Video game news this week is a complete and utter roller coaster. We've got very high highs and some pretty low lows, so let's get to our coverage and start with those low lows.
Wonder Woman game canceled, studios closing
Jason Schreier of Bloomburg had a breaking story earlier this week of Warner Brothers shuttering three gaming studios and canceling production on that beautiful Wonder Woman game we've heard nothing about in several years.
The studios closing includes Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. Yes, Monolith Productions who made the Shadows of Mordor games and who were working on Wonder Woman. Warner Bros. says they're keeping their focus on Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones and DC Comics.
There's a lot more nuance to this breaking news. You can peruse Jason Schreier's BlueSky for some interesting threads on how this has kind of been going on for a year. But it's still terrible news.
Assassin's Creed Shadows has already leaked
Apparently Assassin's Creed Shadows has leaked and people were already streaming it. The game doesn't release until March 20.
Ubisoft did confirm that yes, the footage is legit (apparently some retailers were selling it early, as it was supposed to launch on Valentine's Day), but implored people to avoid it and commented that they're still working on day one patches so what you've seen may not be the final result.
Monster Hunter Wilds released!
Oh, it's the day we've been waiting for: Monster Hunter Wilds is out! Metacritic has an overall rating of 90/100 from critics, so it looks like it's living up to all the hype. It has come out that the main campaign is a lot shorter than the last two Monster Hunter games, but these games are so much more than just the main campaign.
There's also a first major update coming in April. They haven't said what exactly it will entail, but it will give players a month with the game to get their feet wet and have some fun in this new world.
As always, Gameranx has their solid "Before You Buy" if you need some guidance before dropping some money.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake all but confirmed
We posted about it last week, all the rumors about a new Tony Hawk game, but it's basically confirmed at this point. First, Tony Hawk had a post on his Instagram reiterating that March 4 is a very important day with some very important news.
And then it came out that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 were just rated in Singapore. I'm sure we'll get a trailer next week on March 4, so check back next week when that makes our round-up!
Fable delayed until 2026
To no one's surprise, Xbox confirmed that the reboot of Fable has been delayed until 2026. But to help that sting just a little bit less, they gave us some new gameplay!
Balatro is on GamePass, won its battle with PEGI 18 rating
If you haven't played Balatro, man are you missing out on one of the most addicting rogue-like deck builders that's out there. And to everyone's surprise, it's now on Game Pass! There's also another "Friends of Jimbo" launch for new card designs getting added in, including Bugsnax, Civilization, Assassin's Creed, Slay the Princess, Dead by Daylight, and Fallout.
And on top of that, the Balatro dev LocalThunk won his appeals battle with the PEGI 18 rating the game has in Europe. The rating was slapped on the game soon after it launched last year for its "prominent gambling imagery." LocalThunk's been pleading and arguing and fighting against it and just this week, it's been down to a PEGI 12 rating and showing up in storefronts in Europe.