Helldivers 2 Explodes, Xbox's Future Is Revealed, And More Of The Week's Biggest News

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This week, after days of swirling rumors and fan speculation, Phil Spencer and other Xbox bigwigs finally pulled back the curtain (a little bit, at least) on what the future holds for the console and the Xbox brand. Sony also hinted at what 2025 will bring for the PlayStation 5 (or at least what it won’t) while Helldivers 2 immediately achieved massive popularity--maybe too much for its own good. We’ve got those and more big stories from the week just waiting for your perusal, so click on!

An image shows Adam Jensen from Deus Ex with tape covering his mouth.

Actor Elias Toufexis is probably most famous for his role as the gravelly-voiced cyborg Adam Jensen, the protagonist in Eidos Montreal’s Deux Ex prequel games. He loves to talk about the character and his possible future, but according to Toufexis, the studio that owns the franchise would rather him not talk about Jensen so much. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

A bunch of Xbox characters surround an Xbox Series X.

After weeks of reports, rumors, and speculation around Xbox first-party games coming to competing platforms and potentially even making an exit from the console market entirely, Xbox publicly addressed the elephant in the room in an episode of the Official Xbox Podcast. The show featured Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, Xbox President Sarah Bond, and Head of Xbox Studios Matt Booty. If you haven’t listened to the special edition of the Official Xbox Podcast, you can do so through Xbox’s YouTube channel (linked below). Or, if you just want the bullet points, here’s everything of note: - Kenneth Shepard Read More

Pharah lands on the ground next to an image of Mercy.

Overwatch 2 is bringing a lot of sweeping changes in its season nine balance patch, and some of them are controversial. Between giving every hero a passive self-heal and every character getting a health buff across the board, Overwatch 2 feels like it’s shifting from a team-based shooter into one that values hero independence. Will any of this stick? We’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime, one hero is getting a rework that feels emblematic of the whole patch, and it looks like it will undermine one of Overwatch’s longest-running combos in the process. The Pharah and Mercy dream team is dead, folks. - Kenneth Shepard Read More

A soldier traverses an open field with smoke on the horizon.

Helldivers 2, the third-person shooter that launched on PS5 and PC on February 8, is enjoying a fair bit of popularity. It rocketed to the top of Steam charts shortly after launch, and it quickly soared past God of War’s top concurrent player count to become PlayStation’s biggest PC launch. It’s so popular, in fact, that its servers are struggling to keep up. - Alyssa Mercante Read More

The Thing, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, and Mister Fantastic sit in a living room together.

After months of speculation, the cast for the upcoming Marvel film The Fantastic Four has been announced by way of adorable Valentine’s Day-themed art. The art also revealed a release date: July 25, 2025. - Alyssa Mercante Read More

If you were wondering what Sony’s up to after its latest State of Play presentation didn’t have much in the way of first-party games, it sounds like there was a reason for that. It looks like PlayStation 5’s 2024 will have a dearth of first-party games over the next year, as the company has confirmed it won’t be releasing “any new major existing franchise titles” until 2025. - Kenneth Shepard Read More

A new report claims Xbox boss Phil Spencer told employees that Microsoft has no plans to exit the console business. This comes during a large online firestorm around Xbox and its future following rumors that some big exclusives might land on PlayStation 5. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

Dungeons & Dragons turns 50 this year, and as you’d expect, Wizards of the Coast is marking the anniversary with big announcements—some of which look to the tabletop roleplaying giant’s rich past. Announced today: six book releases, upcoming gaming events, and brand collaborations that run the gamut from “makes sense” to “huh?”—with more to come. - Cheryl Eddy Read More

T-Mobile, Starry, Google, CeraVe, Skechers, and Kawasaki

Super Bowl LVIII, with its thrilling overtime finish and luxury box shots of Taylor Swift and Blake Lively, has come and gone, and so now we must honor those generous corporate patrons who shell out millions so Tom Brady can stay on television. This is all we have, for the staff of The A.V. Club has spent far more time stuffed in lockers than suiting up in the locker room. - Matt Schimkowitz Read More

Dune: Part Two, the upcoming sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 sci-fi epic based on the Frank Herbert novels, is releasing in just two weeks, but somehow the team behind it kept one major star’s involvement a total secret. During the February 15 world premiere in London, The Queen’s Gambit actor Anya Taylor-Joy appeared on the red carpet to confirm that she is, indeed, a member of the sequel’s cast. This came after an eagle-eyed Letterboxd user noticed that Dune: Part Two was listed under Taylor-Joy’s credits on the review aggregation app. - Alyssa Mercante Read More