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Marvel’s Heroes and Villains Will be Hunted in Predator Kills the Marvel Universe

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

With the Alien and Predator franchises now under the Disney umbrella, Marvel Comics has taken full advantage of the crossover opportunities. We’ve already seen bloody crossovers like Predator vs. Wolverine and Predator vs. Spider-Man. Now, IGN can exclusively reveal the latest and most blood-soaked Predator/Marvel crossover yet – Predator Kills the Marvel Universe.

This new series reunites Predator vs. Spider-Man writer Benjamin Percy and artist Marcelo Ferreira. In fact, Predator Kills the Marvel Universe serves as the culmination of Percy’s overarching Predator Vs. saga. Having claimed Wakanda’s vibranium and turned Earth into a hunting preserve, a Predator King will begin hunting Earth’s heroes and villains en masse. Don’t expect them all to survive this bloodbath.

“Over the past few years, I’ve been having the time of my life writing the Predator Vs. series,” Percy tells IGN. “The Yautja have hunted Wolverine across the decades. They’ve battled Black Panther and plundered Wakanda of its vibranium. And they’ve faced off against Spider-Man and Kraven during a blackout heat wave in New York. These stories have been patiently building toward something epic. Their interconnectedness will be revealed in this explosive, blood-drenched, five-part story.”

“That title? It’s not misdirection,” Percy continues. “This one’s gonna hurt. Your favorite heroes and villains will fall — even as others rise up against this extinction-level event. The Predator King is here — the Yautja are armed with vibranium — and Earth is now a hunting preserve.”

On the surface, the idea of a Predator holding its own against powerful beings like Hulk, Thor, and Storm might seem like a stretch. But Percy hints that vibranium is the key to turning the tables, ensuring that Earth’s defenders are thoroughly outmatched by this deadly hunter.

“The playing field has not only been leveled — it’s tipped in the favor of the Yautja. I can’t tell you everything, because Predator Vs. Spider-Man hasn’t released yet, but something game-changing happens at the end of it that will make people drop their jaws,” Percy teases. “But here’s something you’ve already clocked, if you’ve been following along. In Predator Vs. Black Panther (which is now available as a graphic novel collection), the Yautja raided the Wakandan mines. We all know how obsessed they are with tech and weaponry, so just imagine what they can do with the motherlode of what they refer to as ‘godmetal.'”

Percy is adamant that fans should expect some major deaths on the Marvel side as this conflict plays out. Predator Kills the Marvel Universe is very much in the vein of Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe and Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe in that it’s set in its own continuity and no one’s survival is guaranteed.

“Every character is on the chopping block,” Percy says. No one’s safe. No one. The brutal and bloody first issue makes that immediately clear. We’re not holding back, so armor up.”

Predator Kills the Marvel Universe #1 will be released on August 13, 2025. You can find links to order the previous Predator vs. books below:

Order the Predator vs. Marvel Graphic Novels

  • Predator vs. Wolverine
  • Predator vs. Black Panther
  • Predator vs. Spider-Man

In other Predator news, Disney just released a teaser trailer for the upcoming film Predator: Badlands.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Until Dawn Review

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

Until Dawn opens in theaters Friday, April 25.

In David F. Sandberg’s lackluster Until Dawn, the horror game of the same name is transformed into an awkward hybrid of Groundhog Day and The Cabin in the Woods. This is far from a “two great tastes that taste great together” miracle: Unlike the source material, this movie doesn’t successfully unite various flavors of onscreen terror as much as it haphazardly smashes them together. That smashing can occasionally be a glorious, bloody, body-exploding blast, and there are plenty of moments where Sandberg, working again with Annabelle: Creation cinematographer Maxime Alexandre, stokes our anticipation for something horrible to leap out of the darkness. It’s nearly everything else – the painfully one-note performances, the clunky dialogue, the increasingly ineffective scares – that drags Until Dawn into a bottomless pit of its own making.

Most notably, this is a strange blend of wholesale reimagining and direct adaptation. The movie lifts some key elements from the game – including Peter Stormare as a menacing figure lurking in the shadows – while jettisoning its snowy setting, array of generically horny teens, and playfully cheeky tone. The loss of this last part is what makes Until Dawn unshakably strange: Without the goofiness, what we have here is a generic horror movie with the high-concept twist of five friends trying to survive endless variations on the same terrifying night. Sure, there are some gags, but none clever enough to cut through the shallow backstory of troubled Clover (Ella Rubin) searching for her missing sister. Where the flawed-yet-fun game gets its kicks from toying with scary-movie clichés, this self-serious adaptation only rarely feels like it’s in on the joke.

That’s not for lack of trying. Early on, as Clover and some superficially written friends drive through the rain and into the mysterious valley where they’ll soon be trapped, one of them points out that the car is the safest place they could be. The rest of the passengers then yell at him – a vehicle full of Randy Meeks types who know such hubris can only lead to a smiting from the horror gods. Maybe they’re right: Until Dawn is plenty mean-spirited and wrathful towards its characters, though these joyously macabre moments are too fleeting to inform the movie the way Randy’s horror-movie “rules” shape Scream.

In lieu of meaningfully skewering the tropes, Until Dawn leans into them, or worse: When the gang realizes they’re in a time loop, they allude, but don’t directly refer, to other movies with similar premises. (Best not to invite a bunch of unflattering comparisons.) As they try to figure out how to escape their predicament, Until Dawn becomes less of a strong horror movie in its own right and more like an amusement-park haunted house. Each room may be themed around a different classic of the genre, but they’re pale imitations of the real things.

Though each night is meant to be different from the last, there are a number of overlaps: A masked killer makes frequent appearances, and there’s a vain attempt at some connective tissue in the form of a flimsy, dead-end supernatural subplot. A shift into found footage clumsily tries to catch us up on some nights we don’t see in full, while the introduction of a psychological-mystery thread over-explains the monsters Until Dawn carries over from the game. But these are mere acts of re-creation, granting no additional insight into all the different methods and techniques filmmakers have dreamed up to give us nightmares. They don’t do much to give us a better sense of Clover’s plight – and do much to give us a better sense of Clover’s plight – and they’re not all that scary, either. You won’t find any brains or a Sadly, you won’t find any brains or a beating heart amid Until Dawn’s abundant goreamid Until Dawn’s abundant gore.

Sandberg is still a solid director, so he’s able to squeeze some fright from the shaky material fellow Conjuring Universe veteran Gary Dauberman and The Invitation screenwriter Blair Butler have handed him. Until Dawn ends with a tease for a sequel that seems closer in spirit to the game, which means he could very well get his very own do-over. Fingers crossed that movie isn’t as timid and indecisive as this one, which always feels like it’s being pulled in two different directions. One involves half-heartedly referring back to the game, reducing it to a collection of Easter eggs. The other points toward an original (albeit highly derivative), unrelated idea that’s coasting on Until Dawn’s name recognition. In the end, neither is the way to safety or horror-movie immortality for poor Clover.

Nintendo Issues Inevitable Switch 2 My Nintendo Store Warning to U.S. Customers, Says Release Date Delivery ‘Not Guaranteed’ Due to ‘Very High Demand’

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

The inevitable Switch 2 release-day delivery warning from Nintendo to its U.S. fans is finally here, after the company said it would struggle to meet demand in Japan.

An update on release-day delivery was published on Nintendo’s website warning those who’d registered their interest in buying a Switch 2 from My Nintendo Store that it could not guarantee delivery by the June 5 release date.

As a result, invitation emails may arrive after the Switch 2 comes out. However, Nintendo said it will confirm your shipping date upon purchase.

“Thank you to those of you who have already registered your interest in purchasing from My Nintendo Store,” Nintendo’s statement read.

“We’re thrilled by the enthusiasm for Nintendo Switch 2! Due to the very high demand, we will be working diligently to fulfill orders as product becomes available, but delivery by June 5 is not guaranteed. Your invitation email may arrive after the Nintendo Switch 2 launch. We’ll confirm your shipping date upon purchase.”

Nintendo is now saying you may have a better chance of getting a Switch 2 at launch by pre-ordering at a third-party retailer — a concerning suggestion given Switch 2 has already sold out following pre-orders going live overnight.

“If you wish to increase your opportunity of obtaining a Nintendo Switch 2 system at launch, please visit our participating retail partners above,” the statement said, pointing to a GameStop link (Switch 2 is currently sold out at GameStop).

“If you wish to continue waiting for your invitation from My Nintendo Store, no further action is required after registering your interest.”

The struggle fans had to pre-order Switch 2 on April 24 coupled with this warning from Nintendo suggests the next-gen console will be very hard to buy at least in and around launch.

Earlier this week, Nintendo issued a warning to its customers in Japan, saying a “significant” number would miss out on pre-ordering a Switch 2 direct from the company.

In a statement issued to X / Twitter, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said the company had seen 2.2 million people in Japan alone apply for a pre-order of the Switch 2 from the My Nintendo Store. This “extremely large number of applications… far exceeds our expectations, and far exceeds the number of Nintendo Switch 2 consoles that can be delivered from the My Nintendo Store on June 5,” Furukawa explained.

According to a FAQ posted to Nintendo’s website, the first batch of invitations will go out starting May 8, 2025 for the My Nintendo Store in the U.S. Additional batches of invitation emails will then be sent “periodically” until purchasing on My Nintendo Store is opened to everyone.

Initial invitation emails will be delivered on a first-come, first-serve basis to “eligible registrants who meet the priority criteria.” Invitees will have 72 hours from the time when the email is sent to complete their purchase.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order invitation priority requirements:

  • you must have been the one who purchased any Nintendo Switch Online membership
  • you must have had any paid Nintendo Switch Online membership for a minimum of 12 months, and
  • you must have opted in to share gameplay data and have at least 50 hours total gameplay hours.

Last week, Nintendo announced that Switch 2 pre-orders would begin in the U.S. on April 24, 2025, and that the original price of $449.99 and launch date of June 5 would remain the same. Alongside the base console price remaining the same, Nintendo confirmed the Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle would remain at $499.99 and pricing for both the physical and digital versions of Mario Kart World ($79.99) and Donkey Kong Bananza ($69.99) would not change at launch. But Nintendo raised the price of Switch 2 accessories amid the ongoing tariff turmoil.

Nintendo had originally planned on opening pre-orders for Switch 2 on April 9, but it made the decision to delay them as it needed time to “assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.”

If you’re looking to pre-order a Nintendo Switch 2, GameCube controller, or other accessories and games, make sure to keep an eye on our Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide, which will stay updated with news and info. You can also find out more about how to increase your chances of getting a new Nintendo Switch 2 console on day one.

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.

Every Nintendo Switch 2 Game You Can Preorder Today

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders are officially now live in the US. If by some miracle you navigated the preorder chaos and secured the bag, you’ll probably want some games to play on launch day as well.

To help you on your quest, we’ve done the hard work and collected every Switch game available to preorder from today, with all the retailer links you’ll need just below.

More retailers are expected to go live or restock Switch 2 preorders in the run-up to launch. For the latest updates, follow @IGNDeals on Twitter/X or Bluesky, and bookmark our Switch 2 preorder guide.

Thankfully, Switch 2 is already building up a fairly stacked library of upcoming games, with a slew of new exclusives and a handful of upgraded re-releases.

Heavyweights like Donkey Kong Bananza ($69.99) and Mario Kart World ($79.99) are leading the charge, both available to preorder right now, alongside enhanced versions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, fine-tuned for the new hardware.

There’s also a new version of Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Land currently up for preorder, alongside some new third-party selections like Cyberpunk 2077 and Sonic X Shadow Generations.

Where To Preorder Switch 2 Games

PSA: Don’t expect everything to drop on day one, June 5. Some titles are launching with the console on June 5, but others are lagging behind.

Donkey Kong Bananza doesn’t hit shelves until July 17, and big names like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: Z-A are still missing from preorder listings entirely, on both Switch 2 and the current model.

For those after some new Switch 2 accessories, we’ve also go you covered. If you want to spec out your brand-new system with the new Joy-Con 2, Switch 2 Pro controllers, a camera, and more, today is the day to add to basket.

How Much to Upgrade Switch Games to Switch 2 Edition?

Nintendo has quietly confirmed the cost of upgrading two more Switch games from the OG Switch edition to the Switch 2, Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree — and they’re not cheap.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will cost $9.99 to upgrade from the original Switch 1 game to Switch 2, but Nintendo Life and Eurogamer have spotted that both Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree will cost more than double that.

While we don’t yet have precise U.S. prices on the American Nintendo eShop — possibly due to the confusion with President Trump’s tariffs — the UK Nintendo eShop shows the upgrade pack on sale for £16.99 / €19.99, more than twice that of £7.99 / €9.99 charged to upgrade either Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Switch 2: Game-Key Cards?

It has recently emerged that almost all physical third-party Nintendo Switch 2 games in Japan revealed so far are Game-Key Cards, and it looks like a similar situation in the West.

In the US, Sega’s Switch 2 games are Game-Key Cards, such as the listing for Sonic X Shadow Generations, or Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut.

In fact, we’ve so far found just four third-party physical Switch 2 games that aren’t Game-Key Cards: Cyberpunk 2077, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion; Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma; and No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Aiba Edition.

Switch 2 Game Previews

IGN recently went hands on with two of the biggest upcoming Switch 2 games, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Mario Kart World. Both are up for preorder from today, but here’s what Brian Altano and Logan Plant had to say about the highly antipated launch titles.

Donkey Kong Bananza: “I also think Bananza is on track to be one of the most gorgeous Nintendo games I’ve seen. It really does take advantage of Switch 2’s hardware – the environments are beautiful and DK’s animations are wonderfully expressive, and I left feeling like the next generation of first-party Nintendo games had truly arrived.”

Mario Kart World: “Mario Kart World feels like the definitive Switch 2 launch game and will certainly be one of the defining games of the Switch 2 generation. The new open world format and Knockout Tour modes are massive new additions to the franchise, the visuals are gorgeous, the gameplay is a blast, and we can’t wait to play more, even if we wish it was a few bucks cheaper.”

Other Preorder Guides

2025 is already shaping up to be an exciting release year for games. Alongside the Switch 2, there are plenty of other great games releasing in the coming months that are worth keeping on your radar.

Below you can see some more of our preorder guides covering exciting releases like Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Doom: The Dark Ages, and more.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Senior Editor, Commerce, for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.

Looks Like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Will Support Cloud Saves After All

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

Nintendo has confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 version will support cloud saves after all.

We already knew that the Nintendo Switch 2 was set to get special enhanced versions of several Switch 1 games, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but as IGN reported last week, a disclaimer had fans worrying that some games, or at least this one, wouldn’t support Nintendo’s cloud save functionality as they’d hope.

That’s because, initially, Nintendo’s pages for Tears of the Kingdom‘s Switch 2 edition carried the following disclaimer: “Please note: this software does not support the Nintendo Switch Online paid membership’s Save Data Cloud backup feature.”

Now, however, Nintendo has updated its website to provide more information. While Donkey Kong Bananza‘s page has since scrubbed all mention of cloud saves completely, Nintendo has revised the disclaimer on the Tears of the Kingdom page so it now states: “Save data created in the second save data slot in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition cannot be transferred to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Nintendo Switch.”

This suggests players will be able to transfer their old Switch 1 Tears of the Kingdom saves to their new Switch 2 devices, but it won’t be possible to transfer Switch 2 saves back to the OG system (thanks, Eurogamer).

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition page also now includes the same message, suggesting an identical approach to save transfers.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live overnight, with the price still fixed at $449.99 — and they went about as well as you’d expect. Check out IGN’s Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide for more.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Almost All Physical Third-Party Nintendo Switch 2 Games in Japan Are Game-Key Cards — and It Looks Like It’s a Similar Situation in the West

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

It has emerged that almost all physical third-party Nintendo Switch 2 games in Japan revealed so far are Game-Key Cards, and it looks like a similar situation in the West.

As reported by Gematsu, the launch of Switch 2 pre-orders in Japan revealed all physical third-party games so far except for CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077 and that are not Nintendo Switch 2 Editions, ship on Game-Key Cards and thus require access to the internet to download the full game.

Ys X: Proud Nordics and No Sleep for Kaname Date are also game-key cards in Japan. And retail descriptions for Split Fiction list it as a code-in-a-box. pic.twitter.com/dCTUsTmNQZ

— Gematsu (@gematsu) April 24, 2025

But what is the situation in the West? Here, Sega’s Switch 2 games are Game-Key Cards. The listing for Sonic X Shadow Generations on Walmart, for example, confirms as much.

In fact, we’ve found only four third-party physical Switch 2 games that aren’t Game-Key Cards: the aforementioned Cyberpunk 2077, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion – Nintendo Switch 2; Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma – Nintendo Switch 2; and No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Aiba Edition.

When Nintendo pulled back the curtain on Switch 2, it confirmed that several new Switch 2 game cards won’t always carry an actual game, but instead contain a key for a game download. Nintendo later clarified that Switch 2 Edition games contain both the game and the upgrade on the cartridge itself.

Switch 2 Game-Key Cards are physical cards that only contain a key to download your chosen game. That means there’s no actual game data on the card you insert into your Switch 2, so you’ll need to download it once the card is inserted. Every Game-Key Card case is appropriately labeled on the lower portion of the front of the box, so if you’re concerned about what exactly you’re purchasing, you should have a heads-up right away.

Games like Street Fighter 6 and the Bravely Default remaster do indeed feature this game-key card disclaimer. Others, such as Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, do not. The beefy Cyberpunk 2077, which weighs in at 64 GB on Nintendo Switch 2, comes on cart.

As pointed out by Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners, this focus on Game-Key Cards may put extreme pressure on the eShop around the Switch 2’s launch in June as fans rush to download their games.

All the Switch 2 bundles come with a download code.

Mario Kart World is 24GB.

Most games come on a game key card and require a download.

The Switch 2 launches globally on the same day.

I am not a religious man, but I ask you all to pray for the Eshop servers on June 5.

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 24, 2025

“Game cards are significantly more expensive than discs (+ increases with each GB),” Ahmad added, explaining the reasoning for publishers.

“It takes time to ramp up production of multiple storage capacity game cards. Digital games / lower capacity cards offer higher margins for publishers. Digital is the majority of sales.”

Christopher Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, went as far as to say the Game-Key Cards are “basically Christmas/birthday present boxes for wrapping up.”

“Ultimately, with fewer games retailers, rising manufacturing costs, the fact that younger generations just don’t care, plus the drive for sustainability, all points in one direction for physical media,” Dring added.

Switch 2 pre-orders kicked off yesterday, April 24, and quickly sold out. Now, Nintendo fans are posting fake Switch 2 auctions to flood eBay and drown out scalper listings.

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.

Frostpunk 1886 Is a Remake of the First Game Due Out 2027, Dev Insists It Will Continue to Update Frostpunk 2

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

11 bit studios has announced Frostpunk 1886, a remake of the first game due out in 2027.

The Polish developer is using Unreal Engine 5 for this project, which it revealed just over half a year after Frostpunk 2 came out. The first Frostpunk launched in 2018, so assuming the remake does come out in 2027, it’ll be nearly a decade on.

Frostpunk is a city-building survival video game set in an alternate history late 19th century. You build and maintain a city during a worldwide volcanic winter, managing resources, making choices on how to survive, and exploring the area outside their city for survivors, resources, or other useful items.

IGN’s Frostpunk review returned a 9/10. We said: “Frostpunk deftly mixes a variety of thematic ideas and gameplay elements into an engaging and unique, if occasionally unintuitive, strategy game.”

11 bit insisted it still plans to update Frostpunk 2 with DLC and a console launch while working on Frostpunk 1886.

“With the studio’s proprietary Liquid Engine, which powered not only the original Frostpunk but also This War of Mine, no longer in development, the team has long sought a new foundation to carry forward the legacy of the first game,” 11 bit said.

“While Frostpunk 2 continues to forge ahead with free major content updates, a console launch, and DLCs, this newly announced project marks a return to the franchise’s roots, offering both newcomers and longtime citizens of New London an evolved take on the harsh, morally challenging survival experience that started it all.

“But Frostpunk 1886 — so titled to honour a pivotal moment in the timeline of the universe, when the Great Storm descended upon New London — is no mere visual overhaul. It builds upon the core of the original, expanding it with new content, mechanics, laws, and — perhaps most excitingly — an entirely new Purpose path, offering a fresh experience even for the most seasoned players.

“Reimagining Frostpunk in Unreal Engine also allows the game to become a living, expandable platform, bringing with it long-awaited mod support — a community request that was previously impossible to realize due to technical limitations of the original engine — as well as the possibility to add future DLC content.”

11 bit studios said its fans can “look forward to a future where Frostpunk 2 and Frostpunk 1886 evolve side by side — two paths forged in parallel, each carrying the vision of survival into unrelenting cold.”

The studio is also working on The Alters, which is due out in June.

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.

Nintendo Fans Post Fake Switch 2 Auctions to Flood eBay and Drown Out Scalper Listings

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

Nintendo fans are clapping back at scalpers by creating fake listings for the Nintendo Switch 2 on auction sites, flooding the site and making it more difficult for buyers to find scalper listings.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders are popping up all over sites like eBay, offering the highly anticipated console for anything between $500 and $2,000.

While we’ve already seen U.S. Nintendo fans unite in their frustrations both about the pre-order delay and the preponderance of over-priced pre-orders on eBay to take scalpers down together, now we’re within 40 days of the Switch 2’s June 5 launch day, scalpers can legitimately put up their overpriced console listings as long as they stress the pre-order will ship within 40 business days of purchase.

To make it more difficult for those auctions to be seen, however, Nintendo fans are posting fake listings at retail prices or lower to push overpriced scalper auctions further and further down the page.

Take this listing, for example. Entitled “Nintendo Switch v2 video games console PREORDER,” it’s asking for $450, which doesn’t seem too bad at all.

Read the description, however, and it says: “PRE-ORDER SCREENSHOT Please note: You are ordering a picture of the Nintendo Switch 2. This listing is to combat bots and scalpers. No refunds. No cancels. > You will receive an png image of a switch 2. No console.”

You can usually tell which listings are from frustrated fans and which are real scalpers, as the listings selling screenshots rather than consoles have “read description” in the listing heading.

Another $550 listing reads: “Do not, I repeat DO NOT BUY this unless you are a bot or just wish to donate $550 to me. I will be shipping a laser-printed image of the Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle and that will be all you get. NO REFUNDS. NO. REFUNDS. NO REFUNDS. You will NOT BE REFUNDED you will be receiving the picture whether you like it or not.

“I’m just gonna make sure to state this again, there will be NO REFUNDS, and you will be getting a laser printed image of a Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle. That is all you will be getting.

“Oh, one last thing. Did I mention NO REFUNDS? Ok but actually though, it will ship after you order instead of after it releases so you should be getting it before Switch 2 release date.”

“This listing is for a printed picture of my Nintendo Switch 2 console confirmed preorder,” states another $499.99 auction. “You will receive a printed picture, folded, and sent in a standard letter envelope. This is NOT for the console itself. No refunds, No returns. F the bots.”

Nintendo Switch 2 was supposed to arrive on June 5, 2025, with prices starting at $449.99, but the Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date was delayed in the United States after import tariffs enacted by President Trump sent financial markets spiraling.

Consequently, Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live on April 24, with the price still fixed at $449.99 — and they went about as well as you’d expect. Check out IGN’s Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide for more.

This week, Nintendo clarified compatibility concerns surrounding its all-new GameCube controller, confirming that there may be “issues” using it to play contemporary Nintendo Switch games.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

EA Sports FC 25 Gets First Ever Paid Season Pass, EA Insists It’s ‘Purely Additive’

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

EA has added a paid season pass to FC 25 in a first for its long-running soccer series.

The EA Sports FC 25 Premium Pass is live now in-game and can be obtained with the earnable in-game virtual currency (500,000 UT Coins) or the virtual currency paid for with real-world money (1,000 FC Points, which cost $9.99).

The paid track includes exclusive content and, crucially, tradeable packs. This means players of Ultimate Team (FC’s most popular and controversial mode) can sell the rewards obtained in the Premium Pass to other players for in-game currency that can then be used to buy the next Premium Pass (assuming they earn enough coins from the sale of those items in the auction house, of course).

Rewards include a number of powerful cards, such as Immortal Icon Franck Ribéry, and powerful Evolution consumables that are used to improve cards you already own.

Some players are already hitting out at EA for the decision, pointing out this $9.99 Premium Pass comes on top of what is already a premium game and, when it comes to Ultimate Team, an already heavily-monetized game mode. Critics are also suggesting that the Premium Pass offers a direct way to buy powerful cards which can then be used in competitive multiplayer.

Others, however, are pointing out that you still need to level up to unlock most of the rewards, and you can pay for the premium track with coins earned through gameplay alone, so technically everything here is earnable by just playing.

And effectively, Ultimate Team store packs already offer a direct purchase route, given there are many that now include guaranteed cards of a certain power level. However, this paid season pass is the closest EA has come to just letting fans buy Ultimate Team players directly.

The addition of FC’s first ever paid season pass may be an attempt by EA to further monetize its money-spinner now the game is available at a heavily discounted price and ahead of FC 25’s expected arrival in console subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus.

It’s also worth noting that back in January EA lowered its financial forecast for its fiscal year, pointing to the “underperformance” of EA Sports FC 2025 (which accounted for the “majority” of the shortfall) and BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

In a blog post, EA said the Premium Pass is “purely additive” and promised not to shift rewards from the standard tier of the Season Pass to the Premium Pass.

“While our Season 7 Premium Pass rewards are locked in, we’ll be monitoring your feedback to make sure we deliver the best experience possible in whatever mode you play in FC moving forward,” EA said.

The launch of the Premium Pass at the beginning of EA’s new financial year is telling (EA reports the results of its FY 2025 in May), and it looks like a clear set-up for the inevitable EA Sports FC 26. The question for EA is, will the Premium Pass do the business it needs without causing ruptions in its community?

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.

Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Orders Went Live and Were, Predictably, a Mess

April 24, 2025 Ogghy Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, IGN

As I begin writing this piece, I’m sitting at my desk at 11:30pm CT (well past my bedtime on a work night) trying, along with seemingly the entire rest of the world and the populations of several other planets, to try and pre-order a Nintendo Switch 2.

Pre-orders went live at 9pm PT/12am ET at three different retailers: Walmart, Best Buy, and Target. Or at least, they were supposed to, but the actual rollout so far has been a hot mess. Myself and a big chunk of the IGN staff have all been trying to order our Switch 2s and meeting wildly varying levels of success, and folks on social media are reporting a whole host of problems as well resulting in frustration, dejection, and rarely, triumph.

Over at Walmart, Nintendo Switch 2 would-be buyers were dumped almost immediately into a digital queue to buy their systems, and while it did move forward for some and ultimately end with a Switch in the cart, others are still waiting on a “stay in line” screen with no indication of how long the wait is, or whether or not it will be successful. When they finally do get through to purchase, some folks are reporting baffling error messages, or whatever is going on here:

Target didn’t have a queue like Walmart, so at first, it seemed like Switch fans saw more success over there. But reports rapidly began mounting that buyers were running into error screens throughout the purchase process, and while some people thought they purchased a Switch 2 successfully and even reached a confirmation screen, they later reported seeing a cancellation email roll through their inboxes moments later, forcing them to start the whole process over. Others are reporting that the Switch 2 is actively being removed from their shopping cart midway through the process, forcing them to start over.

The Nintendo Switch 2 sold out instantly at Target. This is unreal bro. I refreshed on the second it turned 12 am. Actually unreal pic.twitter.com/LAQ4lC03qw

— Kenj (@Kenjdx) April 24, 2025

And then there’s Best Buy, whose pre-orders didn’t even go live on time. The website read “Coming Soon” for half an hour before finally beginning to pop folks into a digital queue slowly but surely, with purchase confirmations only just now starting to come through for some, while others deal with some of the aforementioned errors and restarts. And at all three stores, some have said that they’re dealing with fraud alerts from their banks or other weird financial blips that are gumming up the works and forcing them to start all over, ultimately denying them a chance at a system entirely.

2 minutes….
byu/trashpandacoot1 inSwitch

In the amount of time it took me to write this piece, Target and Walmart appear to have officially sold out, and while more and more folks are managing to get through at Best Buy, others (like myself) have been stuck in some interminable queue for over an hour. Others have gotten emails saying their purchases have been canceled or delayed, with no new delivery date or ability to reorder.

Target cancelled my order 10 minutes after placing
byu/syde1020 inSwitch

It’s likely in the coming minutes and hours we’ll start to see more and more successes, and there’s always an opportunity to pre-order at GameStop tomorrow (well, today) at 11:00am ET both in-store and online, or at other retailers in the future. And lucky individuals with Nintendo accounts may also get an email from Nintendo in May, inviting them to pre-order directly from the hardware maker – but there’s no guarantee of getting that email, and Nintendo has suggested that demand in Japan at least has been way, way higher than the company’s projected supply.

Bots are the worst
byu/CANfilms inSwitch

If you’re not a huge Nintendo fan or willing to wait to purchase a system, it’s easy to scoff at the chaos. But it’s especially frustrating for Nintendo fans coming off of a reveal and rollout that’s already been confusing and exasperating at almost every turn. Exciting as the initial reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 was, the price of both the system and all the requisite accessories and games left many reeling before Nintendo paused pre-orders due to tariff implementation in the U.S., only to fire them up again without changing the price of the system itself, just the accessories. On top of that, Nintendo’s plans for physical and digital software pricing, formats, and content have been wildly confusing, and Nintendo hasn’t exactly been transparent or helpful in clearing up questions about how much everything is going to cost, and what exactly it is everyone’s purchasing. So it’s no wonder so many folks are upset at not even knowing if they’re going to be able to get their hands on a system anywhere near launch, especially with the looming threat of future price hikes or supply concerns.

But if you want to play Mario Kart World at launch, this is the reality of the world we live in right now. Here’s how to get that pre-order, for those still trying.

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.

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