The closed beta of World of Warcraft: Midnight will begin on November 11, as Blizzard confirmed the news just days after launching its fifth phase of alpha testing. World of Warcraft will issue periodic invitations to interested players who sign up for the Midnight beta, but players who pre-order the Midnight Epic Edition can skip the wait and gain immediate access. View the full article
After breaking out as one of the most popular Indie games of 2025, PEAK has received several major content updates since launch, which now include another biome to hike through. Releasing on November 5, PEAK's next 'Roots' biome offers a forest-focused map with tall trees and vines to swing between them. View the full article
Microsoft doesn’t seem worried about the recent backlash to the Game Pass price hike. In fact, they're expecting subscriptions to increase and cut losses in Xbox's services division next quarter. In their latest earnings call for Q1 fiscal year 2026 (July to September), Microsoft executives revealed that Xbox's content and services revenue, which includes Game Pass, is stable and even seeing growth. This ******* doesn't include revenue from the Game Pass price hike, which took effect in most countries in October and will roll out everywhere else in November. We'll only see its effects on the next earnings call in late January 2026. The latest Xbox financial results. Image via Microsoft Interestingly, one executive said that despite expecting losses in services and subscriptions, they're anticipating an increase in Game Pass subscriptions. "And in Xbox content and services, we expect revenue to decline in the low to mid-single digits against a prior year comparable that benefited from strong first-party performance, partially offset by growth in subscriptions." This language is curious. Are they expecting subscriber numbers to rise, or just revenue? If subscription numbers decrease less than revenue increases from the price hike, it could still be viewed positively. But it does sound like Xbox is betting more people will subscribe to Game Pass. They're likely confident because of the sheer volume of day-one releases on Game Pass, like Outer Worlds 2 and Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7. Xbox has invested heavily in fresh game availability, and Microsoft believes this library will keep people subscribed or attract new subscribers. However, this doesn't reflect the sentiment when Microsoft announced the price hikes. Many players, including ourselves, became skeptical about Game Pass's future, believing it would make gaming less accessible. A $30 price tag for the full library doesn't feel worth it anymore, considering Game Pass's main appeal was paying less than an indie game's price to access not only indies but also expensive titles. At $30, it might make more sense to save that money and buy games for $60 or $70 and actually own them instead of subscribing. Microsoft's strategy suggests either they genuinely believe their products will be compelling enough to justify the higher price, or they're trying to reassure investors amid community backlash. The post Microsoft bets on Game Pass growth despite upcoming price hike and subscriber backlash appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Another week has rolled around, and Dispatch has received two extra episodes, marking the mid-point of the game's episodic release structure. And boy was it worth the wait. Building on the initial introductions made by the first two episodes, this new batch expands on almost every character in the game, with interpersonal relationships between the cast coming to the forefront. Split-second decision-making is taken up a notch, and while there are no quicktime events in this part, there is no shortage of gameplay, nor is the player ever left out of moral dilemmas faced by the protagonist. Here is our review in progress for this pair of episodes. Dispatch Episodes 3 and 4 are so incredible I am at a loss for words. I know I wrote this much, but few words can describe the experience accurately. Image via AdHoc Studio Dispatch Episodes 3 and 4 pick off right where they left off, following again Robert Robertson as he settles into his new position as a dispatcher for villains-turned-heroes, all of whom are on the edge of crashing out almost constantly (the last episode cutting off just as one said ****** out happened). This time around we know all the faces, so introductions are less than necessary. The game understands that, and instead chooses to show us how these characters relate to each other. The writing is incredible, to say the least, and Dispatch takes a step towards a very mature approach to superhero storytelling. It ditches every trope and stereotype that'd be expected of such a genre and setting, and brings everything down to the ground floor. These people are flawed, conflicted, layered, and oftentimes misunderstood, cast into villainy (or heroism) by their upbringing or circumstances. Robert, the main guy, is a hero-in-name-only, born with no actual powers of his own and merely using a powerful suit, but even so, he manages to relate to our troubled bunch whose abilities seem to them more a burden than a boon. Depending on how you play the game, things will happen drastically differently, and we finally get to see the first hints of actual romances that the player can engage in. Will you discipline the cast, relate to them, or will you be a cold know-it-all who sees them as nothing but an unruly mob? It's all up to you, and, as I've said, no quicktime events are necessary to see that play out. Choice-and-consequence is an AdHoc trademark, and Dispatch takes the concept more than seriously, making these four episodes, and especially the second batch, an unprecedented level of replayability and variation that'll ensure every player has a markedly different experience. Romances make a proper appearance in these episodes, and nothing about them is forced or corny. Image via AdHoc Studio Another huge character, in a literal sense, finally takes up a spot in the story in these two episodes. He is AdHoc's version of the "evil superman" or rather, the "not-human-but-very-human superman that might turn out evil at some point." That was a mouthful, but it's the best description I have of the guy. He is sort of a combination of Omni-Man and Superman, and I cannot wait to see how his character is developed in subsequent episodes. I believe he's quite a unique take on an overdone trope, but I sense there's a lot more to him than meets the eye. Of course, the episode features a bunch of actual dispatch gameplay where you manage the heroes and send them out on missions, which is probably the most fun part about the game. It's actually so addicting that I wouldn't be opposed to AdHoc releasing a standalone experience that's just that. Overall, these two episodes take the foundations laid by the previous two and do nothing but build, improve, and develop on them, offering a deep and insightful and very mature (and I mean 18+) take on superheroes and, more importantly, the people behind the masks. I love everyone in the cast, even the bat dude voiced by Charlie White of Hunger Games fame, and I am ecstatic to see what next week has in store for us. The post Dispatch Episodes 3 and 4 Review-in-Progress – Daring, mature, deeper than the ocean appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Frostpunk 2 is a brutal tale of survival in a frozen wasteland; every day a desperate struggle to balance limited resources among a community rife with in-fighting and factional friction. 30 years on from a devastating blizzard, the last inhabitants of Earth are struggling to hold out against an endless winter. Yet entrepreneurial players forged in the fires of the best city-building games won't be cowed so easily, and now developer 11 bit studios has been forced to step in due to players achieving build sizes that were previously thought to be impossible. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Giant Frostpunk 2 mods contest awards $10,000 if you transform the city builder Brutal city builder Frostpunk 2 has dropped to its lowest price yet Frostpunk 2 gets huge free update, and it feels more like the first game View the full article
Embark Studios already flexed its creative muscles in The Finals, one of the most vibrant, flashy multiplayer games I've ever played. In every aspect of its aesthetic, it nailed the glitzy fanfare a cheesy gameshow should. It also features some outrageous skins - the kind that would look out of place in most shooters, but fit the zany tone of The Finals well. With Arc Raiders, Embark's at it again, managing to somehow make a post-disaster extraction shooter look... stylish? However, given that setting, it'll surely have to constrain itself in the cosmetics department a little more - a pink bunny suit or a gundam costume may be fine in The Finals, but it wouldn't wash with me if it ended up in Arc Raiders. We've seen Call of Duty and Battlefield fans get pretty vocal about wacky skins and random crossovers, so I asked Embark how it's going to avoid similar criticisms while still delivering appealing cosmetics. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Does Arc Raiders have crossplay? Arc Raiders Hatch Key explained Best Arc Raiders builds - all Raider skills View the full article
World of Warcraft might be planning on bringing back the $90 Trader’s Gilded Brutosaur mount in the near future. While nothing is set in stone, a new database entry in the World of Warcraft: Midnight alpha suggests players could see this controversial mount return to the cash shop once again. View the full article
While iconic chase cards (especially that adorable Squirtle Illustrated Rare) remain the main reason to rip open packs of Pokémon Stellar Crown, there are a few underappreciated hits that are surprisingly expensive, despite looking like perfectly normal cards. The leader of the pack is Fan Rotom [Premier Ball League Judge] #118, a basic style card worth over $1,000 - though you'll have to be very lucky to get your hands on one of these. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Newest Pokémon set revealed and released All Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon in order This deeply underwhelming Pokémon TCG chase card is now surging in price ahead of Phantasmal Flames View the full article
The loud and bassy Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 headset is the perfect Halloween treat, especially now it's less than $150 at Amazon.View the full article
Reader, I'm stumped. There's a new games console on the market, it's not made by any of the big studios, and as far as I can tell the first that anyone heard of it was when it went on ***** on Tuesday. It's called Board, it costs $500, and it blurs the line between a tablet computer and a tabletop board game. And I can't work out if it's the work of a mad genius, or just mad. Read the rest of the story... View the full article
Techland has released the significant 1.3 update for Dying Light: The Beast to round out October 2025. While the list of changes isn't massive in Dying Light: The Beast1.3, there are still some important changes and additions here. View the full article
The latest and greatest shooter game has arrived, and Raiders everywhere are heading topside for loot while dealing with massive robotic threats and other humans. Welcome to ARC Raiders, where your experience is only as good as the loot you find, the teammates you befriend, or the enemies you make in a post-apocalyptic world taken over by terrifying robotic enemies called ARC. The new game from Embark Studios (makers of The Finals) is off to a big start despite releasing around several other big-name shooter games. But just how many players are logging on for expeditions to find loot and fight bots? Here's everything we know so far about how many players are playing ARC Raiders. ARC Raiders player count Image via Embark Studios In the hours following ARC Raiders' launch on Oct. 30, 2025, over 200,000 players were online on Steam. The number ballooned to its current all-time peak of 354,836 players on Nov. 2. This does not include players on PS5 or Xbox, so the overall number is likely way larger. You can see the active player count on any Steam game by checking out the game's Community Hub page. A website known as SteamDB also tracks concurrent players and shows a history of it, so you can stay in tuned with how many players are online at any given time on Steam. But as far as other platforms go, that information is not readily available. For official full player count numbers, Embark Studios will likely have to reveal or make an announcement since concurrent players are not public knowledge. But the game's success on day one bodes well for more players to join in over the coming weeks and months as the game expands with new content and story beats. Congrats to Embark on a successful launch, and be prepared to see that number climb steadily very soon. This article will be updated with more up-to-date information when it becomes available. The post How many players are playing ARC Raiders? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
The Off the Radar quest in ARC Raiders requires you to find the Field Depots on the map, and this can be a tricky one to solve. Once you receive the quest from Shani, you'll have to head to the Dam Battlegrounds on the map. The location has six Field Depots you can find to complete the Off the Radar quest. Table of contentsAll Field Depot Locations in ARC RaidersHow to complete Off the Radar quest in ARC RaidersAll Field Depot Locations in ARC Raiders While Dam Battlegrounds is the easiest location to find the Field Depots, they can be found elsewhere. As I mentioned earlier, there are six Field Depots in this region. Field Depots are metallic buildings with a radar on top of the roof. To complete the Off the Radar quest, you need to spot just one in ARC Raiders. Remix by Destructoid via Embark While I have marked the locations of all six on the map, here's a brief rundown of their location. Dome Complex: The Dome complex has a Field Depot right in the middle of the zone.Water Treatment Control: The Field Depot is located towards the east by the Loading Bay.Power Generation Complex: The Field Depot is located outside the complex on the edge of the cliff.South Swamp Outpost: The Depot is located in the southern swamp area.Red Lakes Berm and Lower Gallery: The Depot is in the Lower Gallery to the west of Testing Annex.Water Towers and Electrical Substation: The Depot is between the four crates found in this region.How to complete Off the Radar quest in ARC Raiders To complete the Off the Radar quest, you'll have to head to a Field Depot location and repair the antenna on top of it. You'll find the radar dish on the roof: interact and you'll get the prompt to repair it. Wait for a few seconds for the task to complete, and you'll finish the Off the Radar quest. A successful extraction is not necessary as long as you have repaired the radar. The post All Field Depot locations in ARC Raiders – Off the Radar quest walkthrough appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is probably one of the most Fraser games around—a cross between Crusader Kings' dynastic intrigue and Total War's eye-watteringly epic battles, with the cherry on top being that you're commanding your armies within these battles, participating in the bloody scrum. And next month that bloody scrum is taking to the high seas... Read more.View the full article
Gearbox Software released a new update for Borderlands 4, making a few tweaks and fixes to some nagging issues remaining in the game. The dust continues to settle on Borderlands 4 following the second round of adjustments and balancing, as players figure out which vault hunter builds and skills are optimal. View the full article
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Microsoft doesn’t seem worried about the recent backlash to the Game Pass price hike. In fact, they're expecting subscriptions to increase and cut losses in Xbox's services division next quarter. In their latest earnings call for Q1 fiscal year 2026 (July to September), Microsoft executives revealed that Xbox's content and services revenue, which includes Game Pass, is stable and even seeing growth. This ******* doesn't include revenue from the Game Pass price hike, which took effect in most countries in October and will roll out everywhere else in November. We'll only see its effects on the next earnings call in late January 2026. The latest Xbox financial results. Image via Microsoft Interestingly, one executive said that despite expecting losses in services and subscriptions, they're anticipating an increase in Game Pass subscriptions. "And in Xbox content and services, we expect revenue to decline in the low to mid-single digits against a prior year comparable that benefited from strong first-party performance, partially offset by growth in subscriptions." This language is curious. Are they expecting subscriber numbers to rise, or just revenue? If subscription numbers decrease less than revenue increases from the price hike, it could still be viewed positively. But it does sound like Xbox is betting more people will subscribe to Game Pass. They're likely confident because of the sheer volume of day-one releases on Game Pass, like Outer Worlds 2 and Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7. Xbox has invested heavily in fresh game availability, and Microsoft believes this library will keep people subscribed or attract new subscribers. However, this doesn't reflect the sentiment when Microsoft announced the price hikes. Many players, including ourselves, became skeptical about Game Pass's future, believing it would make gaming less accessible. A $30 price tag for the full library doesn't feel worth it anymore, considering Game Pass's main appeal was paying less than an indie game's price to access not only indies but also expensive titles. At $30, it might make more sense to save that money and buy games for $60 or $70 and actually own them instead of subscribing. Microsoft's strategy suggests either they genuinely believe their products will be compelling enough to justify the higher price, or they're trying to reassure investors amid community backlash. The post Microsoft bets on Game Pass growth despite upcoming price hike and subscriber backlash appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article