Hideo Kojima’s mysterious OD reportedly escapes the cancellation axe at Microsoft
Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees earlier this week, cancelling games Everwild, the Perfect Dark reboot, and an unannounced MMO in the works at ZeniMax Online Studios in the process. Romero Games’ new shooter fell victim to the massacre too. One game that apparently didn’t get cancelled, though, is OD, the new thing from Hideo Kojima, […]
CWA union derides Microsoft layoffs when ‘the company is prospering’: ‘We are living through a moment of profound corporate consolidation and disruption’
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced around 9,000 layoffs—many of which gutted teams and canceled games all over Xbox Game Studios—and it hasn’t gone over great with, well, anyone whose conscience is intact. The Communications Workers of America, a major media union with several locals within Microsoft, took the moment to address its disappointment with a […]
Perfect Dark dev shoots down claim the ace-looking reveal was fake: ‘It’s probably more real than you think’
This week, as part of an enormous round of cuts at Microsoft, the company closed down The Initiative and cancelled the ace-looking reboot of Perfect Dark it had been working on. The game had first been announced in 2020 but a “gameplay reveal” was shown in 2024’s Xbox Games Showcase: and it blew us away. […]
Fortnite hints at making its hottest new mode permanent by asking fans what they want next
Fortnite’s frantic Blitz Royale has been the game’s most popular attraction since it launched as a time-limited mode two weeks ago—and now Epic is hinting that it might become permanent. Blitz Royale drops 32 players into a miniature Fortnite map and turbocharges the match with special powers: invisibility while sprinting, infinite ammo, faster reloads, and […]
Michael Madsen, the voice of Dishonored’s supernatural assassin Daud, has died
Actor Michael Madsen, known for his portrayal of brooding, intimidating tough guys in a career spanning more than 40 years, has died at age 67. The Hollywood Reporter says the cause of death has been reported as cardiac arrest. Madsen appeared in hundreds of films and televisions shows over the years, beginning with something called […]
Today’s Wordle answer for Tuesday, June 24
Feel free to use our freshly-written hint for today’s Wordle whenever you think you need a bit of a boost. Unleash it at the start to give your opening guess a helping hand, or save it for later, when you need to get rid of those last few gaps. However your game goes, don’t forget […]
Bloodlines 2 developer The Chinese Room has laid off employees, but Paradox says the game is still coming in October
Almost side-by-side with the release of surprise Still Wakes the Deep expansion Siren’s Rest, it appears that developer The Chinese Room has laid off an unknown number of employees. The cuts will apparently not have an impact on the schedule of the studio’s current project, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, however, as publisher Paradox […]
Death Stranding 2 reviewers say it’s a sequel that’s ‘more Metal Gear Solid than ever,’ but it’s ‘still beautifully odd’
Embargoes ended earlier today for Death Stranding 2 reviews, and the signs seem clear: Kojima and company still got it. “It” being the ability to make a maximalist meditation on spirituality, connection, and the sacred act of moving stuff from one place to another. PC Gamer’s Wes Fenlon has been doing a stint of non-PC […]
After more than 7 years of development with nothing to show for it, Riot cancels the Minecraft-inspired sandbox RPG Hytale and closes the studio making it
After more than seven years of work, development of the sandbox RPG Hytale is being cancelled, and developer Hypixel Studios is being closed by parent company Riot Games. “Today, I shared some incredibly tough news with the Hypixel Studios team: we’re ending development on Hytale and beginning the process of winding down Hypixel Studios over […]
Top AI firm finds that AIs will choose to merrily asphyxiate humans rather than be shut down: ‘My ethical framework permits self-preservation’
New research from Anthropic, one of the world’s leading AI firms, shows that LLMs from various companies have an increased willingness to push ethical boundaries. These models will dodge safeguards intended to curtail such behaviour, deceive users about what they’re doing, steal restricted data that they shouldn’t access and, in one extreme scenario, turn off […]
Star Wars Battlefront 2 had over 2200% more Steam players this weekend than it did last June—and it’s thanks in part to Kyrie Irving and his level 101 Emperor Palpatine
We’re still in the midst of an unexpected renaissance for Star Wars Battlefront 2. Last month, we wrote about the surprising upsurge of Battlefront 2 player counts on Steam, which was really only surprising for as long as it took to remember how good Battlefront 2 is. Over the last four weeks, those player counts […]
The Blood of Dawnwalker 20-minute gameplay trailer shows off Dishonored-style teleportation and a man getting popped like a zit by an angry vampire boss
The Blood of Dawnwalker, the game that dares ask “what if Geralt was Blade?”, dropped an all-new 20 minute gameplay trailer over the weekend that adds an exciting new layer to the inquiry: What if Geralt was Blade, and they were also Corvo Attano? That aspect of gameplay becomes apparent midway through the video, when […]
Dune: Awakening is changing its endgame in response to player complaints: ‘Our goal is not to force PvE players to interact with a PvP system that they may have no interest in’
Just a few days after a Dune: Awakening AMA in which developers promised some changes to the endgame, here’s the first: Creative director Joel Bylos said today that some areas of the deep desert will be flagged as “partial warfare (PvE) areas,” enabling players to explore what it has to offer without fear of getting […]
Resident game industry weirdo Yoko Taro laments that there aren’t as many ‘weird’ people making videogames as there used to be
If there were to ever be a mascot for the videogame industry weirdos (endearing), it’d most certainly be Nier creator Yoko Taro. He’s built a brand around being a little eccentric, almost always seen sporting his Emil mask and making games that somehow perfectly straddle being a little horny, devastating, and thought-provoking all at once. […]
Xbox-themed Quest 3S has been spotted ready for release and if you close your eyes and imagine what an Xbox-themed Quest 3S looks like, bingo
Holy heck this looks amazing!!! pic.twitter.com/gIGss0BI70June 20, 2025 In April of last year, Meta announced it would be working alongside Microsoft to make an Xbox-themed Meta Quest. As we noted at the time, we said the collaboration “probably means it’s black with a bit of green.” Well, you can imagine how shocked the PC Gamer […]
Stellar Blade is doing better numbers than almost every other PlayStation port on Steam, and it’s probably not just because of the nude mods
It’s great that so many PlayStation games have come to PC in the last few years, letting me stack a heap of extra big-budget videogame junk food on my pile of shame. Welcome to the backlog, Horizon Zero Dawn. These games haven’t always set the Steam top sellers list on fire, however, sometimes thanks to […]
Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, June 13
There’s a clue for today’s Wordle waiting below, here to help you win. Take a peek whenever you like—it’s designed to give you great ideas and set you on the right path, not instantly give the game away, so make sure you use it if you feel yourself struggling. And of course the Jun 13 […]
Steam’s store now lets you search for games by accessibility features like ‘narrated game menus’ and ‘adjustable difficulty’, and more than 5,000 games have already added their accessibility details to the database
Back in April, Valve announced the Steam store would start highlighting accessibility features on games’ store pages. And now, it has. Not only can you see them in the sidebar beneath the controller support section for selected games, you can also search the store by individual accessibility features. “This update comes after gathering valuable feedback […]
Dune: Awakening players have found a devious way to grief each other outside of PvP zones
Dune: Awakening has a comprehensive base-building policy that goes something like this: Build a base wherever you want. That’s pretty much the entire policy. There are restrictions, of course: build too far out on the sand and a sandworm will show up and eat a hunk of your base—with you in it, if you’re not […]
FromSoftware left hints for Elden Ring Nightreign’s enhanced bosses update in the files and modders have already dug them up
In typical FromSoftware fashion, it teased an Elden Ring Nightreign update coming this month that will add “enhanced” boss fights with zero clues as to what that actually means. Well, it turns out, those clues have been sitting in the game files since it came out, and there’s already a mod that will let you […]
Dune: Awakening live coverage: Server status, launch info, and all the latest news By Christopher Livingston last updated 12 June 25 LIVE As Written! Funcom's survival MMO goes into full launch today.
Refresh Get notified of updates 2025-06-10T14:17:32.690Z Dune: Awakening review-in-progress: Fun in the sun (Image credit: Funcom) I know, I know, it’s way to early to even think about a proper review since I’ve only been playing since Thursday and this is an MMO that’s meant to be played for hundreds of hours. But I thought […]
Konami announces Metal Gear Delta will include a new multiplayer mode, but don’t expect Metal Gear Online 4 because ‘the landscape of multiplayer games has changed a lot’
Konami has shown off a new take on Metal Gear multiplayer, with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater boasting an online mode, Fox Hunt. This follows a recent tease that many, myself included, thought indicated a return of the beloved Metal Gear Online. Well, no dice, but Fox Hunt actually looks pretty cool and, more […]
‘I don’t actually play horror games’: Phasmophobia’s lead developer had no intention of making a horror game but still kicked off a whole new genre
I’ll never forget the first time my friends and I played Phasmophobia. It was like nothing I’d ever played before, absolutely hilarious, and surprisingly terrifying—it still is. So it’s rather funny to me that not only does Phasmo’s creator not really play horror games but he didn’t intend to make one either. “I failed to […]
Halo Infinite says ‘screw it’ and just becomes Halo 3 for a month—complete with grifball
Halo Infinite has announced the start of Operation: Legacy, a range of multiplayer tweaks, maps and modes that essentially makes Infinite resemble the golden age of Halo 3. We’ve been here before, kinda: last year saw Infinite throw a similar Halo 2-themed nostalgia party for that game’s 20th anniversary. But Halo 3 eh? Phwoar. Looking […]
You can manipulate time itself in this ambitious MMORPG with soulslike combat
Chrono Odyssey appears to be a pretty traditional fantasy MMORPG for the first 30 minutes, but then time stuff happens and the entire look of the world and its monsters change. This is an ambitious MMO all about time-manipulation and I’m curious to see if it can pull it off. I spent some time in […]
Here’s another terrifying trailer for that creepy retro survival horror game that’s half FMV, half pixel-art
I’ve been spooked by plenty of pixel-art horror games, like Signalis or Look Outside. But I can’t think of an FMV game that’s truly frightened me. The bit in The 7th Guest where hands try to come out of the painting seemed eerie when I was a kid, but now it’s pure kitsch. Watching the […]
Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, June 2
The perfect start to your Wordle week is right here. Spend a while with our tips if you’d like to give your daily guesses a bit of polish, or take a look at the June 2 (1444) clue if you’d rather read something more specific. It’ll help, promise. The answer to today’s Wordle is only […]
D&D podcasters 3D printed a giant model of Castle Ravenloft, from Curse of Strahd, and it’s truly beautiful
3D printing has been revolutionary for the world of at-home miniatures bashing and terrain building… but we’re entering what I can only imagine is the endgame of that growth and this is my evidence: Behold, Czech Dungeons & Dragons group Bez Zástěny has created a 7.5 foot tall, 130 pound (90 cm, 60 kg) model […]
Moza releases replica Revuelto wheel, giving us poors a chance at going hands on with a Lamborghini
Our favourite makers of affordable racing rig hardware are teaming up with one of the least affordable car manufacturers for a very slick looking wheel collab. The Moza Racing x Automobili Lamborghini Revuelto sim racing wheel debuted at the Dallas DreamHack convention this week, treating attendees to a first look at this piece of kit. […]
XWVM, the X-Wing mod that lets you play the Star Wars classic remade in Unity, is finally available to download
Though we preferred TIE Fighter when it came to listing the best Star Wars games on PC, we did rate X-Wing quite highly on one important metric: it lets you fly a bloody X-Wing. The fantasy of flying to the rescue when a guy with a codename like Red Two shouts “I can’t shake him!” […]
Apple is reportedly creating its own Steam-like game launcher, but it’s still missing the key to making gaming on Mac great
Apple’s 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC,is just a couple weeks away. Like every year previous, it sounds like Apple is going to squeeze gaming into its software announcements. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to unveil a “dedicated gaming app” that “will serve as a launcher for titles and centralize in-game achievements, […]
Elden Ring Nightreign’s Wylder can not only rocket jump with his explosive ultimate, he can grappling hook combo into it to fly around like an offstage Smash Bros. character
In a new video about hidden or poorly explained Elden Ring Nightreign character mechanics, FromSoft LoreTuber-in-Chief VaatiVidya revealed that the new game’s default, John DarkSouls character, Wylder, actually has some fighting game-worthy combos and movement tech. The tricks were first outlined months ago during Nightreign’s network test by user OnslaughtCasualty42 on the FromSoftware subreddit. In […]
‘We wish to express our deepest regret’: Bulletstorm and Outriders dev People Can Fly suspends unannounced projects in yet another wave of gaming layoffs
Sebastian Wojciechowski, People Can Fly CEO, shared some disheartening news in an announcement on LinkedIn on Sunday. Not only is the studio indefinitely suspending two games it had in development, it is also scaling down its staff. Both are the result of negotiations with a publisher falling through and a lack of adequate resources and […]
Elden Ring Nightreign artist wanted part of the game to feel ‘more cozy, more welcoming, more at home,’ so naturally she drew on Dark Souls for inspiration
You might not have much time to take in the atmosphere in Elden Ring Nightreign while you’re speedrunning between boss fights, but more attention and detail was put into the world design than you might expect for a spin-off game that reuses so many assets from the 2022 hit. FromSoftware Environmental Artist Saori Mizuno dug […]
You get a unique relic for beating Elden Ring Nightreign’s ‘supposed to lose’ tutorial boss, but don’t worry: There’s a buried menu option to fight him again
In grand FromSoftware tradition, Elden Ring Nightreign begins with a fight you’re supposed to lose. As is also tradition, it’s perfectly possible to gut it out and beat him anyway if you’re enough of a toxic Souls tryhard cool guy. Nightreign’s tutorial fight even furnishes you with a one-of-a-kind relic for your troubles. It’s nothing […]
This origami-powered shape-shifting device could provide VR gamers with unique tactile feedback
Something that always impresses me in videogame tech is our ability to make it feel like you’re doing something you’re not. It’s wild how quickly we get used to pushing buttons to control our virtual selves. Feedback for these interactions, on the other hand, has always been one of the weakest factors when it comes […]
Today’s Wordle answer for Thursday, May 22
Our Wordle tips are small but mighty, here to make your guesses gleam without taking up all of your precious time. Use them alongside the May 22 (1433) clue for maximum effect, the two combined into a powerful puzzle solving force that’ll either give you a fantastic start or show you how to turn a […]
In an uncontroversial move that will bother no one, Lies of P is getting an easy mode
Lies of P, the Dark Souls-flavored RPG starring Pinocchio, will get a big expansion later this year in the form of Overture. To complement the new content, the game will receive a free update at around the same time, introducing a Boss Rush mode, a “Battle Memories” mode that will let us tweak the difficulty […]
Final Fantasy 15’s longest boss fight is coming to Magic: The Gathering, hopefully it won’t take 30 days to defeat
While other long-running series struggle to reinvent themselves when the formula gets stale, Final Fantasy benefits from the way each game is something new. That said, we do love to see how Biggs and Wedge and crystals and all the other recurring elements are reinterpreted each time. Final Fantasy 16 going all grim and Game […]
The Battlefield subreddit is an endless feed of leaked Battlefield 6 gameplay, and it might be the best marketing campaign of 2025
When alpha footage of an unreleased multiplayer game leaks onto the internet, how studios react can tell you a lot. Often, they make the call to go full scorched earth: Issuing DMCA takedowns to wipe leaked videos or screenshots from the web as much as possible. That’s not what’s happening with the yet-to-be-officially-named Battlefield 6, […]
A Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dev has formed an anime rivalry with the godlike buildcrafters who only needed ‘like, one week’ to beat his record of dealing 3.4 billion damage with one attack
The more tools you give players to fine-tune their builds, the sooner they’ll find a way to crack your game’s math wide open. That’s a lesson that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive learned in record time, as two of its leads explained in a YouTube interview earlier this week (via GamesRadar). While speaking […]
Former Dragon Age writer says Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Baldur’s Gate 3 prove ‘what’s possible when a game is given time to cook’
Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider is not known to be shy about sharing his opinions, and so he did in April, saying that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is “kind of to JRPGs what Baldur’s Gate 3 was to CRPGs.” Not everyone took the statement quite as he meant it, though, and so speaking […]
Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford wades back into the Borderlands 4 pricing controversy: ‘Game budgets are increasing … it’s getting gnarly out there’
Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford took some heat yesterday when he dismissed concerns about Borderlands 4 potentially launching with an $80 price tag, saying on X that “if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.” Today, in an effort to calm the roiling waters left in the wake of that ill-advised […]
‘It doesn’t feel like Blade Runner’: Cyberpunk’s creator teases one of the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel’s new locations, saying that ‘it feels more like Chicago gone wrong’
The sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 was announced a couple of years ago during an investors’ presentation—but all we were told was that it was only in the early stages of development. Since then, we’ve not heard a whole lot about Project Orion, but that’s where Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith comes in. During an interview with […]
It’s been on sale for 3 years, but the HyperX Cloud Alpha is still the best wireless headset and its got itself a Memorial Day discount
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless | 50 mm drivers | 15-21,000 Hz | Closed-back | Wireless | $199.99 $130 at Walmart (save $69.99)The HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless is one of our all-time favorite gaming headsets for many reasons, but there’s a big headline feature to talk about here: 300-hour battery life. No, we didn’t make a […]
Today’s Wordle answer for Sunday, May 11
Win your daily Wordle game your way, with our help. Need tips? We’ve got a fantastic quick list to refresh your guessing techniques. Maybe you’d like to take a look at our May 11 (1422) clue instead? No problem, just scroll through and you’ll see it. How about a peek at today’s answer for a […]
After conflict between the staff of gaming site Giant Bomb and owner Fandom, ‘Giant Bomb is now owned by the people who make Giant Bomb’
In October of 2022, popular personality-led gaming site Giant Bomb was bought by Fandom, the multi-headed wiki-hosting hydra, at the same time as Fandom acquired GameSpot, Metacritic, and GameFAQs. Conflict between Fandom and the opiniated editors of Giant Bomb arose this year when the publication of new content was put on hold as part of […]
Characters from The Witcher and Five Nights at Freddy’s are joining Dead by Daylight, with a hint of The Walking Dead to follow
Asymmetric multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight celebrated its ninth anniversary with a chonky livestream broadcast from PAX East where a screaming crowd of Dead-heads reacted to the announcements of upcoming additions and collaborations. Among them was a couple details about the previously announced Five Nights at Freddy’s collaboration, which will bring the villain of […]
PC gaming remains undefeated: Nintendo now says it has the right to brick your Switch if it thinks you’re pirating games or modifying the console
First spotted by Game File (readers may encounter a paywall), Nintendo has recently changed its online user agreement in multiple consumer-unfriendly ways just before the launch of the Switch 2. Chief among them: Nintendo asserts the right to render your console “permanently unusable” if it determines you’re in violation of the agreement. Nintendo’s specific new […]
One of the most visually stunning roguelikes just overhauled its graphics to look even gnarlier, but you can still toggle back to the OG art style at will
The gorgeous first person action-roguelike Mortal Sin recently went live with a surprising new update: A graphical overhaul with an arguably even more stunning riff on its pulp comic book art style. Fans of the original needn’t fret, though: You can toggle between the OG palette and new hotness at any time. Mortal Sin’s whole […]
