It's a jam-packed show this week, as 2026 is running full-steam ahead. Alex, Marcus, Charles, and Eric sit down fresh off the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase to share their reactions and favorite reveals, then Charles divulges some details from a recent Nintendo preview event where he played a slate of the handheld's upcoming games.

After the break, Alex discusses what he played of Overwatch's big overhaul -- so massive, it's dropping the "2." And to cap it all off, Charles talks about the long-awaited launch of Mewgenics, and Marcus shares his thoughts on Nioh 3 so far. It's a feature-length episode of The Game Informer Show, so grab a cold beverage and enjoy.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Watch the video version here:

Listen to "A Look At Nintendo's Year Ahead, Plus Overwatch's Big Overhaul" on Spreaker.

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsvanaken)
• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump ahead to specific segments:

• 00:00 Intro
• 04:32 - Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase Reactions
• 22:07 - Nintendo Switch 2 Previews
• 1:00:13 - Overwatch
• 1:28:20 - Mewgenics
• 1:48:57 - Nioh 3

Highguard launched last month on January 26, after closing out The Game Awards back in December, and it's already received some pretty hefty updates addressing player feedback for the free-to-play PvP FPS-raid game. That streak continues today with the release of Episode 2, which adds a heavily requested Ranked Mode, the game's first new warden, a new map, and more. 

Episode 2 is live in the game already, and those who boot up the gamewill meet Ekon, a "legendary monster-slayer who shapeshifts into a powerful direwolf to track and hunt his prey." Ekon, who is pictured below, has a passive ability called Dread that reveals the heartbeat of wounded enemies, a tactical ability called Wolf Spirit that let him unleash a spirit wolf to hunt the nearest enemy and apply Dread to them, and an ultimate called Fearsome Howl, where Ekon applies Dread to all enemies across the map and increases his movement speed – it can be cast in human and wolf form (yes, Ekon can transform into a wolf). 

As part of today's update, developer Wildlight Entertainment has released a new story cinematic called "Skydrift" centered on Ekon and his place amongst the other Highguard wardens. Launching alongside Ekon is Skydrift, a new map for the game's 3v3 and now-permanent 5v5 raid modes. 

You can check out a look at Skydrift in the image at the top of this story, and you can watch the Skydrift cinematic story trailer below: 

Perhaps the biggest addition to Highguard with the Episode 2 update is Ranked Mode, which allows players to earn Ranked Points, point modifiers, and more as they climb the ranks to gain unique rewards. You can go from bronze (Hare) to grandmaster (Leviathan) if you're good enough. Ranked Mode will be available only in a 3v3 format, as Wildlight believes "3v3 is the more tactical structure of the game and fits best for comp," according to its update on X. 

All players will start at bronze 3 rank, and each rank has three divisions to climb through: bronze (Hare), silver (Goat), gold (Ape), platinum (Dire Wolf), diamond (Gryphon), master (Manticore), and grandmaster (Leviathan). At the end of each Episode, you will be rewarded based on your final rank achieved. You can also de-rank within a division during a Split, so be careful. More details about how this Ranked Mode works can be found here. 

The Wolf mount has been added to the game as a rideable beast as part of Episode 2, and is free to all players. If you play 10 matches of Ranked Mode, you will earn the Shadow Wolf skin, which is pictured below. 

Elsewhere in Episode 2, players can expect better POI loot, new Ultimate Charger items, waypoint markers, changes to Speed Gates, and quality-of-life updates like a new Stats menu, additional Orange Weapon Mods, and balance changes and improvements to gameplay and Highguard's technical performance. All of that and more can be found in the Episode 2 patch notes here. 

Highguard Episode 2 is now live.

For more about the game, read Game Informer's review-in-progress of Highguard, and then check out the Highguard reveal trailer. 

Are you hopping into Highguard today to check out Episode 2? Let us know in the comments below!

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most iconic characters in all of video games, but not all of his games were hits. Sonic and the Black Knight is allegedly one of those games, but associate editor Charles Harte remembers playing it as a nine-year-old and feeling like it might be the coolest game of all time. Nearly 17 years later, we're revisiting this medieval adventure to see whether or not he was correct.

Originally released on March 13, 2009, Sonic and the Black Knight is the second and final game in the now-abandoned Sonic Storybook Series, which began in 2007 with Sonic and the Secret Rings. Both games see Sonic get sucked into the worlds of classic folklore, with Black Knight whisking him into the world of Arthurian legend. Armed with the legendary blade Caliburn, he embarks on a quest to save the kingdom. Critics at the time of release were less than enthusiastic about the outing; Sonic and the Black Knight was released to mostly poor reviews, including a 5/10 on page 87 of issue 193 of Game Informer.

Join Charles Harte and Marcus Stewart as they wield a Wii remote and travel back in time to the mythical days of 2009. You can catch up on the full series below.

Part 1 - Starting a Medieval Marathon

Part 2 - Attempted Regicide

Part 3 – Merlina The Mastermind

Part 4 – Defeating The Dragon

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most iconic characters in all of video games, but not all of his games were hits. Sonic and the Black Knight is allegedly one of those games, but associate editor Charles Harte remembers playing it as a nine-year-old and feeling like it might be the coolest game of all time. Nearly 17 years later, we're revisiting this medieval adventure to see whether or not he was correct.

Originally released on March 13, 2009, Sonic and the Black Knight is the second and final game in the now-abandoned Sonic Storybook Series, which began in 2007 with Sonic and the Secret Rings. Both games see Sonic get sucked into the worlds of classic folklore, with Black Knight whisking him into the world of Arthurian legend. Armed with the legendary blade Caliburn, he embarks on a quest to save the kingdom. Critics at the time of release were less than enthusiastic about the outing; Sonic and the Black Knight was released to mostly poor reviews, including a 5/10 on page 87 of issue 193 of Game Informer.

Join Charles Harte and Marcus Stewart as they wield a Wii remote and travel back in time to the mythical days of 2009. You can tune in live each Friday on Twitch or YouTube at 12 pm PT/3 pm ET, or check out past episodes below:

Part 1 - Starting a Medieval Marathon

Part 2 - Attempted Regicide

Part 3 – Merlina The Mastermind