Fan reactions to an HBO adaptation of Baldur's Gate 3 have been apprehensive at best, but Larian Studios boss and game director Swen Vincke offered a diplomatic and hopeful message regarding the announcement.

In an X post, Vincke reminisced about the development of Baldur's Gate 3's story, adding that he believes the game's developers will find the news "cool" and that showrunner Craig Mazin contacted Larian to discuss the adaptation.

The HBO show will depict events that occur after the video game, and fan concerns stem from the fact that there are several possible endings that the show can pick up from. Vincke wrote on X: "The endings of BG3 were created so they could serve as narrative soil for new adventures. There's plenty of directions they could go. I'm eager to find out which ones Craig and his team will pick. He's reached out for a chat, so we'll have the opportunity to tell him our thoughts."

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It's the most romantic month of the year, and if you're looking to snuggle up with a video game or two, Amazon Luna has you covered. Amazon Prime members can claim these 10 PC games and 11 more via the cloud for a total of 21 freebies.

As a reminder, all of the free games that you claim through Amazon Luna are yours to keep forever, even if your subscription expires. If you aren't a member, you can sign up for Amazon Luna for as little as 1 month to take advantage of the subscription and its freebies.

This month's headliners include Tiny Tina's Wonderlands--think Borderlands if it were a full-fledged Dungeons & Dragons campaign--the fast-paced old-school Dread Templar, and the cozy visual-novel Tavern Talk.

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The launch window for the next generation of consoles is still unknown, but when it happens, Epic Games plans to have its store on one of the major systems on "day one." According to Epic's Steve Allison, Microsoft has already conveyed that the Epic Games Store is welcome on the new Xbox console.

"We definitely plan to be on the new hardware for Xbox," Allison told Game File. "Because, unless their policy or stance on it changes, they are telling us they're going to welcome that. And we're going be there, like, on day one. That will probably require us to build in whatever their requirements are, some sort of software to support that."

If that goes forward, it could change the fundamental way that console players purchase digital games. PC gamers are able to use any digital marketplace, but Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have their own proprietary gaming outlets. It's been a closed ecosystem through the current console generation. Adding Epic Games Store to the next Xbox would essentially be inviting players to spend money at a rival to the Xbox store that would have otherwise gone to Microsoft. It could also lead to pricing wars, if games available on both storefronts are cheaper on the other outlet.

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The second playable class coming in Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion looks to have leaked, revealing a new spellcaster class never-before-seen in the series.

A datamine of the Diablo 4 Season 12 public test realm (via Reddit) has revealed files that make reference to a Warlock class. Complementing those file names is also datamined artwork that shows a dark spellcaster class alongside Lord of Hatred's other (already playable) class, the Paladin.

Not much else is known about the Warlock, but the leaked artwork shows a man holding a sinister-looking sword and harnessing some evil-looking-red magic to conjure a massive demonic fist. Assuming Warlock is the new class, it will join a growing roster of recent classes that have never been featured in a previous Diablo game. Previous new additions include the Vessel of Hatred expansion's Spiritborn class and classes like the Blood Knight and Tempest from Blizzard's free-to-play mobile spin-off Diablo Immortal.

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To say Highguard has had a rocky start would be putting it lightly, but studio Wildlight Entertainment is not giving up on its embattled multiplayer shooter so easily. The first of Highguard's major planned updates drops on February 2, less than two weeks after the game launched, bringing with it a new map, new playable Warden, a ranked mode, and plenty more.

The Season 2 update was revealed at launch as part of Highguard's ambitious 2026 roadmap, and Wildlight has it ready to go right at the start of its promised update window. The biggest new addition in this update is new Warden Ekon, who joins the eight Wardens already on Highguard's roster. Instead of riding a mount into battle, Ekon is a shapeshifter who turns into a powerful direwolf, boasting higher speed than any of the game's mounts in order to run down mounted enemies.

If you want to get wolfy without Ekon, Highguard has also added a brand-new wolf mount available for free to all players.

Continue Reading at GameSpotSkydrift is added to the map rotation in 3v3 and 5v5.

Nioh 3 is a tough game, so you're almost certainly going to die more frequently than you might expect. When you're slain in battle, you'll drop your Guardian Spirit, which will also contain all of the Amrita and Soul Cores you've obtained since last visiting a shrine. If you die again, it's all lost for good. Knowing this, you'll need to safely return to your grave and claim your Guardian Spirit, or you may end up very disappointed to see all of that progress lost. Luckily, you can also use a Summoner's Candle to call your Guardian Spirit back with all of your Amrita and Soul Cores intact--if you have one.

Summoner's Candles are a rare resource that isn't to be used in every instance of death. Saving them for the right moments, though, can make a world of difference and keep you from losing potentially hours of your hard-earned progression. So, if you want more opportunities to rescue your Guardian Spirit without all the risk, here's how to get Summoner's Candles in Nioh 3.

Where to get Summoner's Candles

Summoner's Candles can be obtained in a few different ways, including looting, defeating foes, or buying them from specific merchants. Here are the primary methods of getting your hands on some of these candles.

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You may spend most of your time in Nioh 3 beating down tough-as-nails enemies and bosses, but you'll also have some downtime to shop for various items and crafting recipes you'll need to help you keep doing so. As such, there are multiple types of currencies you'll encounter that are required for purchasing items from specific vendors throughout the game--and perhaps the most important of these is Yokai Teardrops.

Yokai Teardrops are used to buy rare resources, Skill Texts, and Craft Guides from Sudama--those cute purple skull-wearing merchants you regularly encounter throughout Nioh 3's maps. Unfortunately, this currency can be hard to come by. If you want to know how to get more Yokai Teardrops, we'll give you some options below.

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• Where to get more Yokai Teardrops

Where to get more Yokai Teardrops

There are a handful of ways to get more Yokai Teardrops. Here are the methods we used to score enough to buy everything we needed from all of the Sudamas in the game.

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You'll spend most of your time in Nioh 3 navigating perilous environments and challenging enemies. You can tackle the game solo or with co-op friends (or strangers)--and if you opt for the latter, you may want to emote to show off or communicate things like your appreciation. That's where gestures come into play, allowing you to express yourself at any time with just a few button presses. But there are also other uses for gestures, with the most important being opening Nurikabe walls.

In this guide, we'll tell you how to use gestures in Nioh 3, how to get more of them, and how to make use of the ones you have to open Nurikabe walls you encounter throughout your adventure. When you're ready to start emoting, read on.

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• How to use emotes

How to use emotes

To emote in Nioh 3, you'll need to open a gestures menu and select the gesture you want to perform. To do this, hold R1 and then press Options on your DualSense controller. If you're using a mouse and keyboard, you can press the G key to open the menu.

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As with previous games in Team Ninja's tough-as-nails Soulslike franchise, Nioh 3 comes packing a lot of information to keep up with. One thing you'll definitely want to get a firm grasp on right away is how its various status effects work. While you can apply debuffs to enemies, they can apply them to you as well, potentially turning the tide of a fight before you can blink. We've got a list of all debuffs in Nioh 3 below, so that you can know how each of them will affect you in battle and get a plan together for dealing with them.

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• All debuffs in Nioh 3
  • Scorched
  All debuffs in Nioh 3

  Here are all of the debuffs you'll have to deal with in Nioh 3.

  Scorched

  When you're Scorched, your health will be reduced with each tick until the debuff wears off. Luckily, you can dodge rapidly multiple times in a row to rid yourself of this elemental debuff pretty quickly.

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Look, challenging bosses and exploration are great, but part of the fun in any Soulslike game is customizing your character, armor, and weapons to suit your preferred aesthetic. What's the point in slaying your foes if you don't look cool doing it, right? That's where Nioh 3's character creator and transmog (transmogrification) come into play, allowing you to change the appearance of your character and gear to ensure you're happy with your visual vibes. Below, we'll tell you where to access these features and how they work so that you don't have to spend another moment looking anything less than your best.

How to transmog and change your character's appearance in Nioh 3

To access the transmog and character creator features in Nioh 3, you'll need to visit the Eternal Rift. This is the game's main hub, where you'll frequently go to speak with characters or deal with weapon upgrades at the Blacksmith, so it's accessible early in your adventure after completing the first Crucible. To access the Eternal Rift at any point, simply open your map and press the left stick.

Once you arrive at the Eternal Rift, make your way to the northernmost building here. It's also easily identifiable by the large tree stump in the center of its bottom room.

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The Nioh franchise has long been among the most punishing yet rewarding entries in the Soulslike genre, and Nioh 3 doesn't mess too much with that formula. However, this new outing from developer Team Ninja does have some fresh tricks up its sleeves, such as an open field design and a less linear mission structure that provides players with substantially more freedom in how and when they tackle missions.

If you're interested in seeing what this third entry has to offer, you'll find a lengthy and difficult campaign ahead of you, as well as plenty of optional content to seek out that is all but certain to improve your chances of survival. Here's how long it takes to beat Nioh 3.

How long to beat Nioh 3

How long it takes to beat Nioh 3 will depend largely on how well you adapt to its frenetic combat and immensely demanding boss encounters. That being said, prioritizing the game's main content with the intent of simply reaching the credits should take an average of 30-40 hours for most players. Completionists, meanwhile, will be able to get even more from Nioh 3, as aiming to see everything the game has to offer can easily push the total playtime to 60-70 hours.

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Last month, Ubisoft announced significant cuts and the cancellation of six games, including the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake. At the time, there were no indications that Assassin's Creed franchise was in danger of losing any games in development, but a new report indicates that Assassin's Creed multiplayer game has now been canceled as well.

According to French gaming site Origami, the project in question was given the codename Assassin's Creed League, and it would have allowed up to four players to work together on assassinations. AC League reportedly grew out of DLC originally created for Assassin's Creed Shadows, and may have also been set in the same era of Japanese history.

The game was said to be in development at Ubisoft Annecy, the studio that created the multiplayer modes for Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed Unity, and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. Origami's report indicates that this cancellation is separate from the six titles that were swept away in January's cutbacks.

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All those steamy campfire scenes are about to get a whole lot hotter; According to Deadline, Baldur's Gate 3 is getting an HBO series. The show will reportedly take place after the game's events and is set to further expand its already robust-story. The Last of Us writer and director Craig Mazin is on board to create, write, produce, and showrun in what will be his second time adapting a critically acclaimed and seemingly universally beloved video game for television.

Seemingly not attached to the series, however, is Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian. Following the announcement, it was reported that Larian has no involvement in the series. One of the studio's developers took to X to write, "Imma bout to crash out on main," while another user asked, "How are they allowed to do this if y’all didn’t give them the permission?"

Set in the Dungeon and Dragons universe, Baldur's Gate 3 follows a ragtag group of adventures forced to band together on a quest to remove their brain worms. No, really, that's the plot. Naturally things escalate from there--gods and cosmic forces get involved, as they are wont to do--but it all comes back to worms. However, what truly sets the game apart--and led to it being our Game of the Year back in 2023--is its excellent cast, sense of freedom, branching story, and the unparalleled agency it gave its players; all of this makes it an interesting choice for a television adaptation that will presumably be linear and could feature different actors in place of player's beloved party members.

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Near the end of this month, Resident Evil Requiem is coming to Switch 2 and other platforms. But in today's Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase, we couldn't help but notice that fan-favorite Leon S. Kennedy was done dirty in Requiem preview. If Nintendo thought people wouldn't notice Leon wildly missing every shot, then it was greatly mistaken. Stormtroopers from the original Star Wars trilogy had better aim than Leon does in the video below.

Now, we can understand Grace Ashcroft missing every shot she took. She's the inexperienced one. But Leon suddenly looks like he needs Resident Evil 4's Ashley Graham to come back and save him, which would probably look a lot like this fan-made edit.

Nintendo may have nerfed Leon to keep the level of violence down in the Direct. Grace didn't get any successful shots off either. But that doesn't explain the crime against nature that Nintendo pulled with this Leon Amiibo design.

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Borderlands 4 players won't have to wait until March for the game's next story addition. Gearbox has announced that Borderlands 4's first premium paid content, Bounty Pack 2: Legend of the Stone Demon, will arrive on February 26.

Story details about Legend of the Stone Demon will be held under wraps until closer to its launch date. What we do know is that it will have a new mission with fresh Legendary loot to add to your collection. It also includes a themed Vault card with 24 cosmetics, and four rerollable pieces of gear that can be unlocked through gameplay.

As part of a separate update arriving near the launch of Bounty Pack 2, Borderlands 4 players will gain access to Pearlescent gear, a new tier that's even more powerful than Legendary gear. A handful of Pearlescent gear pieces will be exclusive to players who own Bounty Pack 2.

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As revealed during the latest Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, Bethesda and MachineGames' Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to Switch 2. Unlike some other big releases, Indiana Jones will not be on a Game-Key Card. Bethesda has confirmed that the game will be released on a cartridge. However, some of Bethesda's other games will not be getting true physical releases on Switch 2.

And yes, the game is on Game Card.#IndianaJones https://t.co/jJ0cTDKLLL

— Bethesda (@bethesda) February 5, 2026

It sounds like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was a tight fit for Switch 2's cartridges, because certain things like the Polish-language version will need to be downloaded separately. Players who preorder the Switch 2 version will get The Last Crusade pack, which includes Indy's Traveling Suit outfit and his lion tamer whip, as seen in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The Switch 2 version doesn't include the DLC expansion, Indiana Jones and the Order of Giants. That standalone adventure brings Indy back to Rome, where he teams up with Father Ricci while following the history of Emperor Nero, the Cult of Mithras, and a hidden treasure that has a dark secret.

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Xbox is gearing up for a busy 2026, as a new report states Gears of War: E-Day is planned for a fall launch--as is Fable--with both games trying to avoid Grand Theft Auto VI.

The Verge reports that there is a concerted effort within Microsoft to release its "four horseman" within 2026, with each one representing a franchise that has been a driving force for the Xbox brand in the past. While a recent Xbox Developer Direct provided new looks at Forza Horizon 6 and Fable, Microsoft has yet to showcase Gears of War: E-Day meaningfully since its reveal in June 2024.

Currently, Forza Horizon 6 is expected to release in May, while Fable has been given a Fall release window later into 2026. The report states that Microsoft is aiming to have Gears of War: E-Day launch in the same fall timeframe, while Halo: Campaign Evolved, which will bring the shooter franchise to PlayStation for the first time, is being prepared for a summer launch. Microsoft is reportedly aiming to avoid Grand Theft Auto VI's release in November as much as possible, which could affect the exact release dates for both Gears of War and Fable.

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If you're disappointed that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's recently announced Nintendo Switch 2 port only has a vague 2026 release window, then you'll be happy to hear a great indie alternative is coming to Switch 2 this spring.

I'm referring to Dread Delusion, a psychedelic RPG inspired by classic The Elder Scrolls games like Morrowind that was previously only available on PC. Today, developer Lovely Hellspace and publisher DreadXP announced that Dread Delusion is getting console ports this spring.

While it'll also be on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, the Switch 2 version is the most exciting in the wake of Oblivion Remastered's announcement. It'll also be publisher DreadXP's first release on Nintendo's latest console.

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Switch 2)

$70 | Releases May 12, 2026

Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Walmart Preorder at GameStop

Announced during today's Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on May 12, following the PlayStation 5 release from April of last year. Surprisingly, the Switch 2 physical edition comes with the full game data on the cartridge. It's notable that such a large third-party release is launching in this format--especially considering other upcoming Switch 2 versions of Bethesda games like Skyrim: Anniversary Edition and Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition are just codes in a box, and most other third-party releases tend to be Game Key-Cards. You can preorder Bethesda and Machine Games' first-person adventure for $70 at Best Buy, Walmart, and GameStop.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Preorder Bonuses

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As Ubisoft undergoes a massive shakeup that's impacting the well-being of its employees, the company's staff has said that a recent internal town hall meeting didn't assuage concerns about their futures.

Ubisoft held an internal town hall meeting on February 4. According to a recording of the town hall sent to Insider Gaming and a dozen anonymous employees who spoke to the outlet, employee morale is sinking. They said that the meeting was "an expert class" in dodging questions as executives opted to sidestep inquiries and recycle statements around three key issues: the return-to-office mandate, headcount reduction intentions, and the five creative houses' creation.

Speaking on the return-to-office mandate, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reiterated that the decision was to improve employee morale and team collaboration.

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