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Blizzard surprised World of Warcraft fans and revealed that the viral sensation Jimothy the raccoon would be added to the game as a companion **** in a future content update. The news came as World of Warcraft prepared to launch Patch 12.1, dubbed Curse of Ula'tek. View the full article

Geronimo, from Dark Matter Studios, arrived on Steam in Early Access with a seemingly ambitious goal: bringing authentic squad-based tactical combat to VR. After spending time with VR's latest shooter, it is clear that Geronimo is an Early Access title; but, despite the occasional bout of jank, it succeeds in getting the most important parts absolutely right. Beneath those rough edges lies a tactical shooter built on genuinely excellent core mechanics that already make every successful room breach feel satisfying. Gearing Up Every mission begins with preparation, with players assembling a tactical loadout before deploying. Loadouts have plenty of options for customization, with cosmetics, adjustable equipment placement and specialist gear ranging from night vision goggles to breaching equipment allowing players to express themselves tactically – and otherwise. Missions take place in a variety of environments, from buildings to tunnels and even onboard a giant tanker ship. Many of the maps feature multiple objectives so whether you're clearing hostile forces or rescuing hostages, the changes in mission types add welcome replay value. At the heart of almost every encounter is the process of breaching and clearing rooms. Choosing how to make your entrance becomes just as important as what happens afterwards. You can kick open a door, blast it from its hinges or rely on specialist tools such as battering rams, breaching shotguns and sledgehammers. Every option carries risk. Make too much noise and enemies will open fire before you've even crossed the threshold. Life’s A Breach The strongest element of Geronimo is undoubtedly its gunplay. Weapons carry convincing weight and an excellent physics system ensures collisions with the environment feel believable and fair. Geronimo forces proper positioning before entering confined spaces and encourages thoughtful weapon selection based on the mission at hand. That authenticity extends throughout the experience. This isn't an arcade shooter where you can just soak up incoming rounds. One or two well-placed shots are enough to end your mission. During my time with the game I couldn't find any revive mechanic, meaning that once you're down, you're out, leaving you to spectate your teammates for the remainder of the operation. Geronimo can be played solo or in co-op with up to five other players. While the fun factor is clearly higher with a group, I often found solo missions to be more tense. Without teammates covering angles or correcting my (many) mistakes, every decision carried additional weight and every doorway presented another opportunity for heroics - or disaster. For all that the gunplay represents Geronimo at its best, the game still has plenty of ways to remind you it's still a work in progress. Doors are currently the biggest offender. I regularly blew doors from their hinges only to have them visually remain in place despite no longer behaving as solid objects. Elsewhere, battering rams became stuck in doorways and sledgehammers occasionally floated away into mid-air. Enemy AI is similarly inconsistent. At their best, enemies intelligently reposition, retreat under pressure and even flank from unexpected angles. At other times I'd clear a room only to discover another enemy standing immediately behind me who simply chose not to react. The foundations are clearly there, but a little more consistency would dramatically elevate the experience. The same applies to onboarding. While the training area introduces the basics, it is far from a complete tutorial. Players familiar with tactical VR shooters will likely find their feet quickly, but newcomers may struggle with systems the game simply expects them to understand. Thankfully, several experienced players were more than happy to explain the basics during multiplayer sessions, softening what could otherwise have been a disorienting introduction. Alpha Squad While single-player provides plenty of tension, multiplayer is unquestionably where Geronimo shines. Few VR shooters rely on communication quite as heavily as this. Geronimo actively punishes poor communication and in most of my online matches, friendly fire proved considerably more dangerous than enemy fire. Forgetting to call out "Frag out!" is a quick way to see a teammate innocently round a corner just in time to walk face-first into the blast. Likewise, unexpectedly standing up after crouching could easily earn you a stray round to the back of the head from the teammate providing covering fire. Far from being frustrating, these moments reinforce exactly what Geronimo is trying to achieve. Success depends on trust, communication and discipline. When a squad works together properly, clearing rooms becomes incredibly rewarding in a way few VR shooters currently manage. Pretty Violence Visually, Geronimo already presents itself well. Lighting and shadow work are particularly effective, helping establish the slow, methodical atmosphere while ensuring environments remain readable during tense engagements. Performance, however, still needs attention. Despite running on a capable PC, I encountered regular stuttering and ultimately reduced the settings to Medium to maintain smooth frame rates. Given the game's Early Access status, this feels like exactly the sort of optimization that can be expected over time, but it's something players should be aware of today. Have A Blast Geronimo is still rough around the edges, but it's also great fun. Sure, the onboarding could be stronger, the AI behavior needs greater consistency and technical polish remains a clear priority. Yet none of those issues undermine what Dark Matter Studios has already achieved. The difficult part - creating tense, believable and satisfying tactical combat - is already here. If you're happy embracing a little Early Access jank, Geronimo already offers more than enough compelling gameplay to justify jumping in today, particularly if you enjoy co-op tactical shooters and don't mind learning alongside other players. Those wanting a fully polished experience may be better served keeping an eye on development. Based on the foundations already in place, Geronimo feels far less like an unfinished game and more like an excellent tactical shooter that's just finding its final polish. View the full article

Scopely’s multiplayer party game Stumble Guys has launched a charity campaign called Play for Change in partnership with SpecialEffect, a ***-based charity that helps people with physical disabilities play video games through adapted controllers and assistive technology. Running from July 23 to July 30, the campaign centers on Axel, Stumble Guys’ first playable skin depicting a character who uses a wheelchair. All proceeds from Axel skin purchases made during the campaign window will be donated to SpecialEffect, according to a press release. The initiative coincides with Disability Pride Month, observed each July to recognize the identities and contributions of people with disabilities. Axel’s creation traces back to a player named Fayçal, who asked the Stumble Guys team earlier this year about disability representation in the game. That question led the studio to develop Axel as the game’s first wheelchair-using character. Scopely detailed Fayçal’s story in a blog post published earlier this year. “What started with one player’s voice can now become something even ******* — with the support of our entire community,” the Stumble Guys team said in the announcement. SpecialEffect was founded in 2007 by Mick Donegan, a former teacher who specialized in assistive technology and continues to lead the charity today. Based in Oxfordshire, England, the organization works with developers to build specialized game control devices and improve game accessibility more broadly, using inputs from any part of the body capable of movement, including small toe movements or a player’s gaze. Since its founding, the charity has expanded to include a free eye-controlled interface for Minecraft and a suite of browser-based games designed for players who can only control input through eye movement, letting people with severe physical disabilities compete against others around the world in games like chess and checkers. Donegan received an MBE in 2022 for his contributions to assistive technology, and the organization was honored with a BAFTA in 2024. Stumble Guys is a physics-based party knockout game in which players navigate obstacle courses and elimination-style challenges. Since launching, the game has built a large global player base and features more than 1,000 cosmetic skins that let players customize their in-game appearance — a system Scopely says helps players see more of themselves reflected on screen. Players interested in supporting the campaign can purchase the Axel Skin through the in-game Stumble Guys Shop during the July 23–30 window. Scopely framed the campaign as an extension of the studio’s broader approach to community-driven development, saying the Stumble Guys team has consistently looked to player feedback to help shape the game’s direction. Through Play for Change, the studio said it hopes to both honor Fayçal’s influence on the game and support SpecialEffect’s mission of expanding access to gaming for people with physical disabilities. The post Stumble Guys launches Disability Pride Month campaign with SpecialEffect appeared first on GamesBeat. View the full article

Bethesda has rumbled back to life. Nearly three years after Starfield and with The Elder Scrolls 6 nowhere in sight, the positive reception to the announcement of the Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters is hardly surprising. With the help of Obsidian, between 2008 and 2011 Bethesda cemented itself as the rightful king of the open-world RPG, Fallout 3 and Skyrim bookending the kind of development run we'll probably never see again. A long-awaited return to the Capitol and Mojave Wastelands is welcome, but while these remasters aren't quite too little, too late, they serve as a reminder of just how neglected one of the biggest and best RPG series has become. This November will mark 11 years since Fallout 4, with Fallout 76's eighth anniversary falling just a couple of weeks before. And until last week, there was nothing to suggest another game was anywhere close to the horizon – based on Bethesda's previous release cadence, 2033 was a solid guess for a potential Fallout 5 release year. That's not far short of two full decades since the series' last traditional, single-player RPG launch – an unforgivable drought for a series that has over the past few years, been transformed into a mainstream, global franchise thanks to the critically-acclaimed Amazon Prime series. In the last week, admittedly, the Fallout slate has filled up significantly. First up will be next year's "prequel story to Fallout 3" heading to Fallout 76. The Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas remasters seem likely to follow relatively soon after, potentially positioned around Fallout season 3 and the Fallout Shelter show. Fallout 5 is officially in pre-production, but could easily follow as many as five years after Elder Scrolls 6, which still feels a long way off. Obsidian's new Fallout project seems likely to plug that inter-franchise gap – perhaps some time in 2029 or the early 2030s. Kick in the head It's that last project that's currently most mysterious, but also the clearest indication of what Fallout and Xbox actually need: help from the wider ecosystem. Xbox and Zenimax are full of studios that could have, over the six years since the acquisition, been running wild in the franchise playgrounds that are currently open only to Bethesda. Clearly, the kind of AAA, open-world RPG that Todd Howard wants to make takes many years to complete, but I see no reason why no other studio has been allowed to do more than sniff in the direction of the Fallout and TES brands. (Image credit: Bethesda) The possibilities are huge; a stealthy, Dark Brotherhood immersive sim made by Arkane Austin instead of shuttering it after Redfall; a Ghoul-led game using the State of Decay tech from Undead Labs, which just got sold off; an Age of Empires conversion from World's Edge, which has been diligently plugging away on DLC and remasters for that franchise. Xbox's affinity for beefy guys with guns across the Gears, Doom, and Halo series could have led to an amazing power armor shooter. There are certainly studios whose work doesn't mesh with Bethesda's oeuvre so neatly, but within the Xbox ecosystem, they're surprisingly few and far between. And all that is to say nothing of Obsidian, a studio that not only made one of the best Fallout games, but eventually took its fate into its own hands and made Avowed and The Outer Worlds as its own answers to The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. That none of those studios have been given a Bethesda license is a mistake, but it's a mistake compounded by the fact that Bethesda isn't equipped to handle them at the pace that should be required. Its two most important IPs have been left to languish for more than a decade. Starfield is a primary cause for that, but so is Bethesda's size. The studio has remained deliberately small by the standards of a major studio, and at about 450 staff isn't capable of being a two-game studio, especially since switching between three different franchises means it can't pull off the kind of juggling act that the similarly-sized Insomniac - which has launched a whole suite of Marvel games over the time since Fallout 76 – has been able to achieve. A hit of Jet (Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios) It's likely that the Fallout release cadence will pick up now. The remasters are the start of that process, and the Obsidian game and Fallout 76 expansion will help. But while Xbox's recent deluge of lay-offs have hit hard, the fact still stands that the publisher is sitting pretty on some of the industry's highest profile RPG brands and what remains of the studios that created them. With only the likes of CD Projekt Red as major competition, the question is whether new Xbox chief Asha Sharma will be able to do what predecessor Phil Spencer couldn't, even as the company haemorrhages staff. If CDPR is able to push out three major RPGs in quick succession, could the much larger Xbox be in a position to follow suit instead of squandering the opportunity? Or, is such a massive entity prone to slow manoeuvring, like trying to turn a Brotherhood of Steel zeppelin? But, whether or not that all comes to pass, it doesn't change the fact that as a gaming series Fallout has been left behind by its creators for far too long, and no number of remasters will help speed up the ongoing wait for its next major iteration, especially as the years tick on. The Elder Scrolls Online is struggling with "team bandwidth" after Xbox layoffs hit Bethesda and ZeniMax, leading devs to limit a store for in-game items. [/url]View the full article

***** president Shuji Utsumi has promised fans of the Persona series that the teaser trailer for Persona 6 is just the start of what he believes will be a "truly memorable year" to celebrate the series' 30th anniversary. While Persona 4 Revival will be another hype moment for fans, Utsumi hints that there are more reveals on the horizon. In an interview with Famitsu, that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Utsumi expresses how he's "very confident" that fans will be pleased with what ***** has planned for the series' 30th anniversary. A spin-off from Atlus' already popular Shin Megami Tensei series, Revelations: Persona added more of a narrative focus and emphasis on the character's relationships than its beast battling predecessor. Originally released for the original PlayStation in 1996, the series has evolved well beyond its isometric pixel art roots. If you've only played the series' newer titles you might not be aware that it didn't always feature a spicy UI and ranked high school relationships. As 2026 is the 30th anniversary of this game, it seemed natural that ***** would announce the next mainline entry in the series, the long-awaited Persona 6. "I think we were able to announce a truly memorable year for Persona's 30th anniversary," Utsumi says. "Hype for the series has been built by Persona 6's reveal. "And I think Persona 4 Revival will spark fan excitement again," Utsumi continues. "I'm sure everyone will feel the same way, and I'm very confident we'll give the Persona series the lively 30th anniversary celebration it deserves." Persona 4 Revival seemingly features more scenes with Marie, fuelling hopes she'll be integrated better than in Golden: "If they do that, the remake will have fulfilled its purpose." [/url]View the full article

Oblivion Remastered and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have been found dead in a puddle of T-virus – the Resident Evil 4 remake from 2023 has sold 16.8 million copies across all platforms, and games industry researcher Alinea Analytics infers that makes it the best-selling remake of this console generation. "It’s also among the most successful single-player horror games in history," says market analysis lead Rhys Elliott in a Substack breakdown of the best-selling game remakes and remasters since 2020, "generating $560M in gross revenue for Capcom so far across the three platforms, split 53.1% PlayStation, 34.1% Steam, and 12.8% Xbox." Resident Evil 4 remake's competition comes nowhere close. In terms of total copies sold, Resident Evil 4 is followed by 2023 remaster Ark: Survival Ascended, which moved a total of 7 million copies. The Last of Us Part 1 remake sits behind it with 6.3 million sold, while Oblivion Remastered, the Dead Space remake, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lag in the race with a total of 4.5, 4.3, and 4.2 million copies sold, respectively. (Image credit: Capcom) Bloober's Silent Hill 2 remake from 2024 is the worst best-seller according to Alinea, with a total of 3.2 million copies sold – though, as a huge fan, I'm at least placated by the suggestion that millions of people have now been exposed to buff Pyramid Head. Elliot suggests, out of all these still very popular titles, Resident Evil 4 might have been especially suited to the new, industry-wide hobby of swanky remakes because "it's revered enough to guarantee demand and old enough that the remake feels new." But the obvious flaw with this conclusion is that it applies to multiple titles in Alinea's collection of best-selling remakes. Silent Hill 2, for example, is even older than Resident Evil 4 and similarly revered, while Oblivion released around the same time as Resident Evil 4 and seemed to sell at a similar pace; contemporaneous reports estimate Resident Evil 4 sold 3 million copies within a year from launch, while Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said in 2025 that Oblivion Remastered outsold the original game's first 15 months on the market, which likely also existed in the realm of 3 million (2006 reports say Oblivion had already sold 1.7 copies by the end of its first week). So what's really so special about the Resident Evil 4 remake? Well, Capcom's sales – you can currently purchase the game on Steam for $9.99 instead of $39.99, whereas Silent Hill 2 is currently $27.99 on *****, and Oblivion is an unrepentant $49.99. Elliott says, "Steam's share of total Resident Evil 4 revenue has grown from 28.0% in launch week to 34.1% today. There’s that Capcom catalogue flywheel again – a game earning a ******* slice of its lifetime revenue years after release, at the low end of the price curve (in markets consoles barely reach)." Then, there's the irresistible charms of a formative game like Resident Evil 4. It has something for every player – revolutionary third-person shooting, a girl named Ashley, and parasites that look like someone sneezed on the floor. I, personally, couldn't imagine wanting anything more. Only 7 PlayStation games have sold over 100,000 physical copies in the US this year, says analyst, as commenters demand discs without buying them. [/url]View the full article

Once you give players an ability, you really can't control how they use it. People can do whatever they like with a photo mode, as the devs behind Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced have discovered due to the amount of feet pics they've seen. "There's just nothing like having one million or two million players playing a game at once that you can't replicate. The feet pics were very surprising," Richard Knight, game director on Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced, tells JorRaptor. "That's kind of what photo mode is there for – to take really interesting, sometimes unusual, photos." I'm not surprised – internet loves doing things for the bit, and bizarre, slightly lewd photographs emerging from a new Assassin's Creed game is the exact kind of tomfoolery that goes over very well. [Hidden Content] But I'm far too innocent for such things, because my most in-depth experience with photo mode was in Insomniac's Spider-Man games. I loved swinging around and making fake comic book covers. I've made dozens of them across the three installments. Obviously, that's the wrong line of thinking. Pictures of Spider-Man are out, pictures of feet are in, apparently. "I never would have expected that one," Knight adds. I have to imagine someone on the team thought it was a possibility, but what are you going to do? Restrict people's creativity? You've got to just let people do what they do, that's the real adventure of life. At 3.5 million sales, Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced beat Ubisoft's full-year expectations in 2 weeks with "historical" PC performance. [/url]View the full article

The upcoming Final Fantasy Resonance is set to see the return of Final Fantasy 16's protagonist Clive Rosfield as part of the game's roster of classic Final Fantasy characters. Despite debuting more recently than some of Final Fantasy Resonance's guest characters, Clive has become one of the most popular protagonists in the series thanks to his tragic story and phenomenal performance by voice actor Ben Starr. Now, Ifrit's Dominant returns in a new Final Fantasy game releasing on October 22. View the full article

To comply with *** law, some battle.net users will soon have to verify their age to avoid losing access to social interactions and more. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Some Battle.net players may need to verify their age to avoid losing access to voice chat and other social features View the full article

Halo: Campaign Evolved might be a remake of one of the best shooters to ever do it, but that doesn't mean it's entirely bullet proof. On Steam, the remake has debuted to an average 'Mixed' rating thanks to player complaints of crashes and server login issues that temporarily stopped people from playing the campaign-only game. For context, Halo: Campaign Evolved launches in full on July 28, but owners of the $70/£70 Premium Edition get to skip the ****** and jump in five days early. Despite paying extra, those fans have maybe been given the short end of the stick if user reviews are anything to go by. At the time of writing, about 32% of Campaign Evolved's 1,666 Steam user reviews give it the thumbs down, with many reviews citing semi-frequent crashes and problems even connecting to the game's servers in the first place. "Yes the game just came out, but it shouldn't be a trend for a game to always come out severely broken," one player writes. "Call me a boomer, but I miss when games came out in a playable state without patches needed." "Login failed," another states. "Cannot play the single-player game as servers are overloaded. ****** your DRM." Halo Studios actually responded to that user review by promising that login issues should now be fixed, and judging by the almost 20 hours the fan has on record, it seems server issues are a non-issue for now. Still, some other fans took issue with the fact that Halo: Campaign Evolved requires a login and a connection at all. The game is playable start-to-finish in online co-op, but there's no real reason why Spartans who prefer to go in solo should have to connect their Microsoft accounts before even reaching the main menu. Technical issues and a bumpy launch aside, players who aren't being interrupted by crashes seem otherwise happy with the classic game's second remake. "Finished the prequel missions. Barely any problems whatsoever, and so far it's been refreshing playing a "new" Halo game again," one fans says of the new three-mission arc. "Well – it's Halo 1's campaign, but with a new coat of paint on top and some interesting and fun tweaks to mix up the gameplay, with the most comprehensive set of skulls the series has ever seen that offer tons of replay value," a second player explains. "Really, that's all I think needs to be said to justify the recommendation here." GamesRadar's Halo: Campaign Evolved review had similarly good things to say about the remake, even if the package as a whole also felt like "a wasted opportunity for Halo Studios to put its own spin on a classic." Want more? A secret Halo: Campaign Evolved ending strongly hints that another Halo 2 remake is in the works – "See you in the sequel." [/url]View the full article

The Halo Campaign Evolved Skulls and Terminal found in the first level, The Pillar of Autumn, aren't too difficult to find, for the most part. The main issue is that a couple of Skulls are found so early in the game that you'll no doubt run right past them the first time you play. So, to help you find them quickly, I've explained exactly where to find the Terminal and all Skulls in the first level of Halo Campaign Evolved below. Halo Campaign Evolved Pillar of Autumn Skull 1 [Hidden Content] (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios) From Rally Point Alpha, the start of the level. At the very start of the level as soon as soon as you have control over Master Chief, turn around and head over to the two large, round containers towards the left side of the back of the room. Climb on top of these containers, then jump across to the nearby upper walkway. Walk to the other end and you'll find the Speed Limit Skull. Halo Campaign Evolved Pillar of Autumn Skull 2 [Hidden Content] (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios) From Rally Point Alpha, as soon as the marine says Cortana needs you at the bridge. The next room the marine will lead you into is an armory, and the Magnified Skull is on top of the central weapon rack near the middle of the room. Halo Campaign Evolved Pillar of Autumn Skull 3 [Hidden Content] (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios) From Rally Point Bravo, after the cutscene where Master Chief meets Keyes at the bridge. After this cutscene finishes, turn around and head back into the bridge. Go to the main control area with the glass canopy and the two pilots in their chairs and drop down into the floorspace below them. This is where you'll find the Perspective Skull, and there's a ladder you can use to get out. Halo Campaign Evolved Pillar of Autumn Terminal [Hidden Content] (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios) From Rally Point Charlie, when going through the upper cryo room with the cracked windows. You'll know you're in the right room if Cortana says, "it looks like the Covenant wanted to catch you napping". From here, carry on through the next door, then immediately turn left to find another open door leading into another room with red lights and lots of screens. The Approach Terminal is at the far end. Finding all these collectibles also takes a while, so expect it to add a few hours to how long it takes to beat Halo Campaign Evolved. If you've played Halo CE in The Master Chief Collection, you will have noticed that all the Skulls are in completely different places to that, which is one of the many Halo Campaign Evolved changes. This Halo 1 remake is out now in early access but the full Halo Campaign Evolved release time is still to come. In the meantime, make sure you've got your Halo Campaign Evolved pre-load sorted. © GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission. [/url]View the full article

Board game publisher CMON has submitted a new Hong Kong stock exchange filing, stating its planned purchase of shares in another company has been cancelled. "The Board wishes to announce that as the conditions precedent to completion under the Agreement have not been fulfilled, the Company has decided not to proceed with the Acquisition", it says. Read the full story on Wargamer: Struggling board game company CMON cancels $2.1m investment in NFT videogame firm View the full article

It seems like things are looking up for Final Fantasy 14. After Dawntrail led to players gradually pulling away from Square Enix's MMORPG, new data suggests many are now returning, in anticipation of upcoming expansion, Evercold. The information comes from Japanese outlet Lucky Bancho, which regularly posts numbers related to the MMO's overall playerbase. According to these numbers, since March, Final Fantasy 14's number of active players has grown to over one million, to a grand total of around 1,020,000. That's a good sign, and a decent jump from Lucky Bancho's last survey of the userbase in March, where the numbers for those actively playing were closer to around 770,000. It's mentioned that some 80,000 new accounts have been started as well, double the 40,000 of the previous datapoint, suggesting more people are beginning their journeys through Eorzea. It's been a long time since the MMO came close to one million, according to the site's numbers. It recorded 990,000 active players in March 2025, over a year ago. [Hidden Content] These insights are built through looking over public information on achievements and the like. It's not the most accurate because it doesn't include private accounts and doesn't differentiate among people who have multiple accounts. But it's a good ballpark estimate that can give us some insight into the overall health of the game. There have been concerns following the negative reception to Dawntrail over the future of Final Fantasy 14. One bad expansion isn't a death knell for a game that's already been going well for over a decade now, but a consistent drop in players is enough to cause some anxiety. But anticipation is growing for Evercold. It arrives in early 2027, and kicks off the Godless Realms Saga, marking a new era for the MMO. There's even an Evangelion crossover on the way. The future is looking bright, as it tends to under the watchful eye of director Naoki Yoshida. Final Fantasy 14's Third Walk raid starts with FF11's most infamous boss being bodied in a cutscene because a raid designer wanted to show off the true strength of your first foe. [/url]View the full article

Sony's PlayStation Network services have been offline for hours today, leaving fans unable to play some digital games. Unsurprisingly, impacted users have been left pointing to the benefits of physical copies — just weeks after Sony's bombshell announcement it will kill PS5 discs. PlayStation services began to disappear for some users around 8.30am Eastern this morning, around the same time as an alert from Amazon Web Services that "multiple AWS servers in the US-WEST-2 region" were facing "connectivity issues." Despite the problem being marked as resolved around an hour later, players report continued experiencing continued issues in the hours since — and in countries outside the U.S., too. The issue has hit PlayStation services just as the open beta for the Sony-published (and console exclusive) Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was getting underway, with its developer subsequently acknowledging issues on PS5. To our Tōkon Warriors, We're aware that some PlayStation players are experiencing login and network issues. Our team is actively investigating the problem and working to identify the cause. We'll share updates as soon as we have more information. Thank you for your patience… — MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls (@MARVELTokon) July 24, 2026 At the time of writing, Sony's own service status page continues to show errors across every PlayStation network service, from playing and purchasing digital content, streaming games, account management services and more. "You might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features," Sony wrote on its official status page, with impacted platforms listed as including PS Vita, PS3, PS4 and PS5. "We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience." While outages happen, the timing for this latest interruption of service could not be much worse. As well as impacting Marvel Tōkon, a key title for Sony, the disruption comes as the firestorm of controversy over Sony's decision to kill discs is still very much aflame. This month has seen Sony continually slammed by PlayStation fans for its hugely unpopular decision to discontinue launching new PS5 games via physical discs from January 2028 onwards — a choice that has sparked an enormous petition, endless social media posts, and a stream of angry commentary on every trailer or livestream that the console maker now hosts. Only last night, Sony uploaded new footage of its promising-looking exclusive Marvel's Wolverine — though the YouTube comments are full of further outrage at the disc situation. Analysts and even former Sony staff say that the situation is highly unlikely to change, but regardless — fans are not letting this one go anytime soon, and a moment that highlights one of the pitfalls of gaming's all-digital future has today only underlined its downsides further. "We had ourselves a lovely PSN outage, we see," wrote gaming accessibility service Does it Play?, which champions physical game media. "Just one of many things that can go wrong with an all-digital future in the way Sony's shapes up to be. Be careful what you wish for." Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social View the full article

Tomb Raider: Catalyst is indeed delayed to 2028, as many had suspected. Confirmation comes from Amazon’s video game boss, Jeffrey Gattis, who told The Game Business that Catalyst is now due out in 2028, with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis due out February 12, 2027. “Atlantis comes February 12 of next year, and then we'll follow on in 2028 with the next one,” Gattis said. No firmer launch window was offered. Both games were announced at the same time, in December last year. Catalyst is the next-gen, Unreal Engine 5-built Tomb Raider that developer Crystal Dynamics announced years ago now. In December, it was set for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S in 2027, published by Amazon Game Studios. Here's the official blurb: Tomb Raider: Catalyst marks a bold direction for the series as Lara Croft embarks on a new adventure across Northern India. Tomb Raider: Catalyst is set in the wake of a mythical cataclysm that has unleashed ancient secrets and awakened the mysterious forces that guard them. When the most notorious treasure hunters from around the world descend on the region, Lara races to uncover the truth buried beneath the fractured landscape and stop those who would use its power for their own gain. As the ancient world collides with the present, Lara must decide who to trust among rivals and allies to prevent a catastrophe and protect a secret that could reshape the future. In June, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis was delayed from this year to February 12, 2027 release date. Alix Wilton Regan plays Lara Croft in both games, replacing Camilla Luddington, who portrayed Lara Croft in the Survivor Trilogy. In March, Crystal Dynamics suffered its fourth redundancy round in 12 months, although the Embracer-owned studio insisted it remained “fully committed to the future development" of the Lara Croft franchise. The upcoming Tomb Raider games are published by Amazon, which is also working on a Tomb Raider TV show for Prime Video starring Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner. Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

Final Fantasy 7 Remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi understands open-world fatigue, which is why Revelation is seemingly trying to find a balance between Remake and Rebirth. Rebirth's open world has been a point of criticism for the 2024 RPG, and despite the, ahem, revelation that Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will have a ******* world than even Rebirth did, Hamaguchi tells Eurogamer that not overdoing it is on his mind. He explains, "The world is even ******* than it was in Rebirth, so it is more important than ever for us to ensure there's enough guidance here, so people have no issues enjoying what this game has to offer." "There are a lot of open world games out in the world right now, and [the idea of 'open world fatigue'] is a very important concept to me," Hamaguchi says. Hamaguchi notes "it depends on personal preference and different perceptions, but for me personally, I know I've had the experience where I've been thrown out into an open world game and not known where to go, not known where to begin, and not known what to do." (Image credit: Square Enix) As someone who is just playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth now after waiting for ages, it's pretty striking how different the layout of the game is compared to the first game in the Remake trilogy. While Final Fantasy 7 Remake did have little hubs to explore and get up to nonsense, it was very much funneling you forward through the adventure. Rebirth, on the other hand, is very much an open-world game, full of distractions in each of the game's many areas. I've spent countless hours running through the maps to find all of the intel, fast forwarding through every bit of annoying dialogue Chadley is giving, with a few chapters still to go. "For me personally, as a creator, I think it's very important to offer proper guidance for the players in open world games," Hamaguchi continues. He says the Rebirth team wanted to "make it easy" for people to see how much content there is, and says "that design philosophy is applied to Revelation: players have all the guidance that they need. This is something that both myself and the development team were very careful about when we designed the game." Hamaguchi also singles out the Highwind and parachute mechanic included in the next game, and stresses it isn't as simple as picking where to go and letting the cutscene drop you there. "After you open the parachute, you kind of have to rely on your memory to ensure that you're actually dropping into the place where you want to go," he clarifies. This is billed as "another example of the guidance we're giving players, without directing them too much." Final Fantasy 7 Revelation DLC includes "Story Expansion Pass," according to Epic Games Store database listings [/url]View the full article

Great news, Baldur's Gate 3 fans: beloved tiefling Karlach is officially returning in a brand-new comic book from Dark Horse. The popular companion has long been held up as one of the strongest elements of Baldur's Gate 3, and now, she's back, with a comic book expanding on her story. View the full article

You've got three days to play Metal Gear Solid for free. One of Hideo Kojima's earlier masterworks, MGS is one of the best stealth action games ever developed, as are many of its sequels. Following the original two Metal Gear games, the first installment of the Solid series brought Solid Snake into full 3D on the PlayStation in 1998, and made a more recent comeback with its Master Collection version in 2023. View the full article

Halo: Campaign Evolved includes some extremely challenging modifiers to shake up the experience for hardcore players, but unlocking these will require tracking down several collectible Skulls. Every Mission and Bonus Mission in Halo: Campaign Evolved has three different Skulls, and finding them all requires a little bit of know-how. View the full article

Hogwarts Legacy players hungry for more now have the chance to visit the Chamber of Secrets. Hogwarts Legacy was first released in 2023 and earned strong reviews from critics alongside record-breaking sales. Hogwarts Legacy proved without a shadow of a doubt that there is a serious appetite for big budget, core Harry Potter video game experiences, and a sequel is confirmed to be in development. While fans wait for news on Hogwarts Legacy 2, they may want to revisit the original game. View the full article

Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexeis officially still little more than a logo, but information from less official sources has started to seep through the cracks at an increasingly fast pace. Previously, details about key features like pre-orders have leaked, and basic information surrounding the story and concept of the game has been around for a while. View the full article

Jeffrey Gattis, general manager for games at Amazon, hopes to see more people try its cloud gaming service Luna as consoles and PCs become eye-wateringly expensive. Speaking with The Game Business, Gattis weighs up the increasing costs of gaming today. Component supply chains decimated by AI data centers forced even Valve's wealthy hand (as it refuses to sell hardware at a loss), leading to a flagrantly overpriced Steam Machine that would've been a proper hit with a sticker in the high three-digit range. Now even Xbox is preemptively talking about how consoles have to adapt to the memory and storage market, in roughly the same way that a dinosaur must adapt to being on fire. Gattis inherited the difficult task of getting people to know and care about Luna, which was announced in 2020 and swiftly forgotten. By baking it straight into Amazon Prime Video, Gattis says "we've 5x-ed our player base, albeit on a modest base," which is the kind of corporate speak that reveals a very modest starting audience. But Gattis is optimistic about Luna and cloud gaming's future, especially in a world where the Steam Machine and rumored new-gen consoles cost "well over $1,000." Cloud gaming has long been "a little bit of a solution in search of a problem," Gattis reflects, but that was in a world where core gaming was relatively affordable. "Consoles, for the most part, have been relatively inexpensive until now," he says. "So our business is more about reaching more players and expanding the market, not trying to get people to give up their consoles or their gaming PC. "Having said all that, we've seen the news. We saw the Steam Machine pricing opening at $1,000 US. We hear rumors about consoles, because of the RAM prices, pushing well over $1,000 in gen 10. So I do think you get to a point at which a lot more people will be in the consideration set for a cloud gaming solution just because of the sheer cost of buying dedicated hardware." (Image credit: Microsoft) Gattis reckons there are "3 billion people in the world who play video games, yet there's only, depending on how you do the math, 300 million to 500 million dedicated hardware devices out in the wild." In that difference of roughly 2.5 billion gamers, he sees the potential cloud gaming market of tomorrow – folks who don't have the time or money for the latest consoles or PC games, but do want to play something. And as long as they're comfortable with the limitations of cloud gaming licensing. "Games can be big investments – to go buy a $70 game, to go through the download experience, to pair a controller, and then make an investment of hundreds of hours of time, in some cases, to complete one of these games," Gattis reasons, perhaps exaggerating the arduous toil of pairing a controller. "There's people like me who love that. That's how I choose to spend my entertainment time. But I think most people fit into more of a bell curve, a more normal distribution. They spend some time watching television, they spend some time watching movies, and they like to play video games. I think that's where we see an opportunity to serve a group of people who I might argue haven't really been well-served because the console and PC companies are mostly focused on those hardcore players." The big problem, of course, is that Amazon has struggled to get anything right in games. Its once-roaring MMO New World is dead, its Lord of the Rings MMO is reportedly dead, and Amazon Studios' primary exports so far have been layoffs and cancellations. It turns out all the money in the universe can't just magic games into being, so even if Luna was always meant to be a third-party game merchant, it's in untrustworthy hands in the eyes of many players. Meanwhile: Amazon Games gutted amid 14,000 layoffs: work on first-party games and MMOs in particular scaled back, "casual and AI-focused games" a continued focus. [/url]View the full article

One of the most exciting things about Beast of Reincarnation – the new action game from mainline Pokemon maker, Game Freak – is the adorably fluffy, but violently capable dog that'll follow you around for the entire adventure. And, yes, thankfully, you can **** the good boy. Beast of Reincarnation flings us a couple thousand years into the future to experience a post-apocalyptic version of Japan, where we'll do battle with deadly automatons, frenzied beasties who hail from the natural world, and enemies that are a curious mix of both. There's hints of Nier Automata for sure, but the game's main selling point is easily the "one-person, one-dog" gameplay that arguably builds off the monster-befriending, apocalypse-proof loop of Pokemon. [Hidden Content] Thanks to new footage courtesy of Denfaminicogamer, we learned that you can **** Koo, the blighted dog, back at your in-game home base and wash whatever blood or robot battery juice spilled onto his otherwise shiny white coat during combat. Grooming and loving Koo, like he's the goodest boy who's ever boyed, isn't in the game only to appease the dog fanatics among us, however. Feeding or petting Koo will also impact your affection level that'll, in turn, improve your capabilities in other areas of the game (although, exactly how is still up in the air.) Should Koo fall in combat, then your affection level could drop, too. Beast of Reincarnation also has more in common with Pokemon than simply taming an animal that would realistically chomp you down in most other contexts. Speaking to GamesRadar+ earlier in the year, game director Kota Furushima said his background as Pokemon's battle planner influenced much of Beast of Reincarnation's combat: "It allowed us to create a contrast between real-time actions requiring split-second decisions and command selections that involve a bit of deliberation." Beast of Reincarnation launches August 4 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass. Check out our new games calendar to see everything on the horizon. [/url]View the full article

PC gamers can currently claim, download, and keep a 2023 stealth-strategy game forever, with no catches, caveats, or anything of the sort. Of course, it's worth mentioning that Steam's Free Weekend promotion is ongoing through July 27, and many fans will no doubt enjoy the ******* games available there. Those all naturally require the Steam client, though, and have a harder time limit than the latest free game from IndieGala. View the full article

Ah! You hadn't totally retreated from the battlefield following your cancellation in early 2025, Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition's Baltic Powers DLC! It was just one of your strategic tricks to lull your enemies into a false sense of security. Now, with the time finally being right, you've re-emerged to stake your claim on a September release. Read more View the full article