King of the Kenner.
Following his retirement as President and COO of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser has now joined the board of directors for toy manufacturer Hasbro.
This news come directly from Hasbro itself, with the firm confirming the appointment of Bowser alongside Carla Vernón, CEO of The Honest Company, a digital-first consumer goods company founded by actress Jessica Alba.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Welcome back to your routine “what am I going to play next?” suggestion list! We’ve got some favorites, some surprises we snuck in last week (and a cheeky reminder to join us for our fourth Developer Direct for even more games coming your way). Let’s get to the games!
Resident Evil Village (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Resident Evil Village is the eighth main entry in the Resident Evil series. Set years after Resident Evil 7 biohazard, players follow Ethan Winters into a haunting European village, fighting for survival against brutal enemies as danger and mystery lurk around every corner.
MIO: Memories in Orbit (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available on day one with Game Pass! A hand-crafted metroidvania set within a vast, decaying world reclaimed by nature and robots. Play as Mio, a nimble android exploring labyrinthine environments, battling rogue machines, and uncovering lost memories in a richly atmospheric adventure filled with secrets and danger.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – January 21
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now available on Xbox Game Pass! Take on the role of Sam Porter Bridges on his mission to deliver hope to humanity. Are you ready to unite the divided – one more time?
RoadCraft (PC) – January 21
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
In the wake of natural disasters, RoadCraft calls on you to rebuild what’s broken. Operate a fleet of over 40 authentic construction vehicles to clear debris, repair roads and bridges, and restore essential infrastructure. Tackle realistic challenges solo or in cooperative play across expansive, physics-driven environments shaped by destruction and recovery.
Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 21
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
A brand-new side-scrolling entry to the Ninja Gaiden series from the team behind Blasphemous, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound redefines the classic platformer saga in a spectacular, thrilling and challenging ninja adventure.
The Talos Principle 2 (PC and Xbox Series X|S) – January 27
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
A thought-provoking first-person puzzle experience that greatly expands the first game’s philosophical themes and stunning environments with increasingly mind-bending challenges. Born into a new world where biological humanity is extinct but human culture lives on in a city of robots, get swept up in a mind-bending adventure involving a mysterious megastructure hiding enormous powers.
Anno: Mutationem (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 28
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Welcome to the neon-covered, 2D-meets-3D Cyberpunk world of Anno: Mutationem. In thisAction-Adventure game with RPG elements you become Ann: a highly skilled, combat-trained lone wolf on a personal mission in the giant Metropolis, full of sinister mega-corporations, mysterious fringe groups and creatures more bizarre than words can express.
Drop Duchy (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 28
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Build your duchy piece by piece in this refreshing hybrid rogue-lite game. Use block-dropping mechanics to collect resources, recruit troops to fight against belligerent armies, and let every block shape your realm, leading your path to victory! Complete Edition includes all additional content.
MySims: Cozy Bundle (PC) – January 29
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Befriend cute characters and discover creative adventures across retro re-releases of two lovable games in MySims: Cozy Bundle. Use your imagination to rebuild a town in MySims and help a cute magical land become an even better place in MySims Kingdom. There are stories to uncover, locations to explore, and lots of characters with big personalities to meet.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 29
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Your craft is death. Purge the relentless Tyranid swarms as legendary Space Marine Demetrian Titus in a spectacular new campaign, solo or in three-player co-op, and save the Imperium as your own Space Marine in endlessly brutal PvE and PvP games with 6 playable classes to choose from!
Indika (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – February 2
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Indika is a story-driven adventure set in an alternative 19th-century Russia, following a young nun on a surreal journey of self-discovery. Blending dark humor with serious themes like faith, morality, and religious authority, the game mixes exploration, light puzzles, brief action moments, and symbolic RPG elements. Its narrative is enriched by retro-style arcade flashbacks and a strange companionship with the devil himself, creating a unique experience that balances comedy and tragedy while pushing the boundaries of conventional game design.
Final Fantasy II (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – February 3
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
A remodeled 2D take on the second game in the world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series! Our epic tale begins with four young souls orphaned during the struggle between the Palamecian Empire and the rebel army. On their journey, the youths join forces with the white wizard Minwu, Prince Gordon of Kashuan, Leila the pirate, and many others. Behold the beautiful and sometimes tragic twists of fate that await you on your adventure.
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check (PC) – Play today!
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Command the checkpoint in a collapsing city. Screen survivors, manage scarce resources, and hold back the undead. Every choice matters and one mistake could unleash the plague beyond your walls.
The Sims 25th Birthday Bundle (PC) – January 22
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Celebrate a Sim-sational New Year with EA Play on the Xbox PC app. This month, embrace classic chaos with re-releases of The Sims and The Sims 2, coming to EA Play on January 22. Keep the cozy vibes rolling with MySims: Cozy Bundle joining The Play List on January 29.
Grounded 2 Garden Update (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 27
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Explore the new Community Garden biome in The Toxic Tangle update, packed with hidden paths, twisting trellises, and earthy caverns. Battle new creatures, craft Tier III gear, and ride the Ladybug Buggy with its water cannon as you face fresh challenges across the Garden.
Dead by Daylight – Stranger Things DLC – January 27
The battles fought. The pain endured. All of it leads back to him. Stranger Things Returns To Dead by Daylight: Vecna, Dustin, & Eleven Enter The Fog.
Sea of Thieves Season 18, Act 2 (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 22
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
The Trading Companies are calling on Emissaries to raid Molten Sands Fortress and recover valuable treasure from its vault! During the event, those who reach Emissary Grade 5 can accept a special quest that will awaken this fiery fort. Which flag will you fly?
Leaving January 31
The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon. Jump back in to tie up any loose ends, or save up to 20% off your purchase to keep the fun going!
Excited to see you all back here in just a few days for our next Developer Direct! In the meantime, go charge your batteries and get those games downloaded. Cheers!
Note: Games with a ‘Handheld’ designation represent those that are optimized for handheld play.
The post Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, and More appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Former World of Warcraft producer Raymond Bartos has joined Riot Games, giving fans renewed hope that the League of Legends MMO might actually come out.
We found out Riot Games’ highly anticipated MMO project — announced half a decade ago now — would be “reset” back in 2024, after Riot co-founder Marc Merrill let players know that the team had decided to go back to the drawing board “some time ago.” Now, however, Bartos has confirmed his move to Riot, following in the footsteps of fellow Blizzard colleague, Orlando Salvatore.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining Riot on the MMO team!!!” Bartos wrote on LinkedIn (first reported by MassivelyOP). “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to join such an inspiring group of people, and I can’t wait to get started — showing up every day to provide value for Riot gamers and help deliver an MMO experience players truly enjoy.
“And as a fun bonus I’ve been barely able to contain: I’ll be re-queuing with my longtime duo partner, Orlando Salvatore,” Bartos added. “Given our track record on World of Warcraft, I have a feeling we’ll be moving fast on day one.”
And best of all, Bartos’ LinkedIn profile gives us a clear insight into what he’s working courtesy of his role descriptor: “senior game producer on the MMO [at] Riot Games.”
Concern grew in 2022, when then-executive producer Greg Street warned fans that there is “no guarantee this game will ship.” The lead then went on to announce his departure from Riot in early 2023. Two years ago, when he announced the development reset, Merrill said he understood fans’ frustration at the lack of progress on the MMO, but insisted the time spent in the dark would “help provide space for the team to focus on the incredible amount of work ahead of them.”
“Remember, ‘no news is good news,’ as it means we’re hard at work, pouring our hearts and souls into making something that we hope you’ll love,” he continued.
League of Legends was first released in 2009 and remains one of the world’s biggest, most-played games. A multiplayer online battle arena (or MOBA), it was originally inspired by Warcraft 3 custom map Defense of the Ancients, and played a massive role in pioneering and popularizing the MOBA genre. It has gone on to inspire a number of spin-offs, including digital card game Legends of Runeterra, a mobile version of the game called Wild Rift, and a popular TV series: Arcane.
Last month, we reported that Riot was working on a total makeover of League of Legends. Called “League Next,” the upcoming overhaul will be an update to the existing League of Legends rather than a standalone game. It’s thought the update will fully revamp the game’s visual aesthetic, including characters, UI, and arenas and make some adjustments behind the scenes to help make future updates smoother, although it’s currently unclear if the changes will impact game mechanics.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
The winter abates, the days begin to lengthen, the snowdrops creep forth from their burrows, and the raiders of ARC Raiders carry on raiding Arcs. Developers Embark have also done another round of interviews, in which they discuss plans for ARC Raiders updates in 2026, and in particular, address the question of whether to implement a player-trading menu and/or some kind of auction house feature. Right now, you can only officially barter with NPC merchants.
One of the original designers of Tomb Raider‘s iconic Lara Croft has revealed that Core Design’s then-Japanese publisher had asked for the character to be given a “Manga” redesign to “appeal” to Japanese players.
Responding to one fan who had unearthed a comment from him a few years ago, Tomb Raider co-creator and programmer Paul Douglas confirmed there had been a little pressure “quite late in Tomb Raider’s development” when publisher Victor Interactive Software “faxed over some of their own designs” over fears the western character design wouldn’t “go down well” in Japan.
“Victor wanted us to change in-game Lara to appeal more to a Japanese audience,” Douglas revealed on BlueSky. “Huge eyes/head etc. They faxed through examples really late in dev. [Co-creator and designer] Toby Gard really didn’t want to alter Lara. As a compromise, all that was changed was the manuals [and] guide. Not sure who did that render or illustrations.”
The mysterious rendering Douglas is referring to can be seen in the first image appended to this BlueSky post, republished below:
An example of a “Manga-style” Croft and Jacqueline Natla is also displayed below:
Lara Croft and Jacqueline Natla, manga style. #TR25 pic.twitter.com/ZqmnMzFR8Y
— Paul Douglas (@cnhyv) February 18, 2021
The tweet above originates from a similar thread in 2021 in which Douglas explained: “I think they just assumed altering all the models would only take a few days of work. It was early days of 3D… It started out as a request to change all the in-game and cutscene models. Then just in-game. Then just Lara. Then just Lara’s head…”
“This drawing from the Japanese manual is *perhaps* all that remains…” Douglas added.
As for current-day Lara? Tomb Raider: Catalyst — an all-new adventure scheduled for a release sometime in 2027 — is set in the wake of a mythical cataclysm that has unleashed ancient secrets and awakened the mysterious forces that guard them. Before then, though, we’re expecting Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis at some point in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam. Alix Wilton Regan will now play Lara Croft in both with Camilla Luddington, who portrayed Lara Croft in the Survivor Trilogy, issuing a heartfelt goodbye to the character at the end of last year.
Some Tomb Raider fans are bracing themselves for retcons, given the need to fit both Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst in a new, unified Tomb Raider timeline, as well as the upcoming Amazon TV show. The live-action Tomb Raider Prime Video series, which will star Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner, will “reinvent the franchise on a massive scale” and interconnect “live-action television series and video games into a unified storytelling universe.”
Image credit: NixieTube / BlueSky.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
A bunch of alleged concept art for the Fable reboot has reportedly been unearthed via a developer’s portfolio, ahead of the RPG’s appearance at this week’s Xbox showcase. As of writing, there’s no indication as to what stage of developement the apparent game art could be from. However, if it’s genuine, it does seem to point towards a location from Fable 2 making a return in the reboot.
Coming to Switch consoles this year.
Wishfully Studios’ sublime debut, Planet of Lana, brought some top-notch puzzle/platforming action to Switch back in April 2024. Indeed, we went so far as to give this beautiful-looking cinematic adventure a rather splendid 8/10 back at launch.
Now, its Swedish dev, alongside publisher Thunderful Games (now majority owned by Atari), has dropped a full 10 minutes of unedited gameplay footage from the game’s soon-to-be-released sequel, the cunningly titled Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf. Oh yes.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Destiny developer Bungie has finally confirmed the previously leaked launch date for Marathon, which is indeed March 5, 2026, and followed up the news with a rundown of who we can expect to hear in the English voice cast.
The bumper cast includes many, many familiar voices, such as Jennifer English (who won Best Performance at 2025’s The Game Awards for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and has had notable roles in Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3, in which she plays Shadowheart), Ben Starr (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades II, Final Fantasy 14), Roger Clark (Red Dead Redemption 2), and Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion, Resident Evil 3 Remake). As one commenter responded: “That’s… stacked lol.”
Here’s the full list, along with an idea of where you may have heard their voices before:
What we don’t know yet is what characters the actors will portray, of course, but with the list essentially in alphabetical order besides front-runners English, Starr, Clark, Toufexis, Futterman, Lindbeck, Guthrie, Knight, Tadena, Gorrondona, Hughes, De Paul, Shorten, Fennoy, Wiles, and Tatasciore, that may suggest those particular actors will be portraying the characters we’ll get to know best when playing Marathon.
Following various delays, Marathon’s launch is now less than two months away — and pre-orders are open now. The pressure is on for Marathon to succeed amid Destiny 2’s high-profile struggles and Marathon’s troubled development. At the end of last year, parent company Sony said Bungie had failed to meet its sales and user engagement targets, resulting in a $200 million impairment charge, and Bungie found itself battling yet more accusations of plagiarism back in May after an artist accused the studio of lifting aspects of her artwork for Marathon.
Last June Marathon was delayed into 2026 as Bungie worked to respond to feedback from playtests. Things went dark until Marathon re-emerged in October, when Bungie announced the extraction shooter was ready for a limited, invite-only playtest for players in North America and Europe across PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and Steam.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
A mod providing VR support for Cyberpunk 2077 is no more, after CD Projekt issued a takedown notice they claim hinged on them not being happy that the mod’s creator had stuck it behind a paywall. In response, modder Luke Ross has accused the company of being all about making money.
CD Projekt has confirmed it issued a DMCA strike on a paid Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, after its creator refused to make it free for everyone upon the studio’s request.
The R.E.A.L. VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077 was created by Luke Ross, who, according to a 2022 report by The Verge, makes $20,000 a month modding PC games to run in VR headsets. His mods are locked behind a Patreon, which sparked CD Projekt’s concern.
In a tweet, Jan Rosner, VP, Business Development at CD Projekt Red, said the company issued the DMCA strike because Cyberpunk VR was a paid mod, which violates its fan content guidelines.
“We never allow monetization of our IP without our direct permission and/or an agreement in place,” Rosner said. “We were in touch with Luke last week and informed him that he needs to make it free for everyone (with optional donations) or remove it.
“We are big fans of mods to our games — some of the work out there has been nothing short of amazing, including Luke’s mod for Cyberpunk 2077. We’d be happy to see it return as a free release. However, making a profit from our IP, in any form, always requires permission from CD Projekt Red.”
Ross responded to Rosner’s tweet to take issue with his work being characterized as fan content. Rather, Ross insisted, it is independent software and thus does not infringe on CD Projekt’s IP rights.
“I’m sorry but I don’t believe you are within your rights in demanding that my software needs to be free,” Ross said. “It is not ‘derivative work’ or ‘fan content’: it supports a large number of games which were built upon different engines, and it contains absolutely zero code or assets from your IP. Saying that it infringes your IP rights is equivalent to maintaining for example that RivaTuner violates game publishers’ copyrights because it intercepts the images the game is drawing on screen and it processes them in order to overlay its statistics.”
Ross went on to say he wants to find a “win-win solution,” and suggested CD Projekt make his Cyberpunk VR mod official, “or at least sanctioned by your company.” He added: “I think the current state of affairs is not the best way to resolve this misunderstanding.”
As it stands, Ross has left his Cyberpunk VR mod behind (in a post on Patreon, Ross said, “So long, and thanks for all the fish,”), and he has pulled support for the game. Ross’ tweet here has sparked a debate about the legal implications of his mod, a point he expanded on in a post on Patreon:
“As usual they stretch the concept of ‘derivative work’ until it’s paper-thin, as though a system that allows visualizing 40+ games in fully immersive 3D VR was somehow built making use of their intellectual property,” he said. “And as usual they give absolutely zero f***s about how playing their game in VR made people happy, and they cannot just be grateful about the extra copies of the title they sold because of that — without ever having to pour money into producing an official conversion (no, they’re not planning to release their own VR port, in case you were wondering).
“The bottom line is all that matters, and gamers be damned.
“Am I a little bitter about all of this? Yeah, you bet I am. Especially in the same week when Meta pulls the plug on three major VR studios. Especially after four years during which I (together with other modders) spent so much time keeping our mods alive in spite of CDPR’s constant breaking updates. Especially when they never even knew or cared during all this time that the VR conversion was there, and are only knee-jerk reacting now because somebody reported to them that it existed and it was not free.”
This is not the first time Ross has been hit by a DMCA strike. In July 2022, Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two issued a DMCA notice against Ross for his GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 VR mods, among others. He made a similar argument against the decision back then, insisting “none of my modifications are built using software belonging to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc, and the modifications are not intended to replace their games, nor are they a means of exploiting Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc’s proprietary IP or assets.”
Cyberpunk is just one of a number of games for which Ross has released VR mods, and he sounds undeterred by CD Projekt’s action here. Ross already has VR mods for the likes of Sony’s Days Gone, FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, and Ubisoft’s Far Cry 5 games. Now he’s turning his attention to Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3.
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.
