Nintendo fans are witnessing something unusual with the Switch 2: Quality ports of big blockbuster games are actually releasing for the platform, and quite frequently. Switch 2 versions of Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, and Final Fantasy VII Remake have impressed players, and 2026 presents Nintendo with an opportunity to solidify a streak of third-party support.

This year's release calendar has Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, 007 First Light, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and a couple of Xbox darlings (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and South of Midnight) all landing on the Switch 2. Though more game announcements for the platform are assuredly coming, it's already a strong line-up of non-Nintendo games.

For the longest time, many have begrudgingly bought Nintendo machines because they were the only ways to play franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. But because of the relative lack of power of Nintendo's consoles as compared to those of Sony and Microsoft, players who also wanted to play major releases like Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed games needed other machines. But if Switch 2 continues receiving excellent third-party ports and equal treatment with other platforms, it could be more than a "Nintendo-exclusive machine" and become the top console for a lot of players this generation.

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French president Emmanuel Macron has clarified his statements on banning video games in his country, explaining that although no ban has been put in place yet, he's not opposed to it or other restrictions should there be enough scientific research to warrant them.

Macron took to LinkedIn on February 7 to defend himself against potential critics who, as he said, "misunderstood" the intentions of his recent statements. According to French newspaper Le Monde, Macron supports the games industry--he congratulated French studio Sandfall Interactive for the massive achievement that is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33--but still wants to have a "serious debate" about the health impacts that excessive gaming can have on young people.

"Parents observe that some young people spend their days and sometimes their nights playing video games. It has also often been reported that games rated PEGI 18 are being played by children," Macron wrote. "This is a major public health, education, and responsibility issue. For physical health, eyes in particular, and mental health, when a young person no longer goes outside at all because they are playing excessively, of course this is worrying, and we must address it."

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Between the construction of a Not-A-Death-Star and the subsequent theft of plans for this symbol of planetary destruction/peace, things have been busy in Helldivers 2 as players prepare for the invasion of Cyberstan starting February 10. The homeworld of the Automatons has also been preparing for the arrival of Super Earth's finest, and when the Helldivers touch down, they can expect to be met with an old foe: Cyborgs fueled by "rage and socialism" as they march on troops.

Arrowhead Games revealed that players will have three new classes of enemies to take on when they land on Cyberstan: The Agitator, the Radicals, and the Vox Engine. The Agitator is equipped with heavy armor and will take control of Automaton units, effectively coordinating their movements. The Radical is an engine of destruction, hellbent on closing the gap and delivering a roundhouse kick to your Helldiver. Meanwhile, the Vox Engine is a weaponized mobile propaganda platform armed with lasers, rockets, and programmed to spread undemocratic lies on the battlefield.

Cyborgs were introduced in the first Helldivers game--portrayed as anti-democratic dissidents who illegally left Super Earth--and Helldivers 2's Automatons are seen as their successors. Naturally, Super Earth's current war on every non-human intelligent species has left the Cyborgs feeling a bit miffed. The return of the Cyborg legions was first teased on Arrowhead's social media, after the studio was "hacked" to broadcast a message by the Automatons. Uploaded in binary, the video message reads:

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Starting in March, all Discord users will be switched to a "teen-appropriate experience" unless they can verify that they're an adult. The social platform is implementing age verification protocols that may ask users for facial scans or identification documents, a policy tested in the United Kingdom and Australia beginning last year.

A press release from Discord explains that the age verification process may be required to "change certain settings or access sensitive content," including "age-restricted channels, servers, or commands and select message requests." The global rollout of this protocol will arrive months after a hack affected millions of Discord users and exposed age verification-related data. Discord said that it partnered with a different third-party vendor for age verification after the data breach.

Discord will soon be expanding teen safety protections worldwide including teen-by-default settings and age assurance designed to create safer experiences for teens.
We’re also launching recruitment for Discord's first Teen Council, creating a space for teen voices to help shape… pic.twitter.com/CW7G4sO38R

— Discord Support (@discord_support) February 9, 2026copy

On Discord's end, the company promises that its "age assurance" approaches will protect user privacy, saying that video selfies, which AI will use to estimate a user's age, will never leave their device, and that any identity documents users submit will be deleted immediately after their age is confirmed.

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The Walt Disney Company recently named a new CEO, Josh D'Amaro, and now it's been reported that the months-long search to find a new top executive disrupted plans for gaming.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the plans for leadership change at Disney "made it difficult to make consequential decisions about Disney's future." This apparently impacted Disney's gaming plans specifically.

"In recent months, executives have discussed potential partnerships with game companies, but shelved the topic until a new CEO started," the WSJ reported, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.

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After some rumors in the past couple of weeks that it was in the works, the first PlayStation State of Play of 2026 has been confirmed for February 12 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET.

Official PlayStation social media accounts have confirmed not only the date and timing of the event, but also that it will include "60+ minutes of news, gameplay updates, and announcements from game studios across the globe." No word on what that 60+ minutes will include has been confirmed by Sony nor by any third-party developers.

A new State of Play airs February 12.
Tune in for 60+ minutes of news, gameplay updates, and announcements from game studios across the globe: https://t.co/wz6dklBvoa pic.twitter.com/VRStSNZ6RM

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 9, 2026

PlayStation's first-party portfolio for 2026 already includes MLB The Show 26, Saros from Housemarque, and two Marvel projects in Insomniac's Wolverine and Arc System Works's Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. Last week, Guerrilla Games also announced Horizon Hunters Gathering, a co-op multiplayer project set in the Horizon universe.

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Overwatch is dropping the "2" from its name and rebooting for a new era of story-driven gameplay, and already the refresh seems to be drawing players back. Overwatch hit a peak of almost 70,000 concurrent players on Steam over the weekend, the highest the sequel has seen since its all-time peak on its Steam launch day.

According to Steam charts, Overwatch (which still retains the 2 on Steam for the time being) hit a peak of 69,881 concurrent players over the weekend--shockingly close to its launch day high of 75,608, and higher than it has been in the two and a half years since. The peak in players even saw Overwatch creep past Call of Duty and Battlefield 6--though neither of them are particularly dominant on Steam.

Overwatch has not had a great history with Steam, where its lifetime reviews are only around 27% positive, and concurrent players quickly dropped off after peaking on release day. It's a surprise to many to see player numbers picking up on the platform, when the game's first rebooted season hasn't even launched yet--though a limited-time trial for new hero Anran is currently active.

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Pokemon turns 30 this year, which is a fact that may turn many older gamers (the writer of this article included) into dust. The Pokemon Company is gearing up for a big year of celebration, which has officially begun with a 60-second ad that aired during tonight's Super Bowl 60.

The commercial features international celebrities like Trevor Noah, Lady Gaga, Blackpink's Jisoo, and Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko, all sharing their favorite pocket monsters from across Pokemon's 30-year history. Lady Gaga notably chooses Jigglypuff, and then proceeds to sing the Jigglypuff lullaby right in the middle of the ad--adding "Lady Gaga sings the Jigglypuff lullaby" to the list of things we thought we'd never see.

While this Super Bowl ad doesn't reveal any specific projects or products, The Pokemon Company has confirmed two anniversary-themed events for fans to look for throughout the year. The What's Your Favorite? Fan Photo Creations event in Pokemon Go will let players use a new camera feature to post photos of their favorite Pokemon.

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Helldivers 2 doesn't give its players much of breather before throwing another invasion or intergalactic threat at them. Players across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC have a new reason to be wary, now that Arrowhead Studios CEO Shams Jorjani has been teasing the potential return of an old enemy faction.

On the Helldivers Discord channel, Jorjani wrote the following message in binary code: "01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101110 01101110 01100001 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01110000 01100001 01101110 01110100 01110011."

According to GamesRadar, that code translates to English as "you're gonna s*** your pants," which is part of a long-running joke that Jorjani first used last year.

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Yazuka Kiwami 3 director Ryosuke Horii justified the controversial casting of actor Teruyuki Kagawa as Goh Hamazaki in a recent interview, saying, "We tried to think of someone who makes you go, 'This guy's a creep.'"

Horii spoke to Japanese outlet GAME Watch (independently translated by IGN) about the casting, which has drawn criticism because Kagawa has been accused of sexual assault. Horii said the team made their decision based on what performance they would most like to see in the game.

"Hamazaki is a sleazy, persistent, and militant yakuza, right?" Horii said. "Since he isn't an explosive character like Kanda, when we tried to think of someone who makes you go, 'This guy's a creep,' naturally it was Kagawa--that was the main factor. Kagawa's acting is fun to watch. Even when he's chopping a pig's feet off with a chef's knife, it has a slimy feel. That feeling permeates his performance, so it brings a freshness to the scene and made it feel really fun."

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Fallout season two recently wrapped and while the first season eased viewers into the dystopian wasteland created by Bethesda's video games, the show's second season dove deeper into the world in unexpected ways. From introducing the highly popular location of New Vegas, to bringing in popular factions such as Caesar’s Legion and the NCR and introducing some of the game’s strangest creatures, season two felt like an expansion in all the right ways. Yet this wasn't all Fallout season two accomplished; season two also laid the foundation for the franchise going forward by introducing a location new to the franchise: Colorado. Recently I was given the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas to sit down with the cast and crew to talk about this season’s biggest reveals and what’s next for Fallout in season three.

One of the most satisfying elements this season was getting status updates on factions such as the Legion and the NCR post-Fallout: New Vegas, which last saw them squaring off in a faction war known as The Battle for the Hoover Dam. The show sets up perhaps the largest faction war the franchise has ever seen, with all these forces marching onto the New Vegas strip for an all-out war. Showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet had this to say about what viewers can expect to see during the incoming conflict:

“It’s interesting that a lot of these factions have been sort of dormant. One thing we talk about as a show is our excitement to see new civilization start to blossom again. But whose version will flourish in Vegas now that the Deathclaws are gone? It’s a big question that we hope fans are as curious about as we are.”

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Nintendo and Illumination are clearly delving deeper into Super Mario lore with the latest Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer. The footage leans hard into Super Mario Galaxy-style visuals to show this isn't just more Mushroom Kingdom shenanigans. We have warp-star travel ripped straight from the Wii classics, as well as the mysterious Rosalina stepping into the spotlight--all building hype for the film's April 1 release.

It delivers trippy moments like Yoshi eating Kamek and more of Bowser Jr.'s chaotic gremlin energy, all the while Mario and Luigi join up with new alliances, fend off new rivalries, and explore a much bigger cosmic playground.

All of this builds on the massive success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which became one of the biggest animated movies of all time, grossing more than $1.3 billion worldwide and breaking records for video game adaptations.

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Jennifer Hale--most famously known for Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect trilogy--has been confirmed to voice Jetpack Cat in Overwatch. The flying feline is one of five new heroes coming to the game on February 10 for The Reign of Talon, Season 1.

The Express Tribune reported that Hale will be providing the meows for Jetpack Cat in the newly renamed game, which is now just Overwatch by ditching the 2. The title change is part of a major overhaul of the online FPS. As for Hale (who also voices Ashe in the game), Overwatch audio and technical director Scott Lawson stated that "she did an incredible job, and working with it was so much fun." On X, Hale also expressed her excitement about voicing Jetpack Cat.

The support character can heal and tow allies from the sky, thanks to the obvious jetpack. As for Jetpack Cat's ultimate ability, called Catnapper, the hero can plunge down to disrupt opponents, then tether one to throw off a ledge, for instance.

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Code Vein 2 hit PlayStation 5, Xbox series X|S, and PC at the end of January, and so far, the response hasn't been everything that Bandai Namco had hoped for after a seven-year gap between games. The publisher has now acknowledged that Code Vein 2 needs a major tuneup to address its issues, and Bandai Namco wants players to know that those fixes are on the way.

In a message shared on social media, Bandai Namco said the dev team is "committed to improving the game for a better experience" before promising to make "major adjustments" to Code Vein 2 in the near future.

We have received your feedback, and our team is committed to improving the game for a better experience. We are planning continuous updates to enhance frame rates, address performance issues, and refine gameplay balance. Thank you for your continued support of #CODEVEIN II. pic.twitter.com/A4lyjnI9Bn

— CODE VEIN II (@CodeVeinGame) February 6, 2026

Players have criticized Code Vein 2 for various performance issues, including frame rate during combat and other bugs. Bandai Namco's message put forth a late-February and March time frame to address these complaints, with an emphasis on improving the game's stability. Specifically, the publisher is aiming to reduce stuttering and lag, and get the frame rates to perform better during combat sequences.

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Stern Pinball has announced that an official Pokemon pinball table is on the way, but you'll need some deep pockets to buy one. While the company hasn't revealed what the table will look like, it has set a price for these expensive machines and a "coming soon" release window.

According to Stern, the Pro model will cost $6,999, the Premium table is priced at $9,699, and a limited-edition model is an eye-watering $12,999. Of these, only 750 are being made, and if it's anything like Stern's other ultra-limited pinball machines, it'll have some sort of gimmick to justify its price. For example, the company released a $13,000 John Wick-themed pinball table in 2024 that looked great, featured various interactive elements inspired by the movies, and included pieces of Wick’s iconic suits.

Could it be that Stern has cracked the genetic code of the animal kingdom and has bred real-life Pikachus to act as an eternal power source for this table? We'll have to wait and see.

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Remasters are inherently nostalgic, attempting to evoke a certain feel and mood again years after the original release. Few of them, however, symbolize a time capsule as much as Poker Night at the Inventory. The concept of sitting down characters from four different franchises at the same poker table was novel in 2010. Now, after the likes of Fortnite have fostered an ever-increasing IP onslaught, bringing back such an oddity of a crossover makes for a significant contrast.

Poker Night at the Inventory was born as a spiritual successor to Telltale Texas Hold'em. At the time, Telltale Games CEO Dan Conners said the concept grew out of an idea from employees who wondered what video game characters do when they're not "on the clock." This led to Telltale picking up stars from existing licensed series it had adapted as episodic games--Max from Sam & Max and Strong Bad from Homestar Runner--and pitting them against Tycho from webcomic Penny Arcade and The Heavy from Valve's Team Fortress 2.

Having characters from completely different backgrounds and series bantering with each other was the main selling point. Alongside the bizarre premise, the particular selection also converged PC and online culture fandoms that were quite vivid in the early 2010s. Considering this 13-year-old video compilation of jokes and trash talk between the cast has accrued 2.3 million views, it's safe to assume there has been some lingering fondness over the years--especially considering the game was delisted in 2019.

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Epic Games has decided it needs a little more time to get Fortnite working right again before we move onto Chapter 7 Season 2. The two-week delay was announced a day after the latest game update caused hitching and crashes when loading into the lobby or readying up for a match, the latest in a series of stability issues that have plagued Fortnite over the past month.

Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 is now scheduled to begin on March 19.

We’re taking one more fortnite for next season - CH7S2 drops March 19
*opens the loot vault & starts cooking* pic.twitter.com/ilQCpXiD3S

— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) February 6, 2026

This rash of stability issues seemed to begin when the South Park collaboration event started on January 9. That update caused the UI in the game lobby to hitch every time a player did pretty much anything--emoting, choosing game modes, browsing the locker, etc. Those issues appeared to be solved with the update on January 22, but that patch caused new issues like game crashes and UI lag in matches, and it required both an extra round of emergency maintenance and a bonus game update to deal with the problems it introduced.

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Nintendo just put out a demo for Mario Tennis Fever, which launches on Nintendo Switch 2 next week--but you can't download it from the eShop. Instead, you'll have to venture to a brick-and-mortar store, which might be a lot to ask for anyone in the United States still experiencing below-freezing temperatures. Be sure not to get an actual fever from running out to your local retailer.

According to Nintendo, the Mario Tennis Fever demo is playable on kiosks at select Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and Walmart locations. With no guarantee that your store might have the demo, it's best to contact them directly to check beforehand.

Naturally, disappointed replies followed Nintendo's announcement, pointing out that the previous Mario Tennis game, Mario Tennis Aces for Switch, got an online tournament demo before the game's release in June 2018.

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Insomniac Games may have just quietly hinted at a surprise Marvel crossover, and fans think Daredevil could be leaping into Marvel's Wolverine. The PlayStation studio behind the hugely successful Spider-Man games recently shared a cheeky social media post that's sparked speculation the lawyer-by-day, superhero-by-night hero might finally be gearing up for a comeback alongside Logan.

The tease came via a Twitter post showing Wolverine extending his claws and turning toward an unseen figure, paired with the caption: "'Claws?' What's that, some kind of fancy lawyer lingo?"

"Claws"? What's that, some kind of fancy lawyer lingo? #WolverinePS5 pic.twitter.com/vgw9Od8jHO

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) February 5, 2026

The joke hinges on a pun between Wolverine's blades and legal "clauses," immediately pointing fans toward Marvel's most famous attorney, Matt Murdock. For longtime fans, the idea of Daredevil stepping in to deal with Wolverine feels very intentional.

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Analogue launched its 4K N64 emulator last year, and the console quickly earned praise as one of the best modern devices for playing old-school Nintendo games. The consoles are available in black and white colorways, but the limited-edition models featuring "funtastic" colors are sold out. The good news is that a brand-new line of Analogue 3D console colorways are going up for preorder on February 9, and they'll ship soon after.

Priced at $300, these five variants feature colors that were officially prototyped for the original Nintendo 64, but were never released. Analogue CEO Christopher Taber added that they were manufactured but never released, and the company has managed to color-match them perfectly. "We're finishing history, decades later," Taber said.

Gallery Preorder at Analogue

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