In the wake of EA's announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet the company's expectations, BioWare has announced that it is "changing how we build games" in an effort to hold the company to "the highest quality standards."

In a blog post, BioWare GM Gary McKay said "a core team" at BioWare is making the next Mass Effect, while other team members are departing. McKay said BioWare has "worked diligently" in the past months to find new positions for BioWare staffers at other internal EA teams. Whether or not there were layoffs connected to these changes, however, is unknown. The Veilguard game director Corinne Busch has left BioWare.

"In keeping with our fierce commitment to innovating during the development and delivery of Mass Effect, we have challenged ourselves to think deeply about delivering the best experience to our fans. We are taking this opportunity between full development cycles to reimagine how we work at BioWare," McKay said.

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Tamagotchi Nano x Star Wars: Darth Vader

$30 | Releases March 11

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Tamagotchi normally task you with raising a cute alien creature from egg to adult, giving you a fun virtual pet to dote over as you watch it grow. That’s not quite the case for an upcoming release, however, as it asks you to explore the Dark Side. The Tamagotchi Nano x Star Wars: Darth Vader sees you following Anakin on his journey to become Darth Vader, with your interactions determining how exactly his story unfolds. The new model also comes with a silicone case modeled after Darth Vader's helmet. You can preorder the Darth Vader Tamagotchi for $30 at Amazon ahead of its March 11 release.

Preordering from Amazon locks in their preorder price guarantee, so if the item gets a price cut between now and launch, you’ll pay the lower price. You also won’t be charged until the item ships.

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Diablo 4 is celebrating the year of the snake with the return of its Lunar Awakening event, and it's making the event even more rewarding than last time around.

As detailed by Blizzard, the Lunar Awakening event will be live February 4-18 for both the game's Eternal and Seasonal realms. Like last year's event, Lunar Awakening replaces all of the game's shrines with special Lunar Shrines. These shrines function much the same as their normal counterparts, only with even more powerful effects in addition to their usual ones. Lunar Artillery Shrines, for example, have a chance to blast enemies with a holy bomb in addition to piercing enemies with holy arrows as usual. Whereas Greed shrines typically just grant players more gold for killing monsters, the Lunar Greed Shrine actually makes it so every kill also has a chance to summon a Treasure Goblin.

Players can earn free cosmetics by slaying monsters while under the effects of a Lunar Shrine during the event.

The Lunar Shrine bonus effects are the same as they were during 2024's event, but what is different this time is the amount of bonus XP players gain while under the effects of a shrine. For this year's version, players will enjoy a 100%, multiplicative experience bonus for the duration of the shrine's effects, up from 50% last year. That will make leveling a new character or earning endgame Paragon points even faster (and it's already pretty darn fast to begin with).

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Dead Space has seen a number of spin-off novels and comics, but most of them have been out of print for years. It was announced in 2024 that reprints would be arriving soon--and we’re quickly approaching their arrival. Dead Space Vol. 1 releases on March 11, marking its first reprint since 2013. The second graphic novel will then roll out in June, followed by volume three in October.

Along with the comics, two Dead Space prequel novels--Dead Space: Martyr and Dead Space: Catalyst--are also getting reprints this year, making 2025 jam-packed with Dead Space content. You can read more about all the upcoming Dead Space books and graphic novels below, along with links to preorder. Note that reserving preorders through Amazon means you won’t pay until the items ship. If prices drop between now and release, you’ll also only be on the hook for the lower price.

Dead Space Vol. 1 $18 | Releases March 11

The first graphic novel in the series follows P-SEC Sgt. Abraham Neumann as he fends off reanimated corpses and tries to survive an onslaught of attackers. Discussing the Church of Unitology, Markers, and other lore from the Dead Space world, the 192-page graphic novel is an incredible way to dive deeper into its haunting universe.

Preorder at Amazon Dead Space Vol. 2: Salvage $18 | Releases June 10

Jump into the USG Ishimura as you follow a group of scavengers who stumble upon a literal army of Necromorphs as they’re looting the ship. The scavengers, known as The Magpies, must then decide if they’ll fight back against the horde or grab what they can and escape with their life.

Preorder at Amazon Dead Space Vol. 3: Liberation $18 | Releases October 14

Arriving just in time for Halloween, the third installment in the Dead Space graphic novel focuses on the planet Uxor and Sergeant John Carver. Religious fanatics are determined to attack the alien Marker site where Carver’s wife is working--and he’ll set out to not just save his wife, but also unravel a darker secret about the Markers and their religious zealots.

Preorder at Amazon Dead Space: Martyr $19 | Releases April 22

This 432-page paperback lets you discover the birth of Unitology--a religion founded in 2215 that believes humans were created by an intelligent alien species. Written by award-winning novelist Brian Evenson, it serves as a prequel to Dead Space and helps lay the foundation for the iconic games.

Preorder at Amazon Dead Space: Catalyst $19 | Releases May 13

Catalyst arrives a few weeks after the launch of Martyr, and it explores the lore of the Markers from Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. Capable of reanimating corpses into terrifying creatures, they play a crucial role in Dead Space lore. You’ll also follow two brothers--Istvan and Jensi. Istvan is sent off to a high-security prison, and Jensi attempts to follow him to the new location to keep him safe. Along the way, however, he discovers that the guards are hiding a terrible secret that could change how they view the world.

Preorder at Amazon The Art of Dead Space $45 (was $50)

While Dead Space fans have plenty to look forward to thanks to these new books and graphic novels, for those looking for something to bide the time before their arrival, there's The Art of Dead Space, which just released this week yet is already seeing a slight discount to $45 (normally $50). The hardcover 224-page art book details the art and development of 2023's Dead Space remake.

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Fans of CD Projket Red's The Witcher franchise can add another book to their collection soon, as a new hardcover volume celebrating the artwork of Gwent is now available to preorder ahead of its July release. Like the first book, Gwent: Art of the Witcher Card Game Volume 2 will be published by Dark Horse and it contains hundreds of pieces of art from the Witcher card game. Priced at $50, this 248-page book covers eight of Gwent's expansions and is loaded with quotes and captions from CDPR's developers and artists.

Gwent: Art of The Witcher Card Game Volume 2 Preorder at Amazon

That approach will give you plenty of insight into how Gwent's elegant cards were made, and Dark Horse says the book is a celebration of the card game. CDPR began scaling down on Gwent last year, eventually sunsetting the game at the end of 2024 and shifting to something called Project Gwentfinity. The developers of the upcoming Witcher 4 game have also teased Gwent possibly appearing in the sequel.

The card game was fairly popular when it was first introduced in The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, and it wasn't long before it was spun off into a standalone game that was formally launched in 2018. In case you missed it, you can also pick up the first Gwent hardcover art book, as it's on sale for $40 currently through Barnes & Noble.

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PlayStation has revealed this month's batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. All PS Plus members will be able to claim a trio of freebies starting February 4--Payday 3, High on Life, and Pac-Man World: Re-Pac. If you haven't claimed January's PlayStation Plus free games yet, make sure to do so before next Tuesday.

Sony also mentioned that it will focus more on offering PS5 titles through the monthly games and Game Catalog benefit starting January 2026. While PS4 owners may still receive free games as part of the subscription, Sony says these will only be occasionally handed out from next year.

Payday 3

It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for Payday 3, which was supposed to kick off the next era of the popular bank-heist-simulator series. While the core game isn't bad, numerous server issues and low player numbers made for a rough launch, but developer Starbreeze hasn't thrown in the towel on Payday 3. yet. As part of an effort titled Operation Medic Bag, Starbreeze has been steadily improving on the game with several patches and an offline mode.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continues to succeed at the box office, and it's now become actor Jim Carrey's No. 2 movie of all time based on global performance at the box office.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has now brought in $446.7 million globally, which is only behind 2003's Bruce Almighty ($484.6 million) in terms of Carrey's best-performing movies of all time (via Cartoon Base).

Some of Carrey's other top-performing movies have included The Mask ($351.6 million), How the Grinch Stole Christmas ($347.2 million), and Batman Forever ($336.6 million). These numbers are not adjusted for inflation.

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The Mass Effect series is an epic sci-fi universe that can’t be contained to just video games. Some of the best expanded universe stories take place in the Mass Effect comics that cover everything from the interstellar wars that predate the video games, to continued backstories of recognizable characters like Garrus, Tali’Zorah, and Wrex. Thankfully, Mass Effect: The Complete Comics Omnibus pulls together every Mass Effect comic from every series into a single 800-page volume, and right now, you’ll find it on sale for just $27 (normally $40), which os one of the lowest prices we’ve ever seen.

Mass Effect: The Complete Comics Omnibus $27 (was $40)

This 800-page paperback collection includes every volume from every series. Some stories found within include Liara's mission to recover Commander Shepard’s body from the Shadow Broker before the events of Mass Effect 2; the origins of the Illusive Man; and Aria's showdown with Cerberus forces from space station Omega. There’s a wealth of content packed into its pages--here’s a closer look at what’s inside:

• Mass Effect: Redemption #1-4
• Mass Effect: Evolution #1-4
• Mass Effect: Invasion #1-4
• Mass Effect: Homeworlds #1-4
• Mass Effect: Foundation #1-13
• Mass Effect: Discovery #1-4

Mass Effect Comics Omnibus was available for $26.40 back in 2023, though its price jumped back to $40 in early 2024. Since then, this is the best price we’ve seen for the collection. So if you’re interested in learning more about the best characters in the Mass Effect universe, now is a great time to dive in.

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Looking to pick up a few other Mass Effect books? Below you’ll find a variety of novels, encyclopedias, and other collectibles based on the Mass Effect universe. Many of these are also on sale, so consider loading up your library while everything is cheap. For something that’ll keep you busy for a while, check out the Mass Effect novel series. Spanning four books and available in either paperback or mass market paperback, they grant you a deeper look into the fascinating lore surrounding the sci-fi RPG.

Additionally, you can pick up the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition for just $6 (was $60) on Steam, giving you an affordable way to play through the entire trilogy and its 40+ DLC packs. You can also pick up the fourth game in the series, Mass Effect: Andromeda, for just $6 (was $40) on Steam. This game follows a group of intergalactic explorers who have left behind the Milky Way Galaxy of the main trilogy to establish colonies in the Andromeda Galaxy.

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Sony has announced a key change for the future of PlayStation Plus. Sony will shift away from offering PS4 games as it looks to focus on PS5 games instead. Sony said it's making this change as part of the evolution of PS Plus overall. This isn't starting soon, though, and will begin in January 2026.

"As we shift to PS5, PS4 games will no longer be a key benefit and will only be occasionally offered for PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalog starting January 2026. We may still provide titles that can be playable on both PS4 and PS5 consoles after this date," Sony said.

PS4 games that players have already redeemed from PS Plus are not affected, provided players stay subscribed to PlayStation Plus. "For Game Catalog, PS4 games will still be available to play until it leaves the catalog as part of our monthly refresh," Sony said.

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When it comes to court battles, very few individuals would want to be on the opposite side of Nintendo. The video game company famously defeated Universal Pictures in a Donkey Kong-related case four decades ago, and it's rarely lost a high-profile case. But now, there's at least one man who can claim a legal victory over Nintendo: Don Mario. Well, sort of.

As reported by Eurogamer, Don Mario is the owner of Super Mario, a local supermarket in San Ramón, Costa Rica. Nintendo seemingly left the Super Mario shop alone for years, and only opposed the store's name when Don Mario had to renew the trademark with Costa Rica's trademark authority, the National Register. Apparently, one of the reasons why Don Mario--and his son, Charlito--emerged victorious is that supermarkets are among the few Super Mario trademarks that Nintendo never bothered to register.

"Thank you enormously to my legal advisor and accountant José Edgardo Jimenez Blanco who took care of the registration and the subsequent fight for the right to a trademark," wrote Charlito Mario on Facebook. "For a moment, we thought about throwing in the towel. How were we going to win the [fight against] such a commercial monster? ... Well... Edgardo and I stood firm and a few days ago we received the good news. Super Mario is here to stay."

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Nintendo is holding the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience beginning in April, where people can get hands-on time with the upcoming system. Fans were required to register for tickets and participants were randomly selected. Now that the tickets went out earlier this week, some winners have been putting them up for sale on eBay.

The issue is that these tickets are non-transferable, meaning that whoever buys it from the reseller won't be able to get into the event. On Nintendo's FAQ page, one of the questions was whether the ticket can be given to someone else, and the answer clearly states, "No--event tickets are non-transferrable and one-time use only."

One supposed ticket for the event in Milan was put up for sale, but the listing is no longer there. There's another listing for a Dallas ticket, which is starting at a bid of $40, but has since also been taken down. Some are going for as high as $300, such as a listing for the event in New York.

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There's something sus going on in Sega's Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, as Among Us has infiltrated the game as part of a new DLC pack. Priced at $5, this pack will make you question if it's a monkey or an imposter disguised as the red crewmate while rolling around in an orb on a dangerously curvy track.

If that sounds like a fun time to you, the good news is that the Legendary Banana Edition of the Switch-exclusive game is on sale right now. Normally $50, you can pick it up for $25 through Walmart and Amazon, and it comes with a reversible cover, a 40-page booklet, and an exclusive banana suit cosmetic.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble Legendary Banana Edition

• Amazon
• Walmart

Like the previous games in the series developed by Yakuza's Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, you'll need to maneuver your little simian pal across multiple courses that are full of various obstacles. You only have a minute to clear each track and you can test yourself by taking on speedrunning challenges. You can also take on all 200 stages in split-screen local multiplayer or online co-op, and there are five different competitive multiplayer formats for up to 16 players.

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PlayStation announced that it will be offering some in-game rewards for those who play its games on PC while logged in to a PSN account. PlayStation also clarified that a PSN account will become optional for select titles on PC, which is a change from previous mandatory PSN account requirements on PC.

It's starting with Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which is set to launch tomorrow on PC. Those who sign in with a PSN account will receive an early unlock for the Spider-Man 2099 Black and Miles Morales 2099 suits.

For The Last of Us Part II Remastered, players will receive 50 points to activate bonus features and unlock extras, as well as a skin for Ellie modeled after Jordan's Jacket from Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which is Naughty Dog's next game. The Last of Us Part II Remastered launches on April 3 for PC.

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At the end of 2024, Microsoft's Age of Empires team announced new DLC for Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition, but the studio has now canceled the expansion, saying the announcement itself was "premature."

In a blog post (via PC Gamer), the developer said it canceled the DLC "after serious consideration," going on to assure fans the decision "was not made lightly."

Explaining what happened in the first place, Microsoft said it announced the DLC too early, "before it had been built." Looking back on this, the team said, "We now feel that announcement was premature."

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We've all participated in some form of online trash talk at some point in our lives. UFC fighter Brian Ortega, whose professional record is currently 16-4, was on the receiving end of some serious berating during a Fortnite game and decided to do something about it.

Ortega posted a video on his social media where he had a light-hearted confrontation with a young fan named Emi. Ortega flew from Los Angeles to North Carolina to exact his revenge in a way that might have Emi thinking differently about who he talks trash to online, as the former champion planted him in a rear naked choke and put him to sleep momentarily.

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A post shared by Brian Ortega (@briantcity)

"A lot of people ask me, 'Hey, play with me on Fortnite!' Cool, cool. Only problem is, you guys be talking mad you-know-what," Ortega said. "So I had a homie, an online homie, start talking mad smack. The real reason why I flew to North Carolina is because he was talking shit, we made a bet. I said, 'Bro, I’ll fly over there and choke you out.' Here he is. I showed up."

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It might be hard to wrap your head around this, but No Man's Sky is getting billions--yes, with an "S"--of new star systems and planets with the Worlds Part 2 update. That's not all, either. Hello Games is also promising the introduction of fresh biomes, flora, and an updated terrain system with deep oceans.

On the PlayStation Blog, Hello Games founder Sean Murray detailed what's new with Worlds Part 2, calling it "one of our biggest updates." Murray noted that your home base isn't going anywhere, but now there is more to see and do out in space. For instance, No Man's Sky players can now come across Gas Giants. "These huge worlds can be 10 times bigger than any other planet you have explored previously," Murray wrote. "Gas Giants and deep oceans both require high-level technology to explore. Gas storms, deep-sea pressure, and anomalies bring new hazards and challenges to No Man's Sky."

In addition, Murray highlights that Hello Games has reworked the game's lighting system and improved water gameplay for the new deep oceans. Intriguingly, these upgrades are a result from the team's work on Light No Fire, according to Murray. That's the next game from Hello Games, which is an open-world fantasy title featuring dragons.

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Capcom's first two Dino Crisis games are now available on PC via GOG, and these new versions come with several enhancements. Each Dino Crisis game is priced at $10, but there is a bundle deal available that gets you both of them for $17. Like other games offered through GOG, these are also DRM-free versions of the cult-classic survival-action titles.

• Dino Crisis -- $10
• Dino Crisis 2 -- $10
• Dino Crisis Bundle -- $17

As for the improvements, Dino Crisis 1 and 2 are now fully compatible with Windows 10 and 11, feature new rendering options, and several game-breaking bugs have been fixed. Here's the full list of enhancements for each one:

Dino Crisis

• Full Windows 10 and Windows 11 compatibility
• English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese language localizations
• Original, Arrange, and Operation Wipe Out modes included
• Improved DirectX game-renderer
• New rendering options--Windowed Mode, Vertical Synchronization Control, Gamma Correction, Integer Scaling, Anti-Aliasing, and more
• Increased rendering resolution to approximately 4K (1920p) and color depth to 32-bit
• Improved geometry calculation with more stable transformation and texturing
• Enhanced alpha transparency
• Improved game registry settings
• Smooth animation, video, and music playback without issues
• Reliable saving system (the game no longer corrupts save files after leaving dropped weapons)
• Full support for modern controllers
• Validated stability
• Cloud saves support

Dino Crisis 2

• Full Windows 10 and Windows 11 compatibility
• English and Japanese language localizations
• Easy difficulty, Dino Colosseum, and Dino Duel included
• Improved DirectX game-renderer
• New rendering options--Windowed Mode, Vertical Synchronization Control, Gamma Correction, Integer Scaling, Anti-Aliasing, and more
• Improved music playback and volume scaling
• Enhanced item-rendering and fogging
• Improved cartridge boxes alignment
• Smooth video playback, task-switching, and game exit
• Full support for modern controllers with optimal button-mapping for both wired and wireless modes
• Validated stability
• Cloud saves support

The first Dino Crisis game was released in 1999 for the PlayStation, and with Shinji Mikami as game director, there was quite a bit of Resident Evil DNA in its design. The franchise expanded with two sequels and a lightgun spin-off, but since then, it has been in hibernation.

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In the distant past of the '90s and early 2000s, live-action video game advertisements were fairly commonplace on TV. Nintendo was especially fond of this approach, leading to the following mini-masterpiece for the platformer Banjo-Kazooie:

You probably have a lot of questions regarding that commercial, but we can answer one of them: Yes, practical effects were used in that advert in the form of an animatronic Kazooie, and believe it or not, it still exists. It was recently acquired by a Banjo-Kazooie fan, who posted about their success in a Facebook group for Banjo fans.

Image credit: Banjo-Kazooie Jiggyposting

As spotted by GamesRadar, the animatronic puppet went on auction in December 2024, with the listing for it revealing some interesting details, like its final price of $2,100. For something that barely appears in the TV advert, there's an impressive amount of detail in this puppet--which looks like a Five Nights at Freddy's character--as it has a full spread of feathers, working animatronic parts, and was the work of AnimatedFX. The company has worked on several Hollywood productions like the Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas classic Jingle All The Way and Team America: World Police.

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Sony Interactive Entertainment is switching from the co-CEO system--currently occupied by Hideaki Nishino and Hermen Hulst--to just one person in charge. Nishino has been promoted to sole CEO of SIE and will step into this role starting April 1, 2025. Hulst will continue to serve as CEO of the Studio Business Group, reporting directly to Nishino.

"It has been a pleasure working more closely with Hermen and Nishino and gaining insight into the ever-changing, fast-paced world of Sony Interactive Entertainment," CFO Hiroki Totoki said in a press statement. "As we hand the baton to Nishino and this exceptional leadership team, I am confident that SIE will reach new heights in the days ahead."

Nishino and Hulst originally stepped into their co-CEO roles in 2024, taking over from outgoing CEO Jim Ryan. In a statement, Nishino said that Sony plans to grow the PlayStation community in new ways such as IP expansion and technology innovation.

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Microsoft was apparently the number-one video game publisher in December 2024, despite struggling to sell Xbox hardware. Its success here is attributed to Call of Duty, according to global data. To be clear, this data applies to Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. As such, it does not paint a full or complete picture, as Microsoft also owns and operates mobile gaming titles like Candy Crush and Call of Duty: Mobile.

According to data firm Ampere (via VGC), Call of Duty HQ--which comprises Black Ops 6, Warzone, and other COD games--drew in 38 monthly users in November 2024, and 64% of consumer spending on Microsoft titles in December was through PlayStation, mostly on Call of Duty. Microsoft's position as the top publisher in 2024 also included sales of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which was released in December.

Ampere also noted that Electronic Arts generated $366 million over the same period, putting it second to Microsoft. EA Sports FC 25 was the biggest driver for EA's success, although it still underperformed according to EA's internal expectations. Chinese publishers like NetEase and Tencent pulled in impressive numbers as well. Ampere estimated that Marvel Rivals brought in 29 million monthly active users and Path of Exile 2 generated $148 million.

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