Evening Reading - January 16, 2026

It's Friday, so let's head into the three-day weekend the right way.

Hello, Shacknews. It's the first time this year that I've managed to avoid the hustle and bustle of travel. I'm here to deliver another round of news, memes, and entertainment. This is the Friday edition of Evening Reading.

In case you missed it at Shacknews:

• Nintendo should let you play the classic games in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for free
• Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Switch 2 isn't afraid to be a little ugly to look good in motion
• Tom Clancy's The Division Creative Director Julian Gerighty jumps ship from Ubisoft to EA
• The Legend of Zelda movie will stream exclusively on Netflix following its home copy release
• OpenAI wants to shove ads into ChatGPT just in time for the U.S. 2026 midterm elections

Your weekly reminder to check out Shackmaps, our growing collection of video game maps to help enhance your gameplay experience!

• Introducing Shackmaps - Free interactive video game maps
• We now have S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl!

And, because it's the weekend, go find yourself something to play!

• Weekend Console Download Deals for Jan. 16: Nintendo Supercharge Sale
• Weekend PC Download Deals for Jan. 16: Steam Detective Fest

Around the Gaming Horn

Here's some rapid-fire news to wrap up your week.

Adding to LEGO's continuing lineup of Nintendo-based sets.

Learn more about the Haranir in World of Warcraft.

And take an early look at the balance patch coming to Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.

And now... Other Stuff From The Internet!!!

Today in Bubbletron

Be sure to play Bubbletron today!

Eureka! The hat goes on the head!

Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996)

[image or embed]
— New Video Game Advisor (@newvgadvisor.bsky.social) January 16, 2026 at 5:29 PM

Don't drop your crown, king.

NOT THE BEES!

🧪 That’s not a beehive or a nest– it’s an inflorescence (cluster of flowers) belonging to Artocarpus annulatus, a tree related to jackfruit!

[image or embed]
— Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science & Action (@negauneeinstitute.bsky.social) January 16, 2026 at 3:01 PM

That's just what the bees want you to think.

Nothing but the Hotfix

The Silksong speedrunning scene is starting to come together.

GDQ's Hotfix shows air every week and you can catch them all at the Games Done Quick Twitch account.

This week in Shaqnews

"The legends that I watched growing up... just to be in the same conversation on the scoring list is a blessing." James Harden reflects after passing Shaq and moving up on the all-time scoring list!

[image or embed]
— NBA (@nba.com) January 12, 2026 at 11:33 PM

When you've played as long as James Harden has and taken as many shots as he has, he almost inevitably had to pass Shaq on the all-time scorers list.

IT'S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!

TNA premiered on AMC this week. It was not great. At least Mike Sanatana won.

Tonight in video game music

Lame Genie takes Undertale to new and more metal places.

That's it for the second Friday Evening Reading for January! Be sure to keep the spirit of the classic Evening Reading alive by jumping into the comments about whatever you see here or whatever randomness you'd like to discuss. Join the conversation and dive into the Shacknews Chatty comment thread below. If you want to go new school and find different ways to leave your feedback or talk about whatever, join us in the Official Shacknews Community Discord.

Thank you to everyone for reading! On behalf of everyone at Shacknews, we'll see you all next year! Of course, keep on coming back over the next few, because there's still some unfinished business to take care of.