Extraction shooters are currently taking the world by storm, and Bungie is eager to make its mark on the genre with its fast-paced first-person shooter Marathon. Much like Arc Raiders--another popular entry in the world of extraction shooters--Marathon is a much more accessible experience compared to more hardcore titles in the genre, but it still comes packing plenty of danger around every corner. As such, you'll want to have a team to watch your back--meaning you'll need to bring along some friends you can trust.

If you're diving into Marathon and looking to link up with your pals, you'll probably be asking whether the game features cross-play support. Below, we'll answer that question, as well as share information about Marathon's cross-progression options so that you can know what to expect before you even boot up the game.

If you're hoping to play Marathon with your friends on different platforms, you'll be thrilled to hear that Marathon features cross-play. This means that you can team up with players across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or PC, regardless of where you choose to play.

Team Ninja's super-hard souls-like Nioh 3 lands on February 6 for PC and PlayStation 5, and ahead of its imminent launch, the studio dropped a 17-minute gameplay overview showing off everything you'll do in the action-RPG--from battling historical figures and giant monsters to purifying areas and becoming Shogun.

The gameplay overview takes you on a whirlwind of excursions, revealing that you're a time-jumping ninja-samurai on a quest to understand why your brother stole the title of Shogun--the military leader and de facto ruler of Japan--and betrayed his countrymen. (Probably for power, as is always the case.) You'll go from the Edo period (approximately 1601 to 1868) back to the Heian period (roughly 794 to 1185) through to the Sengoku (1467 to 1615) and Bakumatsu eras (1853 to 1868) to uncover the truth behind the Crucible's emergence.

To do all of that, you'll equip yourself with all sorts of weapons--from claws, fists, and odachis to scythes, katanas, and kusarigamas--to slay or get slain as you battle well-trained samurai and freakishly huge monsters on your path toward cleansing the lands of evil. The Crucible, a horrifying realm spawning and enhancing the monstrous creatures overwhelming Japan, is the source, and Nioh 3 will test your patience and resolve to survive long enough to kill everyone and save everything else.

The "one-person, one-dog action-RPG" Beast of Reincarnation looks like a larger endeavor than developer Game Freak's previous titles--large enough to require support from outside partners to bring the studio's vision to life.

Speaking to IGN, game director Kota Furushima said that Game Freak's team is "quite large," but the studio "managed to seek out a lot of partner companies" and was "lucky to have a lot of people working on it externally as well." A PR representative clarified with IGN that Game Freak's internal team for Beast of Reincarnation is "relatively small" and is still leading the project in a core role.

Neither Furushima nor the PR spokesperson gave any numbers for how large or small Game Freak's team is. Working with external partners isn't unusual for a AAA video game--the credits for Game Freak's Pokemon Legends: Z-A list around 30 partner companies that worked on the project.

Nintendo has announced a new Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct, and it's not being held on a weekday. Nintendo fans can get an "exclusive look" at the sequel to the Super Mario Bros. Movie on Sunday, January 25, at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET.

Beyond that, Nintendo is staying tight-lipped about what else you can expect or how long the Direct will run. This will be focused purely on the animated movie, which sees the return of Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. New additions to the cast include Brie Larson as Rosalina and Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr.

Join us on Sunday, Jan 25, at 6am PT for the #NintendoDirect featuring an exclusive look at The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Please note that no game information will be included in this presentation.
Watch here: https://t.co/gTC114mMLz pic.twitter.com/4DOoFU1fFJ

The first trailer for the Super Mario Galaxy Movie was officially shown off last year, and was followed up by a brief scene where Mario and Luigi chat with Bowser, who is still imprisoned in Princess Peach's castle after he was shrunk down from his monstrous size. The scene ended with the appearance of Bowser Jr., who is aiming to break his dad out of his makeshift prison.

While Microsoft has stated an intention to bring its games to Nintendo Switch 2, Fable won't be one of them--at least, not immediately. According to Windows Central's Jez Corden, a port is "under consideration for the future."

Corden claimed in an X post that a version of Playground Games's reboot of Fable for Switch 2 "isn't 100% definite for now." In a follow-up post, Corden stated that a port is not currently in development because of "purely logistics," but he expressed belief that it'll eventually happen.

Putting Fable on Switch 2 would fit with Xbox's multiplatform strategy--it's coming to PlayStation 5, after all. While the rollout of Microsoft-owned titles on Nintendo's new machine has been slow so far, both Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and South of Midnight are slated to release on Switch 2 this year.

A romanticized slice of Japan is the playground that Forza Horizon 6 takes place in, but if this week's Developer Direct livestream is any indicator, the game looks like it'll have plenty of anime inspiration under its hood. One such example was seen in Forza Horizon 6's Touge Battle mode, which looks like it was pulled straight from the cult-classic street-racing manga and anime series Initial D.

The Touge Battle mode was briefly described by developer Playground Games as a series of nighttime races down Japanese mountain passes, and to hammer home the Initial D influence, the gameplay footage showed a Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 drifting through tight corners. The same car used by the manga's protagonist--and which has become an icon of street racing over the years--the tribute to the series was joined by a very brief glimpse of what appeared to be a full-sized Gundam.

If previous games with their showcase races are any indicator, don't be too surprised if you're tasked with racing a skyscraper-sized robot in Forza Horizon 6.