Har(c)ken to me, defenders of Speranza! Embark have just announced their plans for ARC Raiders updates over the first four months of 2026. The extraction shooter’s next season is called Escalation, and its offerings range from new maps and enemies to new Raider decks, changes to existing maps, and more Expeditions. The headline attraction is surely the “new large Arc” coming in April. I wonder how big Arcs can get. Perhaps an Arc the size of a map, like Cronos in God Of War 3? But, you know, metal?
I’ve reviewed several leverless arcade controllers for the Switch / Switch 2, but I’ve had my eye on the Hit Box Ultra for a little while now. For those unfamiliar, Hit Box is the original leverless arcade controller; if you want to contest that, then it’s at least the one that popularised the concept. The Ultra is the company’s latest iteration of its core design, adding in three of its remarkable ‘C.O.M.B.O. Extension’ buttons while making some thoughtful improvements to the overall design.
Right off the bat, the Hit Box Ultra has native compatibility with the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, and PC – there’s no Xbox support for this one. Being able to connect to the PS5, however, is a huge win since the vast majority of arcade controllers require an additional authenticator to work properly.
More Than A Remake: How Screamer is Reviving the Spirit of Retro Arcade Racers
Federico Cardini, Screamer Game Director
Summary
Screamer is a high-octane racing game with a gripping storyline and an innovative dual-stick gameplay, blending classic racing with combat mechanics.
Its many game modes will immerse players in the world of the Screamer, from the Tournament, the game’s story mode, to a range of challenges in the Arcade and Multiplayer menus recalling the golden age of arcades.
Screamer will be released on Xbox Series X|S on March 26, with Early Access available from March 23.
The original Screamer is a historic title for Milestone. Released in 1995, this game redefined PC racing games thanks to its cutting-edge graphics and gripping gameplay. More than 30 years later, we wanted to revive its spirit in the new Screamer. Instead of a straightforward remake, however, we have reimagined it with an anime twist, paying homage to legendary anime and videogames from the ’80s and ’90s. With its many game modes, you will be immersed in an incredible narrative universe and rich gameplay systems. So, let’s discover them together, are you ready to race for your life?
Welcome to the Tournament
The Tournament is our story mode, and we consider it the best place to start your journey in the game. Throughout its many episodes and chapters, you will discover the stories of five teams joining this mysterious Tournament organized by the enigmatic Mr. A. Each character has a personal motivation and goal beyond mere victory, so we invite you to uncover all the secrets that the story has in store.
To create the Tournament, we drew inspiration from classic JRPG games and infused every event with a strong narrative component through dialogues and cutscenes created in collaboration with the Japanese animation studio Polygon Pictures. Importantly, the gameplay is also tied to the storyline, with the Echo system, the device that powers Screamers’ fighting mechanics, and its incredible abilities being a strong focus of the game mode.
Reaching the perfect balance between narrative and gameplay was a true challenge, especially for a racing game, but we are sure that it will keep you glued to the screen and will encourage you to uncover all the mysteries the story offers.
Nostalgic For Arcades
We get that the story mode might not be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s why every mode in Screamer can be played right away regardless of how far you have progressed in the story. The Tournament is still the quickest way to unlock all the characters and tracks but you can achieve the same thing by playing the other modes. The Arcade menu will transport you back to the golden age of arcades; our development team is made up of people from many different generations, but we all shared the desire to capture the atmosphere of these places in our game and pay heartfelt homage to these iconic locations that were extremely important for many of us.
In Race! mode you can race freely with all characters and tracks that you have unlocked. This highly customizable mode allows you to modify not only the usual racing parameters such as the number of laps, but also how much Echo you want to use. You can disable everything to create a traditional racing challenge or push the Echo to its limits for a spectacular show.
Since the cars are normally separated into leaders and members, each with different characteristics, you can choose to race with leaders, members, or enjoy a brutal free-for-all.
Team Race, instead, is the mode that highlights the Echo mechanics at best. You will be divided into teams of one leader and up to two other members and you will race against other teams. The main goal is to score as many points as possible, and points are given not only by your final position but also by how many KOs you and your teammates make. It is an extremely fun mode that becomes even more entertaining when played online, as I will explain shortly.
Score Challenge, on the other hand, is inspired by fighting games arcade modes. Pick a character and the length of the competition then go on track and try to score as many points as possible by taking part in various events. The global leaderboard will crown the true champion so it is up to you to find your perfect playstyle and character to reach the top spot. Just like in a fighting game, there are secrets to be discovered by completing special challenges in this mode; we can’t wait to see how you react to them all!
We have also included game modes that will test you on specific abilities, each with its own dedicated global leaderboard. In Overdrive challenge, as the name suggests, you have to stay in the Overdrive state as long as possible. If you touch a wall, you will explode, and it will be game over immediately. Checkpoints is a precision challenge: each checkpoint must be reached within the given time but the more you progress, the less time you have, and all your driving skills will be required to take advantage of the ECHO and stay in the competition. Finally, in Time Trial, you must set the fastest time over the course of three laps.
Split-Screen or Online Multiplayer?
The multiplayer menu brings the challenge to the global arena, or your couch! In Split screen you can play locally with your friends with up to 4 players. In Online mode you can race against other players in the Screamer Mixtape, which creates rotating playlists for casual quick plays. Of course, you will also be able to meet your friends through private lobbies. Finally, the Ranked Team Race, which will become available shortly after Screamer’s Day One, is the ultimate battlefield to prove you are a true Screamer and claim your place on the leaderboard alongside the world’s best drivers.
I hope you have enjoyed this journey through the many game modes of Screamer. I can’t wait to see you playing them and discovering your favorite characters. See you in Neo Rey when Screamer launches into Early Access March 23!
Last week, we asked you to focus on the characters of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and share detailed portraits using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here’s are this week’s highlights:
sorathlunashares Lune weaving a lightning attack in an elaborate crowned outfit
techanakoshares Gustave crying out to something out of frame
gh_holy_mashshares Sciel in the swing of an attack
__Auron__shares a black and white close up portrait of Maelle’s expressive face
forgottenjasmineshares Verso with a glowing halo around his head
kerplaaaahshares a black and white moment of Alicia looking downcast
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Speed SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on January 28, 2026
Next week, we’re speeding away. Share quick and speedy moments from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Forza Horizon 6 will launch with a $59.99 Premium Upgrade Bundle that unlocks four days of early access — albeit at almost the same cost as buying the game again.
Last night, Xbox gave its upcoming Japan-set open world racer a stunning full gameplay reveal during its Xbox Developer Direct livestream, though didn’t go into detail on the game’s pricing.
When it arrives on May 19 for PC and Xbox Series X/S, Forza Horizon 6’s Standard Edition will cost $69.99, while its Premium Edition is priced at $119.99. Alternatively — and of note for those planning to play the game via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — you can purchase that $59.99 Premium Upgrade Bundle, and play starting May 15.
The game’s Premium Edition / Premium Upgrade include other benefits too, of course, though not all of them are available on day one. Effectively, this option lets you pre-order the game’s two upcoming, unannounced expansions, as well as the Italian Passion Car Park, which also does not have a release date. You’ll also get the Time Attack Car Pack, Car Pass (which adds 30 more cars to your game, one per week), plus VIP Membership and a Welcome Pack.
This offering is nothing new for the Forza Horizon series, though is $10 more than the $49.99 Premium Upgrade offered for Forza Horizon 5 — an increase that has not gone unnoticed among the franchise’s fanbase on social media and reddit.
The pricing is even more remarkable in other territories, too — in the UK, the Premium Upgrade is £59.99, the exact same cost as the game itself. In Australia, the Premium Edition is AU $190, up from AU $150 for the Premium Edition of Forza Horizon 5.
“Yeah that’s absolutely cooked,” wrote Aussie Forza fan Pretty_Leather4803 on reddit. “$40 more for basically the same content as last time? Microsoft really thinks we’re made of money down here. At this point I’m just gonna wait for it to hit Game Pass and skip all the fancy extras.”
“Inflation is a real thing,” countered another fan, BrokenClays, in yet another reddit thread. “In November 2021 FH5 Premium was $99.99. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $116.58 in December 2025 dollars. They are charging $119.99. In the UK in 2021 FH5 cost £84.99. Adjusted for inflation, it would be £106.58. They are charging £109.99. I know a lot of people are feeling sticker shock, but the price increase is just a hair over inflation. The world we live in is more expensive.”
Finally, just to cover all bases, there’s the Deluxe Edition of the game — which is less deluxe than the Premium Edition. For $99.99, you’ll get the base game, Car Pass and Welcome Pack, but not the early access, expansions, or anything else included in the Premium Edition / Upgrade.
It’s worth pointing out that last year, a report alleged that Microsoft had pushed Xbox studios to deliver a 30% profit margin — much higher than the industry average. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier said that Microsoft’s 30% profit margin goal had led to the gaming division’s huge layoffs, canceled projects, controversial price rises, and multiplatform push.
Bloomberg said the average profit margin in the video game industry is 17-22%. Over the past six years, Xbox has hit 10-20%. To put that 30% target into more context, Sony’s PlayStation division achieved a 16% profit margin in the first quarter of its 2025 financial year. Bloomberg said Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood enforced the new target in fall 2023 — amid Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.
Which Forza Horizon 6 edition of the game are you buying?
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
The Saudi-led acquisition of Electronic Arts is meeting with more friction in the US House of Congress. 46 lawmakers have signed a letter calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the debt-financed $55 billion deal for signs that it could be damaging for workers and anti-competitive to the point of breaking US anti-trust law.
The latest entry in the hugely popular Arknights universe is out now, expanding the IP beyond mobile and introducing cross platform progression. Arknights: Endfield – a free-to-play RPG that builds on the strategic depth of 2019’s Arknights – made an impact with its presence at Japan Expo, Anime Expo and gamescom last year, and had over 35 million sign-ups in its pre-registration phase.
To celebrate the release on PlayStation 5, PC and mobile, publisher GRYPHLINE has announced an array of rewards players can claim, including sign-in bonuses and milestone rewards equivalent to at least 135 pulls across different banners.
The game introduces a 3D world built around exploration, real-time combat and base-building objectives to the original 2D offering, with a new frontier storyline driving the action. Players control squads of up to four characters (Operators), combining their skills, elemental abilities and coordinated tactics in a series of fast-paced enemy encounters.
At the heart of the narrative is the player-character the Endministrator, or Endmin, a legendary guardian who has been roused from a decade-long hibernation. The Endmin has been tasked with protecting the inhabitants of Talos II from catastrophic threats, and, with the assistance of Endfield Industries, has utilised their mastery of advanced energy transmission and the planet’s most valuable resource: an element called Originium. Together, they have developed a variety of industrial technologies including the Automated Industrial Complex (AIC), a backbone of production networks and power grids stretching across the wilderness, in order to forge a future and expand the Civilization Band across Talos II.
But as well as driving innovation and progress, the Civilization Band also faces threats posed by raider clans, hostile entities the Aggeloi, and The Blight – a mysterious dimensional anomaly that infects and taints any matter it comes into contact with.
Arknights: Endfield’s expansion beyond mobile means that exploration, AIC mastery, squad combat and management of Endfield Industries’ orbital HQ can all be enjoyed with native 120 FPS support, realistic snow-stepping, environmental puddle reflections and more. Players can also toggle NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution and Frame Generation independently, to further bring the expansive landscapes of Talos II to life.
In addition, there is plug-and-play support on both mobile and PC for DualSense, DualShock and Xbox controllers with haptic feedback, providing a premium tactile as well as visual experience.
Arknights: Endfield is available now on PlayStation5, PC via the official launcher and Epic Games Store, and mobile devices via Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Check out our review so far for a comprehensive breakdown of the game’s mechanics and the opening hours of gameplay.
Sine Fine is a “hard sci-fi” space exploration game from the avid stargazers at Vindemiatrix Collective, a developer based across western Europe. It is certainly hard to get your head around, but also, very promising. The premise is that you’re a lonely, functionally immortal AI, seeking a new home for some meagre frozen embryos in the wake of humanity’s extinction. Labouring across eons, you’ll send out probes to nearby systems and build outposts and communication networks.
Fortnite fans have gained a first look at how The Office characters Michael Scott and Dwight Scrute will appear in the game, when they become available later tonight.
The pair of new Fortnite skins include the likenesses of actors Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson, and come with a range of alternate styles and accessories. The Michael Scott skin includes the option to wear sunglasses, or unbutton his shirt and wear a backwards cap for his “Date Mike” look.
Dwight Scrute, meanwhile, comes with the option to wear his suit jacket or not — and without, the skin can be seen with a holster strapped to his uncovered belt (complete with banana, as seen in the show). Another reference comes in the shape of Dwight’s skin mask option for his face, as worn by the character after he memorably cut it off of a CPR dummy.
Said CPR dummy (without face) is appropriately Dwight’s backbling. Michael’s backwear, meanwhile, is a giant World’s Best Boss mug, as used by the character throughout the show. Further accessories include Dwight’s Broom-Stake and Michael’s Dundee award statue, both used as pickaxes.
There’s even a Megadesk glider, and emotes for Dwight’s convertible (which he leans out of yelling in his megaphone), and Michael’s Scarn dance. Both feature original dialogue from the show.
Today, the collaboration has been decrypted within Fortnite’s files, ahead of the items going on sale via the game’s shop at its next reset. This has allowed the game’s usual leakers such as ShinaBR, whose posts are embedded above, to show off the content early.
Fortnite launched into its Chapter 7 era in November with an Avengers Endgame-style team-up event. Crossovers added since then have included skins for Kim Kardashian, Bleach, and South Park. Next week will bring a skin for Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy. Today also sees the launch of Fortnite’s 3v3 Fall Guys basketball mode Crown Jam, which is available for a limited time. Take a first look at that just below.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Xbox Game Studios recently revealed Playground Games’ upcoming Fable reboot properly, showcasing a bunch of gameplay that stays true to the classic series while throwing in a few intriguing evolutions for good measure.
Launching this Autumn on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5, we honestly weren’t expecting to see this one on the Switch 2, but according to Windows Central’s Jez Corden, it’s actually currently “under consideration” for Nintendo’s console.
