Top Stories

Meta CTO: We're Still Investing More In VR Content Than Anyone Else - UploadVR (4 min read)

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth claims the company is still investing more in VR content than any competitor, and more than it did in 2022—despite shutting down three VR studios last month and canceling the Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel. The investment will now focus on third-party content rather than first-party blockbusters, a strategic shift away from internal development. (Industry Business & Deals)

Here’s everything announced during PlayStation’s State of Play presentation (2 min read)

Sony's State of Play presentation featured over 30 game announcements, including a God of War trilogy remake, a new 2D God of War spin-off, and Metal Gear Solid Master Collection 2. Konami also revealed Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, a reimagining that was previously in development. The showcase highlighted upcoming releases across multiple genres for PlayStation platforms. (Video Games Chronicle)

Business & Finance

Sega says its new releases, especially Sonic Rumble, have performed below expectations (3 min read)

Sega's Q3 financial report (Oct-Dec 2025) reveals new releases underperformed, with free-to-play title Sonic Rumble specifically missing customer acquisition targets. The company cited quality issues and stagnant growth across full-price and F2P portfolios, with Rovio also posting sluggish results. Sega plans updates and operational improvements for underperforming titles. (Video Games Chronicle)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II surpasses 5 million sales within first year (3 min read)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has surpassed 5 million sales within its first year on the market. The medieval RPG's commercial success demonstrates sustained player engagement and strong market demand for the franchise. (Game Developer)

Studios & People

Ubisoft says Creative House leadership will include 'respected' external hires (5 min read)

Ubisoft confirmed that Creative House, its new initiative to consolidate creative decision-making, will bring in external leadership alongside internal talent. The company emphasized hiring "respected" external figures to guide the new structure, signaling a shift in how the publisher manages creative oversight across its studios. (Game Developer)

Games & Releases

John Wick "AAA game" for PS5 coming from Space Marine 2 devs (5 min read)

Saber Interactive revealed an untitled John Wick AAA game during State of Play February 2026, coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game is made in collaboration with franchise director Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves, and Lionsgate, and takes place during a specific period in the John Wick timeline. Saber has prior experience with movie adaptations, including Evil Dead and Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival. (GamesRadar+)

Pokemon developer to launch Beasts of Reincarnation in August ... (6 min read)

Game Freak announced Beast of Reincarnation will launch August 4 on PlayStation. The action RPG marks the Pokemon developer's first AAA title outside the franchise, featuring hack-and-slash combat with a companion dog system rather than turn-based battles. The game includes difficulty settings and non-open-world environments. (GamesRadar+)

Magical mayhem simulator Yapyap hits 500,000 sales in 10 days (2 min read)

Yapyap, the co-op horror title from Canadian indie studio Maison Bap, sold 500,000 copies in its first 10 days after launching February 3. The studio pledged to prioritize stability and polish before rolling out new features and content updates. (Game Developer)

Hideo Kojima discussed a Metal Gear Solid FPS with Call of Duty co ... (4 min read)

Hideo Kojima revealed at DICE 2026 that he once discussed making a Metal Gear Solid first-person shooter with Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella during Respawn Entertainment's early days. The project never materialized; Respawn ultimately pursued Titanfall instead. Kojima later sought Zampella's advice when forming Kojima Productions after leaving Konami. (GamesRadar+)

Edmund McMillen on assembling Mewgenics' meow cameo list: "the inclusion of people with clashing ideologies felt appropriate" - Rock Paper Shotgun (5 min read)

Mewgenics launched to strong early sales, but drew criticism over its voice cameo list featuring internet personalities with controversial histories. Developer Edmund McMillen said he intentionally included people across the ideological spectrum—balancing Ethan and Hila Klein's pro-Israel views against iDubbbz and Anisa's pro-Palestine stances—to reflect internet culture during development. McMillen noted players can discard unwanted cat voices in-game, and future mod support may let players customize meows further. (Rock Paper Shotgun)

Confirmed: Switch’s Virtual Boy headset can play VR-supported Switch games including Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey (3 min read)

Nintendo's Virtual Boy headset accessory works with Switch VR-supported games including Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. The cardboard version is better suited for VR play since it allows head movement, while the main headset is desk-mounted. The Breath of the Wild Switch 2 Edition retains its full VR mode. (Video Games Chronicle)

Sega plans to release ‘four major new titles for mainstay IPs’ by the end of March 2027 (2 min read)

Sega plans to release four major new titles for its mainstay IPs by the end of March 2027, according to its Q3 financial report. The publisher didn't specify which franchises, though the term suggests a high-budget Sonic title is likely included. Sega also reconfirmed development on Virtua Fighter, Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, and Alien Isolation games, alongside transmedia expansion across film and TV. (Video Games Chronicle)

Bungie is holding an ‘open preview weekend’ for Marathon later this month (2 min read)

Bungie announced a free "Sever Slam" preview weekend for extraction shooter Marathon running February 26-March 2 across PS5, Xbox, and PC. Players can earn cosmetics and gear that carry over to the full release launching March 5 at $39.99. The game features no pay-to-win mechanics and will include two zones, five faction contracts, and proximity chat during the preview. (Video Games Chronicle)

One of the best-reviewed new games on Steam right now is about feeding raccoons and cryptids with the cosmic, Lynchian oven of your eerie woodland house - PC Gamer (5 min read)

Creature Kitchen, a cozy cooking sim from The Rat Zone, launched on Steam February 6 with overwhelming player reception—99% positive across 707 reviews. The game combines simple cooking mechanics with eerie woodland aesthetics, cryptid guests, and surreal puzzle elements. Priced at $8, reviewers estimate 2-3 hours of playtime. (PC Gamer)

AI/Tech & Tools

OctaneRender 2026.2 Is Out Now - 80 Level (2 min read)

OctaneRender 2026.2 is now available with improvements focused on recently added features. New additions include meshlet support for adaptive streaming of massive geometry assets, 16K texture displacement resolution in network rendering, and Neural Radiance Cache capability in the photon tracing kernel. The update also adds directional light exclusion, improved texture displacement performance, and new AOVs for layered materials. (80 Level)

Houdini Launched Centralized Hub For Educational Content (1 min read)

SideFX launched a new Houdini Learning Portal, consolidating tutorials, talks, and educational resources in one hub. Users can filter by Houdini version, skill level, or industry, bookmark content, and create shareable collections. Logged-in users can keep collections private or publish them to the community. (80 Level)

Tiny House Engulfed By Waves In Blender-Made Diorama - 80 Level (1 min read)

Artist Ryan Will (TrashCG) created a post-apocalyptic diorama in Blender featuring detailed 3D water simulation engulfing a tiny house. The project showcases advanced water effects techniques within the open-source 3D software, relevant to developers building environmental effects and fluid dynamics. (80 Level)

Culture & Community

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wins five awards at the D.I.C.E. Awards 2026, including Game of the Year (2 min read)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won five awards at the 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, including Game of the Year. Ghost of Yotei claimed three awards, while Death Stranding 2 and Blue Prince each took two. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, representing over 30,000 industry professionals, voted on the winners. (Video Games Chronicle)

Capcom drops PPV price of upcoming Street Fighter 6 tournament stream from $40 to $10 following player backlash (3 min read)

Capcom slashed Street Fighter 6 tournament PPV pricing to ¥900/$6 per stream or ¥1,500/$10 for both days, down from the original ¥4,000/$27 per day. The company cited community feedback and global cost-of-living considerations. Group stage matches will allow unrestricted co-streaming. (Video Games Chronicle)

*gg! see you in game!

-james*