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

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

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

Gaming Factory has confirmed the PS5 release date for JDM: Japanese Drift Master, with players able to get behind the wheel on February 6th. The PS5 version of JDM: Japanese Drift Master will get all of the free content that has been released since the game launched in May 2025 for PC and Xbox, including Photo Mode and the Landmarks activity, new cars including the Honda NSX NA1, Subaru Impreza GV STI and the Nissan GTR R35 EBA and the recent Eurobeat radio. In addition, players will be able to buy the Made in USA DLC for $5.99.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master has had a number of updates since it launched to address gameplay bugs and issues. The most recent updates on PC and Xbox reduced the loading times in the open world and fast travel, rebalanced easy mode, and updated the the physics. Additionally, five additional cars were also added Akina family cars. JDM: Japanese Drift Master has a fully featured story mode too where you play Polish driver Touma, a new entrant on the scene. It’s up to you to take him from a nobody to the drift master.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master will have a PS5 launch price of $34.99.

Source: Press 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

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!

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

It is the start of a new year which means one thing! That thing is the annual ceremony of an NBA 2K servers being switched off. From now on, January 1st 2026, all online functionality for NBA 2K24 has been switched off. That means no more multiplayer, MyCareer or MyTeam but modes that don’t require an internet connection like MyNBA and Play Now are still playable. NBA 2K24 was released on September 8th, 2023 and was removed from sale in October 2025.

NBA 2K’s support page states, “As of January 1, 2026, you’ll no longer be able to play multiplayer games or access any online game modes. MyCAREER and MyTEAM will no longer be available, and it will no longer be possible to earn Virtual Currency (VC). While you will still be able to enjoy Play Now, MyNBA, The W, and MyWNBA, any features that require a connection to 2K servers will be unavailable. This includes multiplayer, Online Leagues, and community sharing. We thank you for being a part of our community and hope you continue to enjoy NBA 2K!”

NBA 2K24 Review

In our NBA 2K24 review I wrote, “Regardless of what this review says, NBA 2K24 will sell millions of copies, and generate millions of dollars through VC. That is because basketball fans who want to play a basketball game have nowhere else to go. The on court action is really good, but without competition to keep them honest, 2K’s monetisation has got out of hand and made modes like MyCareer near unplayable without extra investment from players.”

Source: 2K Support

It leaked earlier, but it has now been confirmed that Need for Speed: Unbound on PS5 is part of the PS Plus January 2026 games!

Start at the bottom, race to the top in the latest entry in the iconic Need for Speed franchise. With separate single and multiplayer campaigns, this latest edition in the Need for Speed franchise from Criterion Games delivers hours of electric, adrenaline-pumping racing action. Race against time, outsmart the cops, and take on weekly qualifiers to reach The Grand, Lakeshore’s ultimate street racing challenge. Pack your garage with precision-tuned, custom rides and light up the streets with your style, exclusive fits, and a vibrant global soundtrack that bumps in every corner of the world.

Criterion developed the game and it was published in 2022 by EA, and when it was released we gave it 9/10 in our review, calling it “the best arcade racer of 2022”. Since then it has had multiple updates but support for the game ended in in 2024 when Criterion moved on to help make Battlefield 6.

Joining it will be Epic Mickey Rebrushed on PS4 and PS5.

Play as Mickey Mouse and embark on an epic journey through Wasteland, a realm of forgotten Disney characters. Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed brings the magic of Disney to life in a vibrant 3D platformer. This beautiful remake sends Mickey into a fantastical world where you use paint and thinner to shape your adventure and the fate of this alternate world. Every stroke of your magic brush matters! Use paint to restore beauty and harmony or thinner to alter your environment and uncover hidden secrets. Encounter iconic characters like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first creation. Collect virtual Disney pins and tackle creative challenges while exploring classic platforming levels inspired by animated films and shorts.

Your third and final game is Core Keeper on both PS4 and PS5.

Awaken as an explorer in a long-forgotten cavern teeming with untold secrets. In this award-winning, 1-8 player mining sandbox adventure, your choices shape an epic journey. Harvest relics and resources, craft advanced tools, build your base, and explore a dynamically evolving world waiting to be unearthed. Level up your skills, defeat legendary Titans, and unveil the power of the Core. Grow your garden, fish in mysterious waters, master a vast array of recipes, raise and care for animals, encounter the Cavelings, and carve out your own unique world in an enchanting underground adventure.

Need For Speed Unbound, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed and Core Keeper will be available to PlayStation Plus members from Tuesday January 6th 2026 until Monday February 2nd 2026

Sony had previously announced that from January 2026, PS4 games will no-longer be a guaranteed part of the PlayStation Plus monthly games lineup. Cross-gen games that have a PS4 version could certainly still be included – and there’s still tons of PS4 games being released – but it’s not going to be a requirement anymore.

Here’s Sony’s statement from the PS Blog:

As many of our players are currently playing on PS5 and have shifted toward redeeming and accessing PS5 titles from the Monthly Games and Game Catalog benefit, PlayStation Plus is also evolving with this trend and will focus on offering PS5 titles through the Monthly Games and Game Catalog benefit starting January 2026. As we shift to PS5, PS4 games will no longer be a key benefit and will only be occasionally offered for PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalog starting January 2026. We may still provide titles that can be playable on both PS4 and PS5 consoles after this date.

Please note, this won’t affect the PS4 Monthly Games that you have already redeemed from PlayStation Plus. You’ll continue to have access to games you’ve already redeemed as long as you remain a member.  For Game Catalog, PS4 games will still be available to play until it leaves the catalog as part of our monthly refresh.

We’ll continue to evolve the experience of PlayStation Plus and optimize the benefits you receive, including exclusive discounts, online multiplayer access, online game save storage and more. As we shift our focus to PS5, we look forward to adding new PS5 titles monthly for you to enjoy.

The PS Plus January 2026 games should be officially revealed later today on the PlayStation Blog. 

What are the PS Plus December 2025 Monthly Games?

There’s a big bundle of titles for PS Plus this month, available from Tuesday, 2nd December until January 6th, 2026

• LEGO Horizon Adventures | PS5
• Killing Floor 3 | PS5
• The Outlast Trials | PS4, PS5
• Synduality Echo of Ada | PS5
• Neon White | PS4, PS5

Source: PS Blog

Update 30/12/25 – A Ubisoft spokesperson has issued a statement with some further details and reassurances over the reports of hacking affecting Rainbow Six Siege X over the weekend.

With the game back online, Ubisoft’s investigation is ongoing, but notes that actual effects were able to be rolled back and that neither personal data or game source code was compromised.

Here’s the statement:

Rainbow Six Siege recently experienced a cyberattack causing limited disruptions, including fake ban notifications and unauthorized credit grants. While we are continuing our investigation, as of this time, there is no indication that any personal data nor source code was compromised as a result of this incident. To help resolve the issue, we initiated a temporary server shutdown and rolled back the unauthorized credit grants. Rainbow Six Siege is currently back online and players are returning to the game.    

The original story follows.

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Rainbow Six Siege X is now back online after the servers were shut down for over two days while Ubisoft dealt with a massive security breach.  In the evening of 26th December players began to notice billions of in-game currency being added to their accounts and super rare skins being dropping into their inventories. Other players were banned, and some were unbanned.

Ubisoft have now rolled back all the data so players should have the correct amount of in-game credit, known as Renown. They state that players may find themselves in a queue to get back in to the game.

The event has kicked off a war of words between various hacking groups who are claiming they are responsible, and also that one groups have stolen the source code for every Ubisoft game. These claims seem to be an exaggeration and probably not true.

However, there is evidence to suggest that Ubisoft were not hacked at all. It is reported that Ubisoft had outsourced helpdesk support to a company in India and that an employee there was bribed to give “Panel Access” to a third party. This then gave the third party access to user accounts, ban functions and other facilities. If this is true then Ubisoft were not hacked, it was bribery and human corruption that caused the issues.

It is also reported that another group is contacting people on Telegram claiming they have their personal details from hacking Ubisoft, and they are demanding money. This appears to be a scam and they have no connection to the group that breached the Rainbow Six servers. Ubisoft have, so far, not stated that any user data was breached.

Ubisoft overhauled the decade-old tactical shooter in June of this year, renaming it Rainbow Six Siege X, and added a whole host of technical improvements, as well as transitioning the game to a free-to-play model.

Rainbow Six is also one of three games hived off to a separate Ubisoft company, along with Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.

Source: thecybersecguru.com

Konami’s Motoi Okamoto, producer of the Silent Hill franchise, has said that the company hopes to release a Silent Hill game every year.

“Following the release of Silent Hill 2 in October 2024, we were able to deliverSilent Hill f  ​​in September 2025, and the Silent Hill series is now back on track,” said Okamoto (via Google Translate). “We aim to release about one title per year, including both announced and unannounced titles. We’re not sure how far we can achieve this, but we’ll do our best as the producer of the Silent Hill series. Ideally, we’d like to keep the buzz around Silent Hill constant. We’ll do our best to provide you with new updates, so we hope you’ll wait a little longer.”

The announced games are Silent Hill Townfall, which is in development at No Code, and a remake of the original Silent Hill by Bloober Team is also in the works. There’s also the new Silent Hill film that was meant to be out in 2025, but that seems rather unlikely now.  Bloober Team announced the remake of the first Silent Hill game in June 2025 and at the time said they had been working on for three years. Quite why Konami remade Silent Hill 2 first is a bit odd, but they must have had their reasons.

It seems that Konami are going to farm out the Silent Hill IP to different development teams to create games, so they may not all be in the classic Silent Hill mould.

Nick loved Silent Hill f and gave it 10/10 in his review. “Silent Hill f isn’t just a return to form, it’s a landmark entry in the series. Konami. NeoBards and Ryukishi07 have knocked it out of the park. For me, this isn’t just Game of the Year material, it’s an integral piece of Silent Hill history.”

Source: Famitsu

This story has an update which you can read here. 

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The servers for Rainbow Six Siege X have been offline for over twenty-four hours after hackers managed to get into the hardware, gifting billions of in-game currency and unbanning players.  The official Rainbow Six Siege  server status page is rather coyly calling this an “unplanned outage”.

The issues began late on the 26th December when players started noticing billions of currency, known as Renown, dropping into their accounts. Ubisoft’s anti-cheat software then started suspending accounts. Others found strange messages appearing on the side of the screen, or super-rare skins in their inventory.

Ubisoft have shut down all servers for all platforms and have posted a couple of updates. Firstly they say that no one will be banned if they managed to spend any of the credits they received, but a rollback of accounts is in progress to remove the pirate treasure.  They also say the ban ticker that was turned off in an old update had been reinstated, but will now be removed again, and “an official R6 ShieldGuard ban wave did occur, but it is not related to this incident.”

“A rollback is currently ongoing and afterwards, extensive quality control tests will be executed to ensure the integrity of accounts and effectiveness of changes,” posted Ubisoft on X  “The team is focused on getting players back into the game as quickly as possible. Please know that this matter is being handled with extreme care and therefore, timing cannot be guaranteed. We will provide another update as soon as we know more.”

Ubisoft overhauled the decade-old tactical shooter in June of this year, renaming it Rainbow Six Siege X, and added a whole host of technical improvements, as well as transitioning the game to a free-to-play model.

Rainbow Six is also one of three games hived off to a separate Ubisoft company, along with Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.

Source: Reddit

Publishers Gone-Shootin and InfiniFun have released a new update regarding progress on Subliminal: Episode 1, including its release window. After discussions with the development team, Accidental Studio, the decision has been made to push back the release of Subliminal: Episode 1 to March 2026 to allow for more development time. The good news is that the game is feature complete and playable all of the way through, but additional time is needed for elements like localisation, QA testing, and optimisation.

In a statement Gone-Shootin and InfiniFun said, “Over the past several months, our development team, Accidental Studios has reached a major development milestone: Subliminal: Episode 1 is now feature complete and fully playable from start to finish. We are extremely confident in the game itself and in the work of the development team. Preparing for a full global release, we as publishing team – Gone-Shootin and InfiniFun – have been conducting a thorough review of the remaining steps required before launch. These include, extended quality assurance and testing, localization across multiple languages, final performance optimization, and launch planning to ensure a smooth and consistent day-one experience After reviewing these requirements together, we agreed that additional time is needed to properly complete this final phase. As a result, Subliminal: Episode 1 is now targeting a release window of March 2026. This additional time will be dedicated entirely to polish, testing, and launch readiness, now that Episode 1 is feature complete. This decision reflects our shared commitment to quality and to giving the game the strongest possible debut. We sincerely appreciate the patience, enthusiasm, and support from everyone who has been following Subliminal’s development. We’re excited to share more updates as we move closer to release, and we look forward to bringing Subliminal: Episode 1 to players in its best possible form.”

Subliminal is a psychological horror game where puzzles are solved by changing perspectives and lighting, while dealing with the scares and fears that each environment throws at you. You don’t have time to relax because as time passes the horrors will close in. Subliminal has currently been confirmed for PC via Steam, PS5, Xbox Series XS, and VR including Steam VR and OpenXR. The game will be made up of two episodes, though there is no release window for the second episode.

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

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