This week’s Xbox Free Play Days includes seven EA Sports games

New rumors have begun to circulate surrounding a PlayStation State of Play event later this week. If true, the showcase could unveil several new titles and provide updates on highly anticipated PlayStation-exclusive releases such as and .

Sony will step up to the spotlight this week with a PlayStation State of Play broadcast, it's been reported.

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry.

The January 25 Xbox Game Pass update is adding a new day-one title in the form of Go Mecha Ball. This hectic indie release promises to add to the already sizable collection of high-quality roguelike games on Xbox Game Pass.

With the news that Blizzard and ESL FACEIT are preparing to launch a new esports circuit for Overwatch 2, mere months after the death of the Overwatch League, it's a good time to take stock of the entire esports scene. Things are looking slightly frantic, at least in North America. League of Legends and Rocket League are particularly messy, entering their 2024 seasons with lean budgets and major shakeups. Meanwhile, an expansion of the open-qualifiers model should provide more opportunities for everyday players to compete in Valorant, Overwatch 2, Rocket League and all manner of fighting games. Get those fingers ready, folks.

It’s going to be a busy year for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The subscription service is expected to get an influx of high-profile games in 2024.Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Avowed are leading the charge, and there’s a good chance that we’ll see a lot of Activision Blizzard games on the service soon. What’s always more exciting to me, though, are the games I’ve never heard of. Some of my favorite Game Pass titles over the year have been left-field indies that I learned about the very day they launched. Call them pleasant surprises.

City builders offer endless hours of entertainment as you shape and manage your own cities, savoring the successes and weathering the hardships along the way. Still, if you're eager to take on more responsibility after overseeing your fair share of those, look no further than The Universim, the city builder that lets you play God to entire planets. 

The multiplayer monster-collecting game Palworld is now available on Xbox Game Pass in early access. Developed and published by Pocketpair, the game is available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, as well as PC via Game Pass and Steam. Palworld has been dubbed “Pokemon with guns” by the developer and offers players the chance to fight and team up with creatures called Pals, while also crafting and exploring the game's vast open world and dungeons.

Plants vs Zombies 3: Welcome to Zomburbia is coming to mobile devices this year, a whole 11 years after the last mainline entry.

Frostpunk 2 developer 11 bit studios has announced the chilly city-builder sequel will be available on PC Game Pass from day one alongside its PC release.

F1 23 becomes available via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate this week as part of the game's arrival on subscription service EA Play.

Charity speedrunning extravaganza Games Done Quick has kicked off its first week-long event for 2024. Among the highlights are speedy plays of 2023 highlights including Starfield, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Lies of P, along with a marathon from the world’s first canine speedrunner.