Video Game News 2/18/2026

#CallOfDuty
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Call of Duty ad banned by UK regulator after investigation determined it "trivialised sexual violence"

Weird Nikki Glaser Call of Duty airport ad gets a UK ban because it “trivialised sexual violence”

UK's Advertising Standards Authority bans Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 commercial for "trivializing sexual violence"

Call of Duty ad banned in the UK for trivializing sexual violence

UK Ad Authority Bans Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Ad for "Trivializing Sexual Violence"

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Commercial Featuring Nikki Glazer Receives UK Ban for Trivializing Sexual Violence

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 Ad Banned Over Sexual Assault Joke

#Sonic4Movie
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Kristen Bell Cast As Amy Rose In Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Kristen Bell to play Amy Rose in Sonic 4

Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Movie Has Found Its Amy Rose

Kristen Bell to voice Amy Rose in Sonic 4 Movie with Jeff Fowler directing

Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Movie Has Found Its Amy Rose

Kristen Bell Joins The Sonic 4 Cast As Amy

#WildlightEntertainment
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As Highguard's website goes dark, a report emerges that the not-so-indie shooter was funded by Tencent

Highguard Studio May Have Secretly Been Funded By Tencent

Report Says Highguard's Development Was Quietly Funded By Tencent

Highguard developer Wildlight Entertainment reportedly funded by Tencent, though the scale of this funding remains a mystery

Tencent's TiMi Studio Group reportedly funded Highguard dev Wildlight Entertainment

#Series
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Next God of War to Include Scythes to Kratos’ Arsenal, Might Go Back to Greece – Rumor

Surprise PS5 Action Game Gets Legendary Series’ Worst Reviews

The Next God of War Game May Return To Greece And Will Have Scythes

PS5's Retro God of War Game Gets the Worst Reviews in the Series

Every God of War Game on PS5 in 2026

#Rpg
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People of Note receives Nintendo Switch 2 release date, new trailer

People of Note Preview – The Musical Turn-Based RPG Gets a Release Date and Demo Impressions

People of Note is a turn-based RPG with a rhythmic twist

Musical RPG People of Note Release Date Revealed, Featuring Erika Ishii and Debra Wilson

#WeAreSuperClose
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Replaced Delayed to April 14th: “We Are Super Close to the Finish Line”

REPLACED Has Been Delayed For A Fourth Time

REPLACED Delayed Once Again, This Time To April 2026

Replaced has been delayed to April 2026

#Playstation
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‘Let us normalize delaying games’: DayZ creator says players ‘have the power’ to tell platform holders delays are okay

DayZ Creator: Please Do Not Preorder Our Game, But Also Please Preorder Our Game

DayZ creator calls to 'normalize delaying games,' that consumers can show Xbox and Sony 'that delays are okay' and, oh, 'Personally: don't preorder games, folks. Commercially: please preorder games'

#TheWitcher
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‘That was a mistake, I think’: The Witcher 1’s lead writer says the story team didn’t know about its twist ending

"We weren't really paying attention" The Witcher's lead story designer reveals why the first game's final CG cutscene didn't involve the story team

Original Witcher story lead says the surprise twist at the end 'was a mistake,' because instead of focusing on Geralt the sequel was forced into 'a story about witchers who are killing kings for some reason'

#Sports
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EA Sports FC commentator lets EA use an AI version of his voice to record some lines, it’s revealed

EA FC Is Using AI to Recreate Commentator Guy Mowbray’s Voice

One of FC 26's commentators confirms that EA uses an AI replicating his voice to record new lines

#GodotEngine
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Godot Engine suffering from lots of "AI slop" code submissions

A recent rise in "AI slop" code submissions is "draining and demoralizing" the team behind open-source game engine Godot

Open-source game engine Godot is drowning in 'AI slop' code contributions: 'I don't know how long we can keep it up'

#SkyrimNintendoSwitch2Perf
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The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Addresses Nintendo Switch 2 Performance Issues in Latest Update

Skyrim's Nintendo Switch 2 port gets proper Performance and Quality modes, finally fixing the mess it was at launch

Bethesda Deploys Patch to Address The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Nintendo Switch 2 Performance Woes

#CupiclawSteamDemoNowLiveA
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Cupiclaw Steam Demo Now Live Ahead of March 5 Launch

Scott Pilgrim EX Steam Demo Live

Swarm Me Demo is Live

#Marathon
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My love for Arc Raiders is starting to wane, and that plays right into Marathon's hands

ARC Raiders teases Shrouded Sky date, but gamers aren’t impressed

Extreme Weather Alert: ARC Raiders Shrouded Sky Update Release Date

#NewMonsterHunterWilds
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New Monster Hunter Wilds update delivers the explosive finale I was hoping for, and boosts PC performance again for good measure

Monster Hunter Wilds just got its final update (until the DLC, at least) and it's pretty significant: here are the full patch notes

Here's What's New in Monster Hunter Wilds Patch 1.041

#Mewgenics
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Mewgenics tops 1 million copies sold in just one week | News-in-brief

Mewgenics has sold 1 million copies worldwide

Mewgenics sells 1 million copies in just 1 week, far more than its creators expected: 'We both got a bit blindsided by this'

#MagicTheGathering
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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magic set includes a deck inspired by the videogames

Amazon Officially Drops Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Booster Boxes to Just $125.99 to Preorder, Just Weeks Before Release

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magic: The Gathering Cards Are Winning Me Over With Their Big-Time Video Game Vibes

#Duty
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Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile officially shuts down in April, Activision announces

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile’s servers will go offline on April 17

Two-Month Warning Given For Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile Server Shutdown

#TransportFever3
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Sorry, Woodstock's off; or, how I gave everyone dysentery in Transport Fever 3

I didn't expect to kidnap alligators, save Woodstock or give people dysentery in a game called Transport Fever 3—but here we are

Transport Fever 3 Interview – Urban Games’ Sam Bennett on Playing Your Way

Transport Fever 3 Preview – The Ultimate Transport Tycoon Simulator

#FirstWeekMewgenicsSalesSo
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Mewgenics is a clear hit reaching over a million sales

Mewgenics Sales Soar Past 1m in First Week

#MinecraftJava
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Minecraft Java is switching from OpenGL to Vulkan for the Vibrant Visuals update

Minecraft texture packs 2026 - Java and Bedrock resources

#Unity
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Unity CEO says an upcoming Beta will allow people to "prompt full casual games into existence"

Unity boss who once called out the 'idiocy' of the metaverse now says his company's new AI tech 'will enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only'

#StarTrekVoyagerAcrossTheU
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Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown's survival RPG retelling inspires many emotions, but mostly makes me feel old

Star Trek: Voyager – Across The Unknown Puts Fate In Your Hands

#Switch2
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Goodnight Universe gains Nintendo Switch 2 camera support with new update

Heartwarming 2025 Gem 'Goodnight Universe' Finally Gets Switch 2 Camera Support

#LowPriorityHighguardWebsi
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Highguard Website is Being “Transferred and Simplified,” Says Wildlight, But It’s “Low Priority”

Highguard Dev Says Broken Website Is ‘Low Priority’ And The ‘Reputational Damage Already Done’

#BoldestBetIsAlsoItsSlowes
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God of War Sons of Sparta Review – A Tale of Two Brothers

Review: God of War: Sons of Sparta (PS5) - Series' Boldest Bet Is Also Its Slowest Burn