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Jest, the first marketplace for messaging apps that use texting protocols SMS and RCS, has launched the Jest Games Fund to support studios building games "for the RCS messaging ecosystem" that can be published on its platform. Read more View the full article

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch Publisher: PlayStation Studios, MLB Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment San Diego Studio Release: March 17, 2026 Most sports teams ebb and flow from season to season; a championship one year is often followed by a sharp downturn a few years later. However, some teams always seem to have a higher baseline of performance than others. For much of my life, my Orioles have floundered in mediocrity, with just a few standout years throughout the last few decades. Conversely, my least favorite team, the Yankees, haven’t had a losing season since the Super NES was the hottest console on the market. Similarly, fans of MLB The Show typically know that, even on a down year, they can expect a good game, which is exactly the case with MLB The Show 26. As is usual, my best moments with MLB The Show 26 happened on the field. New batting and pitching options allow you to approach every at-bat how you want to from both the batter’s box and the mound; few feelings in gaming are matched by coming through for your team with a game-winning homerun or a clutch strikeout to get out of a jam. And the fluid fielding and baserunning controls have moved forward from MLB The Show 25. This is perhaps the best-playing sports game available today. Baseball is such a multifaceted sport, and I love how if something doesn’t feel right or you’re not a fan of playing certain aspects of a given game, you can easily tweak the feel or automation of those elements. The excellent gameplay of MLB The Show 26 hits that baseline of quality; regardless of any changes made for better or worse, a mode can be buoyed by how good it feels to simply play through a game of baseball. Whether you want to enjoy a one-off exhibition game with live rosters or chart your own destiny with a more long-term mode, MLB The Show 26 offers a compelling suite of options. I’ve always been drawn to the long-form modes since their proliferation in sports games. By expanding beyond just playing a single game, modern sports games allow you to forge your own emergent storylines and provide your own context amid the broader backdrop of history. MLB The Show has traditionally provided the best contextualization through its March to October mode, which plugged you into high-impact situations not only to determine how your team’s momentum would swing, but also help sow narrative seeds for the season. Sadly, March to October is no more in this year’s game, leaving Franchise feeling a bit more lifeless. Instead, Franchise now offers highly customizable options for when you want to drop into a simulation. I love having full control over which scenarios I want to play through, and how early or late in the game it needs to be before it stops the simulation. However, the new interface is clunkier than that of March to October, and the whole mode feels much more sterile than its predecessor, even with the new trading hub. I enjoyed tracking league rumors before wheeling and dealing to try and bring my team the relief pitcher it desperately needed, but when that was over, I still missed the old format. Road to the Show emerged as my favorite MLB The Show mode long ago, and that doesn’t change with this entry. The thrill of starting with a high school player and bringing them up through the minors and into the big leagues in an RPG-inspired mode never ceases to instill in me that “just one more game” feeling well into the night hours. And because you can level up your player by boosting their attributes, leveling up their situational perks, or using special equipment, you have a ton of ways to improve your player’s performance. Much like last year, I was excited for the integration of the college path should you choose to wait longer to go pro, and also much like last year, I was disappointed. Though the college path is more robust than last year’s paltry offerings, I’m frustrated that you still skip years of your college career. I understand the desire to rush into the pro side of things, but if I choose to go to college, I want it to feel like a meaningful decision. Outside of those multi-season modes, Diamond Dynasty is the other long-form offering, providing one of the better card-collection modes in any sports game. At a time when opening real packs of cards is as big a social-media phenomenon as ever, opening digital ones capitalizes on that excitement. Thanks to an impressive offering of sub-modes and an easy-to-use marketplace, I was able to build up my team to a satisfactory level without much frustration. However, there is frustration in how much great content is locked behind this microtransaction-driven mode. If you want to play World Baseball Classic content, that is inexplicably housed in Diamond Dynasty. If you want to build a team of classic players, you can also primarily do that in Diamond Dynasty. NBA 2K allows you to play Franchise mode in entirely different eras, making the fact that other sports series lock classic players and teams behind card-collection modes unacceptable. And the fact that we just came off one of the most exciting and talked-about World Baseball Classic tournaments of all time, and you can’t just choose to play as those national teams – particularly when the WBC is so heavily featured in the marketing – is a monumental misstep. The awesome Storylines mode rounds out the main offerings of MLB The Show 26, returning for its fourth season to highlight the underserved history of the Negro Leagues. Though this year’s players aren’t as iconic as the previous years, I somehow like that even more, as I was already familiar with the stories of players like Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson, but far less so with Mule Suttles or Peanut Johnson. Learning about these players through short, objective-based gameplay chunks and informational videos is something I look forward to year after year. The mode is so well done that I hope it continues to expand, offering these kinds of mini documentaries for other corners of baseball history. I’d love to hear a baseball historian talk about someone like Roberto Clemente as you play the greatest moments of his abbreviated career, or even themed Storylines like the homerun chase of ’98 or the historic Red Sox ALCS comeback of 2004. You can experience some historical content through the Moments mode, but it remains rigid and lacking in true context, creating a less memorable mode than Storylines. Much like a consistently winning sports team, MLB The Show 26 didn’t change things too dramatically, but this entry almost feels like a soft-rebuilding year; so while many of these changes may elevate the overall package in future games, they aren’t quite there yet. But much like those perennial contenders, even when it’s not the best the franchise has looked, MLB The Show 26 is once again lined up for another winning season. Score: 7.75 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

Mojang has partnered with Merlin Entertainments to build the world's first Minecraft theme park in the UK. Read more View the full article

Savvy Games has acquired Mobile Legends developer Moonton from TikTok owner ByteDance for $6 billion. Read more View the full article

From next year, Roblox will begin charging creators who publish brand integrations in their experiences. Read more View the full article

The next set of Riftbound, Riot Games' League of Legends trading card game, is making its way out of the jungle. And if you get lucky with your pack openings, you might just be able to leap out of the bushes in style. Riot Games gave us the opportunity to premiere a card for Riftbound Unleashed, featuring the jungling hunter Rengar. His official Legend has already been revealed, but for our showcase, we're spotlighting the spectacular artwork on the "overnumbered" version of Rengar's Legend. Here's the special edition of Rengar, Pridestalker. "Overnumbered" is Riot's way of adding a little extra rarity to some cards, putting them beyond the normal numbering of the set; in the bottom-left corner, you'll notice the "227/219" marking, as well as the gold hexagon in the lower center. These are particularly rare options that come with alternative art and, sometimes, an artist signature. In this case, we have Duy Nguyen putting a gorgeous painterly treatment to Rengar. The details are really great; the eye colors pop, the lush foliage feels right at home for Unleashed's theme, and the little details on Rengar's face accentuate his ferocity in combat. The Fury/Body (Red/Orange) combination makes Rengar seem like an aggressive Legend option, with an ability that should let him get out units early and seize an advantage. If I got Rengar at a pre-release, I'd immediately start looking for cheap, solid creatures to roll out for a fast lead, and some battlefields that could net me some value for early captures and holds. Note that his ability says you give "a unit" plus-one Might, not the unit played, which could also lend itself to some tricky combat plays. Preview season is still underway for Riot's card game, rolling out through March 26. Chinese language Pre-Rift events kick off on April 3, while English language begins May 1. The release date will be staggered as well, with Chinese language launch on April 10 and English on May 8. View the full article

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss will conduct a "comprehensive audit" of its in-game assets following the "unintentional" inclusion of AI-generated art. Read more View the full article

Microsoft has revealed it will broadcast an Xbox Partner Preview showcase this week on Thursday, March 26, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. It will feature news and updates on games from Sega, GSC Game World, and Owlcat Games, as well as world premieres and more. Xbox says the presentation will feature an in-depth look at Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku's upcoming game, Stranger Than Heaven, as well as a new look at Owlcat Games' The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, which is a Mass Effect-like sci-fi RPG set in the universe of author James S.A. Corey's book series. Plus, Xbox promises an update on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl and "brand-new reveals, world premieres, and Xbox Game Pass announcements." Following the Xbox Partner Preview, Microsoft says there will be "even more behind-the-scenes stories and deep dives" about some of the games featured in the show can be found on Xbox Wire. This week's Xbox Partner Preview airs Thursday, March 26, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on the company's YouTube and Twitch channels. In the meantime, check out Game Informer's latest preview for Stranger Than Heaven, and then read our preview for The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. What do you hope to see during the Xbox Partner Preview on Thursday? Let us know in the comments below! View the full article

It was a busy weekend for Crimson Desert. Released on Thursday of last week, the game has become a topic for debate for the larger gaming internet. It is divisive, to say the least. You can read Game Informer's Crimson Desert review here. On Saturday, developer Pearl Abyss released a statement after clear examples of genAI art assets were found to have been used in the game. You can see the full statement below: We would like to address questions regarding the use of AI in Crimson Desert. During development, some 2D visual props were created as part of early-stage iteration using experimental AI generative tools. These assets helped us rapidly explore tone and atmosphere in the earlier… — Crimson Desert (@CrimsonDesert_) March 22, 2026 In the statement Pearl Abyss wrote, "This is not in line with our internal standards, and we take full responsibility for it," adding, "We sincerely apologize for these oversights." According to the statement, the assets were included early in development to "rapidly explore tone and atmosphere" and were erroneously left in the final game. The statement also promises that a thorough audit is being conducted on the game to remove the offending assets, and that those assets will be removed in future patches. And speaking of patches, Pearl Abyss also launched Crimson Desert's first big one. The patch is available now on PC (and you can read all the patch notes here) and will also be available on both Xbox and PlayStation today at 2:15 UTC and 8:15 UTC, respectively. To read about Crimson Desert's pre-patch console performance, you can find our impressions of both platforms here. The short version of that article is that my colleague Wesley LeBlanc and I welcome patches to the console version of the game. The most noticeable element of the patch, according to Pearl Abyss, is, "We've adjusted some gamepad and keyboard/mouse controls, increased Health restored from food and items, and added new item storage in the Howling Hill Camp." The full patch list is dense and includes elements like speeding up the time it takes to acquire knowledge, trees can be chopped with just swinging and not aiming first, some puzzles have been tweaked for clarity, as well as very specific bugs, like when a cat would stop leading the way for a mission in chapter two. Again, you can read Game Informer's Crimson Desert review here, but you can also watch our video version of the review below. View the full article

Nintendo is reportedly planning to release a revised Switch 2 model for the European Union, making it easier for consumers to replace its battery. Read more View the full article

Resident Evil Requiem debuted as the best-selling game of 2026 in the US, topping Circana's February charts and ranking in first place across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC storefronts. Read more View the full article

Claim The Princess Factory for free on Itch.io! The Princess Factory is a 2D point-and-click survival horror game where ... View the full article

Feel like jumping into some co-op chaos? You can grab Narvas for free on Steam until March 25, so there’s ... View the full article

Score Wave Gods: Ammo Night for free on Epic Games Store! Wave Gods: Ammo Night is a 3d online survival ... View the full article

Download The Last Days of Baltaseth for free via Itch.io. The Last Days of Baltaseth is a small sci-fi ... View the full article

Crimson Desert was one of the most anticipated games set to launch in 2026 and after years of waiting, it's finally out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. We gave it a 7 out of 10 in the Game Informer Crimson Desert review, and you can read that to learn more about our impressions of this RPG as a whole, but given the breadth of its vast open world, we also wanted to break down how it runs on consoles. If you're interested in how the game runs on PC, well, to keep it short, that's the best place to play Crimson Desert. But that's not necessarily surprising, especially for third-party games such as this. If you have a beefy PC, you can make Crimson Desert shine, and given the game's wide-ranging optimization on PC, there's a good chance the game will still look good even with an older graphics card. It's more challenging to determine how well a game runs on PC, given the wide variation in PCs from player to player, whether it's video cards, CPUs, or something else. That's the appeal of console gaming – games are (usually) good to go out of the box, per se, and don't require the tinkering that comes with playing on PC. As such, my colleague and Game Informer executive editor Kyle Hilliard and I are writing up this story here to tell you how the game runs on consoles. You can read my PlayStation 5 Pro impressions below, and Kyle's Xbox Series X impressions beneath that. Crimson Desert PlayStation 5 Pro Performance I'll describe my time with the game's performance here, but if you're here for a quick look, the gallery above features a screenshot, taken at the same time and spot in the game, in Performance mode, Balanced mode, and Quality mode. Obviously, a big aspect of these various modes is the FPS of Crimson Desert, but that doesn't come through in screenshots so these images should give you an idea of the resolution of the game in each mode. For reference, Performance mode is 1080p, Balanced is 1440p, and Quality is 4K. Furthermore, the Performance mode runs at 1080p/60FPS, Balanced at 1440p/40FPS, and Quality at 4K/30FPS. I've toyed around with each setting and I'll say this: VRR seems quite necessary to enjoy this game at its best. Regardless of the mode, but especially in Performance and Balanced, when I turned VRR off, there was a great deal of screen tearing. Even in low-population areas, the screen tearing was apparent. As such, if you have a TV with VRR (I am using an LG C-model OLED TV), you should absolutely play with it on. With that on, the screen tearing disappears, naturally. Performance Mode – Crimson Desert on PS5 Pro However, screen tearing aside, I noticed a lot of environmental pop-in in the mid-range of your view at any given time on screen in Performance and Balanced mode. In Quality mode, pop-in was reduced to essentially zero. In the other two modes, though, there is a distracting amount of foliage pop-in and an even more distracting amount of terrain load-in. It's quite odd in that the mountainous rocks didn't necessarily pop in out of nowhere, but they almost morphed onto the screen. The resulting effect is a very jarring experience. I liken it to noticing something moving out of the corner of your eye – you're watching Kliff, the main character, from a third-person perspective, so your attention is on him, but in your periphery, you'll see a lot of movement in the cliffs of mountains, the leaves of forests, etc. I don't like it. I tried turning off 120Hz mode on my TV because I've seen some online suggest doing that to enhance your picture, but, truthfully, it changed very little for me. It might have sharpened the image up a bit (I won't pretend to know why), but my main issue with the visuals – the pop-in – remained. It's unfortunate because the 60FPS of the Performance mode, and the 40FPS of the Balanced mode, are actually quite stable in the game's opening hours. That said, I have read online that the FPS struggles to remain stable in more populated areas of the game, such as robust city villages and large-scale battles. Balanced Mode – Crimson Desert PS5 Pro With all this taken into account, the best mode for now seems to be Quality mode, with a well-implemented 4K resolution and a stable 30FPS. Unfortunately, 30 FPS isn't the move for an action game like this, so ultimately this is a lose-lose situation for me. I can, of course, get over the pop-in of Performance and Balanced as I've certainly done it for games before (ahem, Pokémon Violet), but it's obviously not ideal and further proof that this game was probably optimized for PCs first before anything else. Developer Pearl Abyss has already released a patch to address some visual issues, so I suspect the game will be running better in a month than it is today. Quality Mode – Crimson Desert PS5 Pro To sum up my thoughts: there's nothing particularly atrocious about the game's visual issues, but there's no obvious choice for which mode to play in. It depends on what you favor and prefer in open-world single-player RPGs: gorgeous resolution with a stable but lower framerate (Quality), or a higher framerate with blurrier resolution but lots of strange artifacting and pop-in (Performance or Balanced). Crimson Desert Xbox Series X PerformanceOn Xbox Series X, much of the issues outlined above persist on Microsoft's platform. In a complimentary way, the game seems to have parity on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 Pro based on comparing Wes and I's experiences. Like the PlayStation 5 Pro screenshots, the gallery above similarly showcases screenshots taken at the same spot in the game in Performance, Balanced, and Quality mode in that order. I also saw improvements when toggling on the VRR setting, but compared to Wes' PlayStation experience, I didn't encounter much screen tearing. Environmental pop-in, however, was a distracting issue. But not nearly as distracting as protagonist Kliff's beard. On any of the settings, but especially Performance (more or less my universal setting of choice when given the option), Kliff's beard and other elements of fur and hair look fractured and low-resolution. But far and away my biggest issue was the noticeable lag time between pressing a button and seeing that action performed on-screen. Scrolling through menus is particularly slow and the few combat encounters I engaged in became less about pulling off combos and expert blocking and more about tapping RB to swing my sword as much as possible and hoping the enemy would die before I did. It felt like I was issuing battle commands to a Pokémon more than engaging with combat myself. Crimson Desert on Xbox Series X/S. Don't look too closely at the beard. The game, however, does look impressive in moments where you stop and taking it in. The screenshots above were taken from a moment when an NPC encourages you to slow down and take a look at the view. And when the environment did finish popping in, I fully admit being impressed by how far in the distance I could see and how great it looked. Like Wes wrote above, Developer Pearl Abyss is already patching both the console and PC versions of the game to address some visual issues. It's fair to hope that even in the coming weeks, the game will be running and looking better. But it seems, for the moment at least, PC, unsurprisingly, is going to be your best bet if you have the rig to handle it. View the full article

One of the biggest releases of early 2026 is out now, and The Game Informer Show crew is here to dig into all of it. Contributor Hayes Madsen, the writer of our Crimson Desert review, joins Marcus and Eric to talk about Pearl Abyss' plunge into single-player open-world action, and whether all the sights and sounds make up a memorable experience or not. Then, Marcus takes the war to the bugs in Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War. And after a quick break, Hayes highlights the short-but-sweet RPG Etrange Overlord, and Marcus and Eric check in on their Pokemon Pokopia progress. It's another packed week on the podcast, so grab a cold drink and settle in! The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about video game reviews, news, and exclusive reveals alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Watch or listen to the podcast: Listen to "Crimson Desert Review And More w/ Hayes Madsen" on Spreaker.Follow our hosts and guests online:Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)Hayes Madsen (@solfleet)Jump ahead to specific sections here:00:00 - Intro 06:46 - Crimson Desert 48:27 - Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! 1:03:24 - Etrange Overlord 1:13:37 - Pokemon Pokopia View the full article

Welcome to the weekend! Surely it can't be Friday already? It was just Friday like five days ago. Well, we're happy to welcome it early as we consider our weekend video game plans which double as a suggestion for what to play this weekend. You can read our Crimson Desert review here, but many of the rest of us on staff are curious about it and eager to dive in. There's also MLB The Show 26 for the sports fans, Ghost of Yōtei Legends for the co-op fans, and more. And hey – outside of the world of video games, Matt Miller and I accepted an invite to the grand opening of our new local Lakeville, Minnesota IMAX theatre to see Project Hail Mary (I also dragged along former GI editor Ben Reeves as my plus one), and you know what? Good movie! I recommend it. I think I may have even enjoyed it more than the book. Check back with me in a few months to see if I still feel that way. Game Informer editor in chief Matt Miller (left), former GI editor and Firaxis writer Ben Reeves (center), and executive editor Kyle Hilliard (right) hanging out with a big picture of Ryan Gosling. But now it's time for the weekend and our usual recommendation of games and things you should check out! But before that, here's a recap of the biggest stories of the week: Crimson Desert Review - Open-World OverloadMarathon – Review In ProgressWorld of Warcraft: Midnight Review - Home Is Where The Hearth IsThe Top 10 Nintendo Switch 2 GamesSwitch 2 Update Allows Switch Games To Run In TV Mode While In Handheld ModeThe Best And Worst Video Game Pies Crimson Desert Eric Van Allen If you need a new game to absorb an entire weekend, it's hard to think of a better option than Crimson Desert. Pearl Abyss' single-player action-adventure epic is the talk of the town right now, and for good reason: it's a massive do-anything game, sprawling and gorgeous, and riddled with little means for getting lost. My own opinions mirror our contributor Hayes' thoughts: in some moments Crimson Desert is a technical marvel, achieving both scale and wonder on a degree rarely seen; in others, it's an overstuffed cornucopia of game ideas and systems that don't really interlock in meaningful ways. If I can offer any recommendations, it's to get to the section where you establish a camp for the Greymanes as soon as possible. It's one of the better sections of the game. Also, unlock the wrestling moves. There's nothing better than Stone Cold Stunning a guy with a sword-and-shield or lance into the dirt. Really, I hope the folks who want something from Crimson Desert find it there. One man's 7 is another's 10, and if you want a fantasy world to absolutely dump hours into, few wells are as deep as Pywel. Read Game Informer's Crimson Desert review right here, or you can watch the video review below. Parseword Charles Harte Josh Wardle, who you probably know as the guy who invented Wordle, released a new game earlier this month: Parseword. I've been playing it every day for about a week, and I'm really into it, even though I know it's unlikely to reach the same level of popularity Wordle did. It's essentially an easier version of a cryptic crossword clue, formatted in such a way that makes the style of game easier to learn. Cryptic clues hide their hints and solutions in unassuming words. For example, one of the game's tutorial puzzles is a six-letter word for "Artist retracted reward." If you've done a lot of these puzzles, you'll know the answer is "drawer." The first word, "artist," is the solution's definition. The word "retracted" tells the clue-solver to retract (or reverse) the letters in the following word, and "reward" spelled backwards is "drawer," or a synonym for artist. If you're thinking "that's stupid and confusing," you're correct! It's intentionally obtuse, but Parseword adds some clever quality-of-life tools to make the process easier. The definition is clearly marked, so you'll know what word you're looking for from the start. It also allows you to click or tap on a word to see all its potential functions – in this instance, highlighting "retracted" tells you that it can reverse a word, and dragging it over to "reward" automatically reverses it. The game also includes tutorials, difficulty modes, and hints, making it relatively accessible and easy to grasp. The amount of explanation required to recommend it disqualifies it from Wordle-level popularity, but it's a well-designed game that wordplay fans should check out. MLB The Show 26 Brian Shea For the last week, I've been playing MLB The Show 26, the latest in Sony San Diego's long-running baseball franchise. While I'm still hours from being able to render my final verdict, I'm having a great time. The MLB The Show franchise has typically been the most consistently good annualized sports franchise, and this year's feels no different. Upgrades to Road to the Show help the experience of playing through that player-lock career mode, but Franchise – an oft-ignored mode in other sports series – got a big upgrade, emerging it from the previous March to October format into something much more customizable. The gameplay remains rock solid, too, as it still feels amazing to snag a deep flyball on the run, strike out the side, or launch a ball into the cheap seats. Stay tuned to GameInformer.com next week for my full review! Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War Marcus Stewart When this new Starship Troopers game was announced, I wondered if it would simply emulate the design of its biggest copycat, Helldivers, like a snake eating its tail. Thankfully, that’s not the case. Ultimate Bug War is not a cooperative squad-based third-person shooter (though something close to that does exist). Instead, it is a single-player first-person game molded more closely after '90s-era shooters, colloquially known as “Boomer Shooters” to the kids I’m definitely hip to. The polygonal presentation offers a fun visual throwback, while the shooting feels more contemporary in that it’s actually weighty and impactful. Mowing down hundreds of bugs in large arenas filled with objectives has a Dynasty Warriors-esque satisfaction, and I enjoy the B-movie tier character dialogue from the uber-patriotic Federation soldiers. The franchise’s satirical vibe permeates the experience, namely in the humorous live-action cutscenes featuring Casper Van Dien, who reprises his role as protagonist Johnny Rico from the original film to serve as the players’ commander. Rico’s pep talks, along with goofy propaganda commercials, are the best reward after riddling thousands of alien bugs with bullets. I'm doing my part! Ghost Of Yōtei Legends Kyle Hilliard I loved Ghost of Yōtei last year. You can read my review right here. I felt like I lived a prominent portion of Atsu's life during my playthrough, and I miss being in that world. Thankfully, Sucker Punch gave me an excuse to return by releasing the completely free online co-op mode, Legends, last week. You do need to own Ghost of Yōtei to play it, so there is an asterisk next to "free", but despite being a mode that encourages you to progress and collect loot, it is entirely without microtransactions of any kind. A breath of fresh online multiplayer air. If you follow me at all, you know I am not an online multiplayer guy. I like going on my own little personal adventures in video games. But I played through Legends' available content (more is coming soon) in its entirety and had a good time. Mainly, I just love the combat of Yōtei, so I enjoyed running around an abstract version of Ezo, while fighting abstract versions of familiar enemies, and exaggerated monstrous versions of the Yōtei Six (though not all six are in the mode yet). I spoke with Legends' lead designer, Darren Bridges, earlier this week to learn why and how this mode exists, and I will post the full transcription of that interview soon. But in the meantime, if you miss Yōtei as I do, hop online and play through a few levels. You won't regret it. Marvel Rivals - Season 7 Matt Miller When I snag MVP for the game the very first match in which I play a new character after they appear in Marvel Rivals, it's a pretty surefire indication I'll be seeing a lot of that hero for the foreseeable future. That's been my experience with the arrival of Silver Fox, a powerhouse of a healing strategist who is the biggest addition to today's new Season 7 of the ongoing superhero battler. The new season also pushes into some new story territory about (yet another) crisis in New York, along with the expected arrival of a new battlepass, events, balance adjustments, and more. Black Cat and a new Lower Manhattan map will join the show in a few weeks. The game continues to draw large player counts even as its roster of characters expands; early matches this season have been the likeable mix of colorful, chaotic, and rewarding. Planet of Lana II: Children Of The Leaf Matt Miller Wishfully and Thunderful Publishing have delivered on all fronts with the sequel to Planet of Lana. The new game offers beautiful visuals, a thoughtful and emotional story that is mostly told without words or understandable language, and some excellently crafted puzzles that carry the game forward. While knowledge of the first game might enrich your experience, the game goes out of its way to help this installment stand on its own, and get new players up to speed right from the start. It's also hard not to love the companion dynamic between Lana and the strange creature named Mui; their interactions power both the storytelling and gameplay. If you've been hungry for wonderful puzzles in an equally wonderful world, it's an easy pick for your weekend play. You can see some gameplay from Planet of Lana 2 in a recent episode of New Gameplay Today below. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach on PC Kyle Hilliard Death Stranding 2: On The Beach was released last summer on PlayStation 5, and it's a good game! Some guy at Game Informer (me) gave it an 8.75 and wrote in his review, "Death Stranding 2 is a game with faults and annoyances, but it also makes big, expensive swings and is trying to establish its own unique genre, often successfully. I’ll happily take the misses alongside the hits. The world is bizarre and beautiful and impressively thought out, from the overall design of the world down to the UI of its fictional phones. What keeps me coming back the most, though, and the reason I will continue to make deliveries after publishing this review, is Death Stranding 2’s boundless sincerity." The short version is it's a game that is not without faults, but it's hard not to get swept up in it and appreciate its bizarre world and story. It was released yesterday on PC and includes some technical bonuses like unlocked framerates during gameplay, ultra widescreen support, DualSense controller support, and upscaling and frame generation. If you played it on PlayStation 5, I don't know that there is much incentive to play it again on PC. But if you skipped it last year or were holding out to play it on your top-of-the-line rig, this is your reminder that it is, in fact, available. View the full article

Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics announced another wave of layoffs yesterday, following a restructure that began last year. 20 employees have been affected. The studio announced on LinkedIn that the cut staff members were “split between some development personnel and some central operations roles.” A section of its post reads, “As our current projects move into new phases of development, we continuously take a hard look at our team structures to ensure they align with our long-term studio goals. While we always strive to transition our people into new roles whenever possible, we have unfortunately reached a point where these departures are necessary.” Crystal Dynamics says it will support departing staff with severance and job placement assistance. Crystal Dynamics adds that it remains “fully committed” to the development of its two announced Tomb Raider games: Legacy of Atlantis, a remake of the first Tomb Raider scheduled to launch this year, and Catalyst, a brand-new entry coming in 2027. Both titles were announced at The Game Awards 2025 and are seemingly unaffected by the layoffs. Last August, Crystal Dynamics laid off staff in an effort to “ensure the long-term health of our studio and core creative priorities in a continually shifting market.” The layoffs were presumed to stem from the cancellation of Rare’s reboot of Perfect Dark, which Crystal Dynamics was assisting with, but this was not confirmed by the studio. For more on Tomb Raider, you can read more about how Tomb Raider: Catalyst and Legacy of Atlantis fit with the series timeline. View the full article

Assassin's Creed is finally going to Ancient Rome, though it's not the way you might expect. Though players have yearned for a game set during this period of history, the first taste of the Brotherhood during this era will come by way of Netflix's upcoming live-action Assassin's Creed series. Alongside a full cast reveal, which you can see in the image below in this story, Ubisoft also revealed that the untitled Netflix adaptation will be set in Ancient Rome in 64 AD. History buffs likely know what that year is infamous for in Roman history, but for those unaware, it's the year of the Great Fire of Rome, which began in mid-July in 64 AD. Nearly three-quarters of Rome, or 10 of its 14 city districts, were destroyed as the fire raged for six days before it was eventually brought under control. The infamous Emperor Nero blamed the Christians in Rome and used this fire to initiate an empire-wide persecution of those practicing this religion. Over the following years, several assassination attempts (ahem) were made on Nero, but the Emperor survived all of them. However, he died by suicide in the year 68 AD after learning that Centurions were on their way to arrest him for financial and government crimes. All of this to say, it's a rich period of history for a series all about assassinations, secret orders, and more. Alongside word of the series' setting, Ubisoft also revealed the cast, and you can check them out below. Unfortunately, we still don't know who's playing who or what historical figures we can expect to see. Assassin's Creed players have already visited Rome before, though it was more than 1,400 years after 64 AD in 2010's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, which saw fan-favorite assassin Ezio Auditore (di Firenze) fight the Templar Order in Rome. You can read Game Informer's review of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood to learn why it's still one of our favorites today. What do you hope to see in this live-action Assassin's Creed series on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below! View the full article

Lawyers for Unknown Worlds co-founders Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire accused Krafton of "intentionally leaking" a memo about aiming to launch Subnautica 2 in early access in May. Read more View the full article

Reviewed on: PC Platform: PC, Mac Publisher: Activision Blizzard Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Release: March 2, 2026 Blizzard’s hot streak continues with Midnight, World of Warcraft’s latest expansion, which further builds atop (and below) the world of Azeroth. The main storyline offers poignant commentary on religion, family conflict, and generational trauma through its well-written characters. The long-requested housing feature finally debuts, offering impressive building and customization systems and introducing a new reward vector that enriches almost every activity in the game: decor collecting. Furthermore, Blizzard’s reimagining of older zones like Quel’Thalas and Zul’Aman makes them a delight to revisit; I get as much enjoyment exploring these revamped locations as I do new places. While I still have many more hours ahead as I explore the full breadth of Midnight’s endgame activities, the expansion’s new core features and questing experience are stronger than ever. Serving as the middle chapter in The World Soul Saga trilogy, Midnight keeps the spotlight on antagonist Xal’atath, who has sundered the skies above the Blood Elves’ homeland as her void army, The Devouring Host, assaults The Sunwell, a fount of arcane and light energy that’s sacred to the elves for its beneficial effects on their society. The narrative sends players on an exciting tour of a revitalized Quel’Thalas, first introduced 20 years ago in The Burning Crusade, its many locations brimming with new activity as they reflect years of prosperous change. The capital city of the Amani Trolls, called Zul’Aman, was previously only an instanced dungeon. However, Blizzard has expanded Zul’Aman into a full zone with breathtaking, moody vistas. Ancient pine trees jut out from the fog-ridden landscape, their natural beauty contrasting the cold, carved stone ruins of a once-thriving troll empire. Impressively, the whirling voidstorm above the Sunwell is visible from both neighboring zones, a vibrant showcase of Blizzard’s skybox tools as well as an excellent grounding mechanism. We once again assume a supporting role in the political stories of Azeroth’s denizens, as Midnight’s story centers on themes of generational loss and the long-lasting results of war. Characters like Zul’Jarra, granddaughter of a notable Amani patriarch, and Arator, a Blood Elf paladin struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps, represent a new generation of leaders whose reluctance for bloodshed is in stark contrast to their elders’ past conquests. Upon completing significant quests, most characters offer an option to “stay awhile and listen,” granting agency as to whether you’d like to hear more exposition or to keep the adventure moving. Most of these optional conversations are worth hearing, often serving as a lens into deeper emotions and motivations, though some conversations feel like nothing more than exposition dumps. It’s nice to have the choice, regardless. My favorite feature, player housing, fundamentally improves World of Warcraft by giving adventurers their own plot of land to build a house and showcase their creativity and relics of their achievements. Nearly every activity in Midnight rewards players with new housing decorations; even legacy professions, dungeons, and raids grant new rewards, giving good reason to interact with decades-old content. Players can place decor with a simple grid system; the advanced building mode enables 3D gizmos to manipulate an object’s scale, rotation, and position data. The latter provides all the tools necessary to kitbash disparate objects into new ones. For example, clipping a stone fountain into the wall can make for a stylish bathtub, or you can shrink a cooking fire and hide it in a metal box to make a rudimentary cooking appliance. This process is an incredible creative exercise and gives the same sense of satisfaction I might get from solving a complex puzzle. While I’m still working my way through endgame content, including several raids, battlegrounds, and a target-hunting Prey system, Midnight’s core experience is great. As the second entry in a trilogy, Midnight effectively fleshes out returning characters and blurs the line between good and evil in interesting ways. Ending on a dark note, this middle chapter creates more questions than answers, and serves as a great staging ground for the story’s final act. While the conclusion is still years away, I’ll happily devote that time to decorating and, inevitably, renovating my new abode. Now more than ever, Azeroth feels like a home away from home. Score: 9 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) will not adopt the age-rating changes announced by Pan-European Games Information (PEGI) as it "could be confusing" for users. Read more View the full article

CD Projekt has published its full-year financial results for 2025, reporting increases in both sales revenue and net profit as development continues its Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises. Read more View the full article

Download I Need Spirit: Off Road Edition for free via Epic Games Store. I Need Spirit! Off-Road Edition is a ... View the full article