Techmarine: Dive Into Space Marine 2’s Upcoming New Class

Dmitry Grigorenko, Game Director

Summary

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 lands on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass on January 29, with Xbox Play Anywhere support.
Several weeks later, Patch 12 introduces the Techmarine as the game’s seventh playable class.
Techmarines specialize in crowd control and area defense, with a powerful turret and mechanical arms bolted to their armor.

As you’re set to bolster the Imperium’s ranks next week, Space Marines, we wanted to reward your ultimate commitment with exclusive details about our upcoming new playable class, the Techmarine.

Set to release with our Patch 12 “Techmarine Update” in just a few weeks, it’ll join its Tactical, Assault, Sniper, Vanguard, Bulwark and Heavy Battle-Brothers as the game’s seventh playable class. Of course, it’ll come with its own unique brand of Xenos and Heretic purging, and that’s what we’re here to discover!

New to Space Marine 2? Follow the Guide

Before we do, let’s go over some basics if you are looking to jump into the grim darkness of the far future for the first time next week: The new Techmarine class will be available for Space Marine 2’s PvE and PvP modes (i.e., Operations, Stratagems, Siege and Eternal War), where you get to customize and play as your very own Space Marines. Even better, it’s free for everyone! No DLC or in-game purchases required.

Operations, Stratagems and Siege modes will have you team up with up to 2 players to fight as loyalist Space Marines and defeat the enemies of the Imperium. Eternal War however, also allows you to play as a Chaos Space Marine as it pits you against other players in ferocious 6v6 PvP matches where the Imperium faces off against its Chaos archenemy.

The new Techmarine class will be available across all of these modes, with the only exception being the Narrative Campaign, as it centers around the story of Ultramarines Lieutenant Demetrian Titus himself.

Now, let us tease how the Techmarine actually PLAYS!

Techmarines Have a Few Tricks up Their Power Armor Sleeve

At their core, Techmarines in Space Marine 2 are specialists in crowd control and area defense. They’ll shine with their combat prowess as much as they do with the technology they bring to the fight.

In melee, they’re able to take on large groups of enemies with wide swipes of their Omnissian Axe — an upcoming Patch 12 weapon available to them only — while their arsenal and armor augmentations grant them solid efficiency in ranged combat, especially at short and medium distances.

Like all classes, the Techmarine comes with a unique Combat Skill (an “ult,” so to speak) and his own perk tree with 25 levels to unlock. But more than anything, what makes him special are the mechanical arms and automatic turret bolted directly onto his Power Pack.

While you’re busy swinging and smashing opponents around with your mechanical arm, your Combat Skill will put your turret to good use: Activate it with the Y button to unleash the Techmarine’s mounted Servo-Gun and rain divine retribution onto your enemies with a barrage of heavy fire. No need to aim: just watch as Tyranids and Thousand Sons get vaporized before your very eyes.

Another feature of the automatic Servo-Gun is that it frees you up by executing Gun Strikes for you! When other classes must do it themselves following Perfect Dodges or Parries, Techmarine players will be free to continue aiming at other targets while their turrets stagger or kill their most pressing assailants.

And that’s not even everything! With Techmarines being master engineers and technicians within their Chapter ranks comes a unique ability to locate and service Tarantula Sentry turrets during missions. Though they can’t be carried or placed freely, these can provide much welcome support to your Combat Squad by attacking your enemies automatically until they either run out of ammunition or get destroyed.

Will you be running it?

Before You Go! A Quick Patch 12 Breakdown

You know, the Techmarine and his Omnissian Axe are far from being the only gameplay additions to come with Patch 12! We’re working on adding a 12th mission to Operations and Stratagems modes, a new mission pick-up type, 3 new Hero weapon variants and new customization options for Space Marine helmetless heads! We’ll reveal more as we get closer to release, so stay tuned to our channels if you don’t want to miss it.

If you own the Season Pass 2 of course, you’re also set to receive a brand-new Assault Champion skin celebrating the Raven Guard and a unique Cosmetic Pack for the Carcharodons, a first for this Chapter! But that may be a story for another day…

Looking forward to seeing all of you on the battlefield, Techmarines. The Emperor protects.

Heed the call of war on January 29, 2026 when Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 releases on Xbox Game Pass, with Xbox Play Anywhere support.

The post Techmarine: Dive Into Space Marine 2’s Upcoming New Class appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake devs talk classic terror and new mechanics

Remastering Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water and Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse was just the beginning. When Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja began crafting a full remake of the survival horror classic Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, the mission was clear: keep what made the PlayStation 2 original so popular, while elevating it for a modern audience.

Directors Hidehiko Nakajima (action gameplay) and Makoto Shibata (story) took us through their journey of reconstructing Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly’s haunting atmosphere, its new features, and some of the challenges they faced ahead of the game’s March 12 launch on PlayStation 5.

What elements of the original game do you feel made it such a fan favorite?

Shibata: I think it was because it evolved what was introduced in the first Fatal Frame game while placing greater emphasis on the story. By creating an experience that was frightening yet compelling enough to make players want to see what comes next, I felt that many players were able to enjoy its beautiful yet terrifying world through to the end.

In what ways did the power of the PS2 contribute toward the original Fatal Frame 2 design and visuals?

Shibata: We took advantage of the hardware’s specs and rendering capabilities to help depict spirits as semi-transparent and distorted. In addition, being able to apply screen-wide filters — adjusting noise, contrast, and color tones — at a low processing cost was extremely useful for creating visuals reminiscent of old film stock.

What were the essentials of the original that you needed to retain in this remake?

Shibata: Our main focus was the protagonist’s actions and Camera Obscura combat. Since the world and story are maintained, we focused on how players interact with that world.

From a visual standpoint, atmosphere is key. By carefully adjusting lighting, shadows, fog, and effects, we create a humid, unsettling environment where it feels as though spirits could appear at any moment. Exploring within that atmosphere is central to the series. And of course, the background music, filled with sounds that are barely audible or ambiguous, is also a crucial element.

Nakajima: At its core, this is an experience of fighting and exploring by photographing with the Camera Obscura. While we’ve added new features and adjusted rules in combat, the fundamental idea of facing fear directly and defeating it by photographing it, remains unchanged. The simple controls of photographing what you see remains, but players are no longer limited to waiting for enemy attacks; they can now fight more proactively and utilize advanced photography techniques. The same applies to exploration, we’ve designed it so players naturally want to look around and take photographs.

Can you share any new examples of how its gameplay systems are being modernized?

Nakajima: We’ve implemented various improvements to make the game more intuitive and comfortable to play. In the original version, players controlled the character from a fixed camera perspective. In this remake, the camera is positioned closer to the player character, allowing you to freely look around and move throughout Minakami Village. This closer perspective significantly enhances the immersive feel of the game. Of course, we didn’t simply change the camera and controls—we also restructured the gameplay itself to suit these updates.

Shibata: The series has previously received feedback that the controls weren’t so good, so since this title is developed by Team Ninja, we decided from the outset to make major improvements. One particularly time-consuming element was motion matching. It was a trial-and-error process where we refined responsiveness while giving character movement greater variety and believability.

Can you tell us more details about the added Camera Obscura features?

Nakajima: To make the Camera Obscura feel more like you’re using an actual “camera” or gadget, we introduced new mechanics such as focus, zoom, and filters. Focus and zoom function much like they do on a normal camera, while filters change the Camera Obscura’s offensive properties when switched.

For example, during combat, the Paraceptual Filter offers a longer attack range and allows players to obscure the enemy’s vision, while the Exposure Filter enables faster shots and can slow enemy movement. During exploration, the Camera Obscura can also be used to follow the shadows of missing people or restore things that have disappeared.

How does the new Willpower system work?

Shibata: Willpower decreases when the player runs during combat, or comes into contact or is attacked by spirits. When Willpower runs out, the protagonist collapses, and spirits swarm over her, creating a critical situation. So you can recover it by holding hands with Mayu or by using items.

What are some ways characters can now interact with the environment?

Nakajima: We’ve introduced physical behaviors and environmental interaction, so as the player moves through the environment, background objects may be touched, shaken, or even collapse, creating a more realistic and immersive experience. Spirits may also interact with and move objects.

How has the team used PS5 features to enhance the game’s atmosphere?

Shibata: In horror games it’s crucial that the feeling of tension is not interrupted. Fast data loading enabled by the SSD helps maintain the element of fear. In addition, in the Fatal Frame series each spirit emits unique sounds based on its position. The 7.1.4-channel 3D audio allows players to perceive spirit locations clearly while also conveying the unsettling atmosphere of Minakami Village through sounds such as rustling trees and the faint whisper of wind.

What other new information or clarifications do you want to make sure fans are aware of?

Nakajima: This remake doesn’t simply recreate the original—it expands upon it and goes even deeper with additional side stories and new areas. And as well as the original ending, a special new ending has been added which features a newly written song, “Utsushie,” composed by Tsukiko Amano.

New players will find the game approachable, while long-time fans can appreciate a fresh experience. We hope players enjoy discovering the new ending alongside everything else this remake has to offer.

You’ll be able to see the haunted Minakami Village through this new PS5 lens soon enough when Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly launches on March 12.

See an Exclusive Excerpt of the Star Wars Outlaws Prequel Novel Low Red Moon

Random House Worlds is gearing up to release its latest Star Wars novel, author Mike Chen’s Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon. You might assume the book showcases an earlier adventure in the life of goldhearted smuggler Kay Vess, but you’d be wrong. Instead, the book focuses on one of the most surprising figures in the game, Jaylen Vrax. The book explores how Jaylen met the fearsome bodyguard droid ND-5 and made his way through the ranks of the criminal underworld.

Ahead of its February 3 release, IGN can exclusively debut a preview of Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon. This excerpt is set early in the book, just after Jaylen is rescued by ND-5 following an attack on his family’s compound. Check it out below:

JAYLEN HAD NO memory of the actual explosion happening—how it looked, how it sounded, the aftermath, none of it.

Instead, he awoke at the property’s hangar bay, a cliffside structure overlooking the beach. He opened his eyes to find ND-5 standing over him.

“You’re conscious,” the droid said. The words came over a constant ringing in his ears, a tangible sign that the bomb had indeed gone off. “You should remain flat. Though I shielded much of the explosion from you, the residual impact of such a force has likely thrown off your body’s sense of equilibrium.”

“How long . . .” he started, but even moving his jaw muscles hurt. “How long ago?”

“The explosion occurred two hours and seventeen minutes ago. The dining room is currently on fire. From what I can tell, the fire is still at the center of the structure, though it will eventually spread. The material compounds in the walls have slowed it down.” ND-5 turned his head, like he could see all the way over there. “It is surprising that no emergency support has come.”

“Everyone in there,” Jaylen said, and even though ND-5 told him to stay flat, he propped himself. “Did you kill them? Are they all dead?”

“Yes and yes.”

The droid’s voice came out so clinically, so cold—an affirmation without any of the weight behind it. Dead. His parents and relatives, as flawed as they were. The guests—they didn’t deserve this.

A heavy sigh came, and the very process of blowing air out of his lungs caused a burning tickle. His life as he knew it ended several weeks ago. He supposed that life was going to end regardless, whether the Empire brought the company down or he had ascended to CEO. Both of those marked a dramatic shift. But this?

This was different.

This was cold-blooded murder.

“You killed them,” Jaylen said, adrenaline surging in him, helping him upward. He staggered to his feet, stiff pain in every muscle. “You killed them,” he repeated.

“I have already acknowledged that.”

Jaylen’s plan had worked. Which meant that it would have worked had Roisem and Nnytyl stopped arguing, stopped causing chaos so he could give the restraining bolt to A1-A1. He could have passed the hardware over, then come up with some distraction for the protocol droid to mount the restraining bolt.

But now, everyone was dead—because they just wouldn’t listen. And that notion burned Jaylen in a different way than when he thought about Sliro.

“No, you don’t understand. You killed them. They didn’t have to die. The Empire took everything from us. And now you’ve taken everything from me. Why? Why would you do this?”

ND-5 looked at Jaylen like he was asking for directions into town. “I executed orders according to my programming.”

“Oh, so that’s it? You’re just an assassin that kills whoever you tar get?” Jaylen threw a pointed finger at the droid, though doing so caused him to wince.

“Yes. That is how droids operate.”

Jaylen wanted to scream. If his body could support it, he probably would have. Some sort of primal release felt necessary at this point. In stead, he swayed on his feet, nausea rolling in his stomach. “What hap pens now?” he asked quietly. “I can barely move.”

“The shock wave struck you. I was able to protect you from only the shrapnel. The noise and pressure have likely given you a concussion. You have soft tissue damage from the impact as well.” ND-5 walked over and put out a long thin arm to support him. “You will need some time to heal. We will use this guest’s shuttle. They do not need it anymore.”

Even as Jaylen moved with ND-5’s help, he couldn’t stifle the laugh ter coming through. “This is madness. How do I know you’re not just going to kill me next?”

“This restraining bolt is telling me to serve you. That has the highest priority in my directive sequence.”

“It’s as simple as that, huh?” Jaylen replied in a dry voice. “You droids. You’re so binary.”

“It does not need to be any more complex than that.” In the distance, sirens clashed with the sound of oncoming thunder. “For now, I await further instructions from you.”

That was exactly what Jaylen meant by binary. “So I could just tell you to leap off a cliff and you would?”

“Yes.”

Jaylen believed the droid. He had no reason not to. He could tell ND-5 to do anything, including shutting himself down—hell, he’d blasted his own chest to follow Jaylen’s directive.

“Well,” Jaylen said slowly, “why shouldn’t I do just that?” He was only musing, but the thought soon rolled into a real, grounded question. He could choose to give the order. Or he could choose to stay quiet. “How would you assess the current situation?” he asked, as if he were chatting with A1-A1 in the garden cottage.

“Emergency vehicles will be here shortly. I can commandeer this shuttle. You will likely need seven to ten days for physical recovery. In addition, they will think you are dead.”

Jaylen paused, feeling the ground beneath his feet. In the distance, he saw that ND-5 was right: The lights of emergency shuttles finally hov ered above the compound. “Who is ‘they’?” he asked with a laugh.

ND-5 stood silent, though his head tilted ever so slightly. From the exposed innards of the droid’s upper body, Jaylen heard mechanisms and electronics struggling to work. “I do not know. That information must have resided in the part of my memory core that is now damaged.”

Part of Jaylen wanted ND-5 to dismantle himself in the most violent way possible. But he let that impulse pass for one simple reason:

A BX commando droid was valuable as a protector. And a servant.

Jaylen needed both right now. Someday, he might scrap him. But not now. Because everything about Jaylen’s personal galaxy had just reset. This thing, this droid, had taken everything from Jaylen. And now ND-5 would help give him a new life.

For more on the future of the Star Wars franchise, find out what to expect from Star Wars in 2026 and see the one thing we need from Lucasfilm’s new Presidents.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

As it approaches its second early access anniversary, Enshrouded gets a 1.0 release window for later this year

More and more as time goes on I feel that if I blink a whole two years will pass, and suddenly a game like Enshrouded, which is coming up to its second early access anniversary, will be gearing up for its proper 1.0 launch. While an exact date for the survival game’s full release hasn’t been locked in just yet, a new Road to Release video was shared by developer Keen Games detailing what you can expect leading up to said launch.

The British are coming. Specifically, IGN can exclusively reveal that action man Jason Statham – star of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Hobbs and Shaw and The Meg – is coming to Fortnite today. He lent his chiselled jawline and voice to the game to promote his new movie Shelter as part of a new in-game experience.

The Stath appears as his character from Shelter, Michael Mason. In the movie Mason is a former assassin who is forced to dust off his guns (aren’t they always?) to protect himself and a girl – Jessie – that he rescued from the sea surrounding the remote Scottish island he calls home. Players can fight alongside him on a new custom map inspired by the movie, taking on waves of enemies in order to protect Jessie. If that wasn’t enough, a huge storm is on the way, which is actually pretty accurate for the Scottish highlands.

The custom map comes with some additional game features to heighten the roguelike experience the creators are going for, with a combination of permanent upgrades, random weapon loadouts and a ‘Rebirth system’ that will give you permanent buffs for resetting your progress. It’s vital to mention that the weaponry is given out by a dog.

There’ll also be a community tournament featuring top streamers that will let viewers vote on the specific conditions for the matches, like weapon restrictions or inverted controls.

The experience was created by Sawhorse and Chartis Interactive, with contributions to the design of the map from Fortnite creators like Jayth, the guy behind Fortnite’s Zombie Escape Tag.

“It’s been exciting to combine the roguelike genre—one of Fortnite’s most popular modes—with a unique film like Shelter, especially with Jason Statham involved,” he said.

The Shelter experience is available in Fortnite now – Island Code 2883-8391-6703 – and the movie, also starring Bill Nighy, will be in theaters on January 30.

Pirates director Gore Verbinski is iffy on Unreal Engine in movies: “I think it doesn’t work from a strictly photo-real standpoint”

We interrupt our regular schedule of weaponising hamsters and grizzling about GTA 6 with a word from the world of film – a film being a curious subspecies of video game that plays itself, consists partly of human souls preserved in gelatin and silver halide, and can only be ‘failed’ by skipping the post-credits scene. Whatever will the mad labcoats dream up next?

More specifically, it’s time for an insight from Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. He thinks the much-gobflapped adoption of Epic’s Unreal Engine by visual effect teams is a blight upon the face of Hollywood. He thinks it’s an insult to the dignity of helicopters. OK, he doesn’t go quite that hard.

Crimson Desert has gone gold, locking in its global release date of March 19, 2026. That’s across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Mac.

Developer Pearl Abyss described going gold as a “major development milestone” for the open-world action-adventure game. It thanked fans for their continued support, acknowledging what it called “strong anticipation” that has built up over the course of the last year.

Here’s the official blurb on Crimson Desert:

Set in the vast continent of Pywel, Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game that follows the journey of protagonist Kliff and his Greymane companions. The title has been praised for its realistic, high-fidelity graphics, dynamic combat, and the freedom and interactivity of its open world, delivering a heightened sense of immersion and intensity.

Earlier this month, Pearl Abyss called Crimson Desert’s open world “absolutely massive,” bigger even than that of Bethesda’s Skyrim and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2.

Speaking on the Gaming Interviews YouTube channel, Pearl Abyss’ Will Powers said that describing the size of Crimson Desert’s world in terms of numbers doesn’t do it justice, because doing so fails to capture the scope and scale of the game. But he did go as far as to compare it to two of the biggest open world games around.

“I don’t think numbers really do it justice because, how big is that in terms of scope and scale?” he said. “But what we can say is that the world’s at least twice as big as the open world, the playable area, of Skyrim. It’s larger than the map of Red Dead Redemption 2.”

Powers went on to insist that the size of Crimson Desert’s open world won’t determine its quality. Rather, what you actually do in it is the key factor.

“The continent of Pywel is absolutely massive, but size doesn’t really matter if there’s nothing to do,” he said. “Open-world games are about doing things, having activities, having distractions. So we wanted to create a world that’s not only massive, but is also incredibly interactive.”

Unlike Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption 2, in Crimson Desert you can fly around on a dragon, so despite the size of its world, you’ll be able to get about quickly. And don’t expect RPG elements in terms of decision-making and choice and consequence as it relates to your character, either. The sheer amount of things to do in the world will facilitate the role-playing part of Crimson Desert, which players will form through “head canon.”

“You choose the type of character you want to play as in terms of your progression within the systems in the game,” Powers explained. “And then through head canon you’re having this very different experience than other players because of the scope and scale of the game. You’ll be distracted by something, you’ll go on this quest line, you’ll have an experience that’ll be radically different than someone else, even though they’re playing the same game and the same canonical storyline that you both are going through.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Anthem private server experimentation’s underway, as the shooter’s subreddit mods rethink retirement plans

Last week, EA followed through on plans outlined in 2025 by shutting down the servers of Bioware’s Anthem. Pretty much since the shooter’s fate was set in stone, there’s been the natural chatter about whether it could potentially be kept online or revived down the road in some fashion. At this early stage, there’s been no huge re-emergence, but that doesn’t mean folks aren’t experimenting to see what such a thing might involve.

Sonic Mania Dev Laments “Corporate Bureaucracy” Ahead Of Its Next Game

Rubato launches this March.

Developer Headcannon, which perhaps most notably developed Sonic Mania alongside Christian Whitehead and PagodaWest Games, has announced the release date for its new game, Rubato. The experimental 2D title will hit the Switch eShop on 20th March 2026, and there’s a free demo you can check out right now.

It’s not been smooth sailing for Headcannon, however, as the developer recently released a blog post detailing “a rough few years”, stating that all it wants to do is “make some damn games”. It cites “corporate bureaucracy” as one of its headaches, along with personal difficulties and the cost of living.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com