HBO's The Last of Us will soon return for its second season as the live-action show begins adapting The Last of Us Part II. And while the upcoming season will introduce the major characters from that sequel, it will also feature the debut of a character who was only mentioned in the game.

"There is a pretty prominent character that is talked a lot about in the game, similar to what we did with Frank [Murray Bartlett] in season 1, that is in this season," said showrunner and Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann during a feature interview with EW. "There's a very, very cool casting that I hope we can talk about soon."

Druckmann and his co-showrunner Craig Mazin didn't share any additional details about the mystery character or who would play them. They did, however, explain why the show's depiction of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) won't be as overtly muscular as her in-game counterpart. The showrunners also teased some non-linear storytelling in the second season.

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Grand Theft Auto V actor Ned Luke, who played Michael in the incredibly popular game, has spoken out about his thoughts on Grand Theft Auto VI. He said in an interview with Fall Damage (via Dexerto) that he's confident the game will be "fantastic," going on to say no one ever knows what to expect from Rockstar Games, and that's part of the reason why he's so eager to see what the studio is cooking up.

"You never know what Rockstar is going to do," he said. "What I tell people is, be patient. It's going to be worth the wait. From what I've seen, it's going to be amazing. They're going to blow our [GTA V] numbers away."

By "numbers," Luke was referring to the $800 million that GTA V earned in its first 24 hours back in 2013. Luke said he expects GTA VI to make $1.3 billion in its first day.

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Kaitlyn Dever joins the cast for HBO's The Last of Us Season 2, stepping into the role of Abby. In the video game, Abby has big muscles, but in the show, she won't. Showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have now explained why they wanted to go this way for the TV show adaptation.

Druckmann told Entertainment Weekly that part of it came down simply to casting. "We would've struggled to find someone as good as Kaitlyn to play this role," he said. He also pointed out how the game and the TV show were never aiming to offer the same kind of experience.

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The ending of Fallout Season 1 hinted that the story for Season 2 would revisit New Vegas, the bombed-out remains of Las Vegas from Fallout: New Vegas. Now, a new leaked set photo from Season 2 has revealed a recreation of one of the tourist traps from New Vegas.

Via Eurogamer, a user on Reddit shared a picture of Dinky the T-Rex, a fabricated dinosaur that survived the post-apocalypse on top of a rinky-dink desert hotel on the outskirts of New Vegas. But in keeping with the dangerous times, the hotel itself has been upgraded with fortifications to protect its residents, and there was even a sniper's nest in Dinky's mouth for defense against any attacks.

Story details about Season 2 have yet to be disclosed, but it seems likely that Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and her new ally, the Ghoul (Walton Goggins), will pursue Lucy's estranged father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), to New Vegas. Kumail Nanjiani is potentially joining the cast, but that has yet to be confirmed.

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Trigun Deluxe Edition

$25 (was $50)

See at Amazon

Trigun Maximum: Deluxe Editions Volume 1-5

Save up to 40%

See Trigun Maximum Vol. 1-5 at Amazon

Trigun fans can pick up the recently released hardcover Deluxe Edition of the original manga for the best price yet. Published last September by Dark Horse Manga, Trigun Deluxe Edition carries a $50 MSRP, but Amazon has a limited-time deal that drops the price to only $25. This 50%-off deal probably won't be available for long. And while you're checking it out, make sure to take a look at the ongoing series of Trigun Maximum Deluxe Editions, which are also available for great prices.

Compared to the typical paperback version, Trigun's Deluxe Editions are printed in an oversized hardcover format with foil-stamped and burnished leather covers. These weighty tomes also come with built-in ribbon bookmarks.

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Pump the brakes on expectations for a new Need for Speed anytime soon. That's because Criterion, the developer behind the racing series, is all in on supporting the next Battlefield experience currently. But EA is promising that Need for Speed will return eventually.

Eurogamer spoke with Battlefield boss Vince Zampella about Criterion, which now sits under the Battlefield Studios banner. Of course, that sort of change--with Criterion supporting the single-player experience for the next Battlefield--brings up questions about whether the developer might only be focused on the shooter series going forward.

"The Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield," said Zampella. "As a company, it was important to us to take the last year to listen to our Need for Speed community and use their feedback to create content for Unbound. With an increased understanding of what our players want in a Need for Speed experience, we plan to bring the franchise back in new and interesting ways."

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With tariffs by the US set to take effect on Tuesday, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) expressed concern about how they may affect the video game industry. In a statement on its website, the ESA warned that import taxes on gaming devices would "negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans."

The ESA, the trade association representing most of the major publishers in gaming, said that tariffs would "harm the [game] industry’s significant contributions to the US economy." The ESA ended the statement by saying it was looking forward to "working with the [Trump] Administration and Congress to find ways to sustain the economic growth" supported by the game industry. According to the ESA, total video game sales in the US reached $58.7 billion in 2024.

The US government is set to enact import taxes on Canada and China at 12 AM ET on February 4. Canada faces a 25% tariff on products imported to the US, while China, where technology products, including video game consoles, are manufactured, is looking at a 10% tariff. The Trump administration initially targeted Mexico, a hotspot for video game disc production, with a 25% import tax, but Trump agreed on Tuesday to halt planned tariffs on Mexico for a month. All three countries have announced their own countermeasures, including retaliatory tariffs against the US.

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Moana 2 Limited Edition Steelbook on 4K Blu-ray

$66 | Releases March 18

Preorder at Walmart

Moana 2 hit theaters last November, earning generally positive reviews from critics. The film is now gearing up to arrive in home theaters, with the Moana 2 Limited Edition Steelbook on 4K Blu-ray officially up for preorder. It’s set to arrive on March 18--and since we’ve already seen preorders go out of stock once, it could be tricky to get your hands on the premium bundle at launch.

Preordering from Walmart locks in a preorder price guarantee, so if the price happens to drop between now and March 18, you’ll pay the lower price. We'll update this story when Amazon unlocks preorders.

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EA has given us our first look at gameplay from the next entry in the long-running Battlefield series.

This gameplay footage came at the end of the Introducing Battlefield Labs video released by EA on Monday morning. That video outlines how DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect, and Motive are all working together on the next Battlefield and plan on heavily emphasizing player testing throughout the rest of the competitive first-person shooter's development. At the end, we see a sizzle reel of pre-alpha gameplay.

There's a lot that can be learned from the seven clips shown. We see a large squad of soldiers fighting in various parts of the city. The gameplay looks fairly similar to the more grounded games in the series, like Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. We see buildings constantly collapsing around players during this shootout, and the final gameplay clip of the video shows a player shooting a building with an explosive weapon and watching it collapse.

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There's a tavern in the town of Troskowitz where the barmaids must be sick at the sight of me. I've been there twice, and both times been involved in messy brawls despite not tasting a lick of alcohol. The second of these fisticuffs was against a small group of Cuman deserters. They seemed nice enough, but I was still wary considering the Cumans are who killed my parents a few months back. I wasn't the only one, and after failing to ease the growing tension, I decided to side with the local townspeople when push came to shove.

Needless to say, we didn't put up much of a fight. Once the Cumans left, one of the locals implored me to track them down and deal with them once and for all. After eventually tracking them down, the sole Czech-speaking Cuman was so welcoming that I ended up getting drunk with them. I got so inebriated, in fact, that my night revolved around almost drowning, playing matchmaker for one of the soldiers, and then having a conversation with a talking dog that definitely wasn't real. This night of revelry would've been fine on any other evening, but I promised two new acquaintances that I'd be up bright and early to join them on a critical mission. Even after sleeping for seven hours, I was still completely plastered when I arose from my stupor. And let me tell you, fighting bandits with blurred vision, a swaying body, and a soundtrack of frequent farting isn't ideal.

To some, this last part might sound utterly infuriating. To me, and others like me, this is part of what makes Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 utterly enticing. This is a game that sings when you're swept up in an entertaining series of events ignited by the consequences of your actions; where the game's quest design and emphasis on player choice wonderfully intertwine with its systems-driven sandbox to create a wholly immersive experience. While its 2018 predecessor was often disrupted by technical issues--which were further exacerbated by a frustrating save system--and clunky combat, Kingdom Come 2 refines and improves upon it in every respect. The obtuse nature of some of its RPG systems still won't click for everybody, but this is a confident sequel that builds on the foundations established by the original game, presenting a rich and sprawling adventure that effortlessly oscillates between medieval drama and slice-of-life hijinks in a world that feels distinctly alive.

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Civilization VII reviews have gone live, and the new entry in the series is proving to be quite divisive with critics. A 4X turn-based strategy game, Civilization VII offers a familiar foundation for returning players, as you'll pick an influential leader from human history, expand an empire through various eras, and aim to reach multiple societal milestones along the way.

The difference here is that developer Firaxis shakes up that formula with big changes, with these tweaks ranging from impactful to possibly controversial for veterans of the series. It's also worth noting that all of these reviews were done on PC, the platform that's generally considered to be the best for traditional 4X strategy games like this. The game is also coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Switch, so it remains to be seen how well the experience translates to consoles.

"For Civilization VII, Firaxis has made some sweeping changes, most notably with how you progress through each historical period," Jason Rodriguez noted in GameSpot's Civilization VII review. "Several of these new features are welcome, given that they address concerns from previous titles while also making campaigns more dynamic. However, a few design decisions are bound to be contentious, especially for longtime fans, since these mechanics tend to impact the player's control over certain outcomes."

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Following the announcement that the fighting game MultiVersus is shutting down this May, Player First Games studio boss and game director Tony Huynh has released a statement reflecting on the announcement in which he also spoke out against those who are issuing violent threats against the game's developers.

Huynh said fans are entitled to speak their minds and share opinions on MultiVersus, but there is a limit. "When there are threats to harm it's crossing the line. I hope that you can take a step back and realize that this is an extremely sad time for the team," Huynh said. "I am in deep mourning for the game. Nobody wanted this outcome and it wasn't from lack of caring or effort."

The developer added, "While I'm sad about the outcome, I will forever be grateful for the opportunity given to us by Warner Bros. Games and to each and every developer on the Player First Games and WB Games teams." Hunyh also thanked every IP holder for entrusting the studio with their respective franchises and characters.

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Project G.G., touted as "the powerful climax to the Hideki Kamiya superhero trilogy," might be canned. Over the weekend, Platinum Games apparently scrubbed its website, in the process removing any mention of over 10 games the studio had worked on or were developing--including Project G.G.

VGC reports that links to previous Platinum titles like Babylon's Fall and Madworld still work, but Project G.G.'s page just goes to the general Platinum website. Additionally, a blog post for Project G.G. fails to even open. There hasn't been any official update about the status of the game.

In early 2020, Platinum revealed Project G.G. as the first game to be both developed and published by the company. The title was inspired by Ultraman and showed a character enlarging themselves to fight against a Godzilla-like monster, also commonly referred to as a kaiju. "We'll be taking on new risks that we've never had to assume before as a contracted developer," said Kamiya at the time.

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Electronic Arts and DICE have announced Battlefield Labs, a new community test program for the next Battlefield game that aims to help make the new game the best it can be. EA is rolling out this program in the wake of the poor reception to Battlefield 2042, which launched in a rough state back in 2021.

EA also announced Battlefield Studios, which is the new banner under which four studios will make "the future of Battlefield." These development teams include DICE, Ripple Effect, Criterion, and Motive. DICE is working on multiplayer, Motive is developing single-player content (and multiplayer maps), Ripple Effect is making an unannounced new Battlefield experience, and Criterion is a partner studio supporting single-player, EA said in the video below. The first gameplay footage for the new Battlefield game was also released in the video and can be see--albeit briefly and in pre-alpha form--at the end of the video.

Anyone can sign up for Battlefield Labs, but DICE said only a select number of players will be admitted, and the test itself is only open to people in North America and Europe to begin with. More territories will be added later as the test environment expands. Only a "few thousand" people will get in to the test, EA said, and it will comprise both Battlefield veterans and newcomers alike. Eventually, EA will ramp up the test to include "tens of thousands" of people.

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Sony is reportedly airing its next PlayStation State of Play presentation sometime this month, possibly during the week of Valentine's Day.

This comes from industry insider NateTheHate2, who previously and correctly reported when the Nintendo Switch 2 was going to be revealed. When asked about when the next State of Play presentation would air, NateTheHate2 answered, "What does your heart tell you?" The heart reference might be hinting to Valentine's Day.

As for what PlayStation could show off in a new State of Play, Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei are slated to launch this year. Insomniac Games recently went through a management shakeup but has yet to reveal a release date for Marvel's Wolverine.

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Soon after EA's announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet the company's expectations, BioWare staffers revealed that they were laid off, in addition to those moved to other parts of the company. A recent report states that with the collective firings, it leaves BioWare with fewer than 100 staff members remaining.

The reason given by BioWare GM Gary McKay was taking the time to "reimagine" what the studio will look like going forward as a "more agile, focused studio that produces unforgettable RPGs." Bloomberg is reporting that the studio now has fewer than 100 employees, down from more than 200 during the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. At its peak, BioWare consisted of three studios with a conservative estimate of 400 employees.

Bloomberg's sources indicate that EA planned to "loan" BioWare developers to other studios as pre-production was planned for the next Mass Effect after Veilguard launched, but the game missed its "engagement" target by 50%. EA did not share specific goal numbers for EA Sports FC 25, simply explaining that it underperformed following two years of growth for the franchise.

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Microsoft has embarked on a new multiplatform direction for several of its Xbox games, and former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden believes that this new initiative could work in the company's favor if handled correctly--much like it has for Sega. Layden believes that Microsoft can benefit from having a wider market to sell its games to as part of its new multiplatform strategy, but the downside to this is that it could possibly make it harder for the company to attract more people to its platform.

"Multiplatform is a strategy, particularly in a world where the cost of development is increasing dramatically," Layden said to YouTube channel Kiwi Talks. "Multiplatform means widening your addressable market, as the marketing guys say. How do you create the fear of missing out, trying to do that by bringing everyone to your platform? Saying, 'If you're not here you're missing out,' but if it's available on all platforms, that's one of your marketing tactics. You can't say it's only available here if it's available everywhere. So it's a balancing act, right? I'm increasing my addressable market, that's good. I'm making it harder to sell only on my platform."

As Layden noted, there was precedent for this shift in business tactics, as following the launch and poor sales of the Dreamcast, Sega dropped out of the console hardware race to focus on developing and publishing video games. "We've seen it before. I mean I was in the business when Sega brought their Dreamcast titles to PlayStation 2. And in time, Sega became a software-only company and have been a great transformation in that respect," Layden said.

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Sid Meier's Civilization VII is the newest mainline entry in Firaxis' long-running 4X strategy series, which is built on exploring, expanding, exploiting, and exterminating across procedurally generated maps. Taken on its own, each campaign remains a superbly engaging escapade across eras that will keep you playing for "one more turn" until you realize you're late for your sister's birthday party. Civilization VII is not just a game that you play to pass the time during weekends--the experience is compelling enough that it is the weekend, and maybe several weekdays of your life, too.

For Civilization VII, Firaxis has made some sweeping changes, most notably with how you progress through each historical period. Several of these new features are welcome, given that they address concerns from previous titles while also making campaigns more dynamic. However, a few design decisions are bound to be contentious, especially for longtime fans, since these mechanics tend to impact the player's control over certain outcomes.

One of the biggest changes in Civilization VII is how you choose leaders and nations separately. Gone are the days when picking Augustus Caesar or Napoleon meant automatically playing as Rome or France, respectively. Instead, leaders have a unique trait that defines their playstyle, and you can select a country independently to complement that playstyle.

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Civilization VII allows you to take over any settlement on the map and find your own settlements in any untaken location. Whether you find a settlement through a settler unit or take an opposing leader's city over, you can amass quite a large empire fairly quickly. However, large towns and cities won't be the only settlements you find in a given world of Civilization 7.

There are also smaller Independent Villages, which present you with a few options regarding what to do about them. One of the options you have with Independents is becoming the Suzerain of them. Of course, this isn't a word you commonly hear, so what is a Suzerain, how do you become one, and what are the benefits of doing so in Civilization VII?

What is a Suzerain in Civilization 7?

You can only become the Suzerain of an Independent Village, which is a one-tile settlement that has no affiliation with any other civilization on the map. You'll randomly stumble into these across any land mass, but one is usually near your capital at the start of a playthrough.

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At the start of a playthrough in Civilization VII, you only have access to some basic military infantry units. These units can't move very far each turn and they're only able to engage in combat from an adjacent tile. You can also unlock the Army Commander during the first stages of the Antiquity Age, but they're only allowed to absorb and deploy units.

After your first taste of combat, you might wonder how to unlock ranged units that other leaders have deployed against you. Ranged units are fantastic since they can attack from two tiles away, essentially allowing you to deal free damage. Well, you don't have to wait long, but there are specific actions you need to take to unlock ranged units in Civilization VII.

Unlocking ranged military units in Civilization 7

Every playthrough of Civilization VII is going to be different based on your difficulty, game length, map type, etc. However, in all of my playthroughs, the first time I was able to unlock the first ranged unit for my military was around turn 70. Playing on the standard game length, this should be roughly 35% through the Antiquity Age. If you start from another age, then you'll already have some ranged units unlocked.

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