Ashley Johnson famously played Ellie in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us games, and now she's reacted to the criticisms of Season 2 of the HBO series. Speaking to The Direct, Johnson said the series has "very passionate" fans, and this can go both ways in terms of sentiment.

"Sometimes that passion feels really great, and sometimes it feels not great. But you know, I understand it. I understand loving something so much, and wanting it to be what you want it to be," she said.

The HBO series makes many changes from the games, and showrunner and writer Craig Mazin said before Season 2 even came out that he expected fans to revolt. Regarding fan feedback in general, Mazin said he is only trying to do what is right for the story, even if people don't like it.

Arc Raiders players are being encouraged to team up for increased merits in Shared Watch, a new limited-time event designed to remind fans that the Arc machines are the real enemy. This launches alongside the new 1.15.0 update, patch notes for which you can see below.

From now until February 24, PvP encounters won't generate any merits for players. Instead, players can earn merits by damaging and destroying Arc machines, or by assisting in their destruction. This event will debut two new cosmetic sets: The Vulpine set and The Slugger set.

Additionally, Cold Snap has been added back to the rotation of outdoor map conditions. The intense cold can inflict frostbite damage on players if they linger too long, but there are greater rewards for those who take the risk. Players can also lob snowballs at each other.

Valheim is still in early access five years after its debut, but a small handful of devs behind that game are now ready to debut the demo for their next title, Begraved. This first-person co-op dungeon-crawler is available on Steam, and the creative team is looking for some feedback.

Begraved is the first game from Grip Jaw, an independent studio formed by Valheim creative director Robin Eyre, vice president Emilia Oscarsson, and designer Andreas Tomasson. Players are cast as Gravebound, lost souls whose debt to the Taxman extends beyond the grave. To escape their crushing obligations, they are forced to enter cursed tombs in an attempt to survive long enough to escape with any loot they can carry. But some treasures require two hands to handle, and that's going to make it hard to evade the angry spirits you've unleashed by stealing from them.

Begraved's tombs are procedurally generated areas with support for five-player co-op and proximity voice chat. The current build of the game supports both solo and co-opt playthroughs in two complete zones, with upgrades and hideouts already incorporated into the game. The eventual 1.0 release will include two additional zones, as well as new enemies, relics, and afflictions.

After announcing a year ago that Hazelight had "already started" development on its next game, it seems things are continuing to progress.

"We're back in the kitchen, cookin' up something really delicious!" Hazelight said in a social media post. Hazelight's Josef Fares also shared an image of himself in some kind of studio, with his arm outstretched strategically to block the faces of three performers. He captioned the image, "Next game in the making." Hazelight's post jokingly referenced the new game having "Strategic Arm Placement Tech."

Work began on Hazelight's next game in February 2025. At the time, Fares said the game was "quite early" in development. He said the team is feeling like they can do "way better" with the next game, whatever it turns out to be.

Much like the undead, Uwe Boll's film directing career shambles on, with the purveyor of schlock announcing a crowdfunding campaign for an unofficial sequel to his maligned 2003 House of the Dead adaptation.

Boll launched an Indiegogo campaign (spotted by GamesRadar) for his new film, 23 Years Later: Return to Zombie Island. As Boll laments, he can't name the movie "House of the Dead" because "they're making a $50 million House of the Dead movie with somebody else," referring to the Paul W.S. Anderson-directed film that recently cast The Last of Us star Isabela Merced.

"It's pissing me so off, that I would say, give us the money, produce the film with us, buy some of the perks," Boll said in his signature unfiltered cadence. "We will really compete with that other movie." Boll characterizes his 2003 movie as "the most hated video game-based movie ever" that turned "into a total cult classic." The film scored 15 on GameSpot's sister site Metacritic, indicating "overwhelming dislike," and sports a "generally unfavorable" 2.2 user score.

The year has barely begun, and we've already seen several showcases from big companies like Nintendo and Microsoft. Now, it's Sony's turn to show what it has lined up for 2026 and beyond with a new State of Play broadcast on February 12. We've rounded up all the details for the livestream, so you can see exactly when it kicks off, where to watch, and what to expect.

As usual, State of Play will be streamed live on Sony's YouTube and Twitch channels.

The State of Play broadcast begins February 12, at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET and will run for approximately 60 minutes.

Arc Raiders features instruments like a guitar and recorder that players can use, and developer Embark's CEO wanted the game to have even more at launch.

Speaking to IGN, Patrick Soderlund said he was "so upset" that Arc Raiders launched with a minimal roster of instruments--today, the game has shakers, a recorder, and an acoustic guitar. Soderlund said the team designed and built "so many" more instruments, but they haven't been added to the game yet.

"I happen to be in a position of decision-making authority [laughs]. So, the answer is yes, there will be more instruments. For sure. I love them, and they create such cool moments," he said.

Remedy's next big game, Control Resonant, does not utilize generative AI, according to the company's interim CEO. Markus Mäki said during Remedy's latest earnings briefing that there is "varied interest" in the technology at the company, however.

"I'm a big believer in player value--so doing things that really add something to the gameplay experience and player experience. I'm also a big believer in the creative people on our team and that they know the best ways to add that value. There is varied interest in different crafts at Remedy into investigating these AI tools," Maki explained, as reported by Game Developer.

He flat-out confirmed that Control Resonant "does not use generative AI content at all." However, he said he's unable to say definitively if future projects could utilize the technology.

Fallout star Aaron Moten has now completed two seasons on the show as Maximus, a former knight in the Brotherhood of Steel. Moten recently noted that he enjoys playing video games, but the one gaming franchise he won't touch now is his own. In fact, he's actually forbidden himself from diving into any of the Fallout games.

"I am a gamer," Moten told GamesRadar. "I really enjoy taking a break from watching TV and movies. It's work for me, and I really have a hard time turning that brain off when becoming a viewer. I have not played Fallout, but I have watched Twitch streams ... I've watched others play it. But, partly, I forbid myself from playing it at this point. It's our job to bring a sense of humanity to these three characters."

Out of the three primary characters on the show, only Walton Goggins' The Ghoul has appeared in a primary Fallout game. The Ghoul was introduced into the gaming universe in Fallout '76's Burning Springs expansion last year. Maximus has been briefly seen in the Fallout Shelter mobile game, but neither he now Ella Purnell's Lucy MacLean have made the leap to consoles yet.

The Iron Lung movie based on the video game from YouTube creator Markiplier continues to put up massive numbers at the box office.

In its second weekend, Iron Lung brought in an addition $6.2 million from 2,930 theaters across the US, Variety reported. The movie cost an estimated $3 million to make, and with a worldwide haul of more than $34.2 million from all markets combined, it's a huge hit.

Markiplier, whose real name is Mark Fischbach, funded the movie himself. He also wrote it, stars in it, and directed the R-rated movie about a fugitive who scavenges through a sea of blood on a submarine called the Iron Lung. The film has great reviews on GameSpot sister site Metacritic, as well as Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite some struggles in the live-service category, Sony seemingly remains fairly bullish on the prospects for the live-service category. One of the company's next big online multiplayer game is Horizon Hunters Gathering, a cooperative take on the popular Horizon series that has remained, until now, a single-player experience. It is still somewhat early days for Horizon Hunters Gathering, but Sony and developer Guerrilla Games have begun to share a number of key details about the project.

Read on to learn everything we know so far about the upcoming multiplayer game.

Horizon Hunters Gathering is the multiplayer Horizon game that had been rumored for years. It's separate from NCSoft's Horizon MMO that is not coming to PS5. In 2025, a higher-up at Guerrilla said the Horizon series had been designed from the onset with multiplayer in mind.

Following the surprise-announcement of a new Horizon multiplayer game recently, it's now being reported that the next entry in the main series is not anywhere close to release.

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said he understands that "most" of developer Guerrilla is working on Horizon Hunters Gathering right now. He said this in response to a question about if Guerrilla had a second team internally making a third Horizon mainline game.

Separately, sources told Kotaku that a third Horizon game in the main series is a "ways off" and is not the current development priority at Guerrilla. One source told the site that some staff working on a new mainline Horizon game, which has not been announced, were "pulled over to help with Horizon Hunters Gathering."

Australia's communications minister Anika Wells is the latest of a number of global lawmakers to express concerns about child safety on Roblox, the massively popular gaming platform aimed largely at young people. Wells has requested a meeting with Roblox, after being alarmed by reports of graphic content and child predation on the platform.

The minister has written a letter to Roblox expressing concern, The Guardian reports, after she was "alarmed by reports of children being exposed to graphic and gratuitous user-generated content on the platform, including sexually explicit and suicidal material." She adds that she is even more disturbed by "ongoing reports and concerns about children being approached and groomed by predators, who actively seek to exploit their curiosity and innocence."

Australia's eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant mirrored these concerns in a separate letter, saying eSafety plans to test Roblox's promises to keep children safe online. "We remain highly concerned by ongoing reports regarding the exploitation of children on the Roblox service, and exposure to harmful material," Inman Grant said.

Amid criticism that new Overwatch hero Anran looks too much like other female heroes and not enough like her own previous appearance in an animated short, Blizzard has committed to updating the hero's appearance during Season 1.

Overwatch game director Aaron Keller announced the upcoming change in a video on social media, saying that the team is currently planning how to make Anran "look and feel more like the fierce older sister that we all envision her to be." While he says the team is proud of the work that has gone into the hero, "we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in game."

Keller adds that this change has been in discussion internally since last week, but that the team "wanted to wait until we had confirmation of exactly what we can do." For now, there are few details on what changes will be made and when they will be live in game, though Keller says that the studio hopes to be able to make this update during Season 1.

Last year, a No ICE in California bundle raised over $105,000 for the LA-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center. Now, the person behind that fundraiser has launched a new one for No ICE In Minnesota that offers players over 1,400 indie games, which is a dramatic increase from the 500 plus offered in the previous bundle.

JesstheHuman launched the No ICE in Minnesota on Itch.io bundle with contributions from 651 creators. So far, almost $30,000 has been raised for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. This organization offers free legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees in both Minnesota and North Dakota. The ILCM also offers outreach to its local communities to share information about immigration laws while advocating for policy changes that recognize universal human rights.

Some of the PC games included in this bundle are listed below:

Late last year, indie horror game Horses was banned by Epic Games Store just ahead of its debut. Because Horses had already been banned by Steam in 2023, this gave studio developer Santa Ragione a greatly reduced chance to break even. Santa Ragione has since called out Epic over the cancellation, and now Epic has responded to the former's claims.

While speaking with Game File, Epic vice president Steve Allison said, "We love [Horses'] studio," but reiterated that the game's adult content warranted its removal. Santa Ragione responded on social media, and wrote, "Epic made provably incorrect statements about the game's content, refused to provide details supporting their claims, and has not shared their claimed AO IARC certificate, which normally includes a link for the developer to appeal ... They do not 'love that studio,' they have effectively ghosted us."

Brian Sharon, Epic Games' senior communications manager, subsequently told IGN that Horses was flagged for violating the Epic Games Store's policy guidelines about inappropriate, hateful, or abusive content.

Riot Games has confirmed that it is laying off 80 2XKO developers fewer than three weeks after the fighting game's console launch. For the time being, a smaller team will work on "key improvements to the game," and its 2026 Competitive Series will go on as planned.

2XKO is a League of Legends spin-off fighting game that has been in the works at Riot Games for about a decade. It's a tag-team fighter built for co-op play. After years of behind-closed-doors testing and several betas, it entered early access on PC in November 2025. On January 20 of this year, 2XKO launched on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Unfortunately, a new blog post from Riot Games indicated that 2XKO hasn't been as successful as the studio hoped for. "As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO," executive producer Tom Cannon wrote. "The game has resonated with a passionate core audience, but overall momentum hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term."

World of Warcraft's current big bad Xal'atath has been shrouded in shadow for years, but a new animated short is giving fans their best look yet at her origins and motivations--if she's telling the truth.

Titled Supremacy, the animated short shows Xal'atath confronting Nexus King Salhadaar, leader of the Ethereals. Salhadaar is reluctant to join Xal'atath and her army of the Void, at first fighting back. But once Xal'atath appears in person to make her case, Salhadaar can't help but listen.

Rather than using brute force alone, Xal'atath instead tries a different tactic to convince Salhadaar to join her. She offers to tell him "the truth no one living has heard." That truth is that Xal'atath was once, long ago, mortal. As the short flashes back to show a young, bald girl being consumed by the Void, she recounts how she lost her world to the Void, just like Salhadaar's world of K'aresh was destroyed by the Void Lord Dimensius.

A new State of Play livestream has been confirmed for February 12, but just minutes before Sony made the announcement, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach game director Hideo Kojima also teased… something. The veteran game developer has been busy in his editing studio lately, putting together a trailer for the first time in eight months.

While he didn't have time to finish his work, he did post a photo of his desktop setup, including a close-up of his display.

Granted, "a Hideo Kojima" screen doesn't say much, but people are already speculating that a PC port of Death Stranding 2 is being prepped for a reveal this month. The game has been a PS5 exclusive since June 26, 2025, and in the wake of an ESRB rating for a PC version that was later deleted, it looks likely that an announcement is on the way, given Kojima's close relationship with PlayStation.

Since its release back in 2014, fans of the World of Warcraft-inspired card game Hearthstone have eagerly awaited the day it might make the jump from digital platforms to their tabletops. However, if my conversation with Hearthstone director Tyler Bielman and executive producer Nathan Lyons-Smith is any indication, that won't be happening anytime soon.

During Blizzard's Hearthstone Spotlight event, I spoke to the pair about the future of Hearthstone and its upcoming expansion, Cataclysm. Among the questions I asked was if--in light of an ongoing trading card game renaissance--the team was considering developing a physical version of the card game. Though Bielman initially said, "I'll start with we have nothing to announce today," what followed seemed to indicate that we're still a long way out from that being a possibility.

According to Bielman, bringing Hearthstone to the physical trading card game arena would require "sacrificing a lot of things," many of which the team find fundamental to the game's overall experience.