UPDATE 22/2/21: Just weeks after the announcement of a Shao Jun manga, Assassin's Creed has revealed the fan favourite will also get her own novel trilogy.

The Ming Storm will be published in the UK on 8th July (and in North America on 1st June) and kick off a trilogy of books featuring the Chinese Assassin.

This story will chronicle how Shao Jun came to travel to Europe and train under Ezio, as seen in the Assassin's Creed Embers film, before she returns home to China with her new teachings.

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Fortnite's previously-teased Predator crossover is now fully operational, with the masked hunter available to unlock for current battle pass holders via new challenges.

Predator has also become a roaming boss, able to be found and battled on the battle royale map for all players. Look for him in the appropriately jungle-themed Stealthy Stronghold.

Defeat Predator and it'll drop Predator's Cloaking Device, which lets you become nearly invisible for a short time. If this sounds a bit overpowered, well, this is a supposed to be a reward for killing a tough boss who everyone else is after too.

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Relic has released a 64-bit update for Company of Heroes 2.

The update should result in greater stability and overall performance for the vast majority of players, Relic said in a blog post.

It also enables crossplay between Steam and Microsoft Game Pass / Windows Store users.

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Guerrilla has released a significant patch for Horizon Zero Dawn on PC that combats many of the remaining issues players had with the game.

Patch 1.10 introduces crash fixes and performance improvements reported by the game's community, Guerrilla said.

There are a raft of graphical improvements, too.

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Imagine you're walking down an English country lane one evening when you're struck by the feeling you're not alone. You turn, and a few yards away you see, in the fading light of day, the shape of what can only be described as a big black dog. It has shaggy hair and huge eyes, and it's watching you.

You walk on, trying to shrug it off, but every time you look back, it's there. Fear begins to creep in and you quicken your pace. You're nearly running when you reach your destination and, in a rush of courage, spin to confront your pursuer. But it's gone, vanished.

"Oh, yeah," one of the locals later tells you, completely unsurprised. "You've just seen a black dog."

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Developer Rebellion is bringing the second season of its undead shooter Zombie Army 4: Dead War to a close today, 19th January, with the launch of Dead Zeppelin, the third and final instalment in its Death from Above story campaign.

Dead Zeppelin, which follows on from Season 2's debut episode Damnation Valley in October and Alpine Blitz in December, sees players boarding an undead airship to thwart the zombie army's evil plans. You can catch a glimpse of the ensuing carnage in the launch trailer below.

Season 2's concluding campaign episode is accompanied by the usual selection of cosmetic items and weapon bundles, including the Night Ops Jun Outfit, Toxic Hazard Weapon Skins, Black Ice Weapon Skins, Horror Charms Pack, Buckets Headgear Pack, 7.65mm Polizeipistole Pistol Bundle, and Nagant M1895 Pistol Bundle - all available to purchase individually or included in Zombie Army 4's Season Pass Two.

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Balan Wonderworld, the whimsical new action-platformer from Sonic the Hedgehog and NiGHTs co-creators Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, is getting a sizeable demo next Thursday, 28th January, ahead its full launch in March.

Balan Wonderworld - which is set to release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC - takes place in the mysterious Balan Theatre, where "memories and vistas from the real-world mix with the things that people hold dear".

The ensuing platform action unfolds across 12 distinct worlds, each created by the worries of a different cast member, and is bolstered by over 80 wearable costumes, all imbued with their own unique abilities - from the fiery breath of a dragon to a sheep's inflatable, floating fleece.

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Firaxis has detailed the contents of Civilization 6's fifth New Frontier Pass DLC update, which arrives next Thursday, 28th January, bringing new leader Kublai Khan, new civilisation Vietnam, an economy-focussed game mode known as Monopolies and Corporations, and more.

The developer says it's saving a more detailed breakdown of Vietnam, described as a "culture and terrain focussed" civilisation, for an upcoming First Look video, but teases that it'll be lead by a still-mysterious "god-like figure whose achievements have become stuff of legend" that's known for their "bravery, guerrilla tactics, and deadly temper".

Also scheduled for a more thorough First Look reveal is the "jolly but ruthless conquerer" Kublai Khan, an alternative leader for the China and Mongolia civilisations, whose abilities are said to create "new and unique opportunities" during play.

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If you hadn't yet noticed, Rust is having a bit of a moment. Although it's been around since 2013, the survival multiplayer is experiencing a resurgence in popularity after a bunch of high-profile streamers set up private server together. The streamers, including Shroud, Pokimane, Myth, XQc and more, have all uploaded their own perspectives of the island (even creating their own factions), making for compelling viewing - and seriously boosting Rust's player count in the process.

Prior to the recent surge in popularity, Rust's previous Steam concurrent players record stood at 125k in April 2020 (coinciding with coronavirus lockdowns), but on 8th January it smashed that record by peaking at 201,497 players. The numbers have continued to rise over the last week, and as spotted by PCGamesN, the game hit 244,394 concurrent players on 16th January - breaking that record yet again.

All this, of course, seems to be paying off very nicely for Rust developer Facepunch, with studio founder Garry Newman revealing the studio had made over $1m (£734k) on two days in one week. With the player count showing no sign of declining, I imagine this is going to be an extremely good month for the game. And we haven't even had the Rust console launch yet.

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Hold on to your level-three helmets, as in addition to upcoming sci-fi game The Callisto Protocol, it seems Krafton has a couple more PUBG-universe surprises in store for us over the next few years.

The information comes from a Bloomberg interview [paywall] with Kim Chang-han, CEO of PUBG Corp's parent company Krafton, who said the company would "not stay as a one-hit wonder". According to Bloomberg, Krafton plans on releasing a new mobile title this year that will be based on PUBG, in addition to another PUBG-related PC and console title by next year, then followed by the release of The Callisto Protocol in 2022.

So what are these games going to be, exactly? Earlier this month we heard reports that Krafton is working on sequels to both PUBG and PUBG Mobile (as spotted by PUBG leaker Player IGN), so it's possible the games referred to in the Bloomberg article are indeed PUBG 2.0 and PUBG Mobile 2.0. Unfortunately, we won't know for sure until Krafton releases further details.

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