Well, here we are once again, if you can believe it; it’s time to take a look at what’s been happening in the world of gaming news this week, and as usual, there’s plenty to look at.
This week saw the release of a couple of the gaming calendar’s major event titles, namely Marathon and Pokemon Pokopia, and so while those two games took a lot of the industry’s oxygen, there’s lots more to pore over.
As usual, then, let’s commence our look at what’s been happening in the gaming world this week!
Xbox Game Pass has revealed its first wave of March games
First up, Xbox revealed the first wave of games coming to its Game Pass subscription service this month, and if you’ve yet to catch up on CD Projekt Red’s beastly Cyberpunk 2077, this one’s for you.
That mammoth RPG joins the likes of Planet of Lana 2, F1 2025, and, er, Construction Simulator on the service’s Ultimate tier this month, while the Premium tier gets the likes of the underrated To a T.
Game Pass remains a bit of a confusing mess as far as we’re concerned, but there’s no denying this lineup should bring you hours of entertainment.
Bungie wants you to know how Marathon seasons work
Prior to the release of Marathon this week, Bungie revealed how the game’s seasonal model is going to work, and it sounds like you’ll have plenty to play if you’re a fan.
Essentially, you’ll be getting new seasons every three months, and your progress will be reset during those seasons as well, presumably to give new players a chance to catch up.
However, some things will remain permanent, like your lore codex progress and various other unlocks, so it won’t all have been for nothing.
Highguard is shutting down
In what is probably the industry’s least surprising moment of the last few months, first-person shooter Highguard is shutting down this coming week.
According to developer Wildlight Entertainment, there’s essentially no player base for the game, which is borne out by the fact that at time of writing, just 185 players are hanging around the game’s PC servers.
One more update came to Highguard following news of the game’s shutdown, and it brought features like a skill tree and a new Warden, although it obviously wasn’t enough to drum up further interest.
Iron Galaxy isn’t working on a Fallout: New Vegas remaster
We know this headline might sound a little strange, but bear with us. A rumour emerged this week that porting studio Iron Galaxy was working on a Fallout: New Vegas remaster, but it turns out it’s not true.
The rumour was sparked by Iron Galaxy posting an image showing what appeared to be the Fallout: New Vegas loading screen on a company PC, accompanied by text teasing “what’s coming up next” for the studio.
However, Iron Galaxy subsequently told IGN that the New Vegas remaster isn’t happening, or at least that Iron Galaxy isn’t the studio currently working on it if it is.
It looks like PlayStation is pulling out of simultaneous PC releases
A report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier this week alleged that Sony will be pulling out of simultaneous PS5 and PC releases for its biggest single-player games.
According to Schreier, there’s a faction within PlayStation that fears simultaneous releases could be damaging the PlayStation brand and leading to fewer PS5 console sales.
It’s also worth noting that PlayStation games often don’t get the player base on PC that they do on PS5, but that this is probably down to games launching months or sometimes even years after their console counterparts.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is officially getting a remake, or remaster, or something
This week, Ubisoft provided an update on what’s happening in the Assassin’s Creed franchise for the rest of the year, and that long-rumoured Black Flag remake (or remaster, or something) is now official.
Artwork for the remake was included as part of Ubisoft’s 2026 Assassin’s Creed preview, although we didn’t get much more than confirmation that the project is going ahead.
Other developments include progress on Assassin’s Creed: Codename HEXE, as well as an update on the PvP-focused Codename: INVICTUS.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is not a roguelite, don’t worry
Given the involvement of Dead Cells studios Evil Empire and Motion Twin, you might think that the upcoming Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is a roguelite, but it isn’t.
Konami communication head Tommy Williams told The Verge that the game is “not a roguelike or roguelite game”, and that it’s a more straightforward 2D Metroidvania instead.
We have to say we’re pretty relieved about this news; even though we’d have loved a Castlevania roguelite, it’s just been too long since the last mainline franchise entry that featured hand-crafted maps and exploration.
Activision apparently wanted an Israel-Iran Call of Duty game
Current events this week prompted Infinity Ward co-founder and Call of Duty veteran Chance Glasco to reveal that Activision put pressure on his studio to make a franchise game in which Israel invades Iran.
According to Glasco, “a very awkward pressure” was put on Infinity Ward to make a game based on such a scenario, but that “the vast majority” of Infinity Ward staffers were “disgusted” by the idea, so it was put on hold.
Of course, there’s no guarantee such a game won’t be made in future, but it seems a little too soon for something so ripped from the headlines, at least for now.
Xbox announces its next generation of console…kind of
Xbox sort of announced the next generation of its console hardware this week, and the so-called Project Helix (which almost certainly won’t be its final name) will play your PC games as well.
Asha Sharma, the new head of Xbox, revealed as much on her own social media, and she also promised that she’d talk more about the project at GDC this week.
Of course, we probably won’t learn anything about Project Helix for quite a while, so don’t expect that chat to yield any fruit on the news front.
