The issue of AI in game development remains thorny, but Alistair McFarlane--the COO and company director of Rust developer Facepunch--doesn't see it as a detriment to in the industry. Instead, he embraces it as "another tool" that's "for the better, not the worse."

"[AI is] powerful, it's efficient, and at the end of the day, it's just another tool, one that helps people move faster and focus on the creative stuff," McFarlane told Sky News. "Sure, it's disruptive, no question about that. Every major shift in tech is. But used properly, AI doesn't replace creativity, it amplifies it. It removes busywork, speeds up iteration, and gives teams more space to experiment."

Last year, the 2025 CESA Video Game Industry Report shared the results of a survey that revealed over 50% of Japanese video game developers use AI in some way. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has said that the company won't rush into AI, while Sony's approach to AI emphasizes it as a support tool rather than an attempt to replace human creativity.

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What better way to fight off that Valentine’s Day hangover than with a bunch of new games on Steam? Fanatical’s Platinum Collection Bundle for February includes 18 games to choose from--the more you add to your bundle, the deeper your discount gets. Add all 18, and you're picking up $376 of games for just $51. This month’s selection even includes 12 games that are making their Fanatical debut.

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One of the titles included is a dark fantasy RPG, Pale Coins. Blending old-school combat with an atmospheric and moody setting, in Pale Coins, you’ll crawl dungeons, gather loot, craft gear, experiment with different builds, and die. A lot. The punishing but deliberate combat--a familiar vibe for anyone who’s spent more than a few hours in Dark Souls or Elden Ring--doesn’t hold your hand, and that’s one of its strengths. If you’re a glutton for punishment, this one’s well worth checking out.

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It seems like more and more live-service games are dying or being put on life support within mere months of launch. The latest casualty is Amazon Game Studios and developer Glowmade's online multiplayer dungeon-crawler/party game King of Meat.

While King of Meat launched on October 7 of last year on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in a massive marketing blitz--including prominent showcases by well-known streamers and YouTubers like Mr. Beast--the game found itself struggling to maintain a strong playerbase. Records on SteamDB show King of Meat struggling to hold a low double-digit player count over the past month. Today, an announcement was posted on the game's official website stating that the game's servers will be shut down on April 9, with refunds for purchases being given to all players.

"Despite the creativity and innovation Glowmade brought to King of Meat, the game has unfortunately not found the audience we hoped for," says the post. "As a result, we have made the difficult decision to conclude our investment in the game, and King of Meat's servers will close on April 9, 2026. Players will be able to access and play all existing content until then, so we encourage you to enjoy your remaining time in the game with your fellow Contenders." The statement further goes on to clarify that refunds for the game will be coming from players' "platform provider" (digital storefront of purchase).

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Diablo isn't a franchise known for frequent new releases, with only five games in 30 years, but that could change in the future.

In an interview with Variety, Diablo 4 executive producer and VP Gavian Whishaw teased Blizzard is looking to release more than five Diablo games in the next 30 years. While Whishaw dodged a question about whether a new entry in the series could be announced at BlizzCon 2026 in September, he did talk about Blizzard's long-term plan for the franchise.

"It's kind of complicated when you're talking about titles that have been around for 20 years and people are still dedicated to and still playing and still going to get excited about new content," Whishaw said. "I'll say at a high level, I think over 30 years of Diablo, we've done five titles. So I would hope that over the next 30 years we do a few more than that, maybe we get some out faster."

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The upcoming Shrouded Sky update for Arc Raiders ushers in the next evolution of the game, and that includes facial hair. Developer Embark Studios has announced that the update, which releases on February 24, allows players to "become feared with a beard," as the studio put it.

Players will be able to deck out their solider with stubble when the update arrives at no extra cost, but to get a full beard, players will need to spend real money. Players will be able to get a full beard with the Surgeon Raider Deck, or the Stubble Beard or Thick Moustache from the in-game store. Pricing was not announced, but with the update going live this week, that information should become clear soon.

You can see a pretty epic full beard in the image below.

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Matt Booty, who just got promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer at Xbox, has signaled in a memo that the recent upheaval at Xbox may not lead to any layoffs at the company's collection of nearly 40 game development studios.

He said in his memo, "To be clear, there are no organizational changes underway for our studios."

The new Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, comes from a background of AI, prompting fears by some that further investments into the technology at Microsoft's studios could result in layoffs. That isn't happening, at least not for now, but the Xbox Game Studios family has faced challenging times of late. Microsoft made deep cuts to the Xbox teams in July 2025, leading to many layoffs and canceled games, along with the closure of Perfect Dark reboot studio The Initiative.

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Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor Deluxe Edition

$50 | Release Date TBA

Preorder at Amazon

The beloved classic children's show, Thomas the Tank Engine, returns later this year in video game form with Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor. The new game will let players explore a corner of Thomas the Tank Engine's idyllic world from the conductor's seat, piloting iconic characters like Thomas, Diesel, and more. Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor will launch in physical and digital formats on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime this year, though at the time of writing, no concrete release date has been announced. However, fans eager to get their hands on the game can preorder the physical Deluxe Edition for $50 at Amazon. This version is available for PS5 and Switch and includes a selection of exclusive bonus content.

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Marathon's official launch is just over a week away, and Bungie has a strong message for any would-be cheaters. Anyone caught cheating in the game will be immediately banned from Marathon by Bungie.

"Anyone found to be cheating will be permabanned from playing Marathon forever, no second chances," wrote Bungie on X. Despite the promise of "no second chances," Bungie has also said that "no system is perfect, so we will have an appeals system to monitor for any issues in detection and if you do suspect foul play, please report in game or through our online report form."

Bungie has also laid out some of the actions and features it's created to catch cheaters. The "Fog of War," for example, will limit the regions of a map that individual players are aware of in order to reduce wall hacks, ESP cheats and "loot revealers."

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James Bond has never been shy to get his knuckles bloody, and in IO Interactive's 007: First Light, the rookie MI6 agent will have the opportunity to get into several scraps. This makes for a big departure from IO's work on the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy--where combat was always seen as a last resort--as the studio has been inspired by some of the greatest action games of all time for its Bond origin story. Taking a few pages from the Arkham and Uncharted playbook, the studio is aiming to create a combat system that's fast, furious, and flows into cinematic setpieces.

"What are our references here? What are the other games that do this well, on the same scale and the same kind of scope as this game? Obviously, we have some references there in the approach to close combat," gameplay director Andreas Krogh said to Game Informer.

"I think you see the Arkham games, you see those games in it. You also see some modern takes on destructibility in the environment that are not necessarily from the Arkham games, but newer takes like Uncharted. We have a deeper system than that because we want to do more of it, and from shooting, you see references that are also from modern games."

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World of Warcraft players posting screenshots of their virtual homes on Pinterest as part of an official promotion are being banned from the social media site for spam.

Blizzard is hard at work promoting WoW's new player housing feature, and social media site Pinterest is another area where Blizzard is hoping players will find housing inspiration. Those who link their WoW account to Pinterest will unlock an achievement and receive an in-game toy, the Pin-o-Matic Camera. That camera can then be used to automatically post in-game screenshots to Pinterest.

Unfortunately, players attempting to participate are being banned or suspended for violating Pinterest's spam policies, despite players on Reddit and the WoW forums reportedly having only posted a single in-game screenshot.

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Last week, Netflix gave Warner Bros. Discovery a seven-day window to reopen talks with Paramount for a potential buyout. Netflix already has a deal in place to purchase WBD, but it appears that Paramount will dramatically increase its offer.

According to Variety, Paramount's deadline to submit its final bid for Warner Bros. will occur at tonight at 11:59 PM ET. It's expected that Paramount's bid will come in around $32 per share of WBD stock, although at least one analyst believes it could go as high as $34 per share.

If that happens, Netflix has the right to match or exceed any offer made by Paramount. The question is whether Netflix wants to get in a protracted bidding war for WBD or if it's willing to walk away. If talks between WBD and Netflix collapse, the former will be on the line for a $2.8 billion breakup fee. However, Paramount has offered to cover that cost if its negotiations with WBD pan out.

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Within two days, Super Battle Golf has already sold more than 100,000 copies on Steam. Developer Brimstone thanked players for the "absolutely amazing" milestone, while at the same time promising a content update for the online multiplayer game in the future.

Super Battle Golf launched February 19, and Brimstone noted the online sports title was impressively created in just four-and-a-half months. The developer plans to introduce a new 9-hole biome with the upcoming patch, as well as some new items and cosmetics. In general, Brimstone said that it's "so happy to be seeing everyone play our goofy little game."

Super Battle Golf has sold 100,000 copies in the past 48 hours! Thank you all so much for playing our goofy little golf game it's been so much fun making this game!
And because of your support we're starting on our first content update! You can read a bit about it below! pic.twitter.com/ucG29dOabZ

— Brimstone ⛳ Super Battle Golf - Out Now On Steam! (@BrimstoneDevs) February 21, 2026

Up to eight players online can play a round of golf in Super Battle Golf, but it's definitely not like the traditional sport. Everyone is swinging away at the same time, leading to chaos and shenanigans. You can run down other players with a golf cart or even hit them from another part of the course with an orbital laser. Currently, the PC title offers 27 different courses.

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Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition (PS5, XSX)

$40 | Releases May 15

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Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was one of 2025's breakout RPG successes. The open-world medieval fantasy RPG won numerous year-end awards and nominations from multiple outlets and drew a massive audience. It even outsold the previous entry in the series--which means, if you played KCDII, there's a good chance you missed the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Luckily, for console players, it's about to be much easier to grab the first game and all of its DLC thanks to an official Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition physical release dropping for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on May 15. This $40 package includes the base game, all expansions, and post-launch DLC, plus a host of new graphical and performance upgrades, such as 4K resolution, improved framerate, revamped textures, and more. Preorders for the Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition are available now.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition (PS5, XSX) $40 | Releases May 15

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition is the most complete, definitive way to play through Warhorse's massive open-world medieval RPG adventure. With the base game and all available DLC expansions included, it'll be easy to sink dozens upon dozens of hours into this game before jumping into the sequel. Below is everything include:

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance Base Game
• Enhanced Visuals and Performance
• Treasures of the Past DLC
• From the Ashes DLC
• The Amorous Adventures of Bold Sir Hans Capon DLC
• Band of Bastards DLC
• A Woman's Lot DLC

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Kingdom Come: Deliverance was originally released in February of 2018 to critical acclaim. It's a story-driven open-world RPG set in the Kingdom of Bohemia, a province of the Holy Roman Empire, in the early 1400's. You'll play through a first-person perspective, not unlike the style you'd say while playing an Elder Scrolls game, but with a much more comedic tone. You can upgrade your armor, weapons, and skills throughout your playthrough to suit your desired playstyle, while taking on side quests and exploring a seemingly endless open world along the way. The included DLCs add a ton more content to the experience, so this is definitely one to play during long holiday weekends or rainy days.

If you've already experienced the first game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an equally impressive follow-up that offers the same open-world RPG gameplay and mechanics, but with modernized visuals and mechanics. The sequel's Royal Edition is available now digitally as well, and it comes with every piece of DLC released so far, such as the Gallant Huntsman's Kit, The Lion's Crest, and Brushes With Death. You can get your PC copy for $40 (was $80) from Fanatical now.

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Ubisoft has announced a new leadership team for the Assassin's Creed series, with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag veterans among the newly installed managers going forward.

Ubisoft's Vantage Studios--which is charged with overseeing the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six franchises--will have three main leaders for the Assassin's Creed franchise specifically. These will be Martin Schelling as Head of Assassin's Creed Brand, Jean Guesdon as Head of Content for Assassin's Creed, and François de Billy as Head of Production Excellence.

Vantage Studios, meanwhile, is headed up by Charlie Guillemot, who is the son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot--and yes, he's aware of the nepotism concerns. Vantage's other boss is Christopher Derennes.

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Microsoft's "This Is An Xbox" advertisement blitz, which began in 2024, prompted a range of reactions from consumers. According to a report, this was part of outgoing Xbox president Sarah Bond's "Xbox everywhere" strategy, and some Xbox employees felt slighted by the ad campaign.

The core of the "This Is An Xbox" initiative was that the platform was more than the physical console, emphasizing the multiple ways consumers can experience Xbox games. That includes Xbox on PC, along with Xbox Cloud Gaming apps on smart TVs and mobile devices. But The Verge reports that the campaign wasn't received well internally, having "offended" Xbox employees.

While the report doesn't go into detail on who in the company was aggrieved or why, the advertising arguably deemphasized the Xbox hardware, and "This Is An Xbox" quickly became a meme online.

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Microsoft Gaming has a new CEO, with Asha Sharma taking over for Phil Spencer as the top boss for the company's gaming team. The founder of Xbox, Seamus Blackley, has now weighed in with his thoughts on the news, saying Sharma becoming CEO makes "perfect sense" given Microsoft's big AI push. At the same time, Blackley said a younger version of himself would have been very upset about Sharma getting the job, adding that Sharma has a challenging road ahead of her. Blackley also advised Sharma to leave the job today if she's not genuinely passionate about games.

Speaking to GamesBeat, Blackley said pointed out that Microsoft's massive bet on AI is "unprecedented" in terms of the money Microsoft is investing and the company's vision for an AI-powered future.

"That's not the same as Sega deciding how to gracefully go out of business. This is a company that's trying to recontextualize the way we think about technology in its entirety. They've decided that the lever point that's going to do that is generative AI models. They're looking to fit everything into a generative AI model," he said.

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As Xbox undergoes a massive shakeup, with executives Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond both stepping down from their positions, a new report has claimed that the former Xbox president was actually very difficult to work with.

According to a February 23 report from The Verge, current and former Xbox employees were relieved to hear of Bond's departure. Sources reportedly told The Verge that Bond "had been tough to work with," as she allegedly created a work environment where "if you didn't follow the vision or questioned it, you were out."

As the de facto mastermind behind Xbox's controversial "This is an Xbox" campaign, in which Microsoft made it a point to suggest that anything and everything could play Xbox games, The Verge claimed that Bond's strategies had been "failing internally and been questioned multiple times." She also wasn't much of a gamer in the way that Spencer was, with that facet of her public persona supposedly being manufactured solely for appearances.

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Since WWE 2K14, the first WWE game under the 2K banner--with 2K20 marking the first title developed fully by Visual Concepts instead of co-developed with Yukes--the series has had highs and lows worthy of its own Wrestlemania storyline. From technical meltdowns and meme-worthy glitches to hard resets and back-to-basics rebuilds, the franchise has spent years balancing authentic simulation with the over-the-top spectacle that defines the WWE itself.

That climb continues with WWE 2K26, which feels like the most confident entry of the modern era. GameSpot was invited to WWE's Creator Fest to get hands-on time with the game and speak with WWE's top stars about their reactions to their in-game models and what they're most excited to see.

The most immediate upgrade is in visuals. Character models have undergone a major overhaul, with sharper skin textures, lifelike facial animations, and lighting that mirrors WWE's televised presentation. Scrolling through the roster, Damian Priest, Ricky Saints (making his WWE video game debut), and Penta (no longer locked behind DLC) all hovered near the uncanny valley in the best possible way.

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A new bundle is available at Humble, pulling together $214 worth of games for just $25. The Focus Entertainment Bundle 2026 is highlighted by A Plague Tale: Requiem and A Plague Tale: Innocence, though you'll also get four other games to enjoy. Three different tiers are available, too--so if you're not interested in all six games, you can check out a two-game bundle for $6 or a four-game bundle for $18. A portion of your purchase goes toward the Child's Play charity, which works to "improve the lives of children in hospitals" by providing therapeutic games and technology. That makes this bundle not only a great way to add a few great titles to your Steam library, but also an excellent way to help out a wonderful organization.

See at Humble

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The last time Nintendo held a Direct about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it was to introduce Yoshi and Birdo into the mix. Now, it appears that Nintendo, Universal, and Illumination have been intentionally hiding the identity of another major character in the movie, if a new synopsis is legitimate.

There are potential spoilers ahead for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie!

According to a synopsis for the film shared by the United Kingdom's Everyman theater chain, Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) isn't the only new villain. He'll be joined by Mario's other nemesis, Wario.

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