Arc Raiders was one of 2025's biggest success stories in gaming, and it's keeping up the momentum in 2026, with January 4 becoming the game's biggest day ever in terms of daily users. The game was originally going to be a free-to-play title, but it changed to $40 ahead of launch. Why $40? Embark Studios boss Patrick Soderlund said in an interview that the decision to switch from free to premium came after the team saw the success of Helldivers 2, which was also priced at $40.

"We basically looked at games like Helldivers and other games and decided, 'OK, that is where we should sit,'" he told GamesBeat (via Eurogamer). "We made that decision, whether that was right or wrong one can argue. I like the fact that the game is relatively affordable and that people can come in and try the game."

The executive added that $40 was the right price for Arc Raiders also because it helped the game avoid being an "offender" for players. The game has no campaign and is 100% multiplayer.

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This year's first Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) charity livestream has shown players a side of Mario Kart World that they may not have been aware of before. Free Roam mode lets fans explore the open world of the game, but someone at AGDQ has demonstrated how to turn that into your personal playground.

A speedrunner named Helix went through Mario Kart World's Free Roam mode to complete the All ? Panels category in under 30 minutes. The goal is to activate every single question mark block in the game. To pull that off, Helix needed to pull off a lot of tricks, as well as some lucky breaks, and judicious use of the game's rewind feature.

Helix clearly has a mastery of Mario Kart World's open world, as some of the question marks aren't easily accessible without knowing where they are or how to reach them with your chosen character. For this speedrun, Helix went with Para-Biddybud because his light weight and ability to stay in the air longer than most of the other racers. Helix also explained that this is best attempted with a fresh save file, or else Free Roam mode will drop players near the last course they completed.

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Even the most expensive advertising campaigns are nothing without a good Steam review score. A studio that manages to shift a game's review score from "Mixed" to "Very Positive" can as much as triple its chance of making a sale from a marketing campaign, a new games industry report has shown.

Games marketing firm Gamesight published the statistic in its latest Performance Marketing Playbook, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. Gamesight charted the conversion rates of 30 premium games against their respective Steam review scores, showing that every game with a conversion rate over 2% boasted a Steam review rating over 80% positive.

The report also included a case study that followed a single unnamed game's 21-month marketing campaign, charting the campaign's success against its review score at the time. The game generally saw a higher conversion rate when its review score was higher, with the conversion rate peaking at over 7% when the game briefly achieved a rating of "Overwhelmingly Positive."

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This past weekend has seen a new spate of Pokémon TCG-related crimes, with over $300,000 worth of rare cards stolen in two seperate incidents in Southern California. In one, thieves broke into a trading card store and smashed display cases, while a second incident saw a collector held up at gunpoint for a briefcase of rare cards.

Trading card store Simi Sportscards in the Simi Valley was the target of a break-in early Sunday morning, KTLA reports, with CCTV footage showing a group of at least five thieves smashing display cases to steal the cards inside. Store owner Jake Miller says the group stole rare sports trading cards and valuable Pokémon TCG cards after sawing through the front door. He estimates the break-in will cost the store over $50,000 in repairs, lost merchandise, and security upgrades.

A second theft occurred on Sunday night shortly before 10pm, NBC reports, with police saying the two may be connected. The target of the second theft was a regular of card shop RWT Collective in Sawtelle, who was tailed and held up at gunpoint in the underground carpark. The group of thieves stole a briefcase from the collector containing cards valued around $300,000.

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Spoilers for this week's episode of Fallout to follow.

This week’s episode of Fallout was an explosive one. Between Lucy (Ella Purnell) and Cooper (Walton Goggins) finally arriving in New Vegas, Maximus (Aaron Moten) causing conflict within the Brotherhood of Steel, and Vault 31 struggling to survive without their waterchip, there was no shortage of exciting events. With exciting events come easter eggs and deeper ties to the Fallout video games that are a treat for new and returning fans. Let's take a look at some of this week’s easter eggs as the show arrives in the City of Sin.

Operation: AnchorageOperation: Anchorage in Fallout 3

This week’s episode began with a pre-war flashback depicting Cooper fighting on the Alaskan front. In Fallout lore, Alaska was occupied by Communist Chinese forces and fought the United States over control of Anchorage. The liberation of Anchorage was most famously depicted in the Operation: Anchorage DLC for Fallout 3, which saw the player character entering a simulation to relive the historical battle.

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Spoilers for this week's episode of Fallout to follow.

Last week's episode of Fallout gave longtime fans and new viewers an update on the factions running around in the Mojave Wasteland. From Caesar’s Legion and the divide they had, to the NCR’s loosened grip on the area, to Maximus’ (Aaron Moten) big mistake, there was no shortage of shakeups. As a result, the episode felt as if it sidelined its leads in favor of world building. That’s not the case with this week’s entry, however, as we finally see Lucy (Ella Purnell) and Cooper (Walton Goggins) arrive in the long anticipated New Vegas. Let’s dive into what went on in the Mojave Wasteland this week.

The episode opens with one of the most exciting pre-war flashbacks to be depicted in the series, showing Cooper Howard on the Alaskan front during the liberation of Anchorage from occupying Chinese forces. Him and a squadmate are on a combat patrol sporting West-Tek’s T-45 Power Armor for the first time in combat and things aren’t going as expected. His squadmate’s armor keeps malfunctioning, locking his arm into place. Frustrated, Cooper opts to disobey orders from his commanding officer and sends the soldier back to base to continue his combat patrol alone. This plan backfires, as he’s soon ambushed by a platoon of Chinese soldiers who cause his armor to malfunction and send him straight to the floor. Just as all hope seems lost and they prepare to kill him for his armor, a terrifying roar is let out. Shortly after, a Deathclaw appears and massacres the platoon in gory fashion. The deathclaw examines Cooper and leaves him thinking he’s dead; meanwhile on the radio, his commanding officer lets him know that the liberation of Anchorage was successful.

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When Kejora realizes that her peaceful village has been reliving the same day over and over, she and her friends seek out to try and uncover the origin of the mysterious time loop cursing her village Kejora features hand-drawn art and animation, environmental platformer puzzles, and party-based inspired gameplay with 2 supporting characters with unique skills to help Kejora in her exploration and journey.