It’s yet again time for a look at the world of gaming news for this week, and it’s been a pretty eventful one thanks to the appearance of a Nintendo Direct (yes, another one!).
Don’t worry: you haven’t missed anything. The Direct for the Switch 2 is still due to air in the coming days. This week, though, we got to see what Nintendo will be up to in the next few months with regards to the original Switch.
Here’s our rundown of what’s been going on this week in gaming news!
Monster Hunter Wilds’ first update is dated for April 4th
Capcom announced the release date for the upcoming first Monster Hunter Wilds title update this week, and you’ll be getting yet more stuff for the monster-hunting RPG on April 4th.
What can you look forward to? Well, the fan favourite monster Mizutsune will be making an appearance, and, of course, more cosmetics and other gameplay additions will be coming as well.
What’s more, the game’s next big update is coming sometime in summer, so it won’t even be that long before you get to head back into the Forbidden Lands for more fun.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 gets yet another delay
Waiting for the launch of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is becoming a full-time job, and that’s not about to change, because the game was delayed again this week.
Apparently, the long-awaited RPG is “done”, but developer The Chinese Room and publisher Paradox need more time in order to make sure it’s free of bugs (well, as free of bugs as a Vampire: The Masquerade game can be, anyway).
It’s now due to come out in October, although again, no specific release date was announced, so there’s every chance the game will be delayed once again before being released.
Expansion pack Ark: Aquatica gets in trouble for its AI trailer
This week, developer Snail Games showed off a new expansion for its popular survival game Ark: Survival Evolved, but eagle-eyed viewers of the debut trailer quickly spotted a problem: the trailer had apparently been constructed entirely using generative AI.
Naturally, the internet exploded in rage at this, and Snail Games’ Matt Kohl, who’s working as the game’s lead designer, subsequently said that the trailer had been created by the marketing department and was nothing to do with the devs.
Kohl also isn’t the only person who’s distancing himself from the disastrous trailer; original developer Studio Wildcard also made sure everyone knew it had nothing to do with Aquatica’s debut showing.
The Witcher 4 won’t be out until after next year
Bad news if you’re waiting for CD Projekt Red’s next major fantasy RPG to land soon: The Witcher 4 won’t be releasing until sometime after 2026.
That’s according to the developer’s latest financial call (via Eurogamer), in which the company confirms it doesn’t plan to launch the game “by the end of 2026”.
However, CDPR does say it’s “still driven by” a projection that its profit will significantly increase through 2028, so either more projects are on the way or The Witcher 4’s potential 2027 release is going to be huge.
April’s PlayStation Plus Essential games have been revealed
Sony has revealed which three games you’ll be able to check out on your PS4 and/or PS5 in April, and it’s a pretty solid showing this month.
Shooter RoboCop: Rogue City heads up the lineup, and while it’s only available on PS5, there are two other games that you can play on either console.
The first of these is horror multiplayer title The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and the second is RPG Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory. The latter doesn’t have a native PS5 version, but it’s playable on PS5 thanks to backwards compatibility.
A new Nintendo Direct reveals what Switch games are coming
This week’s Nintendo Direct held plenty of information about what’s coming up for the original Switch, and while the lineup isn’t exactly star-studded, there’s still plenty to get your teeth into.
The Direct boasted announcements for the likes of a new Tomodachi Life game, a brand new Nintendo news app for your phone, and the arrival of a Virtual Game Card system to make lending and borrowing digital games easier.
A new gameplay trailer for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond also debuted, and we got a closer look at some of the gameplay systems in the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Not bad!
That new Ubisoft gaming subsidiary has materialised
Recently, it was reported that Ubisoft may be considering starting up a new subsidiary for its gaming business, and this week, that subsidiary was confirmed.
The new business was valued at around $4.3 billion and will boast investment from Tencent. It’ll be the new home of Ubisoft’s biggest gaming brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.
Whether this will have any kind of material impact on the way in which the business operates remains to be seen, but don’t expect these franchises to change massively anytime soon (unless they stop making money, of course).
The Legend of Zelda movie release date has been revealed
We now know when we’ll get to see the upcoming live-action The Legend of Zelda movie, although we don’t know what it will consist of or who will be starring in it.
According to an announcement on the aforementioned Nintendo news app Nintendo Today!, the movie will be launching on March 26th worldwide.
We do know that Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto will be one of the Zelda movie’s producers, alongside Avi Arad, and that Maze Runner director Wes Ball is attached to direct.
Ex-GTA producer’s MindsEye gets release date
MindsEye, a refreshingly old-school-looking game from former GTA producer Leslie Benzies and his studio Build a Rocket Boy, has a release date.
The game, which is being published by Hitman studio IO Interactive, will be launching on June 10th on PC and current-gen consoles.
Build a Rocket Boy is promising a “gripping action-adventure narrative and richly detailed story” in MindsEye, and it’s promising to be the kind of super-linear, tightly-focused game that many studios simply don’t make anymore.
