Free-to-play hero FPS Highguard has had a busy week. It just launched on Monday but has already released two updates targeting PC performance fixes and other community-requested features such as a field of view slider on consoles, the ability to toggle crouch and ADS, and expanded PC graphical options. In addition to these quality of life improvements, the team at Wildlight Entertainment has also pushed out a new base called Soulwell, and a new limited-time 5v5 raid mode in the wake of fans requesting higher player counts since Monday's launch.

I've been playing Highguard this week, working on a full review of the game. I'll give you a hint: I recommend it. You can play it for free right now.

I was on a zoom call with the people themselves this past Monday, and it’s now official. WWE2K26 will launch in early access on March 6th, while people who purchase the standard edition will get access to it on March 13th. This will be the first in the series that will be released for Gen 9 consoles and PC (with the Island!). The game will be released on  Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series, and Playstation 5 consoles. And I didn’t freak out when WWE Superstar Liv Morgan actually jumped on the call to complain about how Dominik Mysterio wasn’t the cover athlete. I didn’t freak out. I’m a professional.   

As we already know, CM Punk will be the cover athlete of the Standard Edition, and one of four editions. We also found out that there will be no new game modes, meaning that all the current ones are returning, including the Island of Relevancy. There are plenty of enhancements, arenas, and a graphical and technical overhaul, and Visual concepts promises more freedom than ever when it comes to creation mode. They also mentioned some picture in picture action for the Royal Rumble. 

400+ playable characters are in this game. This is being touted as the biggest roster yet.  RAW, Smackdown, NXT, plus your blast from the blast superstars, and newer additions to the roster including Blake Monroe, Rusev, Rey Fenix, Ricky Starks. I will tell you as of right now, Kit Wilson’s new theme is not in the game, but preorder the game, and HE appears, along with his MyFAction EVO card, plus his spin Emote . Speaking of which, Booker T and Wade Barrett join the commentary team. There are talks of interactive entrances, including triggering pyro, and interacting with the commentary team. Could we see Booker T do some Black Snow commentary? One could dream. And no. Whoop that Trick is NOT in Trick Willie’s entrance. That’s not up to them. 

DLC packs are GONE! Replacing them are Ringside Passes. They’re like seasons in NBA2K. This will make you play the game more, to earn XP, and unlock items, creation content, and even Superstars. Over six seasons, you will be rewarded through 60 free tiers, and 40 premiums. Ringside pass season 1 will be available at launch, and will feature superstars and legends. You’ll have to pay to unlock the premium tier, and I’m not sure if you can earn VC to pay for those upgrades. There are tier skips though, because, battle pass. I’ll update you as I get that info.

We will get four new match types. Inferno, Three Stages of Hell, Dumpster, and I Quit. In an I Quit match, you actually have to hold the microphone to your opponent and make them say “I Quit”, which cannot be more explained than that.  With those match types comes even more weapons and variations, including stacking tables, a shopping cart (in certain modes) and thumbtacks. It is confirmed that the thumbtacks stick to you, in case you need that detail. They’ve revamped the reversal and stamina system too. Oh it’s true. It’s true.  

The Creation mode has DOUBLED the slots for the create a superstar, and Image slots. You can now create up to 200 superstars, and upload up to 2,000 images. The body morphing tool has also been refined, so if you truly want to create a weirdo character, the boyhood dream has come true. 

My GM has more shows to add, intergender matches, and now has the option to be 5-6 and 8 man matches. We will get to add more matches, more match types, and more shows per season. The Universe mode will add the WWE Draft, and we now have a creation wizard, so you don’t have to do everything yourself. There is now a “watch show” mode, so you can…watch the show, and they’ve added more promo options. Yes, they’ve improved the money in the bank cash- in, and yes, please stop asking for it. And that’s the bottom line. 

My Rise, the other campaign mode in the game, sends you in one of two directions. You can even turn heel as you progress, adding to the replay value of the mode. There are unlockable characters within this mode, and you can play beyond the original story. The Island of Relevancy also returns, bigger than last year, and now on PC. Roman Reigns has been dethroned, so now you will have to team up with one of three factions to create your own nation of domination. New shops, and new branded gear, and a new scrapyard Brawl is coming too. Again, they’ve revamped the creation suite, and this goes across modes, as you can now import your face onto your superstar. Hopefully it’s better than what NBA2k did to me. 

MyFACTION isn’t going anywhere, and the card collectable version is back, now with intergender matches, and new card packs. We’ll see how many persona cards are locked behind this mode. I really hope it’s worth it. It’s my least favorite. 

The Standard Edition will have cover athlete, and star of the showcase mode CM Punk. 2K said this was the worst kept secret, but had some laughs about it. While this showcase mode will span a good chunk of Punk’s WWE career, there will be some “fantasy booking” available. Narrated by the Second City Saint, you will also get to face opponents that he didn’t get to face when he was away. Doing other things. This will be his second cover appearance. This will be $69.99

The King of Kings Edition has Triple H on the cover, with the Big Gold Belt. and gives us a behind the scenes look at the legacy of the cerebral assassin, plus the standard edition, for $99.99. This will put you in the ring with the aforementioned Joe Hendry pack, a premium Ringside pass, and 32,500 virtual currency. You also get Triple H ‘98, and Stephanie McMahon ‘00, plus a Trips taunt for the Island. Early access starts under this edition. 

The Attitude Era edition has all the above, plus most of the Attitude era stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock ‘99, Shawn Michaels, Chyna ‘97, Lita, Undertaker, Kane ‘98, Stephanie McMahon, and get the tables for The Dudley Boyz! Notice I said ‘98 Kane, just in case you didn’t see that. This will set you back $130, but will also include a premium tier Ringside Pass for seasons 1-4. Included with this small package are The Rock and Steve Austin EVO cards, the Raw is WAR ‘98 arena, and Undertaker and Shawn Michaels emotes for the Island. You also get the Superstar Megaboost, which is 200 MySuperStar attribute points for the My Rise mode, and 100,000 of that sweet virtual currency. 

There’s now a 4th SUPER PREMIUM edition called the Monday Night War Edition, which has all the things from above, plus some of the WCW greats like Randy Savage ‘98, Outsiders, Goldberg, Booker T, and Eric Bischoff. Shawn Michaels DX and Roddy Piper ‘98 will also make their way down that aisle. You will get all 6 seasons of the Premium ringside pass, the WCW thunder arena, and a Diamond Dallas Page emote for the Island. The imminent Wrestlemania 42 pack also comes with this edition. $149.99 Now can you dig that…suckaaaaaaaaaaaa?!

The Nintendo Switch 2 edition will have motion controls, and Gameshare within the gamechat, meaning that a friend can enjoy the game without having it at all. You can also use mouse controls in the creation suite, including face and body painting. Last year, they missed the image uploader and cross platform community creators. That was a decision from last year, and now it’s back. The Nintendo Switch 2 is a real boy nowI think Q The Gift and myself are going to finally finish GM mode. 

Lots to take in. Lots of screen shots. Lots of things were announced today. My esteemed colleague Nathan is probably losing his mind right now, as we are both avid fans, and I want to personally thank him for all of his help. More info is coming. Stay tuned. If you hear any other rumours, know your role, and shut your mouth. 

On ESPN earlier this morning, the WWE and 2K revealed the official cover for WWE 2K26 and the Best in the World, CM Punk will be gracing the cover this year. 

CM Punk as the cover star and a huge focus on the Attitude Era? Looks like we are getting WWE '13 Part 2 and I am perfectly fine with that because that game and that roster were amazing. A full trailer for the game will be dropping tomorrow during the Royal Rumble PLE. 

WWE 2K26 launches on March 13th 2026 for PS5, Series X, Switch 2 and PC. 

My bedtime routine includes one of my favorite activities – perusing YouTube for video game trailers. My algorithm has gotten so curated that I quite often discover new games, and occasionally it is one that I like to bring to the Gaming Nexus audience. This week, the YouTube gods fed me Varsity High School Football, a football sim focused solely on the ranks of high school American football that is one to put on your radar if you’re a fan of sports games.

Developed by Spear Interactive and Pyramid Lake Games, Varsity High School Football features an immersive dynasty experience, allowing you to build your high school program over multiple seasons (up to 50 in its current iteration) as you navigate rivalries, manage relationships with players and parents, boosters, and your coaching staff.

Varsity also includes a robust team customization suite which will allow you to create your team and school in what appears to be just about any location in the United States. Each town, county, and state creates a unique football atmosphere, and you’ll be able to choose your state’s playoff structure for your school’s classification. From a player customization standpoint, you can create or edit individual players from their stats to their equipment. On the team side, you choose your facility, bleachers, scoreboards, press box, and more.

The studio has been releasing monthly development updates, but some of the big 2025 highlights include the addition of coach schemes and tendencies, game themes (homecoming, rivalry, senior night, etc.), community file sharing of custom teams, player training boosts for playing other sports in the offseason (!!), PA announcers, crowd sound, improved motion capture, and they also held the first playtest for a 7on7 game mode.

At first it had my curiosity, but now it has my attention. Varsity High School Football does not have a release date, but will come to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox when its ready for kickoff.

Wargaming is gearing up to launch its free-to-play PvP tank shooter World of Tanks: HEAT this year, and this week they’ve started a new video series titled Foundations. The first video in the series is available now and introduces the world of WOTH, including vehicles, its roster of Agents, maps, game modes, and playstyles. You can check it out below.

If you’re unfamiliar with World of Tanks: Heat, it is a 10v10 shooter that aims to blend FPS intensity with team-driven strategy, but with tanks. It will feature deep customization and progression, online leaderboards, and game modes you’ve become accustomed to seeing in first-person shooters such as Conquest, Domination, and Kill Confirmed.

What they’ve shown so far looks like absolute fire. World of Tanks: HEAT is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2026.

Solo developer FunkyMouse has released traffic-weaving motorcycle crashing racing simulation, LANESPLIT. The white-knuckle racing sim is available now on PC, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions launching later this year.

The goal is to race against the clock, flying through unpredictable city traffic at a blurry pace in both solo and multiplayer time sprints as you try to climb the global leaderboards. There are 15 high-performance motorcycles at your disposal, and you’ll need to consider weather conditions to avoid death collisions and multiply your point total for a clean sprint.

Check out the PC launch trailer below, but be warned – the pucker factor is high.

Rebellion, the publisher behind Sniper Elite, Atomfall, and Zombie Army, has released Speedball today on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 for $29.99.

Speedball is a revival of the 1988 Bitmap Brothers franchise, featuring a brutal, futuristic version of handball set in the year 2138. Matches are a fast-paced and physical blend of running, passing, shooting, and defending. You can hop into League Mode which sees 10 teams competing over a full season to be the champion, play arcade matches, take on a friend from your couch, or hop online to go head-to-head against other another player with your team of five athletes (is that what we’re calling them?).

Looks neat! Check out the new launch trailer below:

Well, they did it. Developer Wildlight Entertainment announced Highguard at The Game Awards back in December, said it would be out on January 26th, and they delivered. Now it's time to play the game and find out if they delivered. There's absolutely no excuse to not try it as it is free-to-play across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The first "War Chest" is free as well, which is a battle pass.

Highguard is a 3v3 first-person raid shooter where two teams battle to destroy the other team's base while also defending their own. At launch, there are five maps, six base options, eight Wardens (characters), three mounts, 10 weapons, three raid tools, and 11 weapon and raid tool mods.

Wildlight also laid out an entire year's worth of post-launch content, which they call episodes, with episode two launching in just two weeks. Normally, each episode will run for two months and be broken up into two updates.

You can check out the launch trailer below, or head over to the Highguard YouTube channel for the full launch day showcase, character deep dives, and more. Stay tuned for my full review in the coming days.

The marketing for WWE 2K26 has kicked into high gear and we already got the announcements of two different editions of the game, those being the Attitude Era and Monday Night Wars editions. Today however, 2K announced we are getting yet another edition of the game with the WWE 2K26 "King of Kings" edition and The Game himself, Triple H, will be gracing the cover. 

So we have the Attitude Era edition, the Monday Night Wars edition and now the King of Kings edition. We have no word yet on what will be coming with each edition and this year it's different as before they would usually announce three sperate versions of the game.

For WWE 2K25 we had the Standard edition that retailed for $69.99, the Deadman edition that retailed for $99.99 and the Bloodline edition that retailed for $129.99. All of these editions of course game with different goodies like My Faction cards, VC, the season pass and amore. What's interesting this year is we seemingly have three different special editions of the game before the Standard has even been announced. So are we getting four different editions of the game this year? Will one of these cost even more than $130? 

We won't have to wait much longer as a full reveal for WWE 2K26 is scheduled for this coming Friday, January 30th, the same day that pre-orders go on sale. 

Wow 2K is not messing around this year. Last night during Friday Night Smackdown we got the official announcement of WWE 2K26 with the "Attitude Era Edition" and a covering featuring stars of said era like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Kane, Undertaker and more. Well tonight during Saturday Night's Main Event we got another announcement and that is that there will also be a "Monday Night Wars Edition" of the game and the cover features stars from the then WWF and WCW including the nWo, Booker T, Goldberg and Eric Bischoff. 

So I think it's clear that the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era will be a big part of this years game. Whether it's just the roster or the Showcase mode or we may even get a new game mode. We shall see as I'm sure full information about the game will be releasing very soon. 

Pre-orders for WWE 2K26 start Friday, January 30th.