PlayStation has officially announced your four (!) free PlayStation Plus games for March 2021. They include Remnant: From the Ashes, Farpoint, Maquette, and the big one, Final Fantasy VII Remake. Destruction AllStars will remain free as well until April 5th, in case you missed in early February. Yesterday, PlayStation's State of Play ended with a showcase of Final Fantasy VII Remake, promising players a free upgrade to PS5 this June, along with an expanded story chapter DLC for Yuffie. READ MORE: Final Fantasy VII Remake is Coming to PS5 with Yuffie DLC, Mobile Battle Royale Announced PlayStation confirmed via their blog post that the free PlayStation Plus games for March 2021 include Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Remake, the critically acclaimed 2020 JRPG remaking the original Final Fantasy VII; Gunfire Games' Remnant: From the Ashes, a Souls-like action-RPG with killer combat; Maquette, a first-person puzzler with a beautiful aesthetic; and finally, Farpoint, a VR title that's widely considered one of the best on the system. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy VII Remake's inclusion on PS Plus next month comes with a catch. This free title will not be eligible for the PS5 upgrade on June 10th, meaning players will have to purchase the game to get the upgrade. This is a bit strange considering that PS Plus subscribers will still technically have the game in their library, but it won't be recognized as a version that's allowed to be upgraded to PS5 systems. Additionally, the only way to play the Yuffie DLC is through the PS5 upgraded version. Either way, this is a strong line-up, particularly for Final Fantasy fans who have yet to play the remake. All March 2021 PS Plus games coming to PS4 will be available on March 2nd until April 5th, 2021, with Maquette only being available on PS5.

PlayStation held their first State of Play digital event of the year last night, and while it wasn't a particularly eventful one, it did leave on quite a high note. Square Enix took the opportunity to put the spotlight on Final Fantasy VII Remake, and the numerous related projects on their way. On top of two mobile games set in the Final Fantasy VII universe being announced (one of which is a battle royale), they also revealed that the game will finally get a PS5 upgrade soon. In addition to that, Yuffie has finally joined the action in her own DLC adventure. READ MORE: District 10 Screenplay is Being Written, Says Neill Blomkamp Final Fantasy VII Remake will receive a PlayStation 5 upgrade on June 10th, 2021 in the form of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. PS4 users who own the game can get this PS5 upgrade for free, complete with all save data being carried over. A lot of the improvements include 60FPS, 4K support, sharper visuals, drastically decreased loading times, and a newly added Photo Mode. The concluding trailer of State of Play also revealed an expanded story chapter that will focus on Yuffie, another beloved character from Final Fantasy VII, and her infiltration of Midgar. This DLC chapter will only be available on PlayStation 5, though, leaving PS4 fans waiting a while longer. Check out the trailers below: Of course, with this being Square Enix, that's not all they had in store for us. Two new mobile games were also announced, set in the Final Fantasy VII universe. The first is Ever Crisis, a retelling of the entire Final Fantasy VII saga (which includes Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and the original game) in a sort of condensed "demake". The other - and this is a good one - is Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, a battle royale prequel set in Midgar before the events of the game. Yes, you read that correctly. You take control of a Shinra SOLDIER and, in typical battle royale fashion, fight to be the last person standing. Check out the trailers below: Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade upgrades to PS5 on June 10th, 2021, with Ever Crisis and The First Soldier coming to iOS/Android in 2021.

District 9 proved to be one of the most successful science fiction films of the last decades. Director Neill Blomkamp's feature length debut, set in South Africa, told a story of immigration and xenophobia through the lens of visiting aliens stranded in Johannesburg, where they're placed in camps and townships. Despite its political overtones, District 9 still managed to stir up some excellent, heady sci-fi concepts and plenty of great action. Now, over ten years later, Blomkamp is moving ahead with a sequel. READ MORE: Spider-Man: No Way Home Title Officially Revealed for Spider-Man 3 According to Neill Blomkamp, District 10's screenplay is currently being written with actor Sharlto Copley and Terri Tatchell. Not much else is actually known about this sequel other than Blomkamp's promise of "it's coming", but we may have to wait a few years to find out what it actually is. Given the ending of District 9, it's not surprising that we're getting a sequel either. Fan reception has mostly been positive, with some hoping Blomkamp returns to his roots after a few misfires (one of which includes Chappie). Blomkamp revealed that he was working on the script right now via social media. District 9 followed an agent named Wikus Van Der Merwe (played by Copley) who becomes infected with the mysterious "prawn" DNA that begins to morph him into one himself. He has to race against time before his transformation is complete, all the while dealing with ruthless special forces and unearthing the truth behind District 9 with the help of another prawn, Christopher. Praised for its terrific visuals on a relatively low budget, District 9 managed to make a profit at the box office, enough for Blomkamp to develop his follow-up sci-fi film, Elysium. We're glad that a sequel to District 9 is finally moving forward, and we can't wait.

A while ago, Silent Hill and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama announced his departure from Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Studio, who were the developers behind the Siren series as well (including housing most of the former Team Silent from Konami). Toyama has now formed his own studio, Bokeh Game Studio, where he is currently working on a new, bizarre horror project. However, another important figurehead has now announced their departure from SIE Japan Studio, that being Masaaki Yamagiwa, the producer behind From Software's Bloodborne and Deracine. READ MORE: BioWare Shuts Down Anthem Reboot, Studio to Focus on Dragon Age and Mass Effect Masaaki Yamigawa announced his exit from Sony Interactive Entertainment earlier today. "I’m leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment at the end of this month. I’m going to continue working hard on creating games. Many thanks to everyone!" said Yamigawa in his social media post. "I will be leaving SIE JAPAN Studio at the end of February. Thanks for everything so far. I will do my best to make games in the next place," Yamigawa also stated. With another key figure leaving SIE Japan Studio, it does leave a bit of a hole in one of Sony's more prominent Japanese developers - with the big rumour circulating that Japan Studio is actually working on a Silent Hill reboot for PS5. Since Yamigawa is leaving the studio, it doesn't necessarily mean that we won't hear of more projects, especially from the likes of From Software. If a Bloodborne sequel were to happen, it would still presumably move forward with a new producer. Meanwhile, Sony has also reaffirmed their efforts to strengthen ties with Japanese developers. The gaming giant currently has a few well-known first-party studios under their belt, with an exclusivity deal that once stood with From Software for Bloodborne, so we're keen to see what other Japanese studios may be approached. In the meantime, SIE Japan Studio remains strong, with a couple of projects rumoured to be in the works.