Helldivers 2 gets new stealth missions today, and its super-slimmed install size version is finally ready to take over

A new Helldivers 2 patch has arrived ahead of the slightly delayed Redacted Regiment warbond also making its sneaky debut today, January 22nd. In line with that warbond’s stealthy shushness, this patch has seen Arrowhead add in new commando missions designed to reward those who know when to crouch-walk. They’ve also revealed that the slim build that’s been in beta for a little while is finally ready to take the reigns from the standard version and its very chunky install size.

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“It is out of the question to let a boss run rampant” – Ubisoft workers strike against “disastrous” cutbacks

Ubisoft’s bloodbath of game cancellations and restructuring yesterday has attracted the expected fiery response from unionised workers, with the French game industry union Solidaires Informatique calling a half-day strike today. Cost-cutting and potential layoffs aside, the strikers are protesting against Ubisoft’s decision to mandate a full return to office, with workers given an annual allowance of work from home days instead – something a publisher executive has justified as a move “to enhance collective efficiency” and “the sense of belonging”.

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Rule your own, slightly socially awkward knights in the round table management RPG Sovereign Tower

You ever accidentally find out that you’re the sovereign of an entire nation as dictated by a prophecy even though you’re technically just random nobody, and so you wind-up being the one to have to make all the decisions about how your nation is run? No? Well, that’s fine, but if you’d like that to be you, I’ll introduce you to Sovereign Tower, a management RPG where you send off your knights of the round table to deal with all manner of quests.

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Firestarters promises to mix Rollerdome, arena shooters and visual novels into a government-sanctioned bloodsport

This is probably the umpteenth time I’ve said I’m not someone who plays many shooters, but here I am saying it again, because an FPS has rocked up that has clocked my interest. It’s called Firestarters, an arena shooter that’s a bit like Quake, a bit like Rollerdome, and looks like good, bloody fun.

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Goofy name aside, action roguelite Lort looks like a neat fantasy alternative to Risk of Rain 2

I am going to level with you. My awareness of Lort up until this point has been non-existent. Never heard of it before today, it’s early access release day! But when you see a game called Lort, well, you at least need to take a little look. And as astronomically silly as the name is, it looks like a pretty neat, silly time, so, my predilection towards the inane has clearly worked out in my favour this time.

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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and more cancelled by Ubisoft, with layoffs potentially on the horizon

Given its lengthy, troubled development period, it will probably not come as any surprise to you that Ubisoft have announced today that their Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake has been cancelled. This comes as part of a broader restructure at the company, which will apparently focus on what they call five “specialised creative houses” to “reclaim creative leadership and restore sustainable growth.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Marathon Steam pre-orders no longer automatically try to install Destiny 2, as Bungie fix Freudian slip/bug

Ah, no, not that one. That, I assume, has been the reaction of folks who’ve gone to pre-order the Marathon reboot on Steam, and immediately been informed that Destiny 2 is sneaking its way back onto their machines. Thankfully, Bungie have now fixed whatever issue was causing the latter to take pre-purchases of the former as a cue to re-install itself.

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