep getting canceled.
This comes from his remarks at Korean gaming convention G-Con 2025, which were reported on by 4gamer and translated by Automaton. The panel, which featured Taro and Bayonetta and Okami director Hideki Kamiya, saw the pair asked for updates on recent projects. Kamiya mentioned the upcoming sequel to Okami, while Taro said he’d been very busy with new projects, they just keep getting canceled partway through.
“I often get told stuff like ‘Why aren’t you making a new sequel to NieR’ or ‘Yoko Taro isn’t doing anything,’ but that’s because recently, a lot of projects I was involved in got discontinued midway through development,” he said.
“I’ve actually been working on some stuff, it’s just that it never ended up seeing the light of day. I got paid for it, so I personally have no issues with that, but people seem to think that I haven’t been doing anything just because none of the work I’ve done is being released.”
However, Taro isn’t discouraged by this, apparently. He continued, saying he’d rather fail repeatedly and eventually create something good, rather than put out multiple mediocre works. “I believe that if I’m going to release something weird, I’d be better off not releasing anything at all.”
So, potentially not *great* news for Nier fans who were hoping another Nier game was right around the corner. Especially since Nier: Reincarnation, which was effectively a sequel to Nier: Automata, is still completely unplayable by virtue of being a mobile gacha game that’s since been taken offline with seemingly no plans to rerelease.
So good luck to Taro, hopefully we see a new project from him that makes it to release sooner rather than later.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images.
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.
There’s a bit more excitement than usual, even among veteran car-watchers like me, for next year’s F1 season. You see, the series is bringing in some new rules governing what its cars will look like and how they’ll perform, meaning there’s more potential on paper for serious changes to the established pecking order. Given that, I’m a bit unsure how to feel about EA and Codemasters having announced they’re not making an F1 26, instead skipping ahead to 2027 with a DLC to fill the gap.
Guild Wars Reforged, a big update to 2005 MMORPG Guild Wars that’s designed to make it a lot more convenient to play on modern hardware, is set to hit Steam on December 3rd. Steam Deck verification, modern controller support, and an interface revamp are among the tweaks developers ArenaNet and 2weeks have made, with the possibility of further “improvements” down the road being teased.
Ahead of the Black Friday sale event next week, there have been some excellent video game deals already popping up across various retailers.
If you’re using this opportunity to stock up your library with some new picks to play over the holidays, we’ve come across plenty of discounts worth your time and money.
If these games have been on your shopping list, now is a great time to grab them.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake usually retails with a price tag of $59.99, but this discount has dropped it down 17% so you can save $10 on it. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, on the other hand, is down a whopping 42% from its $59.99 price, which is a very nice deal for those who have been wanting to pick it up.
Both of these received very high praise from us with glowing 9/10 scores in their respective reviews. IGN’s Logan Plant said Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake “is a shining example of how to remake a classic RPG and a brilliant reminder of why the original is an essential work,” while writer George Yang said of the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake that it recaptures “the retro magic of the originals while giving them a modern facelift.”
If you’re wondering what video game deals are still to come as we get closer to Black Friday, check out our breakdowns of what deals we expect to see this year from PS5 and Xbox to see some of our predictions for the sale event. And for Switch users, Nintendo has already announced its Black Friday sale so you can see what deals the company has planned this year.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Earlier this week, we got the news that Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars was being ‘reforged’ once again, into a new Switch 2 Edition this time.
Huzzah, we thought, as we pondered who would be the best person to talk to about the 1996 point-and-click adventure making its way to Nintendo’s latest hybrid. The answer, of course, is Charles Cecil MBE, the co-founder of Revolution Software, and someone who has worked on the series from its very inception right up to the present day.
Go Big with The SpongeBob Movie Limited Edition Xbox Controllers
Jessica Domain & Ann Orlando FairesProduct Marketing, Xbox Accessories
Arrrrre you ready?! Dive into a bubble-blowin’ adventure with SpongeBob as he makes his biggest splash ever with ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ Xbox controllers – and see the new movie, only in cinemas!
Introducing the all-new Xbox Wireless Controller – The SpongeBob Movie Limited Edition and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – The SpongeBob Movie Limited Edition.
Whether you’re exploring Bikini Bottom or Davy Jones’ locker, ready your gear for any adventure that comes your way. This collection celebrates the latest chapter in SpongeBob’s story, featuring his iconic smile adorning the official The SpongeBob Movie Limited Edition top case and side cap design. X marks the spot, so kick off the journey by pressing the Xbox button and go where no Sponge has gone before.
The Xbox Wireless Controller – The SpongeBob Movie Limited Edition is available now, for a limited time, at the Microsoft Store. Looking to create your own unique design with endless customization and upgrade options? Both The SpongeBob Movie Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 are available now with Xbox Design Lab.
Hold onto your SquarePants and play with ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ Limited Edition controllers. Keep an eye out for marine mysteries with the ABXY buttons. Find your way with bright yellow thumbsticks and an orange D-pad. Take on the depths of the deep sea with metallic blue triggers.
Create your own unique design for this Xbox Wireless Controller with Xbox Design Lab – with near-endless customization options to help you play your way. Whether you want to showcase your inner goofy goober, or a vibrant ocean aesthetic, choose from a variety of button styles curated for your movie-themed color scheme. Add more of your style with upgrades like metallic triggers and D-pads, rubberized side and back grips, and even include an engraving for a personalized touch.
The Elite Series 2 version of this design comes with all the features you’ve come to love from our best-in-class controllers, including adjustable-tension thumbsticks, wrap-around rubberized grip, and shorter hair trigger lock for even more precise gameplay. For even greater customization, you can add back paddles for enhanced input control and near-limitless customization with exclusive button mapping options in the Xbox accessories app.
Bring your SpongeBob Movie aesthetic even deeperwith the 3.5mm jack, connect any compatible headset to experience sound that no Sponge has heard before. And just like SpongeBob bounces from one adventure to the next, the controller’s dynamic features ensure you’re always ready for whatever master plan an evil villain throws your way! Jam like a jellyfish and head over to Xbox Design Lab today to design yours.
These controllers are available today, exclusively here.
SpongeBob and his Bikini Bottom friends set sail in their biggest, all-new, can’t-miss cinematic event – ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’. Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following The Flying Dutchman – a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate – on a seafaring comedy-adventure that takes him to the deepest depths of the deep sea, where no Sponge has gone before. Only in cinemas!
Here at PlayStation, we’re excited to celebrate the holiday season and another year of gaming experiences with PlayStation’s Black Friday offers which kick off this week. Starting from November 21 for a limited time* gamers and gift givers alike can explore a range of incredible deals on PS5 consoles, games, accessories, and more across PlayStation Store, direct.playstation.com, PlayStation Gear, and at participating retailers.*
Black Friday2025 deals directly from PlayStation and participating retailers
This year, save on hardware and accessories including PlayStation 5 console offerings, PlayStation VR2, PlayStation Portal, DualSense controllers and more. You can find these offers on direct.playstation.com where available as well as at participating local retailers.
Deals on PS5 Console offerings include:
The PS5 Digital Edition 825GB – Fortnite Flowering Chaos Bundle will be available at a recommended retail price of $399.99 USD and the PS5 Console 1TB – Fortnite Flowering Chaos Bundle will be available at a recommended retail price of $449.99. The bundle offerings feature PlayStation-exclusive in-game content** and 1,000 V-Bucks.
In select regions, players can also save $100USD on PS5 consoles and $100 USD on PS5 Digital Edition consoles.*
Gamers looking for the most visually impressive PS5 gaming experience can also save $100 USD on PS5 Pro consoles.*
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There will also be offers for PS5 accessories and games,* including:
$100 USD off PlayStation VR2
$20 USD off PlayStation Portal remote player
$20 USD off Pulse Elite wireless headset
$30 USD off Pulse Explore wireless earbuds
$30 USD off DualSense Edge wireless controller
$20 USD off DualSense wireless controller
$20 USD off Access controller
Various discounts on PS5 games such as Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Lost Soul Aside, Astro Bot, and God of War Ragnarök.
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Join or upgrade PlayStation Plus membership with these special offers
Players in participating countries who join PlayStation Plus during PlayStation’s Black Friday promotion can save up to 33% on a 12-month membership. Current PlayStation Plus members can save 33% on the remainder of their membership when upgrading from PlayStation Plus Essential/Extra to PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe.
PlayStation Plus offers fantastic value, with access to hundreds of games including hit titles like The Last of Us Part II, Cyberpunk 2077, Mortal Kombat 1, and Hogwarts Legacy*** in the Extra and Deluxe/Premium tiers.
All PlayStation Plus members get access to monthly games, exclusive discounts, online multiplayer, and more. In addition, Premium members can also Cloud Stream select digital PS5 games from their library**** and the game catalogue directly to their PS5 and PS Portal remote player – which is also part of our Black Friday deals.
Additionally, within the Sony Pictures Core app, PlayStation Plus Premium members also have access to the Sony Pictures Catalog with up to 100 movies to stream on demand.***** During the Black Friday promotional period, all PS5 and PS4 players can enjoy movie discounts, while PlayStation Plus members can enjoy even deeper discounts on recent releases including BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE, TAROT, and more.
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Save big on PlayStation Gear
Head over to PlayStation Gear to save 60% off sitewide on all merchandise including apparel, drinkware, and more from fan-favorite titles like Astro Bot, The Last of Us Part II, and God of War Ragnarök – no promo code necessary. Visit gear.playstation.com for more details.
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Hundreds of game offers on PlayStation Store
Check out offers on hundreds of PS5 and PS4 digital games with savings of up to 75% on PlayStation Store. Visit PlayStation Store when the promotion begins on November 21 to view the full selection and find out your local savings.
*Actual retailer prices and availability may vary. Products may have different sales periods. See specific offer details on product detail pages or retailer sites.
**Flowering Chaos Bundle is a PlayStation exclusive until 11/26/2026.
***Availability of Classics and Game Catalog varies over time, region/country, and plan. See https://www.playstation.com/Plus for details and updates on PlayStation Plus offerings. PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically (at the then-current PS Store price) at the frequency you choose at purchase until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms
****Digital PS5 games available to stream from Your Library will vary over time, region, and country. See PlayStation Store to check eligibility.
*****Catalog content varies over time, region/country, and plan, and requires separate download and use of Sony Pictures Core App. Movie credit, if available, may be applied instead of discount.
The CEO of Genvid — the company behind choose-your-own-adventure interactive series like Silent Hill Ascension — has claimed “consumers generally do not care” about generative AI in games, stating: “Gen Z loves AI slop.”
Jacob Navok, a former Square Enix director, evidenced his claim by reminding us that the biggest game of the year, Steal a Brainrot, “had 30m concurrents or approximately 80x the Arc Raiders concurrents, and is named after/based on AI slop characters.”
“For all the anti-AI sentiment we’re seeing in various articles, it appears consumers generally do not care,” he wrote on X/Twitter (thanks, GamesRadar+). “All the brainrots are just 3D models of AI slop. Gen Z loves AI slop, does not care. The upcoming generation of gamers are Bane in Dark Knight Rises saying ‘You merely adopted the slop, I was born in it.’
The Alters developer, 11 Bit Studios, and Jurassic World Evolution 3 developer, Frontier Developments, meanwhile, similarly faced fan backlash recently when they were caught using undisclosed AI images, which doesn’t quite track with Navok’s assumption that “consumers do not care.”
Suggesting that a “tipping point has been reached,” Navok also stressed that because “Activision isn’t shying away from AI, neither is Arc Raiders,” the tech was here to stay.
“I should add that in-game art and voices are merely the tip of the spear. Many studios I know are using AI generation in the concept phase, and many more are using Claude for code,” he added. “It will be hard to find a non-indie title that isn’t using Claude for code, and ignoring Claude’s AI use because it’s code while focusing purely on art shows that a lot of AI sentiment is being driven by emotion rather than logic.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
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