The second installment of Square Enix's ambitious Final Fantasy VII remake saga has a release date. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will arrive on PlayStation 5 on February 29.

Sony provided another look at the sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake during its latest State of Play showcase in the form of a new trailer. The search for Sephiroth continues after Cloud, Yuffie et al escape from Midgar. They go on a globe-trotting adventure in which they tear across grassy fields on a Chocobo, explore new environments and [checks notes] cover ground on a Segway? 

To give you a sense of the scope we're dealing with, Square Enix will release Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on two discs. The publisher also revealed that there's nearly 100 hours of gameplay here. Even so, the game will only take players up to the midpoint of the original Final Fantasy VII.

If you haven't played the previous game, you might be interested in picking up a "twin pack" of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (the upgraded version) and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Pre-orders are open now, and the bundle includes instant access to the first entry in this trilogy.

It emerged last week that Roblox would finally make its bow on PlayStation some time this October, and Sony revealed the exact date during its State of Play showcase. You'll be able to hop into the ultra-popular sandbox on PS4 and PS5 (albeit through backward compatibility) on October 10. There will be full cross-platform support, so you should be able to check out the many, many experiences Roblox has to offer with your friends, even if they access it via mobile, PC, VR or Xbox. 

Sony had been opposed to having Roblox on PlayStation for some time owing to safety concerns (most of Roblox's 66 million daily active users are younger players). But court documents that emerged during the recent FTC and Microsoft legal battle indicated that Sony's stance on the issue softened as of last year.

Hades is widely considered one of the best games of 2020, but players were able to get their hands on it long before then as it hit early access in December 2018. The hotly anticipated sequel is on a similar path, and developer Supergiant Games has revealed roughly when you'll be able to try it.

Hades II will enter early access on PC in Q2 2024 — in other words, sometime next spring — via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Supergiant will reveal the exact early access release date and details such as pricing and system requirements in the coming months.

Supergiant noted in a blog post that it's planning for Hades II to have at least as much content in early access from the jump as the original did during its early access period. "Even though early access inherently means a game is not yet complete, we still want to do everything we can to make sure Hades II is worth your while as soon as you can play it in any capacity," the studio said.

Some folks will be able to check out Hades II even earlier as Supergiant is planning a technical test. The aim of this is to unearth and resolve compatibility or technical issues before more players hop in during early access. However, the build for the technical test will have "much less content than what's in store for the early access launch, and likely be limited only to a relatively small subset of players who express interest in participating."

Early access can be enormously helpful for a game's success, as Supergiant and Baldur's Gate III developer Larian Studios have found. So the former is sticking with a similar rollout plan for Hades II. "We believe the timeframe we're planning for will be the 'sweet spot' where the game is far enough along that player feedback won't mostly consist of stuff we already know isn't there yet, but isn't so far along that it's too late in development for us to act on the feedback we receive," the studio wrote.

Supergiant plans to release major updates to Hades II during the early access period and to make changes based on feedback. The story and number of characters will expand, as will relationships between existing ones (it's reasonable to assume there will be a lot of sexual tension this time around too). Supergiant will wrap up the story when it releases the full version of Hades II, but it doesn't have a clear sense of when that will be just yet. Console players, sadly, may have to wait until then.

Unity has temporarily closed its offices in San Francisco and Austin, Texas and canceled a town hall meeting after receiving death threats, according to Bloomberg. Earlier this week, the company announced a contentious change to its business model. 

"Today, we have been made aware of a potential threat to some of our offices. We have taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our employees, which is our top priority," a Unity spokesperson told Engadget. "We are closing our offices today and tomorrow that could be potential targets for this threat, and are fully cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation."

Starting on January 1, developers will be charged a fee every time someone installs a game built in Unity after they reach certain revenue or install thresholds. The decision sparked an astonishing backlash against Unity from across the gaming industry, with some suggesting it will hit developers, publishers and distributors hard in the pocket. Those who make freemium games (which don't cost anything to download and generate revenue through advertising and microtransactions) or set a low price on their titles could be hit particularly hard.

Some studios, including Slay the Spire developer Mega Crit Games, have pledged to move games they have been building in Unity for several years to another platform, despite the impact that will have on their production timelines. 

It might just be time to upgrade your monitor or to buy an external display for your laptop. As luck would have it, there’s a sale on Samsung monitors on Amazon right now, with savings of up to 40 percent. One deal that’s definitely worth taking notice of is a discount on the Samsung Smart Monitor M8. That has dropped by $120 to $580, which is the lowest price we’ve seen to date.

Since it's a smart monitor, it can do more than just display your computer's video output. You can effectively use the 32-inch M8 as a smart TV to stream shows and movies from the likes of Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. You can stream games via the Samsung Gaming Hub, which includes Xbox Cloud Gaming. So, all you'll need is a controller and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to hop into the likes of Starfield.

There's Microsoft 365 support, so you can get some work done and even browse the web without hooking up a PC or laptop at all. A detachable SimFit Cam could come in handy for video calls — it can help keep the focus on your face as you move around.

There's the option to connect to a PC remotely using the Workmode feature. In addition, you can connect a Samsung phone or tablet and use them in DeX mode. You will have the ability to control your smart home devices with the M8 via SmartThings and built-in Alexa support too.

Elsewhere, the curved Odyssey G8 gaming monitor is $996.51 (down 34 percent from $1,500) and if you really feel like splashing out, the enormous 55-inch Odyssey Ark has dropped by 33 percent from $3,000 to $2,000. For the full 40 percent discount and a more budget-friendly monitor, though, it's worth considering the Odyssey G32A, which is down from $250 to $150.

This is a Full HD 24-inch gaming monitor with a refresh rate of up to 165Hz and a response rate of just 1ms. There's support for FreeSync Premium, which should reduce screen tearing and minimize input latency further for those with AMD-powered systems. If you need a gaming monitor with solid performance but don't want to break the bank, this seems like a viable option for you.

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Nintendo is bringing another classic Mario RPG to the Switch. The company plans to release an updated version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on the console in 2024, 20 years after the original game debuted on the GameCube.

The game sees Mario and his pals searching for treasure behind the eponymous Thousand-Year Door. Mario will be able to turn his 2D body to squeeze through narrow passages and fold into a paper plane to cross large gaps.

Expect the upcoming re-release to feature "enhanced graphics" — it certainly looks pretty in the first trailer that Nintendo shared. The company is keeping other details under wraps for now, including whether there will be any other major changes in store. We'll learn more about this version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door ahead of its arrival sometime next year.

If you thought Nintendo would be done with Mario games for its current console after Super Mario Bros. Wonder, you were very much mistaken. During today's Nintendo Direct, the company revealed Mario vs. Donkey Kong is coming to Switch on February 16, 2024.

It's a new version of a Game Boy Advance game that sees Mario having to recover Mini-Mario toys that his oldest rival stole from a factory. "Observation and action" is a mantra that Nintendo used during the clip, which makes sense since this is a puzzle platformer. It'll be worth taking the time to figure out exactly what's going on in a stage before you start tackling it. You'll also need to battle Donkey Kong at certain points.

This time around, Nintendo has added local co-op support. So you'll be able to bring in a friend to help you recover the pilfered toys.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong isn't the only updated version of an older Mario game that's coming to Switch, though. Super Mario RPG will hit the console on November 17.

Apple TV+ has some intriguing TV series on hand to keep you occupied this fall. Along with the return of The Morning Show and the debut of a show that features Godzilla, the captivating For All Mankind is about to set sail on its fourth season. New episodes of the drama, which offers an alternate perspective on the space race, will start streaming on November 10.

Apple also released a teaser for the 10-episode season, which jumps forward eight years from the events of season three to 2003. Much of the action will take place on Mars, where astronauts stay busy by mining for resources. The teaser is in the form of a recruitment ad narrated by Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) that encourages people to sign up to work on the Red Planet.

As it happens, Apple just announced new iPhones that will soon be available to pre-order. If you snap up one of those — or another new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch — you'll get three months of Apple TV+ access at no extra cost.

Visual effects workers at Marvel Studios have unanimously voted to unionize in an election held by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It's the first unit composed entirely of VFX workers to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), according to the union, which represents those who work in behind-the-scenes aspects of the entertainment industry. There were 41 eligible voters and all 32 who participated voted in favor of the union.

“Today, VFX workers at Marvel Studios spoke with a unanimous, collective voice, demanding fair pay for the hours they work, healthcare, a safe and sustainable working environment, and respect for the work they do," Mark Patch, a VFX organizer for IATSE said in a statement. "There could be no stronger statement highlighting the overwhelming need for us to continue our work and bring union protections and standards to all VFX workers across the industry."

Recent reports have suggested that Marvel demands a lot from its visual effects workers, especially after expanding its slate from a few movies a year to include several Disney+ TV shows. One person who was offered a short-term contract at the company told Vulture in January that Marvel expected 3,000 feature-quality VFX shots to be completed for a 10-hour TV series on a much shorter timeline than would be typical for one of its superhero movies (which tend to have around 1,600 VFX shots). The worker was reportedly told that he'd have to work 18 hours a day, seven days a week for three months solid and declined the offer.

Marvel, which also outsources much of its VFX work, will now have to sit down and negotiate a contract with the union's bargaining committee in good faith. IATSE notes that no negotiation dates have been scheduled as yet.

Another unit of VFX workers under the Disney umbrella could soon join the Marvel employees in having IATSE representation. Walt Disney Pictures VFX workers are currently voting in their own NLRB election. The results are expected on October 2.

Xbox Live Gold will be no more as of tomorrow, September 14. Replacing it is a new tier of Game Pass called Xbox Game Pass Core. It's a different offering to Games with Gold in that there will be a rotating library of a few dozen games, rather than you being able to claim some titles for your collection each month. Xbox has now revealed the initial list of Game Pass Core titles, but the choices may leave some players hoping for more.

The 36 titles you’ll be able to play through Game Pass Core on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S at the jump are:

• Among Us

• Astroneer

• Celeste

• Dead Cells

• Descenders

• Dishonored 2

• Doom Eternal Standard Edition

• Fable Anniversary

• Fallout 4

• Fallout 76

• Firewatch

• Forza Horizon 4 Standard Edition

• Gang Beasts

• Gears 5 Game of the Year Edition

• Golf with your Friends

• Grounded

• Halo 5: Guardians

• Halo Wars 2

• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

• Human Fall Flat

• Inside

• Limbo

• Ori & the Will of the Wisps

• Overcooked! 2

• Payday 2: Crimewave Edition

• Powerwash Simulator

• Psychonauts 2

• Slay the Spire

• Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition

• Stardew Valley

• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition

• Superliminal

• The Elder Scrolls Online

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

• Unpacking

• Vampire Survivors

There are more than a few great games on that list, from Vampire Survivors and Celeste to Doom Eternal and Dishonored 2. Game Pass Core might be worth $60 per year for those who haven’t played many of those before. But it’s hard to make the case that this is the most exciting selection Microsoft could have come up with for this base version of Game Pass. The company says it plans to update the list two or three times per year, so there may be a three- to six month wait until Microsoft refreshes the library. 

There are other features of Game Pass Core that could prompt people to subscribe or remain a member, most notably the fact the service is required to play many multiplayer games on Xbox. For instance, you won’t be able to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III with friends on your Xbox without at least a Game Pass Core membership.