Featured image/header via Demi Adejuyigbe (@electrolemon on Twitter)
Here are some of the week’s highlights in gaming, movies, and more:
Apex Legends‘ Season 4 dropped on Feb. 4, including new modes, a new weapon, a new character in Revenanat, and changes to its current default map
Saints Row IV, in the form of Saints Row IV Re-Elected is coming to Nintendo Switch on March 27
Daemon X Machina, a third-person mech action game formerly exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, is coming to PC via Steam on Feb. 13
Platinum Games has gone to Kickstarter to help funds ports of The Wonderful 101, originally released on Nintendo’s WiiU in 2013 and directed by action game guru Hideki Kamiya (Bayonetta, Devil May Cry)
The project has been successfully funded and is looking for funding towards stretch goals for additional content
After a rough first week due to technical issues and player criticism, Blizzard is allowing customers automatic refunds on Warcraft III: Reforged (via Polygon)
Fallout 76‘s “Wastelanders” update will release on April 7 on all platforms
The update brings a slew of additions, including human NPCs and revamped quests
Indie story game Florence,originally released on mobile devices in 2018, will arrive on PC and Nintendo Switch on Feb. 13
In a surprising bit of news, Rockstar Game co-founder and vice president of creative Dan Houser will be stepping away from the company on March 11 (via Polygon)
Get ready to rock, Trainers! Gigantamax Toxtricity will begin appearing in Max Raid Battles in the Wild Area until Sunday, March 8.
Square Enix is releasing a new physical bundle featuring every Kingdom Hearts game through Kingdom Hearts III on March 17, exclusively to PS4
Starting in March, I will join Blizzard to oversee the Diablo franchise. Leaving is bittersweet as I love our Gears family, the fans, and everyone at The Coalition and Xbox. Thank you, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with you all. pic.twitter.com/0FuO3RFYSQ
Rod Fergusson, previously studio head at Microsoft’s Gears of War developer The Coalition, is leaving the company to join Blizzard as producer on the Diablo franchise in March
Capy Games’ Below, a roguelike action-adventure game previously released on PC and Xbox One in 2018, is coming to PS4 this Spring
The new releases will include a less punishing “Explore” mode
We’re delaying @OuterWorlds on Nintendo Switch due to the coronavirus impacting the Virtuos team working on the port, to provide them enough time to finish development. We’ll now be releasing the physical version on cartridge. Once we have a new launch date, we’ll let you know!
The release of Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch has been delayed due to the recent coronavirus outbreak affecting Singapore, China where port team Virtuos is located
Journey beyond in the critically acclaimed #MetroExodus – returning to the Steam Store on Saturday 15th February 2020. Release times as follows:
00:00 ET 5:00 GMT / UTC 6:00 CET 6:00 AEDT
Those of you that have been waiting, thank you for your passion and patience. pic.twitter.com/gouNZkgFUL
Along with launching five games between April 2020 – March 2021, Kotaku reporter Jason Schreier has reported that the two unannounced games Ubisoft plan to release in that time are new entries in the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry series
In movie news, the final trailer for Disney’s live-action Mulan adaptation was released
The live-action epic hits theaters on March 27th
The first trailer for the Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson led Saw spinoff film, titled Spiral, was released
The latest entry in the long-running horror franchise releases on May 15
The first trailer for The Jesus Rolls, a spinoff featuring John Turturro’s character from the Coen Brothers’ classic The Big Lebowski was released
Written and directed by Turturro himself, the comedy-drama releases on March 6th
In other movie news, George Miller’s faith Mad Max film is reportedly set to begin filming in Australia this fall (via Geeks WorldWide)
A sequel to director Rian Johnson’s 2019 murder-mystery hit Knives Out is reportedly moving forward at Lionsgate (via ScreenRant)
Director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead series, Spider-Man series) is reportedly in talks to take over directing Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, after the departure of previous director Scott Derrickson (via Variety)
Finally, this past weekend saw the 92nd edition of the Academy Awards
Highlights included directorBong Joon Ho’s Parasite becoming the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture, Taika Watiti winning Best Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit, and Joaquin Phoenix’s Best Actor win for Joker
See a full breakdown of the night’s winners here (via Oscars)
And now a list of some of the week’s notable releases in games and movies
Games
2/3: Dawn of Fear (PS4) – Brok3nsite
2/3: Monster Energy Supercross 3- The Official Videogame (PC, PS4, XONE, Switch) – Milestone
2/4: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics (PC, PS4, XONE, Switch) – BonusXP
2/4: Zombie Army 4: Dead War (PC, PS4, XONE) – Rebellion
2/4: Zero Zero Zero Zero (PS4, PSVita, XONE, Switch) – Ratalaika Games