Ahead of today’s Overwatch Spotlight 2026 event, I flew to Blizzard’s headquarters to go hands-on with all of the updates and additional content coming in the first season of Reign of Talon, a year-long story arc that kicks off on February 10. Overwatch 2, which Blizzard is officially renaming to Overwatch alongside the update, finally feels fresh again thanks to the five new heroes launching alongside Season 1. Additionally, the first-person shooter’s new sub-roles help to further distinguish its Tank, Damage, and Support heroes with new passive buffs that better align with their specific playstyle and class identity.

The team is getting better and faster at creating heroes, multiple developers told me, enabling them to commit to launching 10 heroes in 2026. Players can expect one new hero to launch with each Reign of Talon season, each introducing other game updates like character reworks, new maps, and quality of life changes.

We’ve detailed each new character below, along with the new sub-role passives further down. 

We Played Overwatch's Five New Heroes:

Domina (Tank)

Heiress and vice president of Vishkar Industries, Domina is a zone control tank who uses a variety of medium and long-range abilities to poke enemies from afar. One of her major perks allows her to use her Sonic Repulsors to push enemies into her own shield wall, stunning them and dealing 100% increased damage.

Primary Fire: Photon Magnum - Medium-range beam that culminates in a high-impact shot

Barrier Array - A segmented hard-light barrier deployed in front of Domina. Each segment must be individually destroyed, creating dynamic defensive angles

Crystal Charge - Project an explosive crystal and reactivate to detonate it

Sonic Repulsors - Push enemies back, stunning them if they hit a wall

Ultimate: Panopticon - Fire a hard-light projectile that imprisons enemies and detonates on expiration

Passive: Reconstruction - Dealing damage with abilities restores shields

Emre (Damage)

Once the Overwatch program's gold standard, Emre is a conflicted sharpshooter currently serving Talon. His cyber frag explodes after bouncing, allowing Emre to propel himself to higher ledges. 

Primary Fire: Synthetic Burst Rifle - Three-round burst weapon

Secondary Fire: Take Aim - Hold to zoom in, tightening accuracy and increasing fall off range

Siphon Blaster - Temporarily wield a semi-auto pistol with life-stealing explosive rounds. Move faster and jump higher while wielded

Cyber Frag - Throw a grenade that detonates shortly after bouncing

Ultimate: Override Protocol - An override initiates, transforming you into a living weapon. Fires rapid, explosive blasts or charged mega-shots capable of wiping out teams

Passive: Altered Vitals - Passive health regeneration activates sooner and instantly restores 30 health when activated

Anran (Damage)

My favorite damage character of the bunch, Anran is the older sister of Wuyang and is a potent burst character. Her ultimate can be used dead or alive, and helps to quickly set enemies on fire alongside her fiery fans that ignite enemies and stoke the fires with ample oxygen. 

Primary Fire: Zhuque Fans - Hand fans that shoot fiery projectiles

Secondary Fire: Fan the Flames - Hot wind blast that amplifies burning damage

Inferno Rush - Propel yourself forward and damage enemies you impact

Dancing Blaze - Strike nearby enemies while dodging all damage

Ultimate (Alive): Vermillion Ascent - Charge forward, exploding on impact and instantly igniting enemies

Ultimate (Dead): Vermillion Revival - Revive yourself in a fiery explosion

Passive: Ignition - Hit enemies with fire attacks to burn them

Mizuki (Support)

This young ninja specializes in locking down enemies, deflecting bullets with his ultimate, and healing allies with his traditional Japanese hat called a Kasa. Mizuki can return to a previous location by marking it with a paper doll. Importantly, Mizuki's healing aura must be maintained by continuously dealing damage and healing allies, requiring players to stay on the front line.

Primary Fire: Spirit Glaive - Throw a spinning blade that can bounce off walls, impacting enemies, and deals damage

Healing Kasa - Throw your hat to heal an ally, bouncing to nearby allies and healing you when it returns

Katashiro Return - Leap forward, leaving behind a paper doll. Reactivate to return and gain increased movement speed while active

Binding Chain - Launch a tethering chain that hinders the first enemy hit

Ultimate: Kekkai Sanctuary - Create a sanctuary that heals allies and absorbs enemy projectiles from outside the area

Passive: Remedy Aura - Heals nearby allies. Healing scales with a resource generated by dealing damage and healing

Jetpack Cat (Support)

The long-teased Jetpack Cat is finally real. Her ability to tow allies and enemies makes for a ton of clever plays, and her major perk allows her to knock enemies back if she flies fast enough into them.

Primary Fire: Bionic Pawjectiles - Mid-range projectile spread that heals allies and damages enemies

Lifeline - Toggle into transport mode, allowing an ally to be towed, increases movement speed, and heals your ally

Frenetic Flight - Accelerate in your movement direction. Fuel recovery is slower while carrying another player

Purr - Pulsing area heal that increases in frequency over time. Knockback nearby enemies when activated

Ultimate: Catnapper - Dive towards a ground location, knocking down enemies and tethering the nearest one to you

Passive: Jetpack - Permanent flight

New Sub-Roles and Passives:

Tank

Bruiser: Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed

• Roadhog, Zarya, Orisa, Mauga

Initiator: Staying airborne lightly heals you

• D.Va, Winston, Doomfist, Wrecking Ball

Stalwart: Reduces knockbacks and slows received

• Reinhardt, Sigma, Ramattra, Junker Queen, Hazard, Domina

Damage

Sharpshooter: Critical hits reduce ability cooldowns

• Hanzo, Widowmaker, Cassidy, Ashe, Sojourn

Flanker: Health packs restore more health

• Tracer, Reaper, Genji, Vendetta, Venture, Anran

Specialist: Eliminating an enemy briefly increases reload speed

• Bastion, Junkrat, Mei, Soldier 76, Symmetra, Torbjorn, Emre

Recon: Detect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them

• Pharah, Sombra, Echo, Freja

Support

Tactician: Gain excess ultimate charge that carries over after using your ultimate

• Lucio, Zenyatta, Ana, Baptiste, Jetpack Cat

Medic: Healing allies with your weapon also heals you

• Mercy, Moira, Kiriko, Lifeweaver

Survivor: Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration

• Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Wuyang, Mizuki

The very first Pokémon games launched in Japan on February 27, 1996, meaning the series' 30th Anniversary is this year. Ahead of an anticipated Pokémon Day stream later this month on February 27, The Pokémon Company International has announced that a yearlong campaign to celebrate the 30th Anniversary will begin this weekend with a Super Bowl LX commercial. 

The company released a quick teaser for the Super Bowl LX commercial on its YouTube channel today, showing an excited Jigglypuff sitting backstage on a couch, presumably waiting to perform the halftime show of her dreams. This commercial will be the "campaign debut" of yearlong details, announcements, and more. 

"The Pokémon community has been the foundation and inspiration for the brand since the very beginning, and the passion of our fans is what has allowed Pokémon to have a lasting impact on pop culture around the world and across generations," Pokémon Company International president Kenji Okubo writes in a press release. "As we look to the next 30 years and beyond, we invite trainers to join in celebrating this landmark milestone, starting with Super Bowl LX, where they'll see themselves and their fandom reflected in unexpected ways." 

Alongside the Super Bowl commercial, The Pokémon Company International has already shared some details about what to expect for this anniversary celebration. Available now at participating retailers, the Pokémon TCG: Pokémon Day 2026 Collection celebrates Pokémon Day, and you can also soon pick up Pokémon TCG: First Partner Illustration Collection cards from Series 1, which spotlights first partner Pokémon from the Kanto, Sinnoh, and Alola regions. Series 1 of the set will be released on March 20, and more regions will be featured in new First Partner Illustration Collection cards set to release in the future. 

Starting today, you can visit the Pokémon Center online to purchase exclusive 30th Anniversary-inspired merchandise that includes apparel, TCG accessories, home decor, and more. And finally, The Pokémon Company International says to keep an eye out for partner merchandise from companies like Lego, Jazwares, and more for additional 30th Anniversary products. 

Pokémon Day 2026 is February 27, and we expect to receive updates on upcoming games like Pokémon Pokopia as well as (hopefully) the reveal of Pokémon Gen 10. 

In the meantime, read Game Informer's Pokémon Legends: Z-A review, and then read our review of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. 

What do you hope to see as part of the Pokémon 30th Anniversary celebration? Let us know in the comments below!

Nintendo has announced that it will host a Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase tomorrow, on Wednesday, February 5. It will air at 6 a.m. PT/9 a.m. ET on YouTube and the official Nintendo website. 

The company first revealed the news on its Nintendo Today app before announcing it on official social media channels. Nintendo says the Direct will feature "roughly 30 minutes of upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games," and considering it's a third-party showcase, it's unlikely we'll see any big first-party reveals or updates. 

There are a lot of third-party games coming to Switch 2 this year like Pokémon Pokopia (March 5), Pragmata (April 24), Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (March 13), Resident Evil Requiem, Village Gold Edition, and Biohazard Gold Edition (February 27), WWE 2K26 (March 6), Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (February 12), and Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection (March 27), to name a few. There's a good chance we'll see updates to some of these games alongside brand-new third-party reveals. 

Fortunately, we don't even have to wait 24 hours to learn more as the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase will air on Wednesday, February 5, at 6 a.m. PT/9 a.m. ET. 

In the meantime, read about how Mario Kart World is the Switch 2's best-selling game, and then check out this story about how the Switch is officially Nintendo's best-selling console ever. After that, read about our hands-on impressions of Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata on Switch 2 and then check out why we think the upcoming Switch 2 Virtual Boy peripheral is actually kind of cool. 

What do you hope to see at the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase tomorrow? Let us know in the comments below!

I’m knee-deep into playing Nioh 3, and though the review embargo has lifted, I still need more time to complete this densely packed threequel. But after playing for a couple of dozen hours, I can confidently say I’m having a fun time slicing apart yokai in this time-hopping adventure. While the game remains a deliciously difficult action game, especially thanks to its new Ninja style, I’m arguably most impressed with its rewarding approach to exploration.

One of Nioh 3’s big additions is the Ninja Style Shift, which effectively gives you a shinobi-flavored class that feels like controlling a wholly different character. While its opposite Style, Samurai, offers the more traditional Nioh combat experience (complete with the four weapon stances), I much prefer the speed and agility of the Ninja Style. Slashing apart foes using the Ninja’s bespoke weaponry like dual swords, splitstaves, or tonfa, while swiftly dodging around and behind them to take advantage of the Ninja’s stronger backstab damage, is thrilling. I also enjoy experimenting with the Ninja’s impressively deep suite of unlockable tools and magic.

Regardless of whether you favor Samurai or Ninja, swapping between them with a button press allows for a dynamic shift in gameplay styles that keeps combat fresh and strategically engaging for hours. I’m enjoying mastering each style’s inherent traits and the many weapons they offer.

I’m also enjoying Nioh 3’s approach to open-world exploration. While not a true open-world game, players visit different expansive hubs, and a single landmass can take 15-20 hours to fully explore. Nioh 3’s approach to exploration smartly threads the needle between the overly guided icon-littered maps of most open-world games and the more cryptic "pick a direction and see what you find" design ethos of Elden Ring or the recent Zelda games. Upon entering a region, the map is a blank slate. But the more you uncover, the more you unlock tiers of exploration rewards, such as stat bumps to attack/defense; more importantly, however, the map begins displaying icons of the goodies you were in the vicinity of but missed the first time around.

These include side quests, loot chests, hidden Kodama spirits, Jizo statues, Guardian Spirit traversal sections, and much more. Nioh 3’s world may not boast jaw-dropping emergent moments, but it constantly incentivizes exploration because everything you find improves your character in some way. You’ll gain new weapons, gear, skill points, passive upgrades, and more simply by wandering, and it’s an effective hook when the game still pummels players with its high difficulty curve.

Another of Nioh 3’s big destinations is Crucibles, demonic realms that present a higher overall challenge befitting their hellish landscape. Usually presented as a climax to a plot milestone, I like Crucibles as self-contained challenges and breaks from the overworld. I also like the unique Crucible weapons they reward, which bear special, unlockable skills and inflict more damage, but cause the player to take increased damage.

Nioh 3’s encounters, especially its boss fights, remain challenging affairs. However, overcoming a seemingly insurmountable foe has never felt more feasible thanks to the more freeform exploration. Nioh 3 allows players to explore and get stronger should they hit a wall, and as I previously established, there’s no shortage of things to do or find. This is much more enjoyable than grinding the same corridor-like route ad nauseam. But even if you technically surpass a region’s recommended character level, boss battles demand a high degree of reflex and pattern recognition – plus the savvy to know when to switch combat styles – that sheer number grinding can’t solve; and that’s where success tastes the sweetest.

Still, when your dexterity isn’t up to snuff, Nioh 3 offers plenty of ways to help pick up the slack. From having two completely different loadouts between the Samurai and Ninja styles, multiple systems for recycling unwanted loot and strengthening preferred equipment, expansive skill trees for each weapon (with free respec), and other features still revealing themselves, it’s impressive how much you can customize your character to prepare for any given fight, even by this series’ standards.

Naturally, you’re going to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options at your fingertips – I certainly am – but the game does a solid job of easing players into these systems between playable tutorials and a glossary succinctly explaining each feature. Nioh 3 also allows you to get accustomed to an initial batch of features for a good dozen or more hours before unlocking new options and expanding existing ones, and I’m grateful for that. Unfortunately, it means a lot of downtime is spent in menus inspecting/recycling dozens of pieces of loot, as well as checking the boxes for numerous rewards across multiple menus. While it feels good to continually grow, pausing to do so does feel like having to shove a mouthful of veggies when I just want to get back to devouring my juicy steak.

I have a good way to go before rolling credits in Nioh 3, but I’m having a blast so far. The action remains slick and satisfying, the game’s customization allows overwhelming agency in how you build your hero, and the open world offers compelling reasons to explore every nook and cranny. I hope the world’s offerings continue to compel me to explore, and much of that will depend on how much tougher the bosses become going forward. As of now, I’m eager and willing to tackle whatever remaining challenges lie ahead.

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: 34BigThings
Developer: 34BigThings
Release: February 6, 2026
Rating: Mature

In the '90s and '00s, vehicular combat games were commonplace. Franchises like Twisted Metal, Burnout, and Carmageddon were instrumental in establishing the brand of high-octane, aggressive driving that is much rarer in 2026. Though Twisted Metal and Burnout have been dormant for years, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift introduces a roguelite right turn to the genre, proving that while the vehicular combat genre often feels like a relic from a bygone era, it still has some gas left in the tank.

Rogue Shift is a post-apocalyptic, single-player racing game that takes the age-old formula of competing in crash-filled events and applies the roguelite formula to mostly strong results. Each time you fire up a new run, you select a vehicle from an ever-growing garage; I appreciate how each one not only controls differently, but features distinct weaponry and perks. I loved using the beefier vehicle I unlocked early on, which not only gave me more battering damage but more health, durability, and a special perk that increased my damage every time I improved my defense. This tank-like vehicle let me stay alive longer than the speedier, sportier options as I gained my bearings in Carmageddon: Rogue Shift. However, as I unlocked more vehicles and improved my skills, I started shifting towards those faster, less sturdy cars.

Once in a run, you navigate a menu-based map as you select the route to each phase's boss encounter. I admire the risk/reward elements at play in choosing which way to go at every fork; do I want to head towards the weapons shop where I can upgrade my shotgun, even though there's a more challenging Elite event right after it, or do I want to steer clear of the risk and just go on to the next standard event? When any failure, whether you miss the specified placement for the event or your vehicle is demolished, results in a game over and the end of your run, these decisions carry great weight. On multiple occasions, I fist-pumped as my risk paid off, but more often, I fell victim to my own hubris, and I watched helplessly as my vehicle exploded and my aspirations went up in smoke.

 

On the road, Carmageddon is an often-glorious symphony of explosions and speed. Most events are lap-based races, where you compete against a field of fellow armed-to-the-teeth racers as you jockey for position and aim for the checkered flag. Speeding through zombie-infested streets as you blast, smash, and bash your competition creates white-knuckled affairs where I found myself holding my breath until I crossed the finish line. Picking up ammo, locking onto your opponent, and blasting them sky high with whatever weapon you have equipped is a thrill only rivaled by the feeling of shoving your foe into a barricade and watching them explode like a firework to mark your triumph.

Every car controls differently, which is exacerbated by the disparate road surfaces and weather conditions, creating situations where one bad roll of the elements can bring your run to a screeching and demoralizing halt. This is particularly true because the controls don't allow for fast recovery if you get turned around or caught on a jagged environmental element; with the game's entire premise being based on vehicles wiping out, it takes entirely too long to course-correct if you get nudged off course. And since there's no retry button outside of special items that grant you an extra life, frustration mounts when you spin out near the end of a race.

Since the controls are a little more slippery than I prefer in my arcade racers, every time I had an event with rain on a dirt road, I knew I had to focus extra hard to ensure I didn't spin out on every high-speed turn. And since zombies walk across every racetrack, you also need to watch out for special variants that explode when you go near them. I enjoy smashing through the hordes of undead to earn bonus credits, but the post-apocalyptic setting is perhaps the least memorable part of the overall package; I would have had just as much fun taking part in these high-speed destruction derbies without zombies spilling into the streets. 

Playing into the roguelite elements, you accumulate two kinds of currencies during your run: credits, which can be used at various shops within your run, and beatcoins, which are used at the Black Market dealer at the start of each run. The shops scattered throughout the map offer new perks, like boosts to your weapon damage, repairs to your vehicle, or one that converts the credits you earn into HP. 

At first, building my preferred killing/racing machine often came down to the luck of the draw, as each shop is randomized, but through a permanent perk unlocked at the Black Market dealer, I could reroll each in-run shop once for free. The Black Market dealer, which you access at the start of every run, is where more meaningful upgrades that carry from run to run occur. Here, you can unlock permanent upgrades, like one that adds an extra item for sale in every shop, as well as new perks and weapons that cycle through the shops, plus new vehicles. These upgrades help keep the experience of racing the same handful of tracks over and over again feeling fresh.

Though survival is at the forefront of every race, and I always built to survive the next escalation of opponent, the boss battles were always at the forefront of my mind when determining my loadout. Though the pool of bosses is shallow, I always looked forward to taking on these decked-out adversaries. Whether you're talking a bulldozing tank that blasts fire in all directions, a duo of bosses that blast projectiles at you until you destroy them, or a speedster that is nearly indestructible, these phase finales effectively shake up the pacing of your run, giving you a distinct experience from the more standard race events. 

Even the most seemingly straightforward events have the potential to devolve into a chaotic pileup, which can be a blessing and a curse; it enhances the excitement, but I sometimes frustratingly got stuck sideways as opponents pushed me into a wall. You can force a respawn, but often by the time I did that, my chances for prevailing were long gone, even with some noticeable rubber-band AI; several times, I went into the final turn in first place, only to get spun out by an overly reckless AI opponent who sabotaged their own placement just to ruin my race. When you add to that the poor AI of the cop-like Enforcers, who more often than not steer into the walls, and a couple of times when the boss battles ended because the boss just decided to stop driving, it's clear that these post-apocalyptic racers are lacking in the smarts department. 

The AI would be a problem in a multiplayer game, but in a single-player title like Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, it's a much more impactful issue. And really, the underwhelming enemy AI somewhat typified my time with Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, as a persistent lack of polish permeates the experience. Muddy textures that pop in while you're playing may not be the end of the world, but on a couple of occasions, my controls outright froze, disabling my ability to steer, leading to an unceremonious end to my run. It wasn't a common problem, but it was frustrating enough to stick with me long after I stopped playing.

Even with some of those runs feeling like they came to an end due to little fault of my own, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift had me eagerly saying "one more run" time after time. This novel twist on vehicular combat may not be the full revival longtime genre fans have been craving, but it delivers a genre mashup I never knew I needed while simultaneously providing a fun callback to racing's most explosive eras. 

Score: 7.75

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