More new deals are trickling in as we head closer and closer to Black Friday. Walmart takes the crown (so far) for selling the least expensive 50" TV. If you've been searching for a big TV for under $200, your wait has come to an end. If you're willing to pay a bit more, some excellent TCL TVs have also been discounted. In terms of picture quality and price, they offer the best bang for your buck. In other news, the Xbox Anniversary Special Edition controller is back in stock. Although it's currently at retail price, it's been sold out for a while and the fact that it's available anywhere is news in and of itself.

Xbox Wireless Controller 20th Anniversary Edition

The coveted Xbox Anniversary Special Edition controller is finally back in stock, but only at Microsoft Store directly. The controller features a translucent black shell with silver internals and Xbox green accents. It has all the niceties of the new Xbox Series X|S controllers like the textured triggers and bumpers, hybird D-pad, button mapping, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Origin PC Black Friday Sale Starts Now

Origin PC is kicking off its Black Friday Sale with your choice of two freebies when you order a select gaming system off their site. This includes a straight $50 Visa rewards card, a Corsair gaming keyboard, mouse, or headphone or an Elgato Stream Deck Mini. We've checked the prices on these configs and you can get an Origin PC Neuron RTX 3070 config starting at $2480 or an RTX 3080 config starting at $2947. That's a bit pricier than your run-of-the-mill preassembled PC off Amazon, but Origin PC's build quality, attention to detail, and customer service are easily a cut above the rest of the vendors out there.

New TCL 4K TV Black Friday Deals

TCL has been carving its own permanent space in the competitive TV market; they offer genuinely impressive TVs at incredibly low prices and are often the best bang for your buck. Today a bunch of TCL TVs have gone down in price. They range from a very inexpensive 43" TV for $219 all the way to a 75" Mini-LED QLED pane for $1299.99. These TVs compare to Samsung TVs that cost hundreds of dollars more.

50" 4K TV for Under $200

Looking for a respectably sized 4K TV at a dirt cheap price? You might not find anything cheaper than this 50" Sceptre 4K TV for only $199. The caveat? There's no smart functionality built in. That's barely an issue, since you can pick up a Fire TV Stick 4K for $25 or a Roku Premier 4K for $20. You're better off with a portable dongle anyways, since you can swap it from TV to TV without having to re-enter your login credentials.

Samsung Odyssey G9 49" Gaming Monitor

Woot is offering a significant discount on this top-of-the-line gaming monitor. Don't be shied away by the fact that it's refurbished. It's recertified by Samsung direct and even features a manufacterer's 90-day warranty. Woot is owned by Amazon, so anyone with an Amazon Prime membership will get free shipping on the order. The Samsung Odyssey G9 boasts a massive 49" 5120×1440 curved display with a fast 1ms response time, 240Hz refresh rate, and G-SYNC compatibility. It also boasts a high contrast ratio, good color rendition, and wide viewing angles thanks to its QLED VA panel.

Bose QuietComfort 35 II Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Bluetooth Headphones

The Black Friday price of the legendary Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones has dropped back down to $179, although it will probably sell out soon. The Bose QC35 is one of the best noise cancelling headphones ever made. Nowadays, there are other contenders including Bose's new updated model, the QC45. That said, it's still one of the best headphones around, and at this price it just can't be beat. At $179 it's a full $100 cheaper than the newest Bose QC45 model and $170 cheaper than the Sony WH1000XM4.

Alienware Aurora R12 RTX 3060 Ti Gaming PC

Not only is this the best Alienware gaming PC deal right now, it's probably the least expensive prebuilt gaming PC equipped with an RTX 3060 Ti video card anywhere. With the RTX 3060 Ti video card selling for over $800 on eBay, getting a fully built Alienware system with an 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of SDD storage for $1399 seems like an absolute steal. The RTX 3060 Ti is much more powerful than the standard RTX 3060; in fact, it's as powerful as the RTX 2080 SUPER.

Dell S2721DGF 27" 1440p GSYNC Gaming Monitor

Update: A bonus $50 Dell eGift Card is now added to the deal!

This excellent monitor has hit a new price low for Black Friday. It's one of the best 27" gaming monitors you can buy for under $500. The S2721DGF boasts a high quality IPS panel (better than the VA panel found on the popular S3220DGF model). It features wide viewing angles and excellent color rendition including 98% DCI-P3 color coverage, a super fast 1ms response time and up to 165Hz refresh rate through the DisplayPort. It's also FreeSync Premium Pro and G-SYNC compatible.

SecretLabs Black Friday Sale

SecretLabs has kicked off its Black Friday sale in earnest. Save $30 off select TITAN Evo 2022 series gaming chairs, $40 off select TITAN 2020 series chais, and $150 off the TITAN 2020 series Napa Leather chairs. You can also save up to $60 off the ruggedly built and (optionally) RGB-lit MAGNUS series gaming desks. You also get free shipping.

Black Friday Video Game Deals

Our Definitive Black Friday Roundup

If you want a complete list of the best early Black Friday deals that are live right now, check out or definitive Black Friday megapost article. We keep it constantly updated with the best early Black Friday deals we've found from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Dell, and more.

Deathloop's second big update is here, and the patch notes indicate that it addresses some of players' biggest concerns. The update focuses on enemy AI, UI issues, audio, and other elements.

One of the biggest changes is that Julianna players will receive a win if a Colt player drops out of their game, a change that will surely make fans of Deathloop's multiplayer happy. Previously, a Colt player bouncing from a multiplayer session could mean a lot of wasted time for a Julianna player with little to no reward.

Colt players who try to wait out Julianna will also get a sort of slap on the wrist. If a Colt player hides in the tunnels that connect each area of Deathloop's map, they'll be automatically pinged and the tunnel doors will open, allowing a Julianna player to more easily eliminate them. The antenna that Colt must hack to escape also takes slightly longer to hack, and Bethesda says an AI-controlled Julianna will be "more reactive" to Colt's actions, though doesn't explain how.

Enemy NPC behavior has also been dramatically improved. NPCs will react to bullets whizzing by their heads, when another NPC is assassinated nearby, and can hear better and react faster to footsteps.

Accessibility changes include controller remapping being added, left/right stick inversion, larger UI buttons and text in menus and larger selectable menu areas.

You can find the full patch notes below.

• NPCs now react to bullets passing close by, such as headshots that miss
• NPCs now react when another is assassinated close by
• NPCs now hear better and react faster to nearby footfalls
• NPCs under fire no longer move to take cover if the player is too close
• NPCs can now deduce the direction from which a grenade was thrown
• NPCs no longer stop trying to kill Colt if Julianna uses Nexus to link him to them
• Interrupted aerial assassinations will no longer cause NPCs to become mostly invulnerable
• Numerous other small fixes and improvements to NPC behavior, reactions, pathing, and placement
• Charlie Montague no longer gets stuck in the floor or ground if he’s kicked while using Shift

QUALITY OF LIFE/ACCESSIBILITY

• Added controller remapping and left/right stick inversion
• UI buttons and text in options menu are now larger, as are their selectable areas
• [PS5] Added Field-of-View and motion-blur options. We continue to listen to community feedback and explore more quality of life and accessibility options for a future update.

INVASION

• Colt dropping the game now counts as a win for a player-controlled Julianna
• AI-controlled Julianna is now more reactive to Colt’s actions
• The antenna that Colt must hack to escape now takes slightly longer to hack
• AFK players are tagged
• Colt players who linger in Colt’s tunnels for too long are automatically tagged and that causes the tunnel doors to open
• Higher chance that you will invade players on your Friends list while they are playing in ‘Online mode’
• Strelak Sapper Charges thrown by NPCs that Julianna has attacked will no longer create false Colt tags for Julianna
• Players now properly hear audio reactions from the opposing player during melee
• Strelak Sapper Charges will now stick to Julianna as they do to other NPCs

USER INTERFACE

• The UI is now clearer regarding Residuum loss on death
• The appearance of weapons and other items is improved within the Loadout UI
• The UI HUD will now properly display updates made to key bindings and controls
• The game will now pause fully during the Game Over splash screen
• Melee will now be labeled correctly when in the weapon cycle on a controller (Y)
• When aiming down sights, crosshairs will no longer disappear while the player is close enough to an NPC to perform an assassination
• The Heritage Gun’s reticle will now indicate the increased scatter from the Scattergun perk
• [PC] Players will no longer be asked to confirm changes to visual settings if nothing was changed
• [PC] Fixed an issue in which mouse wheel sensitivity was overreduced when zooming in or out to view a weapon in the Loadout UI

MISC. GAMEPLAY

• Duplicate Slab upgrades are now converted to a harvestable Residuum object
• In Karl’s Bay, Harriet and her cultists can no longer shoot at Colt through the closed security door to her office
• Also in Karl’s Bay, a certain window in Hangar 2 has been restored to its intended functionality
• Strelak Sapper Charges can no longer be thrown in a way that enables the player to clip through doors or other surfaces
• Kicking a Strelak Sapper Charge while “cooking” it no longer causes the Charge to explode and no longer causes subsequent Charges to disappear when thrown
• Turret placement can no longer be used as a way to enable the player to clip through doors or other surfaces
• Hackable antennas now give clearer audiovisual feedback of their hacked status
• Fixed an issue that could result in Colt having 2 guns in the same hand or one gun in the left hand instead of the right hand after a reprise
• Fixed an issue that could prevent a weapon from being further reloaded if player switched to a same ammunition type while reloading then switched back to original weapon
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Hackamajig not to be automatically equipped to an empty hand when first picked up
• Fixed an issue that could lead to a player using the Shift Slab to reach a ledge, triggering the vaulting action, and getting stuck in the ledge instead of vaulting it
• Fixed a case in which 2-Bit interactions were not working as intended
• Fixed an issue that caused some hackable doors to become unopenable if kicked while hacking
• More than one turret can no longer occupy the same space
• Fixed an issue that could trap players if Fia’s large bunker doors close on them

GRAPHICS/AUDIO

• Fixed an issue in which the player could unequip the machete during an assassination animation
• Corrected some issues with FSR integration and improved overall implementation.
• Fixed in issue in which the player could unequip a jammed gun during the unjamming animation
• Fixed bugs, including some that could cause crashes, related to the DLSS and ray tracing graphics options
• Fixed numerous minor visual glitches, including some related to indirect lighting
• Fixed or improved numerous audio details and timings, including some improved voiceover lines
• Improved audio mixing across the board
• Fixed an issue that could cause graphical glitching when a door is opened at the same time a sensor closes it
• Turret indicator lights now no longer function if the turret’s battery is destroyed
• The hostile/friendly indicator lights on Field Nullifiers are now consistent with those on turrets
• Fixed an issue that caused deactivated turrets to sound as though they’re deployed when thrown or dropped
• Fixed an issue that rarely caused closed doors to appear as though they’re open

ACHIEVEMENTS/TROPHIES AND FEATS

• Fixed an issue that enabled Julianna to be rewarded with duplicate trinkets
• Fixed an issue that prevented the “Ensemble Tragedy” achievement from being rewarded properly
• Fixed an issue that prevented Julianna from earning the Double Vision feat if killing Colt via assassination while Masquerading as a Visionary
• Fixed an issue that enabled Julianna players to earn the Sorceress feat even if weapons were used
• Fixed an issue that counted Colt’s own deaths to Julianna’s gunfire toward the “Don’t Mind Me” achievement

STABILITY

• Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash while using the Strelak Verso
• Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash if Colt dies just as a cinematic begins
• Fixed an issue that could rarely cause the game to become unresponsive on exiting the Journal
• [PC] Fixed an issue that could cause the game to become unresponsive while remapping controls from keyboard to controller or vice versa

CONNECTION-RELATED

• Fixed an issue that could cause the first weapon to be dropped when the Julianna player picks up multiple weapons at once
• Fixed an issue that could cause the mission results screen and progression to be skipped for the Julianna player if that player goes straight to Invasion matchmaking after successfully breaking the loop as Colt and watching the game credits
• Fixed an issue that could cause the “network connection to the server failed” message to remain on-screen after being resolved
• Fixed an issue that could cause Julianna to spawn above the ground, having to briefly fall before being able to move
• Fixed an issue that caused the visual effects of Karnesis, when used on an NPC, not to appear from Julianna’s point of view

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/Mr. Kill for IGN.

In a community-shaking move, Nintendo is partnering with Panda Global for the first officially licensed series of Super Smash Bros. eSports tournaments in North America. Nintendo is not only supporting official Super Smash Bros. tournaments but events for the GameCube fan-favorite Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well.

Nintendo of America announced the new Smash Bros tournament series today. In a tweet, the company said, "Ready your A-game, Super #SmashBros competitors. We've partnered with @PandaGlobal to launch the first officially licensed Super Smash Bros. championship circuit in North America, coming 2022!"

Confirmed. Ready your A-game, Super #SmashBros competitors. We've partnered with @PandaGlobal to launch the first officially licensed Super Smash Bros. championship circuit in North America, coming 2022! #SmashBrosUltimate #SmashBrosMelee https://t.co/3WKbEYrMH2

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 18, 2021

In a press release, Nintendo's senior director of product marketing Bill Trinen called the partnership with Panda Global "the next step in Nintendo's efforts to create a more consistent, fun and welcoming competitive environment for our players and fans."

To call the Smash community's relationship with Nintendo "shaky" would be an understatement. Professional players who devote their lives and careers to being the best at Smash have often been at odds with Nintendo over the years, making today's announcement a huge step to healing those wounds.

The most famous example is back in 2013 when Nintendo attempted to shut down Melee from appearing at Evo. When that failed, Nintendo tried to block live streams of the event After fan outrage, Nintendo instantly reversed the decision, and the Melee event took place as planned. However, many players felt Nintendo had played their cards, and from that day forward much of the Smash community believed Nintendo was against them.

As the years went on, Nintendo dabbled in supporting Smash events in some official capacity. From the Smash invitational at E3, where pro players were invited to try out the new Smash game ahead of release, to Nintendo's sponsorship of smaller tournaments and online events. However, the Smash community didn't feel it was the support they were looking for.

“From the public looking in, we had some game demos or booths from Nintendo at a few events, and maybe a few tweets about the events. No huge prize pots or organization of any kind though,” Christina “Chia” Korsak, a longtime member of the Smash Bros. community, said in an interview with IGN last year.

Korsak went on to say Nintendo-sponsored events led to different problems, like not using popular modded versions of Smash, broadcast restrictions for licensed music tracks, and more.

In 2020, it seemed the divide between Nintendo and the Smash community was only widening, as the fighting game community dealt with allegations of sexual misconduct involving players, organizers, and commentators.

At the time, Nintendo issued a statement to IGN, saying, "At Nintendo, we are deeply disturbed by the allegations raised against certain members of the competitive gaming community. They are absolutely impermissible. We want to make it clear that we condemn all acts of violence, harassment, and exploitation against anyone and that we stand with the victims.”

Later in 2020, multiple Nintendo game communities spoke out against Nintendo, vocally criticizing the company's approach to canceling events featuring games including Smash Bros. and Splatoon. The backlash came after Nintendo served a cease-and-desist to the Smash Bros. Melee 'Big House' tournament, which is one of the biggest events for the scene. The cease-and-desist focused on the tournament's use of Melee's unofficial Slippi mod, which lets players play Melee online. Eventually, The Big House canceled the event entirely. The cancelation led to the #freemelee movement, a social media movement protesting Nintendo's decision.

As tensions continued to boil, it seemed some hardcore Smash players were gearing up to jump ship from Smash and latch onto Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, a recently-released platform fighter inspired by Melee. The new game was attractive because it came with a fresh developer and publisher devoid of the baggage associated with Nintendo and the Smash community's notoriously strained relationship.

It remains to be seen how this officially licensed circuit will differ from other events Nintendo has sponsored in the past, but the simple fact that Nintendo is acknowledging Melee at all is already a big change. Generally, Nintendo only supports the latest Smash game's scene, which is currently 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Panda Global is a professional eSports organization, and Nintendo's choice to partner with them may represent a more serious attempt to support the competitive scene, rather than organizing everything on their own. In a press release, Nintendo and Panda Global announced that additional details including official rules, event dates, and prizing will be revealed in the future.

While we wait for official details on what this partnership will entail, Smash pros are already reacting to the bombshell announcement. Responding to Nintendo's Tweet, Melee player Juan 'hungrybox' Debiedma called today, "the first day of a beautiful future."

"Thank you for acknowledging competitive Melee and for providing support to both scenes," hungrybox wrote. "I'm looking forward to what can be accomplished with both parties working together. This is gonna be something very special."

Today is the first day of a beautiful future.

Thank you for acknowledging competitive Melee and for providing support to both scenes.

I'm looking forward to what can be accomplished with both parties working together.

This is gonna be something very special. 🙌

— hungrybox (@LiquidHbox) November 18, 2021

Still, some players are skeptical about the announcement, given Nintendo's rocky relationship with the community over the years.

"I trust that Panda Global has the best interests for the community at heart," Melee player Hugo 'HugS' Gonzalez wrote in a statement to IGN. "Nintendo has proven otherwise over the years. It’s good news if executed correctly, but I’ll be waiting on further details."

We'll have to wait and see how Nintendo's officially licensed circuit pans out. For example, there could still be disagreements on Melee mods like Slippi and 20XX, or ruleset decisions the community may not agree with. Still, Nintendo is extending the olive branch to a community it has consistently clashed with, which will certainly turn into a fascinating chapter in Smash Bros. history.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

With the ongoing popularity of “Games as a Service” titles, more and more companies are trying to create their version of the model that will gain traction and grow over time. In collaboration with renowned developer Platinum Games, Square Enix has attempted to do this with Babylon’s Fall, which takes place in a more fantastical setting. While the combat feels fresh and new – right according to Platinum’s reputation – Babylon’s Fall is otherwise shaping up to be a fundamental mess with based features being absent or convoluted. It thus far adds up to create a sluggish, boorish rut that needs much more time to hone in and focus on what it wants to be, or else it will be dead on arrival.

In Babylon’s Fall you play as a Sentinel, a customizable warrior chosen by a relic known as the Gideon Coffin. You’re given the power to fight against the looming threats in a grand standing tower titled The Ziggurat. Each quest will advance you higher until you inevitably hit the summit. With my play time being from a closed beta test, I was only given access to the first six levels, which naturally became more difficult the higher I rose in the tower.

When it comes to the level design, quests are uninspired, to the point of unengaging hallways, obvious encounter areas, and few loot chests along the way.

After finishing each quest I was rewarded with loot to make my character stronger, but what made the situation frustrating was I couldn’t see the loot I earned until the level was already over. Instead of showing me exactly what the items were, I picked up “relics” instead – stopping me from being able to upgrade in between fights during a quest.

Between quests, sentinels are housed at the Sentinel Force HQ where I was able to accept quests, sell items, and manage inventory. Quests are picked up through a job board, and other players in the hub world can join your missions to create a team of up to four. Playing with your friends, on the other hand, is a complicated hurdle to jump over.

There is a very limited number of players who can be in the Sentinel Force HQ at the same time, and despite being primarily a cooperative experience, Babylon’s Fall doesn’t give you the option to invite a friend into your party in a traditional sense. To have a friend join, you must give them your “HQ code,” an eight-digit number that will let them join the same hub world as you to squad up into the same quest. Making matters worse, once your friend joins you are not automatically in a party together; you’re just in the same hub. Thus, it’s possible to accidentally start a mission without your friend being a part of it.

This HQ code approach is likely a result of cross-play support between PlayStation consoles and PC, but with so many other online games nowadays utilizing much simpler options, implementing a bloated multistep system like this in 2021 is, frankly, unacceptable.

Sentinels are equipped with four different weapons that are dedicated to one specific button. Two weapons work as the light and heavy attack while the other two are your spectral weapons. Outside of health you have a spectral energy bar that depletes as you use your spectral weapons, but returns both over time and when you hit enemies with your light and heavy attacks. There are five different weapon types including a sword, hammer, bow, rod, and shield allowing you to mix and match with different loadouts creating some varied combat scenarios once you obtain better gear, but that does not make up for much when most encounters are so uneventful. Bosses put up more of a fight down the line, but when they’re as rare as they are the gameplay isn’t worth investing in.

Babylon’s Fall is in a rough state right now. It has little going for it, especially when other games as a service titles like Destiny are thriving more than ever before and others in the same vein with name recognition behind it like Marvel’s Avengers is itself struggling to gain a solid footing. Platinum has certainly proven over the years that they have the talent. Here’s hoping they get the time to bring Babylon’s Fall up to its full potential.

Battlefield 2042 has had a rough launch week thus far, whether it's server issues, UI problems, or more creative frustrations like features or modes that 2042 has opted not to include. One Reddit user by the name of Jellyswim has even gone so far as to create a list of features "removed or downgraded" from Battlefield 2042, and it's a surprisingly long (if subjective) read.

Some notable complaints include:

• No persistent lobbies, requiring players to matchmake after every game.
• No global leader boards
• No standard server browser
• Fewer standard game modes, like team deathmatch
• Fewer vehicle types
• No small transport-type vehicles, such as ATVs or bikes
• Fewer gun choices
• Various mobility mechanics, like manual leaning, high wall vaulting, backwards prone, no diving while swimming
• Technical issues, like less control and UI optimization options, less ultrawide monitor support, and issues with aim assist on console.
• A less obvious method of communicating a medic is on the way to revive a downed teammate.
• And easily a few dozen more complaints.

It's worth noting that none of these features are necessarily "missing." Sequels omit features from previous games all the times, whether it's for budgetary reasons, the realities of a game's development timeline, or just a creative decision to lean into a less-is-more approach, all of which doesn't necessarily mean a game is better or worse for it. That said, the list is a pretty stark reminder of how different Battlefield 2042 is in the details from its predecessors.

The list is just a short taste, but the post has become one of the Battlefield 2042 subreddit's highest-upvoted posts in recent history, with plenty of users joining in on the complaints.

"I'll admit I had fun for 10ish hours, but these things became more and more obvious, and the fun just dwindled rapidly," wrote a user named MultimediaCarl.

“'Assist counts as Kill' is literally one of my favorite features of BF4," wrote user KaineZilla. "It was the first game I noticed it in, and it just feels GOOD. Especially to someone like me that struggles with clean up.

"Portal really is the saving grace but it's a shame we have to rely so heavily on user-created servers to fill in so many of the gaps missing from the base game, and portal isn't going going hold that status forever," wrote user Jellyswim.

IGN's own Battlefield 2042 review echoed some of these complaints, noting how classes seem to matter less when all specialist characters can utilize most of each class' tools, and even an issue with dead teammates' bodies remaining visible on the ground, acting as false bait for a medic.

DICE responded early Thursday with its first update for Battlefield 2042, targeting server issues like rubberbanding, and instances of stuttering on the Breakaway map, among other issues. DICE has also updated with a fix for Battlefield 2042's prox sensor item.

DICE is also planning to release two additional updates in the next 30 days, aimed at fixes, balance changes, and quality of life issues.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.