And so the curtain rises on another year! Welcome to 2026. We’re honoured you’ve chosen to spend it with us as we take a look at the week’s news when it comes to gaming.
As you’d probably expect, it hasn’t exactly been the busiest time in gaming news; after all, the industry deserves some time off just like we do, so the usual newsmakers have been enjoying their holidays.
Still, we’re very much back now after holiday and New Year celebrations, and so it’s time to resume normal operations. Here’s what’s been happening in gaming this week!
GOG’s co-founder has acquired the platform
GOG and CD Projekt co-founder Micha? Kici?ski has acquired the storefront, according to a news post released this week, but it sounds like business will very much proceed as usual.
According to GOG, Kici?ski’s goal when it comes to acquiring the platform is to maintain its direction of preservation and DRM-free ownership, so if you’re a fan of buying games on GOG, don’t worry; nothing’s really changing.
Your account details and library will, of course, stay as they are, so you’ll also be able to access all of the games you’ve already bought via GOG with no interruption.
Phantom Blade Zero is already attracting a lot of attention
If you’ve been paying attention to upcoming hack-and-slash action game Phantom Blade Zero and you like what you see, well, you’re absolutely not alone in that assessment.
That’s according to a message on the game’s official X account, in which it’s revealed that Phantom Blade Zero has racked up a million wishlists, presumably across all three of the platforms on which it will be available.
As a reminder, Phantom Blade Zero is set to launch on PC and PS5 this September, so you won’t have to wait too much longer to see if those wishlist numbers translate to actual quality.
Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege got hacked pretty badly
This week, Ubisoft found itself scrambling to enact damage control as first-person shooter Rainbow Six Siege was hacked pretty dramatically, leading to chaos.
The hackers apparently banned and unbanned thousands of Rainbow Six Siege players, as well as awarding billions of credits across the player base and unlocking every skin in the game for everyone to use.
Needless to say, Ubisoft restored order relatively quickly, but it’s worrying that hackers were able to gain control of the game in such a convincing manner.
The PlayStation Plus Essential January games have been revealed
Sony announced which games are coming to the basic tier of PlayStation Plus (as well as the other two tiers) this week, and the lineup is…well, there’s bound to be someone out there who’ll enjoy it.
Your three games this month are anime-aesthetic racer Need for Speed Unbound, remastered platformer Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, and survival-crafter Core Keeper.
Remember, if you want to keep these games in your Plus library so you can play them whenever you like (assuming you’re still subscribed), then activate and download them before they exit the service in February.
A new Persona website is teasing announcements
The Persona series, which is itself a sub-franchise for Shin Megami Tensei, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and Atlus has launched a brand new website to celebrate.
Right now, the site is only displaying artwork of the series’ protagonists, but the first new Persona announcement is apparently scheduled for January 8th, so we’ll learn more then, we assume.
It’s unlikely Atlus is going to announce Persona 6 on that date; instead, we’d expect a Persona 4 Revival release date, or perhaps news of another spinoff.
Graphics cards could be about to get a lot more expensive
If you’re one of the people who upgraded your PC hardware this year (and trust us, we sympathise if you are), then you might well have dodged even worse price rises to come.
Reports suggest that prices could be about to jump as a result of increasing memory costs, with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 potentially leaping to an eye-watering $5,000 this year.
We can’t imagine that this is a sustainable state of affairs, but for a while, it might be very difficult indeed to upgrade your rig, so get while the getting’s good.
Bloober Team has a cryptic new message for you
In the wee small hours of New Year’s Day, Silent Hill 2 remake and Cronos: The New Dawn developer Bloober Team posted a cryptic message for you to get your head around.
The message simply reads “RemosdNeulSerorehsoOvamCeyerd”, and Bloober accompanied the baffling string with the phrase “dare to peek into the darkness”.
What it all means will probably be revealed within the next few days. We know we’re flummoxed, but have you got any idea what the message might convey?
This year was apparently Xbox’s worst on record for UK console sales
Just in case you’re wondering whether Xbox has managed to turn around its ailing hardware fortunes, analyst Christopher Dring revealed this week that 2025 was Xbox’s worst year on record for UK console sales.
According to Dring, Xbox console sales dropped by 39% in the UK this year, which makes 2025 “comfortably” Xbox’s worst for hardware.
Dring asks whether “the return of favourite Xbox franchises in 2026” might help to improve Xbox’s fortunes, but we honestly can’t say we can see that happening.
The Steam Awards are here
Never mind the Game Awards; everyone’s attention has now turned to the Steam Awards, and with the winners announced this week, there was plenty to talk about.
Hollow Knight: Silksong took home Steam users’ coveted Game of the Year award, with Baldur’s Gate 3 winning Labour of Love and Hades 2 taking the Best Game on Steam Deck prize.
Other award winners include Peak for Better with Friends, Silent Hill f for Outstanding Visual Style, and The Midnight Walk for VR Game of the Year, as well as extraction shooter Arc Raiders for Most Innovative Gameplay. We can’t help wondering about that one.
