Dungeons & Dragons is one of the main throughlines in the Netflix sci-fi hit Stranger Things, but the show's finale found inspiration from the acclaimed D&D game Baldur's Gate 3, according to one of the show's creators.

Spoilers for the Stranger Things finale follow.

Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer mentioned to Variety that he was playing the Larian Studios-developed title while working on the final season. Duffer implied that the climactic showdown with Vecna and the Mind Flayer shared themes and elements with both D&D and Baldur's Gate 3.

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Highlighting an ongoing trend, the most popular games on PlayStation and Xbox are multiplayer, online, live-service titles that aren't necessarily "new," at least not in the traditional sense.

Circana's Mat Piscatella revealed that 2025's top five most-played games for PlayStation and Xbox in the US were the same as 2024's, and in the case of PS5, the ranking was exactly the same.

On PS5, the top five most-played games in the US were Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA V, Roblox, and Minecraft, ranked in that order. That was the same as 2024, according to Circana's Player Engagement Tracker, which is ranked by an "active panel" of players.

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There are few guarantees in life, such as death, taxes, and how rare Pokemon cards can be more valuable than any collectible out there. WWE performer and social media influencer Logan Paul is auctioning off his rare PSA 10 Pikachu artist edition. Paul took the card to Goldin Auctions and initially asked $1.3 million--the auction has already reached $1.45 million and still has 40 days to go.

"The Pokemon craze was in full swing in 1997. With the blockbuster Game Boy games, a primetime animated series, and now record-setting TCG, Japan was abuzz with excitement about what was in store for Pokemon," the official listing reads as it explains why the card is so rare. "In November 1997, a contest ... called 'Pokemon Card Game Illust Artist Contest,' challenged readers to draw their own Pokémon card and send it to the magazine. The following January issue of CoroCoro Comic announced the three winners, who each received 20 Pokemon cards featuring their own illustrations along with one copy of the Pikachu Illustrator card."

Image Credit: Goldin Auctions

Paul took to Twitter and said the card will also come with the customized chain he had made, valued at $75,000, and he would personally deliver it to the winner.

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A lot of interesting technology has been revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show 2026 this week, but one of the strangest might be Razer's Project Ava, an AI-powered desktop companion. Razer envisions the device as a "dynamic personality" that can interact with its owners as a 3D hologram, and it'll have several animated personalities to choose from, including one based on the prominent League of Legends esports player, Faker.

Razer claims that Ava uses human-like vision and audio-sensing for full contextual awareness, and that it can converse with people, consult on work tasks, and motivate you to engage in self-care routines. The company says it can also assist you in your work with "two-way conversation" features, and for gaming, it can fulfill multiple roles and deliver real-time hype.

As for the other personalities, Ava's default personality is a fusion of HAL 9000 and the original Xbox boot-up screen, Kira is an anime waifu, Zane is designed to be your gaming wingman, and Sao looks like she's ready for a day at the office. Razer says these characters are rendered in real time on a 5.5-inch holographic display and feature "high-fidelity motion, eye-tracking, and facial expressions" to help them engage with users.

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South Park is following in the tradition of The Simpsons yet again. Just a few months after the Simpsons-themed mini season in Fortnite, Epic Games is teasing the arrival of Comedy Central's South Park and its lineup of foul-mouthed kids.

The initial teaser image was shared by the official Fortnite social media accounts, and it doesn't confirm anything except a vague warning--"Chaos, loading..."--and a date, January 9, when all will be revealed.

Chaos, loading...
1.9.26 pic.twitter.com/vN6mfWAHXS

— Fortnite (@Fortnite) January 6, 2026

Previous leaks have suggested that the primary South Park kids--Kenny, Kyle, Cartman, and Stan--will be available with mech suits to even the odds. It's also been rumored that there will be a South Park mini pass for all or one of the South Park characters. Vice notes that the Stick of Truth--from the South Park: Stick of Truth 2014 video game--may be an important item in this collaboration. Leakers suggest that the Stick of Truth will give players the ability to control or at least modify the island's storms.

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Following the game's delay to May 2026, IO Interactive has announced the PC requirements for the upcoming James Bond game, 007: First Light.

IO also mentioned that it worked "in close collaboration" with Nvidia for the game. 007 First Light uses DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation, which the developer says allows for an "even deeper sense of immersion and improved performance."

The minimum specs are relatively low-end and don't call for an SSD; this is targeting 1080p/30fps. The recommended specs are also not particularly high-end outside of the 32GB RAM requirement, and target 1080p/60fps. This may be lower than many PC enthusiasts may want. There is no word on what a higher-end experience could require.

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CES 2026 has officially begun, and Razer is using this year's showcase to reveal a slew of AI-powered gadgets. One of the most intriguing debuts is Project Motoko, an AI headset powered by Snapdragon. Equipped with a pair of cameras near each earcup, it's capable of analyzing your surroundings and giving you audio feedback on what it sees.

Razer says Project Motoko can provide all sorts of feedback to users. For example, it can be used while gaming to get feedback about a boss fight, detecting what's on the screen and giving you immediate tips. It can translate street signs when traveling abroad, summarize documents, or handle tasks as simple as counting your reps at the gym. Equipped with dual far- and near-field microphones, it can both pick up your voice commands and listen to your surroundings for environmental cues, ensuring it gives you as accurate a response as possible.

Razer Motoko Headset

Motoko is built to connect seamlessly with most AI platforms, including OpenAI, Grok, and Gemini. It can also be used for machine learning, passively gathering data to improve the technology as the device is worn.

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The Tomb Raider live-action TV series at Prime Video continues to come into focus. The streamer has now announced more cast members for the show, and confirmed other names previously reported in the press.

While 10 actors have been confirmed, most of the roles remain mysterious. We do know that Sophie Turner is playing Lara Croft and Sigourney Weaver is playing someone named Wallace. Weaver herself volunteered this information in a media interview, but Prime Video has not confirmed it. Wallace may be a new character created for the show.

Tomb Raider TV show cast

• Sophie Turner as Lara Croft
• Sigourney Weaver as Wallace
• Martin Bobb-Semple
• Jason Isaacs
• Jack Bannon
• John Heffernan
• Bill Paterson
• Paterson Joseph
• Sarah Luss
• Juliette Motamed
• Celia Imrie
• August Wittgenstein

The Tomb Raider TV show is set to begin filming this month. However, there is no word yet on when the show will debut, or what it will be about, apart from telling the story of a woman who raids tombs. As announced previously, Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the creator, writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner alongside Chad Hodge for the series.

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Neurable and HyperX are teaming up to develop a gaming headset designed to help you play better. How will it do this? With an "industry-first neurotechnology-powered" headset that can potentially improve focus and accuracy in competitive games. It's also designed to use "non-invasive" neurotechnology, so you don't have to worry about getting a few cybernetic upgrades to be compatible with the device.

HyperX and Neurable's headset conceptGallery

Neurable and HyperX claim that testing with the in-development headset has resulted in faster reaction times of up to 38 milliseconds, improved accuracy by 3%, and a higher number of targets were hit during FPS training tasks when tested on esports players. The headset uses neural-sensing technology to track metrics like cognitive load and stress from a user's brainwaves.

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Lies of P publisher Neowiz describes itself as a "forward-thinking technology company," and its co-CEO says that means the company is exploring how all manner of technology-based solutions can help the company's business in the future, including AI.

Sean Kim told Game Informer that Korea, where Neowiz is based, is understood to be one of the countries where ChatGPT is "used most actively." He added, "It's hard to find a game company here today that isn’t using AI in some way. At the very least, companies are using either ChatGPT or Gemini."

For Neowiz, Kim said, "We are actively exploring how advanced learning tools can enhance our internal publishing productivity," and this includes AI.

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2018's Tomb Raider movie starring Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander is surging up the popularity charts on Netflix. According to Netflix's global streaming data, the film was the No. 9 most-watched movie on Netflix globally for the week of December 22 through December 28.

The two-hour movie tallied 4.2 million views and 8.2 million streaming hours. It's now had two weeks inside the top 10 on Netflix's global streaming charts.

The success of the action movie during the Christmas week is notable, in part because many of the other films are comprised of holiday movies, with The Grinch ranking No. 1, How the Grinch Stole Christmas coming in at No. 4, My Secret Santa at No. 6, The Christmas Chronicles at No. 7, and Jingle Bell Heist at No. 10.

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Square Enix has announced that a demo for Dragon Quest VII Reimagined will become available tomorrow, January 7. On top of that, your save data can be transferred to the full game when it launches next month, meaning your lengthy adventure can start early for the RPG remake.

It's unknown how much content is in the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined demo to check out. However, Square Enix is promising on X that players will receive Maribel's Day Off Dress as a reward in the full game.

Play the free demo for DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined starting January 7th on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam!
You'll be able to carry over your progress into the full game when it releases on February 5, 2026. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/8sN8UeyFmP

— DRAGON QUEST (@DragonQuest) January 5, 2026

This is the second month in a row that Square Enix is offering up a demo for a big-name RPG. Last month, a demo arrived for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S, with that full game set to release later this month.

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Sony has filed a patent document that could potentially allow AI to take over your game for you if you're struggling with it. The documents suggest that this "ghost assistance" can be activated at any time to either guide a player through progression or assume direct control of gameplay.

As revealed in the patent documents first filed in September 2024 (via VGC), the AI assistance system could potentially play through a section of a game that a player is struggling with, completing it for them. Sony describes the idea of training its AI agent using "footage from many users that have played the game" and various other online sources where gameplay videos have been uploaded.

An example from Sony, showing how the feature could potentially work.

Over the last couple of years, Sony has worked on several features to make its video games more approachable. The PS5 console launched with the Game Help system, which offers helpful tips and tricks via short videos and images on PS5 cards that can be instantly called up during gameplay. While developers haven't widely adopted it, it's still a useful feature for the games that do.

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Asus has hit the Consumer Electronics Show show floor with a brand-new set of Extended Reality glasses. Developed in partnership with Xreal, the Asus ROG Xreal R1 packs an impressive amount of technology into a slim frame for your face, allowing you to stream video directly to your eyes via a USB-C connection.

Internally, the Asus ROG Xreal R1 features 240Hz micro-OLED 1080p lenses, and it comes with an ROG Control Dock for HDMI and DisplayPort connectivity. You can also connect it to an ROG Ally via a single USB-C cable for a seamless experience. Asus says the lenses can create a 57-degree field of view and a 171-inch virtual screen at a distance of four virtual meters, covering 95% of the focused viewing area.

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At CES 2026 this week, Lego introduced its brand-new Smart Play system--a series of high-tech Lego bricks, tiles, and minifigures equipped with sensors, accelerometers, light and sound sensors, a miniature speaker with an onboard synthesizer, and more. The company says these pieces can communicate to enhance interactivity. The system will launch in March with three Star Wars sets, available for preorder starting January 9.

While this isn't the first time Lego has experimented with electronic components, there are key differences with Smart Play pieces. For starters, they can detect nearby NFC-equipped smart tags. They're also wirelessly charged. This is a big improvement compared to the Lego Super Mario toys, which required AAA batteries to function.

All of the pieces work with standard Lego bricks. Each piece contains a custom-made chip that is smaller than a standard Lego stud. So what do they do exactly? Lego says the Smart Bricks will respond to actions with appropriate sounds and behaviors. Here's a closer look at what you can expect, starting with the new Lego Star Wars sets that will make use of this technology.

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8BitDo unveiled the next generation of its flagship Ultimate controller series at CES 2026--and it now makes sense why the manufacturer hasn't released an Xbox version of the Ultimate 2. Officially licensed by Xbox, the 8BitDo Ultimate 3E is a wireless modular controller for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, Apple devices, and Android. A firm release date hasn't been set, but the Ultimate 3E is currently slated for Q2 2026 (April-June).

If you're eager to get your hands on 8BitDo's first modular controller, be prepared to spend considerably more than you did on the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 or any other traditional controller from the popular accessory maker. The 8BitDo Ultimate 3E will retail for $150, placing it squarely in competition with Microsoft's own Elite Series 2 and other licensed Xbox controllers such as the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded, Nacon Revolution X Unlimited, Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra, Scuf Valor Pro, and GameSir G7 Pro.

8BitDo Ultimate 3E Wireless Controller for Xbox/PC

$150 | Releases Q2 2026

See at 8BitDo

Unsurprisingly, the 8BitDo Ultimate 3E is the most feature-rich and technologically advanced controller in 8BitDo's catalog. It has some features found on the Ultimate 2 and Pro 3 Controllers, but the fully modular build means it has more customization options than any 8BitDo controller before it. And while you certainly can't refer to a $150 controller as "budget-friendly," it is priced lower most of the controllers listed above.

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Mega Bloks Halo Guilty Spark (609 pieces)

$29.10 (was $70.19)

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Mega Bloks Halo Floodgate Firefight (635 pieces)

$39.20 (was $75) | Amazon Exclusive

See at Amazon

Halo fans can get massive limited-time discounts on multiple officially licensed Mega Bloks building sets themed around the video game series. The most notable deal is the popular 343 Guilty Spark display model for $29.10 (was $70.19). The 609-piece set is part of Mega Bloks' collector series for adults. Amazon also a limited-time deal on the 635-piece Floodgate Firefight playset that drops the price to $39.20 (was $75). Based on Halo 3, Floodgate Firefight is one of several Mega Halo building sets exclusive to Amazon.

Mega Bloks Halo Guilty Spark (609 pieces) $29.10 (was $70.19)

Based on the Monitor (AI robot) from Bungie's original Halo trilogy, the 609-piece replica of 343 Guilty Spark has cool interactive features that longtime fans will appreciate.

Spark has working LED lights with two display modes and a built-in speaker that plays 15 quotes from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. The dialogue is voiced by the character's original actor Tim Dadabo. You can activate the lighting and audio features by pressing Spark's eye. The model is powered by three AAA batteries, which are included with the kit.

Guilty Spark comes with a buildable display stand and a name placard to attach to the base. The faithfully designed model measures 6.1 x 5.5 x 8 inches when connected to the stand.

See at Amazon Mega Bloks Halo Floodgate Firefight (635 pieces) $39.20 (was $75) | Amazon Exclusive

Floodgate Firefight is a 635-piece playset recommended for builders ages 13 and up. As mentioned, it's exclusive to Amazon and on sale for $39.20, which is close to the all-time best price. The set originally retailed for $75, but lately it has hovered around $52.

The Halo 3-inspired building set has a modular design with four different layouts and multiple interactive features, including a working winch to move a storage crate across the map.

The set comes with micro action figures of Master Chief and three enemies and buildable accessories such as a forklift and crane. The posable figures can wield various weapons and other small accessories.

See at Amazon

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Arc Raiders is a popular gaming, and it could become a movie or TV show next.

Embark Studios CEO Patrick Soderlund told GamesBeat (via VideoGamer) that the team has received numerous offers from Hollywood, but nothing has materialized as of yet. "It needs to be done in the right way," he said.

"I can't tell you how many companies have reached out wanting to make a TV series [and] movie out of this IP," he said. Soderlund added that it would be "fun" to see Arc Raiders get adapted for a film or TV show, but nothing is officially in the works as of yet.

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Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 developer Warhorse has revealed one feature that it cut from the RPG because it was too weird and not very fun.

Speaking to PC Gamer, executive producer Martin Klima said this feature was a GTA: San Andreas-like eating system where main character Henry could gain and lose weight depending on food consumption. This would also affect what Henry would be able to wear.

The version of Kingdom Come 2 that launched in February 2025 allows players to put on any piece of clothing they find. But it wasn't always this way. In earlier stages of development, Klima said, "Some NPCs would be fat and some would be thin, and then the clothing they wear would be either too large or too small for you."

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Microsoft has announced a new partnership to Hisense to bring the Xbox app to TVs that run on the company's TV operating system, V (formerly known as VIDAA).

In essence, the big takeaway here is that people will soon be able to play Xbox games in yet another place, without needing to own an actual physical Xbox. This is possible through Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is included with Game Pass Essential, Premium, and Ultimate.

Your Hisense TV will soon be an Xbox.

"Our vision is to make sure your games, your community, and your achievements are always within reach. Bringing the Xbox app to select Hisense and V homeOS-powered TVs is another step toward making gaming available across a broad range of devices, to meeting you wherever you want to play," Microsoft said.

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