A big day in streaming has finally arrived: HBO Max has finally announced it's coming to the United Kingdom and Ireland. The two countries join over 110 territories worldwide that already offer HBO Max. Some HBO shows, like Euphoria, have already been available in these regions through other platforms. HBO Max will bring titles like The Pitt, One Battle After Another and Sinners. It will also air the upcoming Harry Potter series. 

An HBO Max subscription will be available in the UK and Ireland starting on Thursday, March 26. Plans will start at Basic with Ads for £5 per month, offering all titles except movies that first stream on HBO Max after a theatrical release. Then there's Standard with Ads for £6 per month, which includes those releases and 30 downloads. Both can stream on two devices at a time. 

Anyone who wants an ad-free experience can purchase a Standard or Premium plan. The former has all titles available on two devices, up to 30 downloads and, of course, no ads. The Premium plan comes with four devices in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos — if the system has capabilities. 

Interestingly, the expanded area comes as Netflix prepares to own Warner Bros., including HBO and HBO Max. While there's no indication of whether this had any influence, Netflix has long been available in the UK and Ireland. 

The first PlayStation State of Play livestream of 2026 has been announced. The stream will take place on February 12 at 5PM ET. It will run for over an hour and feature PlayStation Studios titles as well as third-party projects and indie games that are bound for PS5. You can watch it on PlayStation’s official YouTube channel (in English, Japanese or with English subtitles) or on Twitch.

As the first State of Play of the year, Sony is going to want to drum up some more hype for its upcoming release slate. Since Bungie’s Marathon is due to arrive on March 5, that will surely make an appearance. MLB The Show 26, which is out on March 17, will likely get a look in too. We could also get another peek at Saros, the highly anticipated follow-up to Housemarque’s Returnal, which will arrive on March 20. A new trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine isn’t out of the question, but Sony could wait until a summer showcase to give us another look at that one. 

The last State of Play took place in November, but that one was focused solely on games coming out of Asia and Japan. Before that, Sony also had a showcase during Tokyo Game Show in September, which featured a first look at gameplay from the aforementioned Wolverine, which is due to arrive later in 2026.