PlayStation State of Play 2026 has revealed many release dates for numerous PlayStation Studios titles. It essentially paints a roadmap for the remainder of the year, and given all the titles coming out, it could be a big one for the PlayStation 5, especially with complaints that the generation hasn’t given players enough in its stint thus far.

Third-party studios also brought some PlayStation State of Play announcements, with Konami and Capcom being the headliners. Plenty of games were revealed, and from an esports perspective, particularly in the Fighting Game Community, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into.

So, let’s go over everything from the PlayStation state of play February 2026, including all new title announcements, release date reveals, and games of interest for esports fans.

State of Play was quite a PlayStation showcase for 2026, with many, many titles coming out this year. Those that haven’t revealed release dates have had more gameplay to show, and with demos and playtests abound, there’s plenty for fans to get excited about.

Launching with the 1.5 update of Ghost of Yōtei on March 10, Legends will be free DLC for owners of the game. It will be a four-player co-op mode with four different classes, where players take on the demonic Yōtei Six.

Capcom’s Pragmata got another trailer, releasing on April 24. For those wanting to see what the game will be like, a trailer is now available for PlayStation 5 owners, with the PlayStation State of Play time matching the demo drop.

Death Stranding 2 On The Beach had a PC port announced, with a release date of March 19, less than a year after its launch on PS5. The port will include quality-of-life upgrades, such as unlocked framerates, ultra-wide support, DualSense controller support, upscaling, and frame generation. Those wanting to get a slice of Kojima’s passion project on PC won’t have to wait long.

4:LOOP showed off more of its gameplay, with director Mike Booth announcing that Bad Robot Games will be hosting a playtest for its upcoming co-op shooter. There is no release date as of yet, but the game is starting to take shape ahead of its PC and PS5 launch.

There was yet another Resident Evil Requiem showing off even more Leon. Capcom showcased gameplay in the streets of Raccoon City and took players down memory lane with RE2’s RCPD. RE9 will release on February 27 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC.

Remedy Entertainment’s Control: Resonant, a sequel to 2019’s Control, got an in-depth gameplay trailer, showing off the action-hack-and-slash gameplay, gravity-changing mechanics, and one of the early levels. While Dylan Faden’s journey has no release date as of yet, Control: Resonant is still aiming for 2026.

Somehow, Dead or Alive is back, proving that it is more alive than dead, despite fears. Dead or Alive 6: Last Round is coming to PS5 on June 25, and like the DOA 5 version, it will be an upgrade with all the DLC characters and a photo mode. New cosmetics will be coming to the game, too, which is as expected from Koei Tecmo. More excitingly, there was a trailer for the Dead or Alive 30th anniversary, hinting at a new project. Dead or Alive 7 could be on the cards.

Game Freak’s foray away from Pokémon is continuing to look impressive, with Beasts of Reincarnation revealing even more action gameplay. Beast of Reincarnation also showed off the deadly, flora enemies, and will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 4.

From the creators of the indie gem, Shovel Knight, comes Mina the Hollower, an upcoming, Zelda-esque pixel adventure. A demo will be dropping the day after the PlayStation State of Play, with a release date still aiming for sometime in 2026.

Nomada Studio’s Neva is getting a prequel DLC, returning to a beautiful, drawn world. It tells the story of how Alba and the young cub, Neva, met. Releasing on February 19 for PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC, there will be new mechanics and locations coming to Neva: Prologue.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer got a gameplay trailer, showcasing a narrative and more high-speed pod-racing fans have been dreaming of since The Phantom Menace. Releasing sometime in 2026, we will finally be able to race in Tatooine with speeder bikes and podracers alike. 

There was yet another 007: First Light trailer, inching closer to the May 27 release date. IO Interactive debuted a montage-style trailer, showing off a bit more of the story, with Bond being new to the 00 program and 009 seemingly acting as the overarching antagonist. More missions were shown, more cutscenes, gameplay, and we have a greater sense of where the story will be going.

Feeding off a Metal Gear Solid announcement, Konami and ZDT Studio revealed more for Darwin’s Paradox, a quirky game where an octopus is thrust from his ocean home and onto the streets. While the game won’t come out until April 2, a demo is out now.

While it has been quiet since the controversy, Marathon finally revealed a new trailer, with E33 and BG3’s Jennefer English voicing over horror-esque scenes. The game is releasing on March 5, with a ‘server slam’, essentially an early access playtest, available on February 26.

From House House, the studio behind Untitled Goose Game, comes another trailer for Big Walk, a delightful-looking co-op adventure that seems perfect for the growing genre, showcasing a natural proximity chat. It will be coming to PC and PS5 later this year, but an exact release date has not been confirmed.

Saros has been turning heads ever since it was announced, and its latest trailer showed off the survivors of Echelon 4, progression systems, challenge modifiers, and what looks to be a hub. Releasing on April 30 for PS5, Saros’ frantically exciting gameplay looks like it could be something special.

Adding to one of the most exciting years in the FGC is Arc System Works’ Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, which revealed the Unbreakable X-Men in the roster. The new additions include: Magik, Wolverine, and Danger, and it has also been announced that there will be 20 launch characters. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls releases on August 6 for PlayStation and PC.

PlayStation+ is getting a few new additions, which includes the critically acclaimed Spider-Man 2, and two classics: Tekken: Dark Resurrection and Time Crisis. These new additions will join plus from February 17.

Along with updates for demos, gameplay, and release dates, a myriad of new projects were announced, too, with Konami having a lot to share at this event. There has notably been nothing from Square Enix, which is strange given the anticipation for the final part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some massive news.

Ember Lab is now a PlayStation Studio and revealed a sequel to Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Kena: Scars of Kosmora looks like a huge, technical upgrade on the original Kena, following an older protagonist who can help the living as a spirit guide. Despite the reveal, Kena: Scars of Kosmora is aiming for a 2026 launch, going bigger and better for Ember Lab’s sequel.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance, the last title in the Soul Reaver saga, which first released in 2003. The remaster, creatively called Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered, will feature new character skins, lost levels, and a photo mode, breathing new life into a cult classic.

PlayStation State of Play 2026 also saw a sequel to Happinet’s tactical JRPG series, Brigandine Abyss, coming later in the year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC. It comes with over 100 unit classes and six main stories, being the perfect revival for the series and for strategy JRPG lovers.

Crimson Moon is a brand new IP from ProbablyMonsters. Players take control of a half-angel, half-human protagonist in co-op, RPG adventure with plenty of action and gore. It’s a gothic, dark fantasy journey, where players fight through hordes of skeletons, coming to Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5 in Fall 2026.  

Despite all its issues, Ubisoft has not forgotten the Rayman series, with the Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition bringing the classics to a new generation. It includes Rayman’s five original versions and an interactive documentary. The game is available now digitally, and will be available physically on June 26. 

One of the strangest titles at PlayStation State of Play was Project Windless, by Krafton, based on the Korean novel, The Bird That Drinks Tears. Despite the bizarreness of the protagonist, the game looks gory, violent, and ambitious, and the graphical fidelity is incredible, showcasing fights with massive monsters and zealous armies. No release window has been announced yet, but Project Windless is one to keep an eye on.

Coming to the PS5 in 2027, ACQUIRE and Shueisha Games showcased Yakoh Shinobi Ops, a stealth, action title with a unique take on the genre, given its isometric camera. Players will take control of one of four ninja infiltrating a feudal, Japanese castle-town, and it looks to be one of the more unique projects coming to PlayStation.

Konami had a huge presence at State of Play PlayStation, and it wouldn’t be Konami without Metal Gear Solid. The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2 will finally bring MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots to modern consoles, finally giving it a home outside the PS3. There has also been an update to the MGS Master Collection Vol. 1, with new graphical options. 

As if a miracle, Castlevania is getting a new Metroidvania title, acting as a direct sequel to Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, taking place 23 years after. Konami has pulled off a tactical masterstroke that even Pep Guardiola would be proud of, with acclaimed indie developers Motion Twin and Evil Empire creating Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. With its 2.5D and stylised aesthetic, it looks to be exactly what Castlevania fans want. It is also planned to come out later this year.  

After a critically acclaimed remake and title within a year of each other, the Silent Hill series isn’t slowing down. Silent Hill: Downfall takes the franchise to St. Amelia, showing off first-person gameplay and the grotesque body horror the series is known for. Coming later this year, the question becomes if Silent Hill can release a hat-trick of strong titles back to back to back.

In development for the PlayStation 5, and without a release date announcement yet, Konami has revealed a new IP, Rev. Noir. Rev. Noir is a JRPG hoping to cultivate the “heartfelt moments that define JRPGs,” with a 3D, anime aesthetic.

Keanu Reeves is becoming a common face in both cinema and gaming. Saber Interactive has announced a blend of these worlds, revealing a John Wick game, showing off cinematics and a little bit of gameplay. So far, the game captures the essence of the John Wick Series, and while there isn’t a release date yet, players can take control of the Baba Yaga on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Closing the night was perhaps its biggest announcement: a remake of the God of War Trilogy, with legendary voice actor TC Carson returning to the role of Kratos. While Santa Monica had nothing with the game to show, not even a release date, it’s a huge announcement, and it’s great to see Carson back in the black-soaked sandals of Kratos. Still, Santa Monica didn’t leave its fans empty-handed.

God of War: Sons of Sparta was shadow-dropped at the same time as its State of Play showcase. A retro, side-scrolling action title, players will take control of a young Kratos and Deimos, his brother, with Santa Monica teaming up with Mega Cat Studios for a beautiful, pixel-art aesthetic. It’s available right now for PS5 owners and shows that, while the God of War series has gone quiet, it doesn’t mean it has been dormant.

While Marathon is the big name as far as esports is concerned, it may not kick off, due to being a PvPvE extraction shooter. This then puts it in the same genre as Arc Raiders, and while that game has done exceptionally well, it hasn’t kicked off from an esports perspective.

Then, there’s Star Wars: Galactic Racers, which could potentially have some esports life in it as a racer, but it’s a bit of an unknown quantity, given its nature as a Star Wars game. It does look very fun so far, however.

The real highlight comes from the fighting game community. The Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls announcement was expected, given that it’s a PlayStation Studios game, and seeing the X-Men, as well as having confirmation for its debut roster size, bodes very well. With 2XKO’s troubles, Marvel Tōkon could end up being the dominant tag-fighter of 2026.

The surprise came from Dead or Alive making a comeback. DOA 6: Last Round would raise enough eyebrows on its own, but the announcement of a new title in the series means that Team Ninja is continuing to invest in Dead or Alive. With a Virtua Fighter being worked on too, and Tekken 8 still going, fighting games look to be thriving for 3D, not just 2D.

PlayStation State of Play 2026 was a big one, having a lot to show off and is painting a healthy picture for the PS5 for the rest of the year. Fighting games got a particular highlight from an esports perspective, especially given how niche the community is, and Konami seemed to come to the event in force. 

Still, there were some notable exceptions. Many hoped for news on Final Fantasy 7 Remake part 3, yet Square Enix had nothing to show. This could mean that news is being saved for the Summer season, although this State of Play for February has been meaty enough without Square Enix, especially with Capcom and Konami picking up the slack.

Nongshim RedForce has become the second Ascension team to win a VCT Kickoff event after defeating RRQ in the 2026 Pacific Upper Finals.

Following in the footsteps of America’s G2 Esports last year, the South Korean organisation won 3-2 in the Upper Final and will head to VALORANT Masters Santiago as the region’s first seed.

RRQ, on the other hand, still has two chances left to qualify for Masters Santiago before facing elimination from the event.

Ever since Nongshim RedForce requalified to the Tier 1 ecosystem after finishing second at Ascension Pacific 2025, it hasn’t lost a single series. This includes a victory over Masters Bangkok champion T1.

That trend continued against RRQ as well, though the win didn’t come easily. The first half on Corrode ended with a 6-6 scoreline already hinting at a nail-biting best-of-five series.

While RRQ kicked off the second half with three back-to-back round wins, Nongshim RedForce snatched away six of the next seven rounds to reach map point. RRQ pushed back to force overtime and eventually took the early series lead 14-12.

On map two, Nongshim RedForce recorded a dominating start on Bind, rarely giving the Indonesian side many chances in the first half as the scoreline reached 9-3. What seemed like a one-sided affair turned into a close battle as RRQ won five of the first six rounds in the second half to put the team only two points behind.

That said, RRQ failed to finish the job this time as Nongshim RedForce gained momentum back to close out the map 13-8 to level the series.

The South Korean side once again had a strong showing on Haven to put 9-3 on the board. Moreover, unlike Bind, RRQ could only manage to claim five rounds in total as Nongshim RedForce moved one step closer to winning the series, achieving a 13-5 victory.

RRQ found itself on the back foot once again on Abyss, with its VCT Ascension opposition gaining an early 6-1 lead. However, the experienced roster wasn’t ready to give up just yet, as it won the rest of the rounds in the first half to level the score. While Nongshim RedForce stole a few rounds in the second half, RRQ dominated the latter half to secure a close 13-11 win and take the series to the decider.

The fifth map, Breeze, nearly saw Nongshim RedForce’s biggest blunder of its entire VCT Pacific tenure. The team destroyed RRQ to reach a 12-1 lead and was just one round away from punching its ticket to Masters Santiago.

However, Pujan ‘FNS‘ Mehta’s worst fear was close to becoming a reality as RRQ took the game to 12-5. In the end, though, the South Korean organisation avoided a brutal collapse. Nongshim RedForce claimed the one round it needed to lock in a Masters Santiago appearance, taking the map 13-7 and series 3-2.

Nongshim RedForce’s initiator Jung ‘Xross’ Hwan was named MVP of the series with a 1.19 rating and a 79/62/20 KDA. However, the team’s duelist Lee ‘Dambi’ Hyuk-kyu scored the highest ACS of 224.

While Nongshim RedForce will now start preparing for its first international VCT event, RRQ will face T1 in the Middle Final on February 14th for another shot at Masters Santiago qualification. The match, just like the rest of the tournament, will be streamed live on VCT Pacific Twitch and YouTube channels.

The Champion of Champions Tour (CCT) has revealed the roadmap for its European Counter-Strike 2 esports season.

The tournament organiser will host 34 events across its regular, Challengers, and Contenders circuits for the first-person shooter title.

Revealed on February 13th, this year’s CCT Europe season features a progression system that enables amateur and semi-professional teams a chance to compete for the trophy. The Contenders circuit sees 16 teams from open qualifiers competing for a $2,500 (~£1,833) prize pool and two places in the next Challengers tournament.

The Challengers circuit also features 16 teams, with the top two Contenders rosters joining 14 teams invited from the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) to battle for $5,000 (~£3,668) and two places in CCT Europe’s main event.

CCT Europe’s main event is the largest of the circuits, with 36 teams competing across the Play-Ins, Group Stage, and Playoffs to determine the eventual champion. The highest tier of competition also features the largest prize pool, $25,000 (~£18,341).

Contenders’ action begins on February 21st, with the first round of matches. The first matches run from March 7th to March 15th, with the last Contenders Series happening in late October. The main circuit gets underway on April 27th with the opening Play-In matches.

Since its launch in 2022, CCT has become one of Counter-Strike’s largest Tier 2 circuits with teams across Europe and other continents competing for prize money. This year, the Global Finals head to Portugal, where eight teams will face off for a $75,000 (~£55,044) prize pool and an additional $75,000 through club and player revenue-sharing initiatives.

Elsewhere, CCT operator GRID joined forces with New Breed Agency in a deal integrating the Parken Challenger Championship (PCC) LAN events into the CCT’s online tournament ecosystem.

Gaming furniture brand Blacklyte has been named the desk and chair sponsor of the Six Invitational 2026 tournament.

The partnership will see Blacklyte’s products be used on stage during matches and displayed in a booth for fans to test out during the crowning event.

The Blacklyte Athena Pro Gaming Chair Rainbow Six variation and the Atlas Lite Desk will be used by players on-stage during the Phase Three Finals, which run from February 13th to 15th, 2026. As a result, the products may appear in online-watch parties featured on Rainbow Six esports socials.

Fans attending the tournament in Paris, France, will also be able to test out Blacklyte’s chairs and desks at the on-site booth. Furthermore, fans will also be able to meet with Team Liquid’s players at Blacklyte’s booth.

It is not the first time Blacklyte has worked with esports organisations, events and players. Blacklyte’s products were previously featured at the 2025 Six Invitational in Boston, US.

Blacklyte has released co-branded Athena Pro gaming chairs with organisations such as UK-based team Fnatic andTeam Liquid last year. Blacklyte also brought its range of products to esports events, becoming a partner for the StarLadder Budapest Major, 2025’s BLAST.tv Austin Major, and more.

Organised by developer Ubisoft and esports brand BLAST, the Six Invitational 2026 is the world championship for Rainbow Six Siege X. The Six Invitational marks the end of the season and kicks off Year 11 for the tactical shooter game.

The top 20 qualified teams gather to decide the new champion among them, competing for the lion’s share of its $3m (~£2.2m) prize pool. Teams include defending champions FaZe Clan, alongside Munich Major winners M80, and other recognisable teams such as Team Falcons.

The tournament enters its final stage, where the last remaining teams compete for a place in the Grand Finals. As of writing, top teams such as M80, G2 Esports, and Spacestation Gaming have been knocked out of the competition.

Counter-Strike 2 tournament BC.Game Masters has announced that esports organisation BC.Game will not compete at the event.

Due to Valve‘s stance on conflicts of interest, the team won’t feature in the Tier 2 event taking place from March 24th to 26th.

On February 11th, BC.Game Masters revealed that the team, which features Oleksandr ‘s1mple‘ Kostyliev, won’t attend the LAN “to avoid speculation” surrounding any conflicts of interest between the team and the event organiser.

According to HLTV, a Valve spokesperson noted that no team is able to compete in an event where the title sponsor of a team is also sponsoring the tournament. Prior to the integration of the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), teams were allowed to do so. In recent years, BetBoom Team competed at BetBoom Dacha events without issue.

“We do not distinguish between team title sponsors and the team’s ownership, even when these are separate entities,” said a Valve representative to HLTV. As a result, BC.Game would be unable to compete at any CS2 event where the team’s owner is a sponsor.

BC.Game missing out on competing at a high-profile Tier 2 tournament could hinder its chances of qualifying for the IEM Cologne Major. The top 17 teams from the European VRS will secure a place at the first Major of 2026. With BC.Game currently in 16th, the team is at risk of falling out of contention.

Despite BC.Game being at risk of losing out on a place at the Cologne Major, the team hasn’t shared any upcoming plans following its IEM Krakow 2026 campaign, where it scored a top-16 finish.

The team’s next scheduled appearance is IEM Atlanta 2026, taking place from May 11th to 17th. With the cut-off for Major invites happening on April 6th, it will be interesting to see whether BC.Game commits to other Tier 2 tournaments in a bid to keep its Major hopes alive.

Esports tournament organiser PGL has partnered with ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) for the 2026 season.

As a result of the deal, the peripherals brand becomes PGL’s official PC, monitor, and peripheral partner across its slate of Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 tournaments taking place over the next 10 months.

The collaboration between the two parties aims to improve consistency across PGL’s main stage and practice areas. ASUS ROG will equip each main stage and practice facility with the same equipment to create ‘a unified technical environment for players’.

ASUS ROG’s Strix XG248QSG Ace monitor is the product that has been selected for the esports events. Featuring a 0.1 ms response time and a refresh rate of up to 610 Hz, the monitors offer players high levels of performance where split-second decisions often make the difference.

“This collaboration helps us align our tournament setup with the technical demands of modern esports,” said Silviu Stroie, CEO of PGL.

“By standardising on ROG Strix monitors, we aim to give teams consistent display conditions at every event so they can fully focus on their performance. “

PGL becomes the second tournament organiser to collaborate with ASUS ROG this year. On February 9th, the peripherals brand renewed its existing deal with fellow tournament organiser BLAST to support its BLAST Premier season.

2026 is shaping up to be a busy year for PGL as it prepares for its first Tier 1 Counter-Strike 2 tournament taking place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, from February 14th to 22nd.

Alongside its packed event calendar, the tournament organiser continues to expand its partnership portfolio. In December 2025, PGL partnered with gaming furniture manufacturer Secretlab in a deal that will provide a range of furniture across practice and on-stage setups.

In addition to its Counter-Strike and Dota 2 circuits, PGL will host the second Counter-Strike Major of the year in Singapore. The PGL Singapore Major 2026 acts as the season-ending event with the world’s top 32 teams competing for a share of $1.25m (~£917,131) in prize money.

South Korean esports organisation DRX has revealed that the country’s Ministry of Education Award has been given to the DRX Esports Academy.

According to the social media post, it marks the first time an esports team has received the award. The award was sealed on December 31st, 2025, and signed by South Korea’s Minister of Education, Cho Kyo-jin.

In a rough translation, DRX stated: “DRX Esports Academy has been awarded the Minister of Education Award in recognition of its achievements in community-linked career experience programmes.

“Moving forward, DRX will continue to contribute to fostering a healthy educational ecosystem beyond esports and create sustained social value.”

DRX Esports Academy is part of the organisation’s training programme, developing aspiring professional players for a career in the esports scene. As of writing, the academy currently fields active teams in competitive titles such as VALORANT and League of Legends.

In 2025, its VALORANT team competed in the VALORANT Challengers series in Korea, placing as high as fourth in Stage 3. On the other hand, the League of Legends team competed in the LCK AS Academy League last year, though it was the first team to be eliminated in both splits.

2025 was a hectic year for DRX in the esports ecosystem, with the organisation achieving success in VALORANT and falling short in League of Legends.

DRX’s VALORANT roster began the 2025 season by winning the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific Kickoff. As a result of its high placements in VCT Stage 1 and 2, DRX qualified for VALORANT Champions 2025, where it placed third overall. The retirement of DRX player Cho ‘Flashback‘ Min-hyuk also occurred, following the conclusion of the 2025 VCT OFF//SEASON.

The organisation saw more disappointing results in the League of Legends scene, placing ninth overall in the LCK 2025 season and missing out on both the Asia Invitational and Worlds 2025. It’s a far cry from its 2022 run, which saw the organisation beat T1 3-2 in the Grand Finals of 2022 Worlds.

In 2026, the organisation revamped its LCK roster, replacing Bae ‘Sponge’ Young-jun and Park ‘Teddy’ Jin-seong with ung ‘Jiwoo’ Ji-woo and Ha ‘Vincenzo’ Seung-min.

Elsewhere, DRX’s Tekken player Yoon ‘LowHigh’ Sun-woong won the Tekken World Tour 2025 Finals, winning the $100,00 (~£79,000) prize after defeating Virtus.pro’s Park ‘Mangja’ Geon-ho in the Grand Finals.

South Korean esports organisation T1 has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the South Korean Navy’s Power Analysis and Evaluation Team.

As a result of the MOU, the two parties will collaborate to help strengthen the Navy’s cognitive and analysis capabilities via the integration of technology from the gaming and esports industries.

First reported by Korean news outlet MBN, the Navy will take inspiration from the organisation through joint research on tactical analysis and development based on data collected from T1’s matches.

In addition to assisting the Navy with the development of its digital operations, both parties will co-host a range of academic conferences and seminars to share insight into the process of preparing for future digital operational environments.

“Through this agreement, we hope to see the soft power of esports merge with the hard power of the Navy to develop into a national smart power,” said Ahn Woong-gi, T1 Chief Operating Officer. “T1 will continue to expand its cooperation with the Navy and actively support its efforts to strengthen its digital and cyber capabilities.”

In 2025, T1 became the most-watched esports team in the world, recording 196m hours watched as it competed in several high-profile tournaments. Notably, the organisation won its fifth League of Legends World Championship title, defeating KT Rolster in the Grand Final.

T1 also revealed that it won’t limit its expertise to the naval industry. The organisation says it will expand the strategic thinking and data analysis capabilities of the esports industry “to various public and defence sectors” to create new cooperation models prepared for the future.

South Korea’s Navy becomes the latest armed force to embark on esports initiatives. In July 2025, the UK’s Royal Navy launched a dedicated esports suite on board the HMS Prince of Wales as part of an ongoing collaboration with British Esports.

Elsewhere, North America’s Navy has joined forces with various organisations and events over the past six years. 2020 saw it enter partnerships with Evil Geniuses and ESL for content series and to host activations at DreamHack events.

Editor’s Note: MBN’s report has been directly translated from Korean. As such, there may be some minor inconsistencies.

German esports organisation FOKUS has announced its expansion into Counter-Strike 2 esports by signing an international roster.

Former GamerLegion player Erik ‘ztr‘ Gustafsson will captain the roster, which makes its LAN debut at Urban Riga Open 3, taking place from March 23rd to 24th.

Unveiled on social media, the signing of an international line-up moves away from FOKUS’ reported original plan of signing players from the same nation.

According to HLTV, the organisation had originally signed the former ESC Gaming line-up in November 2025, which then attended several Tier 2 tournaments under the Friendly Campers banner.

Max ‘Eggo‘ Eickhoff, Senior Team and Project Manager at FOKUS, revealed that the existing team composition wasn’t working, resulting in the coaches starting the roster-building process from scratch. “We have been working for many years to finally see FOKUS in Counter-Strike, and it is important to us to do it in a way that we can identify with,” said Eggo.

Alongside ztr, Sebastian ‘volt‘ Malos, Georgi ‘Jorko‘ Mitev, Mateo ‘Matheos‘ Prišlin and Matias ‘Banjo‘ Kivistö round out the team. Volt is no stranger to achieving success in Tier 1 tournaments. The rifler burst onto the scene at the BLAST.tv Paris Major as part of the Into the Breach that scored a top-eight finish.

17-year-old Jorko is tipped to be one of Counter-Strike’s promising upcoming talents. The Bulgarian AWPer recently finished in the top six at DraculaN Season 4, scoring a 2-1 victory over Inner Circle in his team’s opening upper bracket match.

Matheos has previously competed alongside Jorko for Copenhagen Wolves, while Banjo joins FOKUS after a two-year stint representing Fire Flux Esports in Tier 2 and Tier 3 competitions.

Founded in 2018, FOKUS has become one of Germany’s prominent esports organisations. In recent years, it has competed across several esports titles, including EA Sports FC, Fortnite, and VALORANT.

Its VALORANT roster is currently competing in the first stage of Challengers 2026 DACH: Evolution. The team has made its way to the lower bracket final, earning a place in the top four, resulting in qualification for Stage 2.

The third edition of Urban Riga Open sees eight teams competing in a single-elimination bracket for a chance to become champion. Classified as a Tier 2 event, teams can earn Valve Regional Standings (VRS) points to climb the ladder that will help with qualification to significant CS2 event.

Urban Riga 2 saw the likes of AaB Esport and SemperFi Esports battling it out for a share of a $6,500 (~£4,771) prize pool. MOUZ NXT, the academy roster of MOUZ, won the event and has since climbed to 46th in Europe’s February VRS.