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Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor Brings The Island To Life On Consoles And PC | TheXboxHub

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Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor Brings The Island To Life On Consoles And PC | TheXboxHub


Thomas & Friends Wonders of Sodor official keyart, showing Thomas chugging along the tracks
Thomas & Friends Wonders of Sodor game featuring Thomas, Percy, and friends exploring the Island of Sodor on consoles and PC

The Island of Sodor is steaming back into the spotlight, as Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor has been officially announced for consoles and PC.

Developed by Dovetail Games in collaboration with Mattel, this brand-new standalone adventure invites players of all ages to explore the world of Thomas like never before when it launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Rather than a traditional Train Sim World simulation-type affair, Wonders of Sodor is shaping up to be a narrative-led experience inspired by the classic stories that made Thomas & Friends a household name.

From bustling harbours to iconic branch lines, the game aims to capture the warmth, charm, and gentle sense of discovery that has defined the series for generations.

A Storybook Journey Across Sodor

At its core, Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor is built around eight unique adventures, each drawing inspiration from the original television stories.

Players will work alongside familiar faces including Thomas, Diesel, Emily, Gordon, and Percy, helping to keep the railway running smoothly while uncovering new moments across the island.

The experience is brought together by narration from Mark Moraghan, one of the series’ original narrators, adding an extra layer of authenticity for long-time fans. Whether travelling from Vicarstown to Knapford, exploring at your own pace, or tackling light puzzles such as the Shunting Truck Challenge, the focus is firmly on relaxed exploration and story-driven play.

Iconic Locations And Free Exploration

Wonders of Sodor promises a lovingly recreated island, featuring well-known routes and locations including the Main Line, Thomas’ Branch Line, and Knapford Harbour. Players can freely explore these areas between objectives, encouraging curiosity and discovery rather than strict progression.

This approach makes the game feel as much like an interactive storybook as it does a traditional adventure, perfectly suited to younger players while still offering plenty of nostalgia for parents and long-time fans.

Deluxe Edition Adds Extra SteamAlongside the standard release, Thomas & Friends™: Wonders of Sodor – Deluxe Edition has also been confirmed. This expanded version introduces James as a playable character and includes four additional adventures set around the island.

For those looking to experience everything Sodor has to offer, the Deluxe Edition is positioned as the most complete way to climb aboard.

Key Features At A Glance

A standalone Thomas & Friends narrative adventure

Eight story-driven adventures inspired by the original TV series

Narration from original series narrator Mark Moraghan

Freely explore the Island of Sodor and its iconic locations

Familiar characters including Thomas, Percy, Gordon, Emily, Diesel, and more

Puzzles and activities such as the Shunting Truck Challenge

Deluxe Edition featuring James and four additional adventures

Launching on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC storefronts

Not Thomas’ First Stop In Gaming

While this is Thomas’ first fully standalone adventure of this kind, it’s not hit first appearance in modern games. Back in 2025, Dovetail Games introduced Thomas-themed content to Train Sim World 5 as part of the franchise’s 80th anniversary celebrations.

Wonders of Sodor feels like a natural evolution from that collaboration, offering a more accessible, story-focused experience that puts character and exploration ahead of hardcore simulation.

A Wholesome New Arrival On The Horizon

With its focus on classic storytelling, gentle gameplay, and faithful presentation, Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor looks set to offer a warm, welcoming entry point for younger players, while tapping directly into nostalgia for older fans.

When it arrives on consoles and PC, Sodor won’t just be a place you watch, it’ll be one you can explore.



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Palia: Bulletin Board Year of the Riffroc Bundles Guide

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Palia: Bulletin Board Year of the Riffroc Bundles Guide


The Bulletin Board offers a number of seasonal bundles for players to complete and earn exclusive rewards. With the new Winter’s Wonder: Riffrocin’ New Year update, the seasonal theme for the Bulletin Board is Year of the Riffroc. There are four bundles, and each requires different items. In this guide, we will walk you through how to complete the Bulletin Board Year of the Riffroc Bundles in Palia.

Bulletin Board – All Year of the Riffroc Bundles

After spawning at your housing plot, go to the center of the Kilima Village and interact with the Bulletin Board. Here, you will have to accept the “Curious Case of the Riffroc: Intro” quest. Now, find Kenyatta and speak with her. After the conversation, you have to speak with Delaila, Zeki, and Hodari, and ask them about their booths. Once done, report back to Kenyatta to complete the quest. After completing the quest, the bundles will be available for you to pursue and complete.

Here are all the bundles in the new Year of the Riffroc seasonal theme of the Bulletin Board.

Delaila’s Sweets Savers

Zeki’s Wheel Fixers

Hodari’s Home Décor Fixes

Supporting Local Vendors

Each bundle requires a number of four different items for players to contribute. As players contribute all the items for a bundle, they will receive various seasonal exclusive rewards.

1. Delaila’s Sweets Savers

The Delaila’s Sweets Savers bundle requires various ingredients. Here are all the ingredients that players have to contribute to the Delaila’s Sweets Savers bundle.

25x Sweet Leaf: Spawns in the northern areas of Bahari Bay. Alternatively, you can purchase it from the Foraging Guild Store for 3 Foraging Medals each.

50x Milk:Purchase it from the General Store for 30 Gold each. Alternatively, you can gather it from the Ormuu ranching animal.

25x Honey: Shoot down the honeycombs hanging from the trees in Bahari Bay and Elderwood to gather honey. Alternatively, you can gather it from the Bumble ranching animal.

10x Wheat (Star-Quality): Plant wheat seeds in the player’s house and use the QualityUp Fertilizer to get Star-Quality Wheat.

After contributing all of the items to the Delaila’s Sweets Savers bundle, players will receive the following rewards.

25 Kilima Coins

10,000 Lunar XP

Friendship increases with Delaila

2. Zeki’s Wheel Fixers

The Zeki’s Wheel Fixers bundle requires four different types of materials and resources. Here are all the items that players have to contribute to Zeki’s Wheel Fixers bundle.

5x Gold Bar: Craft it at a Smelter using 5 gold ores per bar.

25x Glass Bulb: Craft it at a Glass Furnace using 2 Glass Panes per bulb.

1x Thundering Eel: Catch it from the Bahari Rivers using a Worm bait at any time.

25x Brightshroom: Grows on the ground around the ancient structures throughout Bahari Bay.

After contributing all the items to Zeki’s Wheel Fixers bundle, players will receive the following rewards.

25 Kilima Coins

10,000 Lunar XP

Friendship increases with Zeki

3. Hodari’s Home Decor Fixes

The Hodari’s Home Decor Fixes bundle requires four different furniture items. Here are all the furniture items that players have to contribute to the Hodari’s Home Decor Fixes bundle.

10x Ranch House Sink: Craft on a worktable using 30x Sapwood Plank, 3x Copper Bar, and 8x Ceramic per item.

10x Ranch House Mirror: Craft on a worktable using 18x Sapwood Plank, 2x Copper Bar, 2x Glass Pane, and 1x Silver Bar per item.

10x Ranch House Wall Cabinet: Craft at a worktable using 22x Sapwood Plank and 2x Copper Bar per item.

10x Ranch House Table Lamp: Craft at a worktable using 8x Sapwood Plank 1x Copper Bar, 2x Fabric, and 1x Glass Bulb per item.

After contributing all the furniture items to the Hodari’s Home Decor Fixes bundle, players will receive the following rewards.

25 Kilima Coins

10,000 Lunar XP

Friendship increases with Hodari

4. Supporting Local Vendors

The Supporting Local Vendors bundle requires various items from various booths at Maji Market. Here are all the items that players have to contribute to the Supporting Local Vendors bundle.

5x Dragon Firework: Purchase from Maji Market Fireworks for 2,000 Lucky Envelopes each.

5x Reth’s Noodle Rolls:Purchase from Reth’s Street Specialties for 350 Lucky Envelopes each.

5x Zeki’s Original Teriyaki: Purchase from Zeki’s Lucky Catch for 200 Lucky Envelopes each.

5x Fancier Breed Biscuit: Purchase from the Ranching Guild Store for 10 Ranching Medals each.

After contributing all items to the Supporting Local Vendors bundle, players will receive the following rewards.

25 Kilima Coins

10,000 Lunar XP

Friendship increases with Kenyatta

Upon completing all bundles of the Year of the Riffroc, you will get a Roli Voucher. Use this voucher at the Ranching Store to get Roli, a new Ranching Animal. Moreover, the outro quest for the bundle will also start. All you have to do is speak with Kenyatta to complete the outro quest.



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GeForce NOW Celebrates Six Years of Streaming With 24 Games in February

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GeForce NOW Celebrates Six Years of Streaming With 24 Games in February


Break out the cake and green sprinkles — GeForce NOW is turning six.

Since launch, members have streamed over 1 billion hours, and the party’s just getting started.

Throughout February, members can look forward to new games, fresh ways to play across more devices and even more ways to bring RTX power to every screen in the house.

There’s plenty to celebrate: the February games list kicks off with 24 new games. Start with the 10 new games in the cloud this week, including the launch of Team Jade’s Delta Force and the newest title launching in the PUBG universe, PUBG: BLINDSPOT.

Reporting for Duty

The ultimate extraction.

Delta Force, now boots on the ground and fully deployed on GeForce NOW, brings the tactical first‑person shooter from Team Jade (TiMi Studio Group) to the cloud. The game features high-stakes extraction with an all-out warfare mode, giving players a playground of open environments, vehicles and gadgets to pull off coordinated assaults.

Players join elite units tasked with tackling high‑risk missions across sprawling maps, from tight urban incursions to rugged open‑terrain operations. Expect strategic objectives, combined‑arms combat with land, air and sea vehicles, and tense firefights where teamwork and planning are just as important as quick reflexes.

On GeForce NOW, Delta Force leans into its high‑octane personality: fast drops, big maps and cinematic engagements that look sharp and feel responsive across devices. Members can squad up from almost anywhere, enjoy high‑resolution streaming and smooth performance, and stay ready for every op without waiting on downloads or big updates before jumping into the next mission.

New Mission

PUBG Blindspot on GeForce NOW
Squad up.

PUBG: BLINDSPOT, a new spin-off set in the PUBG universe from Krafton, expands the franchise with a standalone 5v5 top-down tactical shooter.

Set across tightly designed maps, matches focus on information, positioning and coordinated team play, with squads clearing angles, locking down objectives and outmaneuvering opponents in fast, round-based firefights. Every callout and ability use matters, turning each round into a layered tactical puzzle rather than a simple test of reflexes.

On GeForce NOW, responsive streaming and sharp RTX-powered visuals keep every angle, rotation and clutch play feeling precise, even on lower-powered devices. With support across a wide range of screens, the cloud makes it easy for the gaming squad to jump right into the action, without lengthy downloads or updates getting in the way.

Feelin’ February

Kick off GeForce NOW’s anniversary month in style. Here’s what’s in store to start the celebration, with this week’s 10 new additions:

Indika (New release on Xbox, available on Game Pass, Feb. 3)
Menace (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on Game Pass, Feb. 5, GeForce RTX 5080-ready)
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary Edition (New release on Battle.net, Feb. 5)
PUBG: BLINDSPOT (New release on Steam, Feb. 5, GeForce RTX 5080-ready)
Carmageddon: Rogue Shift (New release on Steam, Feb. 6, GeForce RTX 5080-ready)
Delta Force (Steam)
Fallout Shelter (Steam)
Little Nightmares Enhanced Edition (Steam and Xbox, available on Game Pass)
Roadcraft (Xbox, available on Game Pass)
Wildgate (Epic Games Store)

In addition to this week’s additions of Menace, PUBG: BLINDSPOT and Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, this game will also be GeForce RTX 5080-ready this week:

And look forward to the games coming throughout the rest of the month:

Disciples: Domination (New release on Steam, Feb. 12)
REANIMAL (New release on Steam, Feb. 13)
Kingdom Come Deliverance (New release on Xbox, available on Game Pass Feb. 13)
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (New release on Xbox, available on Game Pass Feb. 17)
Norse: Oath of Blood (New release on Steam, Feb. 17)
Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown (New release on Steam, Feb. 18)
Styx: Blades of Greed (New release on Steam, Feb. 19)
Ys X: Proud Nordics (New release on Steam, Feb. 20)
Resident Evil: Requiem (New release on Steam, Feb. 26)
Arc Raiders (Xbox)
DEVOUR (Steam)
Torque Drift 2 (Steam)
Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power (Epic Games Store)
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (Epic Games Store)

January in the Books

In addition to the 14 games announced last month, 21 more joined the GeForce NOW library:

Ancient Farm (Steam)
The Bard’s Tale Trilogy (Steam and Xbox, available on Game Pass)
The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut (Steam and Xbox, available on Game Pass)
Blood West (Epic Games Store)
Bladesong (Steam)
Cairn (Steam)
The Gold River Project (Steam)
Half Sword (Steam, GeForce RTX 5080-ready)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon (Steam)
The Midnight Walkers (Steam)
Paradise Killer (Epic Games Store)
Prototype (Ubisoft Connect)
Prototype 2 (Ubisoft Connect)
Rustler (Epic Games Store)
Star Wars Outlaws (Ubisoft Connect, now available on Xbox Game Pass)
Styx: Shards of Darkness (Epic Games Store)
Styx: Master of Shadows (Epic Games Store)
Total War: Three Kingdoms (Epic Games Store)
Vampires: Bloodlord Rising (Steam, GeForce RTX 5080-ready)
Warhammer 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2 (Xbox, available on Game Pass, GeForce RTX 5080-ready)
Waterpark Simulator (Steam)

Nova Roma is now set to launch in March and will arrive in the cloud when it debuts. Stay tuned to GFN Thursday for more details.

What are you planning to play this weekend? Let us know on X or in the comments below.





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Micro Karting – A nod to Super Mario Kart for the Amiga, but so far it’s just a tech demo!

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Micro Karting – A nod to Super Mario Kart for the Amiga, but so far it’s just a tech demo!


If you’ve never heard of Super Mario Kart, then I guess you were living in a cave, as this game series which first appeared in 1992 on the SNES, was one of the most addictive arcade style racing games ever to appear on a TV screen. So to see someone try to create a Mario Kart like experience on the Amiga certainly caught my interest! Welcome to Micro Karting, a small proof-of-concept to see if a 3D-ish kart racing game can be done on Amiga AGA without cheating.

(No Sound)

Here’s the latest. “Everything is written in raw 68020 assembly and tested on real hardware. It runs surprisingly well on a totally stock, unexpanded Amiga 1200, but with Fast RAM and/or an accelerator it gets smoother and more stable (less pain for the CPU). No engines, no system friendly code. Just chipset, fixed-point math, hand-rolled routines and a lot of guess-and-retry. The goal is not visuals, but gameplay feel: steering must stay responsive even when the machine is clearly sweating. Chunky to planar conversion is done using c2p.library, mainly to show how good and fast this free Amiga library actually is, even in a very demanding real-time scenario.”

This is not a finished game, not even close. It’s a tech demo, a playground, and a personal experiment to understand how far you can bend an Amiga before it snaps.



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PUBG: Blindspot is out now in Early Access, and it’s free as a bird | TheSixthAxis

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PUBG: Blindspot is out now in Early Access, and it’s free as a bird | TheSixthAxis


Krafton’s top-down tactical shooter PUBG: Blindspot is out now in Steam Early Access, and it’s a free-to-play game that’s worth checking out for fans of this kind of genre.

PUBG: Blindspot might share the branding of the hit battle royale, but it’s a totally different style of game. This is a 5v5 team shooter that’s all about lines of sight with a shared team vision, controlling angles and close quarters combat with an element of destruction. New content is already planned, including the defence character Blaze, the addition of Molotov Cocktails for area control.

The early access launch is the start of open development that will take on feedback from the player base to inform the updates, balance and future updates. It’s available for free at this time, and per the FAQ on Steam, it’s planned to stay in early access for around one year, after which Krafton “plan to offer bundles at various price points, as well as a variety of in-game items.” The game will almost immediately kick into a seasonal structure, with Competitive Season 1 launching on 12th February.

“Early Access allows players to become active participants in the development process,” said Seungmyeong Yang, Production Director of PUBG: BLINDSPOT. “By launching as a free-to-play title and developing openly with the community, we aim to shape PUBG: BLINDSPOT together through ongoing communication and frequent updates.”

We got to go hands on with this game late in 2024 saying in our preview “There’s just something about the top-down angle and the shared team vision that makes the game feel lighter than Siege, to me, and that’s something that I really hope resonates with gamers at large. I can definitely see this working really well on consoles, as well.”

Source: press release, Steam



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Steam Machine & Steam Frame FAQ – RAM and storage crisis to blame for no pricing or dates

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Steam Machine & Steam Frame FAQ – RAM and storage crisis to blame for no pricing or dates


Valve have put up an official explainer on why we haven’t gotten released dates or pricing for the new Steam Hardware like the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. And of course, not forgetting the Steam Controller that I might just be the most excited for. I’m excited for all of it, but that controller looks delicious.

Unfortunately, the memory crisis with shortages and prices rising has been a factor in why we don’t know more yet. As Valve said: “When we announced these products in November, we planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now. But the memory and storage shortages you’ve likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since then. The limited availability and growing prices of these critical components mean we must revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing (especially around Steam Machine and Steam Frame)”.

This is pretty much expected, and anyone following the industry will no doubt have guessed that was the reason by now. However, as also previously mentioned by the AMD CEO, Valve say “Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed”. But Valve aren’t ready to talk any more on pricing or dates right now as things are changing so quickly.

As for your burning questions, Valve have a few other answers:

Steam Frame and VR

Will Steam Frame support other streaming services?SteamOS has a built-in browser, and we expect streaming services to work in a theatrical browser mode.

How can I request a Steam Frame developer kit?Steamworks developers can submit a request for Steam Frame dev kits at the partner site here:

https://partner.steamgames.com/hardware

Supplies are limited, but we are sending out kits on an ongoing basis.

Will Steam Frame work with lighthouse base stations?It’s not something we’re working on, but we built Steam Frame to be modular and extensible so that the community and 3rd parties can build out the features and accessories that are important to them.

Can Steam Frame be used while wearing glasses?A bunch of people on the team wear glasses and use Steam Frame without issue, but it really depends on the width of the glasses frames. And while we don’t have details to share yet, we are looking into making prescription lens inserts available ahead of launch.

I heard that Steam Frame has foveated streaming – is that the same thing as foveated rendering? What games support it?With Steam Frame, we are introducing a new feature called foveated streaming. While both use eye tracking data, the technology is different:• Foveated rendering uses eye tracking data so the game only renders high resolution data in the portion of the viewport that the player is looking at.• Foveated streaming, on the other hand, uses eye tracking data so that the PC only streams high resolution data in the portion of the viewport the player is looking at.Since foveated streaming is a system-level feature, it applies to all games, and requires no game developer work. If a game implements foveated rendering, the benefits of that feature will stack with foveated streaming.Will Valve Index have ongoing product support?While we’re no longer making Valve Index, we do intend to support Index owners the same way we have in the past on an ongoing basis.

Steam Machine

How well can Steam Machine play newer, more demanding games on Steam?In our testing the majority of Steam titles play great at 4K 60FPS with FSR on Steam Machine. That said, there are some titles that currently require more upscaling than others, and it may be preferable to play at a lower framerate with VRR to maintain a 1080p internal resolution.In the meantime, we are working on HDMI VRR, investigating improved upscaling, and optimizing ray tracing performance in the driver, so we are approaching this from multiple angles

Will third parties be able to make faceplates for Steam Machine? Will you be making the CAD for those faceplates available?Yes, we plan to share faceplate CAD, specs, and details in the coming months, for customers and manufacturers to make their own.

What components of Steam Machine are upgradeable?Steam Machine’s SSD (NVMe 2230 or 2280) and memory (DDR5 SODIMMs) are both accessible and upgradeable

Steam Controller

Can I play non steam games with the Steam Controller?The controller can work with any game compatible with the Steam Overlay.

See all in the blog post.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.



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Terraria: How to Get Chillet (Huge Dragon Egg) Guide

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Terraria: How to Get Chillet (Huge Dragon Egg) Guide


Terraria has always had an amazing selection of mounts. Whether it’s bouncing around on a rideable Slime, blasting around in a fancy golf cart, or even charting the galaxy in your very own UFO, players have always had a great time riding around on their very own personal steeds.

And now, with the addition of Patch 1.4.5 and the brilliant crossover with Palworld, we have some brand-new mounts to show off! And these are great for early-game bossing too! What’s not to love?

Related

Terraria: How to Play Skyblock

Slimes are a man’s best friend.

But just how do we get Chillet? Today, I’ll show you the best possible method to find this mount as swiftly as possible, and how to use it in battle!

Terraria Exploration Tools

The new Pal Chillet can be found by opening a Huge Dragon Egg, similarly to how you hatch Pals in Palworld. So how can we find this egg? Oddly enough, while you might think this is an entity, like a rare mob, it is, in fact, coded to be an ore instead.

Because of this, we can benefit from 2 very useful items:

Metal Detector

Spelunker Potion

The metal detector can be found by killing the Nymph enemy, found randomly when exploring caves underground. This can take a while to find, but it’s not essential for your search; it’ll just speed it up dramatically.

In addition, the Spelunker Potion will highlight the Egg, so you can mine straight towards it when in the underground darkness.

Terraria Digtoise Feature

Related

Terraria: How to get Digtoise

Kick back and mine in style!

If you can, try to get a relatively fast pickaxe, or grab some items that will boost your mining speed. The new Digtoise Pal is pretty invaluable in this regard, especially if you plan on making a huge Hellevator.

Where to Find a Huge Dragon Egg

As mentioned previously, the egg can only be found in the underground and cavern layers, so you’ll want to start your search there.

You can either make some long vertical shafts in the ground, and fall while looking at the data information on the right-hand side of the screen, or you can simply find some naturally forming caves, under tall trees, in the evil biomes or even around Glowing Mushroom Biomes. The quicker you can search wide open areas, the quicker you’ll spot the egg.

Once you find the Huge Dragon Egg, just mine it with your pickaxe, and it will appear in your inventory. Once opened, you have a 50% chance to get a Blue Chillet and a 50% chance to get a Chillet Ignis.

Using Chillet in Battle

Terraria Chillet Queen Bee

Once you have Chillet, you can equip it in the mount slot of your equipment. Chillet runs pretty fast and even has a dash attack, which you don’t normally unlock until you beat the and get the shield. This dash deals summoning damage and is absolutely invaluable for bossing while freeing up an accessory slot if you don’t want to use a shield.

In addition, your attacks will gain a 10% power boost while mounted on Chillet. Use the invincibility frames granted by the dash attack to phase through enemies without taking damage. With bosses that zoom towards you like the Queen Bee, this can be a fantastic addition to your arsenal.

mixcollage-06-dec-2024-03-32-pm-8971.jpg

Released

May 16, 2011

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol

Engine

Proprietary

Steam Deck Compatibility

Verified



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Blizzard just announced a ton of Overwatch news — here’s everything we learned

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Blizzard just announced a ton of Overwatch news — here’s everything we learned


Overwatch turns 10 years old in 2026, and Blizzard Entertainment is celebrating that major milestone accordingly. The studio is going big this year, with what effectively feels like a major expansion of Overwatch, dropping the “2” from the game’s title and adding 10 new heroes.

On Wednesday, during its Overwatch Spotlight showcase, Blizzard revealed what’s in store for Overwatch in 2026, and for the next decade. From new heroes, to a new overarching story told in and out of the game, to new Stadium item icons(!!!), and a batch of new cosmetics, Overwatch is getting some major updates this year as the game heads into its second decade.

Here are the biggest announcements from Blizzard’s Overwatch Spotlight, and what those changes mean for the game’s future.

A new cinematic kicks off a yearlong story: The Reign of Talon

Overwatch’s newest character, Vendetta, takes her place at the top of the Talon organization by overthrowing Doomfist in a new animated short that kicks off a big narrative push from Blizzard called The Reign of Talon. Across in-game events, cinematics and hero trailers, short stories and comics, and map updates, Blizzard promises to tell a six-story arc that kicks off in February and will span six seasons.

In-game, players will battle in a new five-week faction war in which players align with either Overwatch or Talon in a global conflict. This meta event, called Conquest, will reward players with dozens of loot boxes and cosmetics, including one of two faction-themed Legendary Echo skins.

10 new Overwatch heroes, including 5 dropping at once


Image: Blizzard Entertainment

For the 10th year of Overwatch, 10 new heroes are joining the roster. That includes newcomers Domina (Tank), Anran (Damage), Emre (Damage), Jetpack Cat (Support), and Mizuki (Support), all of whom drop on Feb. 10. Five more heroes are planned for 2026, rolling out one per season.

To learn more about the five new heroes coming to Overwatch imminently, read our hands-on story that includes their in-game bios and ability kits and how the long-awaited Jetpack Cat finally came to be.

Also on the hero front: Vendetta is being added to Stadium mode in season 1 of Overwatch.

New Overwatch hero sub-roles and passive abilities

Overwatch hero select screen showing new sub-roles
Image: Blizzard Entertainment

The Overwatch roster is currently divided into three roles: Tank, Damage, and Support. Those roles will soon be split further into sub-roles that better reflect each hero’s place among their peers and gives them sub-role-specific passive abilities.

For example, Tanks are now split into the sub-roles Bruiser, Initiator, and Stalwart. Bruisers (Mauga, Orisa, Roadhog, Zarya) receive reduced critical damage and gain movement when at critical health. Initiators (D.Va, Doomfist, Winston, Wrecking Ball) heal when they are airborne. Stalwarts (Domina, Hazard, Junker Queen, Ramattra, Reinhardt, Sigma) have reduced knockback and reduced slowness.

The addition of sub-roles will give Blizzard more flexibility in balancing and designing heroes, since role-specific passive abilities can be tweaked (or heroes assigned to other sub-roles) in future updates. Alongside Perks, Blizzard now has one more dial to adjust in pursuit of hero balance.

New cosmetics, including new Mythics

Overwatch 2026 season 1 Legendary shop skins
Image: Blizzard Entertainment

A huge number of new skins are coming to Overwatch this year, including a new Mythic hero skin for Mercy (yes, another one) with Soldier: 76, Ana, Illari, Mauga, and Genji on the docket. Plus, we’re getting a big Hello Kitty collab. Here’s everything else coming to Overwatch’s battle pass, in-game shop, and through in-game events.

Loot boxes are being refreshed. All regular shop skins (meaning no third-party IP collabs) from the past six seasons of Overwatch are coming to loot boxes, letting players unlock many previously paid-only cosmetics. That includes Dokiwatch skins.

A big UI/UX refresh

Overwatch’s user interface and menus are getting a big overhaul, which Blizzard describes as the largest redesign in franchise history. That includes a new 3D hero lobby, a new notification hub, faster navigation and reduced friction (meaning less time backing out of menus), and a revamped hero gallery.

Blizzard is also adding a Praise feature to the in-game communication wheel, which will let players activate new voice lines that offer compliments to their teammates.

Additionally, Overwatch’s Stadium mode is getting a big icon overhaul, with more than 70 redesigned icons. Hopefully, that change will make it easier for players to identify which items, powers, and gadgets they’re purchasing when browsing the armory.

Finally, Stadium is also getting a new Hero Builder feature, which will offer “smart recommended builds based on global player data.” In other words, you might not need to rely on external sites like stadiumbuilds.io when you need to know which hero builds are popular or effective.

Overwatch is coming to Nintendo Switch 2

Wuyang healing D.Va as Freja approaches in Overwatch 2
Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch is currently available on the original Nintendo Switch, but soon, Switch 2 players will get a native version of the game. Blizzard says that the Switch 2 version of Overwatch will arrive when season 2 launches sometime this spring.



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Fallout Season 2 Episode 8 Just Set Up The Biggest Faction War The Fallout Universe Has Ever Seen

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Fallout Season 2 Episode 8 Just Set Up The Biggest Faction War The Fallout Universe Has Ever Seen



Fallout season two’s long journey has finally reached its end. While this season spent a lot of time following our heroes through Mojave Wasteland, last week set up the final stakes. The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) made his way into the Lucky 38 and reactivated Mr. House (Justin Theroux), Maximus (Aaron Moten) found his fight against the vicious Deathclaws bleed into Freeside, and Lucy (Ella Purnell) faced a moral dilemma as she came face-to-face with the mainframe of the Automated Man devices, which are now fully functioning thanks to her father Hank (Kyle Maclaclan). With all these storylines finally reaching their apexes, it’s time to dive into what choices our heroes made.

The episode opens up with a bloody civil conflict amongst Caesar’s Legion. In the chaos, Lacerta Legate (Macaulay Culkin) manages to get his hands on Caesar’s corpse and drag it to his tent where he learns that his final will was for the Legion to die with him. Refusing this fate for the Legion, Lacerta kills the nearby soldiers and destroys the will, taking the golden laurels for himself. Officially crowning himself as the new Caesar, he unites the Legion and vows to march into New Vegas to establish a new “Palace.” This is met with thunderous applause.

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Ashes Of Creation Dev Says No One Got Their Final Paychecks

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Ashes Of Creation Dev Says No One Got Their Final Paychecks


On January 29, Ashes of Creation maker Intrepid Studios was promising big updates to the recently launched, long-awaited fantasy Steam MMO. Less than a week later, the game has been review-bombed, removed from Valve’s storefront, and seen all of its developers suddenly fired, according to a new post from the studio’s communications director.

“I waited until today to share this because I wanted to be sure I was communicating from a place of clarity,” Intrepid Studios head of marketing Margaret Krohn wrote on X on Tuesday. “Intrepid Studios has shut down in a way that I did not expect. What I can share is what I experienced. On January 28, toward the end of the workday, I was informed that we would be laying off 100 developers. I was devastated – these are hardworking people who were going to lose their jobs. Still, I believed it was something we could face together and find a path forward from.”

That was the day before an unsigned “director’s letter” was posted to Ashes of Creation‘s players promising a February 13 update on the game’s roadmap for the first few months of 2026. But according to Krohn, the mass firings at the studio were already moving forward. She said she received confirmation of which members of her team would be laid off by the end of day on January 29, and the remaining employees began working on “ways to move forward” the following day. But by January 31, it became clear that no one at the studio was safe. 

“On January 31, we were all informed via a confusing email that we would be laid off, along with a WARN notice,” she wrote. “It is still shocking. The entire studio gathered to try to understand what had happened and what it meant for our future. In the end, none of us are receiving our final paychecks, the 60 days notice and pay outlined under the WARN Act, PTO payouts, or other compensation owed.”

That’s the same day that Ashes of Creation director Steven Sharif announced on Discord he was no longer in control of the company and was resigning in protest. “I can make a limited statement in my personal capacity and not on behalf of the company, regarding the situation,” he wrote on January 31. “Control of the company shifted away from me, and the Board began directing actions that I could not ethically agree with or carry out. As a result, I chose to resign in protest rather than lend my name or authority to decisions I could not ethically support.”

Valve / Intrepid Studios

That was the first public mention of the turmoil Intrepid was facing and it immediately ricocheted across Steam, where Ashes of Creation entered Early Access back in December, and Kickstarter, where backers raised $3.2 million to bring the MMORPG to market starting way back in 2017. The game was quickly review-bombed on Valve’s storefront with warnings to other players to stay away of what soon might become a dead game, while backers on Kickstarter demanded refunds over the game never hitting a proper 1.0 launch. It’s since been removed from sale completely on Steam. 

“What matters most to me now are the people – both the players and developers,” Krohn wrote today. “To the players: the entire development team was working extremely hard, pulling long hours, and wishes with all our hearts that we could give you Ashes of Creation. There are no words that fully express how sorry we are that this journey ended this way. You should pursue a refund, you deserve it. To my colleagues: this team is truly a family. The culture we built together is something I have never experienced anywhere else. In the midst of heartbreak and uncertainty, we have come together to review resumes, help with portfolios, share job leads, and support one another emotionally.”

As of now, it’s unclear who remains in control of Intrepid Studios as a company, which is based out of San Diego, or what will happen to Ashes of Creation, whose potential for a comeback seems increasingly unlikely. Who funded the game’s development? How did the studio’s finances suddenly get wiped out overnight? And what recourse do developers who worked on it have to be made whole? Kotaku tried reaching out to the studio’s email address but we haven’t heard back. Sharif declined to comment before clearing it with his legal counsel.

When we reached out to Krohn she responded with the following: “I made my statement. I can’t really talk more than that, I think I might have even said too much as is, but people need to know what happened.”



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