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A smiling Riri Williams wearing her white iron armor suit in Ironheart
Product Reviews

Ironheart review: Marvel and Ryan Coogler cook up a surprisingly super Disney+ show that bleeds street-level simplicity and magical mayhem

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Slight spoilers follow for Ironheart.

Ironheart is an underdog in every sense of the word.

Despite man-of-the-moment Ryan Coogler’s involvement, the final TV show of the Marvel Phase 5 era was mostly written off well ahead of release; few other live-action Marvel TV projects have faced an uphill battle to convince Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) devotees and casual fans alike to watch it.


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Write off Coogler, the comic giant, and the series’ titular hero at your peril, though, because Ironheart is an impressive Disney+ TV Original that largely hits its marks. Yes, it falls into the perennial traps that other small-screen MCU projects have, but after watching all six episodes I was pleasantly surprised by its style, energy, and emotionally impactful story that explores themes around family and flawed heroes.

Tech check

Ironheart reintroduces us to Riri Williams, who made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Set days after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, i.e., the MCU movie in which Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) made her live-action debut in, Ironheart opens with the eponymous character returning to her hometown of Chicago. The reason? She’s kicked out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for selling completed assignments to other students to fund development of her Iron Man-inspired super-suit.

Financially broke and suit-less – after the self-made prototype suit, which she steals from MIT, malfunctions on the flight home – Riri soon crosses paths with Parker Robbins/The Hood (Anthony Ramos). The mysterious, magical cloak-wearing leader of a street gang, Robbins preys on Riri’s ambition to build a new, souped-up suit by saying he’ll fund her creation in exchange for helping his crew conduct heists.

Ironheart occasionally paints Riri as an anti-hero in the vein of Breaking Bad’s Walter White

Central to Ironheart‘s story is the internal struggle Riri continually wrestles with. At her core, she’s a good person – indeed, due to a deeply traumatic event that occurred years prior, Riri wants to “revolutionize safety” by creating a suit that can be used by first responders and other emergency services personnel.

After she’s kicked out of MIT, Riri builds a new suit at her Chicago-based childhood home (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

It’s that philanthropic nature, among other things, that draws parallels with a certain Tony Stark, whose ghost looms large over yet another MCU project. However, given their comic book ties – Stark is a long-time mentor of Riri’s in Marvel literature – Stark’s posthumous influence is more valid here than in prior MCU productions, even if the namedropping is occasionally incessant.

That said, while Riri wants to build on Stark’s legacy and make something “iconic”, her unwavering ambition and Stark-sized ego occasionally paints her as an anti-hero in the vein of Breaking Bad‘s Walter White or, in more familiar MCU terms, Frank Castle/The Punisher and Loki. Riri’s a more complicated and naïve hero than we’re used to seeing, and that make the decisions she makes, and the consequences spawned by her actions, all the more fascinating.

Fight off your demons

Ironheart does a much better job of examining post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic attacks than Iron Man 3 did (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

The dichotomy at the heart of Riri’s story is further heightened by the moral complexities and grief born out of the loss of her stepdad Gary (LaRoyce Hawkins) and best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) in a random act of gun violence.

This excruciatingly painful event is not just a driving force behind Riri’s ambition to make the world a safer place, but also a moment she refuses to confront. Such a deep-seated mental and emotional scar is a breeding ground for PTSD and panic attacks, which here are handled with greater precision, creative flair, and sensitivity than Stark’s post-Avengers mental health problems were in Iron Man 3.

In Thorne, Ironheart has a talented lead with the swagger, emotional nuance, and comedic timing – despite its melodrama, occasional toe dips into horror, and suspense-filled Ant-Man-like heisting, Ironheart is a surprisingly funny show – to bring all aspects of its protagonist to life, too.

Thorne has the swagger, emotional nuance, and comedic timing to bring all aspects of Ironheart’s protagonist to life

She’s not the sole bright spot among Ironheart‘s cast of characters.

The scene-stealing Ross, who plays Natalie in flashbacks and also portrays N.A.T.A.L.I.E – an AI construct like Iron Man’s J.A.R.V.I.S. and F.R.I.D.A.Y, and Black Panther‘s Griot, who Riri inadvertently creates – helps to bring a playful and squabbling relatability to the dynamic Riri shares with both characters. The pair’s natural rapport is evident from the outset and, while the way in which N.A.T.A.L.I.E helps to strip away Riri’s metaphorical armor to allow the latter to process her grief is a little on the nose thematically, it’s a ‘bestie’ dynamic that’s full of real heart.

Dancing with the devil

Anthony Ramos’ Parker Robbins/The Hood is Ironheart’s primary antagonist (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Ross, Riri’s concerned and warm-hearted mom Ronnie Williams (Anji White) and Natalie’s brother Xavier (Matthew Elam) notwithstanding, Thorne shares the most screentime with Ramos’ The Hood, whose introduction is not only novel in its execution, but also happens very early on.

Some Marvel TV shows are guilty of prolonging their narrative setup, but Ironheart gets to the crux of its primary plot within the first 30 minutes of its premiere. That might seem quick, but I can fully get behind a story that tackles its meatier content sooner rather than later – and which still maintains an air of mystery despite its fast-paced nature.

Ironheart follows in most MCU TV series’ footsteps by rushing through its finale

This doesn’t mean Ironheart‘s narrative structure is consistent in its quality. Some episodes feel hurried and, by proxy, don’t spend enough time reflecting on character choices or fleshing out certain plot threads. It also follows in most MCU TV series’ footsteps by rushing through its finale that, spoilers notwithstanding, sets up a possible sequel season and teases wider implications for the MCU via the arrival of a character MCU fans have waited years for.

Some MCU fans think they know who Alden Ehrenreich is really playing in Ironheart (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Ironheart has a semi-regular issue with its villains, too. Fans were full of praise for Ramos’ take on The Hood when the show’s first full clip was released online, but he feels a little underdeveloped in Ironheart‘s first half. It’s not until the series’ second three-episode batch that he’s fully realized as a menacing antagonist through his powerset, and positioned as a sympathetic villain via his backstory. In certain lighting, his magic-infused cloak is a tad garish, too, but I suspect that’s intentional.

Joe McGillicuddy (Alden Ehrenreich) falls into a similar category. A fascinating mix of bumbling and unhinged with his own tragic past, Joe bonds with Riri over their shared technical expertise and grief until their budding camaraderie is shattered by events midway through Ironheart‘s six-episode run. The fallout creates another conflicted antagonist for Riri to deal with but, while Ehrenreich does a fantastic job of capturing Joe’s betrayal of trust and emotional turbulence, his evolution from timid ally to complicated foe happens too quickly for my liking.

Ironheart satisfyingly blurs the lines between the magic versus technology-led storyline we’ve been sold

Still, Joe’s transformation, along with Riri’s magic-based suit upgrade and other references to the MCU’s mystical elements (there are as many ties to Doctor Strange as there are to Iron Man here), satisfyingly blur the lines between the magic-versus-technology storyline we’ve been sold. Yes, Ironheart pits these diametrically opposed forces against each other, but also acts as a collision point where they can come together and create something wholly unique for the MCU.

What’s more common is the at-times clunky and stifled dialog, which some fans pointed out in Ironheart‘s first trailer and isn’t aided by hard cuts between specific scenes, particularly in early episodes.

It’s also another Marvel production that refuses to explain certain things with enough intent. Sure, the MCU is a franchise where superpowered beings run riot and parallel universes exist among other things, but I don’t think I’m asking for much by wanting a bit more story exposition, especially for viewers who haven’t seen Black Panther 2. I guess my Wakanda Forever ending explainer will have to do!

My verdict

Marvel Television’s Ironheart | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube

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Ironheart exceeded my expectations with its smaller-scale, family-oriented, street-level-style narrative that reminded me of Hawkeye, Ms Marvel, and Daredevil: Born Again, all of which I similarly enjoyed. I feared the worst when Marvel confirmed Ironheart‘s unusual release schedule, but its two-part release format lends itself well to the story it tells.

It isn’t the best Marvel TV Original, but I suspect Ironheart will prove a lot of people wrong. It’ll be a tough ask to win round anyone who’s already dismissed it but, if it does so through mine and other critics’ reviews, plus positive word of mouth, then Coogler, showrunner Chinaka Hodge, and the rest of its chief creative team might have built something iconic for Riri Williams after all.

Ironheart episodes 1 to 3 are out now on Disney+. Read my Ironheart release schedule article to see when its final three episodes will be released.

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Helldivers 2's post-death and destruction Super Earth rebuild begins, financed by more death and destruction
Game Updates

Helldivers 2’s post-death and destruction Super Earth rebuild begins, financed by more death and destruction

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Helldivers 2 players might have managed to stop the Illuminate from totally destroying their home planet towards the end of last month, but it still got pretty badly trashed. Enter the game’s latest mission – kick off the Super Earth rebuild by securing “reparations”.

How are those funds being secured, you ask? This is Helldivers 2, so it’s by killing a bunch more baddies.

“The monumental effort to rebuild Super Earth is underway,” confirms the order’s briefing from devs Arrowhead, “A full damage assessment has concluded, exhaustively detailing the incalculable wounds inflicted upon our sovereign homeworld — and their monetary cost, adjusted for inflation.”

In order to pay those bills, players have been ordered to secure reparations by enacting some “compulsory asset forfeiture”. Basically, they’ve got to kill 290 million Illuminate enemies and 2.9 billion bugs in just under a week.

Now, these sorts of ‘kill a big number of things’ orders have often been the most stark showcases of HD2 players’ terrifying abilities when it comes to getting stuff done over the past year and a bit. Since they end as soon as the targets are reached, a number of them – especially those that target the squishable Terminid swarms – have ended early.

MAJOR ORDER: The monumental effort to rebuild Super Earth is underway.

A full damage assessment has concluded, exhaustively detailing the incalculable wounds inflicted upon our sovereign homeworld—and their monetary cost, adjusted for inflation.

Pursuant to intergalactic law,… pic.twitter.com/jpgEwYCOKQ

— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) June 22, 2025

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This time, though, the sheer size of the bug kill total does look to be presenting a tough challenge thus far. As of writing, the game’s unofficial Galactic War tracking apps say 223,303,766 Terminids have been terminated, putting the divers on track to overshoot the deadline of three days or so they’ve got. On the other hand, things are going great with the Illuminate, with players 41.3% of the way to their goal and looking set to hit it tomorrow.

Looking at Reddit, there might be a bit of fatigue regarding Illuminate major orders setting in at the moment, with some players wishing they’d been sent after the Automatons instead for this mission.

Outside of that live-service grind psychological insight, the interesting thing about this latest mission to me is that, assuming Super Earth does eventually get rebuilt, one would assume another battle for it might be in the cards down the line. It’ll probably be a ways away, but I’d be intrigued to see how Arrowhead would go about trying to outdo the first big battle for the planet.

I’d think it’d maybe have to involve a new faction folks have spent less time fighting than the three in the game right now, and some sort of twist on the sequence of fights to hold different mega cities that we got first time around.

Anyway, I’ll stop speculating before I get to the point oftrying to guess what the second battle for Super Earth’s commemorative cape might look like.





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Super Mario-Themed Switch 2 Controllers Up For Grabs At Amazon
Game Updates

Super Mario-Themed Switch 2 Controllers Up For Grabs At Amazon

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Officially licensed PowerA Nintendo Switch 2 controllers are now available to order from Amazon. The retailer currently has three different models to pick from, including Mushroom Kingdom and Mario Time editions featuring designs themed around Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise. The controllers have the Nintendo Switch 2 logo as well as the new GameChat button found on Nintendo’s Switch 2 Pro Controller and Joy-Con 2 Controllers.

PowerA’s new and upcoming controllers are budget-friendly options at $40 each, but they are wired controllers. That said, they have Hall Effect anti-drift sticks and remappable back buttons, so they offer solid features at this price point. Plus, both of the Super Mario designs look great.

Get Super Mario-themed Nintendo Switch 2 Controllers:

Mario Time | Mushroom Kingdom

PowerA’s controllers are listed as “temporarily out of stock” at Amazon, but you can still place your order as of June 20. Best Buy, meanwhile, is taking preorders for each model and expects to have them ready to ship in the coming weeks. You can take a look at all of the new PowerA Switch 2 controllers below. The accessory manufacturer also has an officially licensed carrying case and screen protector.

For wireless third-party Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, check out our roundup of the 8BitDo Ultimate and Pro Controllers that are now compatible with Nintendo’s new console.

$50 | Release Date TBA

This Advantage Wired Controller is a bit more expensive than the others, as it’s equipped with a series of RGB lights. Offering support for thousands of colors and five different lighting modes, it should be a cool way to personalize this standard white gamepad.

Beyond RGB lights, this is a pretty well-rounded controller. You’ll get Hall Effect sticks to prevent joystick drift, two mappable back buttons, and an ergonomic, wired design that’s responsive and good for long gaming sessions. Of course, you’ll also get the new C button–allowing you to dive into Nintendo’s GameChat feature and hang out with friends. There’s even a 3.5mm jack and on-controller audio controls.

Since this is an officially licensed product, you’ll find Switch 2 branding on the face of the controller.

$40

All the other Advantage Wired Controllers pack in the same features as the White model–minus the RGB lights. So if you’re looking for something with a bit more color (or want to save $10), the rest of the lineup is worth checking out.

This Mushroom Kingdom edition features a blue, purple, and red faceplate. Characters from the series are scattered throughout the design, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Bowser.

$40

The Mario Time edition has cartoonish, retro-inspired artwork depicting the Nintendo hero hopping through a side-scrolling level. It has classic Super Mario trappings, including a Warp Pipe, Question Block, coin, Super Mushroom, and brick-style blocks. The Mario Time model has black buttons and sticks, while the Mushroom Kingdom model has white controls.

$40

Want to keep it simple? This Switch 2 controller is entirely black. It’s not quite as festive as the other three gamepads in the lineup, but if you’re seeking a gadget that’ll blend in with the rest of your entertainment center, it’s hard to go wrong with a traditional all-black color scheme.

Slim Case: $20 | Screen Protectors: $13

Beyond controllers, preorders are also open for the PowerA Slim Case and PowerA Screen Protector (2-Pack). The former is pretty sleek, with a minimalist grey design and an interior pouch capable of holding up to 10 game cards plus your console. The screen protector pack, meanwhile, comes with a microfiber cloth and applicator for easy installation. Screen protectors are always a wise decision, especially if you plan to travel with your Switch, as they help reduce both scratches and fingerprints.



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Switch 2 console
Esports

Super Smash Bros Ultimate & more finally fixed for Nintendo Switch 2

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When the Nintendo Switch 2 dropped, millions of fans were quick to grab the console and install their favorite games, whether it was the new Mario Kart World, or one of the backwards compatible adventures… well, unless they didn’t work as promised.

It wasn’t exactly a secret when the console released, but roughly 2% of the first Switch’s games weren’t compatible with the second console. Since then, Nintendo has promised that almost 100% of their games will eventually work on the Switch 2, but that hasn’t stopped a plethora of titles from failing to run, save, or just work with the new Joy-Cons.

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Thankfully, despite a few broken games, Nintendo has been hard at work to fix them and ensure they’re playable. Now, in a brand new update, six epic games have just been fixed.

Six games fixed for the Nintendo Switch 2

As part of the June 19 firmware update, the following games are now fully backwards compatible and can be played on the Nintendo Switch 2 without fault:

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  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  • Capcom Fighting Collection 2
  • Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
  • Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
  • Nintendo Switch Sports

Nintendo

Previously, when playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online, when a Switch 2 and a Switch player were matched and someone was using the Mii Fighter, it was possible that the match would end immediately. This has now been fixed.

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The rest of the titles will now also work without fault on both the Switch 2 and the original Switch, including the multiplayer systems, thanks to the recent firmware update.

Naturally, Nintendo is aware of all currently broken backwards compatible games and is working on providing a fix for them as soon as they can, so if your favorite game isn’t available or working properly yet, the chances are it’ll be fixed pretty soon.

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Musk’s X to offer investment and trading in ‘super app’: report
NFT Gaming

Musk’s X to offer investment and trading in ‘super app’: report

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X, formerly Twitter, is looking to enhance its “super app” credentials with the rollout of in-app investment and trading features.

According to a report by the Financial Times, the social media platform, which has gained significant traction since Elon Musk acquired it in October 2022, is eyeing the new functionality as part of a broader plan to evolve into an all-in-one financial app.

Musk’s Tesla was among the first major companies to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and his crypto-related posts have included nods to some of the market’s top memecoins.

Musk’s plans for X

X has increasingly become a top platform for social engagement and news, with Musk among its most vocal advocates. In addition to cryptocurrencies, users have called for the integration of everyday solutions and services.

X chief executive officer Linda Yaccarino, who succeeded Musk as CEO in June 2023, shared fresh details about what the platform is planning.

She told the Financial Times in an interview that the goal is to bring all financial services to the public through a single app. It’s not just about the ability to, for instance, pay for pizza, she said, but also to make investments or trade assets.

“A whole commerce ecosystem and a financial ecosystem is going to emerge on the platform that does not exist today,” Yaccarino added .

Partnerships and integrations

X recently revealed its partnership with Polymarket, picking the blockchain-based platform as its official prediction market partner.

The move follows Musk’s comments on launching a peer-to-peer digital wallet service, dubbed X Money. Notably, this is expected to be a collaboration with payments giant Visa.

In her remarks, Yaccarino confirmed that the upcoming trading and investment features will initially be available to users in the United States. A broader rollout will aim to offer global users services such as merchandise purchases and tipping.



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Ethereum (ETH) Price to $740,000? Super Bullish Macro Forecast is Out
GameFi Guides

Ethereum (ETH) Price to $740,000? Super Bullish Macro Forecast is Out

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  • Ethereum (ETH) at $740,000: New report on digital oil and digital gold opportunities
  • More cryptocurrencies as global macro assets?

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has all chances to join the club of global macro assets and hit an almost $100 trillion capitalization. A new report by Etherealize indicates that ETH demonstrates some functions of digital oil, digital gold and the ultimate collateral for states and institutions.

Ethereum (ETH) at $740,000: New report on digital oil and digital gold opportunities

Ethereum (ETH), the first programmable blockchain, might hit an enormous 14-digit capitalization in the coming years. With all Ethers in circulation valued at $90 trillion, a single ETH crypto will be trading over $740,000, a new report by Etherealize says.

Ethereum long-term valuation of $89T (~$740,000 per ETH) is possible at global scale.

To reflect ETH’s valuation potential as a global reserve asset, we must consider comparable global reserve assets as benchmarks. pic.twitter.com/R7m7fMhkTf

— ETHRNSM (@ETHRNSM) June 13, 2025

Such an insane upsurge will be driven by ETH accruing the functions of a global reserve macro asset. For instance, the report says, Ethereum (ETH) works not unlike digital oil, being the “fuel for computations” that can be stored and traded by reserve operators.

Just like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) demonstrates all features of digital gold, but with sustainable yield rates and “productivity” while deposited to DeFi mechanisms.

Also, Ether would be a digital replacement for the global bonds market as it can function as non-sovereign universal collateral that can be easily integrated into each and every financial system.

Last but not least, Ethereum’s (ETH) volume surges step-by-step, increasing together with its activity and ecosystem growth.

More cryptocurrencies as global macro assets?

Finally, Ethereum (ETH) is the monetary backbone of global programmable finance, which is another extremely powerful catalyst to its macro price rally.

As such, Ethereum (ETH) has all features of a global macro asset, and, given the average capitalization of such assets at $100 trillion, can be valued over $740,000 per coin.

As covered by U.Today previously, Bitcoin (BTC) expert Willy Woo called the orange coin the first new macro asset in 150 years.

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He also admitted that Bitcoin (BTC) achieved this status faster compared to all its competitors. However, as per some experts, Ethereum’s store of value (SoV) narrative is even more powerful compared to Bitcoin’s (BTC).





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Samsung SSD
Gaming Gear

The super fast Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB SSD is now just $449 at Amazon

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If you’ve been holding out for a top-of-the-line SSD, you might want to check out this offer on the Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB SSD. This ultra-fast SSD debuted at $549 and has hovered chiefly in that ballpark. Today, however, you can find it at Amazon for just $449—its lowest price.

We reviewed the Samsung 9100 Pro earlier this year and enjoyed our experience overall. The SSD has great performance from many angles, earning a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Check out our list of best SSDs to see how it compares to some of our favorite and most recommended SSDs.

The Samsung 9100 Pro is definitely a performance-driven SSD. It’s offered in various capacities, but this deal is just for the 4TB drive. All of the SSDs in this line have an M.2 2280 form factor and are compatible with PCIe 5.0 x4 and NVMe 2.0 interfaces.

(Image credit: Future)

The Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB SSD can reach some of the highest read/write speeds we’ve ever seen, as high as 14,800/13,400 MB/s. Amazon’s 30-day return policy and Samsung’s five-year manufacturer’s warranty support the purchase. The Samsung warranty will only be void if the drive reaches 2,400 TBW before the 5-year period has passed.

If you want to check out this deal, you can find the Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB SSD on Amazon. Click on the image for purchase options and additional details.

Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.



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Decrypt logo
NFT Gaming

Why Circle’s ‘Super Positive’ IPO Could be Bullish for Ethereum: Analysts

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In brief

  • USDC’s concentration on Ethereum is bullish for the network’s native asset, analysts said.
  • More than half of USDC’s circulating supply exists on Ethereum, while layer-2 networks and other scaling solutions support major amounts as well.
  • Etheruem’s name will inevitably arise as investors research Circle’s business model post-IPO, one analyst said.

Circle’s $1.1 billion IPO on Thursday reflected Wall Street’s growing interest in stablecoins, but it may also strengthen institutions’ conviction toward Ethereum, analysts told Decrypt.

Although Circle issues its USDC stablecoin across more than 40 different networks, more than half of the stablecoin’s circulating supply exists on Ethereum, totaling $36.7 billion, according to crypto data provider DefiLlama.

According to Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon, USDC’s concentration on Ethereum is primarily based around the network’s prominence in decentralized finance, or DeFi. As a result, he told Decrypt that Ethereum should benefit more than other networks if USDC’s footprint grows, as Circle rides a new wave of momentum.

“Overall, it’s a super positive development for Ethereum and Coinbase,” he said, referring to the San Francisco-based exchange that has a revenue-sharing agreement for USDC with Circle.

“As USDC usage proliferates, that will continue to translate into more liquidity for DeFi and excitement for developers to build on Ethereum,” he added.

On Thursday, Circle shares soared 165% to $83.22 from an IPO price of $31, according to Yahoo Finance. On Friday, the company’s stock price continued climbing, hitting $114.50, as of noon Eastern Time, a 38% jump from Friday’s closing price. 



Circle derives income from assets backing USDC like U.S. Treasuries. Ethereum was recently trading hands around $2,500, a 3% dip over the past 24 hours, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.

When it comes to Ethereum’s competitors, $8 billion worth of USDC has been issued on Solana, representing around 13% of stablecoin’s circulating supply. Other Layer-1 networks, including Avalanche, Sui, and Aptos, each hold less than 2% of USDC’s circulating supply.

In addition to Ethereum’s mainnet, Circle has issued around $10 billion worth of USDC across Ethereum scaling solutions like Polygon and layer-2 networks like Arbitrum and Base, as well as Hyperliquid, the Arbitrum-based network underpinning the decentralized exchange.

Circle’s IPO is likely to generate interest in the company’s business model, and as investors start evaluating how stablecoins work, Ethereum name is likely to come up as technology powering emergent tech, Gerry O’Shea, head of global market insights at asset manager Hashdex told Decrypt.

“I think this could potentially help generate more attention around Ethereum and other smart contract platforms as investors look to understand the infrastructure that powers stablecoins,” he said. “IPOs bring a lot of attention.”

Spot Ethereum ETFs, which debuted in the U.S. last year, have emerged as a gauge for institutional interest in the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. 

Although the products have generated net inflows over the past eight trading days, Thursday’s inflows were relatively subdued at $11 million, compared to a recent peak of $110 million on Tuesday, according to crypto data provider CoinGlass.

Edited by James Rubin

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A bird man character from Elden Ring reads a book in a library
Product Reviews

Elden Ring Nightreign players have figured out how to guarantee you always reach max level by the time you fight your run’s Nightlord, but unfortunately it’s super boring

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I’ve got a few dozen Elden Ring Nightreign expeditions on the books, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone when I say they haven’t all been successes. Many of those failures have come agonizingly close to victory, where my team’s Nightlord target survived by only a sliver of health—a sliver it probably wouldn’t have had if we’d entered the arena with one or two more levels.

Luckily, Nightreign players on Reddit have found a method for ensuring you’re always at max level when you face off with your run’s final boss. Unfortunately, it’s—well—pretty boring.

The trick is simple: just don’t jump in the goo.


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Let me explain. The idea is that you run through your expedition as normal until you’ve killed the boss at the end of Day 2. However, once the pile of ethereal goop appears as your gateway to the Spirit Shelter where you’re intended to do your final Nightlord prep, don’t jump in.

Nightreign Pro Tip: Guaranteed level 15 every game and anyone can do it! from r/Nightreign

If you open your map, you’ll see why. Once the Day 2 boss dies, all the Sites of Grace on the map become active. That means, if you intentionally avoid ascending to boss fight heaven, you and your team can run around the map farming enemies, providing enough runes to hit max level.

Now, there is a complication. The battle royale-style circle of hellish, lethal fire is still locked around where you fought the Day 2 boss, so you will be taking tick damage while you’re running around grinding out levels. Thankfully, it’s not much of an issue: Just kill enemies until you run out of flasks and die, and then you can simply run back from the nearest Grace, pick your runes back up, and carry on—collecting your runes after death gives you enough to reclaim your lost level, after all.

The real problem is that this is extremely tedious. It’s easy to imagine a nightmare world in which, very soon, randoms online will get irritated if you aren’t joining them to grind out a few more levels in the hellfire.

It’s hard to say how likely it is that FromSoft will patch this. On one hand, it’s against the spirit of Nightreign’s whole deal—why have the time pressure of the battle royale circle if you can just ignore it at the end? On the other, doing it is kinda miserable. Time will tell.

If you’re willing to top off your levels with this method, you might want to do it sooner than later. But I’d recommend saving it for when you’re playing with a full party—for all our sakes.



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Ciri surveys a lush, mountainous vista.
Product Reviews

CDPR says the Kingdom Come style of systems-heavy RPG is ‘super great’ and, when it comes to The Witcher 4’s direction of travel, ‘these are our next steps for sure’

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Yesterday brought our first proper look at The Witcher 4, thanks to a highly impressive tech demo, and the Ciri-led sequel is now CDPR’s next big thing. PCG’s Josh Wolens recently sat down with several of the studio’s core figures to discuss the series’ past and future and, with this happening around The Witcher 3’s tenth anniversary, one prominent topic was how the gaming landscape has changed over that time.

The Witcher 4 will release in a very different world from The Witcher 3, and there are several high-profile examples of studios that don’t seem to have kept pace with the times. Bioware’s Dragon Age: Veilguard, for example, was a perfectly decent RPG, but the visuals aside it was almost like a game you could’ve been playing in 2015. But then there are those games that do feel like they’re pushing the RPG forward, like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and perhaps most prominently Baldur’s Gate 3. So where is CDPR and The Witcher 4 going to find itself?

“Bioware has changed for sure, but the industry has changed too,” says CDPR co-CEO Adam Badowski. “We have a different strategy for our company. We definitely would like to continue keeping and truly understanding our core rules, how we develop our games, and of course, on top of that, we need to find new things, especially in gameplay, because there’s not such a great progress when it comes to good stories.


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“So here we feel very strongly at the same time, so many great things happened in gameplay [since The Witcher 3]. What are players’ expectations here? And there are great games, great mechanics and plus UI [improvements]. So this is the idea for our development, and we are focusing on that, but at the same time we strongly believe in the core of what we are doing here.”

Badowski goes on to say that he thinks one of CDPR’s strengths is that, while The Witcher and Cyberpunk are very different worlds, at their heart are some pretty similar goals.

“So even if we have multiple games, it doesn’t mean that we are focusing on one big thing, because our games are similar when it comes to the core aspects,” says Badowski. “Of course, Cyberpunk is different from the Witcher, but different enough to feel that it’s something maybe more for me, less for you. But I think the core, the pillars, how we make games stay the same and we continue. Maybe that’s the difference, the difference between our strategy and Bioware’s strategy these days.”

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

To get down to brass tacks, then, what does CDPR see when it’s looking at the likes of KCD2 and BG3?

“I love Kingdom Come because of the realism and the feeling, the sense of humor,” says Badowski. Would he even say it’s a little Witcher-y?

“Thank you,” laughs Badowski, before going on to explain how some of the more simulation-y and systems-heavy aspects of KCD2 are the things CDPR watches with interest, because this is partly The Witcher 4’s direction of travel.

“The Kingdom Come kind of simulation, it’s great,” says Badowski. “There’s so many options, you can change the world, it’s super great. And we would like to keep that, we’d like to follow this trend as well. So these are our next steps for sure, and it’s kind of a similar challenge to what we have in The Witcher 3 because of the open world and storytelling here, freedom of choices. But at the same time, we would like to build very fleshy, very well-motivated characters. So it’s kind of in contradiction from time-to-time. That’s a great design challenge.”

With Larian the influence is less direct. “In Larian’s case it’s turn-based so it’s a different kind of game, and the way you interact with characters is totally different,” says Bakowski. “We like to fully build the characters, understand the past and the future of the character motivation. That’s why it takes so much time. [In BG3] there are great characters as well but sometimes your choices, because there’s freedom of choices in Larian’s work, it pushes you to use different tricks than ours. But I think we observe each other, and there are not that many games like that, so that’s natural, yeah, and we see how players react, how fans react to those tactics.”

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It’s a theme that joint CEO Michał Nowakowski echoes: Baldur’s Gate 3 has clearly impressed an awful lot of people at CDPR, even if they’re conscious that The Witcher is always going to be a different type of RPG.

“I think we’re still more in the, you know, we’re a big open world,” says Nowakowski. “But a lot of what Baldur’s Gate 3 showed was an inspiration, and to be honest there’s no shame in that. I think everybody who launches games nowadays is looking back on what was done before, and is looking at what worked and what was great and how and if they can fit it into whatever they are doing.

“So for sure there was a lot of inspiration and what BG3 did, but I think we’re still more sticking to what was The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk, even if we don’t want to just make another game like that, just with better graphics. We do want to innovate in terms of what’s available in terms of gameplay and so on. I hope when the time comes, that’s going to become clear for the fans as well.”

If that’s all sounding a little fuzzy, Nowakowski circles back to make it clear what CDPR is not doing:

“It’s a bit of an unclear answer, but to make it more clear, we definitely are not going to make a game like Larian did,” says Nowakowski. “That’s the kind of game they can make. But a lot of stuff with how the characters can interact with the world and what it does was for sure some inspiration to us.”



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