Crusader Kings 2's Monks & Mystics DLC screenshot from trailer

Even though its five-years-old at this point Paradox is still pumping new content into Crusader Kings 2. The most recent The Reaper's Due DLC brought with it the black plague and a variety of other physical maladies, while the upcoming Monks & Mystics DLC will focus more on the spiritual side of things, as well as secret societies.

If that sounds like something you might be interested in, here's the relatively recent teaser trailer. It doesn't feature any gameplay, but it does a damn good job of setting the mood for the whole expansion. Anyway, have a look:

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA screenshot featuring a giant dragon

Besides being incredibly strange to actually write down, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA is an upcoming action RPG and the long-awaited eight installment of the Ys series. It has been available for quite a while now for the PlayStation Vita in Japan, but soon it will be available in the west as well. The exact date isn't currently known, but what I can tell you is that the English version will arrive for the PC, PS4, and Vita in Fall 2017.

And if you're wondering what the latest Ys game might look like in action, you'll find the full trailer down below. Unfortunately there is no English version just yet, so you'll have to settle for watching the gameplay and cinematics without any actual context. Here's the video:

Ghost Recon Wildlands official screenshot from the open beta

Ghost Recon Wildlands is Ubisoft's upcoming open world tactical shooter where you'll get to join an elite special operations unit in order to take down a rather nasty, and rather well funded drug cartel. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, you'll be glad to hear that the Open Beta has now begun, and will remain active until February 27th.

The Open Beta features 2 out of 21 provinces from the full game: Itacua - a mountainous region with long sight lines and a relatively small cartel presence, and Montuyoc - an inhospitable location that's host to the cartel's elite training centers and filled to the brim with bad guys to take down. As with the full version you can try and accomplish all of your goals through stealth or pure gunplay, singleplayer or co-op, or any mixture of those.

Shadowverse Dragoncraft screenshot

If you found yourself enjoying the Shadowverse singleplayer campaign, as cheesy and ridiculous as it was, you'll be glad to hear that the first follow-up chapter will be arriving next week. Chapter 2 will not feature all of the in-game characters as the focus this time around is set squarely on Arisa, Erika, and Luna, so hopefully this means the writing will be greatly improved when compared to the original. As for the storyline, its currently being kept secret, but its safe to assume were going to find out what lies beyond the Infinity Gate.

The update will also bring with it a new difficulty setting for practice games, nerfs to Goblin Mage and Piercing Rune, as well as other minor improvements. While the first part might sound completely inconsequential given that not many people care about AI games, it is actually significant for new players as it will bring with it new achievements, and consequently new rewards as well!

Hitman screenshot from the Marakesh level

While it might be lagging an entire year behind the PC release, the Linux version of Hitman has now finally arrived. Much like the majority of Linux ports these days it has not been made by the developers themselves, but rather by Feral Interactive whom you might know from their work on Total War: Warhammer, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, etc.

As for the Mac version, I'm afraid I couldn't find any concrete information. However, Feral Interactive has previously stated that they are waiting for an all-important Metal update in order to start working on Mac versions for their other games, so chances are the same applies to Hitman as well.

Hearthstone's artwork for Yogg-Saron

After being incredibly hesitant to touch Arena over the past three years, Blizzard has finally decided to jump in and stir things up. Once the next update arrives you can expect to see more high-rarity cards in your draft, a lot more spells, as well as less old and boring neutral cards. And before you start worrying about Mage dominance, I should also mention that both Flamestrike and Abyssal Enforcer are going to be showing up 50% less!

While those changes are all straight up great, there is one that has me slightly worried: "Arena will change from Wild format to Standard". In my eyes Arena has always been a game mode where you're supposed to achieve something amazing with a complete mishmash of cards. You simply cannot rely on synergies or overpowered combos, you have to create your own fortune. With the transition to Standard and Blizzard's recent focus on wide themes over unique cards, all of this might just go away in favor of a watered down Ranked experience. Thankfully, Ben Brode himself has already confirmed that this is simply an experiment, so if it doesn't work out we can expect to see Arena go back into the Wild once more.

Total War: Warhammer in-game screenshot of the Bretonnia faction

Total War: Warhammer will be getting a massive free update on February 28th, and among all of the new additions the most interesting one is the arrival of Bretonnia as a playable faction on the campaign map. It will come with three Legendary Lords (King Louen Leoncoeur, Alberic of Bordeleaux and the Fay Enchantress), unique quests and starting positions for each one, as well as a whole host of updated units.

If you're interested in seeing what Bretonnia looks like in action, you'll find the most recent preview video right below. It features ~12 minutes of campaign gameplay, going over pretty much everything you need to know about Bretonnia before jumping in yourself. There is unfortunately no combat, but I'm sure that video will be coming in the near future as well. Anyway, have a look:

Civilization 6 Australian Outback Station improvement screenshot

The next Civilization 6 DLC pack will bring with it Australia as a playable faction, a first for the entire series. Australia will be led by Prime Minster John Curtin, and will come with two unique assets: a special infantry unit nicknamed the Diggers, as well as the Outback Station improvement, which is essentially a massive cattle ranch.

If you're interested in a brief overview of all these features, you'll find the official preview video down below. It doesn't really go in-depth, but it should still give you a good idea of what to expect from the Land Down Under. Here's the video:

Mass Effect: Andromeda characters

If the most recent cinematic trailer has left you wanting for more details, you're in luck as Bioware has recently started a gameplay preview series to showcase everything Mass Effect: Andromeda has to offer. The very first of these videos, as you can probably guess from the title, is centered around combat, skills, and weaponry.

So if you're wondering what the combat is going to be like, and whether it will be better than Mass Effect 3's, you'll find the preview video down below. And don't worry about spoilers, there is absolutely zero story present, just a whole bunch of aliens getting shot in the face. Anyway, here's the video:

Official artwork showing all Overwatch heroes

A few months have passed since Sombra made her appearance in Overwatch, so it should come as no surprise to hear that Blizzard has begun teasing the 24th hero. Unlike Sombra, however, it appears they are being a bit more direct with the reveal this time around. We still don't know who it is, but as you'll find in "an interview with inventor Efi Oladele" Blizzard is strongly hinting at some sort Omnic hero.

And before you ask, no, its not Doomfist. Chances are high Doomfist is in development given how many rumors and leaks appeared over the past few weeks, but it has been pretty much confirmed that the 24th hero is not someone we've seen mentioned previously. Similarly, there have also been rumors that the 24th hero is some sort of Omnic spider-tank as seen in the in the DICE 2017 Summit, but that has also been debunked. So until Blizzard themselves reveals the hero I would recommend treating these types of rumors as just that.