Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is celebrating its 20-year anniversary today, May 23, 2025. Below, we look back at how its villains were unusually sympathetic, lending weight to the story.

It's one of the most haunting scenes in any Fire Emblem game. A soldier and temporary king, Orson, is seen talking with the reanimated corpse of his wife, Monica. She only says one thing--"darling"--over and over again.

Orson, one of the many antagonists in Fire Emblem Sacred Stones, was a man devoted to Monica long before the campaign of the game began. He's only present during a short part of the story, but he leaves a major impression once the credits roll after the game's 30 chapters come to a close. While you'll first meet him as a playable character, he eventually betrays Ephraim, Eirika, and the other heroes in order to (as he believes) save his wife's life.

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Following the recent closed test for FBC: Firebreak, game director Mike Kayatta from Remedy has revealed some of the changes that the studio is making to the game based on fan feedback.

Kyatta said Remedy has received lots of important and helpful feedback so far, and this will result in major changes to weapon balance. "Guns are upgradable in Firebreak, but we now think we went too far with how weak they felt at the earliest levels," Kyatta said. "In response, we are making all level-one guns radically more powerful, while adjusting other parts of the game to maintain the challenge balance."

Kyatta added that it heard from players that the double-barrel shotgun did not feel quite right, and the studio agrees, so it's making some changes to "make sure it meets the expectations of its shooting style." The developer also mentioned how "everything" related to general combat intensity and difficulty levels has been overhauled. "Among other things, we're tying different enemy types to different threat levels, adjusting wave frequency and composition, and removing awkward lulls in the action," Kyatta said.

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After Bungie was hit with plagiarism allegations for its Marathon revamp, more information has been revealed about other problems within the company. Aside from a toxic work environment coming from the top of Bungie, company heads were pitching to give Destiny 2 a subscription service on top of already paying for a PlayStation Plus membership.

Former Bungie employees spoke with Save State Plus, claiming that leaders were quick to shut down ideas and would publicly belittle staff.

"Everything happening to Bungie is because of greed," said a former Destiny 2 developer, which was the focus point for many former employees. When higher-ups pitched a subscription model for Destiny 2, it was only allegedly shut down due to the staff's "vehement" opposition. That would mean players would pay for a sub on top of other necessary subs like PS Plus, depending on your platform. Bungie's leadership followed that up by reportedly holding a meeting where the staff were given a "monetization scolding" for not enabling enough microtransactions.

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has dropped its case against Microsoft that sought to block the company's blockbuster $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The deal was already approved, but the FTC was appealing the decision.

A memo from the FTC states that, "The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, dismissed."

Microsoft president Brad Smith said this was a "victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, D.C."

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Next month, the entire run of Pokemon the Series: XY will be available to watch on Netflix. This includes the first series--as well as Kalos Quest and XYZ--and like previous Pokemon animated projects, XY is a loose adaptation of the Pokemon X and Y games released for the Nintendo 3DS handheld console.

Once again starring Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu, XY is set in the Kalos region of Pokemon and several characters from the game make an appearance here. Traveling alongside his new friends Clemont--the Gym Leader of Lumiose City's Gym--and Bonnie, Ash explores the region, uncovers new Pokemon, and discovers the power of Mega Evolution. Team Rocket also makes several appearances, but as you'd guess, their schemes are quickly foiled by the end of each episode. The series will be added to Netflix on June 1 (via Comic Book).

Overall, you can expect to binge on a lot of Pokemon animation here. The first series ran for 48 episodes, Kalos Quest ran for 45 episodes, and XYZ wrapped up the saga with a run of 47 episodes. There were a handful of special episodes, as well as feature-length movies set during this era of Pokemon. The series is available on DVD, just in case the episodes don't appear on your local Netflix, due to licensing restrictions.

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Doom: The Dark Ages excels at making players feel like an unstoppable tank, but developer Id Software is looking to make the game more challenging. What's interesting here is that Id will make use of what it calls "Tunables," a system that allows it to update parts of the game without needing to release a patch.

While Tunables can't fix complex systemic, content, or code-related bugs, they can adjust parts of the new Doom game to create subtle but noticeable changes. Overall, players wanting to test their mettle on Nightmare difficulty can expect to start sweating, as enemies like the Cosmic Baron and Hellknight will start doing more damage. Id says that it wanted to increase the threat level of these enemies on Nightmare difficulty, and as an example, missing a parry on the Agaddon Hunter's overhead slash will break your shield and leave you vulnerable for a short period.

"There are systems under the hood that are designed to give players a better chance to survive when near death, and those systems were being too generous," Id explained. "Players were able to brute-force their way through situations that should've resulted in costing a Life Sigil or death, and we want to make sure we are keeping the player in check and asking for better tactical decisions. These changes will have an impact on player survivability and will be more noticeable the higher up the Damage Scale slider you go."

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Google has released a new AI video generation tool, and it's clearly very familiar with what Fortnite gameplay looks like. The advanced AI tool generated some very convincing Fortnite footage in response to a simple prompt, churning out a clip that's almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Veo 3, the latest video generation model from Google DeepMind, released this week, and already is creating some concerningly realistic footage with its added capacity to generate lifelike audio. The AI tool is also showing a blatant disregard for intellectual property--which may be of more concern to many of the companies that have been quick to implement AI technology.

As picked up by IGN, X user Matt Schumer posted a short clip generated by Veo 3 that shows a streamer winning a game of Fortnite. While it looks a little odd to have the streamer's face cam superimposed over a shot of a computer monitor, rather than direct gameplay footage, the clip is otherwise indistinguishable from real Fortnite gameplay.

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A big new update for SteamOS is here, after months of development in beta. SteamOS Version 3.7.8 includes a lot of fixes and improvements on a system level, and will also introduce a battery saver feature for the Steam Deck for the first time.

The new battery saver option is called Battery Charge Limit, and can be found under the Power submenu in Settings. The feature allows users to set a maximum charge limit for their Steam Deck, with a maximum of 80% charge recommended for devices that are usually left on charge, or that rarely have their battery fully depleted.

This kind of feature, designed to prolong the working life of lithium-ion batteries, is already commonly implemented in devices like mobile phones and laptops, and now is starting to become more common in the gaming space. Nintendo recently revealed that the Switch 2 will have a similar feature, which will stop the hybrid handheld console from charging once it reaches 90%.

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Minecraft: Roll for Adventure - The Temple of the Charged Creeper

$16 (was $20) | Releases July 8

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Soon there will be a new way to interact with the world of Minecraft. The No. 1 best-selling game of all time is getting its own pen-and-paper RPG. Slated to release July 8, Minecraft: Roll for Adventure - The Temple of the Charged Creeper is a hardcover gamebook that will introduce players to the grand universe of tabletop RPGs. Amazon is offering a 20% preorder discount that drops the price of the budget-friendly gamebook to only $16.

While Roll for Adventure sounds like one of the cooler tabletop Minecraft experiences released since the video game debuted back in 2011, it's far from the only one. Over the years, Minecraft has been turned into a variety of popular board and card games. In fact, one of the best Minecraft board games, Builders and Biomes, is getting a Junior version geared toward younger fans on August 1.

We've rounded up all of the notable Minecraft tabletop games you can buy now. After reading about the games, you can then check out the sprawling universe of Minecraft novels, comic books, and reference books at the bottom of this story. The list includes several discounted Minecraft novel box sets and exciting upcoming releases such as Minecraft: The Ultimate Mobstopper's Collection Gift Box.

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With only three months left until the release of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami has taken to YouTube to share the game's opening movie. In addition to giving us a whole lot of new footage to swoon over, the three-minute clip also features a new recording of Cynthia Harrell's iconic ballad, "Snake Eater." And yes, she still absolutely knocks it out of the park.

Though the song is fairly similar to the original recording, the overall mix feels a bit softer this time around, with the bass in particular standing out as less intense. The opening visuals, however, are substantially different. Whereas the original opening featured almost psychedelic visuals and was more enigmatic in tone, the new version focuses on showing off some of the game's most iconic moments, including a pivotal confrontation between Snake and The Boss.

That said, you can rest assured that one of the more beloved parts of the opening is being kept intact. According to the video's caption, fans will still be able to enjoy the "interactive elements from the original, included in the in-game version of the opening," such as using the analog stick to control the snakes that appear on screen.

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After months of speculation, A24 has reportedly confirmed that a live-action Elden Ring movie is in the works. The project is said to be helmed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Civil War), who is set to both write and direct the upcoming film.

Though several outlets have speculated on the film's existence the past few months, Deadline reported it officially confirmed earlier today. In addition to Garland, a few other names have been attached to the film. Most notably is George R. R. Martin, who famously collaborated with Elden Ring studio From Software to help write the game's backstory. Meanwhile, Peter Rice, and DNA's Andrew MacDonald and Allon Reich, are all set to produce.

The news comes shortly after the release of Garland's latest film, Warfare, which was also made in partnership with A24 and has currently grossed over $32 million since releasing last month. It also comes just ahead of the release of Elden Ring: Nightreign, an Elden Ring spin-off game that focuses on cooperative, PvE gameplay and it set to release on May 30.

Following this week's Warhammer Skulls event, which saw a bunch of new Warhammer games and media revealed, a bunch of Warhammer PC games are discounted at multiple online retailers. You'll find big discounts on games from Warhammer Fantasy and 40,000 alike, including Vermintide 2 Collector's Edition for $7.19 (was $45), Space Marine 2 for $33.15 (was $60), and many more. There are even a few freebies to pick up as well. The deals are available at Fanatical, GOG, Humble Bundle, and Green Man Gaming, and while you'll find many of the same games on sale at all four retailers, the deal prices and availability differ. In most cases, the difference is only a few dollars at most. Nevertheless, to help you save the most cash, we've combed through them all to find the lowest prices and most noteworthy exclusives and listed them below. Note that most of these deals will be available for several more days, so you've got time to grab them.

Browse all Warhammer Skulls deals

• Fanatical
• GOG
• Humble Bundle
• Green Man Gaming

GOG has some of the most unique Warhammer deals to check out. This includes an exclusive Warhammer Goodie Bag that's free to download. It includes 22 wallpapers for desktop or smartphones and discount codes for Warhammer Fantasy Role Play TTRPG rulebooks and expansions through Cubicle 7 and Warhammer art prints at Warhammer Art. GOG is also giving away the classic Warhammer 40,000 strategy game Rites of War for free.

Both freebies are worth grabbing even if you don't purchase anything else from GOG. That said, the retailer has a few exclusive bundle deals you won't find anywhere else, including the Warhammer 40K Bundle that gets you Space Marine, Dawn of War Master Edition, and Dawn of War II Grand Master Edition for just $25 (was $100), and the Shooter Dual Pack with Necromunda: Hired Gun and Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition for $10.70 (normally $60). Of course, GOG also has deals on a bunch of classic Warhammer games you won't find anywhere else, like Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000 and Man O' War: Corsair - Warhammer Naval Battles. And to top it all off, all games purchased at GOG are entirely DRM-free--so even if other storefronts have a few games on sale for slightly cheaper, it's still worth considering GOG for that reason alone.

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World of Warcraft: Blood Ties

$30 | Releases November 18

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World of Warcraft's next expansion, Midnight, is set to launch sometime in 2025, but Blizzard has yet to reveal the release date and full details on what players can expect. However, WoW loreheads will be pleased to know that a new novel, World of Warcraft: Blood Ties, is set to release on November 18 that will serve as a narrative prequel to the upcoming expansion's storyline. Preorders for the book are available for $30 at Amazon.

World of Warcraft: Blood Ties $30 | Releases November 18

World of Warcraft: Blood Ties is the official prequel to the World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion. The novel follows Arator the Redeemer, a Paladin and son of High Exarch Turalyon and Alleria Windrunner--which Warcraft fans are sure to recognize as the legendary Paladin duo who disappeared ages ago in Warcraft's lore. Arator is tasked with investigating the ruins of a Burning Legion base, where he discovers a new threat to Azeroth and surprising answers to the fate of his parents. The book is written by Christie Golden, who has also penned thirteen other official Warcraft novels.

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As mentioned above, World of Warcraft: Midnight's release date is still unannounced at the time of writing, but Blizzard has confirmed it will be at some point in 2025. And considering the Blood Ties novel isn't dropping until November, WoW fans have plenty of time to kill before the epic MMO's story continues. Luckily, that gives fans enough time to work through the epic World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth - The Complete Collection, which is on sale for $112 (was $150) at Amazon.

Released in 2024, the massive collection includes hardcover editions of all five volumes of the Exploring Azeroth series, each of which tells various stories from different realms of the world of Azeroth, including The Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Northrend, Pandaria, and Islands & Isles. Each tale was written by notable authors behind other popular Warcraft novels, including Blood Ties' writer Christie Golden.

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Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide (Hardcover)

$23.60 (was $45)

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Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

$25.19 (was $28) | Releases October 7

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The annual Warhammer Skulls livestream provided a look at what's next for Games Workshop's popular multimedia franchise. Because of the sprawling nature of the Warhammer IP, it can seem a bit intimidating for newcomers. If you're interested in learning more about the history and lore of the tabletop wargame that has evolved to include dozens of video games and hundreds of novels, the first official Warhammer encyclopedia is up for grabs for nearly 50% off at Amazon.

Published last October, Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide is discounted to $23.60 (was $45). The hardcover book has been a mainstay on Amazon's Warhammer and video game reference book charts since its release, and the current deal is the best we've seen.

Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide (Hardcover) $23.60 (was $45)

The Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide was written by Guy Haley and Gav Thorpe, both of whom have extensive experience writing about the franchise. Haley and Thorpe are two of the best-known authors of Warhammer prose novels published by Games Workshop's Black Library division.

The 336-page hardcover encyclopedia is packed with lore for each of 40K's many factions, plus illustrations and hundreds of high-quality photos of the tabletop miniatures, including detailed looks at how each army and their most important characters have evolved over each edition of the game.

Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide offers a convenient way to get up to speed on the in-game universe. Even if you aren't a Warhammer newcomer, the book's full-color, exclusive illustrations make it a great collectible and art book for longtime fans. This is especially true if you're interested in the tabletop game.

If you're curious to learn more about the Imperium of Man, its super-powered Space Marine soldiers, and its many enemies (and victims), or you're a veteran looking to admire some professionally painted minis, this book has it all.

See at Amazon Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia (Hardcover) $25.19 (was $28) | Releases October 7

The Ultimate Guide will soon be complemented by an official encyclopedia dedicated to Warhammer characters. Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia covers 120 characters from the tabletop and video game universe and will come with a free miniature.

The 200-page Character Encyclopedia will be published on October 7 and is available to preorder for $25.19 (was $28).

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Elden Ring Nightreign launches later this month, and it supports solo play and multiplayer for groups of three. But it's not possible to play with just two people together. Why is that?

Game director Junya Ishizaki told IGN that developer From Software simply "overlooked" this possibility during development. "So we're very sorry about that," he said.

Ishizaki explained that Nightreign is balanced for people to play solo or with groups of three. With From Software spending so much time and attention trying to nail the experience for solo and three-player co-op, this meant two-player co-op wasn't considered.

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Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (4K Blu-ray)

$23.89 (was $35)

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Street Fighter: The Movie Steelbook Edition (Blu-ray)

$25 (was $35)

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Street Fighter: The Animated Series (Blu-ray)

$40 | Releases May 27

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Street Fighter fans can get a couple of nice deals on the franchise's 1994 film adaptations at Amazon. Most notably, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie--otherwise known as the only good Street Fighter adaptation--is up for grabs on 4K Blu-ray for $23.90. Meanwhile, Street Fighter: The Movie's Steelbook Edition Blu-ray is discounted to $25 (was $35).

While you're checking out the Blu-ray movie offers, you can also snag a preorder for Street Fighter: The Animated Series on Blu-ray ahead of its release next Tuesday, May 27. A new Street Fighter live-action adaptation has been in the works for a few years now, and we just learned of a few big names who could star in the upcoming film.

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Pokemon Go Fest 2025 kicks off soon, with three in-person events scheduled to take place in different cities around the world over the next few weeks. Even if you can't participate in one of these gatherings, however, you'll have a chance to join the festivities with three upcoming global events, each of which is set to introduce a new Gigantamax starter Pokemon to the game.

Serene Retreat, May 30-June 3

First is the Serene Retreat event, which will take place from May 30 to June 3. Throughout the event, cute Pokemon such as Chansey, Cutiefly, and Morelull will appear in the wild and hatch from eggs more frequently. On top of that, Gigantamax Rillaboom will make its Pokemon Go debut. You'll be able to encounter the grass-type starter in six-star Max Battles from May 31 to June 1.

Instrumental Wonders, June 7-11

The following week, Pokemon Go will host an Instrumental Wonders event from June 7-11. As part of this event, Pokemon like Ferroseed, Galarian Stunfisk, and Falinks will appear more frequently in the wild and as Raid bosses, and Gigantamax Cinderace will make its debut in six-star Max Battles from June 7-8.

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The first half of Marvel Rivals Season 2 introduced the White Queen, Emma Frost, to the game's ever-expanding lineup of heroes and villains. Now, it's the bad guys' turn as Ultron makes his debut as a playable character when Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 begins on May 30.

In the lore of Marvel Comics, Ultron is the creation of the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, and one of the Avengers' greatest adversaries. For Marvel Rivals, Ultron is categorized as a Strategist, and he can battle alongside a small army of drones that obey his commands. Some of Ultron's fighting moves can be seen in the reveal trailer below.

Marvel Rivals' new map, Arakko, comes from the House of X-era in the X-Men comics when mutants transformed Mars into a new homeworld. Krakoa's other half, Arakko, settled on the red planet alongside a large population of mutants. However, Ultron has greatly changed Arakko in Marvel Rivals. According to the story update, Ultron has stolen the X-Men's Cerebro unit to become X-Tron, and transformed Arakko into "a cold, merciless mechanical world." To restore Arakko to its former glory, Marvel's heroes will have to unite once again.

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After Hidetaka Miyazaki directed the popular Elden Ring, Junya Ishizaki stepped in to direct the upcoming standalone spin-off, Neightreign. In an interview, Ishizaki discussed taking over for Miyazaki and revealed what advice Miyazaki gave him.

Speaking to IGN, Ishizaki said as Nightreign's director, it was his mission to "put my all into it," adding that he felt a desire that he's "just got to do this." Ishizaki was the one to bring forward the idea to make Nightreign in the first place, and it was his project to steer ahead.

"I realized that I would need the resolve to see it through to completion or see it through to the end," he explained.

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The Warhammer 40K Skulls 2025 showcase presented a look at the future of Warhammer video games, with Boltgun 2 and an upgraded version of the original Space Marine among the biggest announcements. Xbox wants to continue the Warhammer celebration in the present, however, so it's announced that eight Warhammer games will be available for free to all Xbox Game Pass members May 22-25 as part of its Free Play Days initiative.

The event began at 12:01 AM PT / 3:01 AM ET on May 22, and it will run until 11:59 PM PT / 2:59 AM ET on May 25. A few of the games included in the Free Play Days event received updates during the Warhammer Skulls livestream, including Darktide, Blood Bowl 3, and Rogue Trader.

Xbox Free Play Days

The full list of games available during the Xbox Warhammer Free Play Days event are below:

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