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Virtual-On creator Juro Watari has left Sega. On Twitter, Watari revealed that he left the company late last month but added that future plans were not yet decided. The first Virtual-On game was released in the mid-1990s and went on to spawn several sequels. 

Details are currently scant, but Capcom has announced that it’s aiming to bring Monster Hunter Rise to PC in early 2022. The game will be released on the Nintendo Switch next month.

Another arcade is closing in Tokyo. Taito Station Shinjuku West Exit, which opened in 2018, will shutter on March 21. With fewer customers, and tourists banned, arcades are hurting.

Mario Stuff Comes To Animal Crossing: New Horizons March 1

You know what was missing from Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Official Mario stuff. Bricks. Question boxes. Flags. Costumes. All that and more comes to your furry island paradise on February 25 as part of a free update celebrating the plumber’s 35th anniversary. The update, teased at the end of the reveal of last month’s Festivale…

Mario Golf: Super Rush Swings Onto Switch June 25

One of Mario’s most satisfying side-activities makes its Switch debut on June 25 with the release of Mario Golf Super Rush It’s golf, only with Mario characters. Check the wind, examine the terrain, hit the ball, repeat. Use Joy-Con motion controls to pretend you’re playing on a much better Wii. Participate in Speed Golf mode,…

Fortnite is getting a short film festival this Saturday at 2pm ET. The movies will play at the big screen on the Party Royale island and will repeat for 24 hours.

Here’s a two-minute animated short for Final Fantasy XIV in South Korea. The Korean language clip shows Miqo’te’s daily life in the city of Miqo’te as well as glimpses at some adventuring.

Sony will finally release the PlayStation 5 in mainland China during the next quarter. As analyst Daniel Ahmad points out, players in the country have already been importing the console from abroad. 

The rebooted Resident Evil movie is slated for release on September 3, 2021. As Slash Film notes, it’s unclear if the movie will be released in theaters or streaming. Kotaku previously reported that Constantin Film is working with writer-director Johannes Roberts on the reboot. 

Thomas Was Alone heads to Switch on February 19. This indie darling, first released in 2012, was the breakout brainchild of The Solitaire Conspiracy and John Wick Hex developer Mike Bithell.

Xbox Game Pass now has 18 million subscribers, up 20% from the fall, Microsoft announced during a call with investors today. It also said it sold more Xbox Series X/S’s than during the first month of any other console launch. The company still won’t release specific numbers though.

GameStonk day three: the billionaires are at it again For a third day in a row, GameStop stock is posting ridiculous numbers, once again climbing past $140 a share at one point. *Sigh*.

Sea of Thieves first season begins January 28. The live-service pirate sim announced it was shifting to a more seasonal flow of updates, including adding a battle pass, last month. The new progression path will have free and paid versions.

Katsuhiro Harada of Tekken fame says he is interested in making another Pokkén game. “We have a good relationship with Nintendo and Pokemon Co., Ltd., and POKKÉN has had a great response, so I would like to make it again,” he tweeted. “But it’s not what we decide, it’s what they decide.” In case you…

Reggie Fils-Aimé, Jack Trenton, and Robbie Bach are getting together on Twitch to tomorrow to talk about the gaming industry’s past and future. The discussion between the former head Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox executives respectively kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET ahead of the 2021 New York Game Awards

A report from GamesIndustry.biz details an abusive work environment at Montreal-based Scavengers Studio, developers of The Darwin Project and the upcoming Season. Sources for the story speak out about sexual harassment, a “‘boy’s club’ culture,” and a lack of action from management.

Former game jam prototype Nuts is getting a full launch later this month. It still has all the squirrel-observing action of the original, but looks to expand it out with a campsite and eerie conspiracies. Also, dynamite? Nuts!

Several former GameXplain contributors—including former Kotaku TAY writer Steve Bowling—have spoken to VICE Games about their time there. The story focuses on allegations of extreme overwork and general issues with crunch in gaming media.

From Pokémon To Studio Ghibli, Here Are Excellent Snow Sculptures

In the Northern hemisphere it’s cold! Some places are seeing snow, which might mean snowball fights and snowmen. For one Twitter user in Japan, the freezing precipitation means excellent sculptures. Each winter, Twitter user Mokomoko_2015 turns into a yuki daruma shokunin (雪だるま職人) or “snowman artisan.” The creations are typically anime, game, and movie-themed. Check out…

The winter Wonder Festival, the biannual garage kit model event held in Tokyo, has been canceled. The event was supposed to be held on February 7, but was nixed due since a state of emergency has been declared because of covid-19.