Halo's ex-franchise director, Frank O'Connor, has given Activision a few pointers now that it's in charge of making the next Halo game with a "purpose-built team." Top of the list, hire some devs who were laid off from Bungie and Halo Studios.
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Despite mass layoffs at multiple first-party studios and major internal shakeups, CEO Asha Sharma has shot down speculation about a potential Xbox buyout.
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If you thought Red Dead Redemption 2's heavy winds and even heavier rain looked impressive, you might be happy to learn that Rockstar Games went back and "re-engineered our weather system" for GTA 6. Hurricanes, rainbows and "vertiginous cumulonimbus clouds" are all part of the upcoming open worlder.
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Valve's new MOBA Deadlock - a sort of cross between Dota and Overwatch - might not be fully released yet, or even accessible by vast portions of the public,but that hasn't stopped its latest update propelling it to being one of the most played games on Steam.
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World of Warcraft: Forever players claim to have been sent a survey asking whether they'd be interested in a variety of new classes for the upcoming MMO - and some of them are very interesting.
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Yesterday's free Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered upgrade might have propelled the old role-playing game to new heights, in terms of player popularity, but not everyone is happy with what's changed. A particular point of contention concerns the game's new lighting changes, which some people think has made The Witcher 3 too bright and washed out - though this is not the only issue.
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This probably feels like a bit of an odd place to start, but Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons isn't Fable. Yet, when I sat down to watch developer Invoke Studios' Gamescom demo of Warlock with no real idea of what to expect, it was the first thing that popped into my mind. Not because of its striking fantasy landscape - crooked hovels huddled awkwardly amid a vast sprawl of ragged coastline, jagged mountains, and, in the distance, an imposing tower looming over all - but rather the moment early on when Warlock's warrior protagonist Kaatri enters the town of Crickshank and is immediately welcomed with a couple of fruity insults from the locals.
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Control Resonant is one of the few modern open-world games which doesn't always point you to where you should go next. This desire to give players time to figure their way around is the reason why, according to the game's director, Resonant does not have yellow paint.
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A lot has already been said of Monster Hunter Wilds' upcoming Switch 2 port. The game, with all its free DLC updates - including new monsters - will be available 5th December, arriving with local co-op support to harken back to those old Gathering Hall days on the PSP or 3DS (if you're an old-head, like me).
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Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss today announced it's delaying Charting the Unknown, the game's first post-launch add-on. Previously set for release 15th October, the DLC's release date has been pushed back to 29th October - a two-week delay.
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The rumoured Xbox Mythic Achievements - the equivalent of PlayStation's Platinum Trophies - have been officially announced, and they're rolling out for Xbox Insiders now.
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After about a month in testing, Xbox's disc-to-digital feature has officially launched for all owners of Xbox consoles. The feature allows users to turn Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs into digital copies.
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On top of featuring all the game modes you expect from a Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 4 is courting the competitive scene with something entirely new for the series: a game mode called Collateral.
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The Witcher 3's newly released Remastered edition has dramatically rekindled interest in the 11-year-old role-playing game, which is currently enjoying its highest concurrent player-count on Steam ever.
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The outrageously enjoyable Hades musical orchestral concert, Ballads of the Underworld, is now available to watch in its entirety, online, for free.
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If you've been playing Medieval vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker and you're wondering why you're having a hard time during the day, as a human, versus as at night as a vampire, then don't worry: you're experiencing the game as intended. It's not supposed to be balanced, apparently.
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Early access to Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is now available to owners of the game's Deluxe Edition, but the launch has been soured due to publisher Bandai Namco's handling of one particular pre-order bonus.
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Xbox and The Coalition are making a big deal about Gears of War: E-Day's campaign, ahead of its Xbox and PC launch on 1st October. The game goes back in time to study the origins of the Locust scourge, placing you in the big, stompy shoes of a younger and more 'innocent' Marcus Fenix as he navigates the beginning of the end of the world with erstwhile comrade, Dom Santiago. As I noted in my preview, it feels like a continuation of the original trilogy - somehow! - in its pacing, mechanics, and setup.
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Why did The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim never receive a spin-off like Bethesda's Fallout 3 did, with Fallout: New Vegas? According to Skyrim co-lead designer Kurt Kuhlmann, it's because of The Elder Scrolls Online. Speaking to FRVR (via VGC), the 20-year studio veteran said the MMORPG essentially kept Elder Scrolls fans occupied while Bethesda focused on other projects.
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It took me four attempts to successfully parachute into a Wardogs match. On the first try, I opened my parachute far too early, and was promptly sniped from the sky by one of the many sharpshooters that populate Wardogs' battlefield. The second time, I pulled the ripcord far too late, pancaking into the ground like a camo-clad Wile-E-Coyote. The third time, I pulled the cord only slightly too late. But it turns out "slightly too late" has the same outcome as "very too late" when it comes to parachute jumping.
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CD Projekt Red has clarified to Eurogamer that "all versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that exist in the world" are to be updated with the free Remastered edition upgrade today. That update, by the way, rolls out from 11am BST.
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Sony is introducing a lottery system for PS5 Pros on its Japanese online store for when demand for new consoles outstrips the limited supply.
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Naughty Dog fans, pick up your ears - it's been a busy night for fans of the PlayStation studio. First of all, in a letter celebrating The Last of Us Day 2026, studio head Neil Druckmann confirmed that two new projects within The Last of Us universe are in the "very early stages" of development at Naughty Dog.
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Just days after announcing a silly skin off toggle for Call of Duty: Warzone, Activision has returned to share some even better news for Modern Warfare 4. At launch and beyond, double XP tokens will count down only when you're actively in a match, not in real-world time.
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Double Fine's wasted no time at all as an independent game studio (again) after splitting from former owner Xbox earlier this summer. The storied developer is releasing its whacky driving sim, Thank You Bus Driver, in roughly two weeks time.
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"What if London existed in the Grand Theft Auto universe? What if Rockstar created a GTA game set in London?" Anyone sitting in the venn diagram centre of GTA fan and cartography sicko might be happy to learn that YouTuber CityEd has answered both of those questions with a GTA-style map.
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Ubisoft is internally calling its latest generative-AI initiative 'Motherbrain' - you know, like the evil supercomputer turned gross brain-in-a-jar monster from Nintendo's Metroid series - according to trademarks filed by the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher.
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It's tricky to appraise the Remastered edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt because on the one hand, everything about it is extraordinary. It's a free upgrade to an 11-year-old game that showcases a level of support and generosity I don't think I've seen for any other single-player game, ever. It's remarkable that The Witcher 3 should be visually overhauled and even systemically altered so long after its release, without a cost to the player attached.
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The popular - and always appreciated - seamless co-op mod has finally come to Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, the only game of the trilogy to have spent years without it. Mod creator Yui, who's responsible for the seamless co-op mods for Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring and Armored Core has returned to release the mod's alpha version to the public.
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Back in August, CD Projekt Red properly revealed new Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past during Gamescom's Opening Night Live show. Whilst I got to experience a hands-off demo of the new content (which I loved), no one in the public has yet had chance to get their hands on the title. So, it seems like CD Projekt Red is doing the next best thing and get our, erm, ears on it instead.
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Diablo 4's Season of Hell's Legacy began over two weeks ago following a banner BlizzCon, but its launch has been surprisingly wobbly. The season initially suffered a multi-hour delay thanks to log-in errors and server issues, but Blizzard has apologised to players using the power of gifts.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is introducing a highly-requested feature to Warzone later this year. With the launch of the game's first season, players will be able to turn off character skins from other Call of Duty games in the free-to-play mode.
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World of Warcraft: Forever's beta appears to be growing in popularity, as one of Blizzard's leads has revealed the server capacity had to be increased over the weekend.
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Marvel's Wolverine has received a new update that should hopefully bring an end to the "fart gas" scent trails saga. The latest patch, version 1.001.006, includes an option to turn off scent trails for Whiskey Bottle collectibles, Material Crate audio pings as well as Nightmare Door roots using three separate toggles in the Gameplay menu.
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A reported $400 million budget for Hideo Kojima's Physint has already been walked back over the weekend, with multiple outlets now saying Xbox is paying nowhere near that figure for Hideo Kojima's stealth game.
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Minecraft maker Mojang has announced The Sift, a new Minecraft dimension that will join the Overworld, the Nether, and The End when it launches on Java and Bedrock in 2027. It's the first new dimension added to the game since The End arrived in 2011.
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has praised Xbox's ongoing "streamlining" under Xbox CEO Asha Sharma just days after another round of layoffs hit the division.
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In celebration of the 40th(!!) anniversary of Castlevania, Konami is giving away the original 1986 game for free on the App Store and Google Play.
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Video game database MobyGames will let developers claim video game credits and customise their personal portfolios, albeit only via a new premium tier.
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A US District Judge has granted Nintendo a £3.4 million ($4.5m) default judgment against James Williams, the former Reddit moderator known online as "Archbox", after he failed to respond to a lawsuit over alleged Nintendo Switch piracy.
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Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we've been playing. This week, Bertie's still pretending to be a vampire, Kelsey's been breeding an army of cats, Mat's been melting mounted warriors, Marie's been a willing accomplice, and Connor's been smitten all over again.
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Skyrim launched almost 15 years ago while The Elder Scrolls 6 is still marinating over at Bethesda Game Studios. Even so, Bethesda apparently never considered having an outside team develop a spin-off game to fill that painfully long gap - as it did once upon a time with Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas.
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Resident Evil Requiem is still doing bonkers business while elongating Capcom's generational win streak, but the new big-screen reboot didn't make as big of an impact on game sales as you might expect. Still, according to estimates from Alinea Analytics, the ninth mainline game in the horror series has made over $500m (around £377) and counting.
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Control Resonant's upside down world is out now, but Remedy Entertainment's not done with the RPG just yet. The Alan Wake and Max Payne maker has detailed some of its post-launch plans for the game, which currently include new outfits, a Photo Mode and a New Game Plus Plus option for anyone who wants to carry their progress over into neverending playthroughs.
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Ubisoft Milan, the studio behind the acclaimed Mario + Rabbids games, reportedly came close to making a Zelda spin-off starring the series' biggest villain, Ganondorf, instead of regular protagonist Link - but an initially receptive Nintendo eventually pulled the plug on the whole thing.
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Embark Studios has announced a new matchmaking test for Arc Raiders that'll allow players to opt into a PvE version featuring none of the usual player-versus-player violence. It's the developer's response to a growing portion of the playerbase apparently uninterested in hurting their raiders-in-arms.
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Sound the alarm! Alert your loved ones! Nearly 18 years after its original announcement, Beyond Good & Evil 2 apparently still isn't dead, according to a Ubisoft Bordeaux developer who says he's been working on the game for months.
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CD Projekt Red has shared some insight into Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's fantastic Chimera tank boss fight, explaining it took two years to get the complicated sequence right.
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Last week brought reports of further layoffs at Build A Rocket Boy, the beleaguered studio behind the poorly received 2025 shooter MindsEye. In the wake of that news, the company - which has repeatedly attempted to blame its woes on 'sabouteurs' - has filed for administration.
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I've had an on-and-off relationship with World of Warcraft ever since I first booted it up in my early teens. I love the size of the world, the joy of exploration, the kick from getting a purple drop from a dungeon at 1am. But more and more, I found myself stepping away from the endless treadmill that is the modern game. World of Warcraft: Classic, however, reunited my enthusiasm, and now Forever has properly dragged me back in.
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Is Sony having second thoughts about ending PlayStation disc support? The question has arisen following a report that says Sony sent "a bigger survey than they've sent almost ever before" to developers asking for feedback about the decision to stop producing disc-based games.
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Bungie has announced drastic changes coming to its struggling shooter Marathon, including a shift away from its extraction roots in the coming months. The new mission statement? Making more "approachable" experiences with "different levels of intensity and commitment."
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I've had a hunch ever since playing The Blood of Dawnwalker that its divisive time limit feature - whereby you have 30 in-game days and nights to save your character's family from a nasty pack of vampires - isn't as strict as Rebel Wolves once intended it. And it turns out I was right.
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It's been another difficult week for Xbox and the many studios it operates, as a second wave of layoffs has ripped through the company. The saddest news surrounds the impending closure of Hellblade studio Ninja Theory, but layoffs have all but dismantled Halo Studios and halved Age of Empires developer World's Edge as well.
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Rockstar Games has announced a limited Goodtime State Vice City collection of goodies for Grand Theft Auto 6 that's ludicrously expensive - £349 - doesn't include a copy of the game, and is pre-orderable now.
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After first hearing about Roman Sands Re:Build, and following along with bits of its development over the last few years, it's been a real ride getting to sit down with it; the demo from a couple years ago gave us a glimpse at both of the game's very different acts, a contrast that I initially misunderstood as a moving continuously back-and-forth between two realities situation (it's not). Fast forward to last night: almost fourteen hours in, Re:Build is already cementing itself in my head as one of those unclassifiable experiences that defies neat or sensible analysis and certainly isn't the sort of game that, in an ideal world, should be scored. (The "Re:Build" appendage is to distinguish this game from 2019's Roman Sands, its first iteration that was reportedly not quite cooked yet.)
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Tim Schafer - the founder of acclaimed developer Double Fine Productions, and the legendary designer behind the likes of Day of the Tentacle and Psychonauts - has spoken out about his studio's recent shift to independence, as well as Game Pass, and industry woes at large.
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In an unusual move, developer id Software's free-to-play shooter Quake Champions is transitioning into a paid product, eight years after its original release. As part of the same move, the Microsoft studio is killing off the Microsoft Store version, meaning it's now only available on Steam.
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I'm not sure what's more surprising: that Xbox never had a Platinum Trophy equivalent, that Xbox feels the need to have a Platinum Trophy equivalent, or that it's adding a Platinum Trophy equivalent now while restructuring the company.
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The times when a pair of pants prove newsworthy are tragically rare, and when they are it's usually not a good thing. Thankfully, a community discovery in World of Warcraft: Forever has remedied that.
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After announcing the end of Destiny 2 development and laying off almost the game's entire team, Bungie surprised fans earlier this week with news that it's working on "unvaulting" Destiny 2 campaigns, raids and destinations - bringing them back to the game after they were removed. The developer offered few specifics at the time, but new information has now emerged about what we can expect.
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Discord delayed the rollout of its controversial age verification system back in February after very loud backlash against the company's plans. Those age checks are now back, but this time, co-founder and chief technology officer Stanislav Vishnevskiy says the updated system will give users options that aren't as invasive.
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We're now living in a timeline that would have been impossible to comprehend for a grunt-squashing teen in 2007: Activision is making the next Halo game. And, now, fans have questions about the change. Is this year's Halo Fest still happening, despite sweeping layoffs at Halo Studios? Will Activision's new game reboot the lore? Can Master Chief finally, please, catch a break?
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Xbox's massive and still ongoing reorganisation has pushed Obsidian Entertainment under Bethesda's umbrella. Despite the quite drastic corporate shakeup, Bethesda's president is promising folks the iconic RPG developer will hold onto its "creative identity."
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As if this season wasn't packed enough with games to play, the acclaimed 'Nemesis system' Lord of the Rings games Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War finally come to Switch 2 later this month.
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Blizzard has hinted at yet another core mechanic in Diablo 5 seemingly inspired by Diablo 2. Notably, the in-development action-RPG will tackle level-scaling differently from the way it's done in Diablo 4.
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Former Halo leaders Bonnie Ross and Kiki Wolfkill have added their voices to the chorus of people wishing laid-off Halo Studios employees well after Microsoft's drastic downsizing of the studio yesterday.
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Shift UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim has spoken about the troubles faced during Stellar Blade's development, including doubts from investors about the game's ability to break even, and rapidly depleting funds to pay staff with.
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Yesterday's Xbox cuts saw organisational restructuring that moved Age of Empires studio World's Edge under Activision's control. The initial announcement did not specify whether the Age of Empire studio would lose any staff as part of this transition, but new information has emerged suggesting many members of the team have been let go.
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Star Wars Zero Company, the XCOM-like turn-based tactics game from Bit Reactor, appears to have been a success, selling more than 1m copies, according to estimates from industry analyst Alinea Analytics.
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The story director for Gears of War: E-Day has been laid off as part of yesterday's Xbox cuts, barely two weeks before the game he's worked on for more than four years is released.
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There's a bit somewhere in the middle of the rubbish Doom movie, where the perspective suddenly switches to first-person. Look, it seems to say, it's just like you playing the video game! But what Zach Cregger's new Resident Evil movie gets is that, really, it's nothing like me playing the video game. Back on my side of the screen, I might be sitting in a digital space marine suit, gliding around gloomy corridors as monsters leap at my face, but I'm certainly not behaving like one. I am shrieking; I am cringing, I am swearing; I am fumbling the controller, and I'm firing stray bullets at the roof. And while, yes, I might occasionally allow myself a quick celebrity whoop, the power fantasy is hardly a total one.
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If you're an enjoyer of video game maps, you might like this: celebrated artist and cartographer Francesca Baerald - who's created in-game (and out) maps for Dragon Age, Warcraft, Octopath Traveler, Diablo, Dungeons & Dragons and many more - is releasing a glossy new art book. It's an oversized, A3 book that features page after page of her sumptuously detailed, hand-painted maps.
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I own Rayman Legends on six platforms. The game, a 2D platformer that launched back in 2013, initially released onto the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U and PS Vita. A year later, it came to Xbox One and PS4. Fast-forward three years and it's on Switch, and then in 2021 it came to Stadia, too. It's been around the block a few times then, and I've gone with it each time - I have 1000Gs and a Platinum trophy for it. It's just a very, very good game.
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Following reports that further job cuts were imminent at Xbox, Microsoft has confirmed more sweeping changes as its major restructuring continues. As a result, some Xbox studios will combine, others are set for closure, and 268 more layoffs have been announced.
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Ninja Theory - developer of the Hellblade series of games, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry, and Heavenly Sword - is entering consultation in preperation for the studio's closure as part of today's sweeping Xbox cuts and layoffs.
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Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) won't develop the next mainline Halo game because it's being what sounds like drastically reduced in size. Microsoft has instead given development duty to Activision, which is making "a new purpose-built team" separate to Call of Duty to make it.
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Sony appears to be testing a new PlayStation rewards programme. A number of posts on social media and Reddit have recently appeared showing that purchasing certain games from the PlayStation Store now comes with an associated wallet credit bonus.
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UPDATE 4PM BST: Game Developer has reportedly seen an email Blizzard sent to employees that indicates it - or at least the World of Warcraft department - isn't affected by "today's announcements". An Xbox representative apparently verified the email's legitimacy.
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We now have even more confirmation a new Injustice game is in development. Following last week's playtest leak, information has emerged that sheds more light on the upcoming DC fighting game.
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World of Warcraft: Forever's beta is here, offering us our first look at WoW's reimagined vanilla or classic experience, and already it's proving extremely popular. But there are points of contention, one being whether the new Skyborne race's starting zone fits tonally with original-race zones.
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Ahead of the bottomless GTA 6 mods we'll surely get whenever the crime epic finally comes to PC, Rockstar Games has imposed new restrictions on the modding community and, boy, they are tight.
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Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire might join their handheld third-generation siblings on a journey to the Nintendo Switch - at least, that's what fans think after an official channel posted what looks like a HD version of the classic games that are definitely not running on a Game Boy Advance.
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Bungie's been having a tough time these past few years, but the studio's new leadership is making big promises. Starting with Destiny 2 - the devs will start to let some of the game's older campaigns and raids out of the vault, while trying to build a future for the popular MMO-FPS hybrid. And, while Marathon hasn't courted enough players yet, the studio's still working to improve the extraction shooter.
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Speaking to Eurogamer, The Blood of Dawnwalker game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz has discussed several game improvements coming in a "big patch" currently scheduled for early October - including a brand new difficulty option, combat targeting changes, and making it easier to escape from battles by running away.
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Grand Theft Auto fans are known for a love of speculation and information sleuthing at this point, and this certainly hasn't changed since Rockstar released the extended gameplay preview for Grand Theft Auto 6. The community's current fixation? Whether or not Key West will be in the game.
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Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima has spoken about a number of topics concerning Sony's sudden shocking decision to back away from publishing his tactical espionage project, Physint. It was a decision made in June, and though Kojima was able to convince Xbox to pick up the Metal Gear successor and continue funding and publishing it, the transition raised a lot of questions.
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World of Warcraft: Forever's beta has proven exceptionally popular, as 'crazy' numbers of players flock to play this new twist on the beloved MMO. And among Forever's new features is a character naming system that has allowed creative players to get naughty.
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Some Marvel's Wolverine players have claimed their game has been altered to censor aspects of Mystique's lesbian relationship and marriage to Tyger. A number of posts on Reddit and social media appear to show how differently the relationship is referenced compared to the uncensored version.
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Polish developer Rebel Wolves has revealed the budget for dark fantasy vampire role-playing game The Blood of Dawnwalker, and it's lower than expected, aligning it more closely with a double-A production than a triple-A blockbuster.
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Microsoft has filed a patent for a system that allows PC and Xbox games to serve advertisements during game sessions, seemingly without disrupting gameplay.
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If you've been hungering for something gothic as we inch towards October, the scariest month of the year, then you're in luck. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is getting a demo you'll be able to sink your fangs into soon.
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Marvel's Wolverine has received a hotfix update that addresses one of the core features in the game many people have an issue with: scent trails. These are represented on screen by a gassy, bright blue line, and they're used by Wolverine to locate his next mission objective and to find collectibles in the world.
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