EpicTellers Entertainment has announced that those who have backed Starfinder: Afterlight with the closed beta access option will be able to play some of the early parts of the game in February. If you are interested in getting in on the closed beta, you can still back Starfinder: Afterlight on Kickstarter which will grant access. Additionally, EpicTellers Entertainment has stated it is aiming to launch Starfinder: Afterlight’s early access in Q2 or Q3 this year.

Those who get to play the Starfinder: Afterlight closed beta will have the opportunity to experience the opening 45-60 minutes of Act 1’s gameplay, three pre-made character builds to try including Human Soldier, Vesk Envoy, and Shirren Operative, and to explore the Entertainment District of Hivemarket on Akiton. This opening section will also give players their first interactions with Preach, Sterling, and the Larva, which will contain full voice acting. Additional details about the closed beta are going to be announced closer to the time of release.

At full release, Starfinder Afterlight will have between 40 to 60 hours of gameplay, with multiple difficulty settings available for those who want everything from experiencing the story to challenging combat. There will be a full voice cast and Eduardo de la Iglesia is composing the soundtrack, and Starfinder Afterlight will also support mods. The game itself is a  CRPG based on the Paizo’s sci-fi and fantasy tabletop RPG.

Source: Steam

The online multiplayer mech base building and looter SAND: Raiders of Sophie is going to be releasing in March for PC, with PS5, and Xbox Series XS versions available to wishlist now too. Publisher tinyBuild and developer Hologryph announced the news with a brand new trailer that showcases different elements of SAND: Raiders of Sophie’s gameplay, including the mech base building, combat between the mechs, and looting areas in a procedurally generated map.

SAND: Raiders of Sophie is set in an alternate 1910s where players can search for resources amongst the ruins of Sophie, and to settle scores. This can be done alone but the emphasis is on squad play, where players team up to build their walking bases known as Tramplers. These walking bases are a mix of a central base, a vehicle to help navigate the world, and a weapons platform that can engage in battle with other Tramplers. How Tramplers are constructed is up to the players with each one being fully customisable, so they can have their own layouts and looks.

Exploration is not limited to moving the Trampler from place to place. Players can walk around the world on foot and engage in PvPvE battles, taking on players from different Tramplers as well as the undead original inhabitants of Sophie. A price and exact date is yet to be confirmed for SAND: Raiders of Sophie, but at least we know it is not too far away.

Source: YouTube

If you like the future Western aesthetic then Paradark Studios’ ExeKiller is one to keep an eye on. Described as a retro future Western, ExeKiller is set in a dystopian future where a catastrophic event has turned Earth into a scorched desert planet. But an apocalyptic event won’t get in the way of the darker side of human nature, meaning a bounty hunter is needed to find some criminals.

In the new gameplay overview, Paradark Studios shows different aspects of the world which you inhabit as Denzel Fenix, aka the bounty hunter known as ExeKiller. He works for the Helion company and as the story progresses revelations about the world and himself make Denzel a target for different factions. That means players have to be on the lookout for danger everywhere.

ExeKiller is set in a semi open world with one of the central locations being The Tower. Here Denzel can upgrade and purchase gear, gather information, and pick up some bounties to hunt. It is a generally safe area, a stark difference to the world outside. Denzel travels across the world in a car that has been designed to withstand things like severe weather and radiation, but you cannot avoid such dangers all of the time. Out of the car, Denzel has to be aware of both enemies and the environment which could turn to make things difficult. Players have full autonomy on how missions are resolved with no set linear paths. You can choose to go in all guns blazing, sneak around, talk your way through situations, or a mixture of all of these approaches. Whatever approach is chosen will impact how NPCs and factions react to Denzel, and the game’s ending. There is no XP to earn in the game with Denzel’s skills reliant on player skill and the mods and augments that are installed in Denzel.

A release date for ExeKiller has yet to be confirmed and so far it has only been confirmed for PC.

Source: YouTube

Another day, another “Xbox game is coming to PS5” announcement, as it’s now been confirmed that Obsidian’s fantasy RPG Avowed is coming to PlayStation 5 on 17th February 2026. The PS5 launch will coincide with an anniversary update that will also arrive for the game on PC and Xbox Series X|S at the same time.

The announcement came as part of an interview for New Game Plus:

The anniversary update should make this the best way to play the game – a boon, of course, for PS5 players to get the rounded off version, but also for anyone returning to the game on previous platforms. There are three new races that you can create your Godlike protagonist as, with dwarves, orlan and aumaua to be available, and a brand new weapon type that will be introduced to the game.

A new game plus mode is also being added, with the caveat that weapon levelling will not carry over, and there’s a long overdue photo mode to help capture some of the intense action moments and scenery that you might want to preserve.

Avowed takes us back to the Living Lands, a mysterious islands in the fantasy world of Eora, which it shares with Obsidian’s previous Pillars of Eternity games. However, where those games were both top-down CRPGs and part of the genre’s revival over the past decade, Avowed will shift back to one of Obsidian’s areas of expertise: first person action RPG adventuring. Avowed is not a fully open world game, but has several large open areas that you can explore. In that regard it’s comparable to one of Obsidian’s other acclaimed hits, The Outer Worlds.

This game was one of the highlights for Xbox and PC gamers last year, as Microsoft’s many studios and subsidiaries deliver on long-awaited projects, and as they’ve continually stuffed games into Xbox Game Pass. “Avowed is an incredible RPG,” we said in our review. “Its vibrant world and stellar cast make every moment a joy to take part in, enhanced by a script that gives equal measure to drama, action and humour. Coming hot on the heels of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Microsoft’s software revival is well underway.”

Source: Obsidian

Ghost Ship Games has announced details for Deep Rock Galactic’s new season, including the name, date, key art and other content details. Deep Rock Galactic Season 6 is called Relics of Hoxxes and it will begin on January 29th for PC, with the console release coming two weeks afterwards on February 12th. While a new trailer for all the content has not been released, you can check out some new cosmetics.

https://youtu.be/n8LG8V0hnws?si=zh8bceNSbjK8nUw5

In Deep Rock Galactic Season 6 Relics of Hoxxes, players will be sent to the new biome of the Ossuary Depths with the new Heavy Excavation mission giving the objective to find and dig up Resinite Mass deposits to send spaceward. It will not be smooth mining though as along with the normal Glyphids players will also need to deal with the new Ossiran enemies that have their own attacks to use.

The ‘Relic Raider’ DLC Pack, which is what the trailer above shows, will include the Relic Raider’ Armour Framework for all four classes, one ‘Relic Raider’ headgear for each class, the ‘Relic Raider’ Armour Paintjob for all armor sets, the ‘Relic Raider’ Weapon Paintjob, the ‘Relic Raider’ Pickaxe Framework, the ‘Relic Raider’ Pickaxe Paintjob, the ‘Relic Raider’ Bosco Framework, and the ‘Relic Raider’ Bosco Paintjob. The pack will be released at the same time as Season 6 on January 29th.

Source: Steam

Epic is kicking off 2026 with their first major Fortnite collab event of the year, as South Park has been smushed into the enduring battle royale. There’s some fun new twists here, from the 5-player Quints playlist, to the Cartmanland POI and a free Born in the Chaos battle pass.

Having dredged up the powerful Stick of Truth, Butters has forced Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny to play Fortnite with him. The stick is so powerful, it’s managed to bend the game code to allow all five of them to team up in the Quints playlist.

Here’s what else you’ll find in this event, running from today through 5th February:

• Gameplay Items: Players can restore health, heal allies, or damage enemies with Cheesy Poofs; reboot automatically after being eliminated with the one-time-use Kenny’s Respawn Token; and for the first time ever, control where the Storm goes by retrieving the one-time-use Stick of Truth from the sky.
• Cartmanland: Drop into a new POI: Cartman’s massive personal theme park! Cartmanland features rideable thrills such as CHAOS BLAST, Voyage to the Center of the Planet, and Pi Pi’s Splash Town.
• The Born in Chaos Pass: With no V-Bucks required, the Born in Chaos Pass features 13 South Park-themed items players can unlock – including a Cheesy Poofs Emote, Back Blings, Pickaxes, and more – by completing new South Park Quests.

Epic has always been pretty hot on the IP collabs, but it certainly feels as though they’re picking up the pace on some of these. In the last few months of 2025 along, they brought the K-Pop Demon Hunters into the game from the hit Netflix movie, and the there was the whole Simpsons crossover.

South Park is hardly a stranger to the realms of video games, from one of the most popular and enduring episodes of the show having featured World of Warcraft at the peaks of its early popularity, to the menagerie of tie-in games from the tail end of the PS1 and N64 era, through to the popular RPG duology Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole – it’s obviously Stick of Truth that Fortnite is leaning on to get the boys into the game.

Source: press release

Developer Lion Shield that its Roman themed city builder Nova Roma will no longer be releasing into early access on January 22nd. Following feedback from those who have played the Nova Roma demo, the developer has made the decision to delay the game by two months to put in some extra polish. That means Nova Roma early access will now launch on March 26th.

In a joint statement Pete, Michael, & Sam of Lion Shield said, “First off, thanks for all your feedback on the Nova Roma demo! It’s been great to see the cities everyone’s creating, and we’ve definitely been impressed and surprised with the things you’re all doing with the dams and aqueducts! Given the response to the demo, we are going to push our launch date back a couple more months. The new date will be March 26th, 2026. Using your feedback we’ve updated the demo with lots of tuning, fixes, and recently we added rain, flooding, and droughts. We’ll continue to update the demo – we’re sort of thinking of it as a ‘proto-early access’. It’s disappointing to have to wait even longer and we’re sorry about that! We want to make sure everything is polished and we want to get in as much of your feedback as possible before release. Until then we hope you enjoy the demo and keep the feedback coming!”

In Nova Roma, the Roman Empire is falling into decay so you have to lead a small group of citizens to build a new version of the city in new lands. To build successfully you will need to meet the needs of the citizens, and gain the favour of the gods through building temples. Nova Roma is not just a builder where you throw up some buildings a be done with it. You will need to plan where to place dams and aqueducts to get water flowing to the city, without causing floods, and set up supply routes to get raw materials to the city without spreading too quickly. Advisors and senators will be there to help guide you build Nova Roma, and deal with the different issues that come up which will need balancing. You will need to make sure there is enough variety of entertainment to keep citizens happy after days of working, otherwise they may become unhappy too leading Nova Roma to ruin.

Source: Steam

PUBG Studios has announced that its PUBG spin off PUBG: Blindspot will be released into Early Access on February 5th. PUBG: Blindspot is a different experience to Battlegrounds, as this is a top down 5v5 tactical shooter within enclosed spaces instead of a bigger, open world. You can check out the gameplay in the trailer below.

The PUBG: Blindspot trailer above shows two teams of five battling it out as one side defends while another attacks. Players can only see  what is happening in their line of sight, so anything obscured by doors or walls is hidden from view. That is unless you decide to blow a wall up to try and get a jump on the opposition. The attacking team is trying to fight through the building to hack into the hidden Crypt, while the defending team is trying to stop the hack from happening. Players will have access to unique characters that have their own playstyles and weapon preferences, with those including assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, long-range weapons like sniper rifles and DMR, pistols, and grenade launchers.

As this will be an early access release the content and experience of PUBG: Blindspot will evolve as the development team tweak the game based on player feedback. A release date for the 1.0 version has not yet been set.

Source: Steam

Publisher Wales Interactive and developer Trapped Predator have announced that the interactive psychological horror FMV game Heart of the Forest will be released on February 12th. The confirmed platforms are PC, PS5, PS4, Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. It is a live action story that follows a group of students as they explore Germany’s Black Forest, which is home to an evil spirit.

In Heart of the Forest players will see the world through each character’s point of view, making choices on the information available to steer the story. Each character has their own fears and traumas that are exploited by the forest spirit to scare and hunt the students down. Your choices will determine who lives and who dies. Some of the footage definitely has The Blair Witch Project vibes, which is likely to have been an influence on Heart of the Forest.

In a statement Trapped Predator said, “Heart of the Forest is our modern take on German folklore set in the mysterious Black Forest. In our debut title, we invite you to join our four protagonists on a chilling journey into their darkest nightmares. See you inside the forest!”

A price for Heart of the Forest is yet to be confirmed.

Source: Press Release

A new cinematic trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 has been released, introducing the Orks to the game in pretty much perfect fashion. Check it out:

That’s right, the Gork or Mork-ified space hulk that the Orks are cruising through space on has been kitted out with a big red button so that they can, to quote the Warboss that punches it, “crash faster” into the planet while in hot pursuit  of the Blood Ravens Space Marines that they’re chasing after.

It’s the culmination of a wonderfully rendered cinematic trailer that sees the Orks attack an Imperial ship and board it to go toe-to-toe with the Space Marines, including Blood Ravens heroes Chief Librarian Jonus Orion and Captain Cyrus who are eventually forced to abandon ship of drop pods and Thunderhawks once Gorgutz arrives, with everyone heading down to the surface of Kronus.

Of course, you probably want to see the actual game in action at this point, and King Art Games have done that too in the last few weeks with the ‘Sons of Caliban’ gameplay trailer released in December.

This shows off the Dark Angels chapter in action, not long after their own cinematic trailer reveal. As formidable as a Space Marine Chapter is, the Blood Ravens are in dire need of help through Dawn of War 4, and the Dark Angels themselves are turning up to assist. You’ll get to play as both chapters, with Company Master Astoran and Chaplain Ezrael leading the Dark Angels into the fray. King Art have also teased that Dark Angels Primarch Lion El’Jonson could be playable at some point in the campaign, which would be a landmark moment for 40K in general, not just video games!

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV has been entrusted to Iron Harvest developer King Art Games and publisher Deep Silver. It’s a new leaf for the franchise, which was created by Relic Entertainment way back in 2004 and defined a new style of real time strategy with less focus on resource gathering and base building, and more on controlling the map and battlefield. Dawn of War enjoyed a good few expansions before Dawn of War 2 explored a more tactical approach in 2009, and Dawn of War 3 sought to blend them all together.

The interest in having King Art work on Dawn of War IV was organised by Games Workshop some time before Iron Harvest’s release in 2020. It’s not known if GW initially wanted to stick with Relic, but that time frame would have been around the time that Relic was focussed on Age of Empires IV and later Company of Heroes 3. Relic has since gone through the tumult of layoffs while under Sega’s ownership in 2023, and then independence with an investor buyout in 2024. They had plenty of things going on, in other words, but King Art had proven themselves with their steampunk RTS and could be great new stewards for this series. We look forward to seeing more in the run up to its 2026 release.

PUBG has been updated to version 39.2 on PC today, with consoles getting the update on January 15th, and this update has intensified the environmental conditions that were first introduced as part of Erangel: Subzero. In addition, there is a new danger from the skies with the introduction of a new Satellite Crash Special Zone. Additionally, there is some new gear including the frost zone bomb and the thermal protection suit to help survive the plunging temperatures. You can read the full patch notes below.

PUBG Update 39.2 Patch Notes

Erangel: Subzero

Erangel’s harsh cold intensifies, ushering in a range of changes.

Special Zone: Satellite Crash

• The Special Zone spawns four times per match, primarily within the Safe Zone.
• When a Satellite crash is detected, a warning message appears on screen.
• Upcoming Special Zone locations are displayed on the World Map and Minimap.
• After a short delay, Satellites crash down along with multiple modules that generate Blue Zone spheres.
  • Blue Zone spheres deal 10 damage per second.
  • The freezing effect is applied to the Blue Zone spheres.
• Various items can be looted from the crashed Satellites.
• Crashing Satellites deal impact damage.

New Weapon: Frost Zone Bomb

※ Not available in Team Deathmatch.

• Inventory slot: Throwables
• Weight: 40
• Can be deployed using the left mouse button.
  • Deployment can be canceled midway.
  • Deployment may be canceled by damage, collisions, or movement.
  • Can be placed on flat surfaces, with restrictions on certain terrain and objects.
  • Can be deployed on most vehicles, with a few exceptions. It attaches to the exterior upon deployment.
• Cannot be destroyed or defused once deployment is complete.
• A warning sound plays for a short duration before detonation.
• Creates a Blue Zone sphere with a maximum radius of 20 m upon detonation.
  • Deals 14 damage per second.
  • The freezing effect is applied.

• Spawns only from Satellites.

New Item: Thermal Protection Suit

• When worn, it blocks a certain amount of Blue Zone damage.

  • Blocking Blue Zone damage also prevents the freezing effect.

• The suit’s appearance changes with durability, reflecting its damage state.
• When worn together with the Jammer Pack, anti-Blue Zone protection is cumulative.

• • Item durability is consumed in the following order: Jammer Pack → Thermal Protection Suit.

• Spawns only from Satellites.

Weather

• As blizzards sweep across the map and Erangel is blanketed in white, the climate grows increasingly unforgiving.
• Applies to Normal Match, Ranked, and Custom Match.

World: Rondo

Following the recent changes to Rondo, we’ve rebalanced item spawns across the map to ensure a smoother and more consistent looting experience.

Spawn Changes

• To provide a looting experience comparable to other 8×8 km maps, spawn rates for various world spawn items have been adjusted.
• Weapon, attachment, and Throwable spawns inside Secret Rooms have been increased.
• Fixed spawn spots and the total spawn quantity for the Inflatable Boat have been reduced.

(PC) New Feature: Secondary Password

※ The following updates apply to all PC platforms.

Setup & Usage Guide

• The secondary password must be a 6-8 digit number, and SMS authentication is required for both initial setup and resets.

  • Even if you have previously completed SMS authentication for Ranked play, reauthentication is required to set up the secondary password.
  • You can set up the secondary password by clicking “Set Secondary Password” from the Career – Overview page or the Ranked menu.
  • The same digit cannot be used 3 times in a row.

• Accounts with a secondary password enabled will be prompted to verify the password every 24 hours when entering the lobby.

  • If you log in from a different PC, secondary password authentication will be required regardless of the time.
  • You must complete secondary password authentication to access the lobby.
• The secondary password can be reset by clicking “Reset Secondary Password” from the Career – Overview page or the secondary password authentication popup.
• After five or more incorrect attempts, you will be directed to the secondary password reset process.

Important Notes

• Secondary password authentication is required to play Ranked matches.

  • Accounts without a secondary password can still access all other content except Ranked mode.

• The existing SMS authentication requirement for Ranked mode has been removed and replaced with the secondary password setup.
• If any member of a party does not have a secondary password enabled, the party will not be able to play Ranked matches.
• If you forget your secondary password, you can reset it. However, disabling the secondary password requires contacting Customer Support.
• If SMS authentication is attempted more than 10 times, sending pin codes will be restricted for 24 hours.

Arcade

Team Deathmatch

※ The following updates apply to Custom Match as well.

• Adjusted the images, display duration, and size of on-screen notifications based on player feedback.

Workshop

New item sets have been added to the Hunter’s Chest and Archivist’s Chest.

• Minx and Maven
• Survivor Pass: Spirit Squad

Survivor Pass

• A brand new Survivor Pass is prepared for Update 39.2.

Hideout

• The maximum number of weapon skins that can be salvaged at once has been increased from 24 to 60.

UX/UI

• (Console) Adjusted visual effects that displayed differently on Xbox.

Bug Fixes

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where the sound effect for the Adrenaline Syringe would intermittently cut off during use.
• Fixed an issue where, under specific circumstances, seat priority became locked when boarding the Motor Glider, preventing players from boarding correctly.
• (PC) Fixed an issue where sprint did not resume after using Bandages when sprint toggle was enabled.
• (Console) Fixed an issue on Xbox where in-game audio did not work properly when Dolby Access was enabled.

World

• Fixed an issue on the Rondo map where Safe Zones spawned in unintended locations.

UX/UI

• Fixed an issue where part of the BP icon was cut off on the End of Match screen.
• Fixed an issue where notification indicators on Special Vehicle skin customization items were displayed incorrectly in the Edit Skin screen.
• Fixed an issue where Korean particles following nicknames ending in a lowercase “n” or “m” were displayed incorrectly in the Match Log and other areas in the Korean language settings.
• (PC) Fixed an issue where a system message appeared twice when pressing the assigned hotkey without a Throwable equipped.
• (PC) Fixed an issue where the spacing between the character status panel and the HP bar appeared abnormal while spectating.
• (PC) Fixed an issue where Player 1’s markers were not displayed while the “Show Team Markers” setting was enabled in Observer Mode.
• (PC) Fixed an issue where parts of Player 1’s waypoints were still displayed while the “Hide Team Markers” setting was enabled in Observer Mode.
• (PC) Fixed an issue where the DirectX Version shown in the Settings – Graphics – Advanced tab did not match the version actually applied on first launch.

Items & Skins

※ Clipping issue: Graphics that are shown outside the visible part of an image/object.

• Fixed an issue where the Mirado vehicle skins were not displayed correctly after returning from the System menu on the Customize – Vehicles page.
• Fixed a clipping issue when wearing the Balenciaga 360 Mask Sunglasses or Balenciaga Venice Beach Mask with certain hats.
• Fixed a clipping issue when wearing the PGC 2024 Light Top or Cerberus’ Jacket with a vest.
• Fixed an issue where the tire wheel textures of the “Panamera Turbo S” Sedan skin were displayed incorrectly at certain distances.
• Fixed a clipping issue around the shoulders when the female character wore the PNC 2023 Trailblazer Top with the Happy Hibernation Hoodie (Sand).
• Fixed a clipping issue around the pelvic area when the female character wore certain skirts.
• Fixed an issue where the XingHun’s Tiger Starfire Mask and earrings could be worn together.
• Fixed an issue where the left rear door frame of the “Panamera Turbo S” Sedan skin was not displayed correctly.
• Fixed an issue where the ankles became transparent when the female character wore the Shiba Jogger Leggings with Mad Nurse’s Boots.

Source:  NEWS – PUBG: BATTLEGROUND

Dreameffect Entertainment has confirmed that its third person openworld soulslike Duel Corp. will be launching into early access on January 21st. Duel Corp. is described as having an MMO feel as you will be able to meet other players in the world, and tackle the game in co-op with up to three other players too. There is no linear story path with players working out what has happened by interacting with the various factions that populate Duel Corp’s world.

In the world of Duel Corp everyone has been cursed with darkened eyes which has also caused everyone to be immortal. This curse has also raised all of the dead that are a danger to the living. The factions in this world have been borne out of the fallout from the curse, with each faction having its own theories and ways of coping with the new reality. In this world, players will have access to an unrestricted class system so different builds can be experimented with to suit different playstyles. The world of Duel Corp will react to player actions. For example, destroying a caravan will mean a village does not get vital resources. This can be used to cause friction between different factions, or weaken the village so you can take it over yourself. It is not just villages that can be taken over, with cities ripe for conquering. There are co-op quests to take part in as well as 1v1 and 2v2 PvP encounters. Duel Corp also contains procedurally generated encounters that can have unique items and NPCs to encounter.

Duel Corp will be launched with a 20% discount, priced at $19.99.

Source: Steam

It’s already 2026? So that means it’s time for a new year of fresh new games, and a whole 12 months of lusting after the next big thing? Let’s get started then! One of the first big things for the year has to be Romeo Is A Dead Man, a hyper-kinetic, hyper-violent, hyper-insane new action title from the iconic Grasshopper Manufacture. This has already hopped onto a bunch of the TSA team’s radar, and this new story trailer gives you the lowdown in a typically Grasshopper-like way, which means it’s irreverent, weird and darkly funny. Go take a look!

So, I’m not too sure what the moral of this story is going to be. Don’t pick up women in the road? Don’t fall in love? Don’t let your grandfather shove technology down your eyeball that turns you into some sort of living-dead superhero? I’m not entirely sure whether SUDA51 and his team are in the habit of including morals or finger-wagging in their games, so I’m going to take it that the moral is going to be something about being faster, meaner and more violent than the bad guys, so you don’t end up being a doubly dead man.

Romeo Stargazer, a sheriff’s deputy, is the hero of this piece, but he doesn’t stay human for all that long by the look of things. He finds Juliet – because of course he does – in the middle of the road, and they fall in love. I’m hoping that there’s more Shakespearean asides for the English Lit fans in the back too, as the rest of the trailer opts instead to tell you about how Romeo dies at the hands of a White Devil, and how his grandfather, Professor Benjamin, saves him. Surely he should be Professor Montague? I suppose Benjamin is close enough to Benvolio. Just about.

Anyway, it’s clear that the tone of Romeo Is A Dead Man is going to be all kinds of tongue-in-cheek and all kinds of raucous fun, as your living-dead hero takes his revenge on a series of creepy monsters.

Romeo is a Dead Man releases on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam and Windows platforms) on February 11th, 2026.

You can wishlist it on Steam, PS5 and Xbox right now!

Creepy Jar’s newest survival game StarRupture has launched into Steam Early Access today, with a launch discount price of $15.99 / €15,99 / £13.59 / 51,99 zl, giving players the opportunity to survive and thrive on a hostile alien planet. Alongside the launch of StarRupture, Creepy Jar has shared a general early access roadmap of what players should expect over the next few months and further on.

The ongoing improvements players should expect in StarRupture’s Early Access include the game’s performance, the building mechanics, the combat mechanics, the game world, and the user interface. Additional features will be more wildlife, custom game mode options with adjustable difficulty, a new travel mode to go between bases, a codex, controller support, new building features, new combat mechanics, and new ways to explore the world. New content that will be added in StarRupture will include new weapons, an expanded map, more corporation levels and associated rewards, new buildings, new resources, new locations and points of interest, new story elements, and a new forgotten engine. Creepy Jar will also be looking to balance the co-op gameplay, improve the cargo network, add accessibility options such as text size and better key rebinding, and dedicated servers. When StarRupture eventually releases into version 1.0 it will get a new biome, something called frost wave, the end game content, more story elements, and achievements. There is no specific timeline for any of this yet.

In StarRupture, players take on the role of an exile from Earth who has been tasked with mining and expanding a base as part of their sentence. The game will be able feature co-op for up to four players, but if you want to explore this frontier alone you can. Weather cycles of the planet and regular attacks by Arcadia-7’s creatures will impede player progress, so learning the patterns and consequences of the dangers will be critical to making it through the days.

Source: Press Release

Ahead of the release of Styx: Blades of Greed on 19th February, Nacon and developer Cyanide have released a 9 minute gameplay video to showcase various elements of its stealth action shenanigans.

Styx provides the narration through the video, using a bunch of new and returning gadgets and abilities to scale a vertical fortress and reach the next preserve of Quartz. Key new abilities that are shown off include using a gappling hook and floating up hot air streams with a glider, but there’s also returning elements like poisoning barrels, possessing enemies and creating gloopy clones. Add to that genre classics of dousing flames, skulking through vents and just observing and listening for new opportunities, and you’ve got the broadest stealth game in this series to date.

This is the fourth game Styx has appeared in, making his debut in Of Orcs and Men which led to a spin off series of games starring the goblin assassin. In this new adventure, Styx is after the new mystical powers provided by quartz, which give him abilities like mind control, but he’ll have to build a team of allies (reluctant and otherwise) to do so, while making his way through the domains of humans, elves and orcs alike, the gang flying back and forth in a Zeppelin as their base of operations.

The trailer ends with this base under attack, as another fleet of airships catches up to Styx and his crew!

In our preview of Styx: Blades of Greed from Gamescom last year, I said, “It’s genuinely great to see Styx: Blades of Greed bringing the mouthy goblin assassin back for a new generation. The previous games had a scrappy upstart kind of charm to them, and that’s continuing through here, with Cyanide getting more ambitious in how they construct the game into a stealthy playground. Styx might never be a truly revolutionary series, but it’s still plenty of fun.”

Source: press release

Square Enix has a nice surprise for Dragon Quest fans, announcing a demo for Dragon Quest VII Reimagined that will be available from tomorrow, Wednesday 7th January.

The free demo will be released across all platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch, and PC via Steam.

Oh, and you’ll be able to carry over your progress into the full game when it releases on 5th February.

It’s great to see demos released for games, and especially for remakes where you kind of just want to see if it catches the right vibes and tone when reviving a classic.

Square Enix have taken an awful lot of contrasting approaches to their remakes and remasters. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is sitting somewhere between the HD-2D remakes of the original Dragon Quest trilogy and the wholesale reinvention of Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.

One of the most striking things here is the art style, with Square Enix creating all of the characters as real-life dolls and then 3D scanning them into the game to capture the look that they want. However, there’s plenty of other modernising touches, from doing away with the tiresome random battles, to full embracing party automation and battle speed settings, and then there’s some parts of the story that are being reconsidered too.

We went hands on with the game last year, and I said in our preview, “Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is shaping up to be another fantastic remake from Square Enix. It’s a bit bewildering just how many different styles and approaches they’ve taken to revisiting their classics, but this takes a wonderful art direction and combines it with a great set of quality-of-life improvements while tweaking it to address the biggest criticisms. All in all, it should be the best way to revisit this adventure when it arrives [in 2026].”

Source: Square Enix

The alleged last expansion pack for The Sims 4 has leaked thanks to the ever-reliable South Korean ratings board. The pack is titled Royalty & Legacy, and the brief description states that “The 21st expansion pack for The Sims 4 allows players to become nobles and build a long-lasting dynasty.”

The pack is rumoured to launch in February 2026 and may well be the last ever expansion for The Sims 4 as EA focus on their new Sims game, The Sims Project X.

The Sims Project X is said to be a standalone game but EA are also working on The Sims Project Rene, a multiplayer instalment.

The Sims 4 has been a long-running hit for EA and developer Maxis, launching in September 2014 on PC and subsequently ported to mobile, Mac, and consoles. The game went free-to-play in October 2022 and has gained over 85 million players in its lifetime, with over 30 million of those added since it went free-to-play.

The most recent pack, Adventure Awaits, introduced the Getaway Planner, a system that lets Sims schedule and customise trips and holidays, and also expanded the childhood gameplay.

The Sims are also headed to the cinema with Electronic Arts partnering with LuckyChap – the production company of Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerly, Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr – and Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo Entertainment to make it happen.

Kate Herron, who’s best known for directing season one of Loki, is set to tackle the transformation from computer to big screen, and she will be co-writing the screenplay with Briony Redman.

What’s pretty likely is that The Sims will end up following a similar template to Barbie and The Lego Movie that went before, bending the game/toy world in a self-referential way and snapping it out into the real world.

Expect there to be references to the aforementioned “woo-hoo!”, perhaps some kind of reverence to or fourth wall breaking surrounding the iconic green control jewel that hovers over a person’s head, and the inevitable incident where someone gets stuck in a swimming pool because the ladder suddenly disappears or wets themselves because the toilet was deleted.

Source: simscommunity.info

It appears Ubisoft have settled on a name for their heavily leaked remake of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag as a domain has been registered with the game’s name and “Resynced” added to the end.

The Black Flag Resynced domain was registered 25 days ago by a company Ubisoft has used previously, including for the registration of the latest Prince of Persia game.  Ubisoft have said they would be plundering their back catalogue for remakes and remasters but they have yet to officially announce this remake. That has not stopped lots of details leaking out.

It seems like the remake, which will use Anvil Pipeline engine, is going to feature some fairly big changes. The most notable change will be the removal of all the modern-day sequences so we will not see Rebbeca, Shaun and the others. The modern-day plot, which worked really well in the first few games with Desmond, has gradually been side-lined and only appears as text in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Replacing it will be “a few extra hours of content” including content that was cut from the original release, such as parts of Mary Read’s story.

Gameplay is said to be closer to the RPG style of the more recent games, with loot, stats for weapons, and a new inventory. The combat is is also said to lean more towards the style of the recent games. The map is the same size but will have more things to do, and modern systems mean there will be no loading screens when docking your ship and heading to land.

The report from the respected Jeux Vidéo Magazine suggests the game will now launch in early 2026, probably in March, which is a little later than previous reports. Ubisoft Singapore, Belgrade and Bordeaux are working on it, and some assets from Skull & Bones may be reused to save costs.

Source: XCancel

The DRM-free PC game store GOG has been acquired by CD Projekt and GOG co-founder Michał Kiciński, branching it off from the CD Projekt Group and going private.

There’s no plans to change GOG’s business model, which continues to focus on providing a source for classic games, now with a dedicated preservation programme to ensure a select library continue to run on modern systems, and to sell all titles (old and new) without DRM.

While now independent of CD Projekt Group, they have immediately penned a deal to ensure that CDPR games remain on GOG going forward.

So, why the change? Was GOG in trouble? All parties say that no, it was doing well and is profitable on its own terms, but the CDPR want to focus fully on developing games.

“With our focus now fully on an ambitious development roadmap and expanding our franchises with new high-quality products, we felt this was the right time for this move,” said Michał Nowakowski, Joint CEO of CD Projekt. “For a long time now, GOG has been operating independently. Now it’s going into very good hands — we are convinced that with the support of Michał Kiciński, one of GOG’s co-founders, its future will be full of great projects and successes.”

Kiciński was a co-founder of both CD Projekt in 1994, and then also their digital storefront Good Old Games (rebranded simply as GOG) in 2008. He left the company at the end of 2010, but has remained one of its largest shareholders, with 9.99%, and his brother is a chair on the board.

In the announcement, he said, “CD Projekt and GOG share the same roots and values: freedom, independence, and a genuine sense of ownership. I believe that CD Projekt, with its exceptional AAA games, will stand, as always, behind the GOG offering — making GOG the best place on the planet to purchase The Witcher and Cyberpunk games, both existing titles and the new ones we all anticipate so much.

“GOG and Michał Kiciński are aligned by a shared belief that games should live forever,” said Maciej Gołębiewski, Managing Director of GOG. “In a market that’s getting more crowded, more locked-in, and forgets classic games at an increasing pace, we’re doubling down on what only GOG does: reviving classics, keeping them playable on modern PCs, and helping great games find their audience over time.”

Source: GOG

Rust’s next major update is going to be released on February 5th, Facepunch Studios has announced as part of Rust’s 12th anniversary roundup. That update is the Naval update and it is going to be adding new content like player made boats that will allow players to sail across the deep seas to find new islands and monuments, along with new encounters. If you want to try the Naval update early, you can do so by joining the Rust Staging Branch, which is the game’s insider program.

In addition, Facepunch Studios has confirmed it will continue to release updates on the first Thursday of every month, though some will be lighter than others. The development team has also confirmed what else Rust players can expect over the course of 2026 in terms of new content, including new animals like cows and sheep as well as a dedicated animal breeding program. There will also be new monuments, including an apartment complex, and improvements to player animations, looks and movements. The team will also be looking at previous content that has been released that has not been popular and will explore ways to rework them to fit into the current Rust experience.

When it comes to DLC, Facepunch will continue to release new items or skins almost every month, with a dedicated DLC team working on these. Additionally, the studio has announced it is looking into a battle pass system for Rust, but this is still in early planning and it may not materialise if it does not prove to be valuable or rewarding to players. When it comes cheating in Rust, Facepunch Studios is looking to hire more support staff and developers focused solely on supporting anti-cheat methods, along with a new anti-cheat layer that should be coming in 2026. Performance is another area that the team continues to look at as it tries to balance new content with already existing game structures. One of the key improvements in 2025 saw load and server connection times reduced by around 65%. Finally, Rust Mobile is also due to be released this year though a release date has not yet been confirmed.

Source: Facepunch Studios