Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has announced layoffs affecting up to 32 staff just two months after launching Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. The ***-based studio published a statement regarding the changes on its X/Twitter account. It says that, despite releasing its latest game in May to "critical acclaim, its commercial performance has not enabled us to sustain a studio of our current size." "We have served redundancy or at-risk notices impacting up to 32 of our colleagues across all departments at ZA/UM Studio," the message said. "Their work has made a lasting difference and left its mark on Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, and the studio as a whole." [Hidden Content] — ZA/UM Studio (@studiozaum) July 17, 2026 ZA/UM said it will continue to "consult and work with" members of its Workers' Alliance union throughout the "difficult process." The message added that the layoffs will change "the shape of ZA/UM, but not its purpose." "Our artistic standards remain unchanged: we will persist," it continued. "To anyone currently hiring, please consider the colleagues leaving ZA/UM. The 2020s have been rough for ZA/UM. Trouble truly began in early October 2022, when multiple key developers – including writer and designer Robert Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and art and design lead Aleksander Rostov – were said to have left the studio involuntarily. Just weeks later, it was revealed that Kurvitz had launched a lawsuit against the company, with both he and Rostov alleging Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel of Tütreke OÜ had obtained control of ZA/UM "by fraud." ZA/UM denied these claims while launching their own accusations in a statement sent to [Hidden Content]. As things unwound behind the scenes, a series of spinoff studios made up of former ZA/UM developers have emerged. Dark Math Games and Longdue Games announced their projects, XXX Nightshift and Hopetown, in October 2024, with Summer Eternal revealing itself shortly after. With years of controversy under its belt, today's layoffs aren't ZA/UM's first. In 2024, it was reported that around 24 employees had been impacted by layoffs. The same update brought word that a standalone Disco Elysium expansion had been canceled. Disco Elysium won ZA/UM multiple categories at The Game Awards 2019 and earned a 9.6/10 review from IGN at the time of its launch. While Zero Parades: For Dead Spies didn't seem to live up to the high bar set by its predecessor, it still boasts an 83 from critics on Metacritic following its May 21, 2026, launch for PC and PS5. For more on ZA/UM, you can read IGN's breakdown for the full wild story behind what's happened at the studio. Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe). View the full article
Final Fantasy 10is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, and Square Enix has just honored the occasion with a surprising new release. After previously revealing that the HD Remaster of Final Fantasy 10 and Final Fantasy 10-2 would be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, the studio is now investing more thoroughly in building up to its launch. View the full article
I asked Rebel Wolves about The Blood of Dawnwalker pushing RPGs forward, the busy release calendar, and why its combat is like Guitar Hero. Read the full story on PCGamesN: The Blood of Dawnwalker's total freedom of choice is essential: "You need to accept that people will not see everything" View the full article
The expansion pass for Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown will bring four DLC stories, new tech, more heroes, and a playable USS Equinox. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Timeline-altering Star Trek Voyager game kicks off a four-part expansion pass, inspired by classic episodes View the full article
The Odysseyis another true Christopher Nolan cinematic event, but sadly, there's no great way to continue that adventure in an official video game tie-in. While the film has a Roblox crossover and Matt Damon's Odysseus is officially appearing in Fortnite, neither of these options feel like the best way to experience the true scope and tone of the film. View the full article
Whatever one's opinion is of the Star Wars franchise, it's hard to deny that there have been some truly tremendous and genre-defining releases that helped truly cement it as one of the greatest works of sci-fi ever created. Star Wars has endured a barrage of mediocre TV series and critically panned films for a reason, as the very best of the franchise continues to hold it aloft in the minds of its dogmatic fans and instill in all of us the hope that it can once again be as great as so many fondly remember it being. View the full article
Love your classic retro games? D7VK 2.0 is out now to bring more performance improvements for running retro Direct3D games on Linux. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
Direct 3D 8, 9, 10 and 11 to Vulkan layer DXVK has a new bug fix release out, sorting some issues in specific games to make gaming on Linux / SteamOS better. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
It's been a huge couple of weeks for Falloutfans, to say the least. After a report suggested that a new game was in development from Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment, Bethesda Game Studios followed up to confirm the new game, remasters of Fallout 3 and New Vegas, and offer an update on Fallout 5. View the full article
The Emberville voice cast has expanded to include Ben Starr, Jennifer English, Matthew Mercer, and 15 other performers. The star-studded expansion was confirmed mere months ahead of Emberville's early access launch. View the full article
Super Battle Golf and three other titles are currently available to play or claim for free on Steam. The promotions are accompanied by a limited-time 100% discount on a new DLC pack for The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, which Steam users can claim through late July 2026. View the full article
Get hundreds of free keys, chests, and everything else you'll need to take on waves of ghouls when you redeem these new Final Swarm codes. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Final Swarm codes (July 2026) View the full article
Figuring out which upcoming Xbox games will be console exclusive hasn't been totally clear so far, but in an interview with GamesRadar+, CCO Matt Booty says fans shouldn't expect all single-player games to be locked down either. After slowly shipping many of its formerly exclusive games across the multiplatform pond, Xbox recently announced a return to exclusivity. Gears of War: E-Day will only be available on Xbox Series X|S and PC when it launches later this year, as will Clockwork Revolution when it drops sometime next year, with more to come in the future. But not every game coming out of Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard will follow suit. Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Grounded 2 are both hitting other systems later this year, and chief strategy officer Matthew Ball tells us that "large live-service titles" will also be multiplatform moving forward as well. If big multiplatform games are launching everywhere, then some fans might reasonably expect signature single-player games to remain Xbox exclusive. Speaking to GamesRadar+ about Xbox's messy return to exclusives, Matt Booty explains that's not necessarily the case: "I wouldn't overly fixate on single-player. I think that's a good rule of thumb, but it certainly isn't something that's carved in stone." Asked about how the company decides what's exclusive and what's not, then, Booty says "there are a lot of different games in our portfolio, and we have to think about how different games serve different purposes within it." Ball was a little more frank, saying he knows "this approach is not obvious to all of our players," but the company is apparently "committed to making this clearer." Right now, Xbox's strategy is to not announce platforms until a game is closer to shipping. Hopefully the firm removes some of that guesswork in the future. For now, we know marque multiplayer games will try to attract eyeballs from everywhere, so expect future Call of Duties to remain available on rival consoles. The fate of single-player games, such as Hideo Kojima's OD or The Elder Scrolls 6, remains up in the air, however. With so much in flux, check out every studio Xbox owns and what they're making. [/url]View the full article
When John Donne wrote "send not to know for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee" was he making a tragic statement about the nature of loss and our collective humanity, or was he bragging about pulling off a sweet combo with his Pokémon TCG deck? Scholars may never know, but what we can be certain of is that the cards Dark Bell and Mega Darkrai ex were clearly designed to work together. and they make a fun (if not entirely practical) pair. Read the full story on Wargamer: Darkrai can use a sinister bell to score KOs in this new Pokémon TCG combo View the full article
Many call Dungeons and Dragons the grandfather of tabletop RPGs, with its influence on the medium spanning multiple generations. And yet DnD itself is so clearly a work influenced by so many other stories. The storytelling of DnD comes courtesy of the centuries of stories behind it. It's only natural these same stories inspire campaigns to this day. This upcoming adventure book for 5e inspired by Frankenstein is the perfect example. Read the full story on Wargamer: DnD meets Frankenstein in this gothic horror adventure for 5e View the full article
Following the reveal of the new Kill Block multiplayer mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward responded to fan frustrations over the gameplay and its visual issues. While the reveal of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 was spoiled slightly by leakers announcing its October 2026 launch, the game made its official debut in May, revealing an explosive conflict on the Korean Peninsula. View the full article
The Epic Games Store's developer-initiated promotions in July 2026 offer three extra free-to-keep games to users, including an open-world co-op survival experience. On the official side, Epic Games Store users can claim two PC games, Luto and Echo Generation: Midnight Edition, as well as a mobile game called The Ouroboros King through the storefront's mobile app. View the full article
Survival games are obsessed with the grind. Need a better axe? You've got to spend an hour collecting stone. Want to build a ******* base? Time to manually ferry hundreds of logs from one storage chest to another. Somewhere along the line, the genre started confusing friction with depth... Read more.View the full article
The Steam Machine's price tag is already scarily expensive and downright unaffordable for your everyday player - starting at $1,049 for the cheapest 512GB model without a controller - but that eye-watering price is unlikely to come down anytime soon. Valve and, seemingly, the rest of the industry are bracing for the worst. As AI data centres continue to ******** up memory chips and storage and a bunch of other components used in consumer devices, prices for PC gamers and hardware manufacturers have skyrocketed. Hence, the RAMageddon we're living through now. On the console side, prices have boomed and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently said she expects memory costs to double again before the fall of 2027. Lenovo also predicted we're in a new normal for RAM costs. Valve isn't anymore optimistic about the RAM crisis calming down, either. Speaking to Bloomberg about the Steam Machine's lengthy development, Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat shared a pretty grim outlook about the near future. "Honestly, it's still getting worse," Aldehayyat says about pricing. "Just in case people are not aware. What people are seeing on retail shelves right now, from our observations, is lagging what we're seeing from a bulk supply by at least three to six months." (Thanks for the spot, PCG!) AI centres (that don't even exist yet) calling dibs on memory chips (that also don't exist yet) isn't just affecting pricing for the Steam Machine and consoles. Fellow Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais says the crisis is also impacting how many machines the company can even produce: "We're basically building everything we can. We're limited by memory capacity, for sure." The rest of the interview with the Steam Machine engineers is just as insightful. Valve seemingly isn't too bothered about how many Steam Machines it can sell at the moment since the device is just another avenue to get people into open-source PC gaming and Valve's ecosystem, apparently. Valve is switching up its Steam Machine error codes to be more helpful, starting with its scary red overheating light [/url]View the full article
I had completely forgotten that Valve is working on an update for Team Fortress 2's cooperative Mann vs. Machine mode, though my defence, it's been a long time since we last heard about it. The prospective patch was announced in June last year, via a blog post on TF2's official website that requested map and mission submissions from the community in time for this update—with a "fictional deadline" of August 27... Read more.View the full article
My SGF hands-on demo of Stranger Than Heaven was combat-focused, which sold me on RGG's game more than a standard preview would have done. Read the full story on PCGamesN: I didn't expect Stranger Than Heaven to have such deep, satisfying combat View the full article
Super Battle Golf is a fantastic multiplayer twist on the sport, and you can test it thanks to a free weekend ahead of a price increase. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Try Steam's most high-chaos golf game for free right now, before it goes up in price forever View the full article
Bungie recently confirmed that Marathon's Mid-Season 2 update will add a brand-new PvE mode to the sci-fi extraction shooter. Called 'Vault Breaker', this new Marathon PvE mode will be available from July 21, but players will need to be quick if they want to experience it, as it'll only be playable for two weeks. View the full article
Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 star Jennifer English is pulling out of upcoming fantasy RPG Tides of Annihilation due to personal health reasons, and is handing her role over to another yet-unnamed actor while working as an advisor on the project. Jennifer English has been involved in some of the best RPGs of recent years, lending her vocal chords to Baldur's Gate 3's Shadowheart, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Maelle, Elden Ring's Latenna, and much more. While Tides of Annihilation was hoping to cash in on the genre's lucky charm, things haven't turned out as planned. "We have some sad news to share, that Jennifer English will be stepping away from her role as the English voice of Gwendolyn, the main protagonist in Tides of Annihilation due to personal health reasons," developer Eclipse Glow Games writes in a social media post. "She will continue to support the project in an advisory role." We have some sad news to share, that Jennifer English will be stepping away from her role as the English voice of Gwendolyn, the main protagonist in Tides of Annihilation due to personal health reasons. She will continue to support the project in an advisory role. Earlier in…July 18, 2026 "During this transition, Jennifer remained incredibly supportive and, together with other members of our voice cast, helped us identify and connect with talented performers who could carry Gwendolyn forward while staying true to the character," the studio adds. "With Jennifer's support and recommendation, together with recommendations from other members of our voice cast, we've been fortunate to find an incredibly talented performer to carry Gwendolyn forward." The Tencent-backed Eclipse Glow Games didn't name who will be voicing the game's protagonist moving forward, but we'll apparently find out by the time Tides of Annihilation's Gamescom 2026 demo is in the public's hands: "Players will hear her performance for the first time in the demo this August, as well as in select official updates shared across our channels during the same *******." Over on Instagram, English said she's "really grateful to have been part of Tides of Annihilation since the game's inception and to have worked with such lovely team." The actor also shared a bit more about what motivated her to take a step back from the project: "Recently, I've found myself needing to slow down and reassess the commitments I've taken on. After careful thought, I've realised I need to take time to rest and properly look after my mental and physical health." Tides of Annihilation doesn't have a release window, but it'll be coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 when it's out the oven. The game was originally set to have English star opposite her real-life partner Aliona Baranova in a shattered, twisted fantasy version of London. While you're here, why not check out the most exciting new games of 2026 and beyond. [/url]View the full article
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Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has announced layoffs affecting up to 32 staff just two months after launching Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. The ***-based studio published a statement regarding the changes on its X/Twitter account. It says that, despite releasing its latest game in May to "critical acclaim, its commercial performance has not enabled us to sustain a studio of our current size." "We have served redundancy or at-risk notices impacting up to 32 of our colleagues across all departments at ZA/UM Studio," the message said. "Their work has made a lasting difference and left its mark on Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, and the studio as a whole." [Hidden Content] — ZA/UM Studio (@studiozaum) July 17, 2026 ZA/UM said it will continue to "consult and work with" members of its Workers' Alliance union throughout the "difficult process." The message added that the layoffs will change "the shape of ZA/UM, but not its purpose." "Our artistic standards remain unchanged: we will persist," it continued. "To anyone currently hiring, please consider the colleagues leaving ZA/UM. The 2020s have been rough for ZA/UM. Trouble truly began in early October 2022, when multiple key developers – including writer and designer Robert Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and art and design lead Aleksander Rostov – were said to have left the studio involuntarily. Just weeks later, it was revealed that Kurvitz had launched a lawsuit against the company, with both he and Rostov alleging Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel of Tütreke OÜ had obtained control of ZA/UM "by fraud." ZA/UM denied these claims while launching their own accusations in a statement sent to [Hidden Content]. As things unwound behind the scenes, a series of spinoff studios made up of former ZA/UM developers have emerged. Dark Math Games and Longdue Games announced their projects, XXX Nightshift and Hopetown, in October 2024, with Summer Eternal revealing itself shortly after. With years of controversy under its belt, today's layoffs aren't ZA/UM's first. In 2024, it was reported that around 24 employees had been impacted by layoffs. The same update brought word that a standalone Disco Elysium expansion had been canceled. Disco Elysium won ZA/UM multiple categories at The Game Awards 2019 and earned a 9.6/10 review from IGN at the time of its launch. While Zero Parades: For Dead Spies didn't seem to live up to the high bar set by its predecessor, it still boasts an 83 from critics on Metacritic following its May 21, 2026, launch for PC and PS5. For more on ZA/UM, you can read IGN's breakdown for the full wild story behind what's happened at the studio. Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe). View the full article