gaming

Releasing on August 14, The Hobbit is the next Universes Beyond set in line after Marvel Super Heroes . After the success of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, the first Universes Beyond set to be legal in the Modern format, the prequel book is getting its own Magic treatment. You can expect plenty of cards that are faithful to J.R.R. Tolkien's expansive world building, including multiple versions of iconic characters, locations, and story moments. Each card is carefully designed to both work mechanically in a game of Magic, but also to stay true to the original works. So far, it looks as through the entire product suite is available to preorder at both Amazon and Best Buy at the time or writing this guide. A notable omission compared to previous Magic expansions is a preconstructed Commander decks. Most sets come with at least one 100-card deck ready to play outside of the box, but it seems The Hobbit is bucking this trend. This is likely due to the amount of Legendary Creatures that are sure to be in packs, as Wizards of the Coast has confirmed some characters will be getting multiple different cards in the set. Below is a full list of sealed products you can get your hands on with The Hobbit. Some of them are sold out, but with the expansion dropping in August there's plenty of time to check back in for restocks. Play Booster Box (30 Packs) $209.70 | Releases August 14 Play booster packs are the best way to bolster your collection. Each pack comes with 15 card and the chance to pull a Rare or Mythic. The Play booster box is a collection of 30 packs, so if you wanted to host a draft night with friends or just rip packs with The Hobbit films in the background, this is the perfect way to do so. Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy The Hobbit Bundle (9 Packs) $70 | Releases August 14 Similar to the Play booster box, bundles are great kits to get started. You'll get a few packs, but accessories like the life counter and box are super helpful to always have on hand. Here's everything you'll get: 9 Play Booster Packs 1 Alternate Art Traditional Foil Card 19 Traditional Foil Basic Lands (9 Full Art) 15 Basic Lands (5 Full Art) 1 Oversized Spindown Life Counter 1 Card Storage Box 2 Reference Cards Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy Draft Night Kit (13 Packs) $130 | Releases August 14 While Play booster boxes and Bundles are good for building out a collection, the Draft Night kit is specifically designed for a 4-player Pick-Two Draft pod. Similar to regular booster draft, but made for quicker games. Here's what's inside: 12 Play Booster Packs 1 Collector Booster Pack 90 Basic Lands 10 Double-side Tokens See at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy Crack the Plates Scene Box $42 | Releases August 14 Scene Boxes are one of the coolest new products Magic has put out over the years. Each one is a 6-card collection of alternate art cards that each form a big interconnecting image when placed together. The Crack the Plates Scene Box depicts the iconic opening moments of The Hobbit when Thorin and his company commandeer Bilbo's Hobbit Hole. Included in this are: 6 Traditional Foil Borderless Scene Cards 6 Art Cards 3 Play Boosters 1 Paper Display Easel Preorder at Amazon Treasures of Smaug Scene Box $42 | Releases August 14 The Hobbit Scene Boxes bookend some of the best moments from the book. The Treasure of Smaug box recreates the scene when Bilbo finally comes face to face with the dragon Smaug and engages in a battle of wits. Like the other Scene Box, you'll get: 6 Traditional Foil Borderless Scene Cards 6 Art Cards 3 Play Boosters 1 Paper Display Easel Preorder at Amazon Collector Booster Packs (12 Packs) $450 | Releases August 14 Collector boosters are similar to Play boosters in that they each contain 15 cards in a pack. But instead of 1 to 2 Rare or Mythics, Collector booster packs offer 5 to 6 and exclusively contain collectable alternate art treatments not found in Play boosters, which accounts for the Collector Booster box's premium price. You'll get: 12 Collector Booster Packs 1 Traditional Foil Box Topper Tales of Middle-Earth Borderless Art Reprint Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy The Hobbit Gift Bundle $90 | Releases September 4 Gift Bundles are premium version of regular bundles. You'll get the same amount of packs, but with a few extra promo or alternate art cards thrown into the mix. Compared to the rest of The Hobbit set, this gift bundle doesn't release until September 4. Here's what's inside: 9 Play Booster Packs 1 Collector Booster Pack 4 Surge Foil Full Art Seasonal Hobbit Basic Lands 15 Traditional Foil Basic Lands (5 Full Art) 15 Basic Lands (5 Full Art) 1 Traditional Foil Promo Card 1 Oversized Spindown Life Counter 1 Card Storage Box 2 Reference Cards Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy

Microsoft's Free Play Days event returns this weekend, allowing Xbox users to play a handful of games for the low, low price of $0. Or at least nothing extra beyond a Game Pass membership. For this weekend, there are two games up for grabs. Those who purchase the games after the free weekend can retain their progress and Gamerscore, which is a nice thing to know for people who want to keep playing. Read on to see all the games that are free this weekend. If you're looking for even more free games, you can check out GameSpot's rundown of some of the best free games out there. How to get the free games The Free Play Days games can be be downloaded on console by navigating to the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and finding the Free Play Days collection. These are available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Alternatively, you can follow the links in this gallery to queue up your download remotely. Catan Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and Essential members can play Catan free May 7-10. Get on Xbox Deadside Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and Essential members can play Deadside free May 7-10. Get on Xbox

Meet the man who gave up a vehicle comparable to a Ferrari for a Pokémon TCG collection with hundreds of singles and many sealed boxes

Players who constantly check PlayStation Store for the best prices may be surprised to hear that Sony has apparently removed the deals tab that has been associated with its online marketplace. A sale was previously scheduled to begin today, but there's currently no sign that it will. Push Square was among the first outlets to notice that PlayStation Store's deals tab was missing, and we confirmed that going to the deals page on a web browser results in an error message. Pinning down a reason why has been more difficult in the absence of any official word from Sony. GameSpot has reached out to Sony for comment. Early speculation from the outlet suggested that the move may be tied to Sony's currently in-progress update for PlayStation's UI, which is in beta. Insider Gaming has also reported that the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Sony could be another factor in the decision to take down the deals tab. If the settlement is accepted by the court, Sony will pay $7.8 million to players in the United States who purchased select games on PlayStation Store. Continue Reading at GameSpot

As the halfway point of the year comes into focus, the latest batch of free games for Amazon Luna has been revealed. Amazon Prime members can claim these 11 PC games and six more via the cloud for a total of 17 freebies in May. This month, the selection includes a classic gangland drama that has been overhauled for modern systems, some escape room fun, and one of the best Alien games of all time. As a reminder, all of the free games that you claim through Amazon Luna are yours to keep forever, even if your subscription expires. If you aren't a member, you can sign up for Amazon Luna for as little as $15 for one month to take advantage of the subscription and its freebies. Sign up for Amazon Prime Amazon Luna Free Games For May 2026 May 7 Mafia 2: Definitive Edition (GOG Code) Fruitbus (GOG Code) May 14 Survival: Fountain of Youth (Amazon Games Code) 60 Minutes to Extinction: Escape Room (GOG Code) Lethal Honor: Order of the Apocalypse (Epic Games Store) May 21 Space Grunts (GOG Code) Palindrome Syndrome: Escape Room (GOG Code) Hot Brass (GOG Code) May 28 Nordic Storm Solitaire (Legacy Games Code) Moon Mystery (Epic Games Store) Pro Basketball Manager 2026 (Amazon Games Code) Prime subscribers will also be able to play the following new games in May via the Luna channel: Continue Reading at GameSpot

Timmy & Tommy's Fun Day Out $60 | August 1, 2026 See at Lego Animal Crossing's Timmy and Tommy have been hard at work peddling their wares since 2001, when Dobutsu no Mori, the first Animal Crossing game, made its debut in Japan. Despite their admirable work ethic, the brothers deserve some time off--and that's just what they get in Lego's new Timmy & Tommy's Fun Day Out set , which is now available for preorder for $60 and comes out on August 1. Lego Timmy & Tommy's Fun Day Out (513 pieces) $60 | August 1, 2026 You typically only see Timmy and Tommy in Nook's Crossing when you play an Animal Crossing game, but it's lovely to see them enjoying the idyllic towns you bring to life. This Lego set measures 7.5 inches high, nine inches wide, and 5.5 inches deep and depicts the brothers playing on the Red Zen Bridge from New Horizons, with fish swimming in the lake below, flowers dotting the grass on both sides, and a bit of cracked earth that reveals a buried fossil. There's also a familiar red balloon floating overhead with a present that contains a DIY recipe card, a movable butterfly, a fishing rod, and a flag, so you can use these accessories to customize the scene any way you want. This set is ideal for builders 10 years of age and up and contains 513 pieces. You can use the Lego Builders app to guide you as you build, which will save your sets, help you keep track of your progress, and rotate the models so you can see them from all sides. Preorder at Lego This is the seventh set in Lego's current Animal Crossing series, and they're all just as cute as you might imagine. The previous six sets are all available at Lego and range in price from $10 to $90. However, it's worth noting that Lego no longer makes some of its original Animal Crossing sets , so if you want to collect them all, don't wait too long to pick them up. Lego's Current Animal Crossing Sets Able Sisters' Clothing Shop (322 pieces) -- $40 Blathers Museum Collection (543 pieces) -- $80 Creative Houses: Seasons of Fun (814 pieces) -- $90 Goldie's Cozy House (149 pieces) -- $23 Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop (263 pieces) -- $30 Stargazing With Celeste (78 pieces) -- $10 Sign up for GameSpot's Weekly Deals Newsletter: Continue Reading at GameSpot

Pragmata has sold another 1m copies, bringing its total sales figure up to an impressive 2m since its release last month. Read more

Resident Evil fans are poring over a fresh cache of images that claim to show content cut from Resident Evil Requiem — including a weapon merchant, evidence of side missions, and more.

What're ya buyin'? As soon as you read or hear those words, you know exactly who I am talking about. It's the catchphrase spoken by Resident Evil 4 's mysterious Merchant, who Leon can get weapons and upgrades from as he battles his way through the Las Plagas-riddled villagers. Read more

Foundational RPG series Wizardry has, over forty years since helping to codify the roleplaying videogame, found itself torn between present-day custodians. Atari announced yesterday that they’d acquired the rights to the first five Wizardry games, as well as "their underlying IP," and said they’d be re-releasing those five on modern platforms. This morning, however, Japanese publishers Drecom – who bought Wizardry’s copyright and trademark rights in 2020 – tXeeted that contrary to certain reports on Atari’s acquisition, it was they who’d continue to own and manage the intellectual property in the future. Read more

Oh heck, colleagues, we got one: a promising videogame. Noirmancer is a first-person single-player stealth sim, heavily inspired by the original Thief, in which you are a hard-boiled sleuth with supernatural abilities. Think Humphrey Bogart, if Humphrey Bogart were a Dishonored character. Here are some things you can do: swim in midair, transform into vapour, stun alerted guards with pew-pew gestures, and chuck down telekinetic mats to serve as (usefully sound-absorbing) platforms. It might sound like a jumble, like one of those Marvel comicbook movesets they have to prune severely for the sake of a coherent film adaptation, but the whimsical stage magician hand animations and midnight jazz SFX absolutely sell the package. Instead of swinging a blackjack (noirjack?), you'll put mooks to sleep with a snap of your gloved fingers and a rattle of cymbals. Forget Bogart - this is Penn or Teller, whichever of them has springier knees. Read more

Resident Evil Requiem protagonist Grace Ashcroft seemed to be an instant hit with series fans following the game's launch back in February; so much so that when Nvidia unveiled an AI-powered DLSS 5 makeover for the character just a few weeks later, the pushback was strong and swift. And speaking to Eurogamer in the aftermath of that controversy, Requiem game director Koshi Nakanishi has said he sees the passionate response as positive, suggesting it means the development team got Grace's original design "right". Read more

Sony PlayStation users in the US could be due a collective $7.85 million (£5.8m) in refunds after a judge primarily approved a class-action settlement in an antitrust lawsuit. Read more

Back in March, Nvidia revealed unto the world DLSS5, the next version of its upscaling and frame generation tech. It was ugly as sin, turning Resident Evil Requiem's Grace Ashcroft into, in the words of our own James, yassified Instagram models . The response from developers and onlookers alike was overwhelmingly negative, but of course Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang didn't see it that way (he's still wrong, by the way). Yet amongst the mess is a glass half full outlook from Requiem's producer, Masato Kumzawa. Read more

A little while ago our deputy editor James 'RAM-bo' Archer said he wanted us all to get more involved with hardware criticism, because we all appear to think that videogames are powered by telluric currents and swearing. He offered me specifically the chance to write about a laptop - the relatively affordable (I stress, "relatively") MSI Cyborg 14 , loaned to RPS for a few weeks by Swipe Right PR. It was a grievous imposition, dealt out by somebody I had thought a friend. I do need a gaming laptop, and I am interested in the monstrous convolutions of the hardware industry, but I'm not really your guy for hot chat about keyboard depth and graphics card benchmarking. I care about that stuff a lot less than, to pick an example at random, climbing mountains. By happy coincidence, when James came knocking I was about to go on a 105 mile hike through the Eryri national park in Wales, including an ascent of Yr Wyddffa, the country's highest peak. The compromise was as obvious as it was irresistable: I would attempt to review the MSI Cyborg 14 while hiking up Welsh mountains. Read more

Unknown Worlds have released the PC system requirements for Subnautica 2 , the ocean exploration and survival game hitherto defined by extravagant legal clashes between publishers Krafton and certain ousted and/or reinstated UW executives. I fear they are going to make you cry. The system specs, not the executives. Read more

After an earlier leak , we now have an official release date for Star Wars: Galactic Racer, the high-stakes, runs-based racing adventure set in a galaxy far, far away from developer Fuse Games . Read more