What happens to a dead game if it refuses to die? Why did Hotel Barcelona have genAI to begin with? And MindsEye is promising to mount a comeback any day now. It’s the latest edition of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news, rumors, and culture. I stayed up too late playing Marathon again and got greedy on my last run. The random squad I was playing with looted and was ready to exfil in record time when we downed an enemy team and I decided to jump out of the circle and stay behind for one last bit of looting. Friends, it did not go well.
FBC: Firebreak is forgotten but not completely gone after one final update
Remedy Entertainment’s multiplayer spin-off of the Control series isn’t being shut down yet but it is getting its last bit of new content. The final content patch includes new arenas, balance tweaks, and a friend pass that lets three people play together as long as one of them owns the game.
“Open House will be the last Major update for FBC: Firebreak,” reads a new update from the developers. “We won’t be adding new playable content after this update. FBC: Firebreak will stay online and continue to be playable for years to come. We have done engineering work to ensure we can sustain the upkeep of the relay servers when the player volume is lower.”
That’s very neat to see, even if almost no one is playing the game right now. Hopefully it gets a solution that lets players maintain the game in some capacity even if servers do eventually go offline. The $40 shooter is also getting a 50-percent price cut.
The maker of Hitman has officially broken off ties with MindsEye
Previous reports of IO Interactive ditching Build a Rocket Boy have been vindicated. The publisher announced the split in a new press release and confirmed the previously promised Hitman DLC will not be arriving for the 2025 flop.
“However, BARB plans on working with partners on other projects in the future,” IO Interactive wrote in a press release. “Both IOI Partners and Build A Rocket Boy recognize the anticipation this collaboration generated among the community and express their appreciation for the support shown by the players.”
The Hitman TV series everyone forgot about is also dead
It was in production from the creator of John Wick. “It’s a little bit of a dagger in the chest,” Derek Kolstad said at SXSW this month. “Who knows nowadays, but it’s dead in the water. But, man, I love that thing, because I love that game and I love that character.”
Hotel Barcelona nukes AI-generated content with fresh update
In short, there are two main reasons: the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that I was working entirely alone at home, which made audio recording impossible.
— Hidetaka SWERY SueHERO (@Swery65) March 17, 2026
“We have already removed all generative AI from Hotel Barcelona, and this work no longer uses generative AI in any capacity,” announced Hidetaka “Swery/Swery65” Suehiro. “If you have been hesitating to play because of rumors that AI is still being used, please refer to this news.”
The hack-and-slash roguelike came out last fall to middling reviews. A recently released Under New Management update brought lots of new accessibility options, quality-of-life improvements, and balancing tweaks.
The PS Portal gets a little bit better
Sony’s streaming handheld is getting a new 1080p High Quality mode on March 18. The new feature lets players stream games at a higher bitrate for better video quality. The resolution remains 1080p but the image quality should not look less compressed as long as users have the bandwidth to handle it.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson goes head-to-head with Bugs Bunny in Forntite
The battle royale’s latest crossover event teases a Chapter 7 season 2 showdown. New battle pass rewards have also been revealed as players threaten a boycott over increased V-Bucks prices.
Arc Raiders accidentally bans players with disabilities
Anti-cheat initiatives were banning players who used accessibility peripherals. Embark has since apologized for the mix-up. “We are working hard on resolving this issue as soon as possible,” the studio posted on X. “Our support team is reviewing all appeals, please continue to reach out to us if this has happened to you.”
Subnautica 2 publisher gets into bed with AI defense contractor
Krafton has struck a deal with Hanwha Aerospace to “develop and commercialize technology” that includes “physical AI” for military applications, i.e. killer robots. The publisher, which also owns Hi-Fi Rush, announced it was leaning into AI last year with a $70 million investment in hardware for autonomous work flows. The company’s CEO recently lost a major lawsuit by following the advice of ChatGPT.
