Amazon has produced yet another brilliant Pokémon TCG deal ready for the weekend, and it’s once again on the latest Mega Evolution set, Phantasmal Flames.

While celebrating the launch of Ascended Heroes (albeit being a staggered release), it’s a mighty bit of fresh air to finally get some reasonable prices on boosters for the popular Mega Charizard X sporting set from last year.

Valentine’s Day is just a couple of weeks away, and if you’re looking for a fun gift idea that you can experience with your favorite person, a co-op game is always a great pick. Split Fiction is one worth considering – we called it an “expertly crafted co-op adventure” in our review, after all – but what’s even better is the PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions are currently on sale for $37.49 at Walmart. This deal saves you just over $10 compared to their list price.

Save on Split Fiction (PS5 and Switch 2)

Veteran role-playing game maker Obsidian Entertainment has no plans to continue The Outer Worlds with a third game, the studio has confirmed.

As part of a Bloomberg interview, Obsidian revealed that last year’s The Outer Worlds 2 had underperformed, and a sequel is not in development. Avowed, the company’s other blockbuster RPG released last year, also missed its targets — but Obsidian reportedly still has plans for more from its world of Eora, the same setting as Pillars of Eternity.

On a more positive note, Grounded 2 — yet another 2025 launch — was a hit. But of the three, it had the shortest (and almost certainly the cheapest) development period by far. Grounded 2 took just over two years to meet its early access launch, compared to the more than six years required for both Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2.

In 2025, Xbox trumpeted the fact that Obsidian was about to launch three games in just eight months, with Avowed hitting in February, Grounded 2 launching in early access in July, and The Outer Worlds 2 arriving in October. But the effort was “the result of things going wrong,” studio design director Josh Sawyer has now said — and something that is unlikely to be repeated.

“Spacing those releases helps the company manage its resources and not burn everybody out,” Sawyer told Bloomberg. “It’s not good to release three games in the same year. It’s the result of things going wrong.”

Famously, Avowed began life as a multiplayer game with ambitions to be a cross between The Elder Scrolls and Destiny, before its online co-op was stripped out and the project was rebooted. It then took a while to steady the ship, though the arrival of Carrie Patel as its director saw the game on a smoother path — albeit some three years into the project.

As for The Outer Worlds 2’s prolonged development, Bloomberg’s report simply states that the project was made more difficult by the pandemic and technical challenges. Now, Obsidian’s focus is reportedly fixed on ensuring games can be made on shorter development timelines, with releases more spaced out, and with as generous a profit margin from Microsoft as they can get away withmuster.

“I don’t think anybody really likes five-, six-, seven-year dev cycles,” noted Brandon Adler, who served as director on The Outer Worlds 2. “We’ve kind of grown into that.”

Referencing Microsoft’s eye-opening 30% profit-margin target for some Xbox studios, Obsidian boss Feargus Urquhart said he hoped the company still continued to fund riskier projects and accepted that “maybe where we are going to be from a profitability standpoint isn’t going to be 30%.”

Obsidian is yet to announce its next project, following 2025’s exhaustive release schedule. Work on Grounded 2 continues, of course, and it sounds like Eora will be returned to. (Avowed will also launch for PlayStation 5 later this month.) As for what else might be in the pipeline, time will tell.

“I know everyone on the internet, on every game we ever announce, will constantly reference back to, ‘When’s the next New Vegas?'” Obsidian’s VP of operations Marcus Morgan said last year, referencing the studio’s beloved Fallout game that’s served as the inspiration for the hit Amazon TV series’ second season setting. Well, it’s a good question.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass February 2026 Wave 1 lineup, which includes big hitters such as High on Life 2, Madden NFL 26, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

As detailed in a post on Xbox Wire, available today, February 3, are Final Fantasy II (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) and Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC), both across Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass.

February 5 sees Madden NFL 26 (Cloud, Console, and PC) join Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and — something totally different — Paw Patrol Rescue Wheels: Championship (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) on Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass.

Moving on to February 10 and Relooted (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. February 12 is a solid day for Game Pass with BlazBlue Entropy Effect X (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC), Roadside Research (Game Preview) (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC), and Starsand Island (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) all hitting Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

A day later, on February 13, we have two big hitters: High on Life 2 (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC), which launches day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and open-world RPG Kingdom Come Deliverance (Cloud, Console, and PC) on Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass.

Rounding out the list, on February 17 we have Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and Obsidian’s fantasy RPG Avowed (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) hitting Game Pass Premium, which should open its doors to more players.

Xbox Game Pass February 2026 Wave 1 lineup:

• Madden NFL 26 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 5 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Paw Patrol Rescue Wheels: Championship (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – February 5 Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
• Relooted (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – February 10 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• BlazBlue Entropy Effect X (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – February 12 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Roadside Research (Game Preview) (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – February 12 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Starsand Island (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – February 12 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• High on Life 2 (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – February 13 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Kingdom Come Deliverance (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 13 Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – February 17 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Avowed (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – February 17 Now with Game Pass Premium

Only one game leaves Game Pass this month: Madden NFL 24 (Cloud, Console, and PC), on February 15, which makes sense since last year’s game is replacing it.

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.

Helldivers 2‘s latest patch, Into the Unjust: 6.0.1., is rolling out now, adding a playable tank and interchangeable victory poses and emotes as part of a push towards the liberation of the Cyborg homeworld, Cyberstan.

“We have confirmed, with concrete proof and beyond any doubt, that the Automaton Collective stole our schematics for the Star of Peace. We cannot let them turn this defensive tool of peace into a destructive weapon of war,” developer Arrowhead teased. “It’s now up to you, our most elite and powerful force, to bring them to justice on their own turf.

“We have approved the deployment of new equipment for squads to aid in the swift elimination of the Automaton threat. Push toward Cyberstan and end this insult to Managed Democracy. Helldivers, let this be the last time the Automatons steal from Super Earth.”

Highlights of the patch include the Bastion Tank, a new tank vehicle that is “ready to roll over entrenched enemies,” and “offering unrivaled firepower and defense on the battlefield.” Be warned, though — “it will require your team to work together to hunt down the enemy!”

You’ll also see a 50% increase to base melee attack, changes to enemy behavior, and a trickier challenge in the game’s hardest difficulties, with Arrowhead explaining that the “biggest change should be noticed on the Automaton front while Terminids and the Illuminate are less affected.”

As for those aftermentioned Automatons? There’s nothing specific about them in the patch notes beyond a cursory note that it’s now confirmed that it was the Automatons that stole the Star of Peace schematics, but a fan-run Twitter/X account dedicated to Helldivers found this to share with us:

Cyborgs 💀 #Helldivers2 pic.twitter.com/SBVhHYDm7W

— Helldivers Alerts (@HelldiversAlert) February 3, 2026

Helldivers 2 update 6.0.1 patch notes:

*** INCOMING MESSAGE FROM HIGH COMMAND ***

We have confirmed, with concrete proof and beyond any doubt, that the Automaton Collective stole our schematics for the Star of Peace. We cannot let them turn this defensive tool of peace into a destructive weapon of war. It’s now up to you, our most elite and powerful force, to bring them to justice on their own turf.

We have approved the deployment of new equipment for squads to aid in the swift elimination of the Automaton threat.

Push toward Cyberstan and end this insult to Managed Democracy. Helldivers, let this be the last time the Automatons steal from Super Earth.

📍 Patch Highlights

• Bastion Tank: A new tank vehicle is ready to roll over entrenched enemies! The Bastion Tank offers unrivaled firepower and defense on the battlefield. It will require your team to work together to hunt down the enemy! (2pm CET)
• Chinese VO has been added to Helldivers 2!
• Arm yourself with the latest premium Warbond Siegebreakers, loaded with a devastating hammer built for close-range persuasion and an upgrade to a Helldivers favorite, the LAS-16 Trident!
• March into battle in style with the new War Horse set, available in the Superstore on February 10!
• With a few exceptions, all victory poses and emotes are now interchangeable!

⚖️ Balancing

General changes overview

Melee weapons and Armor passive with increased melee damage re-balance

• Intent is to make the Armor passive that increases melee damage less mandatory but still be useful to make melee weapons more effective.
• We increased all the melee weapons damage and decreased the modifiers on the armor passives that increase melee damage.
• Total damage with the melee armor passive will be higher or the same as before.
• Base melee attack also got a 50% damage increase.

SMG and Pistol rounds less Sway

• The intent is that the increased drag of SMG and Pistol which make it a close combat weapon and less effective at range is the main characteristic of these weapons.
• We decreased the Sway modifier to be the same as most other weapons

Unify Weapon function directions inputs

• The intent is to make the “weapon function modes” that are similar to be on the same “weapon function direction input”.
• This is to make it easier to remember which direction similar types of weapon functions are and also make it so you need to use less “quick weapon functions” inputs.
• Weapon function modes that affect Programmable ammo, Ammo types, Volley modes, Safe modes, Guided modes will now be in the left direction.
• We have not moved the underbarrel weapon switching option to the left yet, but we are looking into moving it to the left direction so all ammo altering switching is in the left direction even if it is an underbarrel selection that usually is in the down direction.

Difficulty on difficulty 9+

Made changes across all factions to increase the intensity on high difficulties, the biggest change should be noticed on the Automaton front while Terminids and the Illuminate are less affected.

Value changes

Primary weapons

R-2124 Constitution

• Increased Bayonet melee damage from 110 to 165
• Increased Bayonet melee durable damage from 55 to 83

R-2 Amendment

• Increased Bayonet melee damage from 110 to 165
• Increased Bayonet melee durable damage from 55 to 83

MP-98 Knight

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

SMG-37 Defender

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

SMG-72 Pummeler

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

M7S SMG

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

SG-20 Halt

• Move the “ammo type” weapon function from Right to Left weapon function direction

DBS-2 Double Freedom

• Move the “Volley/Semi mode” weapon function from Right to Left weapon function direction

Sidearms weapons

P-72 Crisper

• Increased magazine capacity from 30 to 50
• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

P-2 Peacemaker

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

LAS-58 Talon

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

GP-31 Grenade Pistol

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

LAS-7 Dagger

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

P-113 Verdict

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

M6C/SOCOM Pistol

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

PLAS-15 Loyalist

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

P-11 Stim Pistol

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.2 to 1

SG-22 Bushwhacker

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.3 to 1
• Move the “Volley/Semi mode” weapon function from Right to Left weapon function direction

P-4 Senator

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.3 to 1

GP-20 Ultimatum

• Decreased sway modifier from 1.3 to 1

CQC-30 Stun Baton

• Increased damage from 50 to 75
• Increased durable damage from 25 to 38

CQC-19 Stun Lance

• Increased damage from 110 to 165
• Increased durable damage from 55 to 83

CQC-2 Saber

• Increased damage from 125 to 188
• Increased durable damage from 65 to 98

CQC-5 Combat Hatchet

• Increased damage from 160 to 240
• Increased durable damage from 80 to 120

CQC-42 Machete

• Increased damage from 200 to 300
• Increased durable damage from 100 to 150

Throwables

G-7 Pineapple

• Increased max amount uses 3 to 4
• Increased start amount uses 2 to 3

G-31 Arc

• Increased max amount uses 4 to 5
• Increased start amount uses 3 to 4

Stratagems

SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack

• Shorter cooldown from 300 to 240 sec

Orbital Smoke Strike

• Shorter cooldown from 100 to 75 sec

CQC-9 Defoliation Tool

• Increased damage from 300 to 450
• Increased durable damage from 150 to 225

CQC-1 One True Flag

• Increased damage from 110 to 200
• Increased durable damage from 55 to 100

RS-422 Railgun

• Move the “Safe/Unsafe mode” weapon function from Right to Left weapon function direction

StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher

• Move the “Programmable ammo mode” weapon function from Right to Left weapon function direction

GL-21 Grenade Launcher

• Increased armor penetration level from Medium to Heavy

Armor passives

Peak Physique

• Decreased melee damage bonus from 100% to 40%

Rock Solid

• Decreased melee damage bonus from 100% to 40%

Reinforced Epaulettes

• Decreased melee damage bonus from 50% to 20%

Enemies

General

Some enemies have had their damage vs durable rebalanced to adjust for Helldiver vehicles with large health pools. It will not change their effectiveness against normal Helldivers, only their vehicles.

Things like attacks from Bile Titans, Chargers, Crescent Overseers, Overseers, Rocket firing Automatons, Hulk melee attacks, mortars, acid etc have gotten values adjusted. Some of the adjustments only affect certain targets (ie the Bastion). Other adjustments also affect the FRV and Exosuits.

Enemies Aim calculations were not always updated when there were many enemies trying to aim, making Automatons on higher difficulties a bit bad at aiming. They should now attempt to update the aim better considering the data they have before they get another proper aim update. This means that Automatons will aim better even when there are a lot of them without any further cost to performance.

Terminids

Dragon roach

• lowered the direct damage from the flame attack by 25%

Automatons

Rocket Raider

• Rockets now deals increased damage vs Durable targets

Devastator

• Removed durable on arms

Rocket Devastator

• Rockets now deals increased damage vs Durable targets

Hulk Bruiser

• Rockets now deals increased damage vs Durable targets

Gunship

• updated its targeting software and should now be better at hitting their targets
• Rockets now deals increased damage vs Durable targets

Illuminate

Overseer

• Overseer`s weapon now deals increased damage vs Durable targets

Crescent Overseer

• Increased force on artillery attack to stagger the Helldiver
• Increased the damage of its direct shot attack
• Crescent Overseer`s weapon now deals increased damage vs Durable targets

🎮 Gameplay

Emotes and Victory poses

Emotes and victory poses are now interchangeable. Except for a few exceptions like emotes that require 2 people, the kick and a few others, all the victory poses can now be used as emotes and all emotes can now be used as victory poses

🔧 Fixes

Hang Detection

As part of our ongoing war against bugs and instability we have introduced a “hang detection” feature in the PC version. If the game hangs (freezes) for more than 20 seconds then this new feature will crash the game instead of letting it stay hung. This generates a file called a “crash dump” which contains important debugging information for our programmers to diagnose and fix the root cause of the hang.

If you experience a hang, please wait at least 40 seconds before restarting your PC to allow the hang detector to do its job.

If you experience a 20+ second hang followed by a crash:

• If the crash reporting window shows up then please submit the report as usual.
• If the crash reporting window doesn’t show up (it can fail), we humbly request that you share the crash dump file with our player support team (https://arrowhead.zendesk.com/). They will be able to assist you in locating and sharing the crash dump file.

With your help, we can eliminate these issues once and for all!

Crash Fixes

• Fixed a rare crash caused by weapon customization desynchronization
• Fixed a rare crash that would occur when players would access the Galactic Map
• Fixed a crash caused by Automatons in Lava Missions

Weapons & Stratagem Fixes

• The RS-422 Railgun magazine during reload animation is now visible
• When finishing an Eradication mission after the mission time has run out, an over-zealous second Pelican pilot will no longer heroically try to extract our noble Helldivers if another is already en route
• AX/FLAM-75 “Guard Dog” Hot Dog has its sound effects fixed
• AR/GL-21 One-Two underbarrel explosions sound effects are now fixed
• MLS-4X Commando rockets will now target properly, rather than targeting the last place the Helldiver aims at
• Fixed an issue where the R-36 Eruptor displayed incorrect zoom levels options when using non-zoomed scope attachments
• Fixed a bug where the B-1 Supply Pack would give infinite supplies when dropped
• Fixed the visual glitches that appear in the preview section of the Weapon Customization Menu
• Helldivers can now reload whilst inside an M-102 Fast Reconnaissance Vehicle
• B-1 Supply Pack can no longer be used on Helldivers when their ammo, grenades and stims are full
• Fixed bug where story campaign operations would not persist between game sessions
• Projectiles from turret stratagems will now also hit their owners
• The Ministry of Defense has installed scrubbing chips on the Ground All-Terrain Extraction Rig, preventing accidental lock-on by smart weaponry
• RS-422 Railgun now properly displays the clip during the Reload animation if the player reloads the weapon immediately after firing
• When cancelling a reload after a new projectile was made visible, but before it was put into the weapon; the weapon would display the new shell in the weapon, even with the weapon empty. The weapons will now correctly display if it is ready to fire or not
• Heat based weapons are now displaying overheating properly, in the Weapon Function Menu
• Kills with “One True Flag” will now count towards Major Order kills
• Fixed the M-1000 Maxigun wind-up sounds which would sometimes not play properly
• Player can no longer throw multiple stratagems after entering and exiting emplacements
• Grenade launcher shots and explosions from AR/GL-21 One-Two rifle should now be visible when shot by other players

P-92 Warrant

• Made the drag and gravity the same on the non-guided projectile as the last patch change for the guided projectile.
• Move the “Guided mode/None Guided mode” weapon function from Right to Left weapon function direction

Enemies

• Enemies have learned how to target better
• Fixed spawn rate on Rapid Acquisition missions on difficulty CR7-10. Adjusted spawn points on Rapid Acquisition map

Miscellaneous Fixes

• Automaton dropships will now move less erratically when dropping enemies
• Fix incorrect camera positioning when transitioning to first person while reloading
• Fixed an issue where players could land on Command Bunkers in city missions
• Fixed certain items not being interactable inside specific PoIs on Magma planets
• Solved terrain height changing when approaching or moving away from a deformed piece of terrain, causing a weird visual effect
• Exiting a vehicle now properly inherits the vehicle`s velocity
• High-Command has now authorized Commando Operations to be carried out on all Automaton controlled planets. They will frequently be available to choose alongside the regular Peace Keeping Operations going forward
• Fix damage inconsistencies between client and host damage. Clients should no longer do less damage than the host
• Players no longer get stuck under the bridge during Rapid Acquisition missions
• The Helldiver properly follows hand position protocols when activating power stations
• Camera correctly points towards the Hellidver during the push-up emote
• The battery light will now turn off after its delivery during “Seize Fusion Batteries” objective
• Draw! Emote no longer locks melee weapons
• Adjusted Automaton scanner glow – they will no longer shine white whilst scanning for Helldivers
• The Super Earth Flag is now correctly playing the Super Earth Anthem when using the stratagem during Hive World Missions
• The Helldiver now moves their hands away from terminal screens to not block sight to whoever is looking over their shoulder
• [Xbox Only] Smoke will no longer display green artifacts on red planets
• The Guard Dog series of stratagems have had their names shortened to improve readability. They’re still your loyal companions, but now with shorter, easier to read names.

Optimizations

• We improved fog density / visibility between Volumetric Fog Quality settings, making the Lowest and Low settings match
• Improved performance of building material found in colonies and cities
• Removed the light-source that was attached to the Helldiver, which was used for making dark environments brighter near the player; tweaked and improved playability and visibility in darker environments instead
• Fixed an issue that was causing some players to get a “10002026” error during login attempt
• Implemented performance improvements affecting explosions and general destruction, primarily surrounding bot factories

Helldivers 2’s next Warbond, Siege Breakers, is out today, February 3, as part of this update. As detailed in a recent post, this Warbond is for players needing “something to smash through […] towering foe with impenetrable fortifications,“… which I’m pretty sure means it’s needed by all of us.

Don’t forget that February will a “month of anniversary surprises” as Helldivers 2 hits its second anniversary. To kick us off, Arrowhead formally introduced us to the “face of Freedom, the voice of Victory, the light of Liberty,” John Helldiver himself.

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.