The $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act has been passed by Congress and very well may be a big step towards resolving the semiconductor crisis holding back next-gen consoles and other devices.

As reported by The Verge, the CHIPS and Science Act passed in a 243-187 vote on Thursday, July 28, and it includes $52 billion in subsidies to "encourage chip manufacturers to build out semiconductor fabrication plants, or 'fabs,' in the U.S."

The House and Senate had been debating this issue for months, and its passing is great news for companies like Intel who recently delayed its groundbreaking ceremony for its $20 billion chip-making facilities in Ohio because of a lack of government funding.

"I congratulate Congress on voting to approve funding for the CHIPS Act," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said. "This is a critical step to support the entire U.S. semiconductor industry and to help ensure continued American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D. Congress has done its part, and now we are going to do ours. I'm excited to put shovels in the ground as Intel moves full speed ahead to start building in Ohio."

Chip shortages have been a huge issue since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and it has impacted the availability of next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X, new desktop GPUs, and more.

The CHIPS and Science Act also provides the "Commerce Departement with $10 billion to award states and localities grants to build out 'regional technology hubs' across the country." The National Science Foundation will also receive billions in funding to help with semiconductor manufacturing research and workforce development programs.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Spacewar!, the first known digital video game ever made, is now available on the Analogue Pocket thanks to the new PDP-1 Core developed with openFPGA.

FPGA, or field-programmable gate array, is a type of integrated circuit that can be reconfigured after it's manufactured. openFPGA, on the other hand, is the "first purpose built, FPGA driven hardware and ecosystem designed for 3rd party development of video game hardware." It was also "created specifically for preserving video game history."

Spacewar! is obviously a big part of video game history and a 3rd party developer has "painstakingly recreated" the game released on the PDP-1 in 1962 by developers at MIT using public domain open source code for openFPGA.

Using openFPGA, a 3rd party developer “Spacemen3” recreated the PDP-1 and Spacewar! using the original source code in the public domain. You can play it today on Pocket with openFPGA by following this guide here: https://t.co/XFS3ARmaUe pic.twitter.com/ut6N6Ovois

— Analogue (@analogue) July 29, 2022

Video game preservation has always had a big question mark next to it, especially with companies like Nintendo planning to shut down its Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops and making it even harder to play older games. Hopefully, with this new development, less games will be lost to the history books.

Spacewar! was inspired by science fiction books written by E.E. Doc Smith and developed by a group of MIT students who wished to make a space simulation video game. It was a space shooter and a 2-player versus style game that featured "orbital mechanics around a gravitational star." It was developed to be played by custom "control boxes" that were essentially also the first video game controller.

The PDP-1 had a 1024×1024 CRT vector display and Spacewar! itself used it to the fullest with its "beautiful blue and green phosphors, trailing, bursting, and decaying amidst modernist hexagons."

The developers behind Spacewar! also created certain criteria that a computer game should meet, and they are as follows;

• It should demonstrate as many of the computer's resources as possible, and tax those resources to the limit.
• Within a consistent framework, it should be interesting, which means every run should be different.
• It should involve the onlooker in a pleasurable and active way-in short, it should be a game.

Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, played Spacewar! and was so inspired by it that he would go on to create Computer Space, the first commercial video game and arcade game.

If you have an Analogue Pocket and would like to try Spacewar!, check out the support page that walks you through all you need to know to check out this important piece of history.

For more on Spacewar! and the early days of video games, check out our look back at the history of Atari.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The premium Nintendo LEGO sets are some of the best LEGO kits out there, and you can save on two of them today. And, if you missed out on the Prime Day deal on Amazon's Echo Dot, that 50% discount is back today. And, you can save on a spare controller for your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. Plus, the Xbox Series X is in stock at Walmart today for those of you looking to upgrade. And, the Meta Quest 2 is getting a surprise price hike starting next week, so now is the time to pick up the VR headset if you are interested.

Save on the Best Nintendo LEGO Sets Now

For hardcore Nintendo fans, there are two can't-miss LEGO sets that are on sale today. First, there's the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System and TV set, which personally speaking, is the most fun I've ever had putting together e LEGO kit. The TV has a conveyor belt system that allows it to display world 1-1 straight out of Super Mario Bros. And, there's an incredible Easter Egg during the build that all Mario fans will recognize. The other set is a Super Mari 64 Question Mark Block, which comes with three different level vignettes from Super Mario 64. These kits are both fantastic, and will look great in any Nintendo fan's home.

The Best of the Best: ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce RTX 3080 OC 12GB GPU for $799

The GeForce RTX 3080 GPU really doesn't need any introduction. This is the de facto card to get if you plan to run current generation games at 4K, since it's up to 50% faster than the previous generation RTX 2080 SUPER and doesn't command the exorbitant price of the RTX 3080 Ti or RTX 3090 (both of which are a mere 3%-5% faster in real world performance). It has an HDMI 2.1 port for passing through 4K @ 120Hz, which it has the power to drive even in resource hungry games like Elden Ring, Battlefield 2042 or Cyberpunk 2077.

The ASUS ROG STRIX model is considered by many to be the very best RTX 3080 variant on the market. It's usually hundreds of dollars more than the 3080 FE price. That's in large part because of the incredible cooling potential of the massive 3-slot heatsink combined with the quietest triple fan cooling you'll find on any RTX 3080. Despite the low noise levels, the ROG STRIX offers a significantly OC'ed 1890MHz boost clock compared o the stock 1710MHz boost on the 3080 FE. This model also comes with 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM instead of the 10GB of VRAM that comes standard and most other RTX 3080 GPUs.

Xbox Series X In Stock at Walmart

The Xbox Series X is becoming more and more common, but it's still not always available. If you want to jump in on Xbox's next-gen console, it's in stock today at Walmart. With a Game Pass subscription, you can play games like Tunic, Halo Infinite, and Forza Horizon 5 at no extra cost. Plus, there's plenty coming to Xbox Game Pass in the next year, including the highly-anticipated Starfield.

Xbox Wireless Controller for $10 Off

If you do have an Xbox Series X or S, you could always use an extra controller. and you can grab one on sale today for $49.49. The controller supports up to 40 hours of gameplay on a pair of Double A batteries, and it has a USB-C port for direct plug-and-play to either Xbox or PC. You can also seamlessly capture and share content with the Share button on the Xbox controller.

Razer Quick Charging Stand for PlayStation 5

Unfortunately, the DualSense controller for PlayStation 5 runs out of battery fairly often. So, Razer has released a charging cradle for the DualSense controller so you can conveniently charge your gamepad in style. Plus, there is a charging cradle for every DualSense color, whether you have red, blue, purple, white, or black.

Surface Pro X for $300 Off at the Microsoft Store

Microsoft's Surface Pro X is one of the best tablet-laptop hybrids for creatives, and you can save a few hundred bucks on one today at the Microsoft Store. The kickstand adjusts to nearly 180 degrees to suit your needs, and the lightweight form factor makes it easy to toss in your backpack and take on the go. It also has up to 15 hours of battery life, with fast charging as well.

Grab a Meta Quest VR Headset Before the Price Hike

We just learned that the Meta Quest 2 is getting a pretty hefty price increase starting in August. So, if you've been on the fence about picking up the most popular VR headset on the market, this week is the best time to strike. Right now, both the 128 and 256 GB models are in stock at Best Buy for $299 and $399, respectively. Starting on August 1, those prices will increase to $399.99 and $499.99. Act now if you don't want to spend an extra $100 later down the line.

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) Smart speaker with Alexa

If you missed this deal on Amazon Prime Day, the price is back! You can get a 4th Gen Amazon Echo Dot for just 20 bucks. This is Amazon's most popular Smart Speaker with Alexa, which you can use to steam music from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Sirius XM, and more. Plus, listen to audiobooks and podcasts throughout your entire room with multi-room listening. And, Alexa can also control your smarthome, controlling lights, thermostats, and the doors with other smart devices.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

LEGO Star Wars is a joy for Star Wars fans, retelling the tale from The Phantom Menace through The Rise of Skywalker in hilarious LEGO form. But this time, LEGO games have grown up, as the gameplay has evolved into a more traditional third-person action-adventure game. The Nintendo Switch version is on sale today for a great discount, so don't miss out on this classic spacefaring adventure.

LEGO Ideas Sonic The Hedgehog Green Hill Zone

Green Hill Zone is one of the most iconic video game locations of all time, and you can recreate it in LEGO form with the LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog set. Complete with Sonic, Eggman, Badniks, and even the Chaos Emeralds, this set is a must for any hardcore fan of the Blue Blur. It'll also take a solid amount of time to build, with the set coming in at over 1,100 pieces.

Switch Lite Tom Nook Carrying Case

If you need a carrying case for your Nintendo Switch Lite, this case is as cheap as they come. It comes with room for five Nintendo Switch cartridges as well, so you can take your favorite games on the go. Plus, it has fan-favorite Animal Crossing character Tom Nook across the front of it.

Hisense 75" LED 4K UHD Smart TV Is 52% Off

If you want a massive 4K TV for your entertainment room, you won't find a better deal than this 75-inch option from Hisense. Usually selling for $1,299.99, you can grab this today for $619.99. The TV comes with all the smart features you need, as well as a Game Mode Plus that includes a low latency mode to give you the optimum gaming experience.

Govee 50 feet LED Strip Light

Whether you want to create a nice backdrop for Twitch streaming, add some color behind your television, or light up your patio for a summer gathering, don't miss this deal on the Govee 50 foot LED strip light.

New Release: 48" LG UltraGear 48GP900-B 4K HDR OLED Gaming Monitor for $1298.87

For those of you who love LG OLED TVs (for good reason) but don't like the idea of using a TV for a computer monitor, there's now an answer. LG has released its first UltraGear OLED gaming monitor. At first glance, the 48GP900 with its 48" LG WOLED 10-bit color HDR display seems very similar to the 48" LG C1 OLED TV. The panel is very similar, but there are some key differences. Instead of the semi glossy coating found on the OLED TV, the 48GP900 features an anti-glare low reflective coating that is undoubtedly a better fit for close up monitor usage. It also has DisplayPort connectivity and lacks the built-in Smart TV interface. It does carry over the HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K @ 120Hz compatiblity for PS5 and Xbox Series X owners, as well as VRR and G-SYNC support, but the 120Hz refresh rate can be overclocked to 138Hz when used as a PC monitor. Last and certainly least important of all, there is subtle RGB backlighting on the rear of the monitor that isn't present on the OLED TVs. This is one of the best gaming monitors you'll find on the market right now.

Newest Apple TV 4K for $129.99

This isn't exactly as cheap as Amazon Prime Day of $109, but it's still $50 cheaper than MSRP and the best price you'll probably see for a while. The newest Apple TV features two major upgrades. It boasts an A12 Bionic processor that boosts graphics performance, video decoding, and audio processing and delivers high frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision. It also includes a new Apple TV remote. The overall build quality is better than before, but the biggest enhancements are a 5-way clickpad, mute button, and dedicated power button that works for your TV, receiver, and Apple TV.

Razer Anzu Smart Glasses

These Razer smart glasses retail for a ridiculous $199.99. Fortunately, they're on sale today for a much more reasonable price of $59.99. The Razer Anzu glasses comes with two types of interchangeable lenses; blue-light filtering lenses for PC use and polarized lenses for outdoor use. They also feature a built-in mic and bluetooth speaker for hands-free calling.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16" Intel Core i7-12700H Alder Lake RTX 3070 Gaming Laptop for $1599

Walmart is offering an outstanding deal on the new Lenovo Legion 5 Pro laptop that is also equipped with the 12th generation Intel Core i7 Alder Lake CPU and RTX 3070 GPU. The RTX 3070 GPU in this gaming laptop also has a TGP rating of 140W, and it performs as well as the MSI Crosshair on paper. In real world benchmarks, the Legion 5 Pro is one of the best performing gaming laptops on the market. It also looks more like a standard laptop, so you might want to pick this over the Crosshair if you're not into the gamer aesthetic.

XPG S70 1TB M.2 SSD with Heatsink for $109.99

The XPG Gammix S70 Blade is the least expensive 1TB PS5 compatible SSD available right now. Just because it's the cheapest doesn't mean it's the slowest. In fact, the S70 is actually one of the fastest SSDs available with transfer rates up to 7,400 MB/s. It's on par with the likes of the WD Black SN850, the Samsung 980 Pro, or the Seagate Firecude 530. This is a PCIe Gen4 SSD that was pretty much released specifically for PS5 gamers in order to double or triple the storage capacity of their PS5 without limiting the speed. To make this deal even sweeter, it already comes with a very low-profile heatsink.

ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1660 Ti Gaming PC

Walmart is offering this AMD Ryzen 5 3600X GTX 1660 Ti equipped gaming PC for only $799. The GTX 1660 Ti is still a very capable video card that can handle just about any game at 1080p resolution. You certainly won't find a more powerful video card for this price.

New Apple AirPods Pro for $179.99

The current generation Apple AirPods Pro is one of the best sounding "truly wireless" earbuds you'll find, especially at this price point. "Truly wireless" earbuds have no wires whatsoever; even the earbuds aren't hardwired to each other. In addition to the excellent sound quality, the AirPods Pro is the only AirPods with active noise cancelling technology. That, combined with the inherent nature of in-ear earbuds, means that the AirPods Pro will provide better noise isolation than over-ear headphones like the Bose QuietComfort or the Sony WH1000XM5. If you're thinking of getting a pair of new AirPods, we highly recommend jumping on this particular model.

Dell S2721DGF 27" 1440p GSYNC Gaming Monitor

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.

From its epic scale and unmatched sense of adventure to its beloved characters and the unforgettable relationships between them, Lord of the Rings remains the all-time best series of fantasy films. Now, 21 years after The Fellowship of the Ring, LotR is back in the zeitgeist thanks to Amazon’s upcoming Middle-earth TV series, The Rings of Power.

Watching the Lord of the Rings movies in order is a fairly straightforward endeavor, though ahead of the TV series' September 2 debut, we’ve put together this article to make sure newcomers can properly navigate both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. With series newcomers in mind, the brief plot synopsises below will be spoiler-free beyond broad plot points and character introductions.

At the bottom of the article, you'll find a second list that orders the films by their actual release dates, if you’d prefer to watch them in that order instead (as I do).

Jump to:

• How to watch in chronologicla order
• How to watch by release order

How Many Lord of the Rings Movies are There?

There are six total movies set within J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle-earth: three The Lord of the Rings movies and three The Hobbit movies. There is also the 1997 animated film, The Hobbit, which is separate from the newer films. No future movies are planned, though Amazon is set to release its big-budget Lord of the Rings TV series, The Rings of Power, on September 2.

Where Does Rings of Power Fit in the Lord of the Rings Timeline?

Amazon’s Rings of Power series is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. This is the period in Middle-earth during which we’ll see "the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," according to showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

The Lord of the Rings Movies in Chronological Order

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Where to watch: HBO Max, or rentable on Amazon

The only potential confusion in the Lord of the Rings-Hobbit timeline comes from the fact that The Hobbit trilogy is set 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, despite being released a decade later.

Chronologically, the story kicks off with 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which sees Martin Freeman take on the role of a younger Bilbo Baggins (played by Ian Holm in the LotR trilogy). Gandalf – one of several characters whose stories run through both trilogies — recruits Bilbo to join Thorin (Richard Armitage) and Company to help reclaim the Dwarven kingdom beneath Erebor, aka The Lonely Mountain, that had been sacked by the dragon Smaug. Along the way, Bilbo encounters Gollum for the first time and comes into possession of the One Ring.

Read our The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey review.

2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Where to watch: HBO Max (August 25), or rentable on Amazon

Thorin and Company continue their journey toward The Lonely Mountain, fending off giant spiders and orcs along the way. Orlando Bloom’s Legolas (another LotR staple) joins the fray alongside newcomer Tauriel (played by Ant-Man’s Evangeline Lilly). While the company reaches Esgaroth, a lake-town south of Erebor, Bilbo descends into the mountain, where he encounters Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). Smaug ultimately leaves his lair and departs for Esgaroth, setting up the conclusion of The Hobbit trilogy.

Read our The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug review.

3. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Where to watch: HBO Max, or rentable on Amazon

The conflict with Smaug is resolved and the film’s titular battle ensues involving the armies of men, dwarves, elves, and two tribes of orcs. We’re being extra vague here as The Battle of the Five Armies is ripe with resolution (and therefore spoilers), but prepare for an action-heavy film that ultimately leaves off where The Lord of the Rings trilogy begins: back at the Shire, 60 years later, as Gandalf visits Bilbo on his 111th birthday.

Read our The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies review.

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Where to watch: HBO Max, or rentable on Amazon

The first Middle-earth film by release date (and the fourth chronologically) is 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The perspective shifts from Bilbo to his much-younger cousin Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). Following some exposition that sets up the current state of affairs in Middle-earth, we return to Bilbo’s 111th birthday celebration in the Shire.

Bilbo departs on one last adventure, leaving the One Ring with Frodo; Gandalf warns Frodo he must leave the Shire, as Sauron (the Lord of the Rings) and his evil cronies — specifically the Nazgûl, a host of nine horse-mounted wraiths — will be coming for the ring. Frodo departs the Shire with his best friend, Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), along with fellow hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippen (Billy Boyd).

After some perilous travel and character introductions, including Aragorn (Mortensen), Legolas (Bloom), and Saruman (Christopher Lee), a plan is devised to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mordor's Mount Doom, where the Rings of Power were forged. The plan is to be carried out by a ragtag group dubbed the Fellowship of the Ring: the wizard Gandalf; the hobbits Frodo, Samwise, Merry, and Pippen; the elf Legolas; the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies); and humans Aragorn and Boromir (Sean Bean).

A treacherous journey leads them to Lothlórien, an Elven realm ruled by Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel, who also appears throughout The Hobbit trilogy and is one of the main protagonists of the new Amazon series (this younger version of Galadriel is played by Morfydd Clark). Galadriel advises Frodo, and he decides to continue his journey to Mordor without the others, bringing only his most trusted confidant, Sam.

Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring review.

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Where to watch: HBO Max, or rentable on Amazon

Frodo and Sam take on a third, reluctant travel companion in Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis), a hobbit long ago corrupted by the power of the One Ring. The trio makes it to the outskirts of Mordor, though are stalled by an unforeseen intervention. The other members of the Fellowship embark on a rescue mission; Gandalf takes a new form; and the trilogy’s first epic battle occurs in the gorge of Helm’s Deep.

Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers review.

6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Where to watch: HBO Max, or rentable on Amazon

As with The Battle of the Five Armies, The Return of the King’s plot is essentially all spoilers, so we’ll again highlight only the broadest story beats. Gollum, exploiting the influence of the Ring, pits Frodo against Sam and leads the former into the lair of a deadly foe. The other members of the Fellowship, meanwhile, partake in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields — a massive, final fight against the dark forces of Sauron.

Frodo and Sam ultimately enter Mordor in disguise and, with help from the other members of the Fellowship, see the original plan through. With the journey concluded, we enter the Fourth Age of Middle-earth and are treated to a bittersweet finale.

Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King review.

How to Watch The Lord of the Rings Movies By Release Date

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

The Songbirds take their stage, as they always do, on the white cobblestones of Limsa Lominsa. It's dusk in Final Fantasy XIV. Foot traffic around the city swells after the sun goes down, when students race home from school and grown-ups clock out from their day jobs. A faint, familiar MIDI melody leaves the band's violins and keyboards, and after a few bars I'm able to place it: "Kiss From A Rose," by Seal. A row of identically dressed bards — like a '60s Phil Specter girl group — weave together a miraculous harmony despite bandwidth and latency. Fans toss glow sticks in the air, warriors and mages lock into their dance animations on the periphery, it's Coachella with Chocobos. The Songbirds are the most famous band in MMO history, and their world tour of Hydaelyn is never going to end.

"It’s a surreal experience seeing our name out there," says Raven Ambree, a Canadian who serves as The Songbirds manager, and asks to be quoted by his in-game name. "Seeing our emotes being used in others' chats, seeing someone wear one of our T-shirts during a stream, or having other famous folks turn up at one of our concerts. It’s difficult to explain."

The Songbirds formed in 2018, and at its core, the band is a partnership between Ambree and MewsicalMiqo. Both of them are MMORPG veterans — they've played everything from Runescape to Eve Online — and fell in love with Final Fantasy XIV because of the ingenious ways Square Enix purged the onerous grind out of the genre. There is a liberty in Square's modern classic that allows the community to play however they'd like without fearing any punishing throttles on their progress. (You don't ever feel like you've fallen hopelessly behind the curve in Final Fantasy 14, even after taking a week-long break.) Perhaps the best example of that philosophy came in 2018, when Square introduced a performance mechanic to the bard class, letting players cue up a simple, 37-note scale for their in-game instruments. Instead of dungeoneering or martial combat, you could now spend your days in Hydaelyn fingerpicking the "Stairway to Heaven" guitar solo. The world was their oyster.

Both Ambree and Miqo were fascinated by the idea of starting a band using these new tools. If they could master the intricacies of the instruments — if they melded all of those MIDI tones together — perhaps they could achieve a rarefied notoriety in Final Fantasy XIV without any raiding, PvP, or auction house bartering. "[I was interested] in its limitations, merits, and really, just how far it could be pushed," says Ambree. They christened themselves The Songbirds, borrowing the same name given to a trio of NPC troubadours, and started translating their favorite pop songs into the musical language of an MMO. I've seen The Songbirds cover Coldplay, Europe, and Linkin Park, and they keep an expansive set list available on the internet for anyone interested in making special requests. (Want to hear "Funky Town?" Just say the word.) Sometimes Songbirds sets can become extremely meta; here they are playing Aerith's Theme, as if the multiversal borders of Final Fantasy are bleeding into each other.

Ambree and Miqo regularly stream their concerts on Twitch, and they keep a frequently updated touring schedule posted on their website so fans know when and where they can catch them live. Neither Ambree nor Miqo identify a specific moment when the band's fame took off, but they say their appearances in the broadcasts of a number of high-profile streamers — particularly World of Warcraft megastar Asmongold — helped introduce their craft to the community writ large. Today, anyone can purchase Songbirds-branded T-shirts and mugs from the band's merch store to further consecrate their fandom. The Songbirds are probably never going to scoop the same box office profits as Harry Styles summer stadium run, but Ambree tells me that a highly successful virtual rock band does pay some dividends.

"The Twitch streams are an IRL income — we do make enough to keep the channel afloat through subscriptions and bits to pay for new content; song transcriptions, midis, giveaways, art assets," he explains. "Commissioned performances are either paid in-game currency, six million gil per hour of performance, or $15 per hour for our time to set up and be there. There's no exchange rate."

You read that right. If you are so inclined, you can absolutely book The Songbirds for a private event in Hydaelyn. You name it, they've probably done it. "Housewarming parties, grand openings of clubs, free company events, birthday parties, holiday parties," lists Ambree. "For Valentine's Day, a patron had hired us to perform for a double date. Two couples and The Songbirds performing for them. They were blown away by the private performance, and we were able to customize the playlist to their tastes, making the night even more special for them. Certainly worth it."

If love is not locking eyes with your partner's avatar while a symphony cues up a squelching, MIDI interpretation of "Heaven Is A Place On Earth," then I'm not sure what it is.

I imagine The Songbirds will keep composing, and keep building their legacy, for as long as Square supports Final Fantasy XIV. There is still so much untapped potential in the game's songwriting system, and the company has already made some smart changes to allow for an honest-to-god music scene to emerge in the game. For instance, in 2019 Bards received an "ensemble mode," which added a metronome making it easier for characters to track their BPMs across spotty WiFi connections. "It's a system that offers more freedom compared to any game publicly available," says Ambree. Sure enough, The Songbirds are not the only band in Final Fantasy XIV. Check out Moogle Troupe or Mosh Mosh or the many others busking throughout the capital cities. Who knows? Maybe someday they'll come together and throw their own Woodstock. That's a metaverse I can believe in.

The thing I loved most about the MMO boom of the mid-2000s was how those games were able to create these incredible, unpredictable player-celebrities within the source code. That's the beauty of a mass gathering of players; beyond the boss fights and the bloodstained arenas, MMOs had a way of creating a strange, bespoke culture, where local legends transcended the mechanics and permeated through the General Chat. That philosophy has fallen by the wayside in 2022, as the vast majority of multiplayer games are gummed up with copious instancing, log-in bonuses, and mobile game-style itemization — I never feel like I truly know any of my fellow Guardians in Destiny, and I think that's the point. But The Songbirds are a relic of those golden years; they make a server blade feel like home. Square Enix handed off the tools, and Ambree and Miqo turned themselves into stars. It's a rock and roll success story as old as time. To think neither of them needed to leave the computer?

Luke Winkie is a freelance writer for IGN.