Welcome, gamers, to the only weekly recap you need—PixelPulse style. Buckle up: we've got zombies, deals, drama, and even a Mortal Kombat ice-dancing routine. Let's get right into the action!



## Resident Evil Requiem: Survival Horror Royalty Returns
The big boss this week? Resident Evil Requiem. Capcom dropped the latest mainline entry with a chainsaw roar, and critics are loving it—IGN's review called it "a highly infectious new mutation" and slapped it with a 9/10. But if you were hoping to snag a physical copy in the US? Good luck. They're almost entirely sold out online, so unless you want to fight scalpers or settle for digital, you might be out of luck (but hey, at least no one on eBay can infect you with the T-Virus).

Not all is peaceful in Raccoon City, though. Massive spoilers hit the internet days early, prompting Resident Evil 2's own Hideki Kamiya to wish "a thousand deaths" on leakers. Capcom's legal team is scrambling, but the only thing spreading faster than spoilers is the hype.

## PlayStation's Presidents Day Price Slaughter
If you managed to dodge the spoilers, maybe you were too busy filling your game shelf during PlayStation's absolutely bonkers sale. God of War Ragnarok for $20? Spider-Man 2 for $30? Stellar Blade down 40%? Astro Bot at its lowest price ever? It's like Sony dropped a Leviathan Axe on MSRP. Even Ghost of Yotei snagged its first real discount, and deals on Death Stranding 2 and a limited edition DualSense let you go full Kojima without selling a kidney.

Not to be outdone, Nintendo slashed Super Mario Odyssey to Black Friday pricing ($30), and Donkey Kong Bananza, Death Stranding 2, and Metal Gear Solid Delta all went on sale. If you're not buying games this week, are you even a gamer?

## Arc Raiders: Storms, Nerfs, and... UFOs?
Embark Studios unleashed the Shrouded Sky update for Arc Raiders, bringing hurricanes, new Arc threats, playable pianos, and the most controversial grenade nerf since Destiny's sticky bombs. PvE players are raging over the Wolfpack craft cost hike—now you need a rare Rocketeer Driver, which is basically like asking you to farm unicorn tears. On top of it all, players spotted a mysterious UFO in the sky, fueling wild speculation about future content. Is it a new boss? A teaser for April's big update? Or just a dev trolling us? (Honestly, respect.)



## Marathon Server Slam Incoming: Bungie Drops the Banhammer
Extraction shooter fans, it's time to slam. Bungie's Marathon Server Slam event kicks off Feb 26–Mar 2, with the devs warning cheaters: "No second chances." If you get caught, you're out—for good. Bungie's deploying everything from kernel-mode anti-cheat to dedicated servers, so if you're a wallhacker, maybe try Minesweeper instead. Game director Joe Ziegler even dropped some pro tips: "Gear comes and goes, don’t be too precious about it.” Translation: die, loot, repeat, and don't cry when you lose your stuff. It’s the Dark Souls of shooters, baby.

## LEGO Batman Breathes Sigh of Relief After GTA 6 Delay
TT Games’ LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight launches May 29, and the devs openly admitted they're "really glad to have some space" after Rockstar delayed GTA 6 to November. Can you blame them? No one wants to get steamrolled by the crime king. The devs are doubling down on quality over quantity: only 7 playable characters, but with deeper gameplay and over 100 Batsuits—including, possibly, the Batfleck suit. Sorry, roster collectors; this one's about depth, not breadth.

## Stardew Valley’s Big 1.7 News: New Spouses!
Stardew Valley turns 10, and creator ConcernedApe celebrated by dropping a nostalgic retrospective video and revealing two new marriage candidates for 1.7: Clint (finally, the blacksmith gets some love) and Sandy. Fans have been clamoring for these two for years, so expect the Valley's dating scene to get even more complicated—just in time for you to ignore your real-life relationships for another 100 hours.

## Magic: The Gathering & Pokémon TCG: Collector Hype and Cardboard FOMO
Magic’s TMNT set launches next week, and Amazon’s already discounting Collector Boosters (if you can find them). Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster boxes crashed to new lows, and the Draft Night box is back in stock with a Collector Booster inside. On the Pokémon side, Ascended Heroes ETBs are finally dropping in price, but the 30th Anniversary Collection is fluctuating like a crypto meme coin. And if you like shiny cardboard, the most popular Ascended Heroes cards are now more valuable than your lunch money (or, for Gengar, your mortgage).

## Quick Hits and Oddities
- **Sony’s Spider-Verse films are getting the reboot treatment** after Kraven, Madame Web, and Morbius flopped harder than a Magikarp with a concussion.
- **Highguard, the hero shooter from Wildlight, is on life support** after Tencent yanked funding; less than 20 devs remain.
- **Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Hexe loses creative director Clint Hocking** mid-development, adding more chaos to Ubisoft’s ongoing shakeup.
- **New York’s attorney general is suing Valve**, claiming loot boxes in CS2, Dota 2, and TF2 are illegal gambling. Welcome to 2016, but with more lawyers.
- **Mortal Kombat got a figure skating tribute at the Winter Olympics.** No spine rips, sadly, but plenty of style.
- **Nissin and Resident Evil’s Umbrella Corp are in a (fake) legal battle** over “Umbrella Noodles.” Japan, never change.
- **AEW’s Kenny Omega is the mocap artist for Alex in Street Fighter 6**—and yes, he nearly passed out from heat exhaustion. Absolute legend.

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### TL;DR: This week was pure chaos—in a good way. Resident Evil Requiem is a must-play, PlayStation and Nintendo slashed prices like they’re speedrunning bankruptcy, Arc Raiders dropped a patch that has everyone salty, and Stardew Valley is still the best dating sim disguised as a farming game. See you next week, and remember: don't leak spoilers, or Kamiya will curse your Steam library forever.