Wesley Leblanc

Acolyte of the Altar, the roguelike deckbuilder with a wasteland twist from developer Black Kite Games, hits PC via Steam on March 25. Ahead of the game's launch next week, Game Informer can exclusively reveal the Acolyte of the Altar launch trailer, which features plenty of deckbuilder action and another taste of this Magic: The Gathering and Shadow of the Colossus-inspired game. 

Nintendo has revealed Nintendo World Championship: NES Edition, a game designed around speedrunning challenges and more across 13 classic NES games. Set to hit Switch on July 18, Nintendo World Championship: NES Edition features more than 150 challenges to complete, and you can compete for top spots on global online leaderboards or with friends. 

ProbablyMonsters, an independent game company founded in 2016 by former Bungie president and CEO Harold Ryan, has created a new team to develop a competitive multiplayer game in Unreal Engine 5. Led by former Bungie leader Chris Opdah, who has more than 20 years of experience as a game developer working on franchises like Halo and Destiny, Hidden Grove is the new team within ProbablyMonsters working on this multiplayer project.

Publisher Microids and newcomer developer Savage Level have revealed Flint: Treasure of Oblivion, a turn-based tactical RPG set in a world of piracy. This swashbuckling debut from Savage Level is due out in Q4 of this year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and if today's debut trailer is any indication, it looks like a game worth keeping a spyglass on. 

Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 2 has arrived. Dubbed «Myths & Mortals,» the latest season of Epic Games popular battle royale is themed around Greek mythology and its various gods and goddesses. As today marks the start of a new season (after the usual downtime, of course), there's a new battle pass to earn and it features plenty of great skins. Plus, the new season introduces several new points of interest to visit, weapons to use, and more. 

Developer Rocksteady Studios has taken its new live-service multiplayer shooter set in the Batman: Arkham universe, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leauge, offline after Early Access players hit a «story completion» bug. While the standard edition of the game doesn't hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC until this Friday, February 2, players who purchase the more expensive Deluxe Edition, which costs $99.99 compared to the Standard Edition's $69.99 price tag, can jump in three days early. 

Publisher Bandai Namco and developer Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. have revealed 24 fighters for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, and they're all Goku and Vegeta. Unsurprisingly, considering Goku and Vegeta are the two main characters in the Dragon Ball Z saga (amongst others like Gohan, for example), Spike Chunsoft is giving players the chance to fight using their various forms. This includes Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Majin Vegeta, and more. 

Blizzard Entertainment's survival game, which it informally announced in 2022, was reportedly canceled over engine issues during its six years of development, according to a new Bloomberg report. This report follows yesterday's news that Microsoft is laying off 1,900 employees across its Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax divisions. Alongside this news, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra also announced he was departing from the company, and we learned the aforementioned survival game had been canceled. 

Earlier this month, developer Naughty Dog announced Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II would be coming to its recent release, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, in a post-launch update for the game. Now, we know exactly when this behind-the-scenes documentary will be live: February 2. 

Black Forest Games, the studio behind the recent Destroy All Humans! 1 and 2 remakes, has reportedly laid off about 50 people. This news comes from Kotaku, which learned from a source with knowledge of the situation that these layoffs were announced yesterday, January 24, and that more information about them would be provided next week. 

I've been tracking developer Ubisoft Singapore's naval warfare multiplayer game, Skull and Bones, since its reveal years ago, both as a massive fan of all things pirates and someone who specifically loved the high seas action of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. I wrote Game Informer's Skull and Bones cover story back in 2022, and have played the game several times since then in previews, betas, and more. 

Update, 9:51 a.m. ET, 1/25/24:

The Final Fantasy XIV live-action television series first announced back in 2019 is «dead,» according to the production company that was working on it. Hivemind, which also worked on Netflix's The Witcher, was developing the series with Sony Pictures Television, but co-founder Dinesh Shamdasani revealed on Twitter that the project is dead when asked about it, as reported by PC Gamer. 

People Can Fly, the developer behind 2021's surprise shooter hit Outriders, has laid off more than 30 employees. This news comes by way of Kotaku, which reports that its source with knowledge of the situation said the job cuts affected only staff working on an unannounced game at the studio, codenamed Project Gemini, that is to be published by Square Enix. 

Koji Kondo, longtime composer for The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. franchises, will be inducted into the Academy of Interactvie Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame at this year's D.I.C.E. Awards. The presentation will take place at the 27th annual D.I.C.E. Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the ceremony on Thursday, February 15, at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET. 

Nintendo has announced that it will stream full pre-recorded concerts for The Legend of Zelda series and its Splatoon franchise next month. Both concerts were set to be a part of Nintendo Live events in December of last year and this month, too, in Tokyo, Japan, but these events were canceled over safety concerns, as reported by VideoGamesChronicle. Now, everyone will be able to watch these concerts when they hit the official Nintendo YouTube channel next month. 

Developer Pocketpair has shared the Early Access roadmap for its hit «Pokémon with guns» survival game, Palworld, alongside news that the game crossed 7 million copies sold in just five days. For reference, it took Marvel's Spider-Man 2, a PlayStation 5-exclusive game starring arguably the most popular superhero in the world, 11 days to cross the 5 million mark. This roadmap includes PvP, raid bosses and other endgame content, Steam-Xbox crossplay, bug fixes, additional features, and more. 

Nintendo revealed during a Direct last September Splatoon 3's Side Order DLC would be coming to the game sometime in the spring of this year. Now, just a few months later, Nintendo has revealed exactly when: February 22, 2024. That's when Wave 2 of the Splatoon 3 expansion pass, which features Side Order as the star of the show, goes live, and it's when players can explore the Spire of Order, a brand new location. 

Nintendo has revealed pink Joy-Con controllers for the Switch alongside a new Princess Peach: Showtime gameplay trailer. Fittingly, these new Joy-Con are pastel pink, just like Peach's signature dress. They will be available for purchase at select retailers and Nintendo's online store for a limited time, although Nintendo did not mention exactly when players can buy them. 

Riot Games, the publisher-developer company behind League of Legends, has announced that it is laying off 530 employees. Plus, it's ending new game development under its Riot Forge arm, which produced third-party-developed games with the «A League of Legends Story» tag, like Ruined King, The Mageseeker, Song of Nunu, and the upcoming Bandle Tale, which will be the last in this line of releases. 

Developer Rocksteady Studios has pulled back the curtains on the free seasonal content coming to Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League after the game's launch on February 2. Season 1 will kick off in March and includes the most famous villain in the DC roster: The Joker. Not only is The Joker joining the game, but he'll be a new playable member of the Suicide Squad. 

Palworld first captured the attention of gamers (and their internet sphere) when it was revealed back in 2021. While that reveal included details about the survival aspects of the game, including multiplayer, crafting, and farming, viewers honed in on the idea of it being Pokémon but with guns. You can capture Pokémon-like monsters called Pals in special balls (and you can capture humans, too), but it's smart to shoot them or hack at them with an axe first to lower their health. And then, once under your command, you can give them their own guns to use, of course. 

Last week, the internet began to speculate that Gothic and Elex II developer Piranha Bytes was being shut down after fans noticed the studio's website was essentially defunct. Many speculated Piranha Bytes was another casualty in owner Embracer Group's purge of studios that began last year after a planned $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia-backed Savvy Games Group fell through in 2023.

During today's Xbox Developer Direct, Square Enix made a surprise appearance to pull back the curtains on Visions of Mana, the first new mainline game in the franchise in 15 years. Square Enix also revealed Visions of Mana will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC this summer.

Last year was a fantastic year for games, with standout triple-A releases like Baldur's Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and great independent games like Jusant, Sea of Stars, and countless others. But in 2023 alone, more than 10,000 developers and people in games-adjacent industries were laid off. Plus, the unchecked rise of A.I. continued, and Unity burned developers with its controversial new game engine policies, not to name a few other not-so-great parts about 2023 – it was a great year for games but one of the worst for those who make them. 

Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive has reportedly laid off 45 people, Kotaku has learned. The publication says those with knowledge of the situation at the studio said the layoffs only affected people at Behaviour's Montreal, Canada studio, with those 45 affected let go last week, between January 9 and 11. 

CI Games, the publisher behind last year's Lords of the Fallen and the Sniper Ghost Warrior franchise, has laid off 10 percent of its staff, as first reported by GamesIndustry.biz. The publication says its sources pointed to laid-off staff posting about the job cuts on LinkedIn, but has since received confirmation from CI Games.

Developer Supermassive Games' branching-narrative horror, Until Dawn, which exclusively hit PlayStation in 2015, is the latest video game to get the film adaptation treatment. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Shazam! and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg will direct the Until Dawn movie. 

Thunderful Group, the company behind games like 2023's SteamWorld Build and Lego Brick Tales, has announced plans to lay off roughly 20 percent of its workforce, as first reported by GamesIndustry.biz. Kotaku notes that 20 percent of the company's workforce is about 100 employees. As for why, Thunderful CEO Martin Walfisz cites the company's need to reduce costs. 

In my bedroom, I have a drawer lovingly dubbed my «drawer of sentimentality.» There's a hat signed by various members of my favorite bands of a 2010s Warped Tour, tickets to some of my favorite movies, sticks from my last year on drum line in high school, and cards. Birthday cards, Christmas cards, «just because» cards, ones I got for graduating high school, ones I got for graduating college – So. Many. Cards. I struggle to throw cards away with personal greetings. I struggle to throw out anything that means something to me, even more than a decade later, so my sentimental stuff lives in a single drawer to keep me in check. 

PTW, a support studio that's worked with some of the industry's biggest companies like Blizzard, Capcom, and Sega, has laid off about 45 people, as first reported by Kotaku. PTW was previously called Pole To Win and its services include quality assurance, studio support, and localization. Last week, on January 11, someone with knowledge of the studio told Kotaku about the layoffs, noting that roughly 45 people lost their jobs. 

2K's tennis series is returning after more than a decade of dormancy with TopSpin 2K25, the company announced today. It did so with a quick teaser trailer revealing that it's «coming soon.» Its announcement coincides with 2024's first Grand Slam tennis tournament, the Australian Open, which began Saturday, January 13. 

Grand Theft Auto V developer Rockstar Games and Alan Wake 2 studio Remedy Entertainment have a history that goes back years, namely due to the two's work on the Max Payne series. However, the companies are at the center of two trademark disputes filed by Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, as first reported by RespawnFirst. In the disputes, Take-Two takes issue with Remedy's new logo it unveiled in April of last year, which features a stylized «R,» claiming it's too similar to Rockstar's own «R» logo. 

Developer Embark Studios surprise-launched its free-to-play FPS, The Finals, back in December – Game Informer documented everything that goes into a stealth release like this – and the game has continued to garner a strong fanbase. Now, just a little over a month since its release, Embark is set to release Update 1.5.0 and a new limited-time mode, Solo Bank It, tomorrow, January 17. 

The 2022 World War II horror game Martha is Dead is the latest video game getting a film adaptation. The game’s Italian developer LKA, is partnering with production company Studios Extraordinares to bring the psychological adventure to the big screen.

Developer GSC Game World will finally release S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on September 5. The first-person shooter will launch on Xbox Series X/S and PC. 

The Last of Us Part II hit PlayStation 4 exclusively in 2020. Developer Naughty Dog brought us back into the world of cordyceps, Fireflies, Ellie, and Joel alongside new threats and characters like the WLF, Abby, Yara, Lev, and more. Game Informer gave the game a 10 out of 10 – read the review here – and I would have agreed with that score in 2020. I still agree with that score today, too.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered hits PlayStation 5 exclusively on Friday, January 19. I recently played through its story, my first of the remastered version but my third time overall. Or rather, I watched my wife, a first-time player unspoiled of its events, play through it – I interviewed her about it, and you can read those impressions here. But I experienced The Last of Us Part II’s story once more nonetheless. Big surprise: I really loved it, just like I did in 2020. I might like it even more now today, to be honest.

Developer Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II hit PlayStation 4 in 2020, and now, four years later, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is just a few days away from its fancy new PlayStation 5 release. More specifically, it hits PS5 this Friday, January 19. We've played the game, and you can read some impressions from a first-time player of the game's story here, and you can read about how I think HBO's adaptation can fix the worst part of The Last of Us Part II. 

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is right around the corner, hitting PlayStation 5 exclusively on February 29. Game Informer has been covering it all month long as the game graced the cover of our latest magazine issue, and you can read all of our exclusive Final Fantasy VII Rebirth coverage here. But, with little over a month to go until the game's release, Square Enix has released a new trailer that teases a climactic fight between protagonist Cloud Strife and his arch-enemy, Sephiroth. 

The Prince of Persia series has a long and storied history going back decades, and I know none of it. The latest, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, from developer Ubisoft Montpellier, has me regretting that because if this game indicates what else awaits me in the franchise, I’ve clearly been missing out. The Lost Crown uses exhilarating platforming, a deep combat loop, and more to create a new Metroidvania classic. While I would like a more compelling story and a few tweaks to its systems, I struggled to put The Lost Crown down, taking my gameplay sessions into the late hours of the night. The Lost Crown is a fascinating and highly successful reemergence for the beloved series. 

Developer Titan Forge Games and publisher Hi-Rez Studios have announced Smite 2, a sequel to Smite that is rebuilding the third-person action MOBA from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5. There's no release date for the sequel, but Titan Forge Games says it's coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Closed early alpha testing will begin this spring. 

Community chat application company, Discord, has laid off 170 employees, or 17 percent of its staff, according to a new report from The Verge. Discord CEO Jason Citron cites overhiring, which has led to the company becoming «less efficient» in how it operates. The layoffs affected people across various departments. 

Nintendo has been slowly beefing up its library of games available to Nintendo Switch Online and Expansion Pack subscribers. 

Golden Sun and its sequel, Golden Sun: The Golden Age are joining the Nintendo Switch Online library next week. On January 17, these two classic Game Boy Advance games will be available to play for all Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers. 

When you think of pirates, history mainstays like Blackbeard might come to mind alongside the fictional Jack Sparrow. An important but often forgotten name, however, is Cheng Shih. Not only is Cheng Shih one of history's most successful pirates, but she's also the woman who took over her late husband Cheng Yat's pirate armada after his death, putting her in indirect control of 40,000-plus pirates for a nearly decade-long stint in Chinese waters in the early 19th Century. While Cheng Shih's story can be found on pages of books and elsewhere, Singer Studios aims to bring her story to life in VR. 

The first Ghostrunner is one of my all-time favorite games, and I've been excited for its sequel, Ghostrunner 2, since its reveal more than two years ago. I didn't need much to be satisfied with another parkour venture into developer One More Level's cyberpunk dystopia; I just wanted more Ghostrunner. And when Ghostrunner 2 is doing what put its predecessor on the map – fast-paced first-person action-parkour gameplay – it shines. But a few new attempts at expanding this world, both narratively and mechanically, don't shine as bright, however interesting and admirable they are. Nonetheless, Ghostrunner 2, with its exceptional action, soundtrack, and beautifully oppressive world, kept me smiling in delight for most of my 15 hours. 

Xbox’s first-party studio lineup in 2017 consisted of five studios and a publishing arm: Rare, Turn 10, 343 Industries, The Coalition, Mojang Studios, and Xbox Game Studios Publishing. Today, six years later, Microsoft owns more than 50 studios, thanks to various acquisitions over the years.

Ubisoft's new Assassin's Creed entry is all about stealth and subtlety, but main character Basim still gets a ridiculous special move.