Atlus has become almost as synonymous with incredible soundtracks as it has with incredible role-playing games. Thankfully, they're often one and the same, as series like Persona has shown consistent excellence in the original music department. While several vocalists contribute to the iconic sounds of the Persona franchise, one man has been a consistent driving force: Shoji Meguro. While the Persona Live concerts finally debuted in Los Angeles in January, Atlus has decided it's time to bring another game featuring Meguro's compositions on the road with Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Atlus has announced the Metaphor: ReFantazio Orchestra Concert world tour, which kicks off in October and will span six countries. The events are an extension of the sold-out premiere that took place in Japan in 2025. Each arrangement, several of which are reimagined for the orchestral sound, will be performed by a 45-piece orchestra, a choir, and multiple vocal soloists.

The tour kicks off on October 9, 2026, in Dallas, Texas, before doing two more dates in the United States in Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California. You can see the full list of tour dates below.

• October 9, 2026: Dallas, Texas, USA – Texas Trust Credit Union Theatre
• October 11, 2026: Chicago, Illinois, USA – Auditorium Theatre
• October 13, 2026: Los Angeles, California, USA – Peacock Theater
• October 31, 2026: Kaohsiung, Taiwan – Kaohsiung Cultural Center Jhihde Hall
• November 21, 2026: Singapore – Esplanade Theatre
• November 28, 2026: Bangkok, Thailand – Prince Mahidol Hall
• January 22, 2027: London, England – Eventim Apollo
• January 24, 2027: Paris, France – Le Grand Rex

Ticket presales for the United States and European shows start March 5 at 10 a.m. local time. To secure your tickets, you can head to the official website of the Metaphor: ReFantazio Orchestra Concert World Tour here. As mentioned, back in January, we attended the Persona Live 2026: Awakening show in Los Angeles, which served as the debut of the full Persona concert experience within North America. To learn more about that experience, including insight from the singers behind Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5, head here.

We're just days away from the launch of Bungie's extraction FPS, Marathon, and ahead of its release, the studio has released a breakdown of everything you can expect in Season 1, alongside a tease of what's to come in Season 2. Plus, alongside these details, Bungie has revealed that everything in seasonal updates, including gear, Runner shells, zones and maps, events, and more, will be free for all players to access or earn in-game. 

"Seasons in Marathon last about three months, and each season will bring new content and features that change the way you master survival, grow your power floor, and progress through a season," Bungie's Season 1 blog post reads. "Marathon's living universe and gameplay will continue to evolve across seasons, fueled by your feedback and your impact on the world of Tau Ceti as you uncover what happened to the lost colony and on the Marathon ship. Seasonal updates will introduce new gameplay, including gear, Runner shells,  zones, events, and more, which will be free for all players to access or earn – no expansions or DLC required." 

That's an exciting update as Marathon prepares to launch in the ever-shifting live-service genre, one that Bungie has consistently adapted and evolved through Destiny 2, and Season 1 promises to add a lot to the game. Let's break it all down. 

Marathon Season 1 Details

Every player will start fresh each season, putting everyone on an even playing field. Across Season 1, players will complete contracts and progress faction upgrades to gain stronger base stats and better wares in the Armory. Bungie says by doing this and other forms of progression in Marathon, losses will be easier to recover from, and crafting an ideal build will be more accessible. Climb the Ranked ladder, prepare for high-stakes Cryo Archive runs, and secure the most lucrative loot and prestigious rewards for the season. 

Then, when the season is over, get ready for a progression reset – this includes everyone's gear, contract progression, faction progression, and player level. However, you do keep your achievements and customization options, including cosmetics (earned and paid), titles, and milestone rewards. Liaison contract progression carries over, too, meaning there's no need to unlock the factions each season. 

"Seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there's always a good opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend in without feeling behind the curve," the blog post reads. "It's a way to say goodbye to the old, welcome the new, and kick off a journey from zero-to-hero with new ways to play, content to master, and things to discover." 

Season 1: Death Is The First Step 

Season 1 of Marathon is called Death Is The First Step (or First Step) and marks the beginning of a proxy war between rival factions "competing for power and answers to what happened to the 30,000 lost souls of the New Cascadia Colony, and as a Runner, you're at the forefront of the expeditions." Once the community unlocks access to the orbit of a derelict UESC Marathon ship hanging above Tau Ceti IV, the fourth zone, Cryo Archive, will become available. "Prepare your mind and shell to take on this end-game zone on the Marathon ship, where you'll solve security puzzles, unseal frozen vaults, and come face-to-face with an entity even the UESC fears," the blog post reads.

In the second half of March, Ranked Mode will unlock, allowing players to climb the Ranked ladder and earn exclusive rewards each season. Bungie says it will share more details about this mode closer to its launch. 

Season 1 will also bring events, quality of life improvements, balance tuning, new implants, a new weapon, and other surprises, too, according to Bungie, in addition to the full suite of launch content, which includes: 

• Complete faction and contract progression:
  • All six factions, including Sekiguchi Genetics
• All six launch Runner shells, including Thief
• Three zones, including Outpost
  • Outpost will unlock the day after launch, giving the community time to gear up and unlock the zone at Runner Level 12
• 28 weapons, plus modes, implants, cores, and more to craft your perfect builds
• Earnable cosmetics, achievements, and storytelling through the Codex

Season 2: Nightfall

Bungie says players will start to see the impact of their presence on Tau Ceti IV in Season 2: Nightfall, seemingly alluding to a changing planet as a result of Runner actions. Each season of Marathon, including Season 2, will have a different theme and a unique combination of features, content, and stories that continue to evolve the world and gameplay, according to Bungie, alongside tuning to the game's loot and progression systems. 

Seasonal updates will always include "a unique set of new content," including a combination of weapons, mods, cores, implants, backpacks, Runner shells, zones, PvE combatants, faction upgrades, contracts, and new ways to play in existing zones. 

"For example, [Season 2: Nightfall] will bring a nightime version of Dire Marsh, where you'll fight to survive when the lights go out, UESC reinforcements flood in, and the a~~~~~%^&*()_+{}:"<>?~~~ [Editor's Note: That's actually in the blog post, seemingly teasing at something mysterious coming in Season 2]," the blog post reads. "Season 2 will also bring our next Runner shell along with new weapons, mods, cores, contracts, and more." 

Season 2: Nightfall will also introduce the Cradle, a system designed to give players more autonomy over their Runner shell's statistical strengths and weaknesses. 

"As we build upon each season, Marathon will continue to grow and evolve," Bungie writes in the blog post. "The game and world today and a year from now should feel meaningfully different as we add new features and go on the journey of discovering what happened to the colonists of Tau Ceti... and what happens when you dig up secrets that are better left buried." 

And that's everything players can look forward to in the coming months with Marathon, which launches this week on Thursday, March 5, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. 

As part of our Invincible VS cover story, we got to spend exclusive hands-on time with Dupli-Kate, the latest addition to the roster. Arguably, the most unique fighter in the game, her ability to spawn clones of herself during battle makes her a particularly fearsome opponent.  

If you're new to the world of Invincible, Dupli-Kate (real name Katherine Cha) is a member of the young superhero group Teen Team (and later the Guardians of the Globe) who possesses the power to create duplicates of herself. Her clones can think, feel, and perform independently, and they are also telepathically linked to the original Kate. Dupli-Kate can absorb her copies back into herself, and the duplicates can also be killed during battle – and often do. 

According to developer Quarter Up, bringing the self-replicating hero to life presented the biggest technical challenge of any character in the game. “Once we put her on the roster, we're like, 'Okay, how are we going to do this?’” says game director Dave Hall. “It's a lot of R&D on something like that. You don't see characters duplicating, right? This is not a very kind of normal thing to see in a game, especially in the style that we're doing.”

“No one’s ever scared of me. They should be.” - Dupli-Kate

Dupli-Kate’s playstyle relies on overwhelming and confusing opponents with her clones, which automatically spawn during certain combos and special moves. The clone sticks around long enough to perform a quick hit or two, making battling Dupli-Kate a disorienting endeavor, since she can attack from multiple angles. A clone may nail ground attacks while Kate leaps to the air to deliver an aerial follow-up. She can send clones to rush the enemy in front of her, potentially eating a hit intended for her. 

Adding constantly spawning characters to bouts already featuring six fighters leaping in and out while maintaining a consistent 60 FPS took no small amount of technical wizardry. One big help was setting a limit on how many clones appear; I only saw one or two at once, which isn’t much less than the three or four she typically relies on in the comics/show.

Her Ultimate fittingly sees her summon a gang of clones that basically mug the opponent, stomping them into the dirt while she follows up with a devastating final attack I won’t spoil. Faithful to the source materials, killing clones causes them to explode into a shower of fleshy chunks.

While it’s very fun to pummel foes with these copies, a small twist adds a nice layer of strategy to her abilities. When Dupli-Kate summons a clone, she sacrifices a tiny portion of her health. When the clone is killed, which usually takes a single hit, she loses that health permanently. However, if the clone is reabsorbed, Dupli-Kate regains that health. “It’s this mind game of, ‘I want to maintain this sweet spot where I can set up my [duplicate], follow it up to make sure that it can get back to me, reabsorb my health, but then use that pressure to open up the opponent and stuff too,’” explains lead combat designer Bau Batista. 

While this mechanic can make Dupli-Kate a bit of a glass cannon depending on how often her clones get destroyed – I lost her quickly in some fights –  she’s a blast to play, and her high-risk, high-reward style feels unlike anyone else in the game.

“She's an incredible character,” says Hall. “Everybody [who] plays her [has] just kind of fallen in love with her. [...] She was probably the most unique character we've worked on, mostly because of that mechanic of the duplicates. It's really interesting, and I think people are going to love that one.”

 

Game Informer subscribers can read our full Invincible VS cover story here, and you can subscribe today to read the full issue and receive the print edition in the mail as your first issue. 

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: Megabit Publishing
Developer: OtherSide Entertainment
Release: 2026
Rating: Teen

Thick As Thieves is my most anticipated game of the year, but surprisingly, I know very little about it. Though it’s been in development for years, the asymmetrical stealth multiplayer project has remained shrouded in mystery since its announcement. I even sat down for an intimate behind-closed-doors demonstration at Summer Game Fest and still have a limited understanding of the project thanks to a campus-wide internet issue that complicated our short session. The universe works in mysterious ways – apt for a stealth game steeped in peculiar magic.

Despite the poor showing, my excitement and curiosity remain unwaning. OtherSide Entertainment is helmed by a legendary game designer, Warren Spector. Known for creating Deus Ex and Thief: The Dark Project, two groundbreaking stealth games renowned for their immersive simulation elements, Spector is a prolific game designer, but he hasn’t released a game since the Epic Mickey series concluded in 2012.

“There are very few game-making teams out there with the skillsets to make a great stealth game, which is one of the biggest reasons, in my opinion, that we don’t see many games like this in the market,” game director Jeff Hickman tells me over email. “Our goal is to make a game that is [...] full of emergent gameplay moments and very approachable to any person who wants to play. A game that can be played both solo and in multiplayer modes that ramps up challenges as the player gains mastery of their thieving skills.”

Set in an alternate 1910s, Thick As Thieves is a speculative fiction set in the Scottish city of Kilcairn, where magic and technology abound. Whether playing solo, cooperative, or against other player-controlled thieves, multiple maps offer a variety of missions and valuables to steal. Players can track down clues to discover new routes and hidden treasures across Kilcairn, as well.

“To support multiplayer well, we are looking at more focused session play, where a team of thieves might complete a mission in a level within a half-hour or less,” Hickman says. “That calls for tighter-scoped levels. But at the same time, we are adding more depth, variety, and surprise to our levels than [Thief or Dishonored] to make them much more replayable.”

OtherSide is incorporating magic and speculative technology into Thick As Thieves, not only to realize a unique aesthetic but also to affect gameplay. Floating, magical sentries spotlight the guarded entrances of Kilcairn’s Scottish Baronial architecture, requiring careful consideration to bypass undetected.

In some hands-off gameplay footage, I watch as a player equips a magical mask to impersonate a guard and bypass the sentry. However, once inside, they must rely on traditional stealth mechanics, bypassing patrols with careful pathing while staying in the shadows. Further in, a maze of reflected light beams and seemingly weight-sensitive tiles serve as a robust security system, making neutralizing guards much more difficult. In an exciting escape sequence, the thief disappears above the rooftops thanks to their handy grapple gun.

“Multiplayer stealth games provide amazing opportunities for cooperative and competitive gameplay, and we’re focusing on breaking new ground in the space in a way that takes advantage of multiplayer gaming without the player frustrations that can arise because of it,” Hickman concludes. “We’re confident that no one has ever built a game quite like Thick as Thieves.”

Bungie's Marathon Server Slam, which gave anyone interested a chance to hop into the extraction shooter over this past weekend, came to a close yesterday. In its final hours, Bungie shared the feedback and changes it has made, and is looking into further changes ahead of Marathon's launch this week on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 5. Now, the former Halo and Destiny 2 studio has shared a quick clip highlighting various stats from the Server Slam – it turns out that you (yes, you) died a lot. 

The video clip, shared via the official Marathon X account, features statistics on player deaths, the number of AI enemies killed, extraction exfil rates, and more. You can check out that video here, but we'll break down the statistics one by one below, too: 

• 9,152,844 Runners killed (Runners are the playable Shells you control on extraction runs)
• 16,554,683 total deaths (self-explanatory – players died...a lot)
• Most Popular Shell: Assassin (the Assassin Shell is one of six shells, and features a toolkit of abilities based around stealth, like smoke, invisibility, and more)
• 129,160,928 UESC killed (UESC is the AI enemy faction that can be found around the game's various maps)
• 997,950 Rooks deployed (the Rook is a solo-only Shell that is meant to be a scavenger who stays out of firefights)
• 549,445 Rook deaths (awh man)
• 1.3% no exfil matches (a match where not a single team successfully exfiled out of the map, or in other words, ended their run intact)
• 41.8% Perimeter exfil rate (Perimeter was one of the two maps available during the Server Slam, intended for beginners)
• 35.6% Dire Marsh exfil rate (Dire Marsh was one of the two maps available during the Server Slam, intended for more experienced/risky players) 

As you can see, players (including me) died a lot during the Marathon Server Slam over the weekend...but hey, it was a lot of peoples' first go at the game. The full game, which will feature a sixth playable Runner Shell, additional maps, and a lot more loot, launches this week on March 5. 

Did you hop into the Marathon Server Slam over the weekend? Let us know how you did in the comments below if you did!