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Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade hits the Switch 2 on January 22

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade comes out for the Switch 2 on January 22, 2026, which was revealed at today's lengthy Nintendo Direct livestream . This is the first entry in the remake trilogy and primarily takes place in the opening city of Midgar. You'll have to wait until Final Fantasy VII Rebirth to explore the overworld map, and there's no Switch 2 release date for that one yet. This release does include the Episode Intermission DLC , which involves the ninja Yuffie on a mission to ste

Dwayne Johnson Will Play the Chicken Man in ‘Lizard Music’

The Rock is about to become the Chicken Man. Dwayne Johnson is set to reteam with his Smashing Machine director, Benny Safdie, to make Lizard Music, a fantasy adventure based on the popular 1976 book by Daniel Pinkwater. According to Deadline, which broke the news, Johnson will play the aforementioned poultry-themed character, who teams up with a young man to explore some mysterious goings-on involving music played by lizards on TV. It’s one of those books you probably read in middle school or

Final Fantasy Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles Director Says 'That' Boss Fight Still Wrecks Him

Last week was the first time I picked up Final Fantasy Tactics since finishing it back in 1998. One infamous boss battle scarred me so badly that I never went back -- and given its reputation among fans, I know I'm not alone. So when I had the chance to talk with Kazutoyo Maehiro, part of the original dev team and now director of the upcoming remaster, Final Fantasy Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles, I jumped at it. I needed to know why they made that one fight so brutal. My question for Maehiro: "Ba

The ‘Final Fantasy Tactics’ Refresh Gives Its Class-War Story New Relevance

Kazutoyo Maehiro is feeling the pressure. Nearly 30 years after working on the original version of Final Fantasy Tactics—one of the role-playing series’ most adored games—he’s returned to pilot a remake of the game, switching titles from events planner to director. Besides that, little has changed, including how Maehiro himself thinks about game design. “Really, the approach that we wanted to take was modernizing [Final Fantasy Tactics],” he tells WIRED via a translator. “Players today expect a

100 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books for September

September brings with it io9’s biggest list of new books so far this year, with an emphasis on horror titles as the days grow shorter. That said, there are still plenty of sci-fi adventures and fantasy tales on the way. September 1 and 2 Kingdom of Tomorrow by Gena Showalter “A fusion of modern and fantastical worlds, where a young woman must navigate a secret society, uncover a shocking enemy… and resist an undeniable attraction.” (September 1) Bees in June by Elizabeth Bass Parman “With a

‘The Dark Crystal’ Is Returning to Theaters, Which Isn’t ‘The Dark Crystal’ News We Were Hoping For

Fathom Entertainment is celebrating 70 years of the Jim Henson Company by bringing its cult 1982 film, The Dark Crystal, back to theaters on October 12-13. This is, undoubtedly, good news. Dark Crystal rules. And yet that we could have good Dark Crystal news in the year 2025 and it not be about the incredible Netflix prequel series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, does make it slightly bittersweet. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance was released on Netflix back in 2019, and we think it wa

Wizards of the Coast Is Beginning to Get ‘Magic’ Fans’ Gripes With Less Fantastical Aesthetics

Magic: The Gathering is having an even bigger moment than usual this year, thanks to a lot of attention around its splashy crossovers and its rapid rollout of sets. But with that attention, there’s definitely been some consternation about just how wide-reaching Magic‘s aesthetic is getting, between experimental in-universe sets and those aforementioned “Universes Beyond” bringing more and more licensed material into the game. In a fascinating new article looking at the major sets of the last yea

80 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in August

If you’re looking for some new books to get you through the dog days of summer, io9’s got you covered with 80 to choose from: sci-fi epics, fantasy sagas, short-story collections, myths, legends, monsters, and so much more. August 5 Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer The Assistant to the Villain rom-com fantasy series continues following the misadventures of Evie, an office worker who falls for her boss despite his status as “the kingdom’s most terrifying villain.” (August 5)

Topics: 12 19 26 august fantasy

Twenty-three years after launch, Final Fantasy XI servers are overwhelmed by a new wave of players

What just happened? Final Fantasy XI was the first massively multiplayer online entry in the iconic JRPG series. Remarkably, it's still being actively played today – so much so that the developers recently had to temporarily suspend new account registrations due to a surge in player traffic. Final Fantasy XI was also the first online RPG to offer cross-platform play between PlayStation 2 consoles and Windows PCs. Despite requiring a monthly subscription, FFXI remains remarkably popular. A surge

‘Final Fantasy’ Made Hasbro a Hell of a Lot of Gil

Hasbro’s no stranger to giving credit where credit’s due when a video game helps save its ass financially, having already made plenty of to-do about how the blockbuster success of Baldur’s Gate 3 a few years ago provided a surge of interest in D&D. Now it’s thanking a video game of a different sort: the Final Fantasy saga, as its recent highly anticipated crossover with Magic: The Gathering has helped make the most successful set of the card game made so far. According to Deadline, Hasbro CEO C

The Opening of ‘Final Fantasy IX’ Is a Love Letter to Fantasy Itself

Final Fantasy games are known for their big, bombastic openings. Final Fantasy VII‘s legendary bombing mission, the brainwashed Terra being sent through the snowy paths into Narshe in Final Fantasy VI, the destruction of Zanarkand in Final Fantasy X—these are grand set pieces with high stakes, introducing threats and conflicts central to their epic narratives. They are big and loud, meant to immediately hook you into a journey that will last dozens upon dozens (upon dozens) of hours. They’re al

82 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in July

If your bookshelves are feeling lonely this month, look no further: io9’s got a huge list of new arrivals for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror fans. Keep reading for two or three or 12 new titles you’ll want to add to your to-read pile. July 1 Archive of Unknown Universes by Ruben Reyes Jr. “A piercing debut novel following two families in alternative timelines of the Salvadoran civil war—a stunning exploration of the mechanisms of fate, the gravity of the past, and the endurance of love.” (July 1

Final Fantasy fans, now is the time to get into Magic: The Gathering

The Final Fantasy Magic: The Gathering set is here, and there’s never been a more perfect assemblage of Magic cards. The set features cards taken from every mainline Final Fantasy title, including the two MMOs, so there’s something for every generation of Final Fantasy lovers. And while Magic has featured other video game crossovers in the past (hello, Assassin’s Creed and Fallout!), with the way this set is constructed, from card mechanics to art, you can tell this one is a developer favorite,

The ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Team Had to Fight to Keep One of the ‘Final Fantasy’ Set’s Best References

Magic: The Gathering‘s new Final Fantasy set is an absolute love letter to the beloved RPG series, with hundreds of cards making a flavorful nod to their source material in one way or another. But one of the most fun references in a set filled with them almost didn’t make it in—thanks to a quibble between Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix’s translation teams. In a fascinating new article about translating the Final Fantasy set for its English and Japanese-language versions shared on the offi

Getting Beaten by Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy Set Designer Was a Wild Ride

In an air-conditioned tent on a sweltering Los Angeles day at Summer Game Fest, I sat down to play a hand of the card game Magic: The Gathering and drew a handful of characters from Final Fantasy. Sitting across from me was the man who oversaw the process of turning some of the world's most beloved video game characters into playable cards for what's shaping up to be Magic's most popular set ever -- already a best seller a month before its release. Magic: The Gathering is a storied collectible

The Best ‘Final Fantasy’ References in Its Huge ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Crossover

Today one of the biggest sets in Magic: The Gathering‘s recent history makes its grand arrival at last: Final Fantasy, the first of Magic‘s at-times-controversial “Universes Beyond” crossovers with other franchises to be given the full standard-legal treatment. It’s a marriage of two of gaming’s most beloved fantasy realms, and with absolute legions of fans of both Magic and Final Fantasy to please, it has to hit the highlights and mechanical flavoring of 16 mainline game’s worth of viable cards