It's a big week on The Game Informer Show, as Saros reviews are live! Marcus and Eric are joined by our own reviewer Kyle and Restart.run's Jesse Vitelli to break down the reaction to PlayStation Studios' latest release.

After the break, three of the fellas stick around to discuss the latest Diablo expansion, previews of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, and poncle's new hour-stealing monster Vampire Crawlers. Grab a cold drink and get comfortable, it's a new episode of The Game Informer Show!

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about video game reviews, news, and exclusive reveals alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Support the show by subscribing to our physical video game magazine!

Watch or Listen to The Game Informer Show:

Listen to "Saros Review And More w/ Jesse Vitelli" on Spreaker.

Follow our hosts (and guests) online:

• Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)
• Kyle Hilliard (@kylehilliard)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)
• Jesse Vitelli (@mamavitelli)

Jump ahead using these timestamps:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 06:23 - Saros
• 27:17 - Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred
• 51:08 - Yoshi and the Mysterious Book
• 1:08:08 - Vampire Crawlers

Square Enix has revealed that its long-running MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV will be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this August – yay! But, there's a catch: to play it on Switch 2, you will need to buy a separate subscription even if you already have one to play the game on other platforms. Yes, playing FFXIV on Switch 2 plus other platforms like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC will require paying two separate subscriptions. 

Despite the subscription shenanigans, your Switch 2 account will feature cross-progression with your other accounts. Plus, Square Enix and Nintendo say you will not need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play FFXIV on the Switch 2. 

This announcement was made during today's Final Fantasy XIV: Fan Fest opening ceremony keynote, where Square Enix also unveiled Evercold, the latest expansion for the game, launching in January 2027. 

How do you feel about this announcement? Let us know in the comments below!

Though Larian Studios has moved on from its colossal 2023 hit RPG, Baldur's Gate 3, to work on Divinity, the world of Baldur's Gate continues forward. And later this year, fans of the game can gain new insight into one of the game's fan-favorite characters, Astarion, in a prequel novel written by fantasy author T. Kingfisher, hitting shelves on September 29. 

That's according to the exclusive reveal over at Polygon, which writes that "Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion" takes place prior to the events of Baldur's Gate 3 and follows the High Elf during his years serving the vampire lord Cazador Szarr. Baldur's Gate 3 senior writer Stephen Rooney consulted on the book to ensure it aligns with the world/game lore, and Astarion's voice actor, Neil Newbon, who won Best Performance for this role at The Game Awards 2023, will narrate the audiobook. 

Here's a look at the book's cover: 

Wizards of the Coast, Random House Worlds

Over on Bluesky, Kingfisher writes, "FOR THE RECORD – this character has a super f***** up abusive backstory. We handle it well, I think, but CONTENT WARNINGS. The book is DARK. Also, it's a prequel, so it ends in a really dark place." 

"Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion" is one of four titles to be published by Random House Worlds as part of a new collaboration with Wizards of the Coast, centered around the game's immersive lore and unforgettable characters, according to Polygon. The other projects are as follows: 

• "Baldur's Gate 3: The Necromancy of Thay" on July 21: a reproduction notebook of the in-game item of the same name.
• "The Official Baldur's Gate 3 Coloring Book" later in the Summer: 40 black and white drawings of characters, settings, and more.
• "A Feast for a Tenday: The Official Baldur's Gate Cookbook" on November 3: a cookbook inspired by the game with 65 recipes. 

"Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion" hits shelves September 29. 

In the meantime, read Game Informer's Baldur's Gate 3 review, and then check out our list of the Top 10 games of 2023 to find out where it ranks. Read about how the HBO adaptation of Baldur's Gate 3 will continue the game's story after that. 

[Source: Polygon]

Are you excited about this novel? Let us know what you hope to learn about Astarion from it in the comments below!

Longtime Mission Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie is teaming up with Sinners' lead and Hollywood star Michael B. Jordan for a film adaptation of EA's Battlefield franchise. That's according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, which states McQuarrie will write, direct, and produce the feature while Jordan will also produce and possibly star in the film. 

This news comes after a big 2025 for both names – McQuarrie's latest Mission Impossible, The Final Reckoning, hit theaters and might be the last in the series (at least for now), while Jordan won an Oscar last month for his (incredible) performance as the duo-leads of 2025's Sinners, brothers Smoke and Stack. And it arrives after the biggest year for the Battlefield franchise in some time, following the massive and well-received launch of Battlefield 6 last year.

Details remain sparse on the adaptation, and there's no word on whether the film will adapt a specific Battlefield game or even fit into one of the series' various branches, like Bad Company. THR reports that Jordan could star in the film, "depending on several factors" that seemingly remain unknown for now. EA will produce the film, and THR sources tell the publication that McQuarrie and several others pitched studios and streamers like Apple and Sony yesterday and today; THR writes that a theatrical release is a priority for the adaptation. 

There's no word on when to expect this adaptation in theaters, but Game Informer will keep you updated if we learn more about the movie. 

In the meantime, read Game Informer's Battlefield 6 review to find out why it was one of our favorite games of last year. 

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]

What do you want to see in a movie adaptation of Battlefield? Let us know in the comments below! 

Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold has been revealed, and it's the latest expansion coming to the long-running MMORPG from Square Enix. It will launch in January of 2027, and promises to begin a new era of storytelling for the game as part of the Godless Realms Saga. 

Revealed during the 2026 FFXIV: Fan Fest opening keynote ceremony, developer Creative Business Unit III, which is also the developer behind 2023's Final Fantasy XVI, and publisher Square Enix, debuted a nearly four-and-a-half-minute cinematic trailer for the Evercold expansion. In it, we see a grandmother telling her granddaughter the story of a world enshrouded in frost, frozen over until a man from the sky (whom she calls the Wanderer, but we know as the player-character Warrior of Light) came down to save the realm. It's a gorgeously rendered trailer and shows the Warrior of Light as a Reaper, one of the jobs added to the game with 2021's Endwalker expansion. We won't spoil anything here, but using an Endwalker job is fitting given this is the start of the Godless Realms Saga. 

Check all that out and more in the Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold expansion reveal trailer for yourself below: 

Evercold will hit FFXIV in January of next year, though an exact date was not revealed. The expansion will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PC, or, in other words, everywhere the MMORPG is currently playable. 

The main scenario of Evercold will be set on one of the universe's reflections: The Fourth. There are plenty of ways to describe these reflections and you'll see the community use words like pocket dimension, alternate reality, and localized world to do so. We'll likely learn more about what an expansion taking place in The Fourth means for FFXIV as Square Enix reveals more about this expansion in the lead-up to launch. 

After the reveal during the keynote, Square Enix revealed the MMORPG will receive "significant updates that suit the busy lifestyle of today's players," alongside a new Season system that will be implemented in the game as part of a change in FFXIV's game design for Evercold. One season will be two patches (an even and an odd patch). For example, Dawntrail's Patch 7.0 and Patch 7.1 make one season, while Patch 7.2 and Patch 7.3 make a second season. Evercold will also feature an expanded character customization toolset, giving players additional options to further customize their Warriors of Light.

Square Enix teased that it will be improving public fields and quests and evolving battles as part of what it calls "ever-evolving content," but said we won't learn more about these updates until future Fan Festivals. 

Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PC in January 2027. 

In the meantime, read Game Informer's Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail review.