GameSpot - All Content
gamespot.com
GameSpot's Everything Feed! All the latest from GameSpot
Articles100
Get a glimpse of Arjun's gameplay, super arts, and critical art in this level 7 CPU mirror match in Street Fighter 6.
The battle for Super Earth will be coming to the big screen, just not as soon as previously expected. Sony Pictures has reshuffled its slate of upcoming films, and the Helldivers movie has been bumped from its November 10, 2027 release date. According to Sony, the Helldivers movie will now be released on June 9, 2028. Placing the film near the beginning of the summer box office season may be a sign of Sony's confidence in the project. However, it also raises the question of whether Helldivers' time in the zeitgeist will be over by then. Two years can be an eternity in the gaming realm, especially with live-service titles. The original Helldivers was released in 2015, but the title that helped earn the franchise a film adaptation was Helldivers 2. The game was well-received when it was released in 2024 for PlayStation 5 and PC, but its popularity reached new heights when it was ported to Xbox Series X while supporting cross-platform play. Sony has confirmed the recent report that Reacher star Alan Ritchson will have a leading role in the Helldivers movie as one of the soldiers who is tasked with defending Super Earth from an overwhelming onslaught of alien creatures and interstellar threats. Aquaman and A Minecraft Movie actor Jason Momoa was previously attached to star, but he dropped out of the film earlier this year. Fast & Furious director Justin Lin remains attached to helm Helldivers. Beyond Ritchson, the rest of the cast has yet to be announced.
October is upon us, which means new events are just around the corner in Pokemon Go. The mobile game is entering the second month of its Twilight Trails season with some appropriately spooky events over the next few weeks, including Zorua Community Day and a two-part Halloween celebration. That's certainly not all that's happening this month. A variety of legendary and Mega Pokemon are returning to Raid Battles as well, while fall-themed Pokemon are taking center stage for this month's Spotlight Hours. A few new Pokemon are also making their debut in October, including Bramblin and Gigantamax Cinderace, while Astronaut Pikachu is landing in as part of a special World Space Week event. You can read more about everything going on in the game this month below. October Raid Schedule Five-Star Raids Mega Raids Max Battles Shadow Raids October Spotlight Hours Harvest Festival: Taken Over Featured Pokemon Bonuses Gigantamax Cinderace Max Battle Day Bonuses World Space Week 2026 Zorua Community Day Bonuses Fall Marathon: Buddy Trek Featured Pokemon Bonuses Sandile Hatch Day Bonuses Dynamax Max Battle Day Halloween 2026: Part I Super Mega Raid Day Halloween 2026: Part II October Raid Schedule Pokemon Go is shaking up its Raid rotations once again in October. Five-star Raids will see the return of several fan-favorite legendaries. Xerneas and Yveltal will appear during the first half of the month, with Dialga, Palkia, and Origin Forme Giratina following during the latter half. Mega Raids, meanwhile, will feature the recently introduced Mega Victreebel and Mega Dragonite, along with Mega Blastoise, Mega Charizard X and Y, and Mega Sableye. Shadow Incarnate Forme Landorus will also appear this month as a Shadow Raid boss, while a handful of Dynamax Pokemon will rotate in and out of Max Battles. You can see October's full Raid schedule below: Five-Star Raids Xerneas (September 30-October 6) Yveltal (October 7-13) Dialga (October 14-20) Palkia (October 21-27) Origin Forme Giratina (October 28-November 3) Mega Raids Mega Victreebel (September 30-October 6) Mega Blastoise (October 7–13) Mega Dragonite (October 14-20) Mega Charizard X (October 21-27) Mega Charizard Y (October 21-27) Mega Sableye (October 28-November 3) Max Battles Dynamax Sobble (September 28-October 4) Dynamax Sizzlipede (October 5-11) Dynamax Rookidee (October 12-18) Dynamax Sneasel (October 19-25) Dynamax Sableye (October 26-November 1) Shadow Raids Shadow Incarnate Forme Thundurus (September 9-October 6) Shadow Incarnate Forme Landorus (October 7-November 3) October Spotlight Hours Pokemon Go is holding more Spotlight Hour events in October. Every Thursday evening from 6-7 PM local time, one particular species of Pokemon will appear in the wild more frequently, making this a good opportunity to fill in any missing gaps in your Pokedex, as well as stock up on candy. On top of that, a different bonus will be available during each Spotlight Hour. You'll earn extra rewards for completing certain actions during the event, like additional XP or Stardust for catching Pokemon. You can see October's full Spotlight Hour schedule below: October 1 Spotlight Pokemon: Seedot Bonus: 2x catch XP October 8 Spotlight Pokemon: Elgyem Bonus: 2x catch candy October 15 Spotlight Pokemon: Stufful Bonus: 2x transfer candy October 22 Spotlight Pokemon: Morelull Bonus: 2x catch Stardust October 29 Spotlight Pokemon: Gastly Bonus: 2x evolution XP Harvest Festival: Taken Over Team Go Rocket is crashing the Harvest Festival from October 2-5, and this time, they'll have some new Shadow Pokemon in tow. Throughout the takeover, Rocket grunts will appear more frequently at PokeStops and in hot air balloons, and for the first time, they'll be commanding Shadow versions of Wimpod, Fomantis, Sandygast, and other Pokemon. Team Go Rocket boss Giovanni will also make an appearance. Level up your Go Pass during the event and you'll earn a Super Rocket Radar, which will allow you to battle the evil team leader and save his latest Shadow Pokemon: Shadow Zekrom. On top of the increased Rocket activity, certain Pokemon like Koffing, Slugma, and Magmar will appear in the wild more frequently than usual, and shiny Shroodle will be available for the first time. As an added bonus, Pokemon that you catch from Shadow Raids will have more varied stats, and you'll be able to use a Charged TM on a Shadow Pokemon to replace the move Frustration. Featured Pokemon Wild Encounters Koffing Slugma Numel Magmar Shadow Pokemon Shadow Wimpod Shadow Fomantis Shadow Sandygast Bonuses Increased chance to encounter shiny Slugma Team Go Rocket will appear more frequently at PokeStops and in hot air balloons Use a Charged TM to help a Shadow Pokemon forget Frustration Pokemon caught from one- and three-star Shadow Raids will have a wider variance of Attack, Defense, and HP Gigantamax Cinderace Max Battle Day A new Gigantamax Pokemon is making its debut during Pokemon Go's next Max Battle Day on October 3. Gigantamax Cinderace will appear as a six-star Max Battle boss from 2-5 PM local time, making this your first opportunity to battle and catch one. Not only that, but there's also a chance the Cinderace you encounter may be shiny. As usual, a handful of bonuses will be available during the event, as well. More Power Spots will be active than usual, and they'll refresh more frequently and distribute more Max Particles. You'll also be able to participate in more Remote Raids from October 2-3. Bonuses Max Particle collection limit increased to 1,600 All Power Spots will host Gigantamax Battles Power Spots will refresh more frequently Additional Power Spots will be active Receive 8x Max Particles from Power Spots Make up to three Special Trades for the day Daily Remote Raid limit increased from 10 to 20 (October 2-3) Earn 2x Max Particles from exploring 1/4 adventuring distance to receive Max Particles World Space Week 2026 Pokemon Go is celebrating World Space Week with a special event from October 4-10. As part of the festivities, a new costumed Pokemon is blasting into the game: Astronaut Pikachu. You'll be able to encounter one as a Raid boss or by completing Timed Research tasks. There's also a chance you'll come across a shiny Astronaut Pikachu. Zorua Community Day This month's Community Day takes place October 10 and stars the mischievous fox Pokemon Zorua. From 2-5 PM local time, Zorua will appear in the wild more frequently than usual, though you may not notice it at first. The tricky fox will be disguised as whichever Pokemon you currently have set as your buddy, so keep an eye out for doppelgangers on the map. On top of the increased spawn rate, you'll have higher odds of encountering shiny Zorua during the event, as well as one that has a special background. You'll also be able to draw more Zorua out of hiding when you use a Lure Module. As with other Community Day Pokemon, Zorua's evolved form Zoroark will be able to learn a special move as well. Each Zorua that you evolve before 9 PM local time will automatically know the Fast Attack Sucker Punch. Finally, a few bonuses will be active during the event. You'll earn triple XP and double candy when you catch Pokemon, and any Incense and Lure Modules that you use will remain active longer than usual. Trades will also require half as much Stardust, and you'll be able to make an additional Special Trade for the day. Bonuses 3x XP for catching Pokemon 2x candy for catching Pokemon 2x chance to receive candy XL from catching Pokemon (players level 31 and up) Incense will last for three hours Lure Modules will last for one hour and attract the featured Pokemon Players can make one additional Special Trade for the day Trades will cost 50 percent less Stardust Fall Marathon: Buddy Trek Get your hiking shoes ready, because Pokemon Go is holding a Buddy Trek from October 13-19. Making its debut during the event is the haunted tumbleweed Bramblin. You'll be able to encounter the grass/ghost Pokemon when you use Incense or complete Go Pass tasks. Other Pokemon like Galarian Ponyta, Hoppip, Hisuian Growlithe, and Nincada will also be lured out by Incense at different points during the event, while Doduo, Blitzle, Skarmory, and more will appear more frequently in the wild. In addition, Mega Manectric is getting a power boost; beginning with this event, you'll be able to increase its Mega Level up to Super Max Level. Beyond that, free Field and Timed Research will also be available during the event, as will several bonuses. You'll have increased odds of encountering shiny versions of Electrike and Hisuian Growlithe, and you can unlock additional bonuses by hitting different Go Pass milestones, such as extra Mega Energy when you explore with Electrike or Manectric. Featured Pokemon Wild Encounters Ponyta Doduo Electrike Blitzle Skarmory Incense Encounters October 13-16 Galarian Ponyta Hoppip Electrike Dwebble Bramblin October 16-19 Hisuian Growlithe Nincada Electrike Helioptile Bramblin Bonuses Increased chance to encounter shiny Electrike Increased chance to encounter shiny Hisuian Growlithe via Incense (from October 16-19) Go Pass Milestones Tier 1: Incense activated during the event will last for two hours Tier 2: Earn 5x Mega Energy by exploring with Electrike or Manectric set as your buddy, after you've Mega Evolved Manectric at least once Sandile Hatch Day Pokemon Go's next Hatch Day event takes place October 17 and features the adorable desert croc Sandile. From 11 AM to 5 PM local time, Sandile will hatch more frequently from 2 km eggs. Not only that, but you'll also have increased odds of hatching a shiny Sandile during the event hours. A few bonuses will be active as well. Eggs will hatch at half the distance they typically require, and you'll earn double candy when you hatch one. You'll also be more likely to receive 2 km eggs when you spin PokeStops. Bonuses 2x candy for hatching eggs 1/2 egg hatch distance Increased chance of hatching shiny Sandile Increased chance of receiving 2 km eggs from spinning PokeStops Dynamax Max Battle Day Pokemon Go is hosting a second Max Battle Day this month on October 24. More details will be announced closer to the event. Halloween 2026: Part I The first part of Pokemon Go's annual Halloween event takes place October 27-31. Super Mega Raid Day A spooky new Mega-Evolved Pokemon arrives on October 31 as part of another Super Mega Raid Day. Halloween 2026: Part II The second portion of this year's Halloween event runs from November 1-5.
The meaning of Resident Evil Requiem's title appeared to be self-evident when it was released earlier this year. However, Resident Evil producer Jun Takeuchi's explanation for the title from the recently published Biohazard 30th Anniversary Special may be a head-scratcher for even the series' diehard fans. "'Requiem' isn't just a title chosen for its meaning of 'requiem,'" said Takeuchi via GamesRadar. "The spelling of Requiem (REQUIEM) contains not only the 'RE (response)' ... but also a 'Q (question).' In other words, this 'Requiem' presents both an 'answer' and a 'question.' I will explain the meaning of that at some point in the future." More intriguingly, Takeuchi indicated that the Resident Evil remake games and the current titles have been building towards a crossover since Resident Evil Village. "Currently, Resident Evil operates on a two-pronged approach: The numbered titles allow players to experience the ongoing drama of the series, while the remake series lets them experience the past," added Takeuchi. "Eventually, the remake series will catch up to the era of the numbered titles, and the mechanisms for that are already being considered. In fact, preparations for this have been gradually underway since Resident Evil Village, including the appearance of names like Umbrella and Spencer, and the reappearance of Raccoon City in Requiem. This is all in preparation for a crossover." Takeuchi didn't elaborate on what form the crossover may take or how soon it will arrive. However, Requiem has already served as link between the two eras by placing classic hero Leon S. Kennedy in a co-leading role alongside the new heroine, Grace Ashcroft. The only officially confirmed Resident Evil game in development is Resident Evil Veronica, a remake of Resident Evil – Code: Veronica. That title doesn't currently have a release date. Meanwhile, the Resident Evil movie helmed by director Zach Cregger has crossed over $100 million domestically and $208.3 million worldwide.
To say that this summer was packed with new releases is putting it lightly. Regardless of if you were looking for something blood-soaked (The Blood of Dawnwalker and Marvel's Wolverine both fit the bill here) or a more strategic experience, such as the one offered in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, there seems to be something for every type of player lately. But while we're sure you've heard a lot about Summer 2026's biggest games by this point, we're here to remind you that sometimes the best gaming experiences come from unexpected places. A 90-minute horror game about brain mold, a heartfelt action-platformer filled with Kingdom Hearts-like visuals, and an intricate job simulator where you play an advice-dishing modiste are just a few of the games we at GameSpot couldn't put down this month. Below is a roundup of our favorite new releases from the last few months, with an emphasis on hidden gems and titles you might have missed. Dressmaker I assumed that, similar to how I operate with oh-so-many cozy games, I'd play Dressmaker for a few hours, find it to be a cute yet predictable experience, and then quickly move on to a different game. Afterall, in a month packed with several massive and critically acclaimed new releases, I couldn't really foresee myself pouring that many hours into a narrative-light job simulator in which you play an advice-dishing modiste. And yet, Dressmaker might very well be the game I opened up most this September, as it's the perfect game to play whenever you have a free hour or so and want to spend it doing something calming and creative. Though I am certain it streamlines the dressmaking process immensely, the game still seeks to replicate the intricacy of designing and creating wearable art, and ends up feeling shockingly tactile and satisfying as a result. Moreover, this game made me want to be more creative, both within and outside of the game and with no desire for any reward or sense of productivity. Though Dressmaker's tremendous success on Steam has (pleasantly!) surprised me, it is entirely justified--this game is absolutely lovely. -- Jessica Cogswell Aniimo I know, I know--another gacha game. But hear me out. While many games in the genre can make progression feel increasingly tied to how much you're willing to spend, Aniimo keeps the focus on the gameplay loop, meaning optional microtransactions actually feel optional. You can explore the stunning world, discover adorable Aniimo, and follow the storyline without feeling like your experience is locked behind spending money. Aniimo's world is absolutely gorgeous. Its environments feel like stepping into a story book, meaning exploration feels like a treat rather than a chore. Its progression systems, beautiful world, and cute creatures work together to encourage curiosity and experimentation, making Aniimo one of the rare gachas where the business model doesn't overshadow the actual game. -- Cheri Faulkner Onimusha: Way of the Sword When it comes to games, storytelling isn't what draws me to my controller. I'm all about the feel of a game--I need gameplay that can convince me to spend my precious hours on digital entertainment. The new Onimusha excels in the gameplay department, as Capcom has successfully brought the feeling of steel clashing on steel to the flatscreen, resulting in a gloriously kinetic ballet of blades and Oni powers. It's also the perfect game to check out if you're craving soulslike combat without any of the punishing baggage attached to the genre, with several accessibility options that will make you feel like a bona fide swordmaster until you find your groove. In terms of pure, polished gameplay, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is one of the best action-heavy experiences of the year. -- Darryn Bonthuys Duskfade Duskfade largely flew under the radar and was noticed mostly for its visual similarities to Kingdom Hearts--and you know what, fair. The hero is a spunky kid carrying a giant Keyblade-looking sword and the fashion looks very Nomura-inspired. Chains, a-plenty. Beyond that, though, this is a delightful little action platformer with a big heart. The story is a simple, well-told fable about loss and grief, and it carries that theme into the boss designs in inventive and sometimes poignant ways. The environmental design is truly stellar, with a rich color palette that continued to wow me all throughout. Oh, and that Keyblade-like weapon is actually supposed to represent a clock hand, as the game's focus on time--and enjoying the time we have--weaves throughout the story and world design beautifully. It's a real gem that deserves more attention. -- Steve Watts Star Wars Zero Company There is arguably no bigger franchise on Earth than Star Wars, but Zero Company isn't just another action-adventure game or first-person shooter. And while those have a pretty huge built-in audience already, it's harder to find a huge audience with the turn-based-tactics genre, and Zero Company deserves it. Taking the basic framework established by the XCOM series, Zero Company cleverly finds ways to make use of quintessential Star Wars elements, like a Jedi padawan who can force-pull enemies out of cover or send them soaring off the edge of the map. It also smartly interweaves story moments from the prequel trilogy into the original narrative, and despite being a fairly casual Star Wars fan, I found myself completely unable to stop playing until I hit the credits. -- Gabe Gurwin Graveyard Keeper 2 You won't catch me playing pixel-art games very often, but I make an exception when I'm playing on my Steam Deck, which feels like the perfect platform for such games. Graveyard Keeper 2 is my latest title of choice and earns some extra appeal for being a zombie game, though it's unlike most of the others I've included in our best zombie games list. Instead of a shooter or survival game, Graveyard Keeper 2 is a simulation game--think one part Stardew Valley, one part Factor.io, and a dash of tower defense, too. Whether it can juggle all of those things for the long haul, I'm still determining, but so far, it's been a pleasant--and for me, novel--experience. The endgame seems to be about getting the undead to automate your entire village's workflow. I'm not sure where I land on the imagined ethics of that, but for now I'm gonna keep ignoring it and just enjoy some time with this game in my evenings. -- Mark Delaney Moldrise I love a tight 90-minute horror game, and Moldrise didn't disappoint. It has a phenomenal premise: Your foot is infected with some kind of evil fungus, it has traveled to your brain, and it wants you to go to the roof of your apartment building--like now. But while you need to satisfy the compulsion to ascend, the mold in your foot is also actively killing you. You need to find ways to stave off the infection so that you can answer the call that has invaded your skull, and along with a few other survival mechanics, that conflict helps create a constant feeling of anxiety in Moldrise. You're climbing as fast as you can before you die, but you're also continually stopped to buy questionable vending machine food and slurp water from disgusting drinking fountains. If you figured a horror game whose premise is about listening to the mold infecting your brain isn't completely serious, good for you. Moldrise is less spooky than it is unsettling in a body horror kind of way, and despite its simplicity, it includes a fair amount of fascinating world-building and some fun characters. Your awful apartment building is home to some absolute miscreants, and when you run across problems like a broken elevator or a locked gate, you're forced to knock on their doors and interact with them. It leads to great moments and multiple endings, since a few people have their own agendas, several appear to also be infected and in very bad shape, many are completely oblivious, some are just really terrible people, and a few are fully aware of what's happening and just trying to survive. I wrapped Moldrise in less than two hours, unlocked a few different ways to complete it, and had a bleak, panicky blast racing up the stairs as I scrounged for anti-fungal cream to keep my foot from falling off. -- Phil Hornshaw Truck-kun Is Supporting Me From Another World September had me racking my brain for how to pull off the perfect turn in Star Wars: Zero Company and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, and agonizing over every detail in Control Resonant. So this summer's Truck-kun Is Supporting Me From Another World is a wonderful complement to that, letting me largely turn off my brain and indulge in this pint-sized blend of Crazy Taxi, GTA, and RPGs. You're essentially playing two games at once: an open-world driving game and an idle RPG. Driving is your primary focus, as you spend short runs (90 seconds, though you can extend your timer) fulfilling a random array of objectives: make deliveries in the style of Crazy Taxi, sideswipe other cars, launch yourself through rings suspended in the sky. You simultaneously want to run over pedestrians (there's a sarcastic narrative rationale for this) and objects in order to both provide enemies and energy to your RPG character companion. This all amounts to utter chaos that doesn't require a whole lot of brainpower, unless you're really trying to maximize a run, and with the ability to just casually drive through almost anything in your way, I find it quite cathartic. It may not have the same heart as another compelling open-world driving game, 2025's delightful Promise Mascot Agency, but I've nonetheless had a great time taking it for a spin. -- Chris Pereira TCG Card Shop Simulator Chances are you’ve come across a genre that’s exploded on steam called “management simulators," or games where you are put in charge of a store or theme park that draw inspiration from classics like Roller Coaster Tycoon. But rather than a top down, god-like perspective, you run around in the space in first person and need to do all the labor yourself, like stocking shelves or running the cash register. There are a ton of this on Steam and my current favorite is TCG Card Shop Simulator, which just left early access on September 14. As the name implies, you run a humble little card shop, stocking shelves and selling booster packs of Tetramon, a card game heavily inspired by Pokemon, with a little Yu-Gi-Oh mixed in. In a genre that is unfortunately highly susceptible to AI art, I really appreciate that each Tetramon card is drawn by a real human artist, and seeing the variety of styles on display is a real joy. Where TCG Shop sets itself apart is in the ways it taps into what makes collectable cards so appealing. At any time you can pull a booster pack off the shelf and crack one open. The thrill of checking each card, hoping to pull a high value one, triggers the same rush of endorphins you get opening a pack in real life. You can then choose to sell any rares you find for profit, or keep them in your binder to fill out your collection, giving the game an alternate goal to strive for outside of expanding your shop. As someone that loves the IDEA of trading cards but finds the hobby far too expensive to regularly participate in, TCG gives me some of that feeling, without needing to pour ungodly amounts of money into it. The game is a perfect pick up and play for small chucks at a time, and has been a nightly routine for me on my Steam Deck. -- Jean-Luc Seipke
From its return to the franchise’s gritter roots to its overhaul of the series’ iconic systems, here’s everything to know about Gears of War: E-Day. (Presented by Gears of War E-Day)
A remake of the original Splinter Cell game was first announced nearly five years ago, and since then, we've seen exactly zero seconds of the game in action, or even a trailer. However, as we know with Sam Fisher, silence can be deceiving, and it looks like Ubisoft is actively recruiting for several roles on the project. Spotted by Insider Gaming, job openings for a few different positions, including level designer and producer, have been posted within the last few months. This isn't necessarily indicative of how far along the project is--people are hired and leave all the time--but it does at least let us know that the project is still in active development. It's also not the first time we've seen job listings pop up, but with company in as volatile a state as Ubisoft, you never know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A9iFjaKeMk It's unclear exactly what shape this remake will take, as geopolitical dynamics have changed quite a bit since 2002. It's also unclear how much influence it would take from the later games in the series, with Conviction and Blacklist both including more action-aligned mechanics like Mark & Execute. Since the release of Splinter Cell Blacklist in 2013, we haven't gotten a new Splinter Cell game. Sam Fisher has made numerous appearances, however, including a few guest missions in Ghost Recon and an inclusion in Rainbow Six Siege. The Netflix animated series also released last year, with Liev Schreiber taking over voice duties from Michael Ironside.
The "Xbox reset" has people wondering whether Microsoft is preparing to exit the video game business, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has flatly denied that the gaming division will be put up for sale. "Xbox is not for sale," Sharma said to The New York Times. "We will do whatever it takes to set the company up for success, and we will look at the right partnerships, the right operating model, and everything needed to achieve that." Sharma's comments come in the wake of analysts predicting that Microsoft could sell Xbox off entirely. Compared with Microsoft's profitable cloud computing and artificial intelligence businesses, Xbox has paled in comparison, and the gamble on Xbox Game Pass hasn't paid off, despite Microsoft investing tens of billions in acquiring several video game publishers and studios over the years. Xbox’s accountability margins amount to only a 3% profit, a small return on investment for its parent company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiYNNGR4uLo Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said that Xbox will have to start pulling its weight under Sharma's leadership, and the Xbox CEO previously told employees that the Xbox business was not in a healthy state. Nadella has also praised Sharma's cuts at Xbox, saying they have led to a "streamlining" of the division. If Sharma is setting Xbox up to generate more profit for Microsoft, then it's all part of a years-long strategy in the making. Halo is now an Activision project, and is likely several years away as the publisher is currently building a new team to develop the next Master Chief adventure. Meanwhile, two of Blizzard's biggest upcoming games will arrive at the end of this decade: Diablo 5 is aiming for a 2029 launch, while StarCraft is set for 2030. At the same time, Xbox has also tasked several of its studios with working on its Fallout franchise, with multiple new games in the series in various stages of development. "We've got a long way to go with Microsoft," Sharma said to the NYT. "And we’re going to take the long-term view." The Best Xbox Series X Games In 2026 View Images
Sonic has had a rough go at things lately, what with the myriad games that haven't been hitting like they used to. Sega appears to be aware of that and has acknowledged that, although the games have struggled recently, the franchise as a whole is back in the zeitgeist again--and it's all thanks to the live-action movies. In an interview with Automaton at the Tokyo Game Show, series producer Takashi Iizuka spoke about the impact that director Jeff Fowler's three live-action movies have had on repopularizing Sonic again. "Thanks to the movies, awareness of the Sonic series has grown, and more people around the world have become interested in Sonic as a character and in the games," Iizuka said when asked about the positive effect other media has had on the franchise. "That has contributed to game sales as well. Strong game sales mean we have more resources available when making the next title, which allows us to deliver something of even higher quality. That creates a positive cycle. In that sense, multimedia and transmedia expansion are majorly beneficial for the games." Iizuka went on to say that movies weren't the only medium that has improved Sonic the Hedgehog's cachet in recent times. Anime has contributed as well, and so has Netflix, which has made film and television production more ubiquitous for Sega. "In the past, even if we decided to make an anime as part of our transmedia strategy, we had to approach television broadcasters and other outlets that would air it, and we couldn't move forward without their approval," Iizuka continued. "With Netflix, on the other hand, once we decide to work together on something, we can distribute it worldwide. That's has [sic] been a major advantage when it comes to expanding the brand." Iizuka's comments echoed similar sentiments from earlier this month. In an interview with One More Game on September 21, Iizuka said the live-action movies essentially saved the franchise. "The biggest milestone for me was the first movie," Iizuka said. "That had been a great hit and definitely changed the course of this franchise." So, whether you like those live-action movies or not doesn't really matter because, in Sega's eyes, the Blue Blur would've stayed just that: a blur that goes poof and is gone ... forever. Iizuka did leave us a little nugget to chew on, though: "Also, we don't use the game developers' resources for transmedia projects, so you don't have to worry about a new game being delayed because we're making movies or anime," Iizuka told Automaton.
World of Warcraft: Forever is looking to keep its secrets, as over 12,500 items in the game's files have been kept hidden from dataminers. The WoW: Forever beta is currently in full swing, and in addition to new dungeons, abilities, and even a whole new playable race, players are quickly discovering there are tons of new items that will completely change how this old-school version of WoW is played. Whether it's items with far more spellpower at early levels or gear tailored towards professions, Blizzard is definitely mixing things up so that the game's leveling journey, and its endgame, are going to feel all new. As broken down in detail by Icy Veins, part of how Blizzard looks to be accomplishing this is by keeping almost 40% of the game's nearly 32,000 items a secret. Dataminers can technically see that these 12,000 plus items exist and even where many of them potentially come from, but can't see what their stats are. Many of these items are assumed to be all-new, though some are likely variants or modified version of items from WoW Classic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvueCoFTkCk&t Players have already taken a bite out of that 12,500 item total, having discovered over 4,400 "hidden" items in the Forever beta. Once an item has been discovered, it's then revealed in the game's backend. Icy Veins notes that not all the items datamined might actually exist in Forever, as it lists a number of items that were part of WoW Classic's Season of Discovery and might not make it into Blizzard's new version of the MMO. Many of the hidden items come from raids and dungeons, including tier sets. So far, players have uncovered a few different sets, such as some low-level dungeon item sets, as well as full loot tables for early-game dungeons like Wailing Caverns, Ragefire Chasm, Shadowfang Keep, and the Deadmines. The beta's level cap is currently 20 (but will be raised to 30 before the beta's end), meaning players will likely uncover even more dungeon loot ahead of launch. The aura of discovery and mystery players are experiencing as they explore Azeroth once more is just one of the reasons Forever's beta looks to be wildly popular. Multiple WoW devs, including Blizzard VP Holly Longdale, have commented that the beta is breaking player-number records, and Blizzard has had to raise the beta's population cap as a result. However, the beta hasn't been without controversy, as a recent streamer scandal involving gold trading has players demanding Blizzard do more to combat real-money transactions and gold buying. WoW: Forever's beta ends October 21, with the game's full launch set for November 4. Blizzard's third version of its MMO will add over 1,000 new quests to classic Azeroth, as well as new zones and endgame content. Though there won't be a new class at launch, a recent Blizzard survey revealed 11 new potential WoW: Forever classes that could come to the MMO in the future.
The Street Fighter movie is shaping up to be a love letter to Capcom's classic fighting game series, with its goofy action and costumes, but if there's one crucial element it's nailing, it's the franchise's sound. Specifically, Guile's iconic theme, which is legendary for its ability to complement anything in life. How does the movie version match up? It's not straying from what is considered fighting game soundtrack perfection, but it is adding to it with a kickass guitar solo and a few more cinematic tweaks, allowing the main theme to do all the heavy lifting. Listen to it yourself, from one of the streaming links below: Apple Music Spotify Amazon Music YouTube Music Deezer Tidal Guile's Theme is one of those evergreen memes of the late 2000s and early 2010s, and while it's nowhere near as popular as it once was--YouTube probably got sick of all those 10-hour uploads--it's still instantly recognizable. The original theme debuted in the 1991 arcade release of Street Fighter II and was composed by Yoko Shimomura. For the upcoming Street Fighter movie, the score was produced by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson (Cobra Kai), who say that the original game soundtracks were instrumental in shaping their musical identities. "As young and budding composers, we listened to Yoko Shimomura's iconic Guile’s Theme probably more than Raiders of the Lost Ark," the duo said in a press statement. "We hope fans will hear the love and reverence we hold for this music within our version of Guile’s Theme. https://youtu.be/U6sbm1OaJb8 The full Street Fighter soundtrack will feature 39 tracks in total, and it'll be available starting October 16. The movie releases on the same day, and so far it looks like it's leaning fully into the absurdity of its source material. WWE performer Cody Rhodes plays Guile, and if you feel like cosplaying as him, you can grab an official Street Fighter popcorn bucket shaped like his iconic hair. Absolutely perfect, no notes. Street Fighter will be landing a month after another film based on a Capcom video game series, Resident Evil, hit theaters. So far, the Zach Cregger-directed movie has been a critical hit and, commercially, continues to smash franchise records. Street Fighter Movie: Release Date, Cast, And Everything We Know So Far View Images
Now that development of future Halo games is being handled by Activision Blizzard's hands, some former developers of the series have spoken out to share their thoughts on the shocking but not entirely surprising mix-up. This includes the former franchise creative director, who has provided some salient advice to the Call of Duty publisher. Frank O’Connor has worked on Halo for over 20 years, first working as a writer and community manager before serving as the game's franchise creative director from 2003 to 2023. This is a guy who knows Halo like the back of his hand, and with all that series expertise, he took to LinkedIn on September 25 to share some thoughts on how to make the next Halo great. "Pro-Tip: Do NOT tie it to hardware/services launch cycles, do not try to force it into a shape (or aging platform) that it can't fit and do NOT abandon sandbox," O’Connor said in response to Xbox's former social media manager, Genevieve Harrison, who was pontificating on Activision Blizzard's development tactics. "Pro-Pro-Tip: Hire Bungie, Halo Studios and other laid-off folk who are bursting w. talent and ideas that got nerfed or shut down over the years." In laying out these tips, O’Connor gave three ways the next Halo game could bring the franchise back to its former glory. The first is a "classic" Halo game that focuses on a sandbox, movement, and shooter experience. It'd be "tailored to a core audience [and] scaled to be successful with that core audience and attractive to a broader one so it can grow." A second option could be "something new [and] modern" that reinvents the game. O’Connor suggests this "surprising but fantastic" reinvention could be an action-sandbox game that's a "new take" on the FPS or an "action RPG" that's fundamentally different, but its success comes from a strong story and IP use. Lastly, O’Connor thinks that an Activision Blizzard-esque Halo game could be viable. It could be a sandbox game with "player, progression, and business models" that the publisher is well-known for with the likes of CoD. Given that experience, maybe this idea could be "a big annual or semi-annual spectacle" with consistent content. O’Connor couched these ideas, saying that none of them are "easy, guaranteed, or necessarily viable." Still, he believes that one "could be successful" now that Activision is driving the Warthog. O’Connor isn't the only former developer who shares his opinion on the CoD publisher taking over the Halo reins. Co-creator Marcus Lehto also weighed in, saying on September 23 that he is "shocked but not entirely surprised" by the move. Like Lehto, we're all "eager to learn more about what’s next," and for right now, all we know thus far is that the next Halo game will be a "full-feature, mainline installment" in the long-running series.
One of the biggest surprises of the year was the reveal of Diablo V at this year's BlizzCon. Sure, we'll have to wait until 2029 to get our hands on it, but take that decade-long wait cycles for new Diablo games! After sharing a first look at the game, Blizzard took the opportunity to talk about the improvements they’re making to Diablo V's gameplay design based on feedback from Diablo IV. Chief among them: the return of procedurally generated dungeons and worlds. Diablo IV was touted as the first “open-world” title in the series, and with that came the limitation of having a single pre-established world map; it never changed and players were forced to engage with it for hours and hours. And listen, I get the intent. It set Diablo IV apart from previous installments and made players feel like there was a compelling reason to move on from Diablo III. Even though that game had a huge focus on its world, it steered away from an interconnected, open-world map in favor of making parts of its world feel like dungeons themselves. Yet Diablo IV just feels truncated as a result. Is the map varied? Yeah, you have different biomes and events throughout, but despite these variances, it largely feels like you're always engaging with the same things, over and over again. “But wait, isn't that the point of Diablo?” you might be asking. Well, to an extent, yes! But that is just one aspect of the series. Take it from a degenerate Diablo player like me, who has put thousands upon thousands of hours into each title: Diablo IV felt like it was missing a key ingredient. Prior to IV, my friends and I would share stories of the random dungeons and encounters that the games would generate. By the end of Diablo III’s lifecycle, there were so many random layouts and themes for rifts, that we would hear stories about dungeons that we refused to believe even existed. And that's to say nothing about the world of Diablo II and the random generation of its map. The fact that players couldn't rely on a map to reach their next destination and were forced into a life-or-death battle was among one of many things that made the game so fulfilling. Rolling up a hardcore character (meaning you lose all progress if you die) and praying you made it to the next checkpoint is a feeling that few games have yet to replicate, even in the Diablo series. Diablo V's Plague Knight So it’s refreshing to hear that Blizzard is bringing procedural generation back in a meaningful way. During BlizzCon's Diablo V panel, its lead developers talked about how, because Diablo has taken over Sanctuary, the world is constantly “Terror-forming,” meaning that the heroes of the game will need to navigate an ever-changing world. Without a set map--and with the added pressure of leading an entire caravan--players could be forced to endure more tension and uncertainty than ever before. Bearing that in mind, I imagine it will be far easier to engage with Diablo V's changing world for thousands of hours than it was to travel across Diablo IV's static map. Yet maps aren't the only thing that Blizzard seeks to improve with Diablo V, as the team also gave a very early, work-in-progress look at itemization and new double slot items. They also revealed that the game will launch with the most amount of character classes for any entry in the series before. The team seems to be taking the criticisms of Diablo IV very seriously and is working towards making Diablo V a more varied experience right from the jump. So I can’t help but wonder: Was Diablo IV a mistake? The game notoriously launched with lackluster itemization and loot systems that required full reworks (though admittedly Diablo III really suffered from this too); the lack of map variety meant that by hour 100 I was sick of visiting the same locations over and over. Hell, in a review for a previous outlet, I questioned what Diablo IV actually did better than Diablo III. With expansion support ending and the next mainline title already being revealed, I can’t help but feel that Blizzard knows what a misfire IV was and how its core design prevents it from being fully reworked. Here’s hoping Diablo V brings down the house in a blaze of hellfire glory.
Renown is one of two stats needed to recruit new team members in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. While the Support Level requirements never go above level 3, you may be intimidated by characters who require level 10 Renown. It's vitally important to note that gaining Renown will take a lot of time. Unlike the Support Levels, each Flame Lord's campaign builds their Renown separately. This requires patience so you don't get blindsided. Seeking a short-term Renown boost may risk potentially sacrificing other rewards that are far more important. While our Gifts Guide covers the basics of wooing each NPC to your cause, you'll still need to gain a ton of Renown to get the best characters to join your ranks. There are plenty of other Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave tips we've found on our long journey; from weekly activities to each Flame Lord's unique ways of getting famous, here is everything to know about Renown. Theodora's counter-attack instantly knocks the rider off his steed. Complete main story battles The biggest chunk of your renown you can gain comes naturally from finishing the main battles. If they take place in the arena, you'll gain at least 500 or so points. Obviously, this method alone won't get you all the way to rank 10, but if you have exhausted all other methods and run out of time, it may be reassuring to know that you'll get a significant boost for the next chapter. Dietrich's Answerer's Cry summons powerful enemies to appear nearby. Use your Flame Lord's exclusive Renown-gaining method Each of the four Flame Lords (main characters) whose story you follow in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave has their own method of getting Renown. This is the primary way to reach higher Renown ranks, shifting the focus of free time periods to suit each Flame Lord's strengths. Cai's is by far the simplest to understand. In addition to the subquests, some people in Dagsion have a pin with a hand above their heads. These are his Kindness Quests and only require you to head to the designated location, either in Dagsion or on the World Map, and accomplish the objective. Dietrich has two ways to gain Renown, and both involve tons of fighting. The first is using the Answerer's Cry to make enemies appear for two turns. Consecutive summoning of foes with the Answerer on the world map gradually reduces its range, which recovers slowly each turn you don't use it or instantly if you enter or exit a base or explore a dungeon. Defeating enemies this way gives you a small amount of Renown and Echo Shards to bolster Combat Arts. You can also fight Dread Warriors in dungeons by accepting challenges the Headhunter in Dagsion gives you, for a larger amount of Renown, as well as learn new Combat Arts. Theodora has Supply Quests, which give you a quota of materials to gather and turn in at Bonaventure. To complete these, recruit a healthy number of battalions and assign them to gather the smaller numbers in each quest. Every space on the World Map with an icon lists all obtainable resources, so make sure you've got the right place for each one on your shopping list. Theodora can also search spaces or explore dungeons for more resources, and even if you defeat all enemies and loot all chests, materials in dungeons respawn with every entry. Finally, Leda has Perform Quests, which are relatively similar to Dietrich's location-based quests. However, instead of fighting strong foes in the middle of dungeons to gain renown and learn new Combat Arts, she performs dances in taverns to earn renown and Blaze Arts, while performances outside of Dagsion may reveal secret spots on the map that have rare materials. Subquests initially don't give much Renown, but later ones do give significant boosts. Complete subquests and meet the gods at temples In Dagsion, there are a couple more ways that are universally available but yield a very small amount of Renown. Subquests are probably worth knocking these out anyway, as they give other rewards besides Renown, but this is a relatively minor way compared to the others. One important caveat you need to know is that you technically only need to finish a subquest once with any of the four Flame Lords, provided you start the next campaign from the very beginning. As soon as you enter your first free time, you'll get all the Renown for finishing side quests instantly. However, if you swap campaigns mid-flow, you won't, and you need to manually complete them again. If a temple on your in-game map in Dagsion glows yellow, remember to visit it before leaving. Visiting these temples allows you to seek an audience with that temple's god for a small renown gain. You can meet with a temple god once a week. Dietrich, Esmeralda, and Fabio having a conversation in a cave. Complete Paralogues when they appear These side stories give 20,000 gold, a unique item, and 150 Renown when you finish them, but they also have story implications and may also be required to recruit specific characters. Not all Flame Lords can participate in a Paralogue, mostly because the NPCs you need to talk to in order to start them are ones that aren't recruitable by those characters. For example, Cai can't do his own Paralogue as he can't talk to himself. Here is a list of all the Paralogues and who to talk to, as well as the chapters and the dates when each Flame Lord must start them: ParalogueCaiDietrichTheodoraLeda Diversionary Tactics (Leda)N/AChapter 9 (9/2-9/8)Chapter 10 (9/2-9/8)N/A Missing Brave-Warrior Statue (Theodora)N/AChapter 9 (9/3-9/15)N/AN/A Secret of the Vanished Carriage (Talimun)Chapter 10 (9/17-9/22 10/1-10/12)Chapter 9 (9/17-9/22 10/1-10/12)Chapter 11 (9/17-9/22 10/1-10/12)N/A Friendly Match with Brigid's King (Bertrand)Chapter 10 (9/17-9/25)Chapter 9 (9/17 only)Chapter 11 (9/17-9/25)N/A Golden Secret (Anna)Chapter 10 (9/24-10/5)Chapter 10 (9/29-10/5)Chapter 10 (9/24-10/5)N/A Queen of the Erased (Anatolia)N/AChapter 11 (10/5-10/17)N/AChapter 10 (10/5-10/17) Sealed-Off Past (Dietrich)N/AN/AChapter 12 (10/16-10/24*) Chapter 11 (10/16-11/1) Great Escape (Cai)N/AChapter 11 (10/16-10/22)Chapter 12 (10/16-10/22)Chapter 11 (10/16-10/22) Orchel's Regret (Orchel)Chapter 11 (10/18-10/21)Chapter 11 (10/18-10/27)Chapter 12 (10/18-10/24*)Chapter 11 (10/18-10/27) (*Theodora's chapter deadline is incorrectly listed in-game) Raising your Renown to level 3 unlocks the Feast option in spaces on the World Map. Renown level rewards For each Renown rank you gain, you not only get the opportunity to recruit new characters, but you also get a new function or two. Both Cai and Theodora also get unique boosts linked to their character development, such as Cai's Mentoring and farming boosts, while Theodora gets buffs to recruiting Battalions. Here is the full list: Renown LevelFunction Reward 1N/A 2Unlocks the Feasts option on the World Map. 3Adds a new meal option to inns. Unlocks first mentor lessons (Cai). 4Unlocks Specialty class exams. Improves the effect of training at the training grounds. Unlocks more mentor lessons (Cai). 5Improves the effect of meals at inns. Unlocks more mentor lessons (Cai). Unlocks the Rousing Speech option (Theodora). Higher-quality battalions from Recruit Soldiers (Theodora). Deploy more battalions at once (Theodora). 6Adds manuals to the item shop. Increases tribute from temple service. Unlocks more mentor lessons (Cai). 7Unlocks the Watch option at Theater. Adds weapons refined to +1 to the armory. Improves the effect of training at the training grounds. Unlocks new mentor lessons (Cai). More farm plots at once (Cai). Higher-quality battalions from Recruit Soldiers (Theodora). Deploy more battalions at once (Theodora). 8Unlocks Advanced class exams. Unlocks Thermae. Unlock a new Act option at the theater. 9Increases the types of Thermae available. Improves effects of meals at inns. More farm plots at once (Cai). Higher-quality battalions from Recruit Soldiers (Theodora). Deploy more battalions at once (Theodora). 10Add weapons refined to +2 to armory. Increases tribute from temple service. Unlock final mentor lessons (Cai). 11Extra Large Bullion x1 (high resale value) 12Portrait of Yu Phas gift x1
PlayStation has revealed this month's batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. All PS Plus members will be able to claim a trio of freebies starting October 6--F1 25, Hunt: Showdown 1896, and Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2. If you haven't claimed September's PlayStation Plus free games yet, make sure to do so before next Tuesday. The Formula One games from Codemasters have been an annual treat for racing game fans, and F1 25 is no different. Building on previous releases, the game includes all the official teams and drivers from the 2025 F1 season, a robust career mode, My Team 2.0 in single-player, and the multiplayer mode, F1 World, which pits players against a squad of AI drivers. If you haven't played it yet, Hunt: Showdown 1896 is an unforgiving extraction shooter in which players must track down bloodthirsty monsters. You're not only racing against the clock, but also your fellow hunters as you track down dangerous prey, fight to survive, and use every tool at your disposal to successfully escape the deadly swamps. Finally, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 once again sees the planet under attack by gigantic, blocky enemies. A crossover featuring heroes from across the EDF franchise, you'll have to assemble a team to take down new threats and save the day. With Halloween a few weeks away, PlayStation Plus subscribers can also claim free horror-themed in-game item bundles for a variety of games, like Call of Duty: Warzone and Overwatch. These will roll out throughout the month. PlayStation Plus October 2026 games Available October 6 through November 2 F1 25 (PS5) Hunt: Showdown 1896 (PS5) Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 (PS5, PS4)
World of Warcraft: Forever's new take on classic Azeroth is opening the door to all kinds of new ideas in the old-school version of Blizzard's MMORPG, and new classes look to be one of them. Blizzard, of course, has added a total of four new classes over the last two decades to the modern version of WoW: Death Knight, Monk, Demon Hunter, and Evoker. But an alleged leaked survey pushed to select WoW players via Blizzard's Battle.net launcher is now asking about potential new classes for WoW: Forever, the recently revealed third version of the MMO that will introduce new quests, zones, and content to the "vanilla" version of WoW. It's not the first time Blizzard has conducted a survey this way, and while Blizzard asks participants not to disclose the survey's details, their contents almost always find their way online. That's the case here, as players were quick to share information about 11 potential new classes listed in the survey, and content creators like Bellular have gone as far as to provide a full breakdown. Information contained about each of these potential classes includes basic lore, what types of weapons they would be able to use, the armor class they would wear, the resources they would use, what roles they would fill, and even signature abilities. The classes listed in the survery are: Bard Death Knight Demon Hunter Illusionist Monk Necromancer Metalborn/Runemaster/Runeknight San'layn Tinker Warden Witch Three of the new classes would essentially be "new," old-school versions of existing WoW classes like Demon Hunter, Monk, and Death Knight. Considering how fast-paced classes like Monk and Demon Hunter are in the modern version of the game, their Forever counterparts would likely feel significantly different. It's the eight "new" classes that are the most exciting, however. Some of these are ideas that have existed in WoW lore for ages or ones that Blizzard even originally toyed with during the game's early development. The Tinker, for example, is a class many expect to come to the modern version of WoW at some point but is listed in the survey. They would be the ultimate engineer, capable of using mech suits and gadgets to tank, deal damage, and support other players. Another potential class, the Necromancer, was an idea Blizzard originally had planned for vanilla WoW, only for it to eventually be scrapped. In Forever, Blizzard is proposing a version of the class that seems like it's taking some inspiration from Diablo 2's class of the same name, with abilities like Bone Spear and Corpse Explosion. The survey additionally lists the San'layn, a group of vampires who broke free of the Lich King's domination. This class seems like it would lean fully into the vampire fantasy, with a number of blood-based abilities that could make them similar to retail WoW's Blood Death Knight specialization. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerqLHQPN9Y Two other classes steeped in WoW lore proposed in the survey are the Warden and Runemaster. Wardens are the iconic Night Elf faction famous for hunting down and imprisoning Azeroth's greatest threats. How exactly that would work when it comes to Horde players is unclear, but the survey notes that the Wardens would open their ranks "out of necessity" in order to deal with greater threats. Runemasters, on the other hand, are beings infused with power by the Titans who use a rune system that sounds similar to that of modern WoW's Death Knights to heal and fight. That rune system itself was originally for an early version of the Runemaster class that was later scrapped and its core mechanic repurposed. This class appears to have been listed by multiple different names in various versions of the survey, also appearing by the name Metalborn and Runeknight. Other classes seem almost entirely new. The survey lists classes like Bard, Witch, and Illusionist among potential additions. The Bard sounds about like what you would expect, a healer and support class capable of buffing allies, while the Witch and Illusionists are two new flavors of spellcasters. Illusionists would summon and conjure creatures and objects to aid them in battle, while the Witch uses dark powers like blood rituals and even the power of the old gods to buff allies and destroy their foes. Whether or not any or all of these potential new classes will eventually make their way into Forever remains to be seen, but Blizzard does have, well, forever to make them a reality. In the meantime there's plenty new for WoW: Forever players to discover, including over 1,000 new quests, four new zones, an account-wide Legacy perk system, and more. WoW: Forever's beta is currently live until October 21, with Forever's full launch set for November 4.
GTA 6 will not include its own spoof on one of Florida's most iconic venues: Walt Disney World. I adore all things Disney, including the parks. But I also appreciate and enjoy Rockstar's penchant for sarcasm and making fun of things. And Disney World? There is a lot to poke fun at. So I am a bit bummed that Walt Disney World--or whatever Rockstar would name its simulacrum--won't appear in GTA 6. Game Informer asked Rockstar if Florida's central region, including Orlando and its tourist destinations like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, would be represented in GTA 6 in some form, and Jack McPherson said they wouldn't. However, McPherson stressed that GTA 6 will offer the "full Florida experience" in numerous other ways. “We have to constantly evaluate the diversity of landscapes, towns, structures, landmarks, vistas, plant species, rock formations and everything else before we work with design and narrative to distill a list down that best works with and serves the game’s needs. So, while we may not have those exact locations, everything we have is geared to getting that full Florida experience!” Lucia and Jason in GTA 6. GTA 6 also won't feature SeaWorld or Florida's iconic "Space Coast," featuring Cape Canaveral's historic launch pad. I am not too surprised by any of this, though, considering GTA 6 takes place in Vice City, a stand-in for Miami, which is a four-hour, 230-mile drive from Orlando. I know GTA 6 is going to be a big game--featuring the biggest game map Rockstar ever made--but I never expected the map to run all the way up to Orlando. Jay Klaitz, who famously portrayed Lester in Grand Theft Auto 5, previously said in an interview that he wondered if Rockstar would create its own, legally distinct version of Disney World that could be called “Psycho Park.” “That would be interesting too if they sort of delve into that environment,” he said. While GTA 6 might not feature its own take on Disney World, it's possible the park could be referenced in GTA 6's radio chatter, and some spoofs could come there. The well runs deep for things Rockstar can make fun of Disney World for, including its ever-increasing ticket prices, the price to buy literally anything in the parks, and the so-called Disney Adult phenomenon, just to name a few options. I love Disney, but even the most diehard fans have their issues. As it happens, the last game in the series, GTA 5, was set where Disneyland--the OG Disney park--is located in the Los Angeles area, and that game also did not feature its own theme park spoof that players could visit. However, GTA 5 featured a film production company known as Fred's Pictures, which was an obvious reference to Disney. GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Activision has confirmed that one of the Call of Duty franchise's most notorious maps, Shipment, is coming back for this year's Modern Warfare 4. After fans spotted it in the newly released trailer for MW4's PC version, the Call of Duty account directly confirmed its return with a dedicated post. Shipment, which debuted in 2007's Modern Warfare 4, is a tiny map filled with shipping containers that players can dash through. Due to its small size, players can get wiped out in their spawns easily, and the action generally is extremely chaotic. Some people love the map. Others hate it. https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/2104969093409648927 Shipment's return in 2026's MW4 is no big surprise, as it's been featured in numerous Modern Warfare games over the years. It also showed up in Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Mobile. While Activision has confirmed that Shipment will return in MW4, the company did not say if it will be among the 12 6v6 maps available at launch, or if it will be released sometime later. For those who enjoy Shipment, its inclusion in MW4 is just the latest piece of good news. Before this, Activision confirmed that MW4 will finally fix how double XP tokens work and the dreaded "update requires restart" notice is going away. Additionally, MW4 will usher in a feature in Warzone that lets you avoid seeing all those wacky skins. The game also has a brand-new, Counter-Strike style mode. Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC. The game marks the first Call of Duty release on a Nintendo platform since 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts. It’s also the first game since Ghosts to skip PS4 and Xbox One.
Death was supposed to be the end, but for Laufey (Faye), warrior and wife to Kratos, a new adventure is just beginning. Coming February 16, 2027 to PlayStation 5.
In the latest news blog for Modern Warfare 4, Activision confirms the game will have a brand-new multiplayer mode similar to Counter-Strike and Valorant. Collateral is a round-based mode which puts a twist on Call of Duty's iconic Search and Destroy, adding a cash system and high-stakes competitive play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaNr1hHAg2M Collateral is a cash-infused objective mode designed to make every dollar count and every decision matter. Much like Search and Destroy, teams will alternate between attacking and defending two bomb sites. All players start with a pistol and earn in-game cash throughout the match to spend on strategic upgrades between rounds. Eliminating enemies and playing the objective will earn cash to spend on the following upgrades: Armor and Perks: Armor Vest, Battle Hardened, Lethal Reach, Fast Hands, Ghost Equipment: Flash Grenade, Molotov Cocktail, Frag Grenade, Stim, Smoke Wall, Riot Shield Pistols: Silenced Pistol, Revolver, Akimbo Pistols, Power Pistol Standard Issue weapons: Shotgun, Light Machine Gun, Marksman Rifle, Silenced SMG, Agile SMG Higher-grade guns: Semi Auto Rifle, High Damage Rifle, Burst Rifle, Silenced Rifle, Sniper Rifle Team Benefit: UAV streak for the team Players will lose their loadout if they die, but all earned money is kept between rounds. Additionally, Call of Duty's respawns, killstreaks, automatic health regeneration, and custom loadouts are all disabled in this mode. This adds further incentive for players to play their life carefully and strategize to make the best use of their cash. This isn't the first time Call of Duty has tried to put its own spin on a cash-based competitive mode like Counter-Strike, as Treyarch introduced its Heist mode in 2018's Black Ops 4, which felt like a fresh mode for the franchise. Modern Warfare 4 will also include the new Inflation cash-based multiplayer mode, which is the "high-stakes Team Deathmatch-style mode" featured in the beta last month. Activision has announced a few major updates for this new year of Call of Duty, including a positive change to how double XP tokens work, an added operator skin toggle feature, and Warzone's carry forward details. Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.
World of Warcraft: Forever is opening up old wounds when it comes to Blizzard's actions (or in many players' views, inaction) against bots and real-money gold buying, with a recent incident involving a popular streamer becoming a flashpoint for the MMORPG. WoW Classic streamer Ziqo was recently seen on stream accepting large sums of gold from strangers in the lead up to a $100,000 WoW: Forever beta dueling tournament on October 17. In a clip in which he was traded 380 gold from a level one character (a huge amount in WoW Classic/Forever, particularly in a beta that's only been out for two weeks), Ziqo can be heard saying there's no way that amount of gold is "natty" but accepts the trade anyways. In another clip, he accepts 175 gold from a different level one character named El Delivery. The community immediately saw huge cause for concern. Not only did gold buying already appear to be alive and well in the Forever beta after Blizzard previously said it would be more aggressive in taking action against gold buyers, but the streamer looked to be effectively buying his way to victory in the upcoming tournament. With that amount of gold, Ziqo would be able to essentially buy anything he needed in the lead up to the tournament, giving him an advantage. The WoW Classic subreddit became aflame with calls for Blizzard to take action. https://www.reddit.com/r/wowforever/comments/1wsf0km/ziqo_accepting_rmt_gold/ Without mentioning Ziqo by name, WoW community manager Kaivax shared Blizzard's stance on real-money transactions (RMT) in WoW: Forever via a forum post on September 28. While Blizzard has always looked to take action and punish gold sellers, Kaivax said, it will increasingly take action against those buying or accepting RMT gold as well. "It's important to know that while we have always actioned RMT seller's accounts as quickly as possible, we will increasingly take action against buyers' accounts," Kaivax said. "That means that we will remove the illicit gold from the recipient and/or take further actions, which can include closing accounts. "We're once again asking all players to be very cautious when it comes to accepting gifts from strangers or other one-sided transactions. If it becomes apparent that a recipient knew or should have known that gold wasn't from a legitimate source, they may be subject to account actions as well." According to Ziqo, Blizzard has since removed the ill-gained gold he received (as well as some additional gold he hardened the old-fashioned-way) but as of writing has not punished him further. Many on the WoW Classic subreddit are calling for Blizzard to stay true to its words from Kaivax's forum post and take further actions against Ziqo's account, as it seems obvious he knew the gold was likely not legitimate. "We can all agree it's not good for the integrity of the game when streamers get showered with free gold on stream," Reddit user Nino171 writes in a post calling for streamers like Ziqo to be banned just like any regular player would. "Treat everyone equally. Streamers should have to watch what they accept for free, just like any other player." https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1wt4w39/blizzard_is_in_zugzwang/ Even if Ziqo isn't banned from the game, some are calling for him to at the very least be banned from the upcoming tournament by its organizers. Others on the game's forums are calling for Blizzard to ban accounts permanently that are caught engaging in RMT trading, with a call to "make an example of these streamers." For now, it's unclear if Blizzard will punish Ziqo further with an account ban, but it's definitely caused many in the Forever community to lose faith that Blizzard is willing to put its money where its mouth is in regards to cracking down on those both selling and buying in-game gold. WoW: Forever's beta, which costs $60 to gain access to, is currently live until October 21. The new version of WoW Classic with over 1,000 new quests, as well as new dungeons, raids, and zones, is proving to be popular, with Blizzard recently stating it had to once again increase the beta's population cap. WoW: Forever will launch in full November 4.
Executive Producer Nathan Lyons-Smith and Sr. Design Manager Brenden Sewell join Jessica Cogswell to discuss how their hours spent playing 'World of Warcraft' and top TCGs like 'Magic the Gathering' influenced their work on Hearthstone.
Mythic Achievements for Xbox Insiders will officially roll out starting today, and Microsoft has provided more detail on how its new milestone system works. Designed to celebrate the biggest Xbox achievements that a user has unlocked throughout their PC and console history--and similar to PlayStation Platinum Trophies--Mythic Achievements are earned whenever all original achievements for a game have been earned. Microsoft added that achievements added later through DLC or updates aren't required, and once you've earned Mythic status, it's yours to keep forever. This will be applied retroactively, so if you maxed achievements in any Xbox games over the years, expect to see a 15-second notification telling you what a good job you've done. Once the full Mythic Achievement system rolls out to the entire Xbox community, player profiles will be updated with a new Gaming tab where they can view their achievements, track their next Gamerscore milestone badge, and revisit games. A preview of what a Mythic Achievement will look like. This will make it easier to track progress toward earning a Mythic Achievement, as a new progress bar at the top of each game's achievement list will show exactly how close you are to gaining Mythic status. There'll also be an option to focus on the original achievements you still need, and achievements added later will receive an "add-on" tag to make the chase clearer to follow. There's no date yet for when Mythic Achievements will roll out of the Xbox Insiders program to the rest of the Xbox userbase. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma had teased back in August that Mythic Achievements were on the way, but they're arriving during another round of mass layoffs at Microsoft's gaming division. Hundreds more people have been laid off across various Xbox departments, various developers have been consolidated under Activision and Bethesda, and the Xbox Game Studios portfolio has also shrunk with the exit of several teams. Ninja Theory's future looks uncertain, while Undead Labs has started downsizing as part of its move to a new, undisclosed owner.
Gears of War: E-Day is launching into Xbox Game Pass, and because of that, the majority of the game's moneymaking potential will be cannibalized by its inclusion on the service. That's according to Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics, who released a report today that covers this, the game's initial sales on Steam, and the possibility of a PlayStation 5 port sometime down the road. According to Elliott, E-Day has surpassed 120,000 copies sold on Steam at this point, generating more than $7 million in revenue. The game arrives on October 6, but people who pay more can jump in starting October 1. For more, check out the official global launch times for E-Day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRFE0gCsgLg Elliott's data showed that E-Day has already sold more than 2X what Halo: Campaign Evolved did over a similar period of time. With 120,000 sales on Steam already, E-Day is unlikely to hit 1 million copies on the platform ever, Elliott said. Additionally, he said "most" of the revenue from the Xbox version will be "eaten up by Game Pass. The game's inclusion on Game Pass might also encourage some people to sign up, so sales alone do not tell the whole story. In any event, Microsoft has already decided to pull some key titles out of Game Pass, presumably due to lost revenue. Microsoft's Activision division no longer puts new Call of Duty games into Game Pass at launch, for example, with this October's Modern Warfare 4 not coming to Game Pass until Fall 2027. Going forward, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has said the company might opt to "window" other titles, presumably to help Microsoft make more money from direct game sales. In 2023, Microsoft admitted that putting games into Game Pass cannibalizes full-game sales. At the same time, a game coming to Game Pass can actually help improve sales in some scenarios. Microsoft made a big bet on Xbox Game Pass, spending billions of dollars to buy up studios with the aim of funneling content to the service to encourage people to sign up. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has said Microsoft's bet on Game Pass did not work out. "Our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome," she said. Elliott previously said Gears of War: E-Day (along with Clockwork Revolution) are being sent out to die due to their exclusivity to Xbox. They are also coming to PC, but not PS5. Elliott told GameSpot that Microsoft will never succeed in the console space and promising fans exclusive games to help drive console sales is not going to make a difference. “Console as we know it is over for Xbox–and has been for a while. There’s no turning that ship. But they still need to pretend to care until they’ve transitioned to pastures where they can return to growth (if they succeed),” he said. “A Gears console exclusive does not shift meaningful numbers of Series X units. Exclusivity as a hardware-driver is over for them, because the install base it would drive simply isn’t responsive enough to justify the cost of building hardware at a 5x component premium. And those games are on Steam anyway,” he added. Elliott went on to say that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are “sacrificial lambs for hearts-and-minds, not economics.” Also in the report, Elliott addressed the rumor that Microsoft canceled a PS5 port of E-Day. He said Microsoft should not have done this, as bringing the game to PS5 would have "added some much-needed extra revenue." While E-Day might not be coming to PS5 at launch, Elliott said he foresees a port coming to market "at some point." There was obvious evidence of a PS5 edition of E-Day. However, Microsoft denied that it canceled a PS5 version at the last minute, but did not deny its existence. Another strange wrinkle to the story is that Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has said E-Day is not a timed-exclusive for Xbox. However, Greenberg said in 2021 that Starfield was not a timed-exclusive on Xbox, but then it did come to PS5, so it's hard to believe some of the things that Microsoft says about its release plans.
Video game showcases used to be infrequent but over the last couple of years, we've seen an explosion of online broadcasts. One of the more noteworthy events in this space is the Triple-I Initiative, which is just a pure blast of video game trailers without any fluff--no ads, no host, just games--as organizer Evil Empire, an indie developer itself, would tell you. So what goes into making a video game showcase, and how does one stand out from the dozens of events that already exist? Those were some of the questions we asked Evil Empire's co-founder and head of business, Benjamin Laulan. "I'm a big showcase enthusiast myself," Laulan said when I asked him about the origins of Triple-I, and what makes it different from everything else. "I grew up with conferences and this kind of stuff, so at a small scale, I guess the first ambition was to try to reproduce the kind of emotions that, as a viewer, you can experience while watching a live event. In terms of what makes us different, I think that as showcase enthusiasts ourselves, we wanted to really acknowledge the viewer and have them in mind at all times when creating the showcase. That means we wanted to be really respectful of their time; they chose to be there instead of doing something else. This is why we went with a 45-minute 'in and out' structure—only trailers, no host—to really try to give them what they want, which is cool trailers from cool games, basically." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShrDsKDQjtc Laulan added that Evil Empire differentiates itself from its fellow showcase organizers by focusing on an enthusiast audience with "high-quality" indie games. Part of the challenge then becomes balancing a curated selection of games and holding the attention of your audience across almost an hour of back-to-back trailers. "For us, it's really important to find a nice rhythm between exciting new announcements—like world premieres—and big names returning," Laulan explained. "We have to look at it from a lot of different perspectives: the art style, the genre, the IP, and the scope of the game. We don't want too many similar titles back-to-back, so you need a good flow. It also depends on the style of the trailer itself. We have some pretty hectic trailers and some that are more laid back, so it's about finding a balance between the types of announcements, the tone of the trailers, and what’s actually being shown on screen. It’s very important to us. We usually end up with around five different versions of the running order, and we watch them multiple times with the team to gather feedback on the overall rhythm." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e87zZAlaLgs Evil Empire also works with the developers behind the games they're showcasing, as Laulan added that the studio is primarily focused on making those games "shine" in the brief window that they have during the broadcast. "For us, since Triple-I is not a proper business for Evil Empire, we always have the quality of the trailers at heart to make them shine," Laulan said. "Our objective is really to make their game, trailer, and announcement shine, so we work closely with them." "Since we're hosting a live event, it's very important to take advantage of that format, have fun with the audience, and really try to get them excited—to make them lose their minds when a popular IP comes back. So when I see a trailer where the IP reveal is rushed in the first ten seconds, I tell them, 'Guys, take your time. Drop some breadcrumbs, have fun with the music, or show a beloved character appearing in the background.' We want them to use that momentum of a live event so streamers will have great reactions to their big comeback." So how does Triple-I curate its trailers? Laulan said that the whole idea behind Triple-I was to "build the largest targeted audience possible" for specific types of games, to make them the main event of the show. "Essentially putting the right games in front of the right people," he added. "We wanted our games to be the stars of our own show and the main reason people tune in, rather than just acting as appetizers for larger events or first-party showcases." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSNXMSU3vJo "To achieve that, it was crucial to include highly anticipated games, big sequels, and established names. Those titles draw in sizable communities that merge into one large collective audience. When you put the right games in front of that audience, conversion happens naturally. That is why I believe we’ve seen success with these numbers: People realize that if they enjoy a few specific games in the lineup, they will likely enjoy the rest of what we present to them." Evil Empire isn't afraid to show off games without an established name behind it, as the studio believes that these games can bring something new to the table and stand out. "For the smaller underdogs—like a developer’s debut title that doesn't yet have an established fanbase to bring to the table—our criteria shifts. The question becomes: Does this game elevate the show? Does it bring something new, different, or interesting? Does it look exceptionally well made, or feature a standout mechanic? For those titles, we look for a strong sense of novelty, freshness, or sheer creative energy in the trailer," Laulan said. Now in its third year, the Triple-I Initiative's showcase format has settled into a comfortable groove, and Laulan explained that Evil Empire has plans to expand for future showcases. "Our first big objective for this year is to nail running two events in a single year, which is already quite a challenge," Laulan explained. "Moving forward, it's more about expanding our reach to a wider audience and forming stronger collaborations—with first-party partners, for instance. We've had very interesting discussions with first parties for this upcoming event. So it isn't about changing the recipe; it’s about delivering even greater games and trailers to an even bigger audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p5TKYn8oqI "In any case, curation and the lineup will always be king for this type of showcase. People tune in to see cool games, so that will always be the priority. We are driven by the quality of our lineup, and the strength of our partnerships depends directly on that quality. We have no interest in turning this into a physical event or inflating production values unnecessarily. We want to remain as cost-efficient as possible. Even though this is a paid showcase, we keep prices low so it isn't a heavy financial burden for studios, while still giving the event every chance to succeed through quality partnerships and execution." What could that success look like five years from now? Laulan says Evil Empire imagines the Triple-I Initiative as not only a showcase that attracts a wide audience, but also a key player in helping a game find its audience. "Five years from now, if we manage to reach even larger audiences, maintain our efficiency regarding wishlist conversion, and keep studios extremely happy to feature their games with us, then I’ll consider it a success," Laolan said. "I would love to reach a point—which is actually starting to happen already—where the Triple-I Initiative becomes the cornerstone of a game's marketing campaign. If a top-tier studio builds their entire marketing strategy around a big reveal at Triple-I, that would be the ultimate proof that we succeeded." The second Triple-I Initiative showcase of 2026 airs on October 8 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, and the 45-minute show will include eight exclusive world premieres from studios such as Team17, Amanita Design, Strange Scaffold, and Norsfell.
It's been nearly two months since Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls launched on PlayStation 5 and PC, bringing with it an all-new approach to the tag-team fighting game format from a studio who'd never tried it before. Tokon's launch was a tale of two formats; while the game enjoyed critical success, and PS5 players were thrilled, PC players were met with multiple performance issues that marred the experience. However, since that uneven launch, the team at Arc System Works has issued multiple updates for both platforms, and the first downloadable character, Phoenix Cyclops, looms on the horizon as a Fall 2026 release. The future look bright for this new fighting game, with both ArcSys and Marvel happy with where things stand. To learn more, GameSpot spoke with two members of Arc System Works, producer Takeshi Tamanaka and game director Kazutoshi Sekine, as well as Marvel senior product development manager Michael Francisco, about Tokon's early troubles on PC, the challenges of maintaining balance throughout development and beyond, and how both Marvel and Arc System Works plan to support the game going forward. Four-on-four fighting A rocky start Tamanaka immediately addressed the biggest elephant in the Tokon space: the rocky PC launch. "First of all, I would just like to apologize to all of the players," Tamanaka said via a translator. "The PC version launched with so many issues, and I realized that it caused a lot of inconvenience and concern to so many players." As far as what caused the buggy launch, Tamanaka couldn't put his finger on any one single issue. "It wasn't something that could be traced back to a single cause we could easily address," he explained. "The game was played on various computers in various environments with various specs, and multiple things all came together to create all of the different issues that popped up." Multiple patches and updates introduced to the game since August have improved the experience--Tamanaka mentions "reports from many players that [they]'ve been able to improve the performance and playability experience"--but he also wants players who were turned off by that rough start to come back and see the changes for themselves. "I do hope that any players who experience problems can go back and see, with the updates, if the game experience has improved for them." Sekine adds that not all of the feedback was negative, as many players clocked 100 hours in the first week alone and enjoyed what they played. "As far as the actual content of the game itself, I've seen a lot of players really enjoying it," Sekine says, also via translator. "I really do appreciate that there's so many players out there having so much fun with the game." Deadpool's Deadpool Corps super move Maintaining balance Sekine explains that the team's main goal with Marvel Tokon was to "create this new and chaotic tag fighter experience," and that based on player feedback, they are "heading in the right direction." However, that raises an important question: As the game continues to evolve with new content and updates, how does the team plan for potential balancing issues? "The more you play the game, the more depth you discover, more things that these characters and these combinations can achieve," Sekine said. "When we're developing the game as well, we do a lot of test play amongst the team, and when we discover things, we think, 'Will the players accept this? Is this okay? Is this going too far? Is this too strong?' We have the same kind of discussions that we see players having once the game is out, and we're trying to constantly find like how far we can go, how powerful we can make this, and the right level of balance." Sekine admits that finding that balance is very difficult, and that explaining how Arc System Works maintains it is challenging. "It's hard to describe exactly what that process is like, but we have some general rules we use as a base," Sekine said. "I'd say the first thing that we do when designing characters in battle is ensure that we express the character's identity, and once we've achieved that, we draw a lot from our experience and previous development." Deadpool, the fourth-wall-breaking antihero, is a prime example. Tokon's Deadpool utilizes moves, poses, and quotes from the extensive history of fighting games, and Sekine says the idea came from the team's desire to make a lasting impression on the audience through its version of The Merc with a Mouth. "My image of Deadpool is that no matter where he shows up, he always leaves this big impact on the audience," Sekine said. "I definitely wanted our Deadpool to live up to that, and that's when I came up with the idea to use his ability to break the fourth wall to bring in various references." The idea, while fun, does require approval from decision makers outside of the development team; thankfully, when Sekine "half-jokingly" brought it up to PlayStation and Marvel, they were on board. "I'm very fortunate now that we were able to make all of that happen," Sekine said, "but I think describing how we made it happen would be quite long, so I'll leave it at that." The Champion, Tokon's final boss. A Marvel-ous partnership For Marvel's part, even with the initial PC issues, the team at Marvel Games sounds very pleased with how Tokon is performing. "We've seen so much great engagement from the fans and the community, we've already seen the players push the game to its absolute limit, and we say hey, bring it on," Francisco said. "The combo videos, the tournaments, the new tech that people are finding on social media is so heartwarming to us, because it means that people really love the game. We're excited to see stuff like CEO, Tampa Never Sleeps, and other communities coming together to make an amazing competitive scene, and we couldn't have asked for more from the fans." One common debate that has particularly interested Francisco is tier lists, specifically how much they vary across the community from week to week. "We see tier lists that are all over the place," Francisco said. "Is Miss Marvel at the bottom, or is she at the top? Where does Hulk go, because he can kill your entire team by himself, but it's hard to play as him in neutral? These types of debates show that the game has a lot of depth and is still relatively unsolved, and it's really cool that even the top players have something to chew on." Phoenix Cyclops, Tokon's first DLC character The future of Tokon When most players think of the future of Marvel Tokon, their first thought turns to who might join the playable roster as downloadable content. As of this writing, only one character, Phoenix Cyclops, has been confirmed for post-launch addition, and he was a surprising deep cut. Could more out-of-left-field fighters be on the horizon, and what does the character selection process look like when a vault as deep as Marvel's is concerned? Francisco breaks down Marvel's criteria to three key points, the first being the "iconic" characters Marvel fans would come to expect. "When you think of the word 'Marvel,' which characters come to mind?" Francisco said. "You have to have that at the forefront at least, so you know that it's a Marvel video game." Next come the characters who have the opportunity to feel fresh from a gameplay perspective, even if they have a history in fighting games. "I think Magneto was always someone that came to the forefront because of his legacy in fighting games," Francisco said, "but in Tokon he's got this great mechanic where he's throwing parts of the stage at you. That's just cool from a design standpoint." The final criteria is a little more difficult; as Francisco explains it, Marvel wants characters who can not only deliver for longtime Marvel fans, but expand a newer player's fandom at the same time. "Who could be your next household favorite character?" Francisco asks. "Maybe that's Danger, or The Champion, or The Promoter, or the upcoming Phoenix Cyclops. We're always trying to balance these three criteria and thread the needle between that because we always want to deliver on what fans know and love, but also create something new and fresh so their love for Marvel can expand." While new roster members are exciting, keeping the core gameplay fun and balanced is just as important, and Arc System Works is up for the challenge. "If any new in-game issues come up, that's something that we would continue to try to address as promptly as possible," Tamanaka said. "This game is something that we want to continue to support and update to make it something that will really stay with the community, and be something that the players can enjoy long into the future."
Back in 2013, when I was a wee little lad (well, 13 years old) watching YouTube Let’s Players, I discovered The Last of Us. The opening hour was brutal, and I had to stop what I was doing and beg my grandfather to take me to trade in some of my older games, just so I could see how the rest of the story unfolded. It was one of the best memories and worst choices of my life, as The Last of Us threw me through an emotional loop that I have yet to recover from, and one that Part 2 just doubled down on. Now, the Part 1 and Part 2 remasters are cheaper than ever on PC, and well, you better get that box of antifungal tissues ready. The Last of Us isn’t just one of the greatest PlayStation games; it’s now one of the best PC games too. Sure, maybe the gameplay isn’t some legendary, genre-defining experience, but the story is such an emotional rollercoaster, backed by excellent voice acting and some top-notch level design. It doesn’t just take the simple premise of the apocalypse and run with it, but finds plenty of unique ways to make its world feel distinct. In the first game, you play as Joel, who, decades after the initial outbreak, is still grieving the loss of his daughter. However, he’s making do in the now zombie-ridden world by working as a smuggler, who inevitably gets tasked with taking a teenage girl called Ellie across the country safely, as she is supposedly immune to the infection and could lead to a cure. Nothing could go wrong here. The Last of Us Part 2 takes place four years later, when Ellie is now an adult and has settled into life in a small town. Without spoiling anything, things quickly go bad, and Ellie leaves behind her quaint life in pursuit of vengeance. What unfolds is a narrative that rewires everything you thought was true in the first game, making for an experience that forces you to question your own morals. Both of the PC versions on sale are the remastered takes on the games. The Last of Us Part 1 has improved visuals and enhanced combat, which was one of the weaker points of the original, while Part 2 Remastered gets a visual bump and an excellent roguelite mode that delivers more of the bombastic, violent, and overall brutal combat that the sequel nails. You can grab The Last of Us Part 1 for just $26.69 / £22.24 at Fanatical, while The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is just $29.99 / £23.99 at Fanatical, with both Steam keys costing less than their lowest prices on Steam. If you’ve somehow avoided these games until now, this is a pretty good excuse to finally see what all the fuss is about. Just make sure your heart can take the breaking, because you’ll need the strength. Just remember to endure and survive. Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. This story was created in collaboration with Fanatical’s deals team.
Halloween season is almost upon us, and if you're looking to dress up as the Resident Evil movie's in-over-his-head courier, Bryan (played by Austin Abrams), then here's a checklist of everything you need to pull off the Raccoon City look. Fortunately, Bryan's look is surprisingly easy to pull off, as director Zach Cregger and costume designer Caroline Fahrer settled on an outfit that's grounded in the real world, will keep you warm on a chilly night, and can probably handle a few bites from any citizens who have come down with a bad case of the T-Virus. As detailed by Resident Evil News, dressing up as Bryan requires sourcing a few brand-name items and scuffing them up. The actor's main clothing consists of RVCA fatigue pants, a deep yellow plaid shirt and grey hoodie from New Yorker, and Nike Jordan Spizke low sneakers that'll need some customization. For the medical bag, if your local hospital doesn't want to sell you one, the official popcorn bag should do the trick. https://twitter.com/RENews_X/status/2104728868162826249 The devil is in the details, so to really sell the idea that you've been through hell and back, you'll need to do some distressing on the outfit. For example, the thumbs on the gloves were cut off and replaced with stitches, and to scuff up the pants, you can use sandpaper to wear them down. Fake blood will seal the deal, and you can easily make a bucket of the stuff with corn syrup and food coloring to nail the viscosity--a word of caution: it can be very sticky once applied. Dribble the concoction on your costume, get some friends to chuck massive water balloons at you as you sprint down a deserted street, and you'll be ready to win a few Halloween contests. After two weeks at the box office, Resident Evil has scared up some impressive numbers. The film kicked off its run by breaking the record for the biggest opening weekend in the franchise, and so far, it has made more than $100 million at the North American box office, beating the record that had previously been set by 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife ($60 million). Currently, it's the fourth highest-grossing live-action Resident Evil movie so far, and it's getting closer to usurping 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($312 million) as the highest-grossing film in the series. Strangely, the movie has only had a "moderate" effect on Resident Evil game sales, as the movie reenergized the existing fanbase and pumped up engagement for the franchise in September.
The creator of a mod project that sought to bring Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 to Switch is closing up shop, apparently at the request of rights owner Take-Two. This action comes in the same month that Rockstar published a new "Mod Guidelines" notice informing people they need to "respect our games" and are not allowed to modify its games to operate on consoles or devices that are not officially supported by Rockstar. GTA 5 was never released on Switch. Paralympics Productions announced (via GamesRadar) that it will shut down on October 3. The developer thanked people for their support and apologized for not being able to deliver GTA 5 for Switch. He also said he's "thankful for Take-Two's mercy," which makes it sound like this situation could have been worse for the modder. "This is the definitive end," the developer wrote. "Peace out, girl scouts." https://twitter.com/M0jso/status/2104610351358820703? The developer went on to say that they had received a cease-and-desist notice. He said he plans to comply with this because "I'm not an idiot." No legal action has taken place as of yet, he added. In other replies, the developer responded to people asking him to release his code so others could pick it up and take things from there. He said he won't do this because it would escalate the cease-and-desist into a formal lawsuit. He could, in theory, fight Take-Two in court, but the developer said he would most likely lose. "They have solid grounds and with me being cocky, it shows real intent for 'mayhem," he said. "So I can't even appeal to a jury or something like I didn't know what I was getting into." The GTA 5 port for Switch from Paralympics Productions was due to be released "in the coming days," the developer added. "I'm not releasing anything new and I'm not coming back. It's truly over. And no, no one will take over the project." GTA 5 never came to Switch, and GTA 6 is not expected to be released on Switch 2. However, it was previously reported that Rockstar was exploring the possibility of bringing GTA 6 to Switch 2.
The demand for PlayStation 5 Pro consoles is currently outpacing supply in Japan, due to ongoing memory shortages that have yet to be resolved. Now, Sony is offering Japanese players a unique way to earn their way into a PS5 Pro lottery system, but only if they can demonstrate that they've already been gaming at a certain level. Sony's Japanese PlayStation blog notes that players who want to enter the PS5 Pro lottery must have 60 hours of gameplay time on their PlayStation accounts between September 2024 and September 2026. That time can be split between PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 consoles. Some hardcore gamers can get in 60 hours of playtime in a week or even more. So, the threshold isn't too extreme. But it's likely in place to prevent scalpers from getting their hands on PS5 Pros and flipping them on the secondary market at greatly inflated prices. If Japanese players meet the criteria laid out by Sony, they will be entered in the lottery system and subsequently notified that they have a chance to purchase a PS5 Pro directly from the gaming publisher. However, if any buyers fail to act on their opportunity, their systems will be offered to other players in a future lottery. Sony's decision to stop supporting physical PS5 discs starting in 2028 has drawn pushback from some players, but the company appears dead set on following through with that edict. Earlier this month, Sony settled a lawsuit alleging that its PlayStation Store violated state and federal laws governing digital game prices. Sony admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, which is valued at nearly $8 million. Looking ahead to next year, Sony has revealed that it will be skipping the 2027 CES, which will mark the end of an association with the event that dates back decades.
Marvel's Wolverine might not be a critical hit, but it's doing surprisingly well commercially. The new superhero adventure from Insomniac Games faced stiff opposition from new releases and established live-service titles at launch, but according to the analytics firm Circana and its engagement tracker, Marvel's Wolverine broke a live-service stranglehold on the PlayStation charts. For the week ending September 19, Marvel's Wolverine ranked seventh on Circana's Top 10 Titles by weekly active users in the US chart. Sandwiched between Marvel Rivals (sixth place) and Minecraft (eighth place), that's a good start for the game, which is the only single-player title in the top 10--although Minecraft players might disagree. "The average US Marvel's Wolverine player engaged with the title for 14.2 hours during the week, according to Circana's Player Engagement Tracker," Circana's Mat Piscatella wrote. "This ranked in the top 20 across all titles on PlayStation for the week." https://bsky.app/profile/matpiscatella.bsky.social/post/3mwliydz3wc24 While NBA 2K27, Fortnite, and Roblox remained on top, seventh place is still a relatively impressive feat for a game like Marvel's Wolverine, which is mostly a one-and-done experience. Unlike Marvel's Spider-Man and its bustling open-world slice of Manhattan, there's little reason to return to it beyond a New Game Plus mode that unlocks new skills, and this Wolverine game can easily be completed within a week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nGnaG7kVIA&t=2s It has also been the subject of criticism, leading to hotfixes in which Insomniac toned down the infamous scent trails to guide players toward collectibles. Sony hasn't commented on the game's overall sales performance yet, but it's estimated that Marvel's Wolverine has sold through 1.9 million units as of September 18. "Wolverine has sold well, but its commercial long tail is limited by its mixed media and streamer reception," Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliott wrote recently. Unlike Spider-Man, which reviewed insanely well and has stayed evergreen for years, this one's tail will be shorter and lumpier, but still there. Wolverine will have secondary volume bumps driven by MCU X-Men marketing beats, holiday gifting, and new PS5 owners looking for high-budget graphics showcases. The backlash was fast and hard, but that discourse will sail clean over the heads of the millions of more passive, mainstream players who make up the bulk of this audience. Those folks will buy Wolverine for the brand, get it for Christmas, and never once open Reddit to find out they were supposed to be angry." Marvel’s Wolverine was released on September 15, and sales were seemingly strong right out of the gate, with the game reportedly exceeding the lifetime sales of Death Stranding 2 on PS5 in just a few days. GameSpot’s Marvel’s Wolverine review scored the game an 8/10, with editor-at-large Tamoor Hussain describing it as a "fun but forgettable" experience.
Naughty Dog studio head Neil Druckmann has dropped some tantalizing news for fans of The Last of Us, confirming the studio is currently working on not one, but two new The Last of Us projects. Druckmann also gave an update on Intergalactic, saying Naughty Dog will fully reveal the sci-fi game in 2027. The Last of Us Day is marked on September 26, the day that was the start of the zombie apocalypse in the game's lore, and Naughty Dog celebrated the 2026 event with a charity livestream, fan giveaways, and new collaborations. The studio also launched new official The Last of Us social media accounts, hinting that our time with the franchise is far from over. https://twitter.com/thelastofus/status/2104720569661063523?s=20 In a brief post reflecting on the day, studio head Neil Druckmann dropped a few major announcements for Naughty Dog's future, chief among them that there are two new The Last of Us projects currently in the early stages of development. "Both projects will expand the canon of The Last of Us beyond Part 1 and Part 2, Druckmann said. "The world of The Last of Us means a great deal to us, and we wouldn’t return to it unless we had something meaningful to say. We believe these stories are worth telling." It's not clear whether either of the games will be The Last of Us Part 3, and we're unlikely to find out for some time--Druckman added that both projects are in very early stages, so details are locked down tight. Druckmann also shared a brief update on Naughty Dog's current main project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The studio has been relatively quiet since the game was first announced in 2024--and that silence will continue for the rest of this year. Druckmann said he project needs a little more time to cook before it's ready to be fully revealed in 2027. "We know it's been a long time since we've had much to share with you," he acknowledged. "We're working incredibly hard to make something worthy of your patience." In other The Last of Us news, work on season 3 of HBO's television adaptation continues, with more of the game's voice actors recently joining the TV cast. Season 3 might be the end of the acclaimed TV series, with showrunner Craig Mazin considering condensing his original four-season plan down to three.
Jean-Luc Seipke and Jake Dekker breakdown how the latest version of the Witcher 3 played on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Activision has made a key announcement about how Double XP tokens work in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and it sounds like good news. Beginning with MW4, 2XP tokens will only count down when you're actually in a match. Previously, the timer would tick down when you were in a game's menus or searching for a match. That's not ideal for a lot of reasons, obviously. https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/2104619925881168010 If you're anything like me, sometimes you have to get up to let your dog out. Or you want to get up to grab some food or a drink. Or, you might sit in the game's menus when nature calls. Now, you can do those things and still get the full amount of 2XP without your bonus going to waste. Beyond this, several key developers at Infinity Ward discussed a range of hot topics about MW4 in a newly published "The Road to Launch" video. Check it out below to hear what the team had to say about time-to-kill values, spawning algorithms, and UI issues following the game's multiple rounds of beta testing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG68xO8uuq4 This is just the latest positive-sounding update for MW4, following the previous confirmation that players will be able to toggle off skins they don't want to see in Warzone--though the toggle is not supported for MW4 itself yet. Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC. The game marks the first Call of Duty release on a Nintendo platform since 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts. It's also the first game since Ghosts to skip PS4 and Xbox One.
World of Warcraft: Forever's beta is in full swing, and if its popularity is any indication of how the full launch might go, it's going to be big, as Blizzard has had to increase the beta's population cap multiple times. Forever was Blizzard's big finale during its BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony, a modified version of WoW Classic that keeps the old-school MMORPG's gameplay and world but brings plenty of new changes and content as well. It's something WoW Classic players have asked for years, and Blizzard is now finally ready to deliver. The beta kicked off September 17 with an initial level cap of 20 and will run through October 21, with Forever's full launch slated for November 4. It's important to note that it's not an open beta that anyone can join. Players need to purchase the $60 Skyborne Epic Pack (which unlocks the new playable Skyborne race in Forever) to gain access. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buBZRiQXl8U&t=1s Despite a $60 barrier to entry, everything points towards the beta being huge. From the get go, the beta ran into problems due to sheer popularity, with WoW: Forever senior game producer Tom Ellis (who has since deleted their X account) posting a technical breakdown that boiled many of the beta's initial issues down to the game's beta environment simply not being accustomed to such high demand. It wasn't long before other developers at Blizzard began to chime in on how unprecedented the Forever's beta seemed to be. WoW executive producer Holly Longdale posted that Forever's beta was "setting records." Two days later on September 19, she said "launch will be wild…and we are here for it, come what may." Most recently, Longdale chimed in about the beta's success once more. On September 27, she wrote Blizzard had to increase the beta's population cap once again. "The wild ride continues," she said. https://twitter.com/TheWindstalker/status/2104270224568541611?s=20 Longdale hasn't been the only one commenting on how big the beta seems to be. Senior game designer Josh Greenfield, who frequently answers from the game's community on X, said the beta "has been crazy." "The craziest numbers I've seen in 17 years working at Blizzard and almost 8 years on Classic," Greenfield said. "We've got something really special here." https://twitter.com/AggrendWoW/status/2101015233506750526?s=20 When asked how Blizzard was preparing to handle potential login queues at launch, Greenfield said the beta itself was the answer, as the team had found and fixed more problems on beta launch day than it would have in six months of internal testing. Still, given how some previous WoW launches have gone, it certainly wouldn't be surprising if Forever were to run into technical issues at launch, despite the game essentially doing away with traditional servers. Blizzard hasn't yet released exact beta numbers, but off of everything we've seen so far, Forever's launch is shaping up to be a doozy. For more on WoW: Forever, be sure check out how Blizzard approached designing over 1,000 new quests, why it won't include Season of Discovery's biggest changes, and how big a deal it is that it's launching with full controller support.
Sony has attended every edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) since it debuted in 1967, but that's ending for the upcoming show in January 2027. This means there won't be any PlayStation news, at least not directly from Sony. The company confirmed to Bloomberg that it's pulling out of the show this year following a strategic evaluation of its approach to "events and communications based on the needs and priorities of our diverse business." The company went on to say that today it's putting more focus on "entertainment," including games, anime, films, and music. CES, on the other hand, is primarily a technology show. What PlayStation announcements have there been at CES before? Sony's showing at CES historically includes a keynote address, featuring executives and creative leaders from the company discussing upcoming technologies and products. Sony never made the most momentous PlayStation announcements at its CES events over the years, but it was an event that fans could expect some news, at least. For example, in 2020, then-PlayStation boss Jim Ryan revealed the PS5 logo at CES. At the time, people were clamoring for any morsel of news about the console, and fans roasted Sony for revealing only the logo. You can re-live the moment where everyone learned that the logo would be the most predictable logo ever in the video below. The juicier details like the release date, price, and technical specifics were saved for later events dedicated to the system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E429XW4isFs At CES 2022, Sony unveiled PlayStation VR2 and a new game for it, Horizon: Call of the Mountain. In more recent years, Sony's PlayStation-related announcements at CES pertained to the company's transmedia adaptations, including the announcement of Horizon and Helldivers movies. Microsoft, for its part, revealed the original Xbox with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at CES 2001, but the company didn't carry the tradition forward with similarly big Xbox announcements at CES over the years. Nintendo, meanwhile, famously revealed the first version of the NES at CES in 1984--it was unveiled as a prototype known as the Advanced Video System. CES 2027 takes place January 6-9 in Las Vegas.
Diablo 4 Season 15 is stuffed full of secrets years in the making, and despite the season having launched two weeks ago, players keep discovering new ones. Season 15, Hell's Legacy, is a major nostalgia trip for Diablo fans. It adds new dungeons, boss fights, and items from previous Diablo games to Diablo 4, as players team up with Deckard Cain to defeat echoes of the Prime Evils and harness some of their iconic powers. But those references to previous games go far beyond a handful of dungeons and bosses. It also added a full Horadric Cube's worth of secrets. Some stem from older games in the franchise, while others are a continuation of ones added in Diablo 4 that players have worked towards uncovering for years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MabZDgAHLA After years of searching, Blizzard finally gave players the culmination of its secret cow-level hunt, as players who have gone through the laborious task of reaching the cow level and battling the cow king can now go even one step further to take on Moophisto, the Divine Bovine. In that same vein, players can also finally catch Mefishto, a secret fishing boss Blizzard went as far as to tease with a bizarre infomercial back when the game's Lord of Hatred expansion launched. Players were also quick to discover all kinds of new runewords and items from previous Diablo games, like the highly coveted Enigma that converts each class' evade into a teleport. But those are just some of the secrets. Players can also visit Old Tristram (complete with Diablo 1 NPCs like Griswold, Wirt and Adria) by finding all of Deckard Cain's journals, and even take on an Uber Prime Evil boss encounter there like in Diablo 2. For those who like their secrets silly, Diablo 3's Whimsyshire is now in the game after being teased as part of the cow-level quest, complete with hundreds of colorful killer teddy bears and unicorns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1QzrbZHR3g One of the coolest secrets in the seasons is the next phase of the Lucky Coin questline that players have been scratching their heads about since Diablo 4's launch. In Season 15, the last of these lucky coins can now be found. By converting each coin into a special jewelry item, equipping them, and going to Lorath's old house, a portal opens to an all-new Echo of the Horadrim boss fight, where players take on the tormented souls of Lorath, Neyrelle, and Donan. That might seem like a fitting end to the season's secrets, but nearly all of these secrets lead to even more puzzles for the community to solve. There still seem to be some secrets involving the cow level, as one piece of the cow-themed Bovine armor set is still missing. Players have fished up a teddy bear head that appears to be a reference to a quest from Diablo's Hellfire expansion and may be linked to Whimsyshire. The Horadrim boss encounter rewards players with a Horadric Coin, the purpose of which is still a mystery. Players have discovered a secret sheep level as part of the cow level, one that rewards an item called Map of the Stars that looks to be a reference to a deleted quest in Diablo 1. The quest item's description even states, "Oh for hell's sake, what now!?," seeming to imply there's still plenty more mysteries to keep Diablo 4 secret hunters busy. Diablo lore expert Loatheburger has a great breakdown of the season's remaining secrets, including one that may involve salvaging a certain number of Stone of Jordan rings in order to summon a special Diablo boss fight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y4gj1KkjBQ After a disappointing Season 14, Hell's Legacy looks to have put Blizzard's ARPG back on the right footing with its crowd-pleasing theme and a giant heaping of content ripped from older Diablo games, even as players are becoming stronger than ever with a Mythic Unique trick that might not be intentional. Though Diablo 4 won't receive new expansions as the focus shifts to the development of Diablo 5, due to release in 2029, it will continue to receive new seasons long into the future, Blizzard has said. The Amazon will be added as a standalone class DLC in the first half of next year.
The main voice actor cast for upcoming soulslike Valor Mortis has been revealed, and its star-studded lineup features the surprising addition of a name better known for fronting a black metal band. Adam "Nergal" Darski will play the role of Captain Raphael. If his impressive growls and screams in Behemoth are anything to go by, players can expect a pretty dramatic rendition of the character. It's not his first rodeo, surprisingly. He also voiced The Black Cat in 2022's Blacktail and was the narrator for Apocalipsis: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in 2018. https://youtu.be/JWD4BN8KUZ8 He's joining an impressive roster of voice actors, including Baldur's Gate 3 and Expedition 33's Jennifer English as The Shrike and Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Crimson Desert's James Alexander as William Dowsett. Napoleon Bonaparte will be played by Vincent Cassel, who has starred in the Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen films as François Toulour. Mars Lipowski, who is best known for portraying Sobieslaw "Gromsko" Kosciuszko in the Call of Duty franchise, will take on the role of Lucjan Skawinski. Will De Renzy-Martin, who played Coen in The Blood of Dawnwalker, will portray James Stewart. Finally, Yvan Chamouiseau will step into the shoes of Louis Moreau. Valor Mortis is a first-person action soulslike from the developer of Ghostrunner. Set in an alternate 19th century Eastern Europe, Napoleon's endless war has led to a supernatural plague. You'll follow William, played by Alexander, as he fights to survive against his former comrades who are now undead monsters. Valor Mortis is set for release on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on October 13, and will be priced at $40 because this fall has a jam-packed release schedule, the developer admitted recently. It was originally scheduled for launch on September 24, but due to how busy September was, it was delayed by a few weeks.
If you're a fan of The Witcher franchise, you're getting a lot of new stuff over the next few years, starting this week with the launch of The Witcher 3 Remastered. Here's what's on tap for The Witcher over the next few years: 2026 The Witcher 3 Remastered, which includes a bevy of technical and graphical updates and improvements, releases on September 29. The long-awaited remaster, which is free for people who already own the game, includes a reimagined skill system, an expanded photo mode, improved combat, and a new transmog feature. Check out GameSpot's in-depth breakdown of what's new in the remaster to find out more. Just be aware, the graphical overhaul isn't necessarily an entirely positive one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oEdB5S2d3U 2027 After that will come a new expansion for The Witcher 3, Songs of the Past, in 2027. The expansion was originally targeting a 2026 release, but it was pushed to 2027 to make it as good and polished as possible. Songs of the Past takes Geralt on one last ride “before passing the torch.” Players will venture to the location of Letten, home of Geralt's friendly bard companion, Dandelion. There is a new main quest called "A Bed of Thorns" where Geralt will meet up with Lilla, who appears to be a potential love interest for Geralt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwVa3RPBtvo Also in 2027? That's when The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski said he plans to finish the next entry in the novel series, telling the next Geralt of Rivia story. At the Copernicon event in Torun, Poland recently, Wiedzminlandia reported (via Redanian Intelligence) that Sapkowski said he plans to finish the book by the end of 2027, but it's unclear how soon after that it may actually release. Sapkowski's plans could change, but in any event, a new book is coming, and fans of The Witcher may be excited about that. 2028 Then in 2028, CD Projekt Red plans to release The Witcher 4. The game doesn't star Geralt, but instead focuses on Ciri and makes her the playable character. Geralt is set to appear in the game, however. Given The Witcher 4 is coming out in 2028, it likely won't be a on a disc for console due to Sony's decision to end support for physical media. There will be some kind of physical version of the game, however. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c1rokekgnY 2029 and beyond CD Projekt Red previously outlined an ambitious plan to release a new trilogy of The Witcher games within a six-year window that begins with The Witcher 4's launch in 2028. If that schedule holds, fans can expect The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6 to launch by the end of 2034. That's a lot of Witcher games in a relatively short amount of time. CD Projekt Red is known to delay most of its big games, so there is definitely no guarantee that the plan will hold. Other Witcher projects Beyond all of these projects from The Witcher franchise, CD Projekt Red is believed to be working on a multiplayer Witcher game. The game has undergone numerous changes over the years, and the developer has never shown it off. Additionally, CD Projekt is working with Scopely on a new mobile game based on one of its franchises. It's not confirmed that it's The Witcher, however; another candidate could be Cyberpunk.
Xbox has announced its next collaboration, and it's a partnership with Prince St. Pizza for a specially branded Gears of War pizza and a $60 pizza-cutter. Microsoft and Prince St. Pizza teamed up to make a Prototype Lancer pizza-cutter to promote this October's Gears of War: E-Day, and it's available for $60. To justify the steep price tag, Prince St. Pizza says it's a hefty metal cutter featuring a stainless steel blade and a handle that's meant to make you feel like you're wielding the iconic gun. The pizza-cutter also comes with the in-game pizza emblem. It does look pretty great, but it also looks like a real pain the butt to clean if you're a messy person like me. If anyone is wondering why it's called the Prototype Lancer and not just the Lancer, that's the special solution the developers came up with to explain why the heck a Lancer would even be in a prequel like E-Day. In the Gears of War lore, the weapon was created a year after the events of Emergence Day. However, you can't have a Gears game without the Lancer, so the developers called it a Prototype Lancer. Incredible. As for the pizza itself, it's called the Emergence Pie, and it's themed around this October's Gears of War: E-Day, which is a prequel that tells the story of Emergence Day. The pizza includes spicy vodka red sauce and mozzarella cheese, along with proteins in the form of pepperoni and sausage. The pizza is also doused with spicy Italian chili crisp. "Rugged, relentless, and built to hit hard, it’s the kind of pie that doesn’t go quietly," reads a line from Microsoft's blog post. It's also a pizza that doesn't go quietly for your wallet, as it costs a mighty $46 before taxes or delivery fees if you're getting it sent to your home. The Gears of War pizza costs $46. The Emergence Pie is available now through November 1 at Prince St. Pizza locations in the US and Canada. Prince St. Pizza is not exactly a household name, and there are only about 20 locations in the world in places like Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, and New York City. The single location in Canada can be found in Toronto. Anyone who buys the Emergence Pie also gets a code to unlock a pizza emblem in E-Day. Gears of War: E-Day releases on October 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S, and it's available at launch via Xbox Game Pass. People can buy the $100 premium edition to play five days early. Despite obvious evidence that Microsoft was planning to release E-Day on PS5, the company denied that it made a last-minute decision to cancel a PS5 version. The company did not deny the existence of a PS5 version, however. E-Day is not a timed-exclusive for Xbox, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has said, leading some to believe it will never come to PS5. However, Greenberg said in 2021 that Starfield was not a timed exclusive on Xbox … and then it came to PS5.
While all eyes are on Rockstar Games ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in November, rumors are already circulating about what's next for the developer. One unverified rumor claims Rockstar is working on an LA Noire sequel centered on hunting down the Zodiac Killer, one of the most infamous murderers of the 20th century. And honestly? That sounds far more exciting than GTA 6. First up, those rumors. It originally popped up on the GTA Forums amid a flurry of GTA 6 "leaks" sourced from 4chan, which doesn't exactly lend these claims any credibility. Even if the source behind them is flimsier than wet toilet paper, the premise alone is something I'd spend one of my three wishes on if I found a genie in a lamp. The post goes on to claim the game would be set in San Francisco and release around 2030. Again, I'm taking all this with several pinches of salt, in part because Rockstar's short-term focus will surely be on post-launch support for GTA 6 and launching GTA Online. It's also worth noting that the developer of LA Noire, Team Bondi, shut down in October 2011 and the rights to the IP are owned by Rockstar Games. The LA Noire franchise has been dormant for nearly a decade, with the original 2011 game being followed by The VR Case Files in 2017. However, there was a glimmer of hope provided to fans by Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick earlier this year, though it remains to be seen what the future may hold for the series. LA Noire I don't believe for a second that LA Noire 2 is in development, but I would love to be proven wrong. The original game, warts and all, is one of my all-time favorites for its nuanced storytelling and impressive recreation of Los Angeles from a bygone era, as well as for being a detective game that required you to actually pay attention. The key feature of LA Noire was its acting, brought to life by a rock-solid crew of performers--including a deliciously sinister John Noble--and advanced facial-capturing technology. Sure, there's an uncanny valley effect to those facial performances when you look at them now, but back then, you couldn't believe what you were seeing. Facial capture technology has only improved over the last 15 years, as high-resolution cameras and scanners became more readily available alongside specialist software. Standout examples including the use of the RE Engine to resurrect the late Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune and the Decima Engine, which enables realistic, nuanced performances in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Epic has also been making major strides with Unreal Engine 5, as the MetaHuman Animator plugin allows developers to map high-fidelity facial performance from a camera and create subtle micro-expressions in real time. I'd love to see what a new LA Noire game, placing an emphasis on this kind of tech, could look like. And then you tag-team that with a story rumored to focus on hunting down the Zodiac Killer, one of the greatest mysteries of the 1960s. While the murders have been heavily mythologized by books, movies, and TV shows, the serial killer is still credited with giving rise to generations of armchair detectives thanks to all publicly accessible primary documents--police reports, letters, and ciphers--keeping the case alive in the public consciousness. David Fincher's 2007 Zodiac movie is essential viewing on the topic. Would such a game be on the same level as GTA 6, when it comes to hype and a virtual city full of activities to take part in? Probably not, but as we saw with last year's Mafia: The Old Country, a strong single-player game at the right price can pay off handsomely. GTA 6 looks like a fine expansion of Rockstar's ideas—particularly with its added layers of immersion—but I'm not feeling the hype whenever I catch a new glimpse of it. I'm positive it'll be good, and I predict it'll earn high review scores across the board, but I'm not interested in a game that plays exactly how I expect it to. In comparison, Rockstar Games has the talent and pedigree to pull off one of the darkest crime stories of all time, and after decades of massive open-world games, it would be a nice change of pace.
Zach Cregger's highly acclaimed Resident Evil movie had another strong showing at the box office for its second weekend, propelling the film to break another franchise record. It already broke the record for biggest opening weekend for the franchise, and now the movie has made more than $100 million domestically. That's a new record for the franchise--before this, the biggest success domestically for the franchise was 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife ($60 million). Globally, Resident Evil has now made $196.5 million against a reported $75 million production budget (not counting marketing costs). The highest-grossing Resident Evil movie globally is Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which made $312 million worldwide. Time will tell if 2026's Resident Evil will catch up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNd1gb19A-c Check out the list below to see how the other mainstream theatrical Resident Evil movies did at the domestic box office. Director Paul W.S. Anderson made six Resident Evil movies that starred his wife, Milla Jovovich, and while none of them individually did very well commercially or critically, they combined to earn over $1 billion worldwide. The worst-performing theatrical Resident Evil movie was 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which made just $17 million domestically. It was directed by Johannes Roberts and starred Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield and Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy. After that film disappointed, rights-owner Constantin put the franchise on hiatus and planned to keep it on ice until Cregger came to the company with a pitch for Resident Evil. His movie is doing great, so people are wondering if there will be a sequel. That remains to be seen, and while Cregger has said he has ideas for where they story could go next, he's also said he is finished with franchise movies. The Resident Evil movie is a huge success, but the recent lift in sales of games in the series is not completely attributable to that, according to a research firm. Resident Evil domestic box office results Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) - $17,000,612 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) - $26,830,068 Resident Evil (2002) - $40,119,709 Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) - $42,345,531 Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) - $50,648,679 Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) - $51,201,453 Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) - $60,128,566 Resident Evil 2026 (so far) - $103,476,247
HBO has announced further casting details for the upcoming third and possibly final season of The Last of Us. Two actors from the games are set to appear in Season 3--Laura Bailey and Ian Alexander--along with prolific veteran actor John Goodman, as relayed by Deadline. Bailey played Abby in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us: Part II, with Alexander portraying Lev. For the TV show, however, Kyriana Kratter is set to play Lev, while Kaitlyn Dever plays Abby. Bailey will play Elizabeth, one of the Seraphite leaders, while Alexander will portray Paco, alongside Goodman as Joey. Joey and Paco are described as "Heroes of the Highway," but that's all we know. Goodman has worked with HBO before, starring on the comedy series The Righteous Gemstones. Bailey's performance as Abby was memorable, and controversial. She received a lot of online hate, and people even sent death threats to her newborn baby. John Goodman previously appeared on another HBO show, The Righteous Gemstones. Many actors from the games have been on the show Bailey and Alexander are just the latest actors from the games to appear on the HBO show, following Merle Dandridge and Jeffrey Wright reprising their characters Marlene and Isaac, respectively. Ashley Johnson, who played Ellie in the games, played Ellie's mom in Season 1. Troy Baker, who played Joel in the games, played James on the show. Jeffrey Pierce, who played Tommy in The Last of Us, appeared on the show as a new character, Perry. Season 3 could be its last HBO programming boss Casey Bloys has said on multiple occasions that he believes Season 3 could be the last one for The Last of Us. However, he's also acknowledged that the question might be better answered by showrunner Craig Mazin, who is plotting out the series and previously said he needed four seasons to wrap things up. Alternatively, Mazin is reportedly considering making Season 3 one long season as opposed to wrapping things up with Season 4. A big creative shift In a big shift for the series, franchise creator Naughty Dog is not involved creatively in Season 3, and Neil Druckmann dropped out as a writer/director. People have speculated about what this could mean, but Druckmann, for his part, said he left the show to focus on his work on Naughty Dog’s games. He is currently directing Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and if it’s true that Naughty Dog is also making The Last of Us 3, he’s probably involved in that, too.
Minecraft Dungeons 2 is taking a different approach to its relationship with vanilla Minecraft than its predecessor did. According to the game's developers, the sequel deliberately moves closer to the mechanics and feel of the original sandbox game, in part because the Dungeons franchise is now established enough to stand on its own two feet. Speaking to GameSpot, Minecraft Dungeons 2 creative director Måns Olson and design director Laura de Llorens Garcia explained that the team deliberately pulled the sequel closer to vanilla Minecraft during development. "As much as Dungeons 1 tried to interpret vanilla Minecraft--and I think we did a pretty good job of it--with some of the things that we had deviated from, we decided to take them even closer to vanilla," de Llorens Garcia said. https://youtu.be/vBNE3bKMpu8 The sequel introduces several systems that will feel familiar to players of the original Minecraft game, including four armor slots, Enchantment Books, and jumping. "I think the fact that those systems now work that way makes it feel a lot closer to base game Minecraft," she added. However, it wasn't simply a matter of making Dungeons 2 more similar to Minecraft. Olson explained that the team had a specific reason for taking a different approach with the sequel. "When we made Minecraft Dungeons and we did the early testing of the game, when we asked players what they thought and what it reminded them of, there were a lot of players who said, 'This game reminds me of Minecraft PvP servers,' or, 'It reminds me of Story Mode.'" There are now separate armor pieces, like the base game. Olson said that this was particularly important because many younger players had relatively little experience with games outside of Minecraft. As a result, the first Dungeons needed to establish its own identity first. "In that world, it was very important that we made Minecraft Dungeons stand out--a game that didn't feel like the base game, that felt different enough to stand on its own legs and bring something new to the table," he explained. "'Cause otherwise it could have just been a mod, you know? It needed to be something of its own." That led the team to make some pretty significant departures from vanilla Minecraft. "So we made a Minecraft game without mining or crafting, which sounds silly, but that's how we went about it." Olson explained. For Dungeons 2 though, the team felt it had more freedom to move back toward vanilla Minecraft because of that identity being established for the Dungeons brand. The developers see the sequel's larger, more interconnected world as another way of bringing it closer to the main game. Although Dungeons 2 isn't being positioned as an open-world game, the the exploration has been increased compared to its predecessor. "We did push the world to be bigger and more exploratory in this game compared to the first game and that brings us closer to vanilla," Olson said. That philosophy extends beyond Dungeons 2 itself, as the developers have been working closely with the vanilla Minecraft team while developing The Sift--the new dimension that is introduced in Dungeons 2, before coming to Minecraft in 2027.
Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie has done big numbers at the box office since it hit theaters on September 18, but has that been reflected in increased Resident Evil game sales? According to new data, a set of fresh discounts prior to the movie's release did most of the heavy lifting for a surge in Resident Evil sales, and after the film landed, there was a "modest" bump in sales. According to Alinea analyst Rhys Elliott, Capcom discounted several Resident Evil games on September 10 and kept those savings active after Cregger's movie arrived. "Almost all the copy movement was on PlayStation," Elliott wrote. "Resident Evil 2 nearly doubled on PS5 while doing just +16% on Steam, and Resident Evil 4 jumped +77% on PS5 versus a flat 0% on Steam. RE2 and RE4 picked up another 50-65% in PS5 copies even after you strip the discount out, which makes sense: they have a mix of nostalgia, quality, and the exact Raccoon City setting the film runs around in. On Steam, the same movie effect is a much milder +11% to +14%." As Elliott noted, the older Resident Evil games currently cost much less than Capcom charged when they first went on sale, while the latest game in the series, Resident Evil Requiem, got a 30% discount and was $49 this month before its price went back up to $70. Overall, there was higher engagement across the entire series, as the film reactivated an existing fanbase of players who already owned Resident Evil games. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2sSPdSPvCU "The movie tells an original story with a new lead, so newcomers have no obvious game to jump into," Elliott wrote. "The horror-film audience and the horror-game audience overlap heavily. Cregger is a draw in his own right after Barbarian and Weapons. An opportunity is next year's Resident Evil Veronica, which already has almost 2 million Steam wishlists. It stars Claire Redfield and, if it follows the original timeline, is set three months after Raccoon City, the event the film is built around. If the streaming release is timed to Veronica's launch, Capcom and Sony could finally build the on-ramp that most transmedia projects are missing. Still, transmedia stuff isn't having the impact it could." In its second week at the box office, Resident Evil was dethroned by the Avengers. Ahead of the release of Avengers: Doomsday, Disney brought Avengers: Endgame back to theaters, taking first place with a North American box office haul of $26 million for the re-release. Resident Evil dropped to second place, but overall, the movie is still doing impressive numbers. After an opening weekend that surpassed expectations, Resident Evil has now made over $196 million at the global box office. That makes it the fourth highest-grossing live-action Resident Evil movie so far, but it still has a way to go before it dethrones the current king of that list, 2016's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and its $312 million box office gross. Cregger's film has received critical acclaim since launch--even if people were iffy on its ending--and on GameSpot’s Sister site, Metacritic, the movie has a metascore of 79 from 51 reviews. “By backing away from the stories and characters of the video games, Cregger dodges the giant bullet of ‘that’s not my Leon Kennedy’ and instead lets us finally experience Resident Evil ourselves, through our own eyes,” Eric Frederiksen wrote in GameSpot’s Resident Evil movie review.
Mojang Studios and Double Eleven's sequel solves some issues from the first game, but picks up a few new ones too.
While you're making your way through Minecraft Dungeons 2, you'll find Enchantment Books. Some of these have similar effects to the ones found in Minecraft, while some are new and exclusive to Dungeons and Dungeons 2. However, as you're playing you might find yourself with a few Enchantments with no idea how to actually use them. Fear not, we've got you covered. Enchantsmiths will appear on the map as soon as you unlock them in the story. Enchantments are unlocked in Minecraft Dungeons 2 as part of the story, right after the Training With the Enchantsmith quest. Without spoiling the events of the story, I was around level 15 when this happened, and I had done a fair amount of exploring, adventuring, and completing side quests. You might find that you're a lower level when this part of the story triggers if you're not doing those things. There are Enchantsmiths in most major areas, including right by the respawn teleporter in Brave Haven. To use your Enchantment Books, speak to the Enchantsmith. As you level up, you'll get more Enchantment Points, meaning you can apply more, and stronger, Enchantments to your gear. The Enchantsmith handles all of your enchanting needs. To enchant your gear, you'll consume Echo Shards and Enchantment Points. You'll combine those with Enchantment Books--that can be used unlimited times--to apply the effect to your gear. Different gear has different available enchantments. To level up the Enchantsmith and get the ability to upgrade your enchantments, you'll use Echo Shards. Enchantments can be upgraded to a maximum of level three, making their effects more potent. Upgrading the Enchantsmith's merchant level allows for stronger enchantments. You can acquire Echo Shards by defeating difficult soul-corrupted mobs that you encounter throughout the world. They have a few uses in the game, and redeeming them at the Enchantsmith is just one of them. Of course, Echo Shards are also found in Minecraft by traveling underground to the Deep Dark and avoiding the Warden. A very dangerous affair, indeed.
When Minecraft Dungeons launched in 2020, it was difficult to know exactly what to make of it, or where it stood in the franchise as a whole. One of the world's most popular games had been transformed into a Diablo-lite-style action-RPG, taking away the mining and crafting that give Minecraft its name. In its place was something far more straightforward: kill monsters, collect loot, and repeat. The simplicity of Minecraft Dungeons was both its greatest strength and its biggest weakness. Its streamlined gear system made it easy to understand, while its enchantments gradually introduced more interesting build possibilities. But its combat could feel a bit too basic. Minecraft Dungeons 2 feels like developers Mojang and Double Eleven focused their efforts with those limitations in mind. The sequel is far more honed in on what happens between the battles, with expanded inventory systems, more customization options, more reasons to explore, and--perhaps most importantly--a world that actually feels connected to the larger Minecraft universe. Dungeons felt like it deliberately separated itself from the main game, and that was partly the point. Mojang wanted to create an experience that couldn't be found in vanilla Minecraft, while still using recognizable mobs, environments, and items to make it feel familiar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD9GtlgU8_c Dungeons 2 takes a bold and unusual approach that not many other large franchises could pull off. Its story brings the Sift dimension, which was created for this game but is also coming to the vanilla game in 2027. The Sift is accessed via a portal--a mechanic that will feel familiar to anyone who's played Minecraft--and houses an ethereal dimension with all-new environments, friendly mobs, and enemies. The Sift's being added to the base Minecraft game makes the relationship between the two games feel far more deliberate than it did in the first installment. It also allows Dungeons 2 to feel like a bigger part of the Minecraft universe, rather than a smaller branch forging its own path. As a result of that, Dungeons 2 made me particularly invested in its new dimension. As a Minecraft fan and veteran player, I was also intrigued about whether any of the narrative elements would be carried over to the main game. I walked around the Sift feeling like I was intruding on an unreleased Minecraft build, eager to check out the biomes, friendly mobs, enemies, and potential materials that can be found in the first new Minecraft dimension in a decade and a half. The Sift is the first Minecraft dimension outside of the Overworld that doesn't feel immediately hostile. In Dungeons 2 it's under threat, so there are hostile mobs to deal with, but the pearlescent lakes, muted blue, pink, and purple color palette, and mobs that cheekily poke their tongue out by way of greeting all lead to a very serene world, one that I'm excited to explore in vanilla Minecraft in 2027. By having multiple armor pieces, adding Enchantment Books, and having the ability to jump, Dungeons 2 is actually closer to the vanilla Minecraft experience than its predecessor. It feels almost unbelievable that the first Dungeons didn't include jumping, but Dungeons 2 does. This allows for a broader scope of exploration as you can hop up to hidden platforms to uncover chests, jump across gaps to reach previously inaccessible areas, and dutifully check behind waterfalls for hidden loot. It also adds the jump-attack combination, which allows for a more powerful attack that affects any enemies in range and provides another means of effectively dealing with groups of enemies. The storyline gives you something simple to care about. Your villager friends aren't just background characters wandering around and making "hmm" noises. They want to live peacefully, yet villains lurk around every corner determined to make that impossible. Every time they attempted to interfere with the villagers' attempts to live happily ever after, I found myself increasingly annoyed at them. It's not the deepest or most emotional narrative by any means, but Dungeons 2 understands that a straightforward story and likeable characters can work in tandem remarkably well. It's a notable improvement over the first game, where the story largely existed only to give you a reason to chase down the Arch-Illager. That's not the only area where Dungeons 2 improves upon its predecessor. The original Dungeons had an awkward economy that felt almost meaningless. You collected emeralds constantly but were limited in ways to spend them, with many options feeling worthless. In Dungeons 2, upgrading your gear at the Blacksmith improves your existing gear's stats substantially, while rolling for new gear at the town merchant has the potential to give you more powerful items to complement your build--especially if you've used Echo Shards to upgrade the merchant so he can offer stronger gear. Since the Blacksmith required rescuing in the original Dungeons, I somehow managed to miss his arrival in Dungeons 2. By the time I realized he was present in the sequel, I had already salvaged a considerable amount of gear that I probably would have kept had I known I could upgrade it. I'm undecided whether that's down to my campaign tunnel vision, or whether Mojang should have introduced him better. There is still a problem with this system, though. In placing a maximum cap of 9,999 emeralds, I regularly found myself losing them as I wasn't watching my balance when salvaging old items to exchange for more emeralds. Then, as it can often cost in excess of 1,000 emeralds to upgrade an item, I'd find myself struggling for the currency. A cap absolutely should exist, since it's so easy to get emeralds via exploration and salvage, and is part of what led to emeralds feeling worthless in the original game. But when that cap is making you regularly lose currency that you're actively trying to spend on upgrades, it shows that the economic balance isn't quite right. Where Dungeons 2 does excel hugely over its predecessor is in its willingness to allow you to establish a coherent build. Instead of one armor piece, you now equip a separate helmet, chest plate, leggings, and boots. This gives you more opportunities to shape your character around a particular playstyle, and I spent much of my playthrough experimenting with different combinations. I tried lightning-, poison-, and soul-focused builds, and each one changed the way I approached combat. The soul system was probably my biggest stumbling block. The game doesn't do a particularly good job of explaining what souls are, how you acquire them, or why you might want to build around them. I eventually worked it out through experimentation, but I shouldn't have needed to poke around quite as much just to discover something that is fundamental to an entire build archetype. Once you understand the systems, experimentation is enjoyable, but Dungeons 2 occasionally assumes that you know more than the game has actually taught you. A new type of equipment, Talismans, add another layer of build complexity. You can equip up to three at a time, and they grant you a passive ability--some summon other characters or creatures to fight alongside you, while others grant generous buffs to your health, attack power, ammo, and more. Amassing a decent collection of them relies on completing side quests and finding hidden loot, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it means players who rush through the main campaign are potentially missing some of the strongest tools they need to make more interesting builds. While the first game already had plenty of replay value through its difficulty levels, repeatable missions, hidden levels, and eventual DLC, Dungeons 2 expands upon that even further. There are side quests, dungeons, repeatable boss fights, and Soul Surge activities to complete beyond finishing the campaign. Soul Surge activities are time-limited events where stronger enemies spawn in an area, rewarding higher-tier loot that you can't get through normal gameplay. As a result, Dungeons 2 feels like an ongoing adventure rather than a campaign you complete and never return to. It also adds a purpose to the loot system. If you're trying to perfect a poison build, getting another piece of equipment is no longer about increasing your power; it's about improving the synergy between your individual gear pieces. The hunt for the perfect item to slot into your build is pretty moreish, and Dungeons 2 gives plenty of opportunities to do that after the story ends. However, there's a significant problem with the enchantment system. Enchantment Books are scarce, and I spent most of the main story limited to two of them for my armor pieces. You can use each book an infinite number of times, but in terms of build synergy, it's oddly restrictive. My favorite builds came way beyond the main campaign, and I didn't get that moment of feeling true satisfaction as my poison spread from mob to mob until many hours after I finished. Given the mob density throughout the story and the powerful bosses you face, it would have been more satisfying to discover a few more Enchantment Books as part of the storyline's rewards, instead of seeking them out post-game. However, being forced to explore Dungeons 2's gorgeous environments seeking out better loot is far from a terrible experience. Unfortunately, that wasn't the biggest problem I faced. My roughly 15-hour playthrough of the main campaign was affected by a number of bugs and glitches, with one particularly persistent issue leaving a "Teleporting" label permanently stuck to my character. It wasn't merely a cosmetic annoyance either, as the bug affected traversal, at times preventing me from jumping or safely navigating the environment. Restarting my game could temporarily resolve some of those problems, but the Teleporting label itself never disappeared, meaning I completed about half of my playthrough with the intrusion. For a game that places so much emphasis on exploration and movement through its expanded environments, having traversal occasionally break is a serious problem. It's particularly unfortunate because Dungeons 2's environments are beautiful, and being able to properly explore them is part of what separates this sequel from the more linear structure of the original. Hopefully these issues are addressed in a patch at launch, because they undermine what is otherwise a considerably more polished sequel. Dungeons 2 isn't a radical reinvention, and rightly so. The first game was already an enjoyable, approachable dungeon crawler, even if it was deliberately lightweight. Dungeons 2 adds depth and connects its world to the wider Minecraft universe while adding a meaningful economy, a build system with considerably more freedom to experiment, and more post-campaign activities. Even though the restrictive emerald cap, scarce Enchantment Books, and technical issues dampened my experience somewhat, the difference between the titles is clear. Where Minecraft Dungeons was a charming introduction to the dungeon-crawler genre, Dungeons 2 builds a deeper action-RPG within the same familiar, blocky framework. While it doesn't completely escape the limitations of its predecessor, Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a more ambitious sequel that finally gives its loot, builds, and world the depth that was missing, even if a few rough edges remain.
Announced today during Minecraft Live, Mojang is adding the first new dimension to the blocky sandbox game in more than a decade and a half. The Sift is an ethereal-looking fourth dimension that was first marketed for Minecraft Dungeons 2, and it's now been confirmed that it's coming to the base game in 2027. The Sift is a major new addition for Minecraft, marking the first new dimension since 2011's The End, where players go to fight the Ender Dragon in the end game. Speaking to GameSpot, Minecraft Dungeons 2 creative director Mans Olson explained that the team wanted to make sure that The Sift felt distinct from the Nether and The End rather than becoming another hostile environment. "We wanted to make sure that it was different. That it doesn't feel like the ones that already exist in the game," he confirmed. Unlike the Nether and The End, where the environments feel immediately hostile thanks to dangerous environmental hazards and angry mobs, the developers wanted it to feel like somewhere players could potentially live. "We thought of it more as a, kind of, different Overworld ... it's this idea that it should be a place where you could see yourself living, a place that's a bit peaceful, sometimes maybe even serene," Olson explained. "We already have two dimensions that clearly scream, 'I'm evil!'" That doesn't mean that The Sift will necessarily always be completely safe. In Minecraft Dungeons 2, the dimension is under threat from the Illagers, leaving its ecosystem in danger. https://youtu.be/1tINxp9ZPZA "We wanted to make sure that, although it is dangerous, it doesn't feel as hostile or as imposing as the Nether and The End," Olson said. "But rather just be an ecosystem of its own, to be rich and lush and vibrant, and provide a new color palette that's pretty different from what we've seen already." The Sift was originally created because Minecraft Dungeons 2 needed a new dimension for its story, but the developers have been working closely with the vanilla Minecraft team throughout its development. "When we do something new, we always look at, like, is there something there that we can reuse, or modify, or change that will suit the purpose? If there isn't, the new thing that we do, could it be added to [vanilla] Minecraft?" explained Olson. "That doesn't mean that it will or that it has to, but we want to make sure that everything could theoretically fit in there." In terms of visuals, The Sift is a vibrant landscape made of red and orange stone, green vegetation, sculk-like elements, and pools of a hazardous liquid called icor. You'll enter the dimension either through mysterious rifts that are opening across the Overworld, in the case of Minecraft Dungeons 2, or via Ancient City portals, which seem the more likely access point for Minecraft, where players control their experience more closely. While there are multiple new mobs in The Sift in Minecraft Dungeons 2, it's not yet been confirmed which of those will be making an appearance in Minecraft. There are Sifters, Singers, Neesters, and Sprouts to name just a few. The Sift will first appear in Minecraft Dungeons 2, which launches September 29. It will then make its way into vanilla Minecraft in 2027.
Minecraft's next game drop will add a new underground environment to the sandbox game, along with a new hostile mob, and items that bring frosty mechanics to exploration and combat. Announced during Minecraft Live on September 26, the upcoming game drop is expected to follow the usual drop cadence of once per quarter, releasing in December 2026. Its biggest addition is ice caves--a rare underground extension of Minecraft's existing cold biomes. Ice caves are a new underground biome coming to Minecraft. Ice caves will add more environmental variety to cold areas, giving you another reason to venture underground when exploring snowy regions. The caves will also contain ice crystals, which can be collected and used for decoration. Ice crystals can be placed vertically or horizontally, and they'll also produce light, giving you another way to illuminate your creations. However, ice caves aren't entirely peaceful. A new hostile mob in the form of the Frozen Zombie will lurk underground, bringing new combat mechanics with it. Frozen Zombies can apply a stacking freezing effect with their melee attacks. If you take too many hits you'll eventually freeze, making getting surrounded by Frozen Zombies especially dangerous. They can also throw ice balls, which deal damage and knock players back. Being hit with an ice ball will give you the Frozen effect. To create a Frozen Zombie, a regular Zombie will need to be exposed to powdered snow. Fortunately, when killed the Frozen Zombie will drop ice balls. Although if you're not coming across any, you can also craft ice balls. Frozen Zombies are a new variant of the existing Zombie mob. The ice balls can be used as weapons to deal damage and knock enemies back in the same way you would be if you were hit by one. They can also be used to brew a new potion that applies a freezing effect. While Minecraft's next update hasn't yet got a name, you can expect it to be released around late December 2026. Following that, Mojang also announced that the first new Minecraft dimension in 15 years will be released in 2027.
Crimson Desert is an action-RPG. It’s also a medieval fantasy game. It’s kinda sci-fi, kinda like Dragon’s Dogma 2, with a sprinkle of The Witcher 3, and there are even some Breath of the Wild and Assassin’s Creed comparisons to throw into the increasingly ridiculous pot. It’s completely overwhelming, completely wild, and completely fun, and if you’ve been waiting for an excuse to finally give it a shot—especially with its countless updates and new Enhanced version—you could try your luck at getting it for just $1 with Fanatical’s Mystery Crate. Crimson Desert is, admittedly, a bit of a strange game. The story of Kliff and rebuilding the Greymanes is maybe fourth or fifth on the priority list for Pearl Abyss’s single-player game, and normally, that would make it a less compelling experience. Yet, the higher priorities, like a solid gameplay loop and absolutely bizarre worldbuilding, make it so captivating that even hours later, I was still losing myself in Hernand Town, the game's opening area. Unlike The Witcher, which puts storytelling over combat—and for good reason—Crimson Desert decides to turn the combat in a typical action-RPG into something closer to a fighting game, and it works. Dishing out supernatural abilities while slicing apart enemies as quickly as lightning doesn’t feel button-mashy. It just feels right. Even simple actions like putting a flag into the correct position require a combination of buttons that initially feels stupidly complex for no reason, yet over time, it becomes apparent that it’s simply… fine. It’s just second nature at this point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyNKlUyk9DI As you gain access to new abilities, Crimson Desert just gels so well that, despite the long list of inspirations I started this article with, it all fits together naturally quite well. Grappling up to clifftops and nailing enemies with a bombardment of skills that would make Mortal Kombat characters look tame in comparison is just a sliver of what to expect. Admittedly, it can be hard to get used to at first, but keep pushing, and you’ll start to wonder how you ever played without all of these ridiculous tools at your disposal. Crimson Desert is an absolutely solid game, and with a whole batch of updates and the newly released Enhanced Edition, it’s now better than ever. If you’re feeling lucky, you could try out the Fanatical Mystery Crate experience, getting cheap Steam keys starting from just $1 / £1 each, or 25 for $17.49 / £17.49, and each crate is an opportunity to get Crimson Desert—or another AAA game, like The Blood of Dawnwalker or Silent Hill: Townfall. Even if you don’t manage to get Crimson Desert, which is admittedly likely, you’ll still have plenty of new titles added to your Steam backlog. And every crate is an entry into the grand prize draw, where one lucky buyer will get the swanky new Steam Machine. Don’t miss your chance. Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. This story was created in collaboration with Fanatical's deals team.
Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) ends on December 1, 2026. A new agreement has to be reached prior to the start of the 2027 season the following spring, and as it stands, there are some very big sticking points in negotiations, particularly around the topic of a salary cap. Should a new agreement not be made prior to the season, we're looking at a lockout, with owners refusing to give players access to their facilities, as we briefly saw back in 2022. But it feels different now. In 2022, the start of the season was pushed back but a full 162-game schedule was kept intact. This time, the owners (MLB) and the players (MLBPA) seem to be so far apart on the matter of a salary cap that it could cause a reduction in total games for 2027, assuming there's a season at all. Every year, just prior to the start of the baseball season, Sony releases a new MLB The Show game, bringing with it the latest real-life rosters for all 30 MLB teams. Should there not be a new CBA in place, however, what happens to the baseball video games we expect every year? Will they even release as planned? I wanted answers, not just because I write about games for a living, but because I will undoubtedly be playing hundreds of hours of a baseball game in the event of a lockout that leaves me unable to watch real-life Major League action. Well, to be fair, I would probably do that even without a lockout, but now it's especially important. MLB The Show 26 So, what could MLB video games look like if they launch before a new agreement can be reached? Last time, the lockout didn't last long enough for it to actually have a tangible effect on The Show, and an agreement was reached to save the baseball season a few weeks before the game's launch. Sony--honestly, understandably--hasn't responded to my request for comment on its MLB The Show plans in the event of a lockout. These plans could very well still be changing, as the owners and MLBPA continue sending offers and counter-offers back and forth. We can, however, look to another major sports franchise for some insight. I spoke to Matt Bertz, former Game Informer managing editor and current senior VP of Games at consulting firm Magid, to explain how this went in the past. He pointed to a similar situation that happened with NBA 2K12. "That game dropped in 2K's typical October release window, even though the league lockout started in July and extended until December," Bertz said. "The money train needs to stay on the track, and those licenses aren't cheap. "During that time, updated rosters and rookies were not available until the lockout was resolved," Bertz added. "To help create a draw without having the latest and greatest rosters, [developer] Visual Concepts leaned heavily into NBA history with the NBA's Greatest mode, which replaced the previous release's popular Jordan Challenge. The mode honored the careers of 15 of the league's best players, creating era-specific presentation packages and asking the commentators to wax nostalgic about NBA legends like Magic Johnson and Bill Russell. Given the MLB's storied history, I imagine a similar strategy could be employed by San Diego Studio." We could be seeing a whole lot of this. There is certainly plenty of historical content that The Show could draw from, as legends of the past--including the Negro Leagues over the last handful of years' games--have been a major part of the experience. But typically, this content exists as a supplement to the live rosters of current players in the MLB rather than the main attraction. Perhaps the game could really lean into the Field of Dreams content, giving baseball fans a chance to see even more greats of yesteryear compete while a never-ending army of fathers and sons plays catch off to the side, but this likely wouldn't have the legs of a traditional full-season content rollout. As it stands, only Sony knows what San Diego Studio's plans are for the potential lockout. However, even though The Show is the only traditional MLB baseball game on consoles today, it's not the only game with MLB licenses. One major--and very different--alternative is Out of the Park Baseball, a baseball sim that lets you manage your team down to the incredibly fine and minute details. I asked Out of the Park Developments president Rich Grisham back in August about the licensing agreements and the constant changes and uncertainty that come with making an annual sports game, and was a little surprised by the prevailing message: Baseball video game fans shouldn't lose sleep over this, at least not yet. "I think history is the best guide in terms of video games, and luckily, we've been blessed with Major League Baseball not having a lot of labor issues over the last, you know, 10-15 years. But if you look at history where there have been labor disputes in the past, the video games around the sport, their release schedules didn't change," Grisham told me over a video call. "So I don't think video game baseball fans have any reason to be concerned about their video games. We're not expecting to not be able to make the games or anything like that." Grisham's confidence regarding the 2027 season existing, at least in some form, was a little surprising to me--not just because of the stalemate the MLB and players are in, but because Out of the Park Baseball relies heavily on nitty-gritty details like a new CBA to work authentically. The development team aims to have any changes implemented into the game as soon as possible, but it can't plan for all potential outcomes before the dust is settled. Out of the Park Baseball 27 "Will there be baseball exactly on time or a little later? You know, that is all up in the air, but there will be baseball," Grisham added. "So, if there is a labor stoppage, you know, we'll do what we do to the best that we can do it, and we'll make sure that the games are as good as they can possibly be, and then, you know, let the chips fall where they may. But we're certainly not going to have two or three different versions of the game." We've seen The Show take an extra year to update all of its modes with rule changes, like when the universal DH was added to Diamond Dynasty one year after it happened in real life, and Grisham says Out of the Park, too, will continue to adapt--just maybe to a greater extent than in other years. "We're always making adjustments, because even in non-CBA years, there are rule changes, you know? Different taxes come into effect, you know--different rules around the draft. So we're always implementing those in Out of the Park Baseball. As they come out, we then put them in the game." It will be impossible to immediately implement all the changes that come about from a new CBA, especially if it happens post-lockout and with a shortened MLB season, but existing rules can act as a stopgap measure. "If there's not a CBA come March, then we'll probably just have the rules be the same as they are [now] until we find otherwise. And whatever the new CBA [states], we'll then [implement it] as quickly as possible--within the time allowed, because obviously you've got to put [the rules] in, you've got to test, it, you've got to run a billion simulations to make sure, you know, how it all works. We take it as it comes, is sort of the bottom line." It's an approach you can see in the most successful baseball teams, weathering the storm of injuries that inevitably crop up over the course of the season, shifting resources and moving around existing players to best compete against the rest of the league. We don't know exactly what the future holds, either for real-life MLB games or their digital counterparts, but we'll have some sort of baseball to enjoy in 2027. Whether that digital version immediately reflects the on-field reality remains to be seen.
There's way too much going on in Fortnite's core Battle Royale mode in Chapter 7 Season 4. With sprites giving everybody a bonus ability, and Overrides fundamentally changing the way the game works in the middle of matches, we've got kind of a large pile of gimmicks that show up in matches at random, if they show up at all. It's made for a disorienting and inconsistent experience that's difficult to strategize for, because there's no real status quo to get used to. It's a big mess, and it seems to be affecting player numbers in a big way, both for the core Battle Royale mode and Fortnite as a whole. The thing about battle royale as a genre is that it's already, by its nature, varied enough from match to match. Loot is random, and the other players are random, and so there's always plenty of variety even if you drop in the same spot every single time. This has been one of the key selling points of the battle royale genre since before Fortnite existed. But at a certain point, adding more randomness doesn't make the game more engaging; it makes it more annoying, because some of these gimmicks change the rules mid-match. Take the Speed Shooter Override, for example, which makes everyone's guns fire much faster and gives Fortnite a lower general time-to-kill (TTK) than it's ever had. You have to change your playstyle when that one is active, and you have to do so on the fly, because it happens in the middle of a match. Making it worse is that Override doesn't come up consistently enough that you can get used to it, unless you play like it's your job. And now that we're deep into the season, and Epic has added lots of other Overrides, Speed Shooter comes up even more rarely, which makes it even harder to adjust to when it does. Heaven help you if your enemies are lucky enough to claim the Squad Speed Shooter, which gives that power-up only to a single team. While squad Overrides mark the team that has them on the map for everyone to see, those markers don't tell you which Override they took. The only way to find out if they have Speed Shooter is to fight them, and probably die because their TTK is twice as fast as yours is, and you had no way of knowing that in advance. And then you're a little more mad than you usually are when you lose in Fortnite. There are Overrides I like, too, like the Power Pickaxe. That one lets you one-hit-kill anyone with your pickaxe, which I find delightful. But one of the reasons it ends up being so fun for me is that other players don't necessarily adjust their play at all when it comes up. It's an enormous change in the way the game works, and in order to really take advantage of it you'd have to play in a very unintuitive way, so I think a lot of people just don't worry about it. So I may have some easy pickings in those matches, but my victims probably found it just as obnoxious as I find those Overrides that enhance everyone's guns. These Overrides have all the downsides of the Medallions we saw in past chapters, but once again it's the lack of consistency that makes the current mechanics so much worse than what we had before. Those Medallions were often overpowered, but you knew they were there every single match, and if you defeated somebody who was carrying one, you could loot it off their corpse and take its power for yourself. But neither of those things is true for Overrides, which are a much more capricious mechanic. Despite these issues, it's not that hard to deduce the rationale Epic was using when it filled Fortnite with all these gimmicks. It's not even that complicated--to a corporate boss or middle manager, "So many different things could happen!!!" sounds abstractly like a great way to keep players coming back. But not all unpredictability is a boon in practice, and this is one of those cases, as players have been making very clear. In September, according to numbers compiled by fortnite.gg, Fortnite's main BR mode saw its second-biggest month-to-month drop (38%) in average players since those numbers became publicly available in 2023. But it's worth pointing out that the record-holder in this case--when we moved from the nostalgia-chasing Chapter 2 Remix in November 2024 into Chapter 6 the following month--the average number of players fell from a very high number (over a million) to a pretty good one (just over 600k). This time, though, we've gone from August's decent average (537k) to a bad one in September (333k). It's a slightly better percentage drop than we saw in 2024 (38% vs 42%), but a drop like that is a lot worse when it comes from a lower starting point. This mess of gimmicks has had me spending much more time in Reload than in regular BR this season. Even now that Epic has resumed rotating Reload's maps every 20 minutes, Reload is the much more consistent experience. While each of the three maps in rotation (Oasis, Surf City, and Springfield from The Simpsons) has a different loot pool, it's not a big deal because you know which map you'll be playing on when you ready up. You won't be blindsided by a random enemy having some gross unfair advantage that you didn't have the chance to get yourself. You won't have to adjust your playstyle mid-match to account for a fundamental rule change you didn't ask for. Reload is the better battle royale experience, and it's not close. Let me put it a different way: Reload, right now, feels like the real Fortnite, while Battle Royale feels like a desperate, gimmicky sideshow. It's practically a role reversal of the two modes, though I very sincerely doubt it was intended to be. While Reload is filling the gap for me, that clearly hasn't been the case for everyone. Reload's numbers are way down in September as well, and the average player numbers for Fortnite as a whole are down 28% in September, which is the single biggest month-to-month percentage drop that Fortnite has had since we've been able to track those numbers. Despite the growth of Epic's metaverse, the core BR mode remains Fortnite's beating heart. It's is the reason people install Fortnite, and when those same players delete Fortnite off their drives, it's usually because they got tired of BR. That mode's performance is still a bellwether for Fortnite's overall health. For BR to regain its form in Chapter 8 in December, Epic will need to make some major philosophical changes to its approach, because tossing in as many gimmicks as they can clearly isn't going to cut it anymore.
After Xbox laid off 1,600 employees over the summer, Microsoft's gaming division followed up with more layoffs and studio closures this week. In the wake of these events, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is taking a look at the bright side and praising Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's actions as a necessary step. "There's some amount of streamlining the team is doing, and Asha is doing, which is great to see," said Nadella during his appearance on the Sources Podcast. He also noted that he feels "fantastic about the IP we have right now. If I look at the studios, the IP portfolio we have, and our ability to then take that and produce great games going forward, I feel fantastic." "We have to invent the right sustainable business model that allows us to deliver gaming to more and more people," added Nadella. Regarding AI, Nadella questioned why Western consumers are so skeptical about the technology compared to other parts of the world. "I think we've not given [AI] breathing space," said Nadella. "In fact ... I was reading the Gallup poll on AI and it's not good in the West. What's also very interesting … it's not a uniform thing around the world. And in fact that's the thing we should ask: 'What did we get wrong in the West that these other countries may not have?' Why are people in Nigeria more optimistic about AI than in the United States?' And I think we should reflect on it and my belief here is the industry [has] to earn the trust [and] show the benefits to both consumers and enterprises and the communities. And then ... we'll be fine. But without it, just any amount of just celebrating technology for technologies sake is not working." Prominent AI skeptic Ed Zitron has blamed Xbox's precarious position on "catastrophic mismanagement" by Microsoft and AI bets that didn't pan out. Even after the most recent layoffs, there are indications that more job cuts are coming to Xbox.
Irisalis is Aniimo's first legendary rarity Aniimo, and this creature is finally available to catch with a brand-new seasonal event called Walking with Irisalis. In this guide, we'll show you how to collect Irisalis Petals, craft the legendary Aniipod, and catch Irisalis for your Aniimo collection. Who is Irisalis? Irisalis legendary Aniimo Irisalis is the legendary evolution of Iris, and this Aniimo can only be caught during the seasonal Walking with Irisalis event. This is a Nova stage Aniimo with the DPS role and Grass Element type. Irisalis has two skills to use. Irisalis Shadow creates clones of Iris, while Whirling Blossom Rain makes the clones fire floral light beams. Only legendary Aniimo can unlock the transmogrify ability. This allows you to use Radiant Dreamshadow to change the visual appearance of Irisalis. Walking with Irisalis event details Walking with Irisalis event The Walking with Irisalis event is live from now until December 10, giving you over two months to complete the limited-time objectives. This requires collecting Irisalis Petals, crafting a special legendary Aniipod, and defeating Irisalis in battle before you can catch it. How to complete the Walking with Irisalis event The material needed for the Walking with Irisalis event has actually been in the game since launch, so you might already have a good start on this. You'll need a total of 99 Irisalis Petals to craft the legendary Aniipod. If you're just getting started with the game, you'll have a grind ahead of you, but we'll give you some tips on how to get Irisalis Petals easier. How to collect Irisalis Petals There are nine permanent ways you can earn Irisalis Petals: Completing main story objectives (12) Completing Journey Quests (10) Complete Elite Pathfinder challenges (7) Earning Silver Badges (14) Completing Tracing the Trail event quests (5) Alpha First Clears (17) Branch Nurture (18) Completing Aniimo Topics (16) You can get all 99 Irisalis Petals just by completing all the objectives above, but there are additional ways to earn the petals faster. A new weekly rotation of options will be available during the event, allowing you to score several Irisalis Petals quicker. Breezy Mission Letters gift boxes In week one, you can purchase Breezy Mission Letters gift boxes for 428 Glimmer each. The shop currently has a limit of four purchases of this item, but each one will give you an Irisalis Flower. Go to your inventory and select "Use" on the Irisalis Flower. This will give you five petals per flower, giving you a maximum of 25 Irisalis Petals to add to your total count, assuming you buy all five Breezy Mission Letters gift boxes. Irisalis Petals in the Stamp Shop The stamp shop also has Irisalis Petals at a cost of 50 Windborn Stamps each, and you can purchase up to four petals this way. Visit the Walking with Irisalis event tab each week to see what new options are available in the event's weekly rotation. How to craft the legendary Aniipod Crafting a legendary Aniipod for Irisalis Once you have 99 Irisalis Petals, head back to your menu's event tab and select the Walking with Irisalis event. You'll now be able to select the option to craft the legendary Aniipod. You can only craft one of these special event Aniipods, meaning you can only catch Irisalis once. Crafting the legendary Aniipod will unlock the ability to teleport to a rift, and this will take you to Irisalis. You'll now need to defeat Irisalis in battle. Defeating Irisalis Irisalis is a grass-type Aniimo, so you'll want to pick your best team with Dark, Fire, and Wind elements. Also remember this makes her resistant to Earth, Grass, Water. It's worth having a healer in your party as well. Glacy is a water-type Aniimo, but they are a powerful healer to pair with the elementals you'll need. Defeating Irisalis will give you a prompt to catch them with the legendary Aniipod you crafted, and you'll now have the game's very first legendary Aniimo. For more tips, check out our guides on how to find "shiny" Aniimo, unlock a free Prismana Aniimo, and earn all free in-game rewards. We also have quest walkthroughs for the Wondrous RV and Warrior (Inferlupa) evolution quest.
Diablo 4 players are decking themselves out in full sets of Mythic Unique gear as part of Season 15, resulting in characters that are more powerful than ever before. Whether that was Blizzard's goal, or this is simply a mistake of some kind, is currently up for debate. It's about as big of a change from one season to the next that Diablo 4 has ever experienced. Back in Season 14, Blizzard added the "crafted" item tag to Mythic Uniques made via the Horadric Cube, Blacksmith, or Jeweler, with a limit of only one crafted Mythic being equippable at a time. Even if you had the Resplendent Sparks resource needed to make more Mythics, you couldn't use them. Instead, you had to rely on good old-fashioned luck to find natural Mythic drops without the crafted tag. The changes weren't popular, so Blizzard walked it back mid-season, and has made further improvements as part of the latest season, Hell's Legacy. Mythics made by the Blacksmith or Jeweler are no longer considered "crafted," while ones made via the cube still are. Once again, players could have several Mythics of your own creation equipped at once, much like the previous seasons. However, for players with more sparks than they know what to do with, there is technically a way to get around the "crafted" tag. It takes combining three of the same Mythic Unique (not exactly an easy task) in the cube using the Recycle Uniques recipe, resulting in a new version of that same item. While the item will have all new stat rolls, the key here is that this recycled Mythic Unique won't have the "crafted" tag, letting players equip as many of them as they can create. The result is players running around with full sets of Mythic gear, something we've never seen before in Diablo 4. This would be a huge problem and could completely break the game in many ways, if it weren't harder to do than it sounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9IHlOYCrbg Considering it costs 15 Resplendent Sparks to just create one Mythic Unique this way, it's definitely a huge time investment. To do this trick with all 12 gear slots would cost an enormous 180 Sparks, something that seems nearly impossible for an average player and would require an ungodly amount of grinding and farming. That hasn't stopped some of the game's most dedicated content creators from doing exactly that, however, as highlighted by Wudijo. Whether the ability to create non-crafted Mythic Uniques this way is an intentional choice on Blizzard's part or an oversight remains to be seen. Diablo 4's next update is slated for September 29, but the 3.2.2 patch notes make no mention of this trick and instead are mostly bug fixes. Overall, Season 15 seems to have been well-received by players after the largely unpopular Season 14. The season finally added Diablo to Diablo 4, as players relive past Prime Evil encounters from previous Diablo games and rub shoulders with none other than the legendary Deckard Cain. Diablo 4 won't receive new expansions going forward, but it is set to receive a new class, the Amazon, in the first half of next year. Meanwhile, Blizzard is hard at work on Diablo 5, set to release in 2029, and has already revealed three of its playable classes.
There are a number of fights in Onimusha: Way of the Sword that get on my nerves. Greater Nue. Byakue for the, like, umpteenth time. Sasuke Uchiha--I mean, Sasaki Ganryu. The stupid last boss, who I thought would literally never die. I felled them, one after the other, most times on the first or second try, but it forced me to rethink how I played the game because the greatest enemy of all was actually the fickle camera. On multiple occasions, the camera would get stuck in a wall or phase through an enemy’s torso. Seeing where I was and who I was fighting became a battle itself as I fought on the actual battlefield--until I did one simple thing: I stopped locking on to what was in front of me. Suddenly, I felt like a true samurai warrior, my eyes observing the full combat zone as I more accurately predicted and reacted to my enemy’s movements. With this new freedom, I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to locking on to everything again. An Old Tactic In A New Game "What's that, Shizuka? You want me to stop locking on?" For the early stages of my time with Capcom’s macabre samurai adventure, I clicked the right stick in to lock onto the enemy who stood in front of my sword. It didn’t matter the number of enemies that were there; that lock-on was literally always toggled, and I could very easily switch my target from one to the other if necessary. It wasn’t until about seven hours into the game that I began to reconsider this tactic. During the game’s 11th story mission, What Lurks in the Shadows, you encounter two Raikou-looking monsters named Nue (Blue) and Nue (Red). You battle one of these quadrupedal beasts earlier in the mission, so you should be familiar with their moveset, but fighting two of them, with their lightning-fast movement, sucks. I died. A lot. It’s frustrating because neither the fight (nor the game itself) is all that challenging, but the camera kept getting in the way, making it difficult to keep one Nue in focus while the other charged me from offscreen. This is where I tried something different. I toggled my lock-on off, and before I knew it, those Nues were no more. Clicking The Lock-On Off Just Clicks This isn’t a new tactic in action-adventure and action-RPGs. Players have been fighting without lock-on for decades, and Souls players in particular have long discussed the advantages of doing so. A netizen in the Dark Souls subreddit asked two years ago why people hate locking on in the game, and user Gabosh responded that unlocking “simply [allows] you to manually control the camera or aim spells” and is “useful against giant enemies or 1v2 boss fights.” Someone in the Dark Souls 3 GameFAQs forum asked a similar question nine years ago, explaining that Souls games become “SO much easier if you don't lock on and just learn to free aim.” And even in Elden Ring’s Steam discussions page, someone decried how sick they’ve grown of the lock-on system two years ago, with user Sockwallet saying that you should “NEVER use lock-on for melee in Souls games, [because] it gets you killed.” Evidently, I never got the memo that locking on was bad. But many of these discussions highlighted two things I learned in my own testing: control and freedom. I thought that, as I fought through Onimusha’s hell-transformed world, locking on was the way to go. It squared me up with the enemy in front of me, ensuring that I was always looking ahead at what was coming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbmpcYkUh_U Sometimes, though, what’s coming isn’t in front of you, and when you’re locked on, you’d never see that. I learned that the hard way during my fight with those two annoying Jolteon knock-offs. By unlocking, I had much more freedom over the camera, giving me greater awareness of my surroundings. On top of the freedom, I gained a greater sense of control over the flow of battle and protagonist Miyamoto Musashi’s movements. While locking on let me react to the enemy, employing free aim let me react to the fight as a whole. Instead of the camera dictating who I fought and where I was positioned, I was able to scan the arena, reposition Musashi based on enemy tactics, and make informed combat decisions in response to what was happening around me. I stopped circle-strafing and stood my ground more. I stopped dodging haphazardly and parried more effectively. I stopped letting the camera determine my next target and, instead, thinned the pack based on enemy priority. In essence, I became a combat strategist, analyzing the battlefield and enemy movements to attack and defend at the perfect moments. A Tactic For One Is A Tactic For All I really hated this boss fight... Ever since my encounter with the Nue Twins, I’ve opted for free aim in almost all combat scenarios. Whether I’m fighting a horde of monsters, two bosses at once, or one big bad, my lock-on is typically off now. I’m enjoying the control and freedom too much to relinquish it to the automation of Onimusha’s lock-on system. I’ve gotten so accustomed to it that, after beating the game in roughly 40 hours, I went back to other action games like Ghost of Yotei and Mortal Shell 2 to see just how effective free aim is. And yep, free aim works! I don’t know why I never considered not locking on before this, but I’m glad to have experimented with it now. Locking on certainly has its place--don’t get me wrong. The final boss in Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a real piece of s**t and a great example of this. It’s a 1-on-1 duel, locking onto your opponent makes sense here. But even then, toggling the lock-on off during certain segments of the fight--particularly the second phase--provides a better sense of control and freedom, and those two traits are important in action games. I’ll continue to lock on when necessary, but from now on, I’m entering fights with no target in mind, allowing myself to flow like water from one enemy to the next, regardless of what game I’m playing.
No news is good news, they say. They also say that some news, however little, is good news, too, and girl, do we have some news: Ubisoft's struggling action-adventure game Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still alive despite remaining in development hell. Ubisoft Bordeaux's lead writer and associate narrative director Rik Godwin took to Bluesky on September 22 to provide a brief update on the game. "Odd sort of non-announcement but for the past few months I've been working on Beyond Good & Evil 2 in a support/consultant role," Godwin, who was a writer on Assassin's Creed Shadows, said. "I am allowed to say this, I checked." It makes sense that Ubisoft Bordeaux would assist with Beyond Good & Evil 2. According to IGN, Ubisoft Montpellier, which is leading the project's development, is just south of the Bordeaux studio. And although Ubisoft Bordeaux was the lead developer on both 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage and Shadows' 2025 expansion Claws of Awaji, that studio typically operates in a support role for Ubisoft's myriad other teams. This minor update comes nearly 10 years after Ubisoft re-revealed Beyond Good & Evil 2 at E3 2017, and nearly 20 years after Ubisoft announced the action-adventure sequel all the way back in May 2008. There have been some rumblings of progress, with Ubisoft posting hints that development was ongoing in November 2025 and January 2026. However, whatever progress that has been made has been slow at best and invisible at worst. Although there's no release date at the moment, Ubisoft has continued to swear that Beyond Good & Evil 2 will be released in due time. Just don't expect it anytime soon, and at this rate, maybe don't expect it in this current console generation.
In 2011, Dark Souls let players praise the sun, and that sun cast a shadow long enough to engulf the whole industry. The action-RPG--boosted by its spiritual predecessor, Demon’s Souls--kickstarted a new subgenre with a refreshing level of boldness that made it unignorable for any developer making a game with a sword. It was a paradigm shift that swallowed the action genre and meant almost everything was molded after Dark Souls and its stamina meter, methodical movement, and esoteric world. Even with small deviations here and there, there was seemingly little room for action games unwilling to stick to this blueprint. This dearth of variety is precisely what makes Onimusha: Way of the Sword so refreshing. Instead of capitulating to trends, Capcom’s latest hit bravely demonstrates a level of versatility action games should have had all this time in this post-Dark Souls world. Way of the Sword sheds a number of key soulslike principles. There are no bonfires that repopulate the lands, interlocking paths filled with shortcuts, corpse runs, stamina bars to micromanage, obnoxious boss runbacks, or obtuse lore bits hidden in item descriptions that require VaatiVidya explainers to fully grasp. Way of the Sword doesn’t begin with a four-minute monologue from a cockney witch speaking cryptically about the Blight or Corruption sweeping the earth. Instead, it kicks off with a gaggle of jokes that demonstrate hero Musashi Miyamoto’s character well: He’s an unserious goofball who is seriously talented with a blade and just wants to eat his rice ball in peace. Its ability to subvert soulslike tenets is more important when the swords start clanging. Soulslike games are often built upon reacting. Every time Malenia does her dive-bomb move, you have to dodge and wail on her during her abundant amount of recovery frames. When the King of Puppets does his spin and slam, you just need to react to whether or not he will do a second one before you unload. The bosses may have various tentacles or mechanical parts, but the dance of waiting to parry- or whiff-punish can often be broadly similar. The King of Puppets from Lies of P. Action games can and should be more than this, but the penchant to follow From Software so intently has narrowed what's possible. This is in contrast to other types of action games like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Ninja Gaiden, the Holy Trinity of franchises that get brought up when dissecting the genre. The former two are all about freestyling on enemies and using a variety of weapons to create YouTube-worthy juggle montages. Ninja Gaiden, at its best (and it’s not always at its best), prioritizes speed and efficiency, since vindictive enemy AI requires perfection to skirt on by. It's a rush to execute elaborate, S-rank aerial combos and slice through a room of ninjas unscathed, and even though these are different paths, both roads are paved through the player’s active choices. Whereas being an active participant is typically defined in the genre through offense, Way of the Sword flips this on its head by primarily using defense to give players a more active role. Blocking, parrying, deflecting, dodging, and the all-powerful Issen all have various uses and have players balancing risk and reward. Regular parrying is relatively easy to do, thanks to a forgiving window, but the payoff is meager. Deflecting is riskier because it requires two button presses and delays the reward by negating the opportunity for an immediate counter slash, but it can melt stamina bars more quickly. The Issen is the most explosive of them all, as it requires near-perfect timing and, more importantly, punishes failure, yet it can lop off a sizable chunk of health and stamina upon success. Dodging is more fruitful for physical, non-weapon attacks, however, it’s tricky to remember that in the heat of the moment when so much else requires a parry of some kind. This layered process yields layered choices. Is deflecting better when the stakes are high or will parrying suffice? Performing a last-second Issen may put the lanky and ever-annoying Ganryu into an exhausted state, but goofing it up will undoubtedly prove fatal. Players have to constantly make these decisions within a split second and have the skill to actually pull them off. The high skill ceiling also means boss fights can evolve after each handful of retries, as players get more confident with each death. Although it is a little tedious to fight Dohatsu-ten around a dozen times, the repeated attempts are swaggier every time and serve as valid ways to mark your skill progression. A battle against Dohatsu-ten in Way of the Sword. Even with a focus on action, Way of the Sword still has reactive elements. There are blade barrages, blade locks, parry and block breaks, grab counters, and unavoidable attacks, all of which require reactions and often have one correct response. But this breadth is the point. The variety is what keeps players on their toes and duels unpredictable. Players may get used to deflecting an incoming flurry but then a blade lock requires sudden mashing. A boss might look stunned but then whip out a counter stance that spells death if players don't halt their offense and break out the Oni arms. As illustrated through this balance, reactive elements don't automatically make a game lesser. Titles like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Lies of P, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty are all centered around parries and remain thrilling tests of skill. This also isn't to say these games don't have more active elements--that's where pre-fight weapon and gear choices come into play--but they, with a few exceptions, place a lot of weight on a single type of parry. These three games are just designed well enough so this approach doesn't feel like a setback or cliché. A close up of a parry in Way of the Sword. And there are some solid to fantastic games that go down the Dark Souls route and abide by many of its restrictions, but the problem here is the sheer quantity of them and how they contribute to the imbalance. Stamina-based action-RPGs have become the default for action games, and no genre should be this narrow. Whether it's Dark Souls with anime or Dark Souls with Italians, it's still Dark Souls and not something willing to trek into more uncharted territory. God of War played a similar role in the mid-2000s, as titles like Dante’s Inferno, Conan, Heavenly Sword, Ghost Rider, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow all prayed at the altar of the newly minted Greek deity. Genre titans come and go, but this current trend is much more prevalent and has been going on for a lot longer. But there has been a burgeoning vanguard of action games that have resisted the urge to conform to From’s template. Hi-Fi Rush was a gorgeous and thoughtful Devil May Cry-like game with a focus on rhythmic beatdowns. Ninja Gaiden 4, despite its bloated runtime and tanky mobs, recalled the series’ glory days well enough. Control Resonant, for all of the valid criticism that could (and should) be leveled at its shallow combat, isn’t even close to being a soulslike. The jury is still out on Phantom Blade Zero, but various leads have repeatedly talked about games like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Sifu, Ninja Gaiden, and Devil May Cry as influences or personal favorites, while also explaining how the studio wanted to have a “totally different combat system” to buck the perception it was a soulslike. There’s clearly a smidge of soulslike in Phantom Blade Zero--even the developers don’t deny that--but it is actively trying to be more than Dark Souls in faux China. The same goes for Onimusha: Way of the Sword. There are some soulslike elements sprinkled in here and there, but Capcom set its sights on something greater. Other developers should take a similar charge and realize there is more than one way to make an action game. It’s quite ironic how Way of the Sword has players sucking up countless souls when avoiding Souls is what makes the game so engaging.
After suing a former Reddit moderator in October 2025 for pirating Switch games, a Washington court has ordered the individual in question to pay Nintendo $4.5 million in damages. According to a September 25 TorrentFreak report, US District Judge Lauren King ordered former r/SwitchPirates moderator James "Archbox" Williams to cough up $4.5 million in damages to Nintendo after the company accused him of operating several pirate shops to illegally decrypt and distribute Switch games to the public. The lawsuit, which was filed in a Washington federal court in June 2024, stated that Williams had been running this racket since at least 2019, using "circumvention device" software to bypass the company's systems and gain access to over 30 Nintendo Switch games. This includes titles like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Williams reportedly ignored the complaint at the time, which prompted Nintendo to seek the statutory maximum of $150,000 per title in October 2025. And just this week, Judge King agreed with Nintendo's request, stating that Williams was aware of the case, as he both hired a lawyer to object to a Google subpoena and continued posting on Reddit but opted to not respond to the company's lawsuit. In one screenshot saved by TorrentFreak, Williams called himself a "pirate" in a Reddit thread, clarifying that he--and others like him--won't "give Nintendo $50 for a game" when there are "months of releases unavailable anywhere." It's a bit like that I Think You Should Leave skit, where Tim Robinson, in a hot dog suit, drives a hot-dog-shaped car through a suiting store and is "looking for the guy who did this." Both Judge King and Nintendo know the guy who did it, and they want him to pay a lot for his actions. "The last factor also weighs heavily in favor of the statutory maximum penalty because NOA's complaint contains well-supported and extensive allegations that Williams knew the videogames were copyrighted but willfully undertook his copying and distribution efforts anyway," Judge King concluded in the suit. "Williams' egregious infringement activities merit substantial punishment here." In addition to the $4.5 million in damages, Williams has also been ordered to cease all illegal distributions of Switch games through a permanent injunction. This includes barring him from encouraging others to download pirated games or bypass Nintendo's systems to do so, disabling his myriad pirate shops, and deactivating his social media accounts. According to TorrentFreak, much of this has already happened, as Williams' Discord, Instagram, Reddit, Telegram, TikTok, and X accounts are gone. Further, some of the pirate shops Williams ran were taken offline after Nintendo sent a cease-and-desist letter in March 2024. For Nintendo, this is another win against thieves who think they can get away with pirating the company's games. According to the lawsuit, the company wanted to both stop Williams' infringing activities and use him as an example of what happens when you go up against the ever-litigious Mario maker. Be careful. Those white gloves might serve you papers.
Presented by Takafumi Noma director (character designer, and scenario writer of Unicorn Overlord and former veteran of Vanillaware) × Good Smile Company, the new IP brand "IGNISPHERE" has officially launched. We are excited to release this teaser trailer introducing an epic original world woven together by numerous nations and races. ■ New Game Currently in Development! The first game based on the IGNISPHERE universe, an all-new Action RPG titled "DAWNGAZER," is currently in development. ■ "Dawngazer" Product Info Planning & Development: Monochrome Corp. Publishing & Promotion: Good Smile Company, Inc Release Date: Scheduled for 2028 Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Steam Supported Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (Traditional/Simplified)
Castlevania celebrated its 40th anniversary this week--an impressive milestone in video games and a terrifying pair of numbers for anyone who was born in 1987. Konami marked the occasion with a new video paying tribute to the original whip-slinging hero of the 1986 Famicom game, as well as all of the other influential entries in the Castlevania series over the last four decades. It's a cute little retrospective, and it might also be teasing something else from Konami, if our tinfoil-hat-speculation is right. https://youtu.be/U9hmHw0JFUc Right near the end of the video, Castlevania's first protagonist, Simon Belmont, takes a quick stroll past a series of non-ruined portraits in Dracula's castle. Eagle-eyed observers will note that these feature cover art from three of the 3D-era games--Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, and Lords of Shadow. The fourth one is for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, which launches in October 2026. Could Konami be teeing up a new compilation that bundles together the PS2 and Xbox 360/PS3-era 3D Castlevania games? Portraits of ruin? Nah, just some really good games. The company isn't saying anything, and there's a good chance that the games were chosen purely because they still have some of the best cover art in the franchise. They're pretty neat, artistically! But a Castlevania collection isn't uncommon, as Konami has released a few of these in the past. The Castlevania Anniversary Collection from 2019 collected eight games spanning the first 10 years of the series, and the Castlevania: Dominus Collection bundled all three DS-era games alongside the 1988 Haunted Castle arcade game. What Konami did confirm is that it will hold sales for select Castlevania titles, new vinyl record soundtracks for classic games are available to preorder, and Castlevania on mobile is also free for a limited time through the iOS and Android stores. For Castlevania fans, next month's release of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse marks a major moment for the series. Following the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 in 2014, the video game series went on hiatus, aside from the two compilations released. The Castlevania animated adaptations released for Netflix proved that there was still an appetite for the IP, and last year, it was announced that the developer of The Rogue Prince of Persia--Evil Empire--was reviving castlevania for PC and console. So far, Belmont's Curse looks like a return to the series' roots, as it follows Rose Belmont through the ruined streets of Paris on her quest to stop Dracula. The game will let you turn tough bosses into powerful allies, and a demo for it will go live on October 1 ahead of its October 15 release date. Beyond that, there's hope that we could see more Castlevania in the future, as Konami's decision to outsource development to studios like Bloober Team and Screen Burn has led to several excellent new entries that have redefined what Silent Hill can be. It looks like it's repeating this approach with Castlevania, and a compilation of the cult-classic 3D games sandwiched between new releases would be a fun way to kickstart a Castlevania renaissance. A Pile Of Secrets: The Hidden Gems Of The Castlevania Series View Images
Flying is cool, and the Ace Combat series manages to make it even better with a symphony of gunfire coming from fighter jets and the smell of exhaust. Well, you can’t smell it in the cockpit, but I imagine it’s a smell that makes you feel cool. It has been seven years since the last entry, but Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is letting you jump back into the pilot’s seat with a fresh campaign and a huge multiplayer mode, and right now, Fanatical is making the ticket price even cheaper right ahead of launch. Typically, I’m not a huge fan of simulation games that involve flying around the open skies. Microsoft Flight Simulator? I’d rather play anything else, despite the fact that I understand the appeal. However, being the leader of a squadron of fighter jets is fittingly awesome, and dogfighting might be some of the most fun I’ve had in any game, ever. Star Wars Squadrons made me fall in love with the idea, and years later, Ace Combat 8 is capturing my interest. In the campaign portion, you play as a silent protagonist who serves as the weapons systems officer for FCU naval aviator Jan Cope. After Cope is killed in action, you need to take up the mantle of the Wings of Theve, leading the Joker Flight squadron into the Sotoa-Usea War. Your combat performance, as well as some other key decisions, will determine whether your squadron thrives under pressure or is defeated by the enemy, forcing you to make tough choices in the heat of the moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9qkuwuU0dg There are a total of 30 aircraft to choose from, each offering its own strengths and weaknesses. And to make things even more interesting, unlike previous games, you can now damage enemy aircraft by shooting at any part of the vehicle, meaning you don’t need to lock onto specific weak points. Although that might still be beneficial. After practicing in the cockpit with the campaign mode, it’s time to suit up and jump into your aircraft for Ace Combat 8’s multiplayer option. Huge lobbies allow you to walk around the airbase with your own custom avatar before choosing between a PvE mode that sees you take on hostile forces, or a warfare mode that requires you to work with your team against other players and non-playable enemies, with a variety of land, sea, and air targets to take down. Ahead of launch, you can preorder Ace Combat 8 for just $60.19 / £52.45 at Fanatical, netting you a Steam key and letting you play at a 14% discount compared to the usual price. Alternatively, you can also grab the Deluxe Edition for just $77.39 / £64.49, which grants you a cosmetic set, the Premium Ace Pass Plus voucher, and three days of early access, so you can practice flying before most players join the skies. If you’re looking to get a cheap flight and get on the highway to the danger zone, well, this is a great pre-order discount. See you in the skies, pilot. Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. This story was created in collaboration with Fanatical's deals team.
I never knew I could be so enamored by clouds. There were times in my youth–typically sitting on a train or in the back of a car–when I would absentmindedly stare out the window at interesting cloud formations. Nowadays, phones, laptops, and handheld consoles tend to distract me from the world passing by, but in Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, clouds are its ever-present pièce de résistance. For all the high-tech jets, explosive action, and melodrama at the game's core, it's the bountiful sky and its stunning portraits of a version of our planet at varying altitudes that truly grab the eye. Flying through a rain cloud as it douses the cockpit window with droplets of water never gets old, and simply cruising through the air is almost tranquil at times. Yet Ace Combat 8's clouds aren't mere window dressing. From gauging your altitude by the density of the clouds around you to using them as cover to break a missile lock, Ace Combat 8 uses this technology to push the series forward in tangible ways that go beyond aesthetics. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is one of the best examples of a game singlehandedly reviving a dormant series–and earning back its goodwill after the disappointment of Assault Horizon–so Ace Combat 8 didn't have to change all that much to keep the good times rolling. It stays true to the series' arcadey dogfighting roots while implementing a number of incremental improvements, making for a slightly more dynamic and intense experience as you go from sustaining heavy G-forces to unleashing a barrage of missiles. The story is more prominent and also personal this time around, too, strictly focusing on the members of a single squadron amid a major conflict. Set in Ace Combat's fictional war-torn world of Strangereal, the story begins as the Republic of Sotoa invades the Federation of Central Usea (FCU), quickly occupying much of the nation and scattering its military forces. Outmanned and outgunned, the FCU relies on propaganda to keep morale alive. This is where the eponymous Wings of Theve comes into play: a legendary fighter pilot known for taking down dozens of enemy aircraft in the fight against the invading Sotoa forces. Except none of the pilot’s legend is true. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5irVTl0mD8 War propaganda is nothing new, of course, but this immediately reminded me of Ukraine's Ghost of Kyiv. This mythical flying ace was alleged to have shot down six Russian planes over the capital city of Kyiv back in February 2022. The Ghost's exploits quickly spread like wildfire in the media and online, but two months later, the Ukrainian air force revealed it was simply propaganda to boost morale. It's easy to see how this might've influenced developer Bandai Namco Aces when creating Wings of Theve. But this is also an Ace Combat game, so it doesn't take long for things to get weird. Top Gun has always heavily influenced the series, so just imagine a scenario where Top Gun: Maverick opens with Tom Cruise crashing and dying, then passing his spirit on to a new pilot who adopts the Maverick callsign. For the rest of the movie, Tom Cruise exists as a dead guy in the new, silent protagonist's head, passing on sage wisdom and sharing his jaded thoughts on the war with a melancholy similar to the most recent Wolfenstein's B.J. Blazkowicz. Oh, and Top Gun is an anime now, too. That is Ace Combat in a nutshell. A dead pilot narrating from inside your head might sound odd if you've never played the series before, but this kind of left-field choice is par for the course. Okay, maybe it has never gone quite this far--the Johnny Silverhand gimmick suits Cyberpunk much better--but it still fits the eccentric tone. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and the story wouldn't change all that much if it were removed entirely, yet I can't help feeling oddly gleeful that it even exists. Unfortunately, the basic premise doesn't hold up to much scrutiny. The pilot killed in the opening was the propagandized Wings of Theve, alleged to have shot down multiple enemies despite not opening fire on a single foe. Their famed callsign is now yours, but because this is a video game, it doesn't take long to turn fiction into fact. The Wings of Theve isn't an idea anymore; it's a real pilot who's gunning down enemies and turning the tide of war almost single-handedly, so anything interesting that might've derived from the propaganda angle is disappointingly absent. Similarly, Ace Combat 8 lays the groundwork to comment on modern warfare in the age of social media, AI, and the mass sharing of disinformation, but all of these themes are ultimately window dressing. Social media is bad when the bad guys use it but good when the good guys do--this is the kind of social commentary you can expect. Nuanced discussions aren't on the menu; instead, Ace Combat 8 basks in melodrama, with writing full of bold ideological statements and rousing speeches about borders, heroism, and the big blue sky. In the wrong hands, it could feel ham-fisted, but there's also a wide-eyed earnestness at play that's both endearing and optimistic. The new first-person perspective in cutscenes regularly features moments where you need to hit A to salute, shake hands, and so on, which veers into "Press F to pay respects" territory. Yet without Call of Duty's self-seriousness, it works in a campy sort of way. Humanizing touches also help the cast's pronounced personalities shine through, from Tasha Severskaya, a pink-haired civilian who's the squad's best pilot but hasn't yet pulled the trigger, to her wingman William Coster, who stays mostly silent until a mission where he learns one of the pilots you're trying to rescue used to be in his favorite rock band. Ace Combat 8 does a good job building up your squad by delving into their unique character arcs through cutscenes and radio chatter during missions. The story has issues and is fairly by-the-numbers, but its bombast is entertaining enough, especially when it indulges in absurdity in a way only Ace Combat can. Where else would you face off against an ominous land battleship equipped with a railgun that can wipe out entire city blocks in an instant? Or regularly run into an evil squadron of enemy pilots that plays ominous music over the radio whenever they show up; music that gradually evolves each time they appear, eventually culminating in a pulse-racing dogfight set to some of the best video game music you'll likely ever hear. Again, this is par for the course, whether it's a sweeping orchestral piece, a prolonged Spanish Guitar solo, or an up-tempo J-rock track. Ace Combat 8 lives up to the series' reputation for phenomenal music, adding another indispensable layer to the game's thrilling combat. Flying through a rain cloud as it douses the cockpit window with droplets of water never gets old, and simply cruising through the air is almost tranquil at times. Piloting its assortment of real and fictional jets is surprisingly simple, letting you get into the swing of things relatively quickly. Ace Combat 8 still has that classic arcadey Ace Combat style, but the planes feel slightly heavier than before--like there's more heft beneath the joystick--adding to the satisfying sensation that hits when you accelerate at full tilt and break through the sound barrier. The unmistakable crack of a sonic boom, accompanied by the distinctive vapor cone that engulfs your jet and then dissipates just as quickly as it arrives, is always exciting to pull off. Combine this with the way you can execute high-G turns, either to attempt to stay on the enemy's tail or dodge incoming missiles, and the act of soaring through the air is enjoyable in and of itself. Blowing up enemy aircraft is its own kind of reward, of course. Tougher enemies ensure that it's challenging to simply stay on their tail and achieve a missile lock-on, using tricks you would expect human pilots to use, such as dashing through clouds to break line-of-sight, launching flares, and pulling off cobra maneuvers to turn the hunter into the hunted. Some larger aircraft also have multiple lock-on targets, letting you pick whether you want to focus on, say, taking out their anti-aircraft guns first or destroying their propellers to send them tumbling out of the sky. Between knocking down buildings in the path of the aforementioned land battleship and shooting down suicidal drones to prevent them from destroying a space elevator, there's also plenty of variety from one mission to the next. After 30 years of Ace Combat, it feels like Bandai Namco Aces picked a few of their favorite scenarios from the series' past, while sprinkling in some new sortie types as well. One mission, for instance, has you flying an unarmed aircraft through a valley while avoiding detection from enemy radar. Others have you establish airspace dominance, follow contrails to locate massive stealth bombers, and take out coastal ground forces to protect your naval fleet's advance. There's a plethora of blood-pumping moments, although it does stumble into some pacing issues as well. With 30 levels in total, Ace Combat 8 seems stretched at times. Some missions feel like filler, slightly nudging the story forward while tasking you with fairly basic objectives as though you're simply painting by numbers. They're not intrinsically bad, but these missions typically follow some of Ace Combat 8's more dramatic endeavors. I understand potentially wanting to break these levels up with more relaxed sorties to help you catch your breath, but it has the adverse effect of stalling the game's momentum. Fortunately, this isn't a problem as the campaign ramps up toward a particularly histrionic conclusion, yet I can't help but feel like it could've been a more tightly paced experience if a few missions were cut. That said, I must commend some of these levels for being more open-ended, giving you the freedom to pick and choose your targets, which ties into Ace Combat 8's deeper pre-flight options. Before each mission, you can select your plane, its armaments, and a number of parts geared toward enhancing your mobility, weaponry, and other miscellaneous stats. You unlock all of this through an extensive Aircraft Tree, giving you new jets, weapons, and upgrades to play around with throughout the entirety of the game. Some jets are tailored more for speed and dogfighting, while others excel at wiping out ground targets with bombs and land-based missile strikes. You can further improve these aspects with upgrade parts that enhance maneuverability, shorten air-to-air missile lock-on time, expand your bomb payload, and more. This isn't a rigid, universal system like before, either; each aircraft has a specific capacity for each upgrade type, making some of the more expensive jets feel much more powerful. You can also outfit each squadmate with specific aircraft and weaponry, maybe balancing land-based attacks with air support, or fully favoring one or the other. However, I never noticed much difference in practice. The return of squad commands is more palpable, letting you order your squadmates to utilize their special weaponry when heavy targets appear, encourage them to be more aggressive, or demand that they fall back and support you. If you'd prefer having actual humans by your side, Ace Combat 8 also features the series' most exhaustive multiplayer suite so far. There are 100-player lobbies where you can customize your pilot avatar and wander around, visit the arcade to play Pac-Man, or head to a supply shop to obtain loot crates, among other distractions. There's also a battle pass--called the Ace Pass--with both free and premium tiers that unlock upgrades, consumables, and cosmetics for both your avatar and aircraft. We were only given a short multiplayer session to try out before launch, so it remains to be seen whether any pay-to-win aspects are at play. You can purchase new aircraft with an in-game currency earned by completing matches, but you're also limited by your rank, so you can't just buy the best jets right away. This seems like a good solution, but it depends on what's available if you're willing to spend real money. Ace Combat 8's multiplayer rests on two main pillars: Co-op Assault and Co-op Warfare, which let you jump into PvE or PvP matches, respectively. Co-op Assault challenges teams of two to four players to complete a shared objective, rewarding victory to the team with the highest score. Co-op Warfare is similar, only you can destroy players on the other team as well, racking up points by taking out computer-controlled units and real players alike. Once again, the highest score wins, but escalating scores also raise the threat level, adding a score multiplier to each kill. The higher the threat, the bigger the swings, making for some intense matches. Additionally, limited-time modes occasionally pop up in lobbies. Scramble lets a team of four go head-to-head against powerful computer-controlled squads, while Emergency Sorties task eight players with defeating iconic super-weapons from previous Ace Combat games. Special PvP events also crop up from time to time, featuring four-on-four deathmatches and eight-player free-for-alls. Dogfights against human players are inherently fascinating, because even the best enemy AI can't possibly compare with the human mind. There's also plenty here if you'd prefer to team up with friends; the only question marks I have are centered on the battle pass and whether there are any other ways of spending real money to potentially gain an advantage. All of this remains to be seen. Even if the multiplayer favors those with expendable cash, Ace Combat 8's single-player adventure is still worth the price of admission alone. The story could've been stronger--more introspective--but is entertaining regardless, and while there are some pacing issues with filler missions and some uneven momentum, much of the game is excellent, providing the series' signature blend of melodrama, stirring music, and thrilling aerial combat. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve picks up where Ace Combat 7 left off, underlining that the series is well and truly back to its best
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve picks up where Ace Combat 7 left off, underlining that the series is well and truly back to its best. The story could've been stronger--more introspective--but is entertaining regardless, and while there are some pacing issues with filler missions and some uneven momentum, much of the game is excellent, providing the series' signature blend of melodrama, stirring music, and thrilling aerial combat.
Gears of War: E-Day looks like it'll be a dark and brutal prequel to the mainline games, but what lies beyond the campaign? Like other games in the series, multiplayer modes will carry Gears of War: E-Day after you've wrapped up a tour of the Emergence Day battlefields, and the game's developer, The Coalition, has some big plans for how it wants to support its various online modes after launch. While it hasn't gone into too much detail yet, The Coalition has confirmed that a seasonal roadmap will be revealed closer to launch. One part of the multiplayer suite that is getting a lot of attention is Horde Siege, The Coalition's new spin on classic Horde mode action. This is where teams will take on waves of Locust forces, with up to 12 players split across three squads pursuing objectives. According to the developers, Horde Siege will be updated with new classes, maps, missions, modifiers, and seasonal content, such as limited-time events like Trick or Treat mode during the Halloween Event, as part of the broader post-launch plans for Gears of War: E-Day. Gears of War: E-Day cosmetics and customization items Customizing the look of your Gear will be a big part of the multiplayer experience, and The Coalition says that players can unlock a selection of "gritty and imaginative designs" just by playing the game. While some content will require you to spend the premium in-game currency, Iron, to unlock new character and weapon skins, The Coalition says these will be limited in number. "Our legendary skins are a bit more over the top, celebrating gritty and imaginative designs inspired by the vibes of our brand," senior production manager Noah Benesch said during an E-Day multiplayer deep-dive. "When it comes to collecting and growing your own collection of customization items in E-Day, we've taken a more old-school inspired approach. That means nearly every single piece of customization in E-Day can be earned by just playing the game. You'll unlock new items through completing seasonal and event challenges, unlocking achievements, and by earning medals from our Classic Medal System." "Everything else can be obtained by completing matches and earning coins, which unlock items in the Barracks. We'll have a few things that are pay-only, but they're limited to our Premium Edition items and charity or partner content like the Ride the Lightning Weapon Skin set we've created in partnership with Metallica. Every season will grow our lineup of Cog and Locust characters, as well as adding new weapon skins, poses, customization elements, challenges, medals, and events. All of this is to say there's no battle pass. No pay-to-win. No bulls**t." Here's the full list of items that can be earned in the game: Character skins Weapon skin sets Poses Banners Emblems Icons Titles Menu music Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer modes https://youtu.be/cmawSe1PkPg As for the multiplayer modes, Gears of War: E-Day will include several options at launch. All Versus modes are 4v4 by design, with no weapon mods active so the playing field remains balanced. Team Deathmatch In E-Day, Team Deathmatch has been improved with a dynamic respawn system to move spawn locations closer to where fights are playing out. Like previous iterations of the mode, it's focused on eliminating the pool of lives that the opposing team has, instead of chasing scores. Conquest King of the Hill with a Gears twist, Conquest is all about occupying and defending specified zones around the map. Demolition In Demolition, teams battle to take control of a bomb. They then need to deliver and plant it at one of two enemy bomb sites, while the opposition works to stop them. Crucible In Crucible, teams battle to claim a Power Core and then keep control of it within a designated zone. As the round progresses, the zone will move and shrink while teams fight for dominance. The good news for holders of the Power Core is that they can use it offensively, as it holds an electrical charge that can blast the enemy's flesh right off their surprised bones.
Yes, yes it is. We're not going to beat around the bush here, as the newest Gears of War game will be available day-one through Xbox Game Pass, which is hardly surprising. While there are questions about the future of Xbox Game Pass and whether it'll still see first-party games launch day and date through the subscription service, Gears of War: E-Day will be available to all subscribers on the Ultimate tier for Xbox Series X|S and PC. Gears of War: E-Day Xbox Game Pass release date Just like the $70 retail edition, Gears of War: E-Day will launch on October 6 through Xbox Game Pass. If you want to play the game earlier, you can purchase the Gears of War: E-Day Premium Edition Upgrade, which will unlock it for you on October 1. You'll need an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscription alongside the upgrade, and this early-access perk also applies to the standalone Premium and Collector's Edition versions of the game. This will also unlock some extra in-game content, including the Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack, five seasonal customization packs, and 1,000 Iron (E-Day's premium in-game currency). Is Gears of War: E-Day available through other Game Pass tiers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRFE0gCsgLg Nope, this is strictly for Xbox Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass. Members of the Game Pass Essential and Premium tiers will need to upgrade to Ultimate to join Bravo Squad during Emergence Day. Are the other Gears of War games available through Game Pass? Indeed they are! As one of Microsoft's biggest game franchises, several Gears of War games have been added to the service over the years. You can grab the entire series--and two excellent spin-offs--right now, if you want to play through the entire Gears of War saga. The Xbox 360 and Xbox One-era Gears games will work just fine on Xbox Series X|S, thanks to backwards compatibility, and every title is available for both Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate subscribers. Gears 5 is the only one available to Game Pass Essential subscribers. Gears of War games available on Game Pass for Xbox consoles Gears of War (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears of War: Reloaded (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears of War 2 (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears of War 3 (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears of War 4 (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears 5 (Xbox Game Pass Essential, Premium and Ultimate) Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears Tactics (Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate) Gears of War games available on Game Pass for PC On PC, the selection is slightly smaller. While the modern games and the remakes of the first Gears of War games are available to download and play through PC Games Pass, Gears of War 2 and 3 are the exceptions. Both games were released as Xbox 360 exclusives, and have yet to be officially ported to PC. Gears of War: Reloaded Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Gears of War 4 Gears 5 Gears Tactics
Call of Duty's The Haunting brings even more Halloween fun to Black Ops 7 and Warzone this week with the start of the Doom crossover event. This limited-time event will allow players to unlock Doom operator skins, themed decals, loading screens, and a new special weapon for the season. In this guide, we'll showcase all Doom rewards in Season 6 and how you unlock them. https://youtu.be/cKExoO-Gq64?si=3xKgwMLWR4qG31V6 Doom limited-time event details Call of Duty's Doom event runs from now until October 14. This adds operator skins and cosmetics themed around the Doom franchise. This works just like the previous Nicolas Cage and RoboCop events with both free and paid event tracks. While there are plenty of free Doom rewards to earn, you’ll need to purchase the paid "premium" pass for 1,100 CoD Points ($10) if you want to unlock the iconic "Doom Guy" as an operator. This is one of Call of Duty’s XP-based events, so you’ll simply need to grind XP across multiplayer, Zombies, Endgame, and Warzone. Unfortunately, the event doesn’t list how much XP you need per reward. For multiplayer, playing the objective in modes like Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, and Domination work best, while Casual Resurgence should yield more XP for Warzone. For Zombies maps, try to focus on solo runs with the Rampage Inducer active to speed up the slower early rounds. The Vandorn Farm map is a great pick, as it requires very little setup. A double XP weekend will arrive the day after the Doom event begins, but if you miss this opportunity, you can always make use of any double XP tokens you've collected. The Tracer Pack: Doom Demonic Essence Additionally, a Doom-themed shop bundle will arrive sometime during the event. The Tracer Pack: Doom Demonic Essence focuses on the villains of the franchise, and they are paired with a trio of weapon blueprints, a finishing move, and other cosmetic items. A price isn't given for this, but Call of Duty's IP bundles are typically around $20. All Doom event rewards Doom Guy in Call of Duty Call of Duty's Doom event has 20 rewards in total. These include 10 rewards in the free pass, and 10 more optional rewards that can be unlocked with the paid pass. The highlights of the free pass include two operator skins for existing operators, the mini Doom Guy weapon charm, the Demon Slaughter loading screen, and the new Roc 20mm special weapon. As mentioned previously, the paid pass is required to unlock the iconic "Doom Guy" as an operator as well as the Doom Slayer variant skin. Other high-tier rewards include the Evisceration finishing move, shotgun blueprints, and the “Crucible” blueprint variant of the katana melee weapon. You can acquire the following rewards in the free track at various XP milestones: “Researcher” Operator Skin for Wei Lin (JSOC) “Soul Harvest” Spray 1-Hour Double Weapon XP Token “Daisy” Sticker “Demon Slaughter” Loading Screen “Praetor Helm” Emblem “Doom 1993” Large Decal “Scientist” Operator Skin for Falkner (Guild) “Mini Slayer” Weapon Charm Roc 20mm Special Weapon In addition to the free items, the following rewards can be earned through the paid pass: “Doom Slayer” New Operator (JSOC) “Slayer’s Arrival” Animated Calling Card “Rend” AN-94 Assault Rifle Blueprint “Shieldsaw Revs” Emote “Tear” M10 Breacher Shotgun Blueprint “Evisceration” Finishing Move “BFG” Siren Special Weapon Blueprint “Crucible” Katana Melee Weapon Blueprint “Doom Count” Gun Screen “Doom Guy” Operator Skin for Doom Slayer (JSOC) Images of all of Call of Duty’s Doom event rewards can be seen below. Make sure to check out all of the highlights for Season 6 of Black Ops 7, which include Halloween-themed game modes, more Zombies maps, and a spooky nighttime variant of Warzone’s Haven’s Hollow. This is the final season of Black Ops 7 content, as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arrives on October 23. The Modern Warfare 4 campaign trailer has revealed Mads Mikkelsen to be playing a major antagonist in Modern Warfare 4, and the game will feature campaign early access on October 16.
Several years have passed since the last new Gears of War game was released, but at long last, that drought is almost over. Gears of War: E-Day will be one of the early highlights of October, and if you're looking to rev your Lancer up and turn back the Locust tide, you can start playing really soon. Like other big upcoming games, you'll also have the option to preload Gears of War: E-Day, so you can jump right into the fray on launch day. Here's a closer look at the timing for this new chapter in the series. Gears of War: E-Day install size According to the official PC requirements for Gears of War: E-Day, the game will require 115GB of storage capacity on that platform. Xbox Series X|S install sizes are typically on par with PC, so overall, you'll want to make sure you have at least 100GB of free space available on your machine. That's a pretty noticeable increase in size, as the previous game, Gears 5, required a chunky 80GB of space when it was first released back in 2019. One other thing to note is that if you're planning to play on PC, the game requires a solid-state drive to be installed on. This is a mandatory requirement for the game to run optimally. Gears of War: E-Day preloading times Preloading will kick off on September 29 at the following times: 11 AM ET 10 AM CT 9 AM MT 4 PM BST 5 PM CEST 3 PM UTC 5 PM SAST 1 AM AEST (September 30) Gears of War: E-Day early access global launch times If you purchase the Premium or Collector's Edition of Gears of War: E-Day, you'll get a five-day headstart to play the game, starting October 1. Early access will kick off at these times across the globe: 11 AM ET 10 AM CT 9 AM MT 4 PM BST 5 PM CEST 3 PM UTC 5 PM SAST 1 AM AEST (October 2)
Grand Theft Auto 6's Jason and Lucia may not have to be in a romantic relationship. Throughout the GTA 6 extended look, we noticed several things that hint toward a far deeper relationship system than we first expected. When changing characters, there's a heart symbol in the bottom corner between the two. This represents that Jason and Lucia are, in fact, in a romantic relationship, but there's a lot of nuance to the system. This relationship is entirely optional--you do not need to be romantically involved. However, it's impossible to separate the two in terms of the storyline. As you progress through the game, the two will continue to be important parts of one another's lives. Whether or not you want to pursue a romantic relationship is up to you. The way Rockstar has been describing it is a lot more "dynamic." It's not as rigid as other games. Normally, when a game has a relationship mechanic, it feels very binary. Occasionally, characters will be created solely to serve as potential romantic partners. Throw a few gifts their way, have some good conversations, and consider yourself partnered off. By and large, the story remains the same. Jason and Lucia's relationship is more like a spectrum, and it can be strengthened via various activities. While it wasn't present in GTA 5, going on dates with people was present in other GTA titles. It doesn't seem like there are set missions for going on dates in GTA 6. Instead, moments that occur while you're on dates or completing activities could strengthen your relationship--holding hands or sharing a meal, for example. The relationship is not tracked by a bar or meter, but it has different states. The two most obvious ones are that you're either in a relationship or not, but there may be other states in between. As you engage with different activities, it will move up to different relationship states. While pursuing a romantic relationship is optional, there are no gameplay penalties if you choose not to. If you're worried that you have to be in a relationship to benefit from stat perks, that doesn't appear to be a factor. There could be other benefits that we're unaware of, but they're more likely to be related to dialogue or different scenes. It's also important to note that Jason and Lucia can't break up in the traditional sense. Generally, if you choose not to date, you can't split up entirely and lead different lives. However, if you had decided to pursue a romantic relationship and then change your mind, there are ways to get out of that relationship. However, you will always be partners in crime, and your shared story will continue. If you end up pursuing a relationship, it doesn't require a lot of maintenance. If things come up and you don't want to spend time with the other person, it won't hinder their relationship. You'll have to actively decide not to be in a romantic relationship. This makes GTA 6 almost unique in terms of how romantic relationships play out. You'll have to actively decide which type of relationship you'd like to pursue, and there's no "preferred" experience in terms of the story. Each character has agency in the relationship, but it remains to be seen how you're supposed to control both characters when they're talking to one another.
Saw: Genesis was set to be the next asymmetrical multiplayer horror game to debut, but its 2026 early-access launch has been pushed to 2027, developer Bloober Team announced. The horror-focused studio said it needs more time to get Saw: Genesis to a place the team is satisfied with. It's an interesting admission, since some teams use Steam Early Access for exactly that purpose: to get the game in good shape. But in the increasingly competitive and crowded space of licensed multiplayer horror games, a bad first impression may be more damaging than a reverse bear trap strapped to your face. We've seen a lot of games like this since Dead by Daylight kicked off a wave of them in 2016, but my appetite remains insatiable because no two are really quite alike. It's exciting to see how studios transpose different horror movies' signature elements into interactive experiences, but when I checked out Saw: Genesis at Summer Game Fest, I came away underwhelmed. The 3v1 gameplay loop wasn't easy to follow in my hands-off demo. It's set about a century before the movies, with one person playing as a Jigsaw-like "Judge" who runs three others through his maze of torture devices and traps, trying to kill them all before any of them can escape the end of his trials. The team of three may have brief windows of opportunity to attack the Judge, though a really skilled Judge may never even give them a chance, lurking in corridors the victims can't access, slinking out to activate his next hellish device. Things like complex puzzles for the victims and best practices for the Judge were really hard to follow. Some understanding would come with more experience, no doubt, but the first impression was rough enough to make me think it'll scare off players for being so unintuitive right away. Animations and visuals were lacking, too. I figured those issues could and likely would be polished over time, but if the core experience is unclear or convoluted, Saw: Genesis may struggle to compete for players' time, especially since its closest comparison is Red Barrels' already successful Outlast Trials. The delay feels warranted. I've been rewatching the Saw series lately, and it's reminded me that these movies aren't very good. Many of the 10 of them are plainly bad. Even the first one, which I'd long remembered as a milestone in low-budget horror, now feels like it has too many plot contrivances and nu-metal music-video editing choices for my liking. And yet, I'm totally on board with Saw: Genesis if it works as a game. I don't have any reverence for the '80s B-movie Killer Klowns From Outer Space, but I had a blast with Illfonic's adaptation. I'm looking forward to seeing how Saw: Genesis changes shape between now and the next time we hear about it. Even though it's horror season and a Saw: Genesis launch would've made sense on the calendar--"If it's Halloween, it must be Saw," I was always told--I like the idea of Bloober Team pushing it out a few months to try to clean it up. This is a studio that told me it's done making "shitty games," and while that's not a guarantee, Bloober Team surely hopes to follow through.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is under two months away, but the early sales numbers for the game are already starting to get out. According to a sales tracker posted by Sensor Tower, GTA 6's PlayStation 5 presales are outnumbering Xbox Series X|S a ratio of more than 3:1. However, Xbox's Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball has refuted a report that Microsoft is unhappy about those sales numbers. In a message posted on X, Ball wrote, "We are very happy with GTA 6 pre-orders. The title is breaking records for Xbox, we expect even more records will be broken throughout the fall, and our internal analysis shows our share of pre-orders to be matching our share of the console market." https://twitter.com/ballmatthew/status/2103210975256330501?s=46 Ball’s point about the preorders “matching [Xbox's] share of the console market” may be correct. There are considerably more PlayStation 5 consoles on the market than Xbox Series X|S. According to Sensor Tower, Xbox's 23% share of GTA 6 presales represents 1.3 million copies sold and $128 million in revenue. Conversely, PS5's 77% means Sony has already sold 4.35 million copies to the tune of $426 million in revenue. Some of the replies to Ball expressed skepticism about his response to the numbers. This comes only a few days after another devastating round of Xbox layoffs that left Halo Studios relinquishing control of the Halo franchise to Activision. As for GTA 6, the game's promotional push now includes a campaign in Miami, Florida welcoming visitors to Vice City. A number of gamers are apparently plotting to take time off from work when GTA 6 arrives, and we fully endorse that idea. Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19.
Anyone looking for a creepy adventure to play in November will want to check out Saraab: Beyond the Veil. Solo developer Lubna Ahmed has announced a November 3 release date for the game on PC via Steam and Itch.io, and a demo will be available for it during the October edition of Steam Next Fest. An Arabian folklore-inspired horror visual-novel game, Saraab follows Elham, a schoolgirl whose brother has suddenly been kidnapped. Rescuing your sibling means confronting your own inner demons, who have been externalized as monsters born of Elham's own psyche. To overcome them, she'll have to unlock the powers of her bloodline and uncover the truth of who she truly is. "I'm incredibly excited to bring this story to players and share a world shaped by authentic cultural themes, folklore, and emotional experiences that are rarely explored in games," Ahmed said in a press statement. "I hope players everywhere can connect with the game's story and characters, because ultimately, it's a story about the human heart." Horror is the crux of Saraab, but healing also plays a vital role in moving the story forward. As Elham comes to terms with her destiny and beliefs, she'll gain the ability to change reality based on the choices she makes along the way. Saraab's narrative is complemented by hand-drawn, anime-inspired art and an emotional soundtrack, and you can expect branching storylines, gameplay focused around Elham and her shadow, and a story about confronting the past to reclaim the future. If you're keen to try it out, the demo will be available starting October 19.
Saraab: Beyond The Veil, a psychological horror visual novel about healing and facing your demons, is coming to PC on Steam on November 3rd, 2026.
Arc Raiders will soon feature a trial run of Player-versus-Environment (PvE) servers, which would seem to be great news for a player like me, who exclusively plays the game as a PvE experience. In actuality, PvE servers ignore one of the game's best traits. Embark Studios said that PvE-only servers are coming in a limited testing phase for one week beginning on October 13. Whether they come back after that isn't known yet, not even to the studio itself. Embark cited a player survey that found just over half of respondents (51%) would be interested in PvE servers. It took me 120 gameplay hours before I finally even attempted to kill another player in a round of Arc Raiders, and 100 hours later, I've still only killed three more. I just don't want to do it. I refuse even at the expense of my own character's progress, in many instances. But servers that eliminate the possibility of player-versus-player (PvP) interactions don't appeal to me, because that chance of all hell breaking loose is what makes cooperating so incredibly rewarding. In PvE-only servers, I'll be matched with players who can't kill me even if they want to. In the game's standard PvPvE servers, I play with players who can kill me but choose not to. To me, that behavioral calculus is the main source of my appreciation for Arc Raiders, and something I hit on throughout my Arc Raiders review last fall. The threat of PvP makes the reward of co-op so much sweeter. Back then, no one knew the game featured aggression-based matchmaking, so when I'd tell people about my unforgettable adventures in emergent cooperation with strangers, banding together and having each other's backs when the shit hit the fan, some told me my experience was anomalous and not reflective of the game's broader vibe. As it turns out, those people were telling on themselves. I'd kept my gun holstered in favor of diplomacy so consistently that the game eventually stuck to matching me with like-minded players. This was apparently something many others didn't experience because, as we now can infer, they were resorting to violence at least some of the time. But every once in a while, I do still get attacked by other players in what I've taken to calling my "utopian lobbies" of peaceful players. That aggression--and often, unexpected betrayal--reminds me why Arc Raiders works so well as a PvE experience, and yet why a forced PvE experience doesn't have nearly the same appeal. Working out issues in proximity chat rather than with weapons, running to rescue--and not rob--an injured raider when their flare shoots toward the sky, and asking a stranger to trust you in a resource-scarce world, then rewarding that trust; those are the repeatable, magical moments that make this game so incredible. That all evaporates if Embark makes the decision for players before they depart from Speranza. In PvE-only servers, I'll be matched with players who can't kill me even if they want to. In the game's standard PvPvE servers, I play with players who can kill me but choose not to. PvE-only servers might even push out players like me, who want to maintain the threat of lethal action, even if they don't plan to use it themselves. It could become harder to hop into a traditional Arc Raiders server and be rewarded with these memorable moments of opt-in, emergent co-op. The community may start to feel like those who prefer PvE should load into PvE-only servers exclusively, crowding PvP-leaning players into the game's traditional servers and ending the possibility of the unexpected. Thankfully, the addition of these servers is just a test run for now, and maybe that's all it will ever be. Nearly a year after the release of Arc Raiders, I still try my hardest not to trade wounds with other raiders, but I hope the possibility of such outcomes is never taken from players like me. It's so much more satisfying to lend a helping hand when you could've chosen to strike someone down with your fists instead.
Grand Theft Auto 6's protagonists are intertwined. Whether you choose to be in a relationship or not, they are incredibly important to each other's story. Here are the ins and outs of the relationship mechanic and what they could mean as the story progresses.
Madden, the David O. Russell-directed John Madden biopic starring Nic Cage, got its first full-length trailer today, and to be completely honest, I have no idea what to make of this movie. Based on the two minutes seen in the trailer, it could either be a subversive comedic delight or The Room 2, but with even more footballs and fewer tuxedos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzh7HzLXXpk The trailer, which shows some of John Madden's time as the head coach of the Raiders before shifting to broadcasting, gives us a very good look at the makeup and prosthetics that turned Nic Cage into the most famous NFL broadcaster of all time. Does he look like John Madden? No, but he does look like Nic Cage wearing John Madden's face as his own, so perhaps this is a secret sequel to Face/Off. Madden's name is borderline synonymous with football video games today, and we get a brief look at how the game-development process began. This includes John Mulaney as EA founder Trip Hawkins, and we see how Madden was not interested in the original prototype, as it didn't feature 11 players on a team. David O. Russell hasn't exactly been on a winning streak the last several years, with Amsterdam losing a whole bunch of money. Perhaps viewers' morbid curiosity to see Nic Cage hamming it up as John Madden will improve its performance, but it's getting a Prime Video release on November 18 rather than a theatrical one. How often Madden will mention Brett Favre remans unclear. Alongside Cage and Mulaney, the film stars Christian Bale, Shane Gillis, Kathryn Hahn, and Marshawn Lynch in an Urkel outfit.
Zelda fans have had no shortage of new games to play in recent years, but it appears that one game--starring the franchise's iconic villain--was also in the works at one point. Rather than having Nintendo internally develop the game, however, the project was in the works at Ubisoft. In a September 24 report, Insider Gaming says that Ubisoft Milan was working on a Zelda spin-off with the internal name "Goliath," which was set to star a new protagonist. During the early period of development, this was changed to have longtime big bad Ganondorf be the playable character. Outside of the Super Smash Bros. series, this would be a first and would presumably be quite different from other Zelda games. However, the report says that Nintendo "rejected the prototype" back in late 2023, and the team--including Davide Soliani, who directed the Mario + Rabbids games--opted to leave Ubisoft and form their own studio, Day 4 Night, which is currently developing Bradley the Badger. This occurred despite Ubisoft's attempts to pitch Nintendo on a different IP in its place, with both Star Fox and Mario mentioned, but it wasn't meant to be. It isn't the first time a Zelda spin-off has been canceled, apparently, with Retro Studios' Sheik-focused Project X reportedly getting canned during the Wii's lifespan. We won't have to wait too much longer to play the next game in the Zelda series, of course. The Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time is out on November 5, giving a whole new generation the chance to play what many consider to be the greatest game in the entire series, and possibly of all time.
Punks are taking over Steam starting on October 9 with the Punk Games Showcase, a week-long, curated digital festival celebrating games made with and expressing a punk spirit. Over 400 games were submitted for consideration, and the final list includes over 100, with the intention of filtering out any that included generative AI, among other factors. Many featured games have already been released, while others are still to come. A few of them are even out this month or during the event. I'm still digging through the lengthy list of games that will be featured, but a few that have my heart include: Too Many Fucking Nazis: A fast-paced first-person shooter about creatively destroying Nazis. You can also flip them off before you blow them up, naturally. Punk Juice: Join a band, go thrifting, play dead-end gigs, and get mad at code-locked bathrooms. Wax Heads: Work in a struggling record store, slacking off with your buddies while tending to customers and listening to music. Club Soko: Turn the mosh pit into a puzzle as you navigate around security, crowd-killers, and those people who stand at the edge of the pit and then get mad at others about it. Enter the Moshpit: A "cynical" 2D adventure game in the vein of Monkey Island where you'll explore the Italian underground music scene. Tonight We Riot: A 2D "crowd-based brawler" where you play protestors resisting tyranny in the streets, developed by a worker-owned indie team. 10 Second Mixtape: A music game where you create songs, then upload them for others around the world to remix and perform. Tetherpunk: Kitbash a spaceship from scrap parts taken from the corporate overlords who ruined your world, then use that ship to destroy what they've created. Some of the many games to be featured in the Punk Games Showcase. Brad Smith of studio Miracle Tea, the creators of Club Soko, has been involved in itch.io's Hardcore Punk Jam since 2018, and is organizing the Steam showcase that will run alongside the game jam's latest edition. Smith said the showcase has a few simple goals: to highlight games that "feature this style of music, are about the subculture, or are from creators who understand this scene, and it shows significantly in their games." He also hopes the showcase will influence Valve to add a "punk" categorization label on Steam, so developers can tag their games accordingly and players can find them more easily. I caught up with Smith for more insight into the upcoming showcase and the movement to uplift games that wear their punk roots. GameSpot: How did you choose participants for the Punk Game Showcase? Brad Smith: With 443 games submitted, it was tough to curate, but I did my best. I basically had to create arbitrary categories to help lock in a decision, which looked like: Does this game have punk music, or is it about punk culture? Does this game align with the general vibes of this showcase in its aesthetics, tone, or intent? Does this game/developer have design intentions that feel genuine? Often the deciding factor would come down to what people wrote in their application, a lot of which was deeply moving and relatable to read. It helps if devs have collaborated with punk musicians or are also in punk bands, which many of the selected are! Also, released games that were self-published get special treatment in the showcase, as to me that isn't too different from punk musicians folding the sleeves of their own albums or starting a label, like how Dischord Records did, you know? Were there certain qualifications teams had to meet? Haha, not really; maybe the only qualification is to go out and buy a punk record, or attend a show (just kidding)! I realize how silly and gatekeepy this whole thing might come across as labeling what game is punk in a "real recognize real" manner is so subjective and broad. Ultimately, I just want to celebrate the underground and see more games from true creative people who aren't solely motivated to make money in this industry or that simply feature aggressive hardcore punk music. I always felt like certain depictions of punk culture in video games seemed oversimplified, disingenuous, or compromised in some way. What I've learned from this music, its community, and attending hardcore shows felt so much deeper in that sense; it's almost become sacred to me, which might sound weird. On the flip side, was there anything disqualifying, like generative AI usage or certain themes? Yeah, I consulted with an illustrator Camille Carpentier, from the Belgian scene who has a good eye for spotting AI-generated art. We did our best to curate and filter that stuff out in our spare time but there was a lot! Hopefully nothing slipped through the cracks. I think some people saw the word "punk" and submitted their cyberpunk- or steampunk-style games, which is far from what all of this is about. Submissions from studios with known questionable ethics toward their employees or shady business practices get binned off too, by the way. What are some of your favorite punk games, from this showcase or just in general? I have a real soft spot for CRUST SHMUP; it's free and feels like the game equivalent of Napalm Death's 1987 record Scum. Its crusty style influenced how I ended up doing some of the graphics for the event Steam page, too. A game releasing soon that's worth checking out is Beat, Heart, Beat, which has cool grungy Midwest emo vibes. Others to keep an eye on in the future are 4MECHEROS, Urine Nation, CHILDREN OF SATURN, and Creatures Like Us. The one game that's not in the showcase that deserves to be would be VILE: Exhumed, [which] Cara [Cadaver] entered in the Hardcore Punk Jam back in 2022, and I've been a fan of her work since. Also, shoutout to Teenage Blob, which is an older favorite of mine! You're hoping to get a Punk label on Steam eventually. What's that process look like? Yup, that's the plan! I can see why some people think labels are a bit silly, as I do feel like the term "indie" has lost a lot of its original meaning these days. But I figured it makes sense to have an intention behind organizing all of this and to try to help represent these kinds of games differently to the wider industry. I'm currently unsure what that process will look like with Valve, to be honest, but I'd love to be able to easily find more games like this on Steam. It already exists on itch.io! Maybe with a few more emails and as new moshing/stage-diving games with aggressive music emerge into the world, the tag will get added. My plan is to continue running Hardcore Punk Game Jams where submitted entries are guaranteed a spot in any future Punk Game Showcases on Steam until this happens! The Punk Games Showcase will be featured on Steam from October 9-16, with the Hardcore Punk Jam kicking off at the same time on itch.io. You can follow the Punk Game Devs community on Bluesky and Instagram to learn more.
Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios has officially announced that fans of the popular extraction shooter will soon have a more cooperative-focused way to enjoy exploring topside, as a long-awaited PvE mode will be available to test from October 13-20. The announcement comes three months after news that Embark was testing a unique PvE map condition on Chinese beta servers. This time around, though, players won't be forced to seek a specific map condition to get their PvE fix. Instead, a new toggle will be available during the week-long test, allowing the choice between standard matchmaking and the PvE mode. Solos, duos, and trios will all share the same lobbies in PvE mode, as they no longer pose any threat to each other. However, Embark has stated that some major map conditions, such as Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate, and Frigate, will remain only available in standard matchmaking. In a press release, Embark has clarified that there is no guarantee a permanent PvE mode will come to Arc Raiders. "It’s possible that this will not work," the release says. "This test is not a promise that there will be a PvE mode in the future, but take this as an indication that we are seriously considering it. We don’t yet know how the potential future version of this setting might look. It’s plausible that any future version could look very different from what you experience in the beta test." However, I'd be quite shocked if the new mode doesn't land well, given that a substantial portion of the player base has expressed interest in a strictly PvE option. In the press release, Embark states that 37% of players are cooperative-only raiders, meaning they actively avoid PvP encounters whenever possible. And of those players, 70% have expressed a desire for fewer hostile encounters with other raiders. Even more shockingly, 40% of PvP players say the same. All of this comes as player numbers have steadily dwindled in recent months, at least partially due to Embark's decision to turn to bi-yearly updates for Arc Raiders. The resulting content drought has been concerning over the past six months, but the addition of a PvE mode a handful of days after the game's upcoming Frozen Trail update could be the kick in the pants it needs to recapture those lovely early days. Ailing extraction shooter Marathon added PvE modes to its lineup back in July, which briefly boosted player counts. However, it has since continued struggling to maintain a significant player base in the time since. Arc Raiders' overall mainstream appeal may yet help to keep it from the same fate, but there's no doubt that a lot is riding on these upcoming changes. The Arc Raiders PvE test will run from October 13-20. Until then, you can dive into the Frozen Trail update on October 8, which will contain a smorgasbord of new quests, a fresh map to explore, extra weapon customization options, and a wide variety of quality-of-life changes. So, keep an eye on our comprehensive Arc Raiders guides hub for all of your needs when the update lands.
Bungie has big plans to revive not only Destiny 2, but to also evolve its extraction shooter, Marathon. Following its launch in March 2026, the studio says that it has been reviewing feedback around Marathon, and it revealed how it plans to evolve the experience as it heads toward a big update in March 2027. One of Bungie's major points of focus is a Marathon experience that is more than just an extraction shooter. "PvEvP will remain an important part of Marathon, but it will become one point in a connected set of survival experiences," Bungie wrote in a blog post. "More approachable entry points will help new and returning players understand Marathon’s systems and build confidence before taking on its highest-stakes challenges. At the same time, experienced players will have more opportunities to test their mastery and pursue deeper challenges." https://youtu.be/YaLvrG6-kkM Bungie says it's building out connected PvE, PvP, and PvEvP experiences, as well as options for solo players and crews. A Nightfall Refresh is coming in October and the Symbiosis expansion will add more ways to play in December. Bungie will connect all these pieces together in a big March 2027 update. This will also include deeper progression systems for players, a refactored Cradle, a new onboarding experience, more narrative beats to discover, new enemies to battle, and an entirely new zone to explore. There'll be plenty of new content along the way, but it sounds like March 2027 will be Bungie's chance to show what Marathon is truly capable of. This isn't the first time the developer has successfully turned things around; after numbers began to dip, Destiny surged back to life in 2015 with the critically acclaimed Taken King expansion. Destiny 2's audience also quickly nosedived after launch, but Bungie's focus on structural updates to the game and the Forsaken expansion that arrived a year later helped to turn things around. You might be noticing a pattern here. All of those changes and updates to Marathon do sound positive, as Bungie is aiming to cater to multiple audiences. Again, this is something the studio achieved with Destiny 2, as players were spoilt for choice with various PvE, PvP, and PvPvE modes introduced across the game's seasonal and expansion model. The challenge isn't just to draw new and lapsed players back to Marathon, but to keep them around for the long run. Bungie added that as it builds towards the big December and March updates, it plans to continue making meaningful quality-of-life improvements and running focused experiments to fine-tune the game. Beyond March 2027, Bungie says that it'll have a stronger foundation to continue building Marathon on from this point. The last couple of months have been rough for Bungie, as mass layoffs hit the studio, Marathon game director Joe Ziegler announced his departure, and multiple projects were canceled.
Call of Duty is making major changes to how content carries forward in Warzone, starting with Modern Warfare 4's integration into battle royale. Players will still have access to years' worth of weapons from previous titles, but there will be limitations on how they're used in Warzone. Operator skins and weapons from Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 6, and Black Ops 7 will remain available in Warzone for Season 1, including access to the blueprints and camos players have earned or purchased for them. However, there will be a change to how players get to utilize the older guns in battle royale. The older guns from the last three Call of Duty games have become "legacy" weapons in Warzone. They're still available to use right now, and they can be fully customized in the Gunsmith just like the current batch of weapons for Black Ops 7. This will change with Modern Warfare 4's integration to Warzone, as the update will remove the option to customize legacy weapons in Warzone. "While these weapons remain available to use, Gunsmith functionality and prior custom loadouts will not be supported for legacy weapons or legacy blueprints," Activision says. However, the publisher confirms these older guns won’t be left as base weapons without any attachments. Each legacy base weapon will have a five-attachment version available for players to select, as well as any owned blueprints with its existing attachment setups. "Our goal for this chapter of Call of Duty: Warzone is for the weapon meta to feel distinctly rooted in Modern Warfare 4, while preserving access to nostalgic choices that players know and love," Activision says. While this meant to be a compromise to players, there is still the possibility of negative blowback over this decision, as many players commit to a lengthy grind just to unlock the attachments they want. Pre-built weapons also won't cater to all playstyles, and this could drastically reduce the appeal of using the classic guns in Warzone. Legacy guns are rarely meta in Warzone anyway, so blocking them from the Gunsmith feels like an odd choice, as some players just have a favorite gun they like to use despite the current meta. For operator skins, Modern Warfare 4's integration into Warzone will keep all the older legacy skins, but seeing these operators will be optional. Players can use a toggle feature to control which skins they see in Call of Duty, allowing them to preserve the immersion of Modern Warfare 4 or keep seeing all the wacky skins of the last few years. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 releases on October 23 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. The game will include a full campaign, multiplayer, and DMZ extraction mode. The Modern Warfare 4 campaign will have early access, allowing players to jump in as early as October 16.
Control Resonant has officially launched, and Remedy Entertainment has also paired it with a fresh patch to make it a little less brutal. Hotfix 1.3.3 is primarily focused on adjusting enemy health pools and Dylan's overall strength, and once it's installed, you can expect the parautilitarian to have an easier time making enemies falter. "We strongly believe these changes will improve the gameplay feel and flow while still providing a challenge," developer Remedy Entertainment wrote in the hotfix notes. "Depending on player progression, enemies can feel too tanky during the early hours of the game." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cK_KUK2p4Q Applying a "Falter" status to the enemy Hiss in Control Resonant is a crucial part of the overall gameplay loop, as it sets them up for an instant-kill finisher. Once the hotfix is active, the base health and required Falter level for enemies will be reduced, while Aberrant strength and maximum Ability strength will be increased. Remedy says that it also wants to encourage buildcrafting and experimentation in the game, so it's permanently reducing the cost of respeccing and increasing the stock of the Reset Items across all vendors in the game. The first Resonant boss fight (The Artist) will also drop two Reset Items instead of one. This should make the game a little easier to play on its default difficulty level, but if you'd prefer to breeze through Control Resonant, you can use Assist Mode to toggle various gameplay options. You can essentially make Control Resonant a walk in the park by making Dylan immortal and capable of dishing out one-hit kills, which is good news for anyone who wants to focus primarily on the story and the delightfully weird world of Control Resonant. Lastly, Remedy will also update a couple of English UI texts to better explain Build Power and Aberrant Strength. These changes will only be present in English for now, but the tweaks will be available for other languages in due time. “Alongside the stellar art direction and a surprisingly touching story, Control Resonant’s gameplay loop feels more mainstream than anything this team has made since Max Payne,” Mark Delaney wrote in GameSpot’s Control Resonant review.
Modern Warfare 4 will finally give players control over which skins they see in Call of Duty, starting when the game integrates with Warzone later this year. This will allow players to choose to keep the immersion of Modern Warfare 4 in battle royale, while others can continue to use their outlandish skins from previous seasons. The ability to toggle operator skins on and off has been a highly requested feature, especially after Beavis And Butt-Head operators were added in Black Ops 6, but Activision seems to finally be leaning toward player choice. Some players want immersion and thematically appropriate skins, while other players want to use wacky, colorful, and even animal-esque operator skins. MW4's operator skin filter toggled on Modern Warfare 4 will integrate into Warzone with the new Zodiac map starting with Season 1, and it will also include an all-new filter, which Activision says was built specifically for the Modern Warfare 4 chapter of battle royale. When toggled on, the filter will only show Modern Warfare 4 operators in Warzone, replacing all the skins from the previous games. However, the player's own equipped operator will not change, meaning they'll continue to see the selected operator even if it’s from another title. The publisher also clarifies that the toggle only impacts the user's game, and it does not alter the experience of others. This feature will be off by default. This feature is not available in Modern Warfare 4, but it's possible this means the operator skins added in the post-launch updates will remain thematically appropriate. Black Ops 7 did scale back the skins from Black Ops 6, but it still featured some colorful anime-style bundles and a RoboCop operator. Over the years, Call of Duty has gone from being a grounded mil-sim shooter to a Fortnite-style live-service game with an influx of wacky skins. Many players found the addition of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and cel-shaded skins of animated characters to be off-putting, and this new filter allows Activision to find some middle ground to appease a split playerbase. However, it does risk muting the appeal of buying a skin--a key part of CoD's business--if players know they won't be able to use it while playing with everyone they encounter. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 releases on October 23 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. Modern Warfare 4 will feature campaign early access, allowing players to jump in on October 16. The game also launches with a full multiplayer experience and the return of Infinity Ward's DMZ extraction mode.
Control is one of my favorite games ever. Six years after release, one of the things that sticks with me the most is a pencil. Within your first few seconds of playing, you happen upon your first memo. It's located at a security checkpoint and outlines a number of items that are not permitted inside the government building you've just entered. These seem expected enough: laptops, weapons, various smart devices, and so on. The final two list items sound much stranger: one being No. 2 pencils. It sounds almost like a prank. Certainly, I did not expect any payoff for those words, which are located at the end of one of the many memos that populate The Oldest House, the setting of the game. Here is a giant building in the middle of New York, housing a clandestine government agency responsible for managing the supernatural, and a pencil is a problem for these people? So it was a treat many hours later when I reflected on that seemingly throwaway bullet point, after developing an understanding of the way archetypal items can transform into dangerous objects, and why No. 2 pencils would thus be banned by the Federal Bureau of Control. The fact that the explanation requires you to piece these things together, rather than being overtly explained, makes it that much more satisfying. The Oldest House is full of weird stuff, so it would be easy to forget all about that tidbit from the very beginning of the game, or for it to indeed have been nothing more than a joke. And yet it's precisely that connection back to such a small detail that makes me adore Control so much. The world-building is accomplished not just through overt lore dumps or cutscenes, but through small details that are interspersed so subtly that you could easily miss them. Fortunately, Control Resonant also delivers in this regard. I was reminded of that No. 2 pencil memo a few hours into the game when Zoe, your FBC handler, threatens a fellow FBC agent with "fridge duty." On its own, this again sounds like a joke--given the years-long lockdown of The Oldest House, the prospect of having to clean out the fridges inside sounds both tedious and disgusting. Secret government agents being stuck on cleaning duty sounds like a silly threat. Good goof, Zoe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1LEHPr8e_o Having been trained by Control to catalog every last detail in my mind, I kept playing, wondering if that would lead to some payoff. In discussing this with my colleague Mark Delaney (who scored Resonant a 9 in our review), he made me realize I wasn't thinking widely enough--fridge duty clearly refers back to the first game. A side quest called Fridge Duty involves an Altered Item, a supernatural fridge, that must be stared at--without blinking--in order to keep it pacified; you get to see the gruesome aftermath when someone fails in the task. So, Zoe dangling the prospect of fridge duty is actually more of a serious threat than you'd otherwise realize. Does this matter at all in the grand scheme of things? Will you better understand protagonist Dylan Faden's redemption story, what happened to my precious Dr. Darling, or how this all expands on the Remedy Connected Universe? Not in the slightest. And yet, it's this callback, more than most combat encounters or larger plot beats, that I expect I will remember years from now, and that's no slight against the game's very enjoyable action or story. By encouraging you to actively engage with every detail you come across, Remedy is able to build a deeply rich world that gives you as much as you're willing to put into it. These details don't make or break the experience, and you'll certainly be able to understand what's going on without them. But it's these morsels that I find so tantalizing, and I love the way you're rewarded for obsessing over any given thing--I'll never forget the "aha!" moment in Control when I pieced together the true nature of the NSC, ostensibly a power plant for The Oldest House, which--like everything in the building--is more nuanced and more sinister than it first appears.. Despite being my most-anticipated game of the year, I'm progressing relatively slowly through Control Resonant, exploring every nook and analyzing every document. It's going to take me a while to see through the full story that I'm eager to see, and yet I wouldn't have it any other way.
Discord has officially begun rolling out age-verification measures as of today. The company first announced age verification--and, subsequently, limits placed on accounts of those under 18--back in February of this year, but delayed a full implementation until just recently. According to the official announcement blog post, this delay was done in order to include more age-assurance options, including several that do not rely on controversial biometric or digital ID systems, which have raised privacy concerns--especially after a well-publicized hack exposed tens of thousands of Discord users' personal IDs. Instead, they are using an algorithmic combination of factors to determine user age, including how long your account has existed, the servers you're in, the games you play, and other factors, detailed in a technical blog published alongside the announcement. (However, this model is not available in all territories, such as the UK and Austrialia--both of which have enacted strict social media bans and age verification laws.) While Discord assures users that "More than 90% of you won’t be asked to confirm your age," the company also acknowledge that their model isn't flawless, and some accounts will need to verify their age to use a non-age-restricted Discord account. If users want to avoid uploading ID or video, they can use services like Apple Pay, Google Play, Google Wallet, or AgeKey, or enter a credit card number. With any attempt at age verification comes controversy, however, and users of Discord were quick to notice that age verification was rolling out at the exact same time as sponsored ads for sports betting website FanDuel were appearing for American users. Obviously, it's illegal to use FanDuel if you're under 21 (or 18 in some jurisdictions), so it didn't take much for social media users to assume a connection between the two events. We have reached out to Discord for comment on the sponsorship, as well as other potential age-restricted product or service sponsorships in the future. A Discord spokesperson responded, "We’re taking a deliberate, user-first approach to evolving our ads business to add genuine value that connects naturally with our users' sports, gaming and entertainment interests.” According to Discord, this sponsorship was a limited test in the United States and that "Discord’s policies still prohibit ads for traditional real-money gaming, including casinos and sportsbooks." It was also noted that "Daily Fantasy Sports ads, and FanDuel brand ads on Discord are intended for adults, and we are using a range of age signals to help ensure they are age appropriate. We use age group signals to exclude teens from seeing inappropriate ads and to make sure they have the right settings." In the meantime, if you don't want to see sports betting ads on your Discord, go to Settings, then Data and Privacy, and scroll down to Sponsored Content. Then go to Manage Sponsored Content and choose to disable "Real Money Gaming." This will hopefully continue to work in the future for other advertising categories you may want to disable, as well.
Halo: the flagship game of the Xbox brand. The #1 reason to buy an Xbox. The game that inspired countless clones and purported "Halo killers." All of this was true once upon a time. But the reality is that Halo's place in gaming today is not what its legacy would suggest. Consider this--Halo has been irrelevant for longer than it was ever relevant. This realization dawned on me amid the Xbox "reset" news, and while it felt surprising to think about in those terms initially, it's true. Halo's peak lasted for about a decade: Combat Evolved released in 2001, and Reach closed out the Bungie era in 2010. It was around then that things started to go downhill. The exact point at which things started to turn south differs from person to person: Was the brand diluted and beginning to become overexposed with the release of the exceedingly fine Halo Wars in 2009? Was it the mediocrity of 2013's Spartan Assault bearing the Halo name? The shoehorned-in Kinect support of Combat Evolved Anniversary in 2011? For me at least, the cleanest answer is the departure of Bungie from the franchise, and more specifically, the moment that Halo 4 leaned into Call of Duty-style loadouts. (Reach introduced them, but 4's customization options made them more of a focal point.) It's at that point Halo felt cooked, as it began to imitate other games and follow trends rather than continuing to define its own identity (see: a major component of Halo 5 basically just being a multiplayer online battle arena game, and the numerous indications of a Halo battle royale mode being in the works over the years). Halo 5's Warzone mode was a MOBA in all but name It's hard to fathom now, but there was a time when Halo wasn't playing catch-up with its contemporaries and instead revolutionized first-person shooters, right down to the notion of only being able to carry two weapons at a time. Its sandboxes and multiplayer felt revelatory back in the early 2000s. When's the last time you felt that way about anything in Halo? Infinite was the clearest vision of what a Halo game could be, with a fun campaign that tried to rethink the standard linear FPS format in an open-world setting--and even then, that structure was more reminiscent of other games, not something novel. Infinite's reworking of the battle-pass model to ditch the FOMO aspect was also nice--if somewhat of an indictment of the quality of the uninspired rewards, which wouldn't be worth a purchase if restricted to a limited-time window--but the mere presence of a battle pass in Halo in the first place felt, again, like trend chasing. In retrospect, it's no surprise that Infinite, and every other post-Bungie Halo game, failed to resonate as much as the earlier entries in the series. In that time, Modern Warfare catapulted Call of Duty clearly ahead of Halo and the franchise never looked back; battle royale games and extraction shooters came along and carved out significant markets of their own; Counter-Strike continued to do its thing; various games in the mold of Battlefield tried to nail that formula to varying degrees of success; classic shooters like Doom and Wolfenstein reinvented themselves to become better than ever; and Bungie again reimagined the first-person shooter with Destiny 1 and 2. What has Halo done in that span? What even defines a Halo game at this point? Would you recognize it without the name or Master Chief attached? No doubt much or all of this can be traced back to poor management. Despite a 15-year span composed of far more disappointments than highlights for Halo, as someone who has adored the series, I am sorry to see Halo Studios gutted and the franchise handed off to Activision. Given Xbox's shifting focus, it's easy to worry that the next Halo game will feel more like Call of Duty than ever before, and the 343/Halo Studios era has amply demonstrated that Halo can only succeed by being its own thing. It might be unfair to stack up the number of years in which Halo was relevant against those in which it was not. The impact of Halo extends well beyond the 2000s. But the days in which Halo was Xbox's flagship franchise--let alone something that felt special or worth looking forward to--are a thing of an increasingly distant past.
Cosplay Queen Stella Chuu has been gaming for her entire life - so long, in fact, she is surprised to recall Duck Hunt was NOT a Super Nintendo Game. Take a trip through Stella’s Steam Library as we uncover her love for romance, efficiency, and spending too much money on Gacha Games.
Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6 releases this November, and it's expected to take up a lot of time and attention, leading some to worry how other games may fare in its wake. Ubisoft's Joshua Mills, the creative director for Rainbow Six Siege, said it's unquestionable that "you're going to take a hit when that drops." "All of us are going to play it," Mills told The Game Business. So what can Ubisoft do for Siege when GTA 6 comes out? He said, "It's about being smart and with your expectations so you can keep the team and HQ aligned." He said if the developers working on Siege see the game's player numbers drop, "they can get anxious." However, he observed that the effect on player numbers from a big competitor release is "generally temporary." Whatever the case, Mills said the "golden rule" that Ubisoft operates by is by serving "the players who stay like kings and queens." "We don’t go on vacation just because a competitor is swelling the market. We double down and reward those spending their valuable time with us," he said. Siege's fourth season (of year 11) will release around the time that GTA 6 comes out in November 2026. Mills teased that there are "some unannounced surprises" that Ubisoft is not disclosing yet, but he said they will "make a splash." Why there is no Siege 2, at least not yet Also in the interview, Mills discussed why Ubisoft made Siege X--a new and improved version of the game--instead of Siege 2. He said "fundamentally rebuilding our entire system is a mountain of work." What Ubisoft came up with in Siege X represents nothing "even close to the level of scale" that the team would aim for with a possible full-on Siege sequel that would "rebuild the entire game." "The need for doing it is not necessarily there with the cost of shutting the lights off. Because you can’t possibly run both at the same time," Mills said. "You would need the expertise of the team that’s running the game to rebuild it. It’d be really difficult to do.” The Siege franchise is set to expand further in 2027 with the release of Rainbow Six Siege Tactics, a turn-based tactical game set in the Rainbow Six universe.
Let me sound like an old for a second. I remember in the late '90s and early '00s, collecting Pokemon cards was a casual hobby. You'd go to your local brick-and-mortar store with the money you made from mowing the lawn or whatever, drop maybe $10 on a couple of packs, rip them open, then go to your middle school to trade cards with your friends. No one knew how to actually play the game; the cards just looked cool, and everyone wanted something. Me? I wanted a holographic Charizard, and I would've traded literally anything to get my hands on such a rarity. It was so low-key back in the day. Saying that grosses me out, as I sound like a Boomer or Gen Xer, but it's true: Collecting Pokemon cards wasn't that serious, and we didn't put much stock in the cards, stuffing them in bags or pockets and watching them turn up in washing machines. Now? Things are totally different. You can't just collect Pokemon cards as a hobbyist anymore. You've got to fight with scalpers looking to make a quick buck off nostalgia, as well as the kids who are either getting into the TCG for the first time or hoping to get something tradeable for their friends. (I don't decry the kids. They're not at fault.) There have been plenty of incidents involving card collecting and violence lately. Robbers stole over $100,000 in rare cards from a California store in December 2025. A different set of robbers made off with nearly $120,000 in rare cards at gunpoint in New York in January 2026. Police broke up a chaotic Costco scene over Prismatic Evolutions in April 2026. And more recently, a Connecticut man was arrested for assaulting someone in a Target after being confronted for exceeding the store's limit for Pokemon card packs, while a 72-year-old Ohio man pleaded guilty to using a GPS tracker to stalk a woman stocking Pokemon cards. https://twitter.com/POKESTREETZ/status/2096228338889081305 I get it--and I don't. The cards look cool, with fabulous designs on weighty cardstock. Sometimes there are alternate versions of the same card that have a fuller design, like a tiny piece of artwork, instead of just an illustration of the Pokemon that takes up a tiny rectangle. Collecting them for this reason, them being tiny pieces of artwork, makes sense. I also understand the value of the cards, with many of them going for hundreds--if not thousands--of dollars on resale sites like eBay. It's a great way to make some money in this economy, especially if you have vintage cards that aren't being pressed and printed anymore. But turning toward violence because you "gotta collect 'em all" or whatever is silly at best and petulant at worst. This is a children's hobby. That's what all of my friends did in middle school (even though we were all partial to Yu-Gi-Oh). I get that Pokemon is celebrating 30 years this year, but there's absolutely no reason to resort to violence--like shooting someone--over some illustrated cardstock. Besides, do these people even know how to play the Pokemon TCG? I didn't (still don't), and neither did my friends growing up. That's perhaps my main takeaway from all of these chaotic and violent incidents. No one even knows how to play the game, so why are we taking collecting so seriously? The answer is obvious--money--but what we're robbing is kids' enjoyment of a hobby we barely understood ourselves. When you can only take one, you should only take one. Leave the rest for your son or daughter. They might be trying to trade their friends for that one card to complete their collection, and that's the real joy.
It can be pretty overwhelming after you take your first steps out of the Oldest House, so here are seven things we wish we knew about the game before playing. The Rabbit Haul is available now. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2514330/The_Rabbit_Haul Presented by The Rabbit Haul. The Rabbit Haul is co-published by Fandom, GameSpot's parent company.
High on Life has been a big hit since it first launched in 2022, thanks to its bizarre sense of humor, motor-mouthed guns, and polished gameplay. But can it succeed as a virtual reality port? That's the question Flat2VR is aiming to answer, as the team behind several VR games is now working with Squanch Games to bring High on Life to Meta Quest 3 and 3S headsets. While it's still early days for the project, I took the time to chat to High on Life VR game director Emily O'Neal and Eric Masher, co-founder and chief operating officer for Impact Reality and Flat2VR Studios, about this project and the challenges involved in adapting it for a new platform. And yes, Knifey did make his way into the conversation. https://youtu.be/U9Kcs-XALBA So why VR? High on Life has been available on PC and console for several years now, but it is considered a smaller, niche platform--or so you'd think, as Masher explained that the VR user base has grown considerably over the years. "VR is a smaller market; it doesn't mean that it's a small market," Masher said. "You know, we're looking at numbers now of Quest headsets being in the 30-million to 40-million range. Those are not numbers to take lightly. A game like Gorilla Tag--which is a free-to-play game--has done over $100 million in revenue. We do see that audience that has been playing Gorilla Tag starting to grow up. They started when they were younger kids, and now they're getting older and have disposable income. What are they going to want to play next?" "We want to bring them those high-quality games like High on Life, that [have] more teeth, more depth, and more playability as an actual game. We're not here just for a short snapshot in time; we're here to help grow this industry to where it will be in three to five years from now. Our job and our mission at Flat2VR is to bring the immersive, amazing games that you love playing right now on your console and PC, but bring it to another platform that makes a whole bunch of sense and that feels completely different but still the same.” Bringing High on Life to VR isn't an easy task either, as you can't just press a "Convert to VR" button for a project of this scale. As O'Neal explained, the original game is massive, and the team is looking to make it run as smoothly as possible on a VR headset. "There are a ton of animations and wildly different worlds, so even getting that much data to fit on a standalone platform is a big challenge," O'Neal explained. "You have to load it all in a decent amount of time and run it in real time, ideally at 72 frames per second. All of that optimization represents a cluster of problems our tech-art teams are chipping away at from many angles. A huge part of our technical challenge has been upgrading the game to a more modern version of Unreal Engine. Modernizing our toolsets allows us to perform the optimizations needed to get these massive, gorgeous, colorful worlds running on Meta Quest. That covers the core issue: the sheer scale of the game and optimizing it to fit on the headset while maintaining frame rate." O'Neal added that the team wants players to poke and prod the Gatlian firearms they collect in the game, and they represent an incredible design challenge thanks to their expressive facial details and complex skeletons used to make them emote. "The Gatlians are without a doubt my favorite part of the game. When defining the mission statement for the VR adaptation, they are 100% the centerpiece. The core question we continually return to with every feature is: Do you feel like you're holding a living creature in your hand, and when they speak to you, do you feel like you're truly interacting with them? Because the Gatlians are the main characters, they are our highest priority." "A huge part of that focus goes into the gunplay since they serve as your weapons. With any VR first-person shooter, how you handle reloading is vital--whether that's a realistic manual reload, a simple button press, bringing the weapon to your hip, or providing options for all of the above. While our design team has built reload mechanics many times before, designing them for the Gatlians has been uniquely fun because of their distinct body shapes and personalities. We look at the unique physical traits of each alien, considering not just function, but how players can fidget and interact with them while listening to in-game dialogue. Ultimately, the Gatlians are the defining feature of the VR port because they are in your hands the entire time." Out of all the Gatlians, Knifey is arguably the breakout star of the High on Life arsenal. A sentient blade with an unmatched bloodthirst, O'Neal teased that the murder-happy melee tool is a big focus of the team. "Yes, Knifey is 100% getting the most treatment out of the whole cast," O'Neal said. "There's a huge gap between pressing a button to trigger a knife slash versus making that motion yourself, so some of the biggest new systems we're building are specifically for Knifey. "His whole personality revolves around pure bloodlust—he's constantly begging you to use him and stab things—so we're leaning hard into that. We're building new VR-specific systems to capture that visceral feeling of stabbing Knifey into flesh. It's not a gory game and won't feel like one; we're maintaining the same comedy and humor with all of Knifey's interactions, but leaning into mechanics you can only achieve with a knife in VR. Most importantly, we want a Knifey-first strategy to be a genuinely viable way to play the entire game, so we're spending a lot of time with him." One of the other challenges with virtual reality, especially games with a variety of fast-paced movement systems like High on Life, is the looming spectre of motion sickness. Some people don't suffer from it; others are ready to hurl chunks after a few minutes of Pistol Whip. But as Masher explained, the High on Life VR team is going all out on providing options that help players fine-tune the game to their tastes. "We take comfort super seriously. The real power fantasy lies in the traversal abilities you get with the bounty suit, so we don't want to sacrifice or remove any of that from the game, but we do want it to be approachable to anyone who wants to play," Masher explained. "The first piece of that is performance: It has to be stable, responsive, and hit its target frame rate. That's the foundational element to ensure people don't get motion sick. Beyond that, we're going all out on options. As a team of people who love and play VR in our free time, we offer the full suite of accessibility settings you'd expect in a VR title--from snap turn and smooth turn to custom smooth turning speeds--so players can tune the experience to whatever feels comfortable for their body. The goal is to let players dial in their preferences to minimize the discomfort that can come from smooth movement and turning." Masher also added that motion sickness was something we could hear much less about in the future, as, thanks to a generation of young users growing up with VR headsets, the immersive nature of games on that hardware was something they'd become accustomed to. "What's nice about motion sickness is that we're starting to see it become less prominent, especially with younger players. Years ago, VR was a niche hobby where you were probably 20 or 30 years old before putting on your first headset. That's no longer the case--kids are growing up in VR headsets now, with games like Gorilla Tag introducing kids as young as 10 or 11 to the platform. "They know nothing but gaming inside a VR headset, so by the time they grow up, it's completely normal for them. It's almost like we're breeding motion sickness out of the audience. You're either susceptible or you're not, but if VR is all you've ever known, motion sickness just isn't an issue. So I'm hopeful it becomes a thing of the past. Plus, as Emily noted, hardware getting better and making higher frame rates easier to hit makes a massive difference." High on Life VR doesn’t have a release date yet, but you can preorder it now through the Meta Horizon Store.
When Arc Raiders' next major update, Frozen Trail, goes live on October 8, it'll introduce lots of changes and additions, and while the update itself will be free, the new battle pass system that comes with it won't be--at least not entirely. To date, Arc Raiders has featured three battle pass-like Raider Decks in the game. Players could complete dailies to unlock Creds that then got them rewards like new cosmetics and in-game items. With Frozen Trail, Embark Studios' new Reward Pass is replacing this system with one quite like it, only it'll also have a paid premium track for unlocking additional rewards. Anyone who owns the game gets the Free Pass, naturally, while the paid track will cost 1,150 Raider Tokens, or about $10 USD. Thankfully, Embark is taking the opportunity to sort the rewards responsibly, with the Premium Pass offering only cosmetic items. Players will get gameplay-altering items, like new weapons and gear, exclusively through the Free Pass. This approach avoids any type of pay-to-win debacle. Maybe the best feature of the newly priced Reward Pass is that if you buy access to the Premium Pass, you'll earn back more than you spent on it, pocketing 1,350 Raider Tokens for completing the pass, 200 of which are found in the Free Pass. Of course, your time isn't free either, but since Arc Raiders was my Game of the Year last year, I'm happy to see that sort of player-friendly exchange rate debut in Arc Raiders, especially after it recently left my other live-service favorite, Fortnite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMznEoW78dA Along with the new Reward Pass, Frozen Trail seems poised to reset Arc Raiders in a major way, with the frosty Pendola Pass map adding a lot to both gameplay and lore, taking raiders where they've never dwelled before and stumbling upon several new Arc threats: the Bully, Skulker, and Hydra. The Frigate is a new airborne carrier and raid-like event that's designed to take several players most of a round to overcome through combat and puzzles. Aboard the Frigate, the Hydra awaits, capable of downing multiple players at a time and even respawning once it's defeated. Weapon amplification will give players new ways to customize their weapons, disrupting the meta and challenging players to try new loadouts, while stencils act like weapon skins, offering new cosmetic changes to guns. As for gameplay items, Frozen Trail adds the banjo and harmonica instruments, a camera, and a grappling hook, which is sure to be a new community favorite. Of course, another big Arc Raiders update means more quests, and now they'll offer optional objectives for added rewards. Skill trees are also being overhauled to both add new skills and alter existing ones. The update also adds Outposts, new customizable areas for raiders to call their own. As for an explorable Speranza, Embark's Aleksander Grondal said that it's still something the team is looking into, though no such addition will be available with the Frozen Trail launch. "So that's been a question we have been asked a few times, and it's something that we have looked at and discussed a number of times," Grondal said during a roundtable interview. "And at the moment, there is none of that, but we could see a future where you could invite your friends into your Outposts, for instance, as something that we want to try. We see the need for a place to socialize and kind of hang out between the raids, but we really haven't settled on exactly how we want to execute against that need yet; it's something that is [at the] top of our list when we think about where to take Arc Raiders next." Pendola Pass is said to be the game's most challenging map to date, which is notable given how tough Riven Tides is. Grondal confirmed the team is still working on the idea of major updates roughly every six months, though the next big update following Frozen Trail doesn't have a set date yet. In May, Grondal told me that some on the team were "a little bit uncomfortable" about the pivot to a new roadmap. I asked him how the team is feeling now that Frozen Trail is nearly here. He explained that it brings up a mix of emotions. "If you take a look at where we were when we did the monthly updates and where we are today, we feel a lot better about what we're putting out [and the] quality we're putting into the updates. So I think the team feels good about that. Of course, it's scary every time we do a big update. To me, the best way to describe it is that it almost feels like we're shipping the game again, because I get flashbacks to last year when we were in this very same position trying to make the game complete. "So it becomes almost scarier in a way because the updates are larger and, of course, more complicated to execute. I think, overall, the team is pretty happy and excited to share what we've been working on basically since May of this year, and yeah, I'm also excited." Frozen Trail comes to Arc Raiders on October 8 as a free update on all platforms. When it goes live, the new Frozen Trail Collector Set shop bundle will include a new outfit, weapon stencil, hairstyle, and 2,400 Raider Tokens, plus instant access to the Premium Pass.
Leon Kennedy might be one of the coolest horror game protagonists. With that iconic curtain hairstyle with layered length, blocking chainsaws with a knife, and doing completely unnecessary backflips out of danger, he’s an action hero in the wrong genre, and that’s exactly why he remains a fan-favorite main character. While the second game introduced us to Mr. Kennedy, Resident Evil 4 made him who he is today, and now you can play one of the best Resident Evil games for less than $10, with its beautiful remake at its lowest price ever. What I love about the Resi games is that, despite having an overarching narrative, you can play any entry at any point in your life, and almost all of them are solid starting points. My first Resident Evil game was 5, and I never played 4 until I was around 19. Yeah, I left it quite some time ago—about 10 years—and I was enamored with its stronger survival horror elements. Now, well, Resident Evil 4’s remake has taken the throne as my favorite entry because it’s a faithful recreation that delivers more action, more scares, and more Leon Kennedy. In Resi 4, Leon Kennedy is a more worn-down face following the events of Raccoon City. As an agent for the United States government, he’s sent to a rural village in Spain to save the president’s kidnapped daughter, Ashley, only to find a cult-like setup involving people infected and controlled by a parasite called Las Plagas. Frustratingly, Leon ends up getting injected with the parasite himself, which makes things a little more difficult. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlP02yvRLxA In familiar Resident Evil fashion, which was strengthened by the 2005 original, Resident Evil 4 sees you take on hordes of infected people in the typical third-person shooter manner. Resources are scarce, death is likely, and being scared is almost definite. Between surviving enemies in tense situations, puzzles will keep your brain ticking as you try to find Ashley and, hopefully, find a cure for the little parasite problem you have. The original Resident Evil 4, much like Requiem did over two decades later, nailed the balance between horror and action. While Resi 5 and 6 moved towards the latter, before 7 and Village went full whammy into horror again, Resident Evil 4, and its eventual remake, delivered the best of both worlds, Hannah Montana-style. If you’re looking to give the remake a try, now’s a great opportunity, as you can grab the new take on Resident Evil 4 for just $8.79 / £7.69 at Fanatical. That’s an absolute bargain, and for one of the best horror games of recent years (and technically, ever), this is a deal that’s hard to ignore. Honestly, I paid full price for it and had a great time. Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. This story was created in collaboration with Fanatical's deals team.
Contrary to comic book science, you don't need to enroll in a shadowy Canadian black-ops program and undergo excruciating pain to get a set of Wolverine's signature claws. Instead, it's much easier--and less traumatic--to simply hire some blacksmiths to craft you a set, which is exactly what PlayStation did to celebrate the launch of Marvel's Wolverine. Choosing Fiedlero Knives for the job, PlayStation tasked the blacksmith with creating a custom set of Wolverine-inspired claws, and unsurprisingly, the end result looks downright lethal. https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/2102782668060475678 They may not be made of indestructible adamantium, but these blades made short work of some fresh produce when tested. And best of all, you don't need a mutant healing factor to wield these--although it would be advisable, just in case you equip them and accidentally trip. Similar to the practical props used by Hugh Jackman, these claws are attached to a handle that makes the blades look like they're really coming out of your hands. Plenty of knock-offs are available online, including plastic versions that are slightly safer than the metal ones. Marvel's Wolverine launched earlier this month, but the reception has been lukewarm at best. The game has been criticized for its restrictive level design, excessive hand-holding, and repetitive combat, but developer Insomniac Games is aiming to address these complaints. A new patch for the game recently went live, toning down the intrusive scent trails and audio cues that lead to collectibles within the various levels. "At best, it’s a fun but forgettable experience that’ll entertain you for a few hours. At worst, it shows that just because you can make really good superhero games with one character, that doesn’t mean you can make really good superhero games with any character," Tamoor Hussain wrote in GameSpot's Marvel's Wolverine review. While that set of custom Wolverine claws aren't for sale, you can get your hands on a sixth-scale replica of the unstoppable mutant from Hot Toys. It comes with several sets of smaller claws to equip him with, as well as an impressive amount of accurate body hair on his beefy silicone arms.
Aspyr Media is on a mission to re-release more The Lord of the Rings games, and now the latest titles have been revealed. The publisher announced on September 22--the shared birthday of Frodo and Bilbo--that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's Game of the Year edition and Middle-earth: Shadow of War's definitive edition are coming to Switch 2 soon. The games are releasing on Switch 2 in what's called the Middle-earth: Shadow Bundle, which releases on September 30 for $70. However, the bundle is half off--bringing it down to $35--through October 6 at 2:59 AM ET. The Switch 2 is getting more The Lord of the Rings games. Aspyr did not detail any technical specifics for the Switch 2 versions. They do come with a range of extra content from each game's DLC model, though, including story missions, skins, weapons, and gear sets. Aspyr's first The Lord of the Rings re-release was the Legacy Edition of 2011's The Lord of the Rings: War in the North back in August. At the time, Aspyr said it planned to re-release even more older The Lord of the Rings games. Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War were developed by Monolith Productions--people wanted a third game, but Warner Bros. Games shuttered the studio in 2025. In addition to the re-releases of older games, brand-new The Lord of the Rings games are coming, including a “deeply immersive” RPG from Kingdom Come developer Warhorse. Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is said to be developing one as well. Outside of the games, Warner Bros. recently released photos from the next The Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt for Gollum, showing Elijah Wood once again dressed up in costume as Frodo. The movie releases in December 2027.
Star Wars Zero Company released in late August, and the game has evidently found an audience, as market-data firm Alinea Analytics estimates that the game has sold 1 million units. Writing on Twitter, analyst Rhys Elliott shared the estimate, which heavily favors PC. Roughly 70% of sales were on PC--unsurprising given the turn-based-tactics genre--with PlayStation following at roughly 20% and Xbox at about 10%. Elliott called its performance thus far "respectable for the genre and during such a crowded period" that also saw the launch of games like Onimusha: Way of the Sword and The Blood of Dawnwalker. Elliott also noted, however, that Zero Company's appeal is almost entirely to Western audiences, with less than 5% of the game's players being in Asia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmrvlMbozAs The news comes weeks after developer Bit Reactor furloughed a large portion of its staff, and it isn't yet clear when or if they will be able to resume their work at the studio. Having Zero Company perform well commercially would presumably make publisher EA more interested in a sequel, but it also comes at a very strange time for the company, which was just taken private as part of a deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Regardless, Star Wars Zero Company is definitely worth playing if you're a fan of XCOM-style games. In our 8/10 Star Wars Zero Company review, Steve Watts said, "Developer Bit Reactor set higher ambitions than simply slapping a Star Wars skin on a template," praising its tweaks to the XCOM formula.
Zach Cregger, the director of the newly released Resident Evil movie, has revealed his top four favorite video games, and he made some solid choices. Before he listed off his top four to Regal, Cregger said they came "off the top of my head," so if he had more time, he might have chosen other games. Or he may not have. In any event, here are the games that Cregger singled out as his four faves: The Binding Of Isaac Dark Souls 3 Resident Evil 4 The Last of Us 2 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xdpkc_h1kLM People are saying that Cregger earned his "gamer cred" for these specific choices (via GamesRadar). His Dark Souls 3 pick was not surprising given Cregger was known to stream the game on Twitch over the years. It's also not surprising that he called out Resident Evil 4, as he borrowed from that game for his movie. In the same interview, Resident Evil actor Austin Abrams, who plays Bryan, said Cregger asked him to play Resident Evil 2, 4, and 7 to prepare for the movie. Cregger received a lot of backlash from core fans of the Resident Evil series over the direcion he took the movie and how it didn't feature any stories or characters from the games. He said he was naive to think fans would embrace his ideas. Things seemed to work out for Cregger in the end, as Resident Evil scored fantastic reviews and had a gigantic opening weekend at the box office.
Steven Adams of the NBA's Houston Rockets has predicted that all the major professional sports leagues will experience a dip in quality this November because top athletes will be too focused on GTA 6. Speaking to press, Adams said, "Look at the NFL, look at all the leagues, and watch them plummet. Just for the month of November, performance is gonna go down." He went on to say things should get back to normal after athletes finish the game. "It should come back up though; most of the boys will get it done. Hopefully they finish the game," he said. Adams went on to say that other aspects of professional sports leagues will suffer, too, including coaching and scouting efforts that he said will be "horrendous," but "just for November." Adams is obviously not being totally serious here, but GTA 6 is indeed one of the most highly anticipated game releases ever, and a lot of people--including pro athletes--are going to play it. We'll have to check back in November to see if athletes playing the game had any adverse effect on stats, however. Before this, an NFL player blamed his on-field struggles on video games, while NFL QB Kyler Murray is known for playing too much Call of Duty. https://twitter.com/gta6_premium/status/2102476846902415849?s=46 Adams has previously discussed his interest in video games, singling out titles like Dota 2 and Smite as some of his favorites. "I'm more of a nerd," he told TMZ. GTA 6 releases on November 19. The Rockets do not play that day, but there are four games that day across the NBA. November 19 is also a Week 11 Thursday Night Football day.
Nintendo is officially 137 years old today, and while that's an odd number to celebrate, it's certainly an impressive one. While it's a leading producer of video games and gaming hardware, the company originally started life as a maker of hanafuda playing cards in 1889, evolving with the times to eventually become a gaming powerhouse. But to put its age into perspective, it's worth looking at things that Nintendo predates. That makes for a long list, but the biggest surprise, as pointed out online, is that Nintendo is literally older than sliced bread. Technically, this would make sliced bread the best thing since Nintendo, and for double-technicality points, we're referring to commercial pre-sliced bread. According to the history books, pre-sliced bread made its commercial debut 38 years later, on July 7, 1928, when the Missouri-based Chillicothe Baking Company began using Otto Frederick Rohwedder's bread-slicing machine to deliver tasty portions of the household staple to customers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhw8BfVO_EY Historically, Nintendo also beat the public opening of the Eiffel Tower (June 1893) and the Wright Brothers' first flight (1903), and it outlasted the Ottoman Empire. It also has a big lead on the invention of penicillin (1928), chocolate chip cookies (1938), bubble wrap (1957), and the greatest movie of all time, Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim (2013). If there's anything that equals the historical significance of Nintendo, that would be Vincent Van Gogh's iconic Starry Night painting, which was created the same year that Nintendo was formed. Today, Nintendo is worth many billions of dollars thanks to the release of several highly successful consoles, including the Wii and the Switch. In recent years, it has also intensified its efforts to be more than just a video game company, launching new theme parks and slowly releasing more feature film adaptations based on its original IP. The two Super Mario Bros. movies developed by Illumination have each grossed north of $1 billion at the box office, and the next project is a live-action Legend of Zelda movie.