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The Best Trading Card Games Worth Getting Into

Today, card games are everywhere, but in 1993, the trading card game (TCG) genre was born with just one: Magic: The Gathering, created by Richard Garfield. I became a fan a few years later, in 1996, during the release of the Fourth Edition core set.

Once I got the hang of the game, I was hooked for nearly three years. The artwork drew me in, and the flavor text – often witty, dark, and sarcastic – kept me entertained, but what I loved most was playing. The tactile thrill of placing a card on the table, imagining myself as a powerful planeswalker commanding forces beyond mortal comprehension, was unbeatable.

Though other trading card games existed back then, my loyalty to Magic: The Gathering consumed both my attention and my budget. Fast forward to today, and the landscape is even more crowded. The old titans of the genre are still thriving, while countless newer games vie for attention, each bringing something unique to the table.

With that in mind, here are the 10 best trading and living card games to dive into in 2024 – games that are fun to play, boast active communities, and have the potential for long-term growth. Whatever you decide to try out and play, make sure you have a community to share it with: either a local one where you live or an online one that is supportive. The community surrounding the game is as important as the game itself.

The Big Three

These are the established choices for anyone who’s deciding on a trading card game.

Magic: The Gathering

The original trading card playing experience, Magic: The Gathering established so many norms that we take for granted today. Plains, Swamps, Forests, Mountains, Islands – these were the lands you drew power from, to call angels, demons, zombies, orcs, goblins, and enchanted creatures to your side. The benefits of picking up Magic: The Gathering now, nearly 30 years into its run, are the same as the drawbacks: It’s just so big at this point. There’s a lot to explore and play with, but it can be intimidating and overwhelming to learn it from scratch. As was true back when I started playing, the best way to learn is not by reading the instruction booklet that comes with every starter deck, but by having a friend walk you through a match.

You can check out our guide to all of the upcoming MTG releases coming in 2024 and beyond.

Pokémon TCG

Still popular after all these years, Pokemon TCG started in 1996. Its cards in America were originally published by Wizards of the Coast, the same company that published Magic: The Gathering. Pokemon’s fan base has always been more collector-heavy than player-heavy, but this has been especially true in recent years, as the value of Pokemon cards has continued to go up. (Most famously in 2021, Logan Paul paid $5.27 million for a Grade 10 Pokemon Illustrator card, which he occasionally wears around his neck when he wrestles in WWE.) Beyond this, there’s an appealing simplicity to Pokemon, in that your turn is largely your own; you aren’t overlapping moves or playing over your opponent’s turn, which makes things a lot more streamlined.

You can check out our guide to all of the upcoming Pokemon TCG releases coming in 2024 and beyond.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game

Recognized in 2009 by Guinness as the highest-selling trading card game in the world, Yu-Gi-Oh! popularized chains as a gameplay mechanic, and it was considerably more chaotic than its predecessors. You’re often countering and making significant moves during your opponent’s turn in addition to your own, and on its highest levels, the victor can be determined on a starting hand and who goes first. Your enjoyment will largely depend on who you learn from, especially if you’re coming into the game cold.

The Newcomers

The seven TCGs below might not have the decades-long legacies of the Big Three, but they’re making plenty of noise and are worth checking out.

Digimon TCG

Newly revamped for 2020, Digimon’s main draw is its progression: Hatch an egg, have it undergo Digivolution (which allows you to improve upon your Digimon’s stats), and move it to the Battle Area to attack your opponent. It is still a newer TCG game, relatively speaking, which means that it doesn’t have the legacy baggage of the prior three. The community is notably welcoming and open to new innovations, and the metagame is diverse and still in the process of being defined.

Netrunner

Set in a cyberpunk dystopia, Netrunner, which pits hackers against a faceless corporate entity, has a long, complex history. The original physical card game came out in 1996, and it was revamped and released as Android: Netrunner in 2012. Today, it currently exists as an ongoing fan project. Non-profit game publisher Null Signal Games releases new starter and expansion sets, and the PDFs are all available on a pay-what-you-want basis. These new sets are also compatible with the prior Android: Netrunner sets, and everything, from the artwork to the new mechanics, feels legitimate and true to form.

Disney Lorcana

When Disney commits to something, they go full throttle. Disney Lorcana, which draws from over 100 years of Disney animated history, takes full advantage of the nostalgia and sea of creative properties inherent in its brand. Instead of land, you summon with ink, and true to Disney’s family-friendly image, you accumulate 20 points instead of decimating your opponent’s life to win. There are currently over 600 different cards in print between the starter set and the two expansions. The newest expansion, Chapter 4: Ursula’s Return, launched on May 31.

Marvel Champions: The Card Game

Name recognition goes a long way. In Marvel Champions, select the specific Marvel superhero that you want to play. Then, team up with other players and work through different scenarios, in which you defeat villains and foil their schemes. The Core set starts you with five different selectable heroes: Iron Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, and She-Hulk. Subsequent Expansion packs give you prebuilt decks that allow you to play as over 30 additional characters and face additional villains with different storylines. It’s among one of our favorite Marvel card games available.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Inspired by the 1981 horror RPG Call of Cthulhu, Arkham Horror is a supernatural, Lovecraftian mystery game. It puts you in the shoes of an investigator, who must work through a creepy horror scenario and emerge with their body and sanity intact. You start by choosing an investigator: a Guardian, Seeker, Rogue, Mystic, Survivor, or Neutral, each of which has its specific strengths and weaknesses. Then, you investigate missing people, creepy cults, rumors of a lost ancient city, and more. It’s all very evocative and tentacled. It’s a great RPG card game worth getting into

Star Wars Unlimited

Star Wars: Unlimited is a brand new card game, but the established pre-existing universe of Star Wars makes this an excellent place to start; its longevity is nearly guaranteed, given the franchise’s popularity. You play as a leader of your respective faction – the starter set includes Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Then you wage war, sending out droids and troops or using Force powers until one base is destroyed. The current set, Spark of Rebellion, focuses largely on the events of the original trilogy. The most recent expansion set, Shadows of the Galaxy, focuses on the criminal underbelly of the galaxy, and features mercenaries and bounty hunters.

Flesh and Blood

The creators of Flesh and Blood are traditionalists; they designed their game to be played in person – hence, in “Flesh and Blood” – rather than an online format. The game is fantasy-themed, and you have a hero who falls into one of 11 classes: Assassin, Brute, Guardian, Illusionist, Mechanologist, Merchant, Ninja, Ranger, Runeblade, Warrior, or Wizard. You equip your hero, build a deck around them, and send them into battle with spells, blows, and counterblows at the ready.

Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO and Card Games. His byline has appeared in numerous publications, including Complex, Engadget, Vice, Playboy, Gamespot, Popverse, and Kotaku. A pop culture aficionado, Kevin has written long-form features on a wide range of subjects, including movies and television, video games, professional wrestling, comics, and emerging tech. He lives in New York with his wife and son. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.

NHL 25 Review in Progress

Every year I get my hopes up thinking, “This is it: This’ll be the year that EA’s NHL finally gets it together and delivers on its full potential,” only to then spend dozens of hours playing a game that is almost fundamentally the same as the one I played the previous year. There are rare exceptions to this; even though I had my issues with NHL 24, the Sustained Pressure System and Exhaustion Engine at least added something new to the overall gameplay, and NHL 21’s Be a Pro Mode has become a staple. Unfortunately, it seems like NHL 25 isn’t going to be one of those exceptions. Keep in mind that these are just my initial, early impressions of NHL 25 after just a few hours on the ice. But you only get to make one first impression, and right now I’m not feeling too optimistic.

Mechanically I’ve yet to see a lot of meaningful changes, but on the surface level, at least, it’s clear right from the start that NHL 25 is the first game in the series built exclusively for current-gen consoles. The graphics are sharp and the action looks better than ever. Animations are smoother and there’s something satisfying about seeing how much wear and tear you put on the ice. Players now look much more like humans and less like animatronics, so zoom-ins on faces will hopefully no longer provide a lot of nightmare fuel. We can’t say there’s been no positive steps made.

However, Franchise is the only mode that’s been given a significant overhaul relative to last year’s version. The most immediately noticeable change is that the newly redesigned hub menu is sleeker and easier to parse. But there have also been actual gameplay additions, too. For example, GMs must convince free agents to sign with their team if the player’s interest in the organization is too low.

How they go about doing that is up to them. Maybe it’s by promising to let them play on the first line. You can attempt to charm them, but if it fails it might kill their interest in your offer entirely. And players can actually negotiate no-movement or no-trade clauses into their contracts, which is a feature that the NHL playerbase has been requesting for a while now.

GMs can also discuss what the team should be focusing on during the offseason with head coaches, which essentially provides season-wide buffs and debuffs for the team. Players can also be approached with the conversation system to let GMs develop them individually. Seasonal goals and on-ice plays can be assigned, which will lead to boosts if the player is successful. I haven’t had the time I’ve needed yet to see how much impact these types of decisions will actually have in a Franchise playthrough, so I won’t be able to say for certain if these are meaningful until my final review.

You might be wondering how Be a Pro is different this time around. Well, it’s not. Even the intro cinematics seem to be identical, which is doubly bad because I had this same complaint last year. The entire mode just seems shoehorned into each installment with the bare minimum of care or attention. I would love to have some type of story mode that was more than just text bubbles and choosing a response like in those annoying mobile game ads, but I guess that’s just not going to happen anytime soon.

It seems like it’s still stuck in the same last-gen rut.

So you can say I’m not wowed by what I’ve seen so far, but we’re still in the first period here: I’ve yet to touch the online modes at all, though I did briefly open a HUT Pack only to have NHL 25 crash midway through the lootbox animation. Hopefully I won’t encounter too many more glitches like that. I’ll be upfront and admit that Franchise Mode has never appealed to me too much because that type of sports sim management is not what I’m personally looking for in a hockey game – I prefer to be out on the ice than in the office – but I do plan to give it a fair shot and see if that mode finally clicks with me thanks to the new changes.

Based on what I’ve played so far, though? I’m just not feeling very impressed by NHL 25. For being the first NHL game exclusively for current-gen consoles, it’s a shame that it seems like it’s still stuck in the same last-gen rut.

Explaining – and Fixing – IGN’s Face-Off Controversy

Over the past few days you might’ve caught wind of some controversy stemming from IGN’s community game of the year Face-Off. It’s become a full-on drama, complete with literal ups and downs, shocking twists, and accusations of foul play flying. There’s also quite a bit of confusion, so to clear it up a bit I’m going to walk you through how we got here, and how we’re making it right.

Early this year IGN rolled out a new version of our Face-Off tool, and it’s become a pet project of mine to use it to get our community to create ranked lists of games, movies, TV shows, and literally everything else that people have opinions about. It works by showing you two things and letting you pick whichever you think should win, whether that’s The Empire Strikes Back vs Attack of the Clones, or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) vs Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023). It then generates a list of your personal rankings, while also mashing your votes together with everybody else to create a community ranking. It’s far from perfect, and we hope to iterate on it so that it becomes a better experience that creates a more accurate personal list for you in fewer matches. Even so, it’s been a lot of fun to mess with and find interesting ways to use it – and to watch people agonize over tough choices between two things they love.

On February 22, after a few big 2024 games had launched, I started the What’s Your Game of the Year So Far? Face-Off as an experiment to see how the running tally would look if we’re adding new games as they come out. Importantly, this was an informal test that asked a casual question about how people are feeling in the moment, and it was never presented as our official Game of the Year community vote. We still plan to do that the old-fashioned way later this year, and it will be entirely separate from this. (To answer the frequently asked question of why Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is on the list when it’s a DLC expansion and not a full new game: Because there are no rules and I wanted to see what would happen! I’ll put Starfield: Shattered Space on there next week, too.) This use case technically wasn’t what the tool was built for, but I wanted to see if it would work – and the results have been promising.

This was an informal test that asked a casual question.

How the list shakes out is proving to be very interesting because the community ranking is based on the win/loss ratio, rather than the sheer number of votes a game receives. That means a new entry added in November can outrank something added in May simply because it wins more often, as opposed to more times. For instance, something that’s chosen as the winner in 6,500 out of 10,000 matches will outrank another item that wins 60,000 out of 100,000 matches. (It’s very silly when you add something new and it’s #1 with a 100% win ratio for a brief moment, but that quickly evens out.) So, while the hot new thing might get a lot of wins shortly after it comes out, after the honeymoon period expires and people move on to other games its ranking might fall if it’s more of a flash in the pan than something that sticks with you for a long time, as truly great games do. Ideally, people would only vote on games that they’ve actually played and disqualify the rest (using the little X in the corner of each card) so they’re not voting against something they don’t have an informed opinion on, but realistically I know the overwhelming majority is not going to do that. This is purely a popularity contest.

Even so, it’s been a treat to watch how things have played out, and the resulting ranking is a fascinating melding of thousands of different people’s opinions. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth had held a steady lead most of the year, but Shadow of the Erdtree was nipping at its heels for months. (See? People wanted to vote for it.) When Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Helldivers 2, Space Marine 2, Astro Bot, and Black Myth: Wukong, and other popular games came out, they shot up into the top half of the list and jockeyed for position. There were no hard rules (again, Face-Offs are a wild west territory for us!) but I mostly added games that either scored 8 or above on IGN or had proven themselves popular or at least interesting elsewhere. At the same time, I periodically pruned low-performing games from the bottom of the rankings that looked like they were never going to recover to make way for new entries and prevent the list of games from becoming unmanageably long – Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League didn’t make it, I’m afraid.

Then, late last week, it dramatically blew up.

Until recently, the GOTY So Far Face-Off wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire in terms of traffic numbers (not a ton of people are looking for Game of the Year content in April). Still, it had been humming along nicely, racking up hundreds of thousands of votes, and I think there’s a lot of potential for it in the future.

Then, late last week, it dramatically blew up: The Black Myth: Wukong fandom discovered the Face-Off page and, seeing that their favorite game was within striking distance of the top of the list, rallied around it. We saw a massive influx of traffic from Chinese and other Asian sources to that page, and over the weekend Black Myth’s win percentage went from a very respectable showing in the 60s all the way up to an absolutely astronomical 90.4%, blowing past Rebirth’s relatively meager 72%. We never saw that coming, and what had been a relatively stable list was upended so quickly our scheduled social media repromotion of a Playlist built to reflect the top games – as they had been – was caught flat-footed and caused major confusion because it hadn’t been updated yet. Face-Offs are dynamic and react to the community; Playlists are not and must be manually updated. We’ve learned from this that the two probably should not mix!

Aside from that wrinkle, this response to Face-Offs is exactly what I hoped would happen… but on an intensity level I hadn’t imagined. Our goal is for Face-Offs to be fun, and by golly, people were having an absolute blast with it – some were even livestreaming as they refreshed the page to see how high Black Myth could go! For the record, we don’t consider it cheating at all for fan communities to champion their game and support it by voting, and it’s actually encouraged for people to run through multiple times. (The double-bracket system we currently use means that a single run could possibly eliminate a #3 choice early on, and everything is not matched against everything, so more data gives a better picture of your preferences.) We were thrilled that so many Black Myth fans noticed the Face-Off and participated in force, and we’d love nothing more than for other fandoms to join in the fray. Friendly rivalries like that would be the best-case scenario for us, and we’d find out what other games those groups are into in the process by seeing how the rest of the list shook out. In the past few days we’ve gotten nearly twice as many votes on this Face-Off than it’d racked up in the previous six months.

This response to Face-Offs is exactly what I hoped would happen… but on an intensity level I hadn’t imagined.

But of course, this is the internet, and on the internet we know certain immutable truths. One is that online polling is not secure. Just about anything can be manipulated if someone puts their mind to it, especially if you’re not creating multiple layers of security and identity verification to lock it down. Face-Offs aren’t intended to be taken super seriously, so we don’t even require you to create an IGN account to participate – as we do with our traditional Community Game of the Year vote – because we want as many people to join in as possible. (We’d love it if you did create an account, though – it’ll save your progress on a run and your personal vote count if you’re signed in.)

Another truth is that the more people pay attention to something, the more likely it is that a bad actor tries to ruin the fun. In this case, it appears that someone – probably fully aware of how closely this page was being watched – figured out a way to quickly dump tens of thousands of votes against Black Myth: Wukong into the system, dropping it back down into the high 60s in a matter of hours. If trolling the Black Myth: Wukong fanbase during a moment of triumph was the goal here, it was extremely effective. We’ve seen a lot of anger and accusations of altering the results leveled at us, which is disappointing because again, this was all supposed to be for fun.

This was all supposed to be for fun.

To be explicitly clear, no one at IGN tampered with the results of this Face-Off in any way during this period. We’ve spent the past few days investigating what happened, and how we can keep Face-Offs making people happy instead of mad going forward. Here’s what the voting activity looked like on September 21 through 24, by the hour, from the top regions where people were participating.

You can see the massive, sustained influx of pro-Black Myth: Wukong voters who pushed it to the top of the list, followed by a short but potent spike. That corresponds to the period where it fell back down.

The fact that Black Myth’s vote total so quickly surpassed that of games that had been accruing votes for months before it was added to the list of games strongly suggests that someone exploited the system to allow them to vote only on one specific game – something the randomization of matches is intended to prevent. Likewise, that double-elimination bracket system means you should only be able to vote against a game twice in a run before it stops showing up, since it clearly wasn’t going to be your favorite, but that also seems to have been bypassed to achieve this volume of losses in such a short time.

Unfortunately, since Face-Offs aren’t limited to logged-in users it’s not obvious which votes are real and which are fake, so we can’t simply delete the exact number of suspicious votes. However, in the interest of fairness, we’ve decided to remove all of the negative votes from the period that the Black Myth: Wukong community and our engineers have identified as the most likely to be fraudulent, during which the win percentage fell at what should’ve been an impossible rate – a total of 46,000 losses. As of this writing, that change moves Black Myth: Wukong back into the #1 position on the list, with a 76% win rate. It’s unfortunate to lose any valid votes that were caught up in the mix, but this is the best solution we have given the information available.

Over the next few months we’ll keep an eye on this Face-Off to guard against other efforts to manipulate the results. This being the internet, there’s no realistic way to prevent someone who knows what they’re doing from playing dirty tricks on a anonymous online poll, but we’ve taken steps to at least mitigate their effectiveness going forward, and we hope to continue to improve Face-Offs in a lot of different ways to make them even more fun to engage with. I hope you continue to enjoy them!

In the meantime, our What’s Your Game of the Year So Far? Face-Off continues: Yesterday I added The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (to both this Face-Off and our Zelda-specific one), so if you’re playing and have an idea of where it belongs relative to other 2024 games, we’d love to have your vote. If you’re passionate about movies or TV shows this year, check out our Face-Offs for those as well. And share them with your friends – I’m trying to make these a thing.

Dan Stapleton is IGN’s Director of Reviews and self-proclaimed Chief Face-Officer. Follow him on Bluesky.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii – The First Preview

In the trailer for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Yakuza fan-favorite Goro Majima wakes on a beach with his memory wiped. A kid with a tiger cub pal named Noah finds him, and before long, Majima finds himself beating up a pirate captain and taking over his ship (or so it’s implied.) I got my first hands-on with the latest in the Yakuza franchise, and I’d love to tell you about it.

I played a short portion of Pirate Yakuza when Majima, Noah, and friends arrived in Infinite Wealth’s familiar locale of Honolulu, but this was very much constructed as a demo, so I can’t be certain of how similar the next series of events would be to the full game. First, a short combat tutorial on mechanics potentially unfamiliar to Infinite Wealth players: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii isn’t a turn-based RPG like Infinite Wealth, but instead an action beat-em-up like the original Yakuza games. This short tutorial primarily described Majima’s two fighting styles: Majima’s classic Mad Dog Style and the new, aptly pirate-themed Sea Dog Style.

In Sea Dog Style, Majima wields dual cutlasses, a long-range hand cannon, and a wire hook that allows you to pull in close to a targeted enemy. A cutlass can also be thrown as a boomerang if a button is held down. Combat is engaging and fun, and I can see it being varied enough to keep things interesting with just its two different styles.

The Dragon Kart mini-game is basically Yakuza Mario Kart, complete with boosts, drifting, coins, and items.

After the basic tutorial, I could choose whether to go to the fabled Madlantis to continue the story, or do one of a few side activities: Karaoke, Dragon Kart, Crazy Delivery, and fit check (change clothes).

I don’t have quite enough experience with these mini-games in previous Yakuza games, so I couldn’t comment on whether anything substantial had changed about them, but they were all fun and worthy of spending time on for the entertainment factor alone. I can tell you that long-time Yakuza fans will definitely recognize at least some of the songs available in karaoke, though.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s mini-game Dragon Kart wasn’t in Infinite Wealth, making it the most far-removed of the side activities available during the demo. This absorbing mini-game is pretty built out in its own right and is basically Yakuza Mario Kart, complete with boosts, drifting, coins, and items. You can also go to a changing room to switch out Majima’s clothes for both his regular and pirate styles.

In between side-activities, I became best friends with a little bird named Joseph and used the new Wire Hook while out exploring to gather a high-up butterfly. Apparently you can swing around Hawaii with it, but I didn’t see any obvious points to trigger this when I played.

Finally, for the main event, I got to see a bit of the brand new location of Madlantis. This grungy yet lively ship-graveyard-turned-mini-city-inside-a-cave-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean looks like a worthy hub. It’s at least home to Pirate Colosseum, where, in the full game, you’ll be able to engage in “intense ship battles” as the Goro Pirates.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try out any sort of ship battle in the demo, which was a little disappointing to say the least, but Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is ship-shaping up to be a seaworthy spin-off with a fin-favorite at its helm. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

The Nintendo Switch Lite Hyrule Edition Is Now Available Exclusively at Best Buy

Apparently it’s not too late for Nintendo to be releasing new Switch editions. The Nintendo Switch Lite: Hyrule Edition has just recently been released with a launch price of $209.99 and you can only get it at Best Buy. That is $10 more than the cost of a standard Switch Lite, justified by the fact that a 12-month Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership – which normally retails for $49 – is bundled with the console.

Nintendo Switch Lite Hyrule Edition (Best Buy Exclusive)

The Switch Lite Hyrule Edition was announced during the June 18 Nintendo Direct alongside the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. We originally saw it available overseas in the UK, but Best Buy has exclusive rights here.

This particular edition is adorned in a gold colorway very similar to the Switch OLED Hyrule Edition. It is a gorgeous metallic finish that looks even better than in the photos. Aside from the tiny Triforce logo, the front of the case is free from any busy embellishments. The rear sports a single large embossed Hyrule Crest. It’s the best-looking Switch Lite so far.

Differences between the Switch Lite, Switch, and Switch OLED

The Switch Lite’s major draw is that it’s $100 less expensive than the Switch and $150 less than the Switch OLED. It’s compatible with most Nintendo Switch games and it runs off the same hardware, so performance is identical.

The three main tradeoffs of the Switch Lite are that: 1) the controllers are not detachable, 2) the console can’t be docked and played on a TV, and 3) the display is smaller (5.5″ vs 6.2″ on Switch and 7″ on Switch OLED).

If you were intending to use the Switch solely as a handheld console, you might be better off just getting the Switch Lite. Even though the controls aren’t detachable, the Switch Lite does support wireless Bluetooth, so you can always purchase another pair of Joy-Cons, a Switch Pro controller, or a compatible third-party wireless Switch controller.

What does the Switch Online membership offer?

For many people, Switch Online is a necessary add-on for a complete Switch experience. You will absolutely need this if you plan on accessing the online portions of your favorite games, like being able to play online against other opponents in Super Smash Bros Ultimate or Splatoon 3, downloading other people’s creations in Minecraft or Super Mario Maker 2, or visiting someone else’s island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Other perks include access to the NES, SNES, and Game Boy emulator libraries so you can play classic games like Super Mario Bros. 3, F-Zero, and Donkey Kong Country,exclusive deals and offers at the eShop, cloud saves, access to the mobile app, and more.

You also get the Switch Online Expansion Pack

The Expansion Pack gives you access to more emulator games and free DLCs. Here’s the list:

  • Classic Nintendo 64 games
  • Classic Game Boy Advance games
  • Classic SEGA Genesis games
  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course pass
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise access
  • Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion access

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Starfield: Shattered Space Expansion Global Launch Times Revealed

Bethesda Game Studios has published Shattered Space global launch times for those looking to hop into the first major Starfield expansion on its PC and Xbox Series X | S release date.

The developer clued players into how they can experience the first big DLC drop in a post on its website. It reveals a host of details about what is required to dive into the story content and the new locations it brings with it. Shattered Space will be available on September 30 for $29.99 (or $26.99 with a Game Pass subscription), and you can see its full list of launch times below.

Starfield: Shattered Space global release times for PC and Xbox Series X | S:

  • Los Angeles: 8:00 a.m., September 30
  • Chicago: 10:00 a.m., September 30
  • New York: 11 a.m., September 30
  • Mexico City: 9:00 a.m., September 30
  • São Paulo: 12:00 p.m., September 30
  • London: 4:00 p.m., September 30
  • Paris: 5:00 p.m., September 30
  • Berlin: 5:00 p.m., September 30
  • Riyadh: 6:00 p.m., September 30
  • New Delhi: 8:30 p.m., September 30
  • Hong Kong: 11:00 p.m., September 30
  • Beijing: 11:00 p.m., September 30
  • Tokyo: 12:00 a.m., October 1
  • Sydney: 1 a.m., October 1
  • Auckland 4:00 a.m., October 1

Those who own the Premium or Constellation Editions of Starfield receive Shattered Space at no additional cost. Although the DLC’s starting mission will become available after the base game’s introductory mission, One Small Step, is completed, Bethesda recommends players wait until they reach level 35 “for the best experience.” The developer also boasted about the many changes and tweaks it’s brought to the experience since launch, suggesting that with Shattered Space at the door, there’s never been a better time to jump into Starfield. Some of the additions added since the base game released last year include its Rev-8 vehicle as well as a number of gameplay and visual enhancements.

With that in mind, Bethesda also shared a list of PC requirements for Shattered Space. You can see the developer’s minimum and recommended specs below.

Starfield: Shattered Space minimum PC specs:

  • OS Windows 10 Version 21H1 (10.0.19043)
  • Processor AMD Ryzen 5
  • Memory 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics AMD Radeon RX 5700, NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti
  • DirectX Version 12
  • Storage 125GB Available Space
  • Additional Notes SSD Required

Starfield: Shattered Space recommended PC specs:

  • OS Windows 10/11 with updates
  • Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3660X, Intel i5-10600K
  • Memory 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
  • DirectX Version 12
  • Network Broadband Internet Connection
  • Storage 125GB Available Space
  • Additional Notes SSD Required

Starfield introduced PC and Xbox players to Bethesda’s new space RPG universe last September. Although we felt it had a few issues holding it back from true greatness, we still enjoyed our time with the sci-fi story it told. In our 7/10 review, we said, “Starfield has a lot of forces working against it, but eventually the allure of its expansive roleplaying quests and respectable combat make its gravitational pull difficult to resist.”

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

Star Wars Outlaws Unveils Roadmap Leading Up to November Steam Release

Ubisoft has unveiled the roadmap of what’s to come over the next couple of months for Star Wars Outlaws, all leading up to its Steam release and first story pack in November.

The roadmap, which you can see below, reveals that the next title update will come on October 3, focused on bug fixes and improvements. Update 3 will follow on October 24, featuring some quality of life improvements.

But the big day will come a month later on November 21. As was confirmed earlier this week, Star Wars Outlaws will release on Steam on that date, which is the same day of the release of its first story pack. We already knew about that, but Ubisoft also revealed that Update 4 will arrive on November 21 too, featuring combat and stealth improvements as well as free additional contracts.

Ubisoft confirmed the details of the upcoming story pack, Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card, a few days ago. The DLC will “see Kay and Nix infiltrate a high-stakes Sabacc tournament where they will face off against the legendary Lando Calrissian.”

It’s the latest in what’s been something of a news-filled week for Ubisoft. On Wednesday, the publisher admitted that Outlaws had a “softer than expected launch” in a note to investors, but vowed to roll out updates to draw in more players over the holiday season.

“In response to player feedback, Ubisoft’s development teams are currently fully mobilized to swiftly implement a series of updates to polish and improve the player experience in order to engage a large audience during the holiday season to position Star Wars Outlaws as a strong long-term performer,” Ubisoft wrote at the time.

In the same note to investors, Ubisoft also delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 2025 and revealed that they’d be returning to Day 1 Steam releases with Shadows, seemingly in response to Outlaws’ launch.

We gave Star Wars Outlaws a 7/10 in our review, with Tristan Ogilvie calling it “a fun intergalactic heist adventure with great exploration, but it’s hindered by simple stealth, repetitive combat, and a few too many bugs at launch.”

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Final Girl Board Game Buying Guide and Expansions

Between its deep thematic experience and variable gameplay, Final Girl is a single-player board game that stands out from other horror board games. The game’s title comes from the trope of the same name, which refers to the last surviving female character in a horror movie – think Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode from Halloween or Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley from Alien.

In a sort of multiversal twist, Final Girl’s numerous expansions each feature different protagonists – all of whom have their own individual abilities – as well as new monsters and locations. Essentially, each expansion serves as its own unique horror game, paying homage to a classic horror film or story; however, the various expansions can be mixed and matched to pit any girl against any monster in any location.

Featured in this article

Don’t get it twisted and think that Final Girl is merely a novel experience for the hardcore horror fanatic. On the contrary, Final Girl is widely regarded as one of the best solo board games that money can buy. Still, with a wealth of options when it comes to expansions, new players might be scratching their heads, wondering where to start. Well, fear not, as this handy guide offers you everything you need to know about the Final Girl Core Box and the series’ various expansions.

Final Girl – Core Box

IMPORTANT: REQUIRES AT LEAST ONE FEATURE FILM BOX TO PLAY

MSRP: $19.99

  • Age: 14+
  • Players: 1
  • Play Time: 20-60 mins

Final Girl is a single-player horror tabletop series in which players take control of one of the titular final girls to fight pop culture-inspired monsters. Each expansion comes with its own set of unique mechanics and quirks, but players are generally exploring spooky locations, drawing various event cards, playing action cards, chucking dice, saving victims, and widdling down the villain’s health.

The first important thing to note about the Core Box is that it is not playable on its own. To borrow a dated but apt metaphor, think of the Final Girl Core Box as a VHS player and the Feature Film boxes (expansions) as playable tapes.

As every Feature Film box requires the Core Box, however, this is still a part of the first purchase any prospective Final Girl player will want to make. Included in the Core Box are the basic rules as well as the general components required to play any game of Final Girl.

Where players choose to go from here is largely up to personal preference, but I won’t leave you in the dark concerning recommended purchases. The remainder of this guide will mainly cover each expansion currently available in the order they were released. Under each expansion, I will discuss the various features as well as weigh out the pros and cons so you can decide which spooky adventure is right for you.

Expansions (Feature Film Boxes)

Final Girl: Happy Trails Horror

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Laurie & Reiko
  • Monster: Hans – The Butcher
  • Location: Camp Happy Trails

Happy Trails Horror is about as good a place to start as any. In fact, the Feature Films box is actually included with the Core Box in a separate Starter Bundle, which is listed for $39.98. However, it should be noted the bundle doesn’t save you any money compared to buying the two products separately, so there’s no financial incentive to opt for this route.

That said, Hans – The Butcher is a straightforward villain, making this an excellent place to start. Later villains can offer much more of a challenge, even for seasoned players, and may prove too frustrating for newcomers. Happy Trails Horror is the perfect entry point if you’re looking for a classic slasher akin to Friday the 13th.

Final Girl: Haunting of Creech Manor

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Alice & Selena
  • Monster: The Poltergeist
  • Location: Creech Manor

Haunting of Creech Manor is one of the more unique experiences in comparison to other Feature Film boxes. First, The Poltergeist differs from other villains in that it cannot be damaged by the player. Rather, to win, the player needs to save a little girl by the name of Carolyn.

Still, while the novelty of Haunting of Creech Manor makes it stand out, difficulty can be a bit of a mixed bag. Winning or losing can feel more like a stroke of luck rather than requiring any actual skill. If the cards and dice don’t turn in your favor, it might feel like winning a round here is nearly impossible.

The change of pace makes this a must-play for experienced Final Girl fans, but it’s perhaps best saved for a later pickup. That way, players can truly appreciate the unique blend of mechanics that Creech Manor brings to the table.

Final Girl: Slaughter in The Groves

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Adelaide & Barbara
  • Monster: Inkanyamba
  • Location: Sacred Groves

Slaughter in the Groves transports players to Africa for a sight-seeing trip gone wrong where a masked killer is looking for revenge on behalf of their gods. Overall, it is an interesting idea, but it’s one accompanied by a high level of difficulty. Both the villain and the map present a wealth of challenges that can quickly result in frustration, even for veteran players.

Due to its sheer difficulty, Slaughter in the Groves should probably be a later pickup for most fans. However, those who are particularly gluttons for punishment may want to consider moving Inkanyamba and the Sacred Groves up their wish list.

Final Girl: Carnage at the Carnival

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Asami & Charlie
  • Monster: Geppetto – The Puppet Master
  • Location: Carnival of Blood

Perhaps the biggest gripe fans of the series have against Final Girl is that it can sometimes feel a bit swingy. In other words, it may not matter how adept your Final Girl skills are; a couple of bad draws can lose you the game rather quickly. Unfortunately, that con is highlighted in Carnage at the Carnival.

The Carnival of Blood map contains numerous traps that make investigating treacherous. These traps can have damaging effects that make it nearly impossible for players to win the round if encountered at inopportune moments. Carnage at the Carnival mitigates this somewhat by making Asami, one of the included final girls, immune to traps, but that kind of defeats the point of the mechanic altogether.

That said, Gepetto – The Puppet Master, is an interesting villain in the franchise as he contains various puppet minions. Most of the villains in Final Girl fight alone, so this departure makes for an interesting twist. Due to the difficulty of the map, Carnage at the Carnival isn’t an ideal starting point, but Gepetto certainly makes this an intriguing selection for experienced players.

Final Girl: Frightmare on Maple Lane

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Nacy & Sheila
  • Monster: Dr. Fright
  • Location: Maple Lane

Both the Maple Lane location and Dr. Fright offer straightforward, albeit memorable, experiences that make this Feature Film box an excellent choice for beginners. Not to mention, the clear homage to the Nightmare on Elm Street series makes for a compelling and terrifying narrative.

The sleep mechanic, which requires players to fight Dr. Fight in their dreams, is an interesting twist on the Final Girl formula, and it doesn’t add a ton of bloat to the core gameplay, either. For players who already have Happy Trails Horror (or some other Feature Film box) in their collection, Frightmare on Maple Lane is a solid next option to look into.

Final Girl: Into the Void

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Ellen & Jenette
  • Monster: The Evomorph
  • Location: The USS Konrad

This Alien-inspired Feature Film box is a fan-favorite due to its spaceship locale and its continuously evolving villain, The Evomorph. Unfortunately, what makes this entry so great is also what makes it a non-ideal starting point, a bevy of extra rules.

Those who really want to sit down and experience Into the Void (and you totally should, at some point) will first have to get familiar with the new ruleset introduced with The Evomorph and The USS Konrad. However, those who take the extra time to study up before playing will be treated to arguably one of the best boxes in the Final Girl series.

Final Girl: Panic at Station 2891

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Kate & Uki
  • Monster: The Organism
  • Location: Station 2891

In this Feature Film box heavily inspired by The Thing, players are tasked with testing patients to determine whether or not The Organism has assimilated them. This expansion differs from other Feature Film boxes in that each game begins without a monster. After the testing phase, however, there can be up to three baddies in one game at a given time.

The map itself is also rather unique because it features a hypothermia element due to the arctic setting. Not to mention, the distinct helicopter mechanic requires a bit of strategy that is not present in other box sets. As only three people can escape at one time via helicopter, players need to think through the most efficient way to save the many victims of Station 2891. Again, this is an excellent entry, but perhaps not the right one to start with due to all the added mechanics.

Final Girl: A Knock at the Door

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Ava & Ginny
  • Monster: The Intruders
  • Location: Wingard Cottage

A Knock at the Door is a home invasion expansion inspired by The Strangers. As with the film series, there are three different intruders, each of whom can act as the main antagonist at any given moment. Because of that, tension in A Knock at the Door remains high throughout. There never quite feels like there is a moment when you’re totally safe.

Constant tension coupled with an interesting crafting mechanic for potential weapon-building makes each playthrough potentially quite different. A box with only a single villain to focus on, like Happy Trails Horror or Frightmare on Maple Lane, might be a better place to start. Still, A Knock at the Cabin makes its case for being an excellent entry point thanks to its exceptionally strong theme and ample replayability.

Final Girl: Once Upon a Full Moon

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Gretel & Red
  • Monster: The Big Bad Wolf
  • Location: The Storybook Woods

Despite being a later entry in the franchise, Once Upon a Full Moon is another recommended starting point for newcomers. The fairytale feel of this Feature Film box is universally understandable, even for those who haven’t seen their share of horror movies.

Not to mention, there aren’t a ton of extra rules to learn, either. Essentially, it serves as the Happy Trails Horror of the franchise’s second wave of releases. It’s just a straightforward good time that should quickly get new players to the table and up to speed.

Final Girl: Madness in the Dark

MSRP: $19.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Heather & Veronica
  • Monster: The Ratchet Lady
  • Location: Wolfe Asylum

The swingy-ness of the Final Girl franchise reveals itself yet again with Madness in the Dark. Perhaps more than most entries in the series, this Feature Film box can either be defeated or bring a player to their knees in a relatively short period of time, largely depending on the luck of the draw. Still, Madness in the Dark contains some interesting ideas that make a visit to this creepy asylum worth the trip.

In particular, the floors of Wolfe Asylum are littered with collectible pills. These pills can be taken for a bonus effect or stacked together for more powerful abilities. However, this mechanic’s potential side effects turn Madness in the Dark into a bit of a test-your-luck game. Whether you become an overpowered monster killer or simply go mad might just determine the outcome of your playthrough.

Final Girl: The North Pole Nightmare

MSRP: $29.99 USD

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX)

  • Final Girl: Cindy & Mrs. Claus
  • Monster: Krampus
  • Location: Santa’s Village

In a special holiday edition of sorts, The North Pole Nightmare pits final girls Cindy the Elf and Mrs. Claus against Krampus. The unique aspect of The North Pole Nightmare (other than its theme) is the present mechanic, which can either help or hurt you, depending on whether or not these gifts come from Santa or Krampus.

The North Pole Nightmare is a solid addition to any collection, especially if you’re the type of person looking for a horror-filled adventure around the holidays. Not to mention, saving the day as Mrs. Claus is just some campy fun. However, like any holiday special, The North Pole Nightmare is probably best enjoyed by those who already have some experience with the series, as its twists and turns are likely to be more greatly appreciated by existing fans.

Mini Expansions

In addition to the various Feature Film boxes currently available, there are a handful of smaller vignettes worth considering that offer new villains and final girls. However, as these expansions don’t include locations, they must be paired with the Core Box and one of the Feature Film boxes.

Final Girl: Terror From Above

MSRP: $9.99

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX AND ANY ONE FEATURE FILM BOX)

  • Final Girl: Melanie
  • Monster: Birds

Again, smaller vignettes like Terror From Above and Terror From the Grave require the core box and a feature film box to be playable. Both vignettes, however, introduce a new protagonist and monster that can be taken to any in-game location. For example, the monsters of Maple Lane and Creech Manor can be swapped out with the killer birds included with Terror From Above. I’m not sure what killer birds would be doing on a space station, but you can definitely play that scenario out if you want to, as well.

Final Girl: Terror From the Grave

MSRP: $9.99

Components (REQUIRES THE CORE BOX AND ANY ONE FEATURE FILM BOX)

  • Final Girl: Patsy
  • Monster: Zombies

An encompassing horror franchise like Final Girl just wouldn’t feel complete without zombies. While zombies have yet to receive their own standalone Feature Film box, this vignette allows the iconic horror monster to go to any location featured in previous expansions. Want to fight zombies in space or at the carnival? Well, now you can.

Final Girl Extras

Even beyond the various Feature Film boxes and smaller vignettes, there are several items available with the Final Girl branding that you might be curious about. For example, there are miniatures of the many protagonists and monsters, promotional final girls, additional scenario booklets, and even storage boxes for collectors.

Bottom Line

With decades of iconic movie and pop culture monsters to take inspiration from, there is seemingly no end in sight for the Final Girl franchise. In fact, publisher Van Ryder Games has already completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for the latest slate of Feature Film boxes and is looking to make them available for purchase soon.

For those looking to get into the series, Happy Trails Horror, Frightmare on Maple Lane, and Once Upon a Full Moon are all great Feature Film sets to purchase first, along with the Core Box. However, if one horror homage, in particular, calls to you, there’s no reason you can’t start with any of the Feature Film boxes; it just may require learning a few more rules and some additional setup time.

Luckily, for those who think Final Girl might just become their next obsession/collection, many of the titles listed above can be found for well under MSRP at retailers like Amazon. If you need help staying on top of those always-changing deals, bookmark our board games deals page to score some serious discounts. If you’re still looking for more spookiness for your weekly game nights, feel free to look through our picks for the best horror board games.

Bobby Anhalt is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering board games and LEGOs. He has more than 8 years of experience writing about the gaming industry with bylines at Game Rant, Screen Rant, TheXboxHub, and Ranker. You can follow him on Twitter.

Call of Duty Warzone Fans Up in Arms Over Playlist Consolidation Ahead of Black Ops 6 Launch

Activision has been accused of “butchering” the playlists available for battle royale Warzone after developer Raven Software announced a consolidation ahead of the release of Black Ops 6.

Warzone typically rotates different modes, squad sizes, and even maps every week, much to the annoyance of some fans who just want to play the battle royale in their favorite way, or with a specific number of friends.

With Black Ops 6’s release just a few weeks away, Raven announced it’s making “preparations” for the future of Warzone. As part of that, has consolidated the current playlist selection into the following:

• Battle Royale Solos & Quads

• Resurgence Duos & Quads

Plunder, Bootcamp, and active Limited-Time Modes will remain available, and Trios will continue to be available via Ranked Play, with the current season ending on Thursday, October 17.

However, it’s what Warzone has lost, rather than what it now has, that has sparked a backlash from fans, with Duos and Trios no longer available in Battle Royale mode, and Solos and Trios unavailable in Resurgence.

This means that from now until at least the launch of Black Ops 6 on October 25, Urikztsan (the current Battle Royale map) only supports Solos, Quads, and Plunder Quads, and Resurgence has a Duos and Quads map rotation, with Trios available in Ranked Play only via Rebirth Island (by far the smallest map in the game).

It’s fair to say this announcement has sparked a backlash from Warzone’s hardcore community. “This might be one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen,” said YouTuber Westie. “You’re essentially sunsetting core branches of your game and giving no real explanation at the time the change is being made.

“Some added context/information would be wonderful.”

Here’s some more reaction:

Raven has yet to offer an explanation for its decision, but some are speculating it has to do with a need to maintain fast-filling lobbies amid a perceived shrinking playerbase. Players are also wondering why Raven namechecked the release of Black Ops 6 in its announcement — Warzone is set to incorporate the upcoming shooter’s mechanics, weapons, and gear into the game, but there’s no explanation for why this would require a playlist consolidation.

For now, Warzone players have no choice but to play with this new, consolidated playlist offering, or, as some are threatening, quit until their favorite ways to play return.

Last month, Activision announced that Warzone is bringing back the map that started it all, Verdansk, in spring 2025. Verdansk is the most beloved map in Warzone’s four-year history, and it returns to the battle royale complete with iconic points of interest such as Stadium, the Train Station, and Superstore. Fans are now hoping their favorite playlists will be available in time for Verdansk’s release.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Space Marine 2 Patch 3.0 Made a Seemingly Innocuous Change to the Game’s Ending — and Now Warhammer 40,000 Lore Fans Are Losing Their Minds

A seemingly innocuous change made to Space Marine 2 as part of this week’s big Patch 3.0 has got Warhammer 40,000 lore fans excited about potentially huge implications for the game’s story and the wider setting itself.

Warning! Huge spoilers for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 follow:

Space Marine 2 patch 3.0, released yesterday, September 26, made a long list of welcome changes to the game, but one line in particular buried within the patch notes suggests the Emperor himself played a key role in the story all along.

Pre-patch, during the climax of Space Marine 2, we see a cutscene in which protagonist Lieutenant Titus almost dies while destroying a Chaos artifact. He then hears a voice that says: “Rise, son of Guilliman.”

According to the game’s subtitles, that line — again, pre-patch — was attributed to Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines. Fans took it as an odd thing for Calgar to say to Titus, given he also is a son of Roboute Guilliman, the primarch from which all Ultramarines are based.

Now, onto patch 3.0. Here’s the change in question:

  • Fixed an unidentified voice at the end of the story that was assigned to the wrong character.

Assigned to the wrong character, you say? So, who is the right character? The same cutscene now attributes the line to [Voice], which is ambiguous, but Warhammer 40,000 lore fans have a clear idea who this voice belongs to: the Emperor himself.

If true, this has big implications for Space Marine 2’s story, the nature of Titus’ abilities not just in this game but the first, and any role he might play in the ongoing narrative. But given Titus is now part of the Warhammer 40,000 canon (he has his own model you can play on Games Workshop’s tabletop game and the company has even released an official lore video delving into Titus’ backstory on Warhammer TV), fans are taking this as further evidence of the Emperor’s resurgence across the galaxy.

For the uninitiated, the Emperor of Mankind is the reigning monarch of the Imperium of Man whose slowly decaying body has sat immobile within the Golden Throne of Terra for over 10,000 years. But that hasn’t stopped the Emperor, the most powerful psyker to have ever existed, from seemingly stepping in every now and then to help humanity out in its darkest hours.

At this point in the ongoing (and slow moving!) Warhammer 40,000 storyline, there is growing evidence to suggest the Emperor is finally stirring, with some convinced his return proper is coming sooner rather than later. Indeed, in Warhammer 40,000 novel Godblight, the Emperor uses Guilliman as a vessel to burn down the Garden of Nurgle from within the Warp, miraculously reviving his son in the process.

Warhammer 40,000 fans now believe the Emperor is doing something similar with Titus. Titus’ unexplained immunity to the corrupting influence of Chaos during the Space Marine games may have been the Emperor’s doing all along. Indeed Titus’ ability to interact with the Chaos artifact and destroy it might be because he is blessed by the Emperor. As the ending of Space Marine 2 makes clear, the Inquisition’s suspicion of Titus and his abilities continues despite his heroics. But perhaps in the inevitable Space Marine 3 we’ll see the truth of the Emperor’s involvement, and Titus finally clear of the Inquisition’s attention.

For now, Space Marine 2 and Warhammer 40,000 lore fans are simply enjoying the debate this change has sparked, and have pointed to a tease by creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick about whether the line of dialogue in question does indeed come from the Emperor. Here’s his response:

“That is open to individual interpretation. It could be in Titus’s mind, could be Calgar, or it could be the Emperor (though GW might disagree on that). I know who I meant it to be when I wrote it but I’ll keep that to myself ;)”

IGN recently interviewed Saber chief creative officer Tim Willits about the boost he expects the PS5 Pro will give the game, and how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 has “changed everything” for the studio.

Meanwhile, Warhammer 40,000 superfan Henry Cavill has been playing Space Marine 2 and delivered his verdict, and we also have details on what fans can expect from Space Marine 2’s seasonal post-launch content model. Season 2 runs from October until the end of 2024, and includes a new Operations map, a new enemy, a harder difficulty level, a new weapon, and various other improvements.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.