Tomb Raider, Animal Crossing Jumps & Pokemon x Pentagon Lootboxes: All The News From January 13-17

Welcome to Recap, our twice-weekly feature on Aftermath where we round up what’s been going on around video games, the internet and beyond.

Of Course: It's 2026, so headlines like "There’s a Lootbox With Rare Pokémon Cards Sitting in the Pentagon Food Court" are no longer surprising.

There’s a Lootbox With Rare Pokémon Cards Sitting in the Pentagon Food Court

Frowned upon in video games, loot boxes are back in real life–and one’s in the Pentagon.

404 MediaMatthew Gault

Big Brother Is Back: The Mr. Beastification of online media continues, with Amazon announcing a new game show where real people are locked in a Fallout shelter, a show I would only watch if they were also locked in there with real radroaches.

Fallout Shelter Reality Show Announced For Prime Video

Sharing a name with the spin-off game, the series will have contestants participating in “escalating challenges.”

GameSpotChris Compendio

Dead Game Theory: In an effort to shift to a business model featuring "streamlined teams powered by AI and automation", mobile publisher Playtika is letting go of around 15% of its total workforce, which will affect an estimated 400-500 workers.

Mobile publisher Playtika cutting 15 percent of global workforce

The company, which owns development studios such as Wooga and Seriously, said it must stop investing talent and capital in titles without a clear path.

Game DeveloperChris Kerr

Cleaning House: PlayStation has removed "hundreds" of shovelware games from the store page of a single developer.

Sony removes hundreds of “shovelware” games from its digital storefront originating from one developer

Sony has reportedly removed hundreds of ThiGames games from its PlayStation Store.

GamesIndustry.bizVikki Blake

Another shutdown: Amazon have said this week that New World: Aeternum is going offline on January 31, 2027.

Amazon’s New World MMO is the latest game to get delisted

New World: Aeternum will go offline in 2027

Polygon.comAri Notis

Finally!: You can finally jump (and strafe, and walk sideways) in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Oh My Goodness You Can Jump, Strafe, and Walk Backwards in Animal Crossing: New Horizons Now - IGN

Attention Everyone: Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a jump button now! You can also walk backwards, and sideways!!! Why am I freaking out over this? Look. This is almost as exciting as when we all learned New Horizons would give us the ability to sit down on the ground.

IGNRebekah Valentine

Thank you: Peter Molydeux, an extremely long-running parody account making fun of wayward British games designer Peter Molyneux, will be signing off from the account alongside Molyneux's own retirement:

One Of Gaming’s Best Parody Accounts Logs Off For Good

The director’s final game, Masters of Albion, releases this year

KotakuEthan Gach

A+++, no notes: