Gamescom, the former midyear E3 period, and the December Game of the Year Awards no longer corner the market on notable gaming news announcements. With Tokyo Game Show held the past few days, it was game announcements that dominated the past week on the pop culture front. So let’s start with that.
Gaming
Both PlayStation and Xbox delivered streaming showcases this past week. You can check out Sony’s 40-minute September State of Play here (with full video and all announcements breakdown), while Xbox’s hour-long Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast can be found here.
We’ve picked one highlight from each publisher below, and in Sony’s case, that’s a first in-depth look at the bloody gameplay, and lead performance, of Insomniac’s Wolverine game, titled, surprise, Marvel’s Wolverine. From the makers of the Spider-Man game series, this new single-player PS5 exclusive releases in Q3 2026.
On the Xbox side, while our interest was piqued by Heavenly Spear, a Japanese legend and folklore-inspired paid expansion for Age of Mythology: Retold, hands down the biggest news out of the event was confirmation of a long-circulated rumour. Namely, the next Forza Horizon open-world racing game will take place in Japan – following previous titles set in the likes of France, Australia, the UK and Mexico.
Forza Horizon 6 will be coming to Xbox Series X|S consoles, PC, and Game Pass at some point in 2026. The game will also launch on PS5 at a later date.
Now for a couple more games revealed during the Tokyo Game Show window.
Coming to PC in 2026 is strategic tower defence game Minos, from Artificer and Devolver Digital. Players assume the role of the Ancient Greek Minotaur, constructing a labyrinth and peppering it with traps to stop the raiders from surviving your maze. You can Wishlist the game, which has also been dubbed a roguelike, and play the demo right now on Steam.
Game maker/auteur Hideo Kojima is honestly an acquired taste, but upcoming OD (an acronym for Overdose) sees the Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator back on horror turf – following the legendary P.T., with writing assistance from Get Out and Nope’s Jordan Peele.
Not much is known about OD other than it’s the supposed Kojima and Xbox collaboration announced back in 2023, and it stars Sophia Lillis, Udo Kier and Hunter Schafer. Kojima is promising the creation of “a new form of media” as it explores the limits of fear. But I guess we’ll see if it delivers on its claims. Certainly, this immersive, extremely nerve-wracking teaser trailer is a good start.
Film
Looks like it’s Maggie Gyllenhaal who’s actually going to deliver audiences what Joker: Folie à Deux should have been.
Stepping behind the camera, Gyllenhaal writes, produces and directs The Bride!, a creature feature with a rebellious difference. Set in 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) turns to brilliant scientist Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. They revive a murdered woman (Jessie Buckley), and the outcast outlaw couple shake up society with their actions. Also starring are Peter Sarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penélope Cruz.
Sadly, there’s a bit of a wait to watch The Bride! The film only releases on 6 March next year.
Despite being a box office smash, 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was admittedly not the most obvious choice for a remake. Yet, here we are. Fortunately the filmmakers aren’t going for a copy-paste remake, as Longlegs’ Maika Monroe enters the home of Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s fragile wife and mother, and uses her role as nanny to turn the family to her side.
You can queue up The Hand That Rocks the Cradle on Disney+ and Hulu from 22 October, making it an excellent Halloween viewing option.
Finally, in the movie section this week, there’s the first trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, which shifts the action of the popular Star Wars series to the big screen. Specially shot for IMAX, the continued adventures of Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, and his diminutive ward Grogu see them hired as bounty hunters by Sigourney Weaver Adelphi Rangers commander, to seek out remaining Imperial forces in the aftermath of the Empire’s fall. Jon Favreau, who propelled The Mandalorian series to success, is directing, co-writing and producing once more.
The Mandalorian and Grogu comes to cinemas on 22 May 2026.
Series
Keeping things Star Wars, but back to the small screen, is the Official Trailer for Star Wars: Visions Volume 3, the animated shorts anthology series set in the Star Wars universe. Unlike Volume 2, which handed the creative reins to animation studios around the world, Visions V3 returns to the V1 formula and is made solely by nine celebrated anime studios from Japan: David Production, Kamikaze Douga, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Polygon Pictures, Project Studio Q, Production I.G, and Wit Studio.
The nine-part Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 premieres on Disney+ on 29 October.
One final streaming TV note, of potential interest to South African Disney+ subscribers, and sports lovers: As of 2 October, local customers will gain access to 24-hour sports channels ESPN and ESPN 2 at no extra cost.
On ESPN you’ll be able to watch the likes of Australia’s National Rugby League, Japan’s Rugby League, and football via the Scottish Professional Football League, English Football League, Dutch Eredivisie, German Football Association Cup, Turkey’s SüperLig, and the Saudi Pro League.
Meanwhile, ESPN 2 has more of an American focus, with games from the NBA (National Basketball Association), NFL (National Football League), MLB (Major League Baseball) and NHL (National Hockey League), along with women’s regional sports (including the National Women’s Soccer League) and various college competitions.
If you don’t have Disney+, as usual, ESPN is available on MultiChoice’s DStv and StarTimes across Africa.
