When Sony announced that it would no longer be producing physical PlayStation discs from 2028, the response was not positive, to put it lightly. Yes, PC gaming may now be almost entirely digital, and things have certainly been moving in a similar direction with consoles over the last few years, but ceasing production of physical games entirely? It’s a significant step many didn’t want to happen so soon.

PlayStation fans have been vocal in calling out the negatives of Sony’s decision, specifically what this means for game ownership, preservation, and collectors who enjoy buying physical. The company has been reticent to address the backlash, but the comments section of every blog entry, social media post, or trailer release since the announcement is full of anger, pleas to reverse the decision, and glib remarks at Sony’s expense.

For anyone, like myself, who has enjoyed building a collection of physical games over the years across multiple console generations, it’s devastating news.

And I don’t think Sony’s refusal to address any of the feedback is helping matters. Yes, we’ve seen fan uproar dissipate into nothingness with countless hot-button issues in a matter of days in the past — but the vociferous fans don’t appear to be going away right now.

But I think some companies aren’t letting physical games go anywhere either.

A new challenger approaches

“What we've seen and what I have taken from all of the discourse is that there is an incredible passion for physical games and other physical objects. The digital space can never provide the same kind of satisfaction that people get from a tangible good.”

This is the view of Amanda White, co-founder of iam8bit. After starting out hosting pop culture workshops, the company has since produced countless pieces of video game merch and memorabilia over the past 20 years, as well as vinyl releases for popular soundtracks and physical editions for games across several platforms. Yes, they have standard boxed releases for games on PS5, Xbox, and Switch, but the company truly stands out for its jam-packed and reverential physical collector’s editions.

Scroll through the store now, and you’ll see a copy of Lies of P that comes with a wood-carved and hand-crafted marionette puppet, a Blue Prince bundle that includes printed versions of two memorable picture books from the game, and a The Outer Wilds set featuring a traveller’s bag and a replica of Chert’s bandana.

If you’ve played and are a fan of any of those games, you’ll immediately understand the connection between the extras that are included and the game itself, and why people are willing to part with their cash to own something that they can add to a collection, display at home, or carry around with them.

“We started to realise that there was something that people saw as incredibly valuable in these tangible goods,” Amanda explains of the company’s origins. “These unique tangible goods held memories for them that related to these community experiences they were having.

“So, we want to put in the extraordinary effort required to get the gasps of delight when something lands in someone's mailbox and they open it and experience it for the first time.”

Let's get physical

It’s the same fan passion that drives Limited Run Games: a similar outfit that’s published over 1,000 physical and digital game releases since its inception in 2015. Its motto, ‘Forever Physical’, defines the exact mindset of the PlayStation fans who are disappointed with Sony’s pivot to a fully digital future and what’s lost by moving in this direction.

“I think you're losing a key part of the experience, right?” suggests Brendan Madigan, CFO and General Manager at Limited Run. “Because, obviously, the actual media is a key part of that, and I think that's where we, at Limited Run, have a responsibility to our fans to innovate and to improve the experience.”

“I think where our fans have been clear in what they want is that they want collectible products that hold value, and they want the product to be an experience,” he continues. “I’ve always viewed our product as different from a retail offering anyway, because it's highly collectable, it’s very curated, with tonnes of added features and pack-ins to it. The delivery mechanism will always change…but nothing changes about the core experience that the collector wants to have.”

It comes down to the fact that the physical offering from the traditional industry has only grown more sparse over the years. Open a PS5 or Nintendo Switch game box now and you’re more often than not presented with the sad sight of a lonely disc or tiny cartridge set into an empty expanse of plastic. You’re lucky if you get a quick start guide, or a sheet of paper with a DLC code. A full manual? You must be joking.

Similar to iam8bit, the store pages of Limited Run are filled with physical game releases that span the entire range of consoles and generations — from bulky NES cartridges to the slim cases of Nintendo Switch titles.

The products that stand out most, again, are the most recent limited edition launches, with games like Tomb Raider, Silent Hill, and Star Wars Zero Company in beautiful presentation boxes that are filled with soundtrack CDs, trinkets, posters, and other unique extras relevant to the game or its universe.

Sales figures discussed by analysts might paint a grim picture for physical releases, but iam8bit and Limited Run both emphasize just how quickly some of their releases sell out — and how even restocks of older products that were brought back by fan demand are scooped up in no time. The audience and the demand do not appear to be shrinking from their perspective.

Digital is inevitable, but there is hope

As for fans signing petitions trying to convince Sony to reverse its decision, Limited Run’s Chief Operating Officer, Nic Ashford, is unfortunately not hopeful for the outcome they're seeking, but does see what they're standing for as an opportunity.

“Look at the numbers; they're not going to change, they're not going to go back. They can't afford to and it doesn't make sense. But that doesn't mean a company like Limited Run couldn't come in and say, look, we certainly know that 350,000 people want you to keep this going, and it could go up. How about working with us to come up with a solution that works?

“We've got to find the right solution for the number of people who are out there in the minority who still buy physical product,” says Nic. “Some might say, outside the industry, that’s a somewhat flawed business model. But, in fact, it isn't, because those people who seek that type of product will always seek that product out.”

He likens it to this wider push, primarily from younger generations, who want to reconnect to the physical world in our increasing digital age. In the same way that 4K Blu-ray, CDs, and, of course, vinyl, are all in various states of resurgence, it seemed inevitable that video games would also be swept up in this growing demand for and appreciation of physical goods.

“We have, over the last couple of years, set this company up in preparation for this moment,” continues Nic. “Physical is something that we’re intrinsically involved in, and we've been aware that this was going to be coming for several years — practically over a couple of decades. So, we focused on making things more of an experience for the fans and adding value.

“They are actively going out and seeking a connection with something real, something you can hold, something you can touch, and that you can own. That's encouraging. Today's generation and the next generation of physical buyers are going to be people who have that or grow into that, but they'll have a component of nostalgia in there as well.”

Blowing on the cartridge is here to stay

Nostalgia brings me nicely onto another aspect of why physical games are so important to many — one that grows even more important as gaming and console generations keep moving forward. Preservation.

If you buy a game digitally, then there’s the fear that it could disappear and no longer be accessible at any moment. Sure, Sony isn’t going to turn off PS5 game downloads any time soon, but the PlayStation Store on the PS3 and PS Vita is about to close.

And while the company has promised downloads will be possible “for the foreseeable future,” there’s always the thought in the back of your mind that, eventually, they’ll switch it off for good.

So, being able to scan your shelf or dive into a box and find that old copy of something you’ve been craving to play is clearly a driving factor for many physical game buyers — be it a rare PS1 cult classic like Parasite Eve 2, a slightly dusty but incredibly valuable Conker’s Bad Fur Day N64 cart, or a copy of Pokémon Red on the Game Boy that you last remember playing by the light of streetlamps in the back of a car.

One company whose goal is to preserve classic games and ensure you can play them as authentically as possible is ModRetro.

It started by launching the Game Boy-inspired Chromatic and just recently launched the M64, a modern take on the Nintendo 64 that I found was a terrific way to play that console’s games in 2026.

“We wanted to basically design these exactly with this core intention to preserve the authenticity of the gameplay experience,” explains ModRetro CEO Torin Herndon. “That's also why we publish games and re-release games, too. In terms of retro games, the collecting of them is a bigger thing than the playing of them, and one of the goals of ModRetro is to make those games playable again and make them accessible again.”

Original Game Boy and Nintendo 64 cartridges are simply slotted into the Chromatic or the M64 as you would with any standard version of the respective console.

And while some modern quality-of-life touches make things easier or smoother compared to the classic consoles, you’re effectively playing the exact same physical game that you may have owned for years or picked up in a second-hand store earlier that day. With a digital-only future upon us, that won’t be possible.

“The thing that's upsetting to people on the surface is this idea of ownership: that if you don't physically own a game where the game is on physical media, it can easily lose support at any moment. It can effectively be taken away from you in some sense,” says Torin in response to the reaction to Sony’s announcement. “And given that you paid AAA prices for some of these games, that is not a super consumer-friendly option.

“Obviously, these companies don't have a choice but to move away from physical media, because the overall business model of these companies is kind of reliant on having moved away from them in the first place. Most of the physical media that you can buy is actually just a key that allows you to unlock the game and download it.

"That’s another thing that I think is interesting, maybe more interesting even than ownership, is that back in the day these games were baked onto physical media and were more reliably baked before you bought it.”

Overcoming tech challenges

That’s less of an issue when we’re discussing the Game Boy and Nintendo 64 games that ModRetro is focused on, but there will come a point when these same conversations will be happening about more modern games that are reliant on day-one updates and DLC.

The topic is big enough for a different discussion entirely, but it’s a challenge that companies like iam8bit and Limited Run Games also need to be aware of with physical media in the modern era.

Jon Gibson, co-founder of iam8bit, responds to this by saying: “We've been on the side of positivity always, and we're looking at this from a perspective of, OK, you can't change what you can't change. But how can we pivot to embrace what we do so well and to give fans things that they will enjoy and cherish and love in that physical form?

“We hope that 20 years from now, 30 years from now, 50 years from now, people are going to find a copy of a game, or a record, or a CD that we minted that they had never heard of and they give it a shot. They pop it into their console, or they put it on the record player. That's really exciting to think about that we helped to give that thing staying power, whereas, otherwise, it might be deleted digitally when a licence expires.”

That optimism is echoed by Amanda. “As John said, we're going to lean into this aspect of what we already do and have been doing for 20 years, and we'll continue to do it. If that means we need to pivot a little bit so that we're making goods that are sitting beside PlayStation products, rather than direct physical PlayStation games, then we'll do that. We’ll still do our best to make those fans happy and build a robust experience around the IP they love.”

What’s clear speaking to iam8bit, Limited Run Games, and ModRetro is that the passion for games is there in abundance, as is the drive to provide their fans of today and in the future with ways to experience and enjoy the games they love in a physical form, not just as the ones and zeros they’re made from.

Square Enix is gearing up to kick off a brand new era of Final Fantasy 14 with the release of the Evercold expansion. The beginning of the "Godless Realms Saga" story arc, it arrives after the epic conclusion of a decade-long saga, and follows on from Dawntrail which laid the groundwork for this new adventure.

Game producer and director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida has already teased the new threat players will face in the DLC, which I'm beyond excited for, as well as a number of incredible quality-of-life system updates, new content, and improvements to outdated gameplay features.

It's looking to be a mighty expansion that will hopefully draw in even more players when the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) officially hits Nintendo Switch 2 next month, but there are a few things I'm particularly eager to experience.

Buckle up, we're saving the world again

Final Fantasy 14 story spoilers ahead

After a decade of buildup, the Shadowbringers and Endwalker expansions saw the pieces of an overarching story finally come together and conclude the Hydaelyn-Zodiark saga, resulting in one of the best Final Fantasy stories ever to be told.

While some events were wrapped up with resolute endings, some lingering questions were left open that presented new possibilities for the MMO, and it all starts with the Reflections: mirror worlds created by the Sundering, a great calamity that saw the Source shattered into 13 Shards.

Players have visited other Reflections in past expansions, but in Evercold we'll visit the Fourth Reflection, which was beset by a calamity of ice. This means an entire new world to explore, and from the trailers and concept art, it appears that SE is leaning heavily into the fantastical style I adored in Shadowbringers and Endwalker, and drawing from what looks like Norse mythology for inspiration.

A new, unexpected threat to all Reflections has also emerged with the recent release of Patch 7.5, the Solstice, which will bring about the natural Rejoining of the Shards and threatens to wipe out all life on the Source and its Reflections.

"In the time of the Ancients, Etheirys was divided across ten and three reflections to avert a terrible calamity," the expansion description reads. "Thus, for twelve thousand years did the star survive, and by its enduring hope did the Warrior of Light at last thwart its Final Days. Yet victory comes at a cost, and fate now demands its due.

"Faced with the new threat of the Solstice, the Warrior of Light is summoned to the Fourth reflection. But what do they hope to gain from wandering a world lost to ice?"

It's a bold move on the writers' part to thrust players back into a situation where they'll be dealing with the end of the world again; however, Dawntrail's subsequent patches have done a great job of building the foundations to make it a story worth telling.

I'm a FF14 player who looks forward to new story content most of all, and in Evercold, with the way the main scenario has been playing out, I'm certain our trip to the Fourth will open new avenues to explore and deepen the lore of the Ancients, which had been drip-fed to us over the years. In particular, the mystery behind the creation of Ethos, the key that opens up the path to these Reflections, and how this new ability to world-hop will play into the larger story.

Alongside these huge stakes, we've got a new "big bad" to face, the Winterers and the Ascian Halmarut, who are working in the shadows to prevent the Solstice.

Halmarut is unique in that she is sympathetic to mankind's current state and will do anything to ensure it survives the Solstice; however, her plan of controlled Rejoinings comes at the cost of mass death and destruction, believing that it's better to sacrifice some lives so humanity has a chance. But as the Warrior of Light, we can't go along with that idea.

Interestingly, unlike other Ascians before her, Halamurut encouraged the player to find their own way to deal with the Solstice. The Ascian was only introduced in recent patches, but given how superbly the writers developed its past villains (namely the best Final Fantasy baddie ever, Emet-Selch), I'm eager to see how SE will handle another multidimensional antagonist with a world-ending goal.

Raid content galore

FF14 has always excelled at crossover raid content, whether that be the Yorha: Dark Apocalypse Alliance raid series, developed in collaboration with Nier developers Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito, or the major raid series inspired by previous Final Fantasy games, like Final Fantasy 3, Final Fantasy 8, Tactics, and more.

Dawntrail's major Alliance raid series, Echoes of Vana'diel, wrapped up with the latest patch, a 24-player crossover celebrating Final Fantasy 6, that offered incredible bosses and a challenging yet rewarding experience.

For Evercold, SE revealed that the Alliance raid series will be based on the hit series Evangelion, titled "Ghosts of Desire", which acclaimed director and animator Mahiro Maeda will join as a special guest artist and designer. Like the Nier raid series, I'm expecting a high-quality experience with some unbelievable boss encounters that push the boundaries of the MMO; however, I'm more excited about the eight-player raid series SE has just announced at FanFest EU.

In the next expansion, FF7 Remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi and Yoshi-P took to the stage to unveil "Beyond the Lifestream," a FF7-themed raid series.

It feels like I've waited years for a proper FF7 collaboration, and the series will come just in time for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, the final installment in the remake series.

Ahead of Evercold's release, FF14 will also be getting a FF7-themed adjacent feature in the MMO's Gold Saucer on October 28, Keybound Brawler, a new mini-game that will reward players with a glamour bundle inspired by Tifa and Barret's outfits from FF7; a teaser for what's to come.

While SE has yet to share the full raid details, I'm expecting the usual crossover gear (I'm begging for Cloud, Sephiroth, and Aerith outfits, please!), elaborate boss fights inspired by some of FF7's most iconic moments; a confrontation with Safer-Sephiroth while a remixed medley of the FF14 and One-Winged Angel themes plays in the background is surely a given.

Raid maps are also always incredible in FF14; I remember my first time entering the first raid of the YoRHa series and being blown away by the scale of the set pieces and attention to detail, so with Hamaguchi's team working alongside the FF14 team, I'm anticipating something next-level; hopefully a recreation of the dystopian metropolis of Midgar?

It's time for improvements

FF14 has been running for more than a decade after it was rebooted into A Realm Reborn in 2013. Since then, the MMO has seen innumerable changes, including to Jobs, a huge graphics overhaul that modernized the game's visuals, not to mention the upcoming expanded character customization options that players have been yearning for.

But some things have always remained the same, primarily the battle system and activity features. With the release of Evercold, FF14 will receive a significant overhaul with the introduction of the 'Reborn' and 'Evolved' modes.

Reborn mode will be based on the current combat system and Job mechanics, while Evolved mode offers greater emphasis on "job identity", updating combat rotations and changing some abilities, and will only apply to existing Jobs.

It's an exciting new change, because while Jobs occasionally get rebalanced, this is the first time the game is getting a significant gameplay revamp that will allow long-time players to experiment with a new way of playing, and newcomers have two options at their disposal.

What's more, the expansion will also see an overhauled gear progression system with the introduction of 'Adventurer Activity.' In its current state, FF14 requires players to log in every day to complete daily roulettes to earn XP and accrue their weekly cap of 450 Allagan Tomestones, which are exchanged for high-level gear; however, this can be a downside, especially for players who can't log in every day.

With Adventurer Activity, this redesigned framework will change from a daily to a weekly-based reward system, remove the exhausting grind of completing daily roulettes, and instead offer more player freedom.

Adventurer Activity (which may look like a battle pass system, but Yoshi P insisted it absolutely is not!) will let players complete a series of missions to amass activity points instead, whether it be dungeons, PvP, Trials, and more, and SE is even considering allowing unearned points from previous weeks to be collected if players miss out.

This is perfect for people like me who sometimes don't really feel like running roulettes and also gives players a chance to explore other content they wouldn't normally engage with.

Final Fantasy 14: Evercold will arrive in January 2027 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

• Control Resonant lead gameplay designer Sergey Mohov isn't worried about launching the game close to GTA 6
• He says the game's release date has been locked in for a while
• Mohov explains that "It's not really been a big consideration for us"

Remedy Entertainment isn't worried about launching Control Resonant so close to Grand Theft Auto 6.

GTA 6 is the most anticipated game of the year, if not of all time, and is on track to earn over $5 billion by the end of its launch week, so it's understandable if some studios want to avoid releasing their games so close to its launch for fear of being overshadowed.

After Rockstar Games formally announced that its game will arrive on November 19, Playground Games delayed Fable to February 2027 "so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves."

However, games like Marvel's Wolverine and Phantom Blade Zero are still locked in for their Fall releases, so not every studio is worried about competing with GTA 6 or is happy with the amount of breathing room they do have, at least.

Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming about the upcoming release of Control Resonant, lead gameplay designer Sergey Mohov explained that he's looking forward to GTA 6 like everybody else, but doesn't think the game's launch affects Remedy "at all."

"Honestly, first of all, personally, I'm looking forward to GTA as much as everybody else," he said. "I'm a fan of [GTA] Vice City. But I don't think it's affected us at all, to be honest."

Control Resonant launches on September 24, which is eight weeks before GTA 6, so the Rockstar game shouldn't overshadow the former, and Mohov explained that Remedy's release date has been "locked in for a while."

"We expect it to be a very complete experience on day one when it comes out," he said. "We've been planning to release this game in September, for as long as I can remember. It's not really been a big consideration for us."

He added, "Obviously, this is a really exciting year to be a gamer. We're gonna be playing all of these [games] same as everybody else, but hopefully, you pick up, and your readers pick up Control Resonant as well."

Control Resonant will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

Loath as I am to say it, the future of gaming platforms isn’t looking so rosy right now. Windows is increasingly becoming more recalcitrant, constantly throwing hurdles in the faces of PC gamers in the form of performance-ruining updates and unsolicited AI implementations. And in the console world, Sony has irked everyone by ditching physical games from January 2028, while the recent bout of mass layoffs at Xbox belies its ‘back on track’ messaging.

Meanwhile, Valve appears to be going in the opposite direction. It already has a big advantage in the form of Steam, near enough the default storefront and launcher for PC gamers everywhere. Why, it’s generated an estimated $11.1bn in gross revenue in the first half of this year already. With pockets as deep as these, and without having to divert its earnings to shareholders (given it’s still, for now, a private company), that’s cash it can invest in expansion.

So is now the perfect time for Valve to break out, capitalize on its competitors’ floundering and shoot its shot at making SteamOS the next big platform?

SteamOS vs Windows

There’s no question that SteamOS has been quite the success already. This is almost entirely thanks to the success of the Steam Deck, Valve’s hugely popular device that launched in 2022 and kickstarted a mini revolution in handheld gaming. It runs SteamOS 3, which is based on the Arch Linux distribution and far superior to its initial Debian iterations. These were used on the original Steam Machines of 2015, and are no doubt part of the reason for the discontinuation of the units in 2018.

The big advantage of SteamOS 3 is its support for Proton, the compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run on Linux devices. Although it predates the Steam Deck, Proton found its calling on the handheld, proving a lot of doubters wrong by running a large library of modern games well on a small, portable device. Even AAA titles such as 007 First Light and Cyberpunk 2077 are perfectly playable, along with plenty of others.

But Valve is no longer confining its operating system to the Steam Deck and Steam Machine. It’s recently expanded support to ARM, AMD and Intel devices, which means it can run on more devices such as the Lenovo Legion Go S and the Asus ROG Ally. Chris Hewish, a former Executive Producer at Activision and current President of gaming MoR Xsolla, explains the advantages of running SteamOS on such devices over Windows 11.

“With the SteamOS 3.8 release in June, Valve officially took the OS beyond the Steam Deck to the ROG Ally line, and Lenovo's Legion Go family, and early Intel support is starting to pull devices like the MSI Claw into the fold," he tells me. "On the same hardware, reviewers keep finding it ahead of Windows 11 where handheld players actually feel it: battery life, sleep and resume, and an interface built for a controller instead of a desktop squeezed onto a seven-inch screen.”

So, does the continued success of SteamOS rely on expanding to more hardware? Greg Weller, Head of Gaming Partnerships at Generation Media, and someone with over 20 years of industry experience — which includes stints at Rockstar Games and Bethesda Softworks — thinks so.

“The opportunity is significantly bigger if SteamOS continues to be device agnostic," he says. "The Steam Deck proved Valve could build a fantastic hardware experience, but the bigger strategic opportunity is allowing consumers to carry their Steam ecosystem across multiple devices rather than tying it to one piece of hardware.”

He continues: “We're seeing the same evolution across other entertainment sectors, like music, film and television, which have largely moved beyond device-specific experiences. People increasingly expect their content to follow them rather than the other way around. So, Valve hardware can absolutely remain the benchmark experience, but if SteamOS becomes the connective layer between a player's library, identity and multiple devices, that's a much bigger opportunity.”

However, not everyone in the industry shares this view. “SteamOS’ success largely depends on Valve's hardware for now and how far they actually push the OS itself,” says André Pimenta Ribeiro, CEO and co-founder of Anybrain, whose behavioral AI tools are used in popular online games such as Arc Raiders and The Finals.

He adds: “SteamOS’ success largely depends on Valve's hardware for now and how far they actually push the OS itself. I think Valve’s best case here is to grow to a broader, more casual audience through its own hardware and by offering its massive library to the mainstream player base, rather than exporting SteamOS to more devices in general. Once Valve hardware or SteamOS reach more mainstream adoption, then opening up the ecosystem makes sense. For now it feels mostly like a development play.”

Sticking points

If SteamOS wants a larger slice of the gaming pie, though, there are certain obstacles it needs to overcome. Hewish points to one of the system’s major sticking points: its incompatibility with games requiring anti-cheat tools.

“Kernel-level anti-cheat either does not run on Linux or has not been enabled there," he says. "Until the biggest competitive games work reliably through Proton, SteamOS is not a no-compromise choice. It is an 'as long as you don't play those games' choice, and those games are some of the most played in the world.”

Another problem is what Hewish calls “hardware breadth,” explaining that: “Windows still has the deepest compatibility layer for the long tail: niche peripherals, capture cards, VR headsets, external GPUs. If the reports about official GeForce support come to pass, that closes a meaningful piece of the gap, since SteamOS has effectively been an AMD platform until now.”

Of course, the other advantage of Windows is that once you’re done gaming, you can switch to using it as an everyday computer. “SteamOS is deliberately narrow, a console-like shell, and that focus is a strength on a handheld,” says Hewish. “But if it wants to take on Windows more broadly, the path into desktop mode for a browser, schoolwork, or a spreadsheet has to get smoother.”

SteamOS vs consoles

But what about SteamOS as a console competitor? The revitalized Steam Machine launched in June this year was hotly anticipated, and looked like a serious contender to the PlayStation-Xbox-Nintendo triumvirate. Russell Kay, a former Grand Theft Auto developer and Head of popular 2D engine GameMaker, believes it was a success in bringing SteamOS to a wider audience.

“In the living room, SteamOS is now a proper alternative to a console,” he says. "The library is already there, and so is the audience. Millions of people have a huge digital collection sitting on Steam, and SteamOS finally gives them a way to put that under the TV instead of on a console. That's a real advantage no other platform has.”

However, he says: “The real problem is the price — Steam Machines cost more than a console. A gap that’s unlikely to close anytime soon thanks to the rising cost of RAM and hardware.”

And there are other issues for SteamOS in the console space. Hewish explains: “The Steam Machine needs reasons to exist beyond ‘runs your existing library’. Consoles win on curation and exclusives as much as hardware. That fight is about habit and content, not benchmarks. Close the anti-cheat gap and keep the hardware momentum, and ‘the default handheld OS’ is realistic within a couple of years. [But] the living room is a longer climb no matter what the software does.”

Ribeiro, meanwhile, thinks: "[Valve] can make a splash against this weaker console market, but right now it's still a niche system for a specific subset of people — growing beyond that depends on where they take it. Valve is known for doing its own thing, and that’s not always conducive to serving the broader global ecosystem of casual players. I think it makes sense from the perspective that they want to grow beyond a distribution platform, but the extent of impact and its longevity is still to be seen.”

He concludes: “I already see Steam devices akin to consoles, such as the Steam Deck and Steam Machine. I wouldn’t replace my Windows PC or mobile device with it, but vs the existing console ecosystem, that’s more a toss-up.”

The future of SteamOS

It seems fairly clear-cut, then, that SteamOS is clearly leading the way when it comes to handheld gaming. But a push beyond that realm to usurp Windows or seriously challenge consoles is less certain.

Ultimately, Hewish sees it this way: “Windows still wins in two places: games with kernel-level anti-cheat, and anything you want to do that is not gaming. And in the living room it is early days. The new Steam Machine only started shipping at the end of June. So I would put it this way: [SteamOS is] a genuine competitor on handhelds today, and a credible but very young challenger in the living room.”

Of course, the high price of the Steam Machine certainly dampened its appeal. The consensus seems to be that while it was a capable device, it was too expensive to present a viable challenge to the living room market. Of course, the seemingly interminable RAM crisis threw a spanner in the works, even crashing the Steam Deck’s party thanks to a price hike that put a serious dent in its sales. But the fact remains the PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S all undercut the Steam Machine considerably.

But perhaps there’s hope yet for the Gabecube and other SteamOS implementations besides handhelds. After all, Hewish makes the point that having one platform dominate isn’t especially useful for game developers.

He says: “If you make games for a living, you do not actually want any single platform to win outright, even one you like. Concentration is where leverage goes to die. When one storefront or operating system controls the path to players, it eventually controls the terms, the fees, and the relationship. The healthiest ending to this story is not SteamOS replacing Windows. It is real competition at the platform layer, because that is what forces every gatekeeper to treat developers and players better. SteamOS taking a real share does exactly that.”

He further adds: “My bet is SteamOS becomes the preferred choice for people buying a device specifically to game, and Windows holds wherever one device has to do it all.”

Weller sees another benefit to the gradual permeation of SteamOS.

He says: “SteamOS has already established itself as a credible competitor, but not in the way people traditionally define competition. Rather than trying to replace Windows or persuade console players to switch overnight, SteamOS is reducing friction between players and the game libraries they've already invested in, allowing people to take their Steam ecosystem into more places and devices.”

“This reflects a much bigger shift happening across entertainment. Historically, consumers bought hardware first and then built a content library around it. Now, they're increasingly buying into ecosystems. Players care less about the operating system they're using and more about whether their games, saves, achievements, friends and purchases move seamlessly between devices.”

Gaming ecosystems have become important for another reason. “Our research found 72% of players discover games through social media, 67% through YouTube and 53% through platform stores such as Steam, PlayStation Store and Xbox Store," Weller explains. "Platform ecosystems have become both the storefront and the discovery engine. So SteamOS isn't simply an operating system but another touchpoint within a much broader ecosystem.”

“Valve's long-term competitive advantage has never been selling games, but focusing on the surrounding ecosystem: community features, recommendations, cloud saves, and overall experience of staying connected to your library. Those are the areas where Valve can continue to differentiate, rather than relying on exclusivity.”

The point about community features is an important one. The community around Steam has played a major role in the platform cultivating its loyal fanbase and the general good will of gamers. Its openness to mods and add-ons via its Workshop is a large part of this. And, as Kay points out, although games purchased on its storefront do contain DRM, “[it has] been one of the better stories when it comes to DRM". So if SteamOS wants to expand its horizons beyond handhelds, it needs to retain the element that sets it apart from other, closed-off gaming platforms.

Do you think SteamOS is going to be the next big platform in gaming? Vote in the poll below, and if you want to say more, why not leave a comment as well?

Are you a fan of CD Projekt Red's The Witcher game series? Have you ever fantasized about what type of character you'd be if you were somehow sucked through a magic portal and found yourself in the fantasy world of The Continent? Do you think you'd be a princess, a bard, a sorceress, or even a witcher?

A brand-new The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt expansion, Songs of the Past, has been announced, and it's launching sometime next year. While we don't have plot details yet, the story will once again follow Geralt of Rivia ahead of The Witcher 4.

This means an all-new journey to experience with everyone's favorite witcher, and, hopefully, one that will feature the return of the rest of the gang, like Ciri, Yennefer, and Dandelion.

CD Projekt Red has promised to share more about Songs of the Past next month, so we'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I've put together a fun little personality quiz that will help you figure out which Witcher character is your kindred spirit. Are you the protective, titular witcher himself? His daughter, Child of Destiny and cabale fighter, Ciri, or the fierce sorceress Yennefer? Maybe you're the merciless King of the Wild Hunt...

Everyone has a favorite, but which character are you really? Find out below.

Did you get the character you expected or someone completely opposite to your expectations? Let us know in the comments!

When I first caught a glimpse of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, it sparked a great sense of anticipation within me. After all, Square Enix and Claytechworks were collaborating to bring a brand new HD-2D RPG to the table, which appeared to combine sprinklings of classic Zelda titles with the visual, sonic, and environmental grandeur from series such as Mana and Dragon Quest.

I’m a huge fan of the HD-2D graphical style, and massively enjoyed recent releases such as Final Fantasy: The Ivalice Chronicles and Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, but I still wasn’t quite sure if I’d love The Adventures of Elliot. Was the action combat going to be polished and engaging enough? Was the world going to deliver the spectacle and appeal conjured up with other series? Would the narrative have me hooked?

Well, after playing the game for more than 25 hours now, I have an answer to all of those questions. Here’s what I made of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales.

The good: combat that exceeds expectations

Let’s start by addressing my curiosity surrounding combat in The Adventures of Elliot — just how good is it? Well, I’m pleased to report that I had a lot of fun with the action in this game. It clearly pulls on 2D Zelda, with real-time combat that challenges you to use a variety of weapons to overcome your foes.

You can equip two weapons at once, and while I typically used my sword for close range attacks and bow for projectiles, I found genuine utility in a lot of equipment, be that bombs, a hammer, spear, and more. Combat feels fluid, responsive, and well balanced. You can also defend or parry with a shield, and using this to avoid big damage can be crucial.

There’s a pretty fast, high-octane feel to battles, big or small, and by defeating multiple foes in a row, you can build up a streak to obtain better drops. This adds a layer of fun to combat, and gives you a genuine reason to seek out and destroy random creatures in your vicinity — I had a lot of fun pushing myself to get that streak as high as possible.

Combat is absolutely at its best during boss fights, though. These can offer genuine challenges, and often require you to switch up attacks, defend with care, and employ a variety of weapons to get the win. The satisfaction I got when evading a robotic titan’s assault and slashing it to smithereens with my blade was nothing short of exhilarating.

What’s more, you can customize weapons with something called Magicite, which imparts specific abilities to help you wipe out the opposition with greater ease. This is executed very well, and helps you to raise attack power, unlock elemental attacks, and extend the reach of your attacks, for instance.

By spending more Tul (the in-universe currency), you can use more Magicite, and this helps you scale in terms of power as the game unfolds, making progression feel natural and well-paced.

Other gameplay elements are solid too. Platforming isn’t a massive part of the game, but feels precise and smooth. Your companion for most of the journey, Faie, also has abilities such as dashing and warping, which make traversing environments and taking down enemies even more varied and seamless, and you can unlock more of — and improve on — said abilities as the game progresses.

The not-so good: a narrative missing its spark

So, the gameplay in The Adventures of Elliot is a hit, in my book. The brilliant bosses and close contests against frogs, robots, slugs, and more kept me coming back for more. But unfortunately, some things made me feel reluctant to indulge in long, uninterrupted play sessions — namely, the game’s narrative and dialogue.

Simply put, the story in The Adventures of Elliot lacks the spark that I was looking for. It often feels flat, lacking moments of surprise and suspense, and its largely predictable plot points paired with sluggish and dull dialogue meant that I was tempted, at times, to skip through a few scenes — something I never do with story-driven RPGs.

On top of this, the cast of characters is surprisingly weak for a Square Enix game. The protagonist, Elliot, feels somewhat hollow, and spends much of the game telling people to follow their heart, chase their dreams, and to believe in themselves. To be blunt, it feels a bit sappy, and despite his striking appearance, he’s actually quite an uninteresting lead.

A lot of the other characters are written in a slightly wooden way, too. Elliot will meet them, they’ll reveal something that troubles them — be that isolation, missing a loved one, or seeking connection with others — the hero will do something to assist them, and then you move on. As a result, characters often lack nuance or depth, and it feels hard to care about the various individuals involved.

Like a lot of other players have pointed out online, your companion, Faie, is also rather irritating. She speaks up…a lot…and her hand-holdy, pointless interjections can feel grating. You can mute your companion, thankfully, which is a good thing given that the fairy’s high-pitched tone is still haunting me.

Much of the game is centered around time travel, another element that could’ve been handled more effectively in my view. A lot of the environments look identical across different eras, and enemy variety can be pretty limited across time as well.

I did like the discoveries you could make across different ages, though, and hunting for new weapons in the various dungeons, and general exploration, was pretty enjoyable. My critique here, however, is that the puzzles within various areas are very easy, and require little effort to overcome. Therefore, anyone seeking out the ingenious design of classic Zelda dungeons may be left wanting more.

Final thoughts: a new IP with growing pains

The Adventures of Elliot still nails a lot of the fundamentals, with a beautiful soundtrack, gorgeous HD-2D visuals, and a neat UI. But when I look at the full package, I’m left feeling conflicted.

While the combat is slick and enticing, the underwhelming story and lack of variation in environments and enemies slightly disappointed me.

Although I still had a decent time with The Adventures of Elliot, and I enjoyed its delicious HD-2D graphics and high-octane battles, it’s clear that the new IP has gone through a few growing pains. And unfortunately, its forgettable characters and lacking dialogue bring the overall experience down a touch, meaning it doesn’t quite hit the highest of heights.

Should you play The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility features

There are a number of ways to customize the experience in The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. There are a handful of text languages, and you can swap between English or Japanese voices. You can alter text display speed, and set dialogue to auto if you want to watch scenes unfurl naturally.

There are a range of difficulty modes too, and you can remap controls to your liking for a more custom experience. Unfortunately, there’s no colorblind mode, or similar.

How I reviewed Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

I spent more than 25 hours playing through the main story and side quests in The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. I played on Normal difficulty in this instance.

For the most part, I played the game on my PS5, which is connected up to my Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and Marshall Heston 120 soundbar. However, I occasionally dipped into the title on my PS Portal, and used the Sennheiser CX 80U to enjoy in-game audio while on the go.

More generally, I’ve reviewed a wide range of games here at TechRadar, though my main focus has been on RPGs, including Square Enix titles like Final Fantasy: The Ivalice Chronicles and Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake.

First reviewed: July 2026

• The Star Wars Zero Company cast has been revealed
• The player character Hawks will be played by Jonathan Freeman (masculine) and Erica Luttrell (feminine)
• The Clone Wars stars Matt Lanter and Dee Bradley Baker will also return to voice Anakin Skywalker and a new Clone Trooper, Trick, respectively

Bit Reactor and Lucasfilm Games have revealed the stacked cast for Star Wars Zero Company, featuring some very familiar, fan-favorite voice actors from The Clone Wars.

Announced ahead of San Diego Comic Con on StarWars.com, it's confirmed that the player character, Hawks, will be played by Goliath actor Jonathan Freeman (masculine) and Erica Luttrell (feminine), who has also starred in another Star Wars game in the past, Squadrons.

"As the leader of Zero Company, an unconventional outfit of professionals for hire from across the galaxy, which includes a Clone Trooper, a Mandalorian, a Jedi Padawan and more, players must hunt down and stop Kundri Fathom (Rekha Sharma), the ruthless leader of the Separatist-aligned cult known as the Infinite Coil," a press release informs us.

In Zero Company, players will meet a collection of characters beyond their team members, and they're all played by some amazing talent.

Some of these characters include Kabb Uppercut, played by Arcane's JB Blanc; Jae Mordant, played by Judy Alice Lee of Marvel Rivals; and Neesh Renark, played by Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Jim Pirri. There's also D.C. Douglas, best known for Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, who will play M-3VO ('Meevo').

The game will also feature two veteran Star Wars voice cast performers, Matt Lanter and Dee Bradley Baker. Lanter played Anakin Skywalker in the hit animated series The Clone Wars and will reprise this role in Zero Company.

Baker is best known for voicing the Clone Troopers in the show, including Captain Rex and Commander Cody, as well as others in The Bad Batch, but will star in Zero Company as the Clone Trooper, Trick.

You can read the full cast list below:

• Hawks (Masculine): Jonathan Freeman
• Hawks (Feminine): Erica Luttrell
• Kundri Fathom: Rekha Sharma
• Trick: Dee Bradley Baker
• Anakin Skywalker: Matt Lanter
• Runa Blask: Vic Michaelis
• Kabb Uppercut: JB Blanc
• Jae Mordant: Judy Alice Lee
• Cly Kullervo: Alex McKenna
• Bennic Halloren: Leo Howard
• Visser: Dylan Kenin
• Tel-Rea: Nicole Rainteau
• Neesh Renark: Jim Pirri
• M-3VO / Meevo: D.C. Douglas
• Typhon: Hunter Smith

Star Wars Zero Company launches on August 27 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Series S.

Bit Reactor has confirmed that the turn-based tactics game will take 30-40 hours to beat, "depending on your difficulty level and experience with the strategy genre," and it won't feature a New Game Plus mode.

• Someone may have ported Grand Theft Auto 5 to Nintendo Switch
• Performance appears poor and reaches 22FPS at most
• It makes me wonder what Grand Theft Auto 6 could look like running on Switch 2

While we wait for Grand Theft Auto 6, someone has seemingly managed to port Grand Theft Auto 5 to the Nintendo Switch.

The port was apparently created by M0jso and posted to Reddit, where footage apparently shows a native v2699 (2023) version of the 13-year-old game, running on the original Switch, albeit rather poorly.

The performance overlay shows that the frame rate reaches 22FPS at most, and declines to 11FPS in some places, but it does appear to be playable.

A user explained that the footage had been taken down a while ago, but it looks like the project is in progress again. M0jso showcased more videos on X, explaining that rendering can be broken in some places, crashes are frequent, but they have seemingly managed to play GTA 5 on a real Switch console.

However, overall, performance appears poor, and the odds of the game reaching console or PC-level quality seem slim. It made me wonder what GTA 6 could look like running on the Nintendo Switch 2, a more advanced system that boasts 4K and 1440p resolutions and 60FPS.

For now, Rockstar hasn't shared any plans to port the game to Switch 2 - a PC version hasn't been announced either - but we've seen demanding games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Hogwarts Legacy functioning on the console with minor frame rate issues.

That being said, GTA 6 will be a massive game, with a map possibly even bigger than Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA 5's. Not to mention the dense locations and level of detail that PS5 and Xbox Series X will also need to contend with.

While the game's performance features haven't been revealed yet, reports have claimed that it's likely to run at 30FPS on PS5 consoles due to CPU limitations, which could make the likelihood of a Switch 2 port rather slim.

According to Digital Foundry, GTA 6 running at 60FPS on current-gen might be pushing it, but a 40FPS mode could be possible.

There's still just under five months to go before the game launches on November 19, so we could learn more about performance, potential graphics modes, and even get a third trailer soon.

The Halo series is in an awkward spot right now. With 2021’s Halo Infinite being the last major release, the franchise’s status as a system seller isn’t as strong as it was two decades ago. Halo: Campaign Evolved is a safe yet surprisingly competent remake of Halo: Combat Evolved that attempts to bring back the glory days.

My earliest memory of Combat Evolved on the original Xbox was when I could barely read. My dad was visiting his university friends from back in the day, and he left me with their college-aged children. I remember getting absolutely cooked in PvP, as the only video game I had ever played before that point was Pokémon.

25 years later, I’ve played every major Halo release, and even revisited 2011’s Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary remaster to see how it fared before diving into Campaign Evolved. When playing these two back-to-back, they really put into perspective how much small changes could yield substantially different experiences.

The same old story

Like the original game, Halo: Campaign Evolved follows the space marine Master Chief after his starship, the Pillar of Autumn, crash-lands on a large ring world. The Covenant alien race wants to destroy Earth, and it's up to Master Chief, along with his AI companion Cortana, to fight back against them. It’s the same exact story told in the original. Although it’s not particularly deep, it sets up an enticing universe that makes you eager to discover more about the Covenant, as well as the secrets of this new ring world.

Campaign Evolved offers three new bonus missions that, together, act as a prequel to the events of the main story. Here, Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson join up, and the duo infiltrates an enemy ship to steal some data that could point them towards the Covenant’s home world. In these missions, Master Chief doesn’t have Cortana yet and is surprisingly more of a chatterbox than his usual stoic self. He and Sergeant Johnson constantly exchange quips — Johnson’s sarcasm juxtaposes well with the Chief’s more nonchalant attitude.

However, it’s tonally inconsistent. Without going into spoilers, the ending doesn’t explain Master Chief’s stoicism in the following events of Campaign Evolved. Chief’s demeanor here would fit better in a post-Bungie universe, where the series became more character-driven beginning with Halo 4. But as a prequel to the original trilogy, his frequent yapping feels out of character.

Additionally, the three missions trade the original’s streamlined level design in favor of the more modern Halo combat arena approach. Large-scale firefights across long structures and domes are everywhere. Halo is no stranger to enemy skirmishes, but they were kept at close to medium range encounters. I won’t lie and say I didn’t have fun playing these, but I just wish Halo Studios kept the new levels more uniform with the original’s design philosophy.

The prequel missions also reintroduce the Jiralhanae brutes, which were first introduced in Halo 2. These furry monstrosities are a nice change of pace when considering that enemy variety was limited in the original.

Back to basics

The first-person-shooter gameplay isn’t as revolutionary as it was back in 2001, but I enjoyed going back to the more boots-on-the-ground experience compared to flying around everywhere with Chief’s grappling hook in Infinite. There are so many small adjustments and additions to the gameplay that actually made me take modern Halo gameplay mechanics for granted.

For starters, you can now hijack enemy vehicles, something you couldn’t do in the original or even the Anniversary remaster. You instead had to either shoot the enemy piloting the vehicle first, or blow it up, hoping that it was still operable afterwards. When I replayed Anniversary ahead of Campaign Evolved, years of muscle memory conditioned me to hijack a vehicle, only to remember that Chief can’t do that and subsequently get run over and die!

Along with the typical weapons like the pistols, assault rifles, and rocket launchers, Campaign Evolved includes new weapons found in later Halo games like the Needle Rifle and the Brute Spiker.

These new weapons actually feel more of a fit for the bonus missions. The Needle Rifle almost felt like a cheat code when I used it during the main campaign. Energy Swords were also in the original game, but Chief couldn’t pick those up. Now he can, and I never got tired of hearing the satisfying sizzling plasma every time I pulled it out. Effectively doubling the total weapon count, the minute-to-minute gunplay is more varied and fun than ever.

The radar now also shows an arrow up or down on red dots to indicate whether an enemy is above or below you. Verticality was always a personal issue for me in these games, so this is much appreciated. Power-ups can be held like in Infinite, letting you activate them when you want rather than in older Halo games where they activated upon pickup. This had a tangible impact on how I approached certain levels compared to the original, like Truth and Reconciliation, where I could choose the optimal time to turn invisible and sneak past enemies.

On the surface, these changes may seem minuscule. But when actually playing Campaign Evolved, I came to appreciate the gameplay iterations that came with later Halo games.

The human connection

Whereas the original only supported two-player co-op, Campaign Evolved can support up to four. This increase makes shootouts even more hectic and exciting, especially during the bonus missions where having a full team fits the combat design ethos. Online co-op is an easy process, as all you need to do is invite other players to your fireteam. Crossplay between PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players is a big plus too.

Performance is solid, even with bullets and explosions going off every second, although cutscenes can lag sometimes.

You can also find skull collectibles scattered throughout the campaign, which are gameplay modifiers that make your runs easier or harder, like enabling infinite ammo or disabling your sprint function. There’s a whopping 42 skulls to find, so not only do finding the skulls add more replayability to the campaign, but also turning them on does too.

The biggest letdown of Campaign Evolved is the lack of any PvP multiplayer. It’s a staple of the Halo series that makes this remake feel a bit lesser.

Even with the lack of PvP multiplayer, Halo: Campaign Evolved is comfortably the best way to play the first Halo adventure with all the bells and whistles that come with the modernized features of later games. The new bonus missions are fun if not a bit uneven. Campaign Evolved feels good to play, whether solo or with friends.

Should I play Halo: Campaign Evolved?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility features

Halo: Campaign Evolved has an extensive suite of accessibility features. This includes text options like subtitles, HUD text, and voice chat text size. You can also adjust font, line spacing, and dialogue color for friends and foes.

There’s screen narration with volume and speed sliders, as well as color filters. You can adjust color correction strength, brightness, and contrast. Furthermore, you can turn on and off screen shake, flashing effects, and motion blur. For crosshairs, you can change the size, color, opacity, and thickness to see what works best for you.

There are also options to change directional damage indicators, navigation points, and even teammate markers to make finding things easier. Things like voice chat volume, widget opacity, and fade-out timer can be adjusted too.

How I reviewed Halo: Campaign Evolved

I played about 15 hours of Halo: Campaign Evolved (and counting) on Xbox Series X with a SANSUI 34-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor UWQHD. I finished the campaign, finding as many collectibles as I could along the way. I also played through the three prequel missions, as well as participated in a few missions with other reviewers in co-op.

First reviewed July 2026

• Star Wars Zero Company will take 30-40 hours to beat the main campaign
• The game won't feature New Game Plus mode, romance systems, or branching story paths
• Post-launch content is also unconfirmed at this time

Bit Reactor has confirmed that Star Wars Zero Company will take up to 40 hours to finish, and it won't have a New Game Plus mode.

The single-player turn-based tactics game is one of my most anticipated titles of the year, and ahead of its launch next month, the studio has conducted a community Q&A to answer a long series of questions.

One of the first questions asked how long the campaign will be, and lead producer Caydence Funk has confirmed that "Depending on your difficulty level and experience with the strategy genre," it's estimated that it can take between 30 and 40 hours for the average player to beat.

It's also confirmed that the story will be linear with no romance systems or branching paths.

"While we are excited about pushing the genre forward with a more cinematic approach, this is still a turn-based tactics game at its heart where adept skill and strategy are needed to overcome tense combat challenges," Bit Reactor said. "That said, there are story moments that can alter based on who you have in your squad, but the overall story is a linear one from beginning to end."

Personally, 40 hours is the ideal length, and a linear story means I can experience everything the story without having to worry about missing out on additional storylines.

"As far as exploration goes, yes, you’ll have the ability to explore a section of some planets prior to engaging in turn-based combat on them," the studio added.

"This is a minor facet of the game that we feel adds a unique, immersive quality to Star Wars Zero Company. These small segments are a chance for you, as Hawks, to conduct the espionage that Zero Company excels at, and are main-story-only segments that can affect the subsequent combat by granting Intel and Advantage Points."

Unfortunately, the game won't launch with New Game Plus mode, so new playthroughs will have to be completely fresh, "but players will unlock certain customization options on subsequent playthroughs" through progress.

Zero Company is set during one of my favorite Star Wars eras, the Clone Wars, so I'm very excited to experience a new story during this time period.

We can expect battles across the galaxy with the Separatist Alliance, a team consisting of a Clone Trooper, a Mandalorian, a Jedi Padawan, an Umbaran sniper, and more, as well as the appearance of Anakin Skywalker.

Customization will also play a big role in the game, and while players can't have an entire team of Clone Troopers, Bit Reactor confirmed that you'll have access to Clone armor cosmetics with the ability to customize your team's armor from the start. Outfits don't impact gameplay, but Clone Trooper helmets will provide a voice modulation effect, which sounds neat!

Even cooler, The Clone Wars TV series voice actor Dee Bradley Baker will provide his iconic voice to the character Trick and additional Clone Troopers, but the full cast has yet to be announced.

As for additional content, good news, there are no plans for microtransactions to be added to the game; however, the "Arc Trooper" Armor Set is only part of the "Grand Army of the Republic" Cosmetic Pack for the Deluxe Edition, but players will still have access to other cosmetic options in the base game.

The game also won't have mod support, and "right now" post-launch content isn't confirmed because Bit Reactor is "focused on making the best game we can at launch."

Star Wars Zero Company launches on August 27 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Series S.

From the scourge of Generative AI to the RAM crisis, from PlayStation axing discs to Xbox cutting legendary studios off at the knees, it seems like gaming is under attack from every angle. The industry is in dire straits, with studios seemingly no longer able to bank on the success of AAA blockbusters or Live Service behemoths like it used to. Even the biggest game ever, the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, has had a troubled announcement, with its $80 price tag and discless contents getting people’s backs up.

It’s easy to feel helpless when seemingly insurmountable problems hit a medium you love, and speaking out feels like you’re merely howling into the void. But based on historic events, it's true that when enough gamers make themselves heard — and when they vote with their wallets — positive changes can occur, bad decisions can be reversed and better futures can be laid. Hey, even Xbox rolled back its Game Pass price hike (to an extent).

So we want to hear from you — which issue are you most concerned about? Participate in our poll below and tell everyone what you think. No doubt many if not all of these issues are interconnected. For instance, I can’t help but laugh at the cruel irony of the RAM being used to power the Gen AI tools for the purposes of developing games more cheaply is pushing up the price of the systems for playing those games. Of course, there’s no easy fix to any one of them, but we’ll follow up by dissecting the results and discussing the potential routes to bring gaming out from the dark place it’s currently stuck in.

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition: One-minute review

The 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition takes the brand’s existing wireless mobile controller grip and makes a couple of surface-level changes.

The overall shape, style, and functions remain, but official Xbox licensing sees the Turbo button swapped for a dedicated Xbox button. It retains the $49.99 / £43.99 / AU$89 price tag of the original, meaning it's significantly cheaper than alternatives like the Backbone One or GameSir G8.

The Hall effect joysticks and triggers from the original are still here too, with clicky bumpers and what 8BitDo describes as a refined D-pad, though it felt pretty standard to me. For Xbox Cloud Gaming specifically, which is what I imagine most gamers would turn to this option for, it’s excellent on the whole. Cruising the streets of Japan in Forza Horizon 6 across iOS, Android, and Mac was smooth and responsive, with no perceptible latency over its wireless Bluetooth connection. The telescopic grip is the most secure I've seen in this category, confidently holding an iPhone 17 Pro with a case without any flex or creaking, and it’s comfortable enough for longer sessions.

The problems start when you step outside cloud gaming and into native mobile titles. Call of Duty Mobile refused to recognize the controller on both iOS and Android, and games that do work natively, like Fortnite, display PlayStation button prompts on screen despite the controller's physical ABXY layout and Xbox branding. The two back paddle buttons, a feature prominently listed on the spec sheet, also weren't recognized in any game or cloud gaming scenario I tested.

The core experience, however, is a pleasant one. If Xbox Cloud Gaming is your primary use case, the 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition is close to a bargain. For native mobile gaming, the experience is a harder sell, and you’d be better off exploring other options on our list of the best mobile controllers.

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition: Price and availability

• List price: $49.99 / ~£43.99 / AU$89
• Retains the same price as the original and undercuts similar competitors
• Available in white or black from 8BitDo and retailers

The 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition launched in July 2025, half a year after the non-branded version, keeping the same $49.99 / £43.99 / AU$89 price. You’ll find it at a range of retailers, though 8BitDo is keen to push you towards Amazon, as well as from its own online store.

It’s worth checking out different options because at the time of writing, 8BitDo's store has it on sale for $38.99 in the US, making an already competitive price even more attractive.

For context, the Backbone One 2nd Gen runs $99.99, and the GameSir G8 Wireless sits at $79.99, so even at full price, the 8BitDo undercuts its closest competitors by a comfortable margin.

If you’re not too fussed about that Xbox tie-in, it’s worth noting that the original version of this controller now shares the same iOS and Android compatibility and has been spotted as low as $25 on sale. The day-to-day differences are extremely minor, so if budget is a concern, it’s worth keeping an eye on both.

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition: Specs

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition: Design and features

• The most secure phone grip I've tested in a mobile controller
• Hall effect sticks and triggers are impressive at this price
• Quite a small overall profile

The 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition carries that familiar 8BitDo styling with rounded edges everywhere that almost look like they’re gently melting. It’s not, thankfully, and build quality is good across the board.

The textured rubber surface on the back of the phone deck is a highlight with a fun input-themed pattern, and the small amount of texture on the back of the main grips feels nice under your fingers. It’s available in your choice of black or white. I’ve been testing the former, and it’s a magnet for greasy marks, and I can see it getting shiny over time. Keep a microfibre cloth handy.

I don’t have massive hands, but the 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition feels slightly small to hold, and it’s the length of the main grips that is the culprit. The left stick falls in a natural position, but the right one ends up nearly at the base of my thumb, and I essentially had to claw-grip the right side to reach it. It's not a dealbreaker, though coming from the stock Xbox Wireless Controller or even another mobile grip like the GameSir G8, it’s certainly a downgrade in comfort.

Where this controller definitely impresses is the phone deck. The telescopic action extends smoothly, and in testing, it held both my phones in a reassuringly sturdy way. This is the first mobile controller grip I've tested that confidently holds both a super slim POCO X5 Pro 5G and a chunky iPhone 17 Pro with a case still on without any sense that the phone might pop loose. There are no replaceable pads or removable elements to fiddle with; it’s just a good base design that’s wonderfully fit for purpose.

Feedback from the bumpers is sharp and clicky, with a responsiveness that feels better than you'd expect at this price point. The face buttons are a more standard fare, neither exceptional nor disappointing, though they are a little rattly. The D-pad has a noticeable wobble before the input registers, though the actual click is short and responsive once it fires.

There are Hall effect sticks and triggers on offer here, which is impressive for the price, and the sticks feel great with just the right amount of resistance. The triggers have a good level of detail but have a quirk: both left and right complete their full input range before the trigger is physically all the way down, leaving roughly 5% of dead travel at the bottom of the press. They don’t have the longest travel to begin with, so it’s a shame not to be using all of it.

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition: Performance

• Xbox Cloud Gaming works excellently across iOS, Android, and Mac
• Native mobile game compatibility is highly inconsistent
• Back buttons weren't recognized in any scenario I tested

Given its name, it should be no surprise that the 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition is at its best when playing games via Xbox Cloud Gaming. I’d even go so far as to say that if you’re not a Game Pass subscriber, you can probably stop reading now and look to another mobile grip instead.

Initial pairing to devices is straightforward, and thankfully, there are no multiple connectivity modes to fumble with like on the GameSir G8 Bluetooth. The whole experience works smoothly out of the box, and I didn’t even need to consult the user guide for pairing mode instructions. I took a punt on holding a button until a light flashed, and I was right.

Switching the controller between devices wasn’t quite so simple, though admittedly my testing environment is a real stress test for this kind of thing. I attempted to jump around between my iPhone, MacBook Air, and Android phone, and things got rather temperamental.

The controller seemed to want to cling on to a previously paired device, even if Bluetooth was now switched off on it, so moving between a phone and a laptop usually required repairing from scratch rather than reconnecting to a previously paired device. If you’re not hopping back and forth as I have been, this won’t be an issue, though after a few days of testing I’ve ended up with four separate "Ultimate MGX" entries in my Android Bluetooth list.

No matter which of those devices I was connected to, the Xbox Cloud Gaming experience was excellent. I drove around Japan in Forza Horizon 6 without a hitch; the controls were responsive, and there was no noticeable Bluetooth latency.

The triggers offer plenty of granular control for working the throttle, though that dead zone at the end I mentioned earlier took some getting used to when it came to small throttle lifts around high-speed corners. There's no rumble or vibration support, but I’ll happily admit I didn't miss it. Cloud gaming and mobile titles rarely lean heavily on haptic feedback anyway.

Steam had a love-hate relationship with the controller, depending on the platform. Connecting to my MacBook Air over Bluetooth had Steam recognizing it as a different, previously paired controller, which then failed to work in-game. Plugging it in via USB-C looked promising at first with macOS referencing it by name, but it was never seen by Steam or Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Windows fared much better across both Steam and cloud; over USB-C, it was instantly set up as a general XInput device, fully mapped and compatible with both.

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition gains a dedicated Xbox home button on the front, replacing the turbo button from the standard version. When in the cloud gaming app, this button opens the guide just like it would on console; outside cloud gaming, it’ll open either the Apple Gaming app or act as a home button on Android. It’s a nice-to-have sort of feature rather than a game-changing one, but I’ll admit I did use it a few times in testing and wouldn’t have looked twice at a turbo button.

The moment you step into native mobile games, however, things start to get messier, and you’re at the mercy of individual developers. Fortnite recognized the controller immediately on both iOS and Android, and the gameplay experience was responsive and reliable. But the on-screen button labels display PlayStation symbols (Circle, Cross, Square, Triangle) despite the controller's physical ABXY layout and Xbox branding.

That’s a little awkward. This usually happens because the controller identifies itself as a generic gamepad rather than as an actual Xbox controller, which means the Xbox licensing doesn't extend to how games see it. Call of Duty Mobile, one of the biggest mobile shooters on the planet, simply doesn't recognize the controller at all. Not on iOS, not on Android, and there’s no hardware mapping workaround either.

Depending on your play style, the back paddle buttons are perhaps the most frustrating limitation. They're physically well-designed, nicely positioned, and require just the right amount of force to trigger, but they weren't recognized in any scenario I tested. Not in Fortnite, not in cloud gaming, not anywhere. Even after binding them to specific inputs through the 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2 app, games simply didn't see them.

Speaking of the app, it’s incredibly basic and falls far behind competitors in this space. Firstly, there are confusingly two versions on the App Store; V1 doesn't recognize the controller at all, and V2 requires you to manually select and pair your controller model during setup despite the device already being Bluetooth-paired to your phone.

Once you're in, the customization options are barebones: button remapping, dead zone adjustments, and trigger tuning. It worked on both iOS and Android, though anything you configure is device-specific and doesn’t save on the controller itself.

Shoudl you buy the 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider...

Here are two strong alternatives to weigh up.

How I tested the 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition

• Spent several days testing across multiple devices and platforms
• I tested native mobile games, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Steam on Mac and Windows
• Tried the companion app on both iOS and Android

I tested the 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller Xbox Edition with an iPhone 17 Pro and a POCO X5 Pro 5G for mobile gaming, as well as a Mac and Windows PC for cloud gaming and Steam. I tested native mobile games, including Fortnite (on both iOS and Android), and attempted Call of Duty Mobile on both platforms. Cloud gaming testing focused on Forza Horizon 6 via Xbox Cloud Gaming on all devices.

I evaluated the companion app experience on both iOS and Android, including firmware checking, profile setup, and button remapping. I tested the back paddle buttons across multiple scenarios, including native games, cloud gaming, and through the 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2 app. I also tested the controller's behavior on Steam, including calibration and in-game recognition.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2026

• Four original Xbox titles just arrived on PC
• The games are all available to buy or via any Xbox Game Pass plan
• They're part of a new Xbox backward compatibility on PC program

Microsoft just launched a new Xbox backward compatibility on PC program that makes it possible to officially play a selection of original Xbox games on Windows for the very first time.

As detailed in a new Xbox Wire post, the program is geared towards both traditional laptops and desktops in addition to handheld PCs such as the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X and currently includes four games: Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Fuzion Frenzy. These can be purchased individually or accessed with any Xbox Game Pass plan (yes, even the budget-oriented Essential tier).

All of these titles have never been officially released on PC before. They were, however, already available on Xbox consoles via backward compatibility and if you have previously purchased a license on Xbox One or Xbox Series X and Series S it will now carry over to PC.

They're not just basic ports either. There are new graphics features like up to 4x resolution upscaling, vsync, anisotropic filtering, and enhanced anti-aliasing. A new achievement system is also in the works and will be added to these four titles some time in the coming months.

The release of these games is presumably just the beginning, and I'm hoping that we will see more and more original Xbox exclusives come over to PC. It not only gives consumers a convenient way to experience classic games on a new platform, but also forms an important part of digital preservation by keeping these releases readily accessible on modern hardware.

It's also a big win for PC gamers, who previously would have had to shell out for dedicated Xbox console hardware in order to play these releases.

If you're interested in checking any of them out, you can see the minimum and recommended system requirements below to make sure your machine is up to scratch.

Minimum system requirements:

• GPU: Nvidia GTX 950 or AMD Radeon RX 550 or Intel UHD 770 or Intel Arc A310
• CPU: Min 4 Cores Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor
• RAM: 8GB
• OS: Windows 11

Recommended system requirements:

• GPU: Radeon RX 68005 or Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti or Intel Arc A770 
• CPU: 6 cores and 12 threads Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme 
• DirectX Version: DirectX12 API, Hardware Feature Level 11 
• GPU VRAM: 8GB 
• OS: Windows 11

Also make sure that your operating system and drivers are up to date.

• Xbox users face account recovery issues ahead of the all-digital console future
• Xbox support offered help to more users after one had their account deleted after being hacked
• Some gamers are now hesitant to buy any of Microsoft's digital games or software

Sony's disc-less future for PlayStation consoles commences in 2028, and unsurprisingly it's left gamers unsettled, with Microsoft reportedly following in a similar direction. Unfortunately, it comes at a time when a digital future looks unsafe and insecure.

As reported by GamesRadar, Xbox has recently offered support to gamers who have lost access to their accounts due to hackers, in order to recover access to game libraries. This is directly involved with the case where one user had their 25-year-old Microsoft account hacked, and subsequently deleted, losing access to tons of personal OneDrive data and games.

In a response to the user, Joshua Khane, and the initial account deletion post, the Xbox support account issued an apology, stating it is actively working to 'restore access' to Khane's purchases, despite the account deletion email stating that it was 'irreversible'. Notably, it also highlighted that its 'DMs are open' for other users facing account recovery issues.

However, that's not done enough to satisfy users, as most suggest that Xbox support's DMs are simply full of bots, while others suggest that buying games on any of Microsoft's gaming ecosystems might be a risky move.

One user stated: "I was not affected by this, but watching the developments makes me feel very unsafe as an Xbox customer. Not sure if I should keep buying games and software from Microsoft if this is the way I'll be treated if my account ever gets hacked."

Most importantly, the drama arrives ahead of a disc-less console future, not just for Sony PlayStation users. Microsoft's Project Helix is reportedly set to feature a disc-to-digital function, known as 'Positron', allowing gamers to turn discs into permanent digital copies.

Xbox issues with account deletion after being hacked, and over 500 movies instantly removed from user libraries on PlayStation, aren't doing much to instil faith in users on both ecosystems to trust in an all-digital future.

It's now evidently clear that once physical game copies are out of the picture, users' access to games will be at the disposal of Microsoft and Sony, and that explains why gamers are continuously voicing their frustrations — but it's hard to say if those complaints will change anything.

• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced game director Richard Knight is keeping future content plans under wraps for now
• He says post-launch support "doesn't feel like a crazy bet"
• He hopes fans will continue playing the game after Grand Theft Auto 6 launches

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced game director Richard Knight can't confirm if the title will receive post-launch content yet, but he hopes players will continue playing after Grand Theft Auto 6 releases.

In the same interview with YouTuber JorRaptor where Knight confirmed that Resynced will get a New Game Plus update at some point, the director was asked to discuss the game's post-launch roadmap and the plans moving forward.

"I can't say anything officially, but you know, it doesn't feel like a crazy bet," Knight said.

"We definitely need to support the game. We need to fix bugs. Sorry for anyone running into bugs. They hurt. They're painful for us, too. And we do want to add some quality-of-life stuff. So it's a pretty reasonable guess."

Then, as if considering the stiff competition when the game launches on November 19, he joked, "Also, please play us when GTA 6 comes out.”

As the first Assassin's Creed remake, it's unclear what the future holds for the game compared to new titles like Shadows and Mirage. While some hope for a remake of the original game's Freedom Cry expansion, Knight has said that it's still early days and plans aren't set in stone.

The director teased that there are team members who have "[DLC ideas," but balancing and updating the core game is currently the focus.

"Beyond that, I just want to say our focus with Black Flag remake has always been Edward," he added. "He's the kind of heart soul of the original game, and so you know maybe there could be more to tell there too."

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake will reportedly be re-revealed later this year
• A content creator reports that development at Saber Interactive has been "ramping up" and going "smoothly"
• Recent reports suggest the game could launch in 2028

Five years after being announced, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake will reportedly be re-revealed later this year.

That's according to reliable Star Wars insider and YouTuber 100% Star Wars (via Bespin Bulletin), who addressed reports that the KOTOR remake could launch in 2028.

In a new video, 100% Star Wars claims that Saber Interactive sources said the game's "best-case scenario" was a mid-to-late 2027 launch to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, but a 2028 release window would align with the original 2003 game's 25th anniversary.

"A reveal later this year has been planned," 100% Star Wars said.

The KOTOR remake was announced in 2021 and was originally being developed by Aspyr Media. However, development was paused for some time before the project was eventually handed over to Saber Interactive in August 2022.

When asked about the game's progress earlier this year, Saber's chief creative officer, Tim Willits, said, "Yes, it is still in development. That's all I can say."

Aside from the teaser trailer revealed five years ago, we haven't heard or seen anything else about the game since, but according to 100% Star Wars, development has been smooth sailing since Saber took up the reins.

"I know about the extremely positive development cycle since the game has been at Saber since 2023," the YouTuber said. "Development on the game has not only been ramping up, but it’s been going extremely smoothly over the past 3 years since Saber started from scratch.

"They’ve been hiring some extremely high-end talent from across the industry and Saber is very much a unified front when it comes to the development of this game with resources and talent being pulled from all over the company."

While we wait for the KOTOR remake, Star Wars fans can look forward to Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a role-playing game (RPG) from Arcnaut Studios being led by KOTOR and Mass Effect trilogy director Casey Hudson.

A new turn-based single-player game, Star Wars: Zero Company, from Bit Reactor will also launch this year on August 27, as well as Fuse Games' Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which arrives on October 6.

• Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball confirms Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution "are just the first" exclusive Xbox titles
• Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty says, "There has to be a reason for people to buy an Xbox"
• Ball says this plan doesn't mean every Xbox single-player game will be console exclusive

Xbox has confirmed that the Microsoft-owned company is looking to expand its console-exclusive portfolio, and Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution won't be the only two exclusives coming to Xbox consoles and PC.

During the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 last month, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced that The Coalition's next Gears of War game will be an Xbox console exclusive, meaning the game won't be coming to PlayStation 5.

Later, Clockwork Revolution, inXile Entertainment's steampunk role-playing game (RPG), will also drop PS5 and launch exclusively on Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

Xbox began exploring multi-platform a few years ago, but amidst Microsoft's major Xbox restructuring, which included mass layoffs of 3,200 people, and what Sharma is calling a "reset" of the business, it seems things are reverting to the way things used to be with an emphasis on console exclusivity.

According to Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty, who discussed the matter with GamesRadar, "There has to be a reason for people to buy an Xbox," and console exclusives can act as "a reward" for players.

Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball also confirmed that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution won't be timed exclusives, unlike games like Starfield, but "permanent ones," and the company is looking to embrace exclusivity more.

"I can assure you, Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are not the only titles we're planning," Ball said. "To grow a platform like ours, you have to have exclusive games and services. These are not going to be the only two titles."

Ball added that "large live-service titles" will be multiplatform moving forward, but suggested that this won't mean every Xbox single-player game will be console exclusive.

For instance, Fable will launch on PS5, Xbox and PC on the same day, along with Halo: Campaign Evolved, which is the first Halo game to ever release on PlayStation.

"I wouldn't overly fixate on single-player," he said. "I think that's a good rule of thumb, but it certainly isn't something that's carved in stone."

The executive explained that Microsoft has a "framework" for deciding which games will be exclusive and which ones will be multiplatform and recognizes "this approach is not obvious to all of our players, and we are committed to making this clearer."

Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed: two-minute review

The first thing I thought when I pulled the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed gaming earbuds out of their box was “Wow, these are ugly.”

Not exactly the strongest first impression, but it’s unavoidable when each bud has a weird, bulbous design that gives them an appearance like a pair of obese AirPods. The shiny black plastic material looks cheap, as does the printed Razer logo on the outside, which (despite all the Razer Chroma branding on the box) is just a decal that doesn't illuminate.

They’re thankfully not uncomfortable to wear, but even in your ears they’re nowhere near as stylish as similarly priced competitors like the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds.

With much flatter sound, they’re significantly less versatile (especially if you’re after a pair of gaming earbuds that you can also use to listen to music) and offer fewer features than that model to boot, with inferior active noise cancellation (ANC) that fails to block out most background noise when you’re out and about.

The Razer buds’ biggest benefit is the use of the latest Bluetooth 6.0 standard, which allows for ultra-low-latency connectivity with compatible devices and is ideal if you’re a serious mobile gamer looking for something to use with the latest phones. The included 2.4GHz Razer HyperSpeed Wireless dongle is also impressively compact and offers similar low-latency performance on PC, PlayStation 5, and handhelds like the Nintendo Switch 2.

This alone might be worth the compromises elsewhere if you’re a really serious mobile gamer, though there are a few more things worthy of praise. The included case is well-designed and feels pretty high quality, with an attractive RGB strip that is illuminated to denote pairing or charging status. I also really like how you don’t have to take the dongle if you want to use it: simply plug the case into your machine, and you’re ready to go, which makes it basically impossible to leave behind.

Find the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed gaming earbuds at the right price - and they could be a good pick.

Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed review: price & availability

• Costs $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$229.95
• Available via Razer right now
• Availability at other retailers seems spotty

The Razer Hammer V3 HyperSpeed gaming earbuds cost $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$229.95 if you buy them directly from Razer, which is where I would recommend getting them, as stock at other retailers seems spotty.

If you do choose to buy from the likes of Amazon, be mindful not to accidentally purchase the cheaper Razer Hammerhead V3 X or older Razer Hammerhead True Wireless X model, as they look very similar.

At this price, the earbuds are going head to head with the likes of the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, which originally launched at $159.99 / £159.99 / AU$359 but are now regularly discounted to around $130 / £100 in the US and UK.

Even factoring in the added $30 / £30 at full price, I think the Arctis GameBuds are much better value. They offer a much more stylish design, versatile sound that you can easily customize with hundreds of selectable EQ profiles, in addition to slightly better overall battery life.

Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed review: specs

Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed review: design and features

• Look bulky and dated
• THX Spatial Audio support
• Case is good

You should know by now that I’m not a big fan of how these earbuds look. They have a basic stemmed in-ear design with quite a bulbous body constructed from shiny black plastic and a cheap-looking green Razer decal on the back. They honestly look like something you’d buy on Amazon for under 50 bucks rather than a product from a premium gaming brand.

The case is much better, at least. It’s large, but still easily pocketable, and has a pleasant matte texture to its exterior and a very robust hinge with satisfyingly strong magnets. There’s a subtle strip of LED lighting on it as well, which lights up in an attractive rainbow pattern when the case is opened. It also illuminates different colors to denote charging or pairing status, battery level, and so on, which makes it surprisingly practical as well.

Inside the case, there’s plenty of space for the two earbuds and a little slot for the compact HyperSpeed Wireless dongle. When in the case, the dongle is nestled inside a Type-C port with passthrough connectivity. This means you can plug the entire case directly into your PC or console in order to pair the buds, which is pretty handy and helps keep everything in one place.

Aside from this, the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed gaming earbuds don’t have a particularly expansive feature set compared to the offerings of other brands. The earbuds support ANC and a transparency mode, in addition to automatic pausing when removed from your ears. The compatible software offers three default EQ profiles (for gaming, music, and movies, respectively) plus the ability to create your own.

On PC, the buds come with a license key for THX Spatial Audio, which simulates 360-degree sound decently well and is a solid bonus.

Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed review: performance

• Sound is okay
• ANC is poor
• Decent battery life

Although it is impressively low-latency and thus suited for competitive gaming, I found the sound of the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed to be so-so compared to similarly priced alternatives. In the default gaming preset, the bass is plenty punchy, but they lack clarity and sounds quite muffled in the high end. It’s good enough for the likes of PUBG: Battlegrounds or Counter-Strike 2, but would be an incredibly poor fit for more story-driven titles.

The music-listening experience is bad, and no amount of EQ tweaking could remedy the uninspiring sound. I would recommend swerving the default music EQ as well, as it’s absolutely rancid and tanks not only the bass but also the low mids, leading to sound that’s not dissimilar to that produced by the free earbuds you get on an airplane.

Alternating between the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed and the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, there is simply no contest: the SteelSeries pair sounds better no matter what you throw at it, and the fact that it can handle music too means that you don’t need to buy a second pair to use with your phone.

The ANC also underperforms compared to alternatives, be they the GameBuds or others such as the Sony Inzone Buds. It fails to block out much background sound and even struggles to drown out the consistent, low noise from a desk fan. If you want to take these on a plane, just forget about it.

The microphones are okay, but not particularly reliable. With any kind of background noise, they can begin to struggle to pick up your voice - which had me relying on my desktop mic instead. Touch controls are quite awkward as well. They feel unresponsive and struggle to pick up inputs, leading to frequent accidental pauses or skips if you’re trying to use them for your tunes.

The battery life is at least one area where the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed doesn't disappoint. I easily managed 7-8 hours per charge with the buds, and the case holds enough to fully top them up about four times when you're on the go.

Should I buy the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed review: also consider

Here are two more compelling options to weigh up.

How I tested the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed

• Tested for multiple weeks
• Used with PC and mobile
• Compared to other gaming earbuds

I tested the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed gaming earbuds for multiple weeks across both PC and mobile, playing a range of different games.

This included plenty of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Battlefield 6, Forza Horizon 6, Grand Theft Auto 5, and more, in addition to mobile titles like Neverness to Everness, and Call of Duty Mobile.

Throughout my time with the buds, I compared the experience to my hands-on testing of other gaming earbuds, including the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds and other products featured on our best gaming earbuds guide.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2026

When developer Campo Santo released Firewatch in 2016, it was an unexpected hit. A debut title launching from a tiny indie studio with zero combat and doing really well is usually the stuff of fantasy, but Firewatch surpassed expectations – and it certainly surprised me.

Firewatch follows Henry, a man with a harrowing past. His wife, diagnosed with early-onset dementia, has been moved across the world to be cared for by her family. So, Henry makes a complicated decision to throw himself into an even lonelier situation by becoming a fire lookout in an expansive national park. He’s searching, perhaps, for an answer to all his problems.

It’s one of those games that doesn’t sound incredibly captivating. I mean, how hard can living in a remote tower looking out for flames really be? But it’s Firewatch’s narrative-driven storyline where the true magic lies, carrying you on an unsuspecting journey over a number of hours.

For some players, it could be a dull proposition. If I’m honest, 10 years ago, I wasn’t really into solely storytelling games. My brain worked a lot faster, and I was heavy into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (and I’m still busy writing my feature wishlist for The Witcher 4). Yet, I played Firewatch on a whim, and it changed my mind.

Still burning bright

As the From the Backlog series launched, it felt like the perfect excuse to replay it. Oh, and the fact it’s celebrating its 10th anniversary!

The biggest surprise for me was how little I remembered. I had forgotten the immediate depth the narrative throws at you as conversations unfold on screen. I almost felt like I’d never played the game at all. I became lost in thought about whether I actually paid enough attention the first time around.

Everything I loved back then was still here – the art style, the mystery, and the problem-solving. But, as I’ve told people over the last ten years that they should play Firewatch, I’ve always been at a loss when it comes to explaining why. Now, I know exactly why. While Firewatch presents as a game that’ll follow just Henry, it’s the conversations he holds over his radio with Deliah, another lookout based across the park, that are utterly captivating.

Like Rob Dwiar’s Eastshade retrospective, Firewatch is a lesson in how to slow down wrapped up in a video game. This second time around, my mid-30s brain appreciated the pace, and for a replay, it almost felt like I was playing an entirely different game.

Solitude and substance

Through voice acting alone, they banter, swear, and even flirt at times. There are laughs shared, memories unravelled, and a deep connection sets itself firmly at the center of the game.

Perhaps it’s because you’re alone, or perhaps it’s because Campo Santo knew how to make you care, but whatever it was, it still works. Delilah’s constant reassurance (and occasional squabbling) over the radio is so much richer when there’s absolutely nothing to distract you. I realised I’ve been searching for this same feeling in games over the last decade.

I’ve played titles from What Remains of Edith Finch to, most recently, 2026’s Will: Follow The Light, but while their storytelling is enchanting, nothing looks the way Firewatch does. Something about the vibrant hues and vintage aesthetic makes me listen, and it turns out, all I needed was a replay to remember how intense and emotionally compelling the story really is.

As the days passed in my fire lookout tower, I didn’t want the story to end. I didn’t want to bury Firewatch for another ten years. And yet, after a handful of hours, it had come to an end once again.

At least, I thought, I’m finishing this time round safe in the knowledge that if I played again in 2036, I’d still get to feel the same way about this game. Oh, and I’ll also remember that I’ll always be bad at reading maps.

• Bethesda Game Studio has shared a major update
• The announcement confirms two Fallout remasters in addition to further Starfield support
• The developer is also teaming up with Obsidian Entertainment for a new Fallout title

Bethesda Game Studios has just shared a major update, confirming that it will continue supporting Starfield, and is currently working on remasters of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

"We love making these worlds as much as you love playing in them. Today, we want to share what's next," begins the latest post on the Bethesda website.

It adds that the company is "investing more deeply in the worlds players love" — but what exactly does that mean?

First, the developer says its latest release, 2023's Starfield, will continue to receive updates and support throughout the coming year with gameplay improvements, new story content, and "additional updates" planned.

The popular Fallout series is also receiving plenty of love. Fallout 5 is currently in development, though it's still a "long-range destination" in the early phase of production that will likely take many years to complete. In the meantime, however, players will be able revisit the worlds of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas in the just-announced remasters.

There's no word on when those will release either, but I imagine they're not too far away — particularly that Fallout 3 remaster, which has been rumored to be in the works for years.

The post goes on to confirm that Bethesda is partnering with New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment on a "new Fallout project". This is presumably the New Vegas sequel teased in reports earlier this month that suggested the two teams were collaborating on a new title.

Of course, upcoming RPG The Elder Scrolls 6 is also mentioned, and described as the studio's "primary development focus today." As expected, however, a release date is not mentioned, and the title is still likely half a decade away.

All of this comes just over a week after Microsoft announced that Xbox, Bethesda's parent company, would be undergoing the "most significant restructure" in its history with a total of 3,200 jobs lost over the coming months.

In an email sent to Xbox employees, CEO Asha Sharma said that while the move would be "painful" it would allow the brand to to focus on "higher priority projects" with its Activision, Bethesda, King, Mojang, and Xbox Game Studios teams — a strategy already evident in the high-profile releases announced today.

• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced director Richard Knight says staff have "DLC ideas"
• He explains that the main game is the team's focus right now and doesn't know whether the Freedom Cry DLC will get a remake
• Knight also revealed that New Game Plus is in development

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced game director Richard Knight has revealed that staff on the development team have downloadable content (DLC) ideas, but is uncertain whether the Freedom Cry expansion will get a remake.

In an interview with YouTuber JorRaptor, Knight was asked if the team is actively exploring additional post-launch content, such as a remake of the DLC Freedom Cry, which is set 15 years after the main game and stars Edward Kenway's friend and quartermaster, Adéwalé.

While Knight acknowledged that the 13-year-old DLC is beloved not just by fans but by the team, plans for the game's future are uncertain. He explained that it's focused on updating the base game for now, but revealed that team members do have "DLC ideas."

"The reception has been amazing, but it's still so early right now," Knight said. "I know some folks on the team have DLC ideas. We need to balance those out with our future and then updating the core game."

"But beyond that, I just want to say our focus with Black Flag remake has always been Edward," he added. "He's the kind of heart soul of the original game, and so you know maybe there could be more to tell there too."

The director couldn't comment further on plans or on a potential DLC, only that the team has its hands full right now.

In the same interview, Knight also confirmed New Game Plus is in the works, but couldn't offer a release date.

"This is the one thing I can say: Yes, we're working on that right now," Knight told JorRaptor. "For sure. It's one of the first things. Partly because Shadows has already built their version, so it's considered a low-risk feature for us. We're still doing the work, so I can't promise exactly a day or anything, but we're definitely working on this one. It's just such a natural thing."

When asked if the Shadows' New Game Plus made it easier for the Black Flag Resynced team to add the feature to the game, he joked that Simon Lemay-Comtois, associate game director of Shadows, "did the hard work" of introducing it in the first place, and it gives the Black Flag Resynced team "something to look at."

"We have different challenges in terms of how that works," he said. "We can't skip to the hideout, necessarily. But we're looking into it."

On the possibility of the game having extra rewards for New Game Plus, like in Shadows, Knight suggested the game is still in early development, but, "If it's up to me, yes."

"There's still production discussions about what we can do and how much time it takes," he said. "Every item we make needs a model. Sometimes it needs cloth sim. All sorts of things."

In terms of a release date for the mode, he added, "I really can't promise anything – just to say it's at the top of the list of things. There's a lot of things. Some are harder than others, but it's something we definitely want to get done."

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

• Richard Knight, director of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, has explained why hidden blade combat was removed from the remake
• He says the team "prioritized core combat"
• Knight adds that the team is also monitoring player feedback but "can't make any promises"

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced director Richard Knight has explained why the newly released remake of the 2013 game doesn't feature the original's hidden blade combat.

Black Flag Resynced is built from the ground up and features very little of the original code, but offers a faithful recreation that honors the original story, characters, and world. Many aspects have been changed to modernize the decade-plus-old game, including a revamp of the fight system, which notably does without Edward Kenway's hidden blade combat, which allowed the assassin to take down multiple enemies in a swift chain-kill.

In an interview with YouTuber JorRaptor (via IGN), Knight revealed why the team chose to scrap the feature, explaining that it wasn't a priority.

"During development, if you looked at Edward — he's so powerful right now and has so many tools, and so we prioritized core combat because we needed to nail that," he said.

"Something like throwing weapons, while it's cool, it's just like, 'He already has ten ways to kill somebody.' So, given the cost to reinvent the feature and rebuild it from the ground up with today's characters, rigs, and animations, there's a lot more that goes into it. It was just lower-priority for us."

Edward's hidden blade combat was a pretty cool feature of the original game, so understandably, a lot of fans were a bit miffed to discover the remaster ditched it.

However, additional comments from the director suggest that the development team could make some changes in the future.

"We can't make any promises, [but] we're listening to the community," Knight said. "We're interested in what people want the most.”

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

TechRadar Gaming's Managing Editor Rob Dwiar rated the game four stars in his review, calling it "a great remake of a classic game and does a great job of walking the tightrope between respecting the original source material and introducing new content and modernizing aged features."

• Market research firm Newzoo reports that Grand Theft Auto 6 has "the strongest pre-order campaign ever recorded"
• The game earned roughly $180 million in digital pre-order sales across the US and the five largest European markets during the last week of June
• It's estimated GTA 6 will achieve $3.3 - $5.2 billion in cumulative global sales by the end of launch week

Grand Theft Auto 6 reportedly achieved the strongest pre-order period ever and is on track to earn over $5 billion by the end of its launch week.

That's according to video game market research firm Newzoo, which released a new analysis reporting that the upcoming Rockstar title earned roughly $180 million in digital pre-order sales across the US and the five largest European markets during the last week of June.

These markets represent 69% of lifetime console players for GTA 5, which Newzoo used as a guide to estimate that the total global spend was around $260 million in the first week of pre-orders, concluding that this "kicks off the strongest pre-order campaign ever recorded."

"That is a massive sum with major implications for how GTA 6's total sales should be forecast," the firm said. "Placed on the sales curve GTA 6 is likely to follow, that puts it on pace for $3.3 - $5.2 billion in cumulative global sales by the end of launch week."

The report states that popular titles, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA 6, follow three sales curves: the "brand-new IP," the "sequel with performance uncertainty," and "the proven sequel - a known quantity." GTA 6 "will most closely resemble the proven sequel curve," and will see linear growth as we get closer to release, with Newzoo predicting that the first-week pre-order sales account for roughly 5.8% of the total sales by the end of the game’s launch week.

With this being said, the firm believes GTA 6 could reach $4.5 billion in sales by the end of its first week on sale, which is roughly 51 million copies sold.

GTA 6 is the most anticipated game of all time, but it Newzoo noted that, contrary to social media reports, the game "has not done a billion dollars in pre-orders 21 weeks out" from launch.

"This is absurd. Given how pre-order curves look, nothing ever has and nothing ever will in the near future," Newzoo said. "What the data actually shows is $180 million in digital pre-order spend across the US and the five largest European markets in the final week of June, translating to a global opening week of roughly $260 million, with most of the ramp still ahead."

It added, "Run that figure through the plausible band of pre-order curves, and GTA VI is on track to book between $3.25 billion and $5.2 billion in week-one launch revenue. Even at the most conservative reading, namely that GTA 6 front-loads harder than any major title in our dataset, it lands at a tremendous number by any historical standard."

GTA 6 officially launches on November 19, but physical copies don't come with a disc, but a digital download code. Despite the controversy surrounding the move, a recent report suggested that the physical edition is a top seller at multiple retailers.

• Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says developers need to lead with innovation to justify the increasing cost of consoles
• He says studios are "limiting our reach just because of the games we’re building now"
• While Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a hit, Layden says "there are a lot of people in the world who really don’t care" about it

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden thinks studios need to start investing in unique games that entice a wider audience to justify the increasing cost of consoles.

The price of hardware has been rising over the past few years. We can blame the rising cost of manufacturing, the shortages driven by AI data centers eating up all the components, or inflation. For whatever reason, the current landscape is a mess, and the next generation is bound to be expensive.

As Sony and Microsoft hike the price of current-gen systems, despite the PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S being six years old, analysts suggest that the PS6 and next Xbox could cost as much as $1000. It doesn't sound out of the realm of possibility when you consider Valve has just launched the Steam Machine, a console-PC hybrid, for the same cost.

From what little we know about the PS6, we can expect technical improvements over the PS5, which could mean better ray-tracing and higher frame rates. With PlayStation's plan to end physical disc production in 2028, analysts predict that it could also be an all-digital console, sadly.

But would this justify a $1000 price tag? According to Layden, who spoke about the changing industry in an interview with Kotaku, it doesn't, and Sony will need to lead with software innovation to draw in gamers instead.

“I mean really, how much more ray tracing can you put in there?” he said. “And will my eyes actually see 120 frames per second?”

Layden can't say what the PS6 will look like compared to the PS5 since he hasn't worked at Sony since 2019, but if there's a chance the technical gap between the two consoles is too narrow, software is where things need to change.

"I think we’re already kind of limiting our reach just because of the games we’re building now. I mean, variety and range seem to be narrowing," Layden said. "Most games are falling into a standard set of buckets."

He pointed to the genres of games we've been seeing over the years, including zombie apocalypse and space-marine games, action titles with "guys with really long swords and not much armor and dragons."

Layden then brought up GTA 6, and while he acknowledged that the game is going to be a massive hit, some gamers don't care about it.

"So, you see those categories and coming around that, of course, Grand Theft Auto is going to be like an asteroid piercing the atmosphere and hitting the gaming universe with great force and power," he said. "But there are a lot of people in the world who really don’t care about Grand Theft Auto, the non-gaming community."

He continued, explaining, "We talk about how big we are, $220 billion, $250 billion industry, but our social impact is the reverse. Everybody has a favorite song. That’s probably the least revenue-generating entertainment category, music, compared to gaming and film and television. But yet it has the widest impact. And so gaming, it’s huge on the revenue side of things, but it’s a very select group that are doing it.

"We’re getting more money from the same people all the time and not necessarily bringing in new people into the experience. And if these people who aren’t in the gaming experience have already said ‘we don’t care about Call of Duty, we don’t care about Grand Theft Auto, we don’t care about Gran Turismo,’ doing more of those same games is obviously not going to appeal to those people either."

While Layden thinks discoverability is one facet of the issue, the main problem is creativity, and if developers "close ranks" and continue making shooters by appealing to what the "base user" wants, things will be fine, "but we won’t get any bigger. We won’t bring any more people into the tent. And that’s probably bad."

He added, "We need to bring out more games for more people, which means actually you have to have more people making games and in different places and different experiences. I want to find out what games from Uruguay look like and what kind of game designers we have in Bulgaria."

• Dragon's Dogma 2 producer Naoto Oyama says Performance Mode will reach 60FPS on console ahead of the Dark Arisen release
• Oyama says the Switch 2 version will hit 30FPS and "even higher"
• He adds that Capcom's RE Engine has been "a really great fit" for Switch 2

Dragon's Dogma 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 later this year alongside the launch of its Dark Arisen expansion, and Capcom has been making some major improvements to the base game in preparation.

Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer about the process of porting the fantasy role-playing game (RPG) to Switch 2, producer Naoto Oyama said that Capcom's RE Engine "has actually been a really great fit for Nintendo Switch 2."

He explained that the team has been able to use knowledge of previous Switch 2 ports, like Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem, and the improvements made to the RE engine to create a solid port for Dragon's Dogma.

"Because this is an internal [Capcom-owned] engine, we've been able to accumulate knowledge and know-how from other teams," Oyama said. "And that means that the improvements that are made to the engine with each title, and the different features that are added with new games, get to stay with us - and we get to benefit from them on future titles. It's a really positive cycle for us."

The producer confirmed that the team has also been working to improve the game's overall performance, not just on Switch 2, but also on the launch PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S platforms.

"In particular, we've been trying to find as many small tweaks as we can make so we can build up and have a big performance improvement on consoles when it comes to Performance Mode itself," he said, adding that this will be a feature of the August title update, allowing the game to reach 60FPS in Performance Mode on console.

Oyama continued, confirming that the game can reach 30FPS on Switch 2 and "even higher" during many scenes.

"That means that, commensurately, all that effort we've put into the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game also pays off in the Switch 2 version," he said, "and we're currently seeing a minimum 30 frames per second rate performance on that hardware (and, in many scenes, it's even higher!).

"So it's a little while to go until the game releases, but it's exceeding our expectations on Switch 2, and I hope the players agree that we've done a great job again with bringing this game to that platform."

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, which introduces a new region, Norgan, new armor, weapons, dungeons, and more, launches on October 9.

• Aston Martin just revealed the Dreadnought, a digital-only military SUV designed exclusively for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
• It features rugged armor plating and a powerful V12 engine
• The vehicle will feature in the game's DMZ mode and the free-to-play Warzone battle royale

Legendary luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin has just revealed the Dreadnought, a heavily armored all-wheel drive SUV said to offer "supercar levels of performance" and "elite tactical performance" on the battlefield.

Its Chiltern Green painted body combines rugged military armor plating with advanced aerodynamics to deliver a powerful combination of both speed and protection, while the interior includes luxury elements like an Oxford Tan leather dashboard and golden gear lever.

Under the hood, it boasts a mammoth V12 engine and comes with a unique range of combat-oriented features such as dedicated weapons storage and reserve fuel tanks.

Its name is intended to conjure images of the HMS Dreadnought, a famous 20th-century British vessel that was so significant it spawned a whole new class of battleship.

The catch? It's not a vehicle that you will actually be able to buy; it's a digital-only concept that's been designed exclusively for the upcoming video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

According to the car maker's chief creative officer, Marek Reichman, designing the vehicle posed a "not inconsiderable challenge" to reimagine what Aston Martin could be in a virtual world where "the only limit is imagination."

Although the car is fictional, Reichman said that it was imagined as "a vehicle living in the real world" throughout the design process, and therefore "feels genuinely real."

You'll be able to go behind the wheel of the Aston Martin Dreadnought in Modern Warfare 4's DMZ mode when the game launches on October 20, 2026. It will also appear in the free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty Warzone.

Fans attending the upcoming Fanatics Fest in New York will be able to see a full-size model of the car in the flesh at the Call of Duty stand.

• The Blood of Dawnwalker director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, says a delayed next-generation would be beneficial for Rebel Wolves
• Tomaszkiewicz says it's "easier" to work with the current generation and PC
• He says two more builds would multiply "the amount of work you need to do"

The Blood of Dawnwalker director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz isn't worried about the impact of what a delayed next-gen could mean for Rebel Wolves because working on the current-gen consoles is "easier."

It's unclear when the next-generation hardware will launch. Rumors suggest that the PS6 could launch as late as 2028, which would make it eight years between the start of the current generation, with Project Helix, the next Xbox console, also eyeing a 2028 release.

With console prices increasing due to manufacturing costs, not to mention the RAM shortages caused by a rise in AI data centers, there's a chance the next-gen consoles will be highly expensive.

While Sony and Microsoft have yet to reveal how much their new hardware will cost, a delay in the next generation could be on the table as the companies wait for things to settle down and for consoles to become affordable again.

This would also mean studios won't have access to next-gen tech for quite some time to develop their games, which would force them to stick with current-gen.

However, for The Blood of the Dawnwalker studio, Rebel Wolves, this would actually be beneficial to the development team.

The Blood of the Dawnwalker is the first installment in Rebel Wolves' dark-fantasy role-playing game (RPG) series, launching later this year, and has already teased a sequel set in a modern timeline.

When asked by Eurogamer whether the next console generation being delayed would be an issue for the studio and the future of the game series, the director said, "It doesn't at all."

"To be honest, it's even better for us," Tomaszkiewicz explained, "Because when you have the game, and you know the systems and the features adjusted to these particular consoles, you know what you need to do. Always, a new platform is a new challenge: you need to learn it, you need to know what are your borders, what you can do, what you cannot do. And also, it's an additional build you need to create that you need to take care of later."

The director continued, saying that since The Blood of the Dawnwalker has four builds - PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and two PC builds, it's already a ton of work for testers, so another console generation to work with would be another challenge.

"Let's say we have four builds, and later on you want to deliver a patch for the players. You need to be sure that these changes work on the Xbox, on the PlayStation, PC one, and PC two," Tomaskiewicz said.

"When you have next-gen, you're adding an additional two builds, and it multiplies the amount of work you need to do. It sounds easy but you need to know that there is a group of testers who need to test every platform separately - not only this particular change but whether the whole game has no blockers, if you can finish it from the beginning to the end, and so on and so on.

"It's a huge effort, to be honest, and if we work on the consoles we have right now, it's easier, because we know how many builds we have and it's easier to manage."

The Blood of Dawnwalker launches on September 3.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is here, and it looks like this remake has been a massive success. Ubisoft says that it’s already sold more than two million copies, with players all around the world discovering (or rediscovering) its wonderful 1700s Caribbean setting and all the twists and turns of its engaging pirate story.

Our own Resynced review saw the game awarded four stars out of a possible five, praising its many modernized mechanics and just how faithfully it adapts the 2013 original. Although the main review was handled by our resident Assassin’s Creed expert, Managing Editor Rob Dwiar, I’ve spent the last few days pouring hours into the game and am having an excellent time so far.

I’m almost halfway through now, and there’s already so much to like about it, as you’ll see with some of the highlights below, but also one little thing that’s been bothering me.

The visual upgrades are a huge success

You don’t need to have put Resynced side by side with the original Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag to appreciate just how much of an improvement the new visuals are. It’s no hyperbole to say that this is the best-looking emtry to date, edging out the already stunning Assassin's Creed Shadows thanks to its smaller but more detailed world.

The opening sequence has you parkouring your way through a lush tropical rainforest, showing off incredibly dense plants and little details like dangling vines that really help sell the setting. The gorgeous ray-traced lighting dances through the canopy superbly, light scattering down onto the little pools of water that are dotted throughout the jungle and reflecting off them realistically.

If you examine the layouts in detail, there have been loads of changes, but key elements from the original level layouts have been preserved smartly, like the fallen tree trunks that protagonist Edward Kenway darts across, so everything feels just right.

It’s the same story when you reach the city of Havana, which feels larger and more bustling than ever before. The streets are packed full of non-player characters (NPCs) wandering around, chatting to one another, moving crates, or standing around market stalls to give the impression of a lived-in world.

As for the open sea, I don’t think another game has nailed the waves quite this well. The water physics are phenomenal, with countless waves that stretch off into the horizon. The sea here looks far brighter than the original game ever did, but rather than taking away from the atmosphere, I appreciate how inviting it makes it all look. This is a world that’s just begging to be explored.

The visual overhaul extends to the game’s cutscenes. The wooden 2013 character models are no more, replaced with far higher fidelity versions that look much more convincing. Faces are no longer stiff and awkward-looking, either, thanks to enhanced motion capture, making it much easier to get stuck in and immerse yourself in the story.

Refined combat means swashbuckling feels better than ever

Going into Resynced, having seen a handful of trailers, I was quite worried that the combat would feel like that of Assassin's Creed Mirage: awkward, clunky, and a throwback to the systems of the older games in all the worst possible ways. Thankfully, when I actually got my hands on the game, it was immediately clear that my concerns were misplaced.

The combat system here is like the simplicity of the original game’s mechanics merged with all the style and flair of the fights in Shadows. Enemies have decently sized health bars or shields now, which you can whittle down with sword strikes before hitting a perfect parry to trigger a stylish finisher. This isn’t your only option either, as abilities like the rope dart or kick let you quickly stagger tricky enemies without breaking your flow.

There’s a fantastic rhythm to all of it, and I’ve found that charging in with my swords drawn has quickly become my favorite way to tackle encounters. It certainly helps that the most frustrating instant-fail parts of missions have been entirely reworked as well, giving you more freedom than ever to experiment with Edward’s arsenal.

There's finally no modern-day nonsense

Rob lamented the loss of some of the modern-day content, but I’m in the exact opposite camp. I think taking it out was the right decision, as the diversions into the modern setting are some of my least favorite parts of older Assassin’s Creed games.

I’ve always found the series’ whole meta narrative incredibly tedious — filling what would otherwise be grand adventures with a barrage of pointless conversations between characters that I’m convinced nobody ever cared about. Can anyone earnestly say that Desmond Miles is the best Assassin’s Creed character? No, and he just takes up precious time that we could be spending with someone actually entertaining and charismatic like Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

The modern-day stuff was especially bad in the original Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, casting you as an unnamed game developer working for a company controlled by the evil Templar Order. Wandering around a plain office block reading files and chatting with a handful of annoying coworkers is indescribably dull — I enjoy games that let me escape from my daily life, not recreate it.

Yes, the segments do introduce a little bit of satire, riffing on some of the more ridiculous events of the alternate history plot, but otherwise you’re not really missing anything with their removal.

Like Shadows, there are still some elements of the overarching narrative here as well for those that really care: the intro makes it clear that the game takes place in a simulation, and there are plenty of documents that reference the modern Assassin vs Templar struggle (on top of new Animus Rift challenges that explore interesting ‘What if’ scenarios connected to Edward’s life).

Thankfully, that’s all optional, so it can be promptly ignored if, like me, you’d rather focus on the historical fantasy.

But I wish the UI was a little more distinct

It’s clear that Resynced draws quite heavily on Shadows both technologically and mechanically (in addition to a healthy splash of Skull & Bones for the parts where you’re at sea). This, of course, isn’t a problem in and of itself, as Shadows is clearly an excellent foundation to build upon, but I do wish that the design of the menus and UI was more distinct.

There have been some tweaks for sure, like the position of different elements and the icons of map markers and so on, though to me lots of it still looks a little bit too similar - the loading screens are the scale, and the inventory menus are practically identical, for example, as are prompts when you’re being seen while in stealth. Both games even use the same fonts throughout.

It’s definitely not a big deal, but it all leaves Resynced looking more like a Shadows DLC than a remake of an older game at its most surface level. A more imaginative UI that drew more from the original Assassin’s Creed 4 and less from the most recent instalments would really help give Resynced more of a distinct identity.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is out now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S.

Reflecting on my time with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis at Summer Game Fest 2026, I really can’t wait to fight more dinosaurs and solve more puzzles as Lara Croft once more — but I’m yearning to see more to get a better idea of the reimagining at work.

Playing one area complete with lush rainforest setting, puzzles, waterfalls, and dinosaurs, I, first and foremost, was instantly having a great time, and the experience scratched both my Tomb Raider and my Uncharted itch.

However, it was quite a self-contained preview, and my overwhelming emotion after finishing it — after basking in its beauty, at least — is that I really need to see more to get a better handle on the reimagining and the specifics of how that differs from a remake. I got a glimpse into Lara’s Peruvian adventure, but not much more.

Welcome to the jungle

What I can categorically say, however, is that this is a reimagination for the modern day, well and truly. The visuals are stunningly beautiful, and the rendition of the jungle that this iteration of Lara Croft finds herself in is exquisite.

The lush and verdant vegetation, beautifully detailed ruins, and fabulous water effects all combine to make for a really beautiful setting, and this may be the best-looking Lara Croft game ever once it comes out — which is saying something after the Survivor trilogy. Full of secret tunnels and routes, as well as overgrown passages to cut down and spectacular jumps to make across ruins and walkways, the game’s environments are set to be spectacular playgrounds.

The core of the segment I previewed involved Lara solving an ancient water and gear puzzle to progress past a giant gate, and presumably open a route to find treasure. The challenge itself was well done and featured a good mix of what I would call the b*****d-hard puzzles of older games, with some parts that were more intuitive. It felt well-balanced between giving you hints and giving you nothing.

Such was the attraction of the area and to explore all it had to offer, the inner looter in me took great glee in searching every nook and cranny for shiny ornaments, trinkets, and secrets, but I was left wondering whether these are just things to be found and stuffed away in a menu, or whether these, hopefully, are secrets that lead to something greater or play into side quests, or similar. One can only hope.

It’s got the moves

Lara herself is a joy to play again, and this version did not disappoint. Wonderfully voiced and acted by Alix Wilton Regan, I really felt like this version of the icon felt more ‘human’ than ever before.

Away from some gravity-defying jumps, this mainly came from a weightier, more realistic move set that felt more grounded. Even the flair moves and acrobatics felt believably human through my controller. She also feels more vulnerable, less of a video game behemoth with overpowered guns, and much more breakable, which adds a bit of peril too.

The modernization of Lara’s tools feels well done; gadgets are intuitive to use and helpful without spoon-feeding you too much, while they are also well implemented in terms of how they look on screen, with a scan’s net wrapping around ruins, for example.

Lara also has a new focus ability to add to her modern skillset that works a lot like bullet time from Max Payne and is satisfying to use — and to build up, by deploying well-timed dodges and acrobatic moves.

This all came to the fore toward the end of my preview when I encountered some iconic enemies: dinosaurs! Taking on three velociraptors with only Lara’s trusty handguns shone a light on how much skill you need to dodge and acrobatically move out of the way of attacks, but also how valuable it is to use the focus ability to gain an edge.

Finishing the preview with the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex chase scene was a thrill too, and in this new beautiful guise, the game managed to brilliantly capture the adrenaline-fueled, panic-ridden affair spectacularly. If this is a microcosm of the spectacle and adventure that’ll fill the entire game, then it’ll be a special ride; and as a result, it really does feel like the time is right to jump back into Lara's boots.

Having said all that, I really would like to see more to get a proper, meatier look at what this reimagining is going to look like on a grander scale. The mix of modern takes on gameplay, action, and combat mixed with some old-school approaches that hark back to the origins of one of gaming’s finest icons has got me incredibly keen and excited to see how more of it comes together.

Until we hear more, though, I’ll just have to wait until the game releases on February 12, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

• The PlayStation and Xbox One versions of Dying Light: The Beast have been cancelled
• Techland says the game "was built from the ground up to take full advantage of current-generation hardware"
• The decision "reflected the technical realities of development and our commitment to delivering the best possible experience"

Techland has announced that Dying Light: The Beast will no longer be released for last-generation consoles.

The latest entry in the survival horror series launched in September last year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC, and it was Techland's plan to eventually bring the game to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at a later date.

Now, in a statement shared on X today, the studio confirmed that it has "made the difficult decision" to cancel the ports "after careful consideration."

"Dying Light: The Beast was built from the ground up to take full advantage of current-generation hardware. Its open world, advanced visuals, and fluid combat and traversal all depend on processing power and memory that previous-generation consoles simply cannot provide," Techland said.

"As development progressed, it became clear that bringing the game to those platforms would require compromises that would prevent us from delivering the experience we set out to create."

It continued, saying the decision wasn't a "matter of choosing to leave those platforms behind" but rather one that "reflected the technical realities of development and our commitment to delivering the best possible experience."

"We know many of you were looking forward to playing on PS4 or Xbox One, and we are truly sorry for the disappointment this causes. Anyone who was expecting to play on either platform will be eligible for a refund. Thank you for your understanding and continued support."

In TechRadar Gaming's Dying Light: The Beast review, reviewer Christian Guyton said the game "went from potential expansion to a fully-fledged sequel, and although its origins are on full display in its narrative and protagonist, it never feels constrained by them."

"It’s not reinventing the wheel," Guyton wrote. "Techland has a solid formula that mixes traditional open-world action sandbox elements with a solid parkour-based movement system and high enemy density, so it’s understandable that The Beast wouldn’t be too much of a deviation from the norm. Still, the new setting is a breath of fresh air, and it still feels fantastic to dropkick a zombie off a roof."

A new edition of the game, Dying Light: The Beast Restored Land, was released earlier this year and included the base game, all post-launch content, and the 'Restored Land' survival mode.

• We can exclusively reveal The Fight of the Braves from the Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy soundtrack
• Composer Olivier Derivière describes it as 'one of the most epic tracks' on the whole soundtrack
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy releases on August 27, 2026

Action-adventure game Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is the next game in the brilliant Plague Tale series, and we've got one of the tracks from its soundtrack to reveal exclusively right here.

It's the one track that composer Olivier Derivière describes as "the most contrasted score from [the] A Plague Tale series". The Fight for the Braves is an intense and pulsating song that goes big on percussion, crescendos, and haunting choral vocals. A cheery tune this is not.

Derivière says, "The Fight of the Braves is one of the most epic tracks on the OST. We needed something truly glorious to capture the spirit of the ancient Minoan warriors. Rather than relying on a full orchestra, the rousing energy of the magnificent Amalgamation Choir, combined with thunderous percussion, perfectly conveys the relentless challenge ahead."

Derivière goes on to say that, "The echoing musical phrases also beautifully depict the deep connection between Sophia and that distant era, a mystical resonance traveling across the ages."

The soundtracks to the first two Plague Tale games are some of my absolute favorites from recent years, and perfectly aligned with the games' bleak and dark stories. From what the composer says about the wider soundtrack, it sounds like we're in for something special.

“Resonance, although part of A Plague Tale universe, is a very different game and therefore needed a fresh musical approach without leaving the core emotions and musical traits of the franchise,” explains Derivière.

Using musicians and vocalists from Cyprus and Greece to get an authentic feel, the Amalgamation Choir were sought out to create a spell-binding score to accompany Sophia's adventure.

The Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy soundtrack will launch on music streaming services and be available for digital download alongside the game on August 27 this year.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Season 5 has been revealed
• The update drops on July 23, 2026
• Big additions include new weapons, maps, and modes

With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on the way, Activision has revealed the next batch of content coming to 2025's Black Ops 7 and the free-to-play Warzone battle royale.

As detailed on the Call of Duty blog, the major additions include five new multiplayer maps, three of which drop alongside the season's launch on July 23.

The one I'm most looking forward to is Jubilee, an all-new 6v6 environment set in a rural Japanese town. It's joined by Frequency, a remaster of a Black Ops 4 map, and a remake of Black Ops 2's iconic Dig (itself a version of World at War's Courtyard).

The two other maps, Turbo Tilt and Freerun: Descent, will be added in the subsequent Season 5 Reloaded update.

A wealth of new modes

Some new limited-time modes are dropping as part of the update as well: Overdrive Domination (a twist on the classic Domination mode that incorporates the power-up stars from Overdrive), Gauntlet Rush (which rotates between five distinct game modes), and, in the mid-season, the return of Cranked Moshpit.

It wouldn't be a new season without some fresh weapons and attachments, and the ones coming in Season 5 are some of the wildest yet.

At launch, you'll be able to unlock the FG42 assault rifle, a modernized version of the WW2 weapon with serious damage and almost no horizontal recoil, and the dual Gremlin SMGs, which trade the ability to aim down sights for extreme firepower and mobility.

Later in the season, the Mammoth LMG is being added and, true to its name, it's a massive gun with two high-power barrels that fire continuously in addition to a new mace melee weapon.

On the attachment side, completing weekly challenges will unlock the likes of the Jäger 45 Grid-Breaker Kit — a crazy pistol conversion that turns your side-arm into a portable EMP blaster — or the M34 Novaline Garand Conversion that transforms the futuristic burst-fire rifle into an old-fashioned top-loaded one.

If you're keen to dive in, Black Ops 7 is available now for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Xbox One.

• Former Rockstar Games producer John Ricchio thinks Grand Theft Auto 6 will be "monstrous" in scale
• He says the developer tends to make every game bigger than the last
• However, he wouldn't want to work on the game because of how ambitious it is

Former Rockstar Games producer John Ricchio believes Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a massive game and is glad he isn't working on such an ambitious project.

In a new podcast interview with Kiwi Talkz, where the developer discussed his time at Rockstar and the crunch culture that came with the role, Ricchio was asked whether there was any part of him that wanted to work on GTA 6, or if thinking about the project stressed him.

"I think the fact that every single time they do a GTA, it's like ludicrously bigger than before is like something that I think about," Ricchio said. "I can only imagine the size of GTA 6. It must be monstrous, or if not monstrous, it's probably way more detailed."

GTA 6 will have a much larger Vice City map, allowing players to explore several regions of Leonida. There will also be a ton of open-world activities and features to access, including car shops, clothing stores, hairdressers, safehouses, as well as boats that players can take on the water.

The developer suggested that if Rockstar "kept the same footprint as GTA 5, which was significantly bigger than GTA 4, significantly bigger than RDR [Red Dead Redemption] and continued to build upon that framework, GTA 6 will be a massive game.

"Between RDR and GTA, I think they were continually growing the size of the world, which is a big deal, right?" he said. "It's a lot more stuff to build. It's a lot more performance to deal with. There are a lot of considerations with going with a bigger world, but it really does make you feel like you're in a place, right? It makes you feel like you're in a huge place."

For this reason, Ricchio jokingly added, he's "pretty happy" he's not working on the game.

"Not that it wouldn't be cool to work with those people. I still think about my Rockstar teams all the time," he said.

"It is really difficult, and it's a hard period of your career when you're working that hard on something, and getting to the end and then getting to have people be really excited about what you've done is just magic, it is so rewarding.

"I'll never forget some of the play with the public events for Max Payne or for RDR, and even GTA, we were involved in very specific pieces, but just having people so excited about what you've made or being a part of something. It is so incredible. It is such a good feeling to make something, to spend a lot of time [on something] and have people appreciate it."

Ricchio continued, saying if he was still at the studio and working on GTA 6, he wouldn't be "amenable" to how things operate currently, which would "probably lead to an exit for me."

"I've learned a lot about different ways that you can do things and different ways to build successful, kind of hard projects, and it doesn't require that way to do it on the backs of burning people out," the developer said. "Clearly it works, and they make games that do really well, and I expect GTA [6] to do really well even at the higher price point."

• Future Games Show will return for Gamescom 2026
• The main showcase will begin on August 26, followed by the FGS Live, and the FGS Best Of Gamescom will air on August 30
• Future Games Show at Gamescom will feature world premieres, new trailers, and more

The Future Games Show will officially return next month for Gamescom 2026 with three digital showcases.

Future Games Show at Gamescom will air the same day the industry event kicks off, on August 26, and feature new announcements from "some of the industry’s most creative studios," including world premieres, exclusive trailers, developer deep dives, and brand-new game demos.

The recent Future Game Show Summer Showcase in June included 40+ games and 11 world premieres, and reached over 17.8 million live and launch-weekend views, so viewers should expect some more exciting game reveals.

FGS Live From Gamescom will immediately follow the main showcase on August 26, be hosted by the FGS editorial team, and feature more world premieres and exclusive trailers, as well as news and interviews from the Gamescom show floor.

To round out the event, the FGS Best Of Gamescom broadcast will kick off on August 30 and take viewers to the show floor to wrap up the best games of the event. Those tuning in can also expect exclusive booth tours, developer interviews, and a recap of Gamescom’s most exciting announcements.

All three digital shows can be watched on Future Games Shows' Twitch, YouTube, X, TikTok, Facebook, and GamesRadar+.

"The Future Games Show is the best place to discover new games, from indie gems like acclaimed-puzzler Blue Prince to AAA blockbusters such as sci-fi RPG Exodus," said Daniel Dawkins, Content Director of Future Games Show at Future. "Our Summer Showcase delivered 3.72 wishlists per live viewer, comfortably outperforming industry averages, thanks to our super-engaged viewers.

"Since launching in 2020, we have been proud to showcase the industry's most exciting titles alongside premier hosts like Troy Baker, Alix Wilton Regan and Ben Starr. This Gamescom, we are delivering three massive digital showcases packed with the latest news and world premieres for PC and consoles. Don’t miss it!”

• One of the original Xbox founders, Laura Fryer, suggests Sony is stripping away game ownership via an all-digital future
• It comes after PlayStation announced physical game discs won't be produced starting from January 2028
• Fryer claims Sony let Rockstar 'take the heat' by announcing a digital-only GTA 6 first

Sony is still under fire after its latest announcement of a future all-digital future for PlayStation games, as physical game copies are due to be axed — and not only are consumers livid, some gaming industry veterans are too.

As reported by Notebookcheck, Laura Fryer, one of the original founding members of Xbox, has recently condemned Sony's announcement ending physical game discs for future PlayStation games, and highlights the threat the move poses to game ownership.

The announcement from Sony has since resulted in major backlash regarding game ownership from thousands online, including a slight pushback (or support for physical media) from indie game developers like Astrolabe Games.

In this case, Fryer hasn't been shy about noting just how dangerous the end of physical game discs will be once 2028 arrives, especially since rumors suggest Microsoft may follow in a similar direction with its next Xbox console.

"Digital is convenient until someone else decides you've had enough, and there are some games and movies where I will never have enough of them," Fryer stated, which is arguably a valid statement since Sony recently removed over 500 purchased movies from users' libraries.

It's worth noting that Rockstar Games recently opened GTA 6 pre-orders, with the announcement that there won't be a physical copy of the game, which Fryer highlights as an important step to Sony's latest plans, stating: "Sony waited for Rockstar to make the first move, take the heat, and now they're going all in to make this the new normal."

Fryer even references Don Mattrick's infamous statement regarding an 'always online' Xbox One console experience, as she suggests that this is what Sony, Microsoft, and, frankly, Hollywood are doing today.

"When was the last time you put a disc in and the game just worked without a big download? All the major players, Sony, Microsoft, even Hollywood, they're all aligned here. Digital kills the used market, and it stops your old library from competing with new games on the next console."

That 'always online' future is closer than it ever has been, and with Sony also shutting down PS3 and PS Vita stores in 2027. That means whenever the PS6 (or future PlayStation consoles) eventually becomes a retro console like the PS3, there will be no way to play games on the system unless it's via digital means — and that directly eliminates game ownership completely.

If you love cinematic action games like The Last of Us, then there’s one upcoming release that should be on your radar. Summer Game Fest 2026 gave me the opportunity to go hands-on with Blood Message, which seems set to deliver a killer mix of gripping stealth, visceral melee combat, and intense set-piece moments.

Set in Ancient China, it follows a nameless hero and his son on an epic 1,000-mile journey through the scorching deserts of East Asia towards the historical city of Chang'an to deliver a vital message. The pair must survive against impossible odds, navigating vast sieges and escaping the clutches of relentless enemy forces.

An epic journey

Because this is the first single-player title by Naraka: Bladepoint developer 24 Entertainment, I had no idea what to expect when I sat down for my demo.

Showcasing an early segment of the game, the demo opens with our protagonist searching a house, desperate to recover an important letter as hostile soldiers comb through the surrounding town. The high production values are immediately apparent: everything here is rich in detail, with plenty of high-fidelity objects for you to pick up and pore over. The architectural style of the building around you is striking as well, with clay walls, sandy floors, and thatched reed roofs.

While Ancient China is certainly becoming a more common setting in games, I can’t think of the last time I saw its arid desert regions depicted. I’m desperate to explore more of its tantalizingly exotic environments and soak in the unique aesthetic.

Playing with a DualSense Wireless Controller, I also quickly appreciate how the movement feels very fluid and benefits from some impressive animation that, like The Last of Us Part 2, looks seriously cinematic and realistic without sacrificing responsiveness.

It’s not long until I find myself in combat against a group of foes, and it’s just as excellent. You have a heavy attack and a light attack, plus the ability to parry. This is by no means a unique formula, but the impeccably slick way that the protagonist interacts with the environment leads to some of the most gripping encounters that I’ve ever experienced. There’s a real meatiness in your swings, which realistically causes enemies to trip and stagger.

Attacking a foe next to a stacked wooden shelf will send them tumbling into it, knocking objects onto the floor and stunning them for a moment. Launch a heavy kick while your opponent is standing in front of a table, and they’ll be pushed right over it onto the floor, creating vital distance when you’re surrounded. Fail to deflect an incoming strike yourself, and you’ll often be forced onto your knees, tapping a button to pelt anything heavy that’s within arm’s reach to give you a few moments to escape.

Although my combat time was limited, I was still impressed by the variety of ways in which fights could unfold, particularly when there was an allied companion in the mix. There were definitely some moments that felt scripted, like when two enemies locked swords with me at the same time near the end of a brawl to trigger a climactic struggle. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it helps introduce unexpected and exciting moments.

I really enjoyed going in with my sword drawn, but most of the time, combat is entirely optional thanks to a robust stealth system. This is another area where Blood Message feels similar to The Last of Us Part 2, forcing you to scurry through long grass and crouch in cover to avoid patrols. Get behind one of your quarries undetected, and you can initiate a brutal takedown, though be warned that any wrong move risks thrusting you straight into open combat.

At certain points, getting seen is inevitable, triggering bombastic chase sequences that have you sprinting away from barrages of arrow fire, scrambling up ledges, and leaping over perilous gaps. The path you need to take always feels very intuitive, though there are a few little alternative routes sprinkled throughout if you want to experiment.

Everything I played could easily rival the output of a developer like Naughty Dog, and with Blood Message set to release on consoles and PC, this should be at the top of gamers’ wishlists.

• Take-Two Interactive has its next quarterly finanical report scheduled for August 7
• The report will take place before the market open, which is unusual for Take-Two
• Fans are hoping for a new GTA 6 update

Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, has quite an important day coming up, and fans are hoping for a new update on Grand Theft Auto 6.

We are four months away from the launch of the most highly anticipated game of all time, and so far we've seen exactly zero seconds of in-depth gameplay.

So what's next? It's said that this summer will kick off the big GTA 6 marketing push, but aside from pre-orders going live and an updated Rockstar website filled with screenshots and detailed game features, we're still waiting for Trailer 3.

However, as spotted by GameSpot, Take-Two will release its next quarterly financial report on August 7, which suggests we'll learn at least something about the game.

Typically, these financial reports are followed by a Q&A session with investors and are usually held after the market closes at 4 PM ET.

This August 7 report, however, will be released before the market opens, at 9:30 AM ET, and will be followed by a conference call at 8 AM ET. This is unusual for Take-Two, but it hasn't explained why it's doing it this way this time.

Whether there will be a pre-order sales report or a date for the next trailer, we'll have to wait and see, but fans on Reddit are hoping the financial report could kick things into high gear.

"Rockstar said summer will be the biggest marketing for them I don’t see this happening so far," one fan said, with another writing, "Trailer 3 moment passed, if they were going to drop it, we would have seen it by now. I honestly think the next step is a gameplay trailer."

We also have Gamescom 2026 in August, which means another month of game announcements, so Rockstar may finally drop a new trailer during this time.

GTA 6 officially launches on November 19 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, but pre-loading begins on November 12 if you choose to pre-order.

A recent report claimed that physical copies of the game are flying off the shelves, despite the fact that they don't come with a disc but rather a digital download code in the box, which has caused some controversy.

• Former Dragon Age lead writer and creator David Gaider says it's "unlikely" the beloved RPG will have a future at EA
• However, he would be open to working on the series again
• Gaider would return to the series' roots and make a "dark and dangerous" game

Dragon Age creator and former narrative lead David Gaider doesn't believe the beloved role-playing game (RPG) series has a future at EA, but would be interested in working on a new game if given the chance.

Speaking to PC Gamer, Gaider said it's "unlikely" we'll ever see another Dragon Age game made by BioWare under EA's control and explained how, while working at the studio, it always felt like "We were always one breath away from the [current] project being shelved."

"The thing that happened is that we kept releasing games, and it would sell much better than they thought it should, and it kept surprising them," he said.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard was the exception, which underperformed for EA. However, the publisher was also reported to have been pushing BioWare to incorporate live-service elements into the game, but when the studio stuck to its RPG roots, CEO Andrew Wilson called it a mistake.

Gaider suggested that the Mass Effect series was EA's golden child, and even if it didn't sell as well the team "got excuses, because it was an action-oriented game. They thought it should sell more. It was slicker."

While Gaider believes Dragon Age is dead under EA's ownership, he would be interested in taking on the series again and returning to what made the dark fantasy series so loved in the first place.

"If you'd asked me that in the past, I would have said absolutely not. That I’d done my time," he said. "I left the Dragon Age team before I left BioWare. After Inquisition came out, I went to [Dragon Age's creative director] Mike Laidlaw and I said, ‘I've told all the stories with mages and dragons and what have you that I have in me. And I could keep going, but if I keep working on this, it's going to become rote, and I think that would be a disservice to the team. So I should step aside, let fresher voices rise’. I don't know if that was the right decision, but it felt right at the time."

He added, "I do like a challenge. So if, out of some weird alignment of the stars, somebody handed the Dragon Age franchise back to me and said, ‘Breathe the life back into this baby’, that'd be a tough one, but I think that'd be an interesting thing to do. To go back to the basics of what made Dragon Age appeal to so many people in the first place. And go somewhere dark and dangerous, and do things that will make people upset. I think that’s what I would want to do with it."

• Senior Bethesda character artist Christiane Meister has been laid off as part of Xbox's restructuring
• Meister designed Skyrim's Khajiit and Argonian races
• Kevin LaChapelle, one of the lead developers behind Xbox's backward compatibility initiative, has also been laid off

As part of Xbox's most significant restructuring strategy we've ever seen, thousands of staff have been laid off, including two industry veterans who worked at Microsoft and Bethesda for decades.

As PC Gamer reports, Christiane Meister, a senior character artist who worked at Bethesda for 27 years on games like Morrowind and Skyrim, was laid off and is currently looking for work.

Writing on LinkedIn, Meister said, "I have recently been laid off from Bethesda Game Studios and I find myself in the novel position of looking for a job. I thought I would stay there forever because I loved making those games. Life had other plans as it so often does."

As Meister explained in a separate update on her page, she was "in charge of design, creation, and management of character art assets throughout all of The Elder Scrolls projects, starting with Morrowind to our latest title, Skyrim."

"This included drawing concepts and seeing the art piece through to the final stage of getting the object in the game as well as handing off concepts to other artists in the character group. I also oversaw outsourced assets from design to final in-game models," Meister said.

The veteran developer was responsible for designing the visual identities of the series' khajiit and argonian humanoid races, as well as some Fallout creatures and horses in Oblivion and Skyrim.

She also worked on UI, title design, and marketing materials in her early career at Bethesda, the iconic armor associated with Skyrim, and new armor sets and the key art for The Elder Scrolls: Blades.

Meister later moved on to creature work on Starfield "and had a great time balancing the extraterrestrial while grounding it with recognizable fauna that exist here on Earth."

She adds that she also worked on "The latest game of the Elder Scrolls series," which could mean The Elder Scrolls 6, where she oversaw "an important aspect of the game as well as continuing to create realistic creatures."

"I hope people will get to see them," she said.

Another industry veteran, Kevin LaChapelle, one of the lead developers behind Xbox's backward compatibility initiative, has also been laid off.

On LinkedIn (via VGC), LaChapelle said, "I will add my name to the list of people who were laid off today at Xbox," after working for Microsoft for 37 years.

"I have worked in many different parts of the company, and I will say my fondest memories are of leading the team of very talented engineers who built the Xbox Backward Compatibility program," he said.

"Sitting in the auditorium when Phil [Spencer] announced the program at E3 2015 was incredible. The audience's reaction was unbelievable. I followed that with leading the team who created our Cloud Gaming product. I am a firm believer that all entertainment will eventually become streamed to you wherever you are. I look forward to watching how Xbox evolves going forward and I wish the team nothing but success."

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed that 1,600 jobs were immediately cut and another 1,600 to come will follow before the end of the current financial year.

The company has also let go of four studios, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, which are returning to independence, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are currently looking for new ownership.

Obsidian Entertainment is also reportedly working on a new Fallout game led by Fallout: New Vegas lead designer and project director Joshua Sawyer, in collaboration with Bethesda, after scrapping plans for an Avowed sequel amid Xbox's restructuring strategy.

• Could Microsoft sell off Xbox amid the company's biggest restructuring strategy yet?
• Analysts say Xbox, as it stands, would be too expensive for even some of the biggest buyers
• It's suggested that big players would be more interested in purchasing "specific pieces" of the business

As Xbox goes through its biggest restructuring yet, and the seemingly never-ending stream of bad news for those involved continues, the future of the gaming company is uncertain.

While some question whether it would be in Microsoft's best interest to sell off the gaming company, industry analysts have suggested that the move would be a hugely expensive endeavour for interested parties, but it's possible that the Xbox we know could be dismantled piece by piece.

Microsoft's major Xbox restructuring announcement, which Xbox CEO Asha Sharma called a "reset," confirmed that thousands of employees were affected by layoffs, including 1,600 immediate job cuts with another 1,600 to come before the end of the current financial year.

The company has also let go of four studios, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, which are returning to independence, and Senua and State of Decay 3 creators, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, which are currently looking for new ownership.

This new strategy follows a year of struggles for Xbox, which has increased the prices of its consoles once again, cancelled and shuttered several games and studios, with Sharma now admitting that the company is "not healthy" in its current state, with Game Pass being a key fault.

"Our business today is not healthy," Sharma said in an email sent to Xbox employees. "We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected."

Before the recent upheaval, The Information (via Reuters) reported that Sharma was looking to speed up development on games in The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo franchises and that Microsoft is considering options for its Xbox gaming unit, including a potential spinoff or restructuring ​as a wholly owned subsidiary.

While some believe that the recent restructuring is a plan to make Xbox easier to sell, analysts have suggested to The Verge that there wouldn't be many interested stakeholders who would purchase the entire business, mainly because it would be too expensive considering Xbox's current portfolio.

"I think all options are on the table, considering the drastic measures already put in place to try and restructure the business at both a cyclical and structural level," said Yoshio Osaki, president and CEO of market research firm IDG Intelligence.

Similarly, New York University professor Joost van Dreunen told The Verge, "A wholesale divestiture of Xbox remains on the table, and it looks likelier given Xbox's struggles with rising hardware costs and Microsoft's focus on AI and infrastructure."

He added, "It's never been clear what role Xbox plays in Microsoft's flywheel," but a full sale is the "less likely path" since there are few buyers, including giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Tencent, who would want or afford "an entire interactive-entertainment conglomerate running north of $23 billion in annual revenue."

Instead, Van Dreunen said the likelier scenario is that big players might go after "specific pieces" of the business, with Osaki noting "it's possible that "individual studios, IPs, and teams are sold or spun off piecemeal.”

Sharma revealed her vision for Xbox after taking up the position of CEO in January and said she plans to return to the spirit of what the company was founded on, as well as reduce "the artificial divide between different types of devices."

With the latest part of her plan underway, which has notably delivered another crushing blow to the studios under Xbox's ownership, it's unclear right now where the gaming giant is headed.

According to Osaki, the full vision will be clear by "year-end," while van Dreunen thinks it will be "within 24 months."

• Asus has unveiled the ROG Raikiri II Pro PC Controller and the Gjallar Gaming Soundbar
• The Raikiri II Pro features "competition-grade responsiveness and ultra-low latency," 79 hours of battery life, and a built-in full-color panel
• The Gjallar Gaming Soundbar features Dolby Atmos surround sound and is designed for multi-platform compatibility

Asus Republic of Gamers has announced the ROG Raikiri II Pro, a high-end, elite performance PC controller, and the premium, compact Gjallar Gaming Soundbar.

Asus describes the Raikiri II Pro PC Controller as "the ultimate gaming controller" that provides users with "unparalleled precision control to dominate gaming arenas."

Complete with a competition-grade 8000Hz polling rate and 2.4GHz wireless performance enhanced by ROG SpeedNova technology for high-range responsive control and ultra-low latency, the controller also features micro switch buttons and bumpers for instant actuation and tactile feedback.

It also boasts Dual Mode Triggers, letting users seamlessly transition between short-travel, micro-switch, and TMR sensor triggers with full travel, "allowing for a tailored feel based on game genre."

For more personalized control, the Raikiri II Pro offers hot-swappable TMR joystick modules and includes two sets of joystick modules that can be adapted for any playstyle.

The eye-catching built-in full-color panel on the front of the controller also allows for convenient, on-the-fly adjustments, such as button remapping, vibration intensity, joystick calibration, lighting effects, and brightness.

Users can also switch between five unique profiles and link up to the ASUS Gear Link software to enable further customization options, including detailed button mapping, joystick sensitivity, and more.

The premium controller is built for long gaming sessions, delivering up to 79 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Then there's the Gjallar Gaming Soundbar, a premium gaming soundbar designed for "impactful, cinematic surround sound, clear in-game communication, and multi-platform compatibility to streamline any setup."

The accessory immerses listeners in a realistic 3D soundstage via 2.1.2 Dolby Atmos surround sound with left and right full-range speakers and offers an all-in-one audio control hub that provides convenient access to EQ settings, playback controls, and input source selection.

An RGB lighting system also offers up to 16.8 million colors and four preset effects for a complete, cohesive gaming setup for more personalization.

The Gjallar houses built-in Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC) microphones for seamless communication and offer multi-device, multi-platform connectivity via USB-C, HDMI 2.1 (eARC), optical and AUX input, and Bluetooth 5.3.

There's also a built-in USB hub on the side of the soundbar for USB Type-A connections, and users can make easy customization adjustments via the Gear Link app, such as EQ, lighting, microphone settings, and more.

Pricing details for both the ROG Raikiri II Pro PC Controller and Gjallar Gaming Soundbar will be revealed soon.

TechRadar reviewed the ROG Raikiri II Pro's predecessor, the Asus ROG Raikiri II, earlier this year, with Josh, our reviews editor, calling it "impressive on every front" and claiming he's never going back to a regular controller after using it. Time will tell whether the Raikiri II Pro PC controller will ahve the same impact.

• Obsidian Entertainment has cancelled an Avowed sequel and is now reportedly developing a new Fallout game
• The game is helmed by Fallout: New Vegas lead designer and project director Joshua Sawyer
• This comes as part of Microsoft's major Xbox "reset"

Obsidian Entertainment is reportedly working on a new Fallout game after scrapping plans for an Avowed sequel amid Xbox's restructuring strategy.

That's according to Bloomberg, which reports that the Avowed sequel and other unannounced projects were the studio's priority, but will now focus on a new Fallout game helmed by Fallout: New Vegas lead designer and project director Joshua Sawyer, in collaboration with Bethesda.

Sawyer was working on a different role-playing game (RPG) similar to Fallout, but it's unclear which one.

While Avowed 2 has been cancelled, a small team will continue working on the game in case the project is revived in the future; for now, Fallout is the new priority.

The report comes as part of Microsoft's major Xbox "reset," which recently saw thousands of layoffs, including 1,600 immediate cuts. It's said that Avowed 2 was to be announced within the next year, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma didn't see it fitting into the company's new strategy.

Bloomberg said these layoffs included a quarter of Obsidian, with GameFile reporting that a WARN notice in California indicated it was 52 workers in total, including 43 in Obsidian's California offices and nine in-state remote workers.

Obsidian, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2018, released three games in 2025, including Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, and Grounded 2. Bloomberg confirmed that the studio will continue developing content for the latter two titles.

On a recent visit to head-fi brand Audeze's headquarters in California, I had the chance to talk to the brand about the recent ReSkin feature it launched for its Maxwell 2 gaming headset.

This new feature for its excellent planar magnetic driver-powered gaming headset allows owners to customize their set by swapping in funky earcup designs to inject some colour, flair, and personality into their gaming accessory.

The earcups have been so popular that a bunch of the first designs have sold out, with marketing director, Peter James, telling me that "the one that's sold the most is the all-seeing eye. That one actually sold out of its first run."

Indeed, of the six designs or sets that Audeze launched in May, only one of them is available to buy as of right now on the brand's website, and two — the all-seeing eye and the very limited edition Dia De Los Muertos set — are not even listed at all.

However, there could be big things on the horizon with the PlayStation-owned Audeze having "some potential game studio collaborations" on the way in the future, according to James.

This could be an opportunity for a collaboration with a huge PlayStation series or two in the future, given Audeze is under Sony Interactive Entertainment's (SIE) roof now.

Could we see a spectacular God of War Laufey ReSkin featuring Faye? Could we, Maxwell 2 owners, be wearing some Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet artwork in the future? How about a profile shot of Wolverine adorning each earcup?

There are some truly exciting potential collaborations to consider given the relationship between Audeze and PlayStation.

And Audeze doesn't intend for the ReSkin designs to stop there: "We're really just getting started at this point.", James tells me.

"We're not intending this reskin program to be limited to Maxwell 2; that's just where it's starting."

I asked whether there might be a possibility of fans submitting their own designs in the future. "I don't think we're going to do 'design your own,' but we'll almost certainly be doing some things where people can submit designs and maybe run an online poll or competition to see what people vote on to select."

He went on to add that, as well as the exciting prospect of gaming collaborations, there are "more in-house designs that we'll be releasing on a monthly cadence."

Audeze has previous form with working with external collaborators from studio artists and musicians in relation to some headphones — when it comes to those super slick wooden rings that you can see on the likes of the LCD-2 and LCD-3 sets, for example — and it seems that the ReSkin program has the potential to unlock some big-hitting collaborations further down the line to continue that trend.

We’re hurtling towards the October release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and it seems like everyone has already forgotten about Black Ops 7.

Last year’s entry wasn’t perfect (I still stand by my verdict that it has one of the worst campaigns in the series), but if there’s one area where it seriously delivers, it’s the core multiplayer experience. It took the strong foundations established in its predecessor, Black Ops 6, and refined them expertly, augmenting the slick omni-movement system with a new wall jump and finally cutting the awkward tactical sprint to save us all from sore thumbs.

It was a compelling offering at launch, but over the last few months it’s become even better thanks to a steady stream of impressively expansive, high-quality updates. I can’t think of the last Call of Duty game I’ve stuck with this long after launch, and, having spent close to 400 hours playing now, I’m sad that it's coming to an end.

Quantity (and quality)

What’s made Black Ops 7’s post-launch offering so enjoyable? Volume, for starters. Seasons 1 and 2 came packed with a whopping nine core maps each, offering a good mix of new arrivals, remastered classics, and some favorites carried over from Black Ops 6.

Season 3 kept up the pace with another seven, adding to the massive 16 available at launch, meaning there’s no shortage of combat environments to master, even as things begin to slow down, with the current Season 4 bringing just five.

It’s not like “just five” is an insubstantial number either — it’s still more than double what most seasons of 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 would give you. They’re all well-made maps with a good mix of aesthetics, ranging from the brightly colored neon skyscrapers of a futuristic Tokyo in Yakei to the psychedelic corridors of an imagined hospital in Paranoia.

There’s just so much more variety than you had in previous games, which seriously helps stave off boredom after hundreds of hours of play.

You could argue that Black Ops 7 lacks a coherent visual direction and setting, and I would wholeheartedly agree, but, as disappointing as it is for someone who cares quite a lot about the series’ universe and lore, on a practical level the total abandonment of stodgy military theming opens the door to so many cool design possibilities.

You have maps filled with floating platforms to parkour off, buttons that open secret passageways to reward those who pay attention to their surroundings, or magic portals that teleport you to the other side of the map to help you get the jump on the enemy team.

I can’t remember the last time Call of Duty felt this experimental and free. It’s reinvigorating.

Broken, but in the best possible way

The developers took the same approach with the weapons, adding a boatload of them every season. They’re completely stupid and often massively unbalanced, but that’s what makes them so much fun.

You’ve got one-shot rifles galore, an SMG that loads with three magazines at once, a secondary that’s somehow a full-size rifle that fires homing bullets, and an energy weapon that shoots slow-moving, glowing balls that can take out entire groups of foes.

The unlockable weapon attachments are delightfully nuts as well. Earlier this month, I spent a weekend grinding through weekly challenges to unlock the latest attachment for the XR-3 Ion sniper rifle.

It’s a grip that transforms the unwieldy weapon into a literal minigun that shreds foes by rapidly firing high-power sniper bullets with a massive ammo pool, which I immediately deployed to rampage through the tiny Nuketown map in some public matches.

It joins a pantheon of unapologetically bonkers additions, like the high-tech magazine for the Carbon 57 SMG that literally 3D prints new bullets in between shots so you never have to reload or the customized barrel that converts the Maverick X9 assault rifle into a long-range harpoon gun.

At this point, I’m convinced the developers are trying to one-up themselves with something even crazier in every update — and make no mistake, I’m absolutely here for it.

Throw in a deluge of quality limited-time events with a strong line-up, free and paid rewards, some of the nicest-looking battle pass skins yet, countless progression systems to work towards, and it’s no wonder that I’m logging in every day for more.

As a frequent visitor to a handful of Call of Duty subreddits, I know that I’m not the only one having a great time either. “We are very lucky that we didn’t listen to the internet and bought Black Ops 7,” wrote one poster just last week, who praised the “huge” amount of content on offer. “We are so lucky that we experienced the best Call of Duty multiplayer and zombies since 2015,” they added.

“I’m also a little sad we only have 1 more Season left”, responded a commenter, with another calling Black Ops 7 the “Best COD of the 2020s”. Sure, the campaign underdelivered, but if we’re going off multiplayer alone, I’m inclined to agree.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is out for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

After almost 30 hours sailing the high seas in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, one of the series’ best games has its hooks in me all over again, and I can’t wait to play another 30 (or more) and complete every single activity a second time.

Embarking on a journey to remake one of the series’ finest entries and to ensure the story of one of the best protagonists stays true to its original, Ubisoft has largely succeeded with Resynced. The experience feels fresh and modern, but also has me feeling the same pirate-y feels that only the original ever could.

It’s not without flaws, though. Some particular bits of Black Flag remain that inject some unwanted repetition; some of the cut content is a little disappointing, and there are some rogue bits of oddness in the new additions, as well as overall balances of features.

But those are not huge complaints, and only apparent with close comparison to the original. Zoom out just a tiny bit, and it’s easy to appreciate what Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is: a fantastically fun version of a brilliant game.

One of the best to ever do it

Revisiting the story of Edward Kenway, chancer and dreamer turned privateer and then assassin — perhaps the only protagonist who can hold a candle to series legend Ezio Auditore da Firenze — Resynced has largely kept the core narrative, characters, and experience as it was with the original. Which is the right approach, as all were excellent.

Bouncing from Caribbean island to Caribbean island with Kenway and his crew on the Jackdaw is the backdrop for a time-enduring Assassin’s Creed story that still holds up today and makes for a great swashbuckling adventure. There’s a certain satisfying way that the game’s narrative weaves living in the golden age of piracy and core characters within that with its own lore of the enduring Assassin’s vs Templar battle.

Exploring mysterious, overgrown islands searching for hidden treasures or hunting down stashes from messages in a bottle, traversing the high seas in the Jackdaw ship, and taking on huge ships from the Spanish and British navies, and following Kenway’s desire for fortune and experiencing him tracking down age-old secrets is all still fantastically fun and ensures the core experience remains exquisite.

The most tangible and clearest way that this core experience has been elevated is naturally the visuals. I said that Assassin’s Creed Shadows was the best-looking game in the series when I reviewed it last year, but now there's a new kid on the block. Resynced is simply wondrous, verdant, gorgeous, and incredibly detailed in its presentation of the Caribbean, and my eyes can’t get enough of it.

Being a new version of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, it’s still an absolutely fantastic video game and is the same brilliant original under the surface. But “not all treasure is silver and gold, mate”: it’s not just the impressive visual upgrade which makes the remake a success, as there have been loads of improvements, and a few notable changes or omissions which really make up the meat and potatoes of the differences Resynced offers over its original.

A modern assassin

Each change itself isn’t huge, but when you factor them all in, there’s a huge collection of improvements that paint a bigger, better picture are aesthetic or functional changes, whereas others are much-needed modernizations that bring the game forward a decade and a half.

At their most basic, the changes to menus, controls, and the inventory screen are almost all welcome alterations and bring the game up to speed with the likes of Mirage and Shadows in the modern Assassin’s Creed pantheon. Everything is slick and smooth. The use of the newer Anvil engine and what that allows, such as dynamic weather, a day-night cycle, and so on, is also put to great effect.

In-game minigames like Kenway’s fleet have been overhauled too, and even with the removal of that fun and cartoon-y one in the original, these changes are largely slick and well done. There are also dedicated locations to interact with such things in Kenway’s manor and base of operations on Great Inagua, which has been expanded to include dedicated spots for upgrading the manor or interacting with the fleet.

The island’s upgrades — your Harbourmaster, general store, etc — all have more depth and levels of upgrade to invest in. It’s not as comprehensive as the base-building systems in Shadows, but it’s still very satisfying and drives you to plunder more to unlock the best for your island and ship.

Combat and parkour are both areas with substantial changes as well. Parkour doesn’t look or appear brand new — and once again not as transformative as the change that came after Black Flag with Unity, sadly — but it does genuinely feel smoother and more fluid than before; where there once would have been brief pauses or stutters mid-run, there now aren't.

Combat has definitely taken inspiration from Mirage and largely works as a new style for Kenway. It’s a shame to see some omissions, as Kenway sticks only to cutlass weapons (which sometimes feel a bit messy and button-mashy) but the heavy and light attacks and parries combine to make something more engaging than the parry and finish of the original games. Even so, after a while, it can drag a bit and get repetitive — especially when you’re having to board and take ship after ship after ship to farm upgrade material — and lacks the dynamism of the original at times.

Opening up more of the world has been a success in Resynced, at least. The ability to dive anywhere and swim everywhere in the ocean opens up more areas for discovery and exploration, and the simple addition of a crouch button means that you can explore enemy compounds and warehouse locations rather than just murder your way through them.

A balancing act

More substantial changes to content are more mixed, though, and in the face of so many great updates, upgrades, and enhancements, Resynced has to walk a tightrope of new additions and working with — or avoiding — the original source material.

I really enjoy the new endings that some of the best characters in the game get through new side quests, for example — and there are even new lines, scenes, and actions back at Kenway’s headquarters after those too, which is a nice touch.

The new officer recruitment missions are also good fun; as well as offering a tangible benefit for new ship features or weapons, these are some quite good contained missions. However, the pacing sometimes feels a little odd as you successfully recruit the new officer, midway through their story, and even when they seem unconvinced about joining you.

The most noticeable change to content, however, has been unsuccessful, in my view: entirely removing the modern-day sections is a shame and a missed opportunity. I find myself longing for these bits where you are deep-diving into Desmond’s DNA and scoping out the modern-day Templar offices; the change of pace worked with the original game and played its own robust part in the lore and narrative of the series. While removing tube content was largely welcomed by many and may have seemed like a good idea, in the context of playing the game, it feels a bit of a shame. With Resynced being positioned by Ubisoft as a remake that semi-reinterprets but also modernises and improves parts of the original, it’s a wasted opportunity not to give the modern-day segments the same treatment as other areas of the game and to instead jettison it entirely.

Some 2013-isms remain in this 2026 game, too. Notably, the AI and enemies are as dumb as ever. Being able to whistle and attract a whole heap of guards to a single stalking location and murder all of them in one big bloody pile is still too easy. And while the tailing missions have been changed to be less punishing, you can now just murder your target, loot the info, and scarper just like any other objective in the game.

Despite the drawbacks, though, as a long-time Assassin’s Creed fan, this remake is a blast, and I cannot wait to seek out every corner of the Caribbean and solve every mystery all over again. Those of us who yearn for more from the stories of the Assassins in every game will be extremely happy, I’d wager, with Resynced’s re-look at one of the best games in the series, with the extra story beats for some of the best characters being such examples.

Despite a few creases here and there that raise the eyebrow, this is a solid remake and a wonderful game, and could offer an interesting insight into Ubisoft’s future approach to its older games, which is very exciting.

Should you play Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility features

Ubisoft has done another great job of offering a whole host of accessibility options in its latest flagship game. You can easily alter difficulty settings with a number of sliders affecting different factors such as stealth, naval combat, and activities, and a number of playstyle assists are also present, such as aim assist, parkour assists, camera settings, and even unlimited oxygen to make swimming in the game easier.

The dedicated accessibility menu is broken down into five categories of accessibility presets: Motor (affecting number of actions or precision and timing), Motion & Camera (to reduce motion and camera effects like screen shake), Colors (text colors and so on, but also setting for Red-Green color blindness and Blue-Yellow color blindness), Vision (for changes to the HUD, and subtitles etc), and Hearing (volume, speaker names, etc). All offer substantial options, and accessibility needs are very well served indeed.

How I reviewed Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

I played nearly 30 hours (and counting) of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced on a PS5 Pro teamed with an Acer X32QFS gaming monitor and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni headset for this review. I used a standard DualSense Wireless controller, and I also spent many hours playing the game on my PlayStation Portal.

I tested the game thoroughly in all its graphics modes and found that the balanced mode (offering high graphical fidelity and a targeted 40 frames per second) was by far the most enjoyable and my personal preference.

Having followed the Assassin’s Creed series for years and years, and playing a whole heap of them straight for a year a short while ago, I am very familiar with the games and what makes a good one, a great one, and a less good one, so I am well placed to cast an opinion over Resynced.

First reviewed July 2026

• IO Interative has regained the rights to its online fantasy RPG, Project Fantasy
• Xbox pulled funding from the project, ending its parternship with the 007 First Light studio
• IOI will continue working independently on the project, but a studio will be closed down and some workers will be laid off

Last week, 007 First Light and Hitman developer Io Interactive confirmed that it had ended its relationship with an external financial backer for Project Fantasy, which was later revealed to be Xbox (via Bloomberg).

As a result of Xbox pulling out of the deal and amid major restructuring at Microsoft that has seen thousands of layoffs, IOI has announced that it has regained full ownership of Project Fantasy and will continue work on the project independently. However, its Istanbul studio will be shuttered, and an unconfirmed number of workers will be laid off.

"Dear gaming community. Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP," the studio said in a statement on social media.

"We will continue to develop and fund it independently amongst our other projects. With this context, we had to find a new balance for the long-term future of the studio, focused on the success of our main internal core titles instead of external projects and potential mobile game derivatives. This has meant making changes as well as proposed changes across our studios: the closure of our Istanbul studio and starting a process to part ways with colleagues who have been a meaningful part of what makes IOI what it is.

"Our immediate focus is on supporting those affected as best we can through this period. If you are aware of any opportunities within your network, we would be genuinely grateful for any support you can offer to any of the talented people across IOI who might be looking for new opportunities."

IOI concluded: "These are hard, but necessary decisions, in order to retain the long-term future of IO Interactive as one of the very few fully independent AAA developer and publisher, as well as to give Project Fantasy the best possible foundation to succeed under our own passion and direction. Project Fantasy is a game, a world, and an IP that we are wholly committed to, and we cannot wait to share the love with you."

Yesterday, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma outlined the company's plan to "reset" and announced it will cut a total of 3,200 jobs, starting with 1,600.

In addition, the company also plans to ditch four studios, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, which are going independent once more, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs look for new ownership.

Dishonored developer Arkane Studios is also "beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options," but due to French labor laws, the process will take longer.

• The Blood of Dawnwalker director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, wants the game to feel like a "pen-and-paper RPG"
• He says the game's big choices and consequences will deepen players' immersion
• He adds, "My biggest goal is to create a game that you will still remember in the next 10 or 20 years"

The Blood of Dawnwalker game director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, thinks the game's big choices and consequences will offer players a more immersive experience that he hopes will be remembered for years to come.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at an event where we went hands-on with the upcoming dark fantasy role-playing game (RPG), Tomaszkiewicz discussed its narrative choices and explained why he believes player freedom within the sandbox world Rebel Wolves has created will provide a deeper, immersive experience.

"We believe that as much freedom and different choices will add to the game and different playthroughs, so that we deliver for the players," he said. "It will be better because it will boost immersion, and it will show people that our goal is creating a narrative sandbox. We want an experience that is close to a pen-and-paper RPG, where the game master adjusts for what you are doing. That was our goal to show it from the very beginning in the prologue."

Tomaszkiewicz recalls playing Warhammer as a game master when he was 12-years-old and how, after hours of play, he couldn't remember the details of the room around him because the experience was so "intense." This is the feeling the director wants to mimic with The Blood of the Dawnwalker and believes the RPG's freedom can achieve.

"This is my holy grail: to create a video game with this kind of immersion," he said. "One that allows you to forget where you are sitting, gives you the feeling that you just lived through an adventure in a different world, with different skills, different people, and with real emotions.

"First of all, it's to give you freedom, because I believe that the freedom in the game is one of the big parts of the immersion. If we give you the freedom in your choices in the story, in your choices in the combat, because you can shape the combat as you want, and in different places, the immersion will be bigger and you will remember the game for a long time.

"My biggest goal is to create a game that you will still remember in the next 10 or 20 years."

The Blood of Dawnwalker arrives on September 3 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and PC.

• The Blood of Dawnwalker director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, says experience with The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 helped in the game's creation
• He says the team learned from CD Projekt Red's "complex" mechanics
• Tomaszkiewicz reveals that optimization was prioritized to avoid launch issues

The Blood of Dawnwalker might not exist if not for the experienced developers at Rebel Wolves who worked on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077.

That's according to game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who told TechRadar Gaming during a hands-on preview event that without the former CD Projekt Red developers' experience gained from these role-playing games (RPGs), "it wouldn't be possible to create a game like this."

"A game with so many complex choices and consequences, with so many unique mechanics. We build on what we learned and what we co-created in the past," Tomaszkiewicz said.

The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 famously launched with significant performance issues. They were so bad with Cyberpunk 2077 in fact that the game was temporarily removed from the PlayStation Store. Both games did eventually receive major improvements and are now considered two of the best RPGs of all time.

To avoid similar issues with The Blood of Dawnwalker, the director revealed that the team prioritised optimization at the start of development.

"We learned how to approach the optimization of the game," he said. "When we started work on The Blood of the Dawnwalker, we already had people working on the optimization of our game all the time, right from the beginning.

"We didn’t want to be in a situation where we deliver a great game, but there are problems when we release it on consoles or some performance problems."

The Blood of Dawnwalker launches on September 3 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and PC.

• The Blood of Dawnwalker director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz says the team knew the game's day and night system would be "expensive as hell"
• However, Rebel Wolves knew the concept would be "unique"
• The director says he was inspired by the werewolf tale, but from a vampire perspective

Rebel Wolves knew The Blood of Dawnwalker's day and night system was going to be challenging as well as costly, but wanted to deliver a "unique" experience for players.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at a preview event for the upcoming role-playing game (RPG), director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz likened The Blood of Dawnwalker to "two different games" because of its day and night cycle.

In the game, protagonist Coen can be played as a human during the day and a vampire at night, and each version offers different abilities and ways to complete quests.

According to Tomaszkiewicz, he was inspired by the concept of the werewolf, but from a vampire's perspective, and the dual gameplay loops allow for a unique structure within the open world.

"I have this idea to create a creature which is similar to the werewolf, but from the vampire side: they are human in the day and a vampire at night, and start from this," he said.

"We said, okay, this is the cool idea, but if you have a human in the day and a vampire at night, you know that you need to create two gameplay loops. If you create those gameplay loops and put them in an open world structure, we’ve decided that, basically, we're doing almost two different games, and it's crazy."

Tomaszkiewicz added that the team knew the idea was "expensive as hell, but we thought it's worth it because it's unique and different."

"It would deliver something new to the market and deliver something different to players," the director said. "That idea was from the beginning. When I started to think about the protagonist, and the company, and the setting, and the saga we wanted to create, let's create a protagonist who will be something different."

The Blood of Dawnwalker launches on September 3 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and PC.

• The Blood of Dawnwalker game director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, says the game's 30-day time system offers a "sense of urgency"
• The game will give players 30 days to rescue Coen's family, and the timer will add "emotional impact"
• Tomaszkiewicz says, "the world is living and it's not waiting for you"

The Blood of Dawnwalker game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz wants players to feel driven by a "sense of urgency" through the role-playing game's (RPG) unconventional time-limit mechanic.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at a hands-on preview event, Tomaszkiewicz explained why Rebel Wolves chose to include a time system that gives players only 30 days to rescue protagonist Coen's family.

Every time players take on a quest, time moves forward within the game's world, so choosing how to spend time is vital. It's a unique feature for an RPG because these games typically allow players to explore for hundreds of hours without consequence. However, as Tomaszkiewicz explained, in The Blood of Dawnwalker, "The world is living and it's not waiting for you."

"If you have some particular goal and you decide to go and do some stuff which is not connected with this goal, you have some consequences, right?" he said. "I think that in the games and the RPGs where time is not important, you lose this sense of urgency, and you lose this belief that this goal is real.

"If we give you the goal that your family is in the castle and something bad will happen to them, but if time wouldn't move and events wouldn’t move it forward, you wouldn't feel this sense of urgency and any emotions connected to it, because you know that they are there, and you will go there whatever time you want."

Tomaszkiewicz added that the timer also allowed the team to tell a story that has "a bigger emotional impact" and while it may look like a small thing, it changes almost everything and "changes your thinking about the content."

"It's not only giving you the feeling that you are there, but you need to think what you want to do, and sometimes, to decide when not to do something," the director explained.

"Going there and doing something is your choice, but not going there is also your choice, and it will have consequences. It adds to the non-linearity of the game, because you know the world is living and it's not waiting for you — stuff will just happen."

The Blood of Dawnwalker arrives on September 3 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and PC.