2024-02

Overwatch 2 has had a rough road following the early success of the first game. That game, which easily earned Game Informer's Game of the Year in 2016, started with such promise and a massive, enthusiastic audience, but following the 2019 announcement of Overwatch 2, support for the original Overwatch floundered, and so, too, did the community. Last year's release of Overwatch 2's PvE elements in its Invasion update pushed the hero shooter back in the right direction, but it didn't make the splash Blizzard had hoped for. With Overwatch 2 Season 9, which kicks off next week, Blizzard is making a ton of sweeping behind-the-scenes changes to make the game more approachable for players. Players of all modes will notice updates to how moment-to-moment gameplay, encounters, and matches as a whole play out. Hit consistency is being improved, with projectiles...

Blizzard Entertainment is making some major changes to Overwatch 2 with Season 9: Champions, such as revamping Ranks, buffing all heroes, and more when it launches February 13....

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Persona 3 Reload is finally here, and fans of the series have welcomed it with open arms, happily becoming reacquainted with the high schoolers who get magical powers from a shot to the head. Speaking of which, Persona 3 Reload has shot to the head of Atlus's ranking of fastest-selling games, shipping over a million copies worldwide in its first week. Persona 3 Reload sold 1,000,000 copies worldwide within its first week, becoming the fastest selling game in ATLUS history! 🎉 A huge thank you to our community for your incredible support! We look forward to breaking more records with you. 💙 pic.twitter.com/C2abDAwCDs — Official ATLUS West (@Atlus_West) February 8, 2024 Originally released on the PlayStation 2, Persona 3 was the first game in its series to define its modern formula, combining social responsibilities with dungeon crawling and a lengthy, emotional story....

Funimation and Crunchyroll, two competing anime streaming services, merged in 2021 and announced in 2022 that all of the content would eventually combine under the Crunchyroll banner. That event officially has a date, and it's April 2. For Funimation subscribers, you will have to go through the process of merging your account before the April 2 date, and, frustratingly, any shows that were outright purchased through Funimation will not transfer to Crunchyroll. Just another reminder that when you purchase digital content, true ownership does not technically exist and you will always be at the mercy of the platform holders when it comes to access. Crunchyroll subscribers do not need to make any changes, but the price of the subscription will rise to $100 a year soon. The merger officially going through does mean Crunchyroll will feature more content, but a...

The Sonic the Hedgehog Movie spinoff series, Knuckles, is premiering April 26, and ahead of its streaming debut, Paramount has released a trailer. The series officially takes place between the second and third movie and will apparently follow Knuckles (Idris Elba) has he helps Wade (Adam Pally), Tom Wachowski's (James Marsden) bumbling police partner, become a true warrior. The trailer also reveals the antagonist will be played by Rory McCann, who is best known for playing Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane in Game of Thrones, and features a two-thirds Human Giant reunion cameo with Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. Curiously, they're sitting at an ESPN8 The Ocho desk, a gag born from the 2004 film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story that eventually became a real thing. Other interesting details from the trailer? Jim Carrey does not appear, nor does James Marsden,...

Epic Games and The Walt Disney Company have announced a new collaboration that will result in the joint creation of an all-new games and entertainment universe. Alongside the partnership, The Walt Disney Company is investing $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games.  The multi-year project aims to create an all-new universe that spans the various Disney properties, including Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Avatar, and more. Disney says players will be able to create their own stories and experiences, share content, and express their fandom in experiences powered by Unreal Engine. "Our exciting relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney's beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a press release. "This marks Disney's biggest entry ever into the world of games...

After getting pushed into 2024, we have a release date for the game's next big update. New Game +, new suits, and other upgrades are on March 7. Along with those vague content promises, Insomniac also says it will have a proper list of new features in the future. ❗ OUR NEXT UPDATE IS COMING MARCH 7 Our title update for Marvel's #SpiderMan2PS5 arrives next month and adds highly requested features like New Game+, new suits, and more! Watch our social media for a complete list of features closer to release. 🕸️🕷️ #BeGreaterTogether pic.twitter.com/qhncOPkUXY — Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) February 7, 2024 For more on Marvel's Spider-Man 2, you can read our review here....

During today's PlayStation State of Play, Square Enix gave us new details for what to expect when Final Fantasy VII Rebirth arrives later this month. The game continues to impress with each passing look, earning its spot as the "Most Anticipated Game" at The Game Awards 2023. The world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is broken into various regions, which seamlessly blend into one another. After the intro sequence, players enter into the Grasslands, a grassy area south of Midgar. From there, you travel to Junon, a vast open area in the shadow of Shinra's military; this area also features chocobos that can climb up cliffsides. The game also includes Corel, which features the touristy beach town of Costa del Sol, the massive playground known as Gold Saucer, and the dusty portion of the region to the south. The Gongaga...

At the tail-end of today's PlayStation State of Play devoted to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, fans were treated to the announcement that a demo is available now for those who can't wait to jump into the highly anticipated adventure. The title, which was featured on the cover of Game Informer issue 362 and won "Most Anticipated Game" at The Game Awards 2023, is less than a month from release. The demo puts you in the shoes of Cloud and Sephiroth during the impactful Nibelheim episode. In that sequence, which we played during our previous coverage, you fight through various enemies as you climb Mt. Nibel, allowing you to experience the relationship between Cloud and Sephiroth before things sour between them. It was a fun way to whet my appetite when I played it back in December, and it'll likely do the same for...