2026

I spent hours in arcades growing up. My favorite games to play were side scrollers, like Simpsons and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. A common couple that I would play are the X-Men arcade game, which was an ultra wide machine because it could handle 6 players and not the standard 4 that a lot of them could. I haven’t been able to play the X-Men game since playing it on a big arcade cabinet. That will soon change, as it is included with Marvel MaXimum Collection this week. The game is 15 previously released Marvel games. The games included are:

• X-Men: The Arcade Game
• Captain America and The Avengers
• Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage
• Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety
• Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge
• Silver Surfer

A lot of these include multiple variants, including arcade and console versions of the game. I have played most of these, so getting to replay them again years later has me extra excited. I have played most of the Marvel games, so anytime a rerelease or remaster is announced I am usually excited. Now if only they would remaster the Sega X-Men games and the Activision Spider-Man games, that would have me really excited.

Marvel MaXimum Collection isn’t just going to be including the games, but some great features as well. It will have built in rewind and save states for the games. X-Men: The Arcade Game will include online multiplayer for up to 5 other players. The game will also have cheats, a music player, and display options so you can choose to play it in a modern visual mode, or a CRT mode. The game will probably be a day 1 buy and it’s set to be released this year, so hopefully I will be playing it sooner rather than later. I will more than likely be playing on Xbox, unless it’s on Xbox PC at the same time, otherwise I will be playing there. So far it’s been announced for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, XBox Series X/S, and Windows.

Unfortunately I missed out on the remasters of Marvel Ultimate Alliance, so getting them available again and X-Men Legends would be nice as well. I was hoping they would have been added to backwards compatibility, but since they never were, my only hope would be to get a hold of an Xbox 360.

Phil Spencer has been at Xbox since 1988. In March 2014, he became head of Xbox. Under his leadership Xbox One stopped the requirement to use Kinect, Play Anywhere, where you buy a game on Xbox and it’s available on PC, he oversaw numerous acquisitions of publishers and developers, and much more. On Friday, after 38 years at the company, Phil Spencer retired. Last year there was a rumor that Spencer would be retiring after the launch of their next generation Xbox is released. The rumor stated that Spencer was preparing Sarah Bond, the President of Xbox as his replacement. Microsoft released a statement that he would not be retiring anytime soon.

As of Friday, Phil Spencer has retired. Sarah Bond will not be replacing him and instead has left as well. Asha Sharma, formerly of Microsoft’s CoreAI products division, is the new CEO of Xbox. We probably won’t know what changes she will be making to Xbox for a few months at least, but as of right now, she has promised three things: great games, return of Xbox, and the future of play.

Sharma’s promotion marks a new era for Xbox. It’s a fitting time as well, with 2026 being Xbox’s 25th anniversary. We already know that the 25th anniversary will see a remake of the original Halo. In June Xbox usually has a press conference that shows off new games and other things. It’s where Xbox announced their backward compatibility program, the Asus Rog X, as well as hundreds of games over the years. It’s possible that the next Xbox will be shown this year, though when the Xbox Series X was announced, it was at the Game Awards. With the next Xbox rumored to be released in 2027, June might be a little early for it to be shown. June shouldn’t be too early to see even an inkling of how Xbox is going to change under the new CEO.

I am excited about this next chapter. Phil Spencer came on board and changed the game so to speak. Xbox went from a console to an ecosystem that includes Game Pass and apps. Some people hate this and want it to go back to just being a console. It’s clear that up until this point, that wasn’t going to happen. Now though, with a new CEO? Personally I doubt it, but it is possible that with the new leadership some things revert to how they once were.

What do you think, are you excited for the change in leadership? Do you think this will change anything significantly?

Is a new Chucky movie or a new season of Chucky coming sooner than we think? Signs seem to be pointing to that. In 2024 Chucky creator Don Mancini stated that a new Chucky movie would be released in 2025. Obviously now that we are in 2026, we know that a Chucky movie did not happen in 2025. Mancini is the creator and writer of the franchise since the very first movie.

A few days ago, ET reported that Jennifer Tilly was quoted saying “The television series just ended, but I know for a fact there is more Chucky and Tiffany in the works”. While it’s unclear when the interview was recorded, seeing as how the last season of the show aired in 2024, it’s possible that the interview is a few years old. It’s also possible that it is much more recent.

The most recent evidence pointing to this is something that Fiona Dourif posted on X (formerly Twitter). In her post she said

“I’m sorry to say we must pull out of Days of the Dead, Atlanta. I was looking forward to hanging out with both my dad & you guys!

This is not a decision I take lightly and my sincere apologies to anyone who bought tickets. I got a job I can’t turn down & they never give notice.”

Along with the post was the following photo, which shows her father, Brad Dourif, also pulled out of the convention.

Fiona Dourif plays numerous characters in the franchise, including Nica Pierce as well as a younger version of Charles Lee Ray, AKA Chucky in his human form. Brad Dourif pulling out is also notable because he has been the voice of Chucky as well as the human form of Charles Lee Ray since the first installment of the franchise back in the 1980s.

Obviously this is all speculation and any one of these could be a stretch, however when it is all put together, it sure does sound like something Chucky is coming. It could be a new show, a new season of the Chucky show, a new movie, or something different. In 2025, Angry Orchard teamed up with Horror Inc to bring the first Friday the 13th content in years with a vignette called Sweet Revenge.

What do you think, is the timing of all this just coincidence or do you think there is something more to it and there could be some news coming soon?

Stellar Blade is a Playstation console exclusive that later came to PC. It’s a third person action game developed by Shift Up. Shift Up is hinting that it may not be exclusive to Sony’s console much longer. According to a Shift Up Investor post, the studio claimed “we are reviewing platform expansion beyond PS5 and PC to broaden audience reach”. The post does not explicitly say Xbox, but other console exclusives have been coming to the Xbox Series X/S lately. Final Fantasy 7, Death Stranding, Black Myth: Wukong, and Silent Hill 2 have all come to Xbox after being exclusive to Playstation. Of course Xbox isn’t the only console there is. Nintendo Switch 2 was released last year and has a growing library. It’s also possible that the game could come to mobile devices.

Shift Up sees Stellar Blade as a long term IP and already has a sequel in development. They could follow in Death Stranding’s footsteps and release the game on Xbox before the next game in the series comes out. Both games were published by Sony Interactive Entertainment when they released. Kojima Productions purchased the Death Stranding IP before releasing the game on Xbox, however Helldivers 2 and MLB the Show are both published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Bungie, which is owned by Sony will also be publishing the upcoming Marathon to Xbox. Either way it’s a possibility.

So what happens next? Will Sony publish Stellar Blade on Xbox? Will Stellar Blade skip Xbox all together and possibly go to the Switch or mobile? Only time will tell, but if Stellar Blade does land on Xbox, will you be jumping in?

A few years ago, after years since the announcement, Overwatch 2 launched. The sequel promised updated visuals, a 5v5 experience, and an ongoing player vs everyone (PVE) experience. Years later, they have dropped the PVE entirely. Now they are making another big change, they are removing the 2. That’s right, Overwatch 2 is now just going to be Overwatch again. With this change, comes 5 new characters and 5 more set to launch in the next 5 seasons.  The 5 characters announced so far are Domina, Emre, Anran, Mizuki, and Jetpack Cat. That last one is exactly how it sounds, it’s literally a cat that flies around on a jetpack. I haven’t played Overwatch in a while, but personally I’d never want to kill that cute feline.

Along with these new characters comes new sub-roles and passives. Each character, both new and existing, will have a main class, tank, damage, or healer, then a secondary sub-class. Tanks will have bruiser, initiator, and stalwart. Damage will have sharpshooter, flanker, specialist, and recon. Healers will have tactician, medic, and survivor.

Tank

Bruiser: Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed

• Roadhog, Zarya, Orisa, Mauga

Initiator: Staying airborne lightly heals you

• D.Va, Winston, Doomfist, Wrecking Ball

Stalwart: Reduces knockbacks and slows received

• Reinhardt, Sigma, Ramattra, Junker Queen, Hazard, Domina

Damage

Sharpshooter: Critical hits reduce ability cooldowns

• Hanzo, Widowmaker, Cassidy, Ashe, Sojourn

Flanker: Health packs restore more health

• Tracer, Reaper, Genji, Vendetta, Venture, Anran

Specialist: Eliminating an enemy briefly increases reload speed

• Bastion, Junkrat, Mei, Soldier 76, Symmetra, Torbjorn, Emre

Recon: Detect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them

• Pharah, Sombra, Echo, Freja

Support

Tactician: Gain excess ultimate charge that carries over after using your ultimate

• Lucio, Zenyatta, Ana, Baptiste, Jetpack Cat

Medic: Healing allies with your weapon also heals you

• Mercy, Moira, Kiriko, Lifeweaver

Survivor: Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration

• Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Wuyang, Mizuki

Gaming is bigger than ever in 2026, but it wouldn’t be that way without the games that got us here. 2026 is a huge anniversary for a lot of games, so before we enjoy the new ones coming this year, let’s appreciate those that came before.

• Overwatch (10th)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (10th)
• Dark Souls III (10th)
• DOOM (10th)
• Final Fantasy XV (10th)
• The Last Guardian (10th)
• Inside (10th)
• Stardew Valley (10th)
• Pokémon Sun and Moon (10th)
• Firewatch (10th)
• Dishonored 2 (10th)
• Titanfall 2 (10th)
• Battlefield 1 (10th)
• The Witness (10th)
• No Man’s Sky (10th)
• Gears of War 4 (10th)
• Ratchet & Clank (10th)
• Street Fighter V (10th)
• Quantum Break (10th)
• Halo: Combat Evolved (25th)
• Grand Theft Auto III (25th)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (25th)
• Final Fantasy X (25th)
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (25th)
• Luigi’s Mansion (25th)
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (25th)
• Animal Crossing (25th)
• Pikmin (25th)
• Max Payne (25th)
• Pokémon Red & Green (30th)
• Resident Evil (30th)
• Super Mario 64 (30th)
• Crash Bandicoot (30th)
• Quake (30th)
• Tomb Raider (30th)
• Diablo (30th)
• Wave Race 64 (30th)
• The Legend of Zelda (40th)\
• Metroid (40th)
• Dragon Quest (40th)
• Castlevania (40th)
• OutRun (40th)
• Kid Icarus (40th)
• Breakout (50th)
• Heavyweight Champ (50th)
• Night Driver (50th)
• Colossal Cave Adventure (50th)

Some of the games listed, like Halo, will be getting a remake or remaster for their anniversary. Nothing beats the first time sitting down with an original game though, especially ones that were so ground breaking like Halo or Tomb Raider. Hopefully the remakes will feel just like we remember them when we first played them oh so long ago.

2025 was a big year for movie anniversaries and 2026 looks like it’s going to be even bigger. While some may seem like they were just released not long ago, like Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s already been five years. It seems like just yesterday the world forgot who Peter Parker was, but here we are heading into 2026 and a new Spider-Man movie will be out in the summer.

• Dune (5th)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (5th)
• The Green Knight (5th)
• The Suicide Squad (5th)
• Encanto (5th)
• West Side Story (5th)
• No Time to Die (5th)
• Eternals (5th)
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (5th)
• Black Widow (5th)
• Cruella (5th)
• Jungle Cruise (5th)
• Free Guy (5th)
• The French Dispatch (5th)
• House of Gucci (5th)
• Licorice Pizza (5th)
• CODA (5th)
• Don’t Look Up (5th)
• The Power of the Dog (5th)
• Nightmare Alley (5th)
• La La Land (10th)
• Moonlight (10th)
• Arrival (10th)
• Manchester by the Sea (10th)
• Zootopia (10th)
• Moana (10th)
• Deadpool (10th)
• Captain America: Civil War (10th)
• Doctor Strange (10th)
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (10th)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (10th)
• Hidden Figures (10th)
• Hacksaw Ridge (10th)
• Silence (10th)
• The Jungle Book (10th)
• Finding Dory (10th)
• Kubo and the Two Strings (10th)
• The Nice Guys (10th)
• 10 Cloverfield Lane (10th)
• Sing Street (10th)
• In the Bedroom (25th)
• Memento (25th)
• Mulholland Drive (25th)
• Waking Life (25th)
• The Man Who Wasn’t There (25th)
• Blow (25th)
• The Others (25th)
• The Royal Tenenbaums (25th)
• Monsters, Inc. (25th)
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (25th),
• Ocean’s Eleven (25th)
• Vanilla Sky (25th)
• The Tailor of Panama (25th)
• The Pledge (25th)
• The Score (25th)
• Gosford Park (25th)
• The Mexican (25th)
• Shrek (25th)
• A Beautiful Mind (25th)
• Black Hawk Down (25th)
• Donnie Darko (25th)
• Legally Blonde (25th)
• Pearl Harbor (25th)
• Training Day (25th)
• Bridget Jones’s Diary (25th)
• Amélie (25th)
• Spirited Away (25th)
• Space Jam (30th)
• Mars Attacks! (30th)
• The English Patient (30th)
• Scream (30th)
• Trainspotting (30th)
• Fargo (30th)
• Matilda (30th)
• Mission: Impossible (30th)
• Romeo + Juliet (30th)
• Crash (30th)
• The Craft (30th)
• Bound (30th)
• The Cable Guy (30th)
• The Watermelon Woman (30th)
• Twister (30th)
• Bottle Rocket (30th)
• From Dusk Till Dawn (30th)
• Independence Day (30th)
• The Birdcage (30th)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (30th)
• Jerry Maguire (30th)
• Evita (30th)
• The Rock (30th)
• 101 Dalmatians (30th)
• Sling Blade (30th)
• Ransom (30th)
• Star Trek: First Contact (30th)
• Kingpin (30th)
• Happy Gilmore (30th)
• Primal Fear (30th)
• The Silence of the Lambs (35th)
• Beauty and the Beast (35th)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (35th)
• Cape Fear (35th)
• Boyz n the Hood (35th)
• Thelma & Louise (35th)
• JFK (35th)
• Hook (35th)
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (35th)
• Bugsy (35th)
• Barton Fink (35th)
• Point Break (35th)
• Fried Green Tomatoes (35th)
• The Addams Family (35th)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (35th)
• City Slickers (35th)
• Naked Lunch (35th)
• What About Bob? (35th)
• Hot Shots! (35th)
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (40th)
• Top Gun (40th)
• Pretty in Pink (40th)
• Aliens (40th)
• Blue Velvet (40th)
• Stand by Me (40th)
• Platoon (40th)
• Labyrinth (40th)
• Crocodile Dundee (40th)
• The Fly (40th)
• Hannah and Her Sisters (40th)
• Manhunter (40th)
• Big Trouble in Little China (40th)
• Short Circuit (40th)
• Three Amigos (40th)
• Little Shop of Horrors (40th)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (40th)
• Highlander (40th)
• Peggy Sue Got Married (40th)
• Sid and Nancy (40th)
• Hoosiers (40th)
• Jean de Florette (40th)
• The Name of the Rose (40th)
• Down by Law (40th)
• River’s Edge (40th)
• Carrie (50th)
• Marathon Man (50th)
• Taxi Driver (50th)
• Rocky (50th)
• Network (50th)
• All the President’s Men (50th)
• The Omen (50th)
• Bound for Glory (50th)
• Silver Streak (50th)
• The Outlaw Josey Wales (50th)
• Assault on Precinct 13 (50th)
• The Man Who Fell to Earth (50th)
• Murder by Death (50th)
• A Star Is Born (50th)
• Bugsy Malone (50th)
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s (65th)
• West Side Story (65th)
• Judgment at Nuremberg (65th)
• The Hustler (65th)
• La Dolce Vita (65th)
• Yojimbo (65th)
• One Hundred and One Dalmatians (65th)
• The Innocents (65th)
• Splendor in the Grass (65th)
• The Ten Commandments (70th)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (70th)
• The King and I (70th)
• Giant (70th)
• Forbidden Planet (70th)
• High Society (70th)
• The Searchers (70th)
• Around the World in 80 Days (70th)

Time doesn’t seem real anymore. How can it be that so much of it passes, but looking back it seems like very little has gone by?