Bethesda has rumbled back to life. Nearly three years after Starfield and with The Elder Scrolls 6 nowhere in sight, the positive reception to the announcement of the Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters is hardly surprising. With the help of Obsidian, between 2008 and 2011 Bethesda cemented itself as the rightful king of the open-world RPG, Fallout 3 and Skyrim bookending the kind of development run we'll probably never see again.

A long-awaited return to the Capitol and Mojave Wastelands is welcome, but while these remasters aren't quite too little, too late, they serve as a reminder of just how neglected one of the biggest and best RPG series has become.

This November will mark 11 years since Fallout 4, with Fallout 76's eighth anniversary falling just a couple of weeks before. And until last week, there was nothing to suggest another game was anywhere close to the horizon – based on Bethesda's previous release cadence, 2033 was a solid guess for a potential Fallout 5 release year. That's not far short of two full decades since the series' last traditional, single-player RPG launch – an unforgivable drought for a series that has over the past few years, been transformed into a mainstream, global franchise thanks to the critically-acclaimed Amazon Prime series.

In the last week, admittedly, the Fallout slate has filled up significantly. First up will be next year's "prequel story to Fallout 3" heading to Fallout 76. The Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas remasters seem likely to follow relatively soon after, potentially positioned around Fallout season 3 and the Fallout Shelter show. Fallout 5 is officially in pre-production, but could easily follow as many as five years after Elder Scrolls 6, which still feels a long way off. Obsidian's new Fallout project seems likely to plug that inter-franchise gap – perhaps some time in 2029 or the early 2030s.

Kick in the head

It's that last project that's currently most mysterious, but also the clearest indication of what Fallout and Xbox actually need: help from the wider ecosystem. Xbox and Zenimax are full of studios that could have, over the six years since the acquisition, been running wild in the franchise playgrounds that are currently open only to Bethesda. Clearly, the kind of AAA, open-world RPG that Todd Howard wants to make takes many years to complete, but I see no reason why no other studio has been allowed to do more than sniff in the direction of the Fallout and TES brands.

The possibilities are huge; a stealthy, Dark Brotherhood immersive sim made by Arkane Austin instead of shuttering it after Redfall; a Ghoul-led game using the State of Decay tech from Undead Labs, which just got sold off; an Age of Empires conversion from World's Edge, which has been diligently plugging away on DLC and remasters for that franchise. Xbox's affinity for beefy guys with guns across the Gears, Doom, and Halo series could have led to an amazing power armor shooter. There are certainly studios whose work doesn't mesh with Bethesda's oeuvre so neatly, but within the Xbox ecosystem, they're surprisingly few and far between. And all that is to say nothing of Obsidian, a studio that not only made one of the best Fallout games, but eventually took its fate into its own hands and made Avowed and The Outer Worlds as its own answers to The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

That none of those studios have been given a Bethesda license is a mistake, but it's a mistake compounded by the fact that Bethesda isn't equipped to handle them at the pace that should be required. Its two most important IPs have been left to languish for more than a decade. Starfield is a primary cause for that, but so is Bethesda's size. The studio has remained deliberately small by the standards of a major studio, and at about 450 staff isn't capable of being a two-game studio, especially since switching between three different franchises means it can't pull off the kind of juggling act that the similarly-sized Insomniac - which has launched a whole suite of Marvel games over the time since Fallout 76 – has been able to achieve.

A hit of Jet

It's likely that the Fallout release cadence will pick up now. The remasters are the start of that process, and the Obsidian game and Fallout 76 expansion will help. But while Xbox's recent deluge of lay-offs have hit hard, the fact still stands that the publisher is sitting pretty on some of the industry's highest profile RPG brands and what remains of the studios that created them. With only the likes of CD Projekt Red as major competition, the question is whether new Xbox chief Asha Sharma will be able to do what predecessor Phil Spencer couldn't, even as the company haemorrhages staff. If CDPR is able to push out three major RPGs in quick succession, could the much larger Xbox be in a position to follow suit instead of squandering the opportunity? Or, is such a massive entity prone to slow manoeuvring, like trying to turn a Brotherhood of Steel zeppelin?

But, whether or not that all comes to pass, it doesn't change the fact that as a gaming series Fallout has been left behind by its creators for far too long, and no number of remasters will help speed up the ongoing wait for its next major iteration, especially as the years tick on.

The Elder Scrolls Online is struggling with "team bandwidth" after Xbox layoffs hit Bethesda and ZeniMax, leading devs to limit a store for in-game items.

One of the most exciting things about Beast of Reincarnation – the new action game from mainline Pokemon maker, Game Freak – is the adorably fluffy, but violently capable dog that'll follow you around for the entire adventure. And, yes, thankfully, you can pet the good boy.

Beast of Reincarnation flings us a couple thousand years into the future to experience a post-apocalyptic version of Japan, where we'll do battle with deadly automatons, frenzied beasties who hail from the natural world, and enemies that are a curious mix of both. There's hints of Nier Automata for sure, but the game's main selling point is easily the "one-person, one-dog" gameplay that arguably builds off the monster-befriending, apocalypse-proof loop of Pokemon.

Thanks to new footage courtesy of Denfaminicogamer, we learned that you can pet Koo, the blighted dog, back at your in-game home base and wash whatever blood or robot battery juice spilled onto his otherwise shiny white coat during combat.

Grooming and loving Koo, like he's the goodest boy who's ever boyed, isn't in the game only to appease the dog fanatics among us, however. Feeding or petting Koo will also impact your affection level that'll, in turn, improve your capabilities in other areas of the game (although, exactly how is still up in the air.) Should Koo fall in combat, then your affection level could drop, too.

Beast of Reincarnation also has more in common with Pokemon than simply taming an animal that would realistically chomp you down in most other contexts. Speaking to GamesRadar+ earlier in the year, game director Kota Furushima said his background as Pokemon's battle planner influenced much of Beast of Reincarnation's combat: "It allowed us to create a contrast between real-time actions requiring split-second decisions and command selections that involve a bit of deliberation."

Beast of Reincarnation launches August 4 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass.

Check out our new games calendar to see everything on the horizon.

Tim Cain knows better than nearly anyone that the earliest computer RPGs – like Fallout, which he helped create – had a huge advantage over their feeble brethren on consoles, which were afflicted with hardware limitations for at least two decades. After that, we were living in a post-Morrowind society.

"In the '80s, console RPGs were incredibly primitive. I'm talking, stone knives and bear skins," Cain says on his YouTube channel in response to a fan question wondering about how consoles changed the RPG market over time. "I mean, tabletop RPGs were really the way to go if you wanted really in-depth rules, but even computer RPGs had more complex rules than console RPGs, because everything from the graphics, to the system mechanics, and sound effects all had to be really, really simplified and reduced to fit in that very limited memory storage that it had, and CPU bandwidth."

"To me, console RPGs were kind of like toys that you could kind of play," Cain continues. Their controllers demanded select screens rather than the point-and-drag you could accomplish on PC, and checkpoint saves were a necessity for preserving their limited storage. But "all of this changed in 2002," when Bethesda launched The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

"Morrowind came out on the Xbox. It was an open-world Western RPG that felt like it had none of the limitations of previous console games," says Cain. "It was a PC game playing on an Xbox."

"It stunned me when it came out, because I remember thinking, 'This…this is it,'" he adds. "Not so much because of what the game was, but what it represented, which was – from now on, there's going to be a lot more parity between these two things.

GamesRadar+'s Morrowind review apparently published in 2006 frothily declares "a new standard in role-playing games. [Morrowind is] astonishing in its depth and detail, and also sets a new benchmark in graphics."

Morrowind was an in-depth spectacle – and not easily replicated. Cain thinks that buggy launches became more common for console games by at least the mid-2000s, once the Xbox 360 and PS3 had established digital storefronts where people could directly buy and download their games, which "meant it was also easy to patch them."

"Maybe this was a coincidence, maybe it wasn't," Cain says generously, "but, suddenly, console games seemed to ship with bugs in a way they had never shipped with bugs before. They weren't as tight. Then, by the 2010s and 2020s, it felt like parity had been established and reached between PCs and consoles." With both of them covered in bugs, PC and console had reached equality at last.

"Unconscionable": The day of Bethesda's Fallout reveal explosion, its laid-off Montreal devs were told they "would receive the smallest severance legally possible" and "immediately" lose health insurance benefits, union says.

A former Disney CEO can only barely remember the name Kingdom Hearts, and he definitely can't recall what made him give Square Enix's (or SquareSoft at the time) pitch the thumbs up.

Kingdom Hearts' entire existence already seemed like an impossible Disney miracle come true. Some of the company's biggest mascots, Mickey Mouse included, being deeply involved in a nonsensical JRPG's twisty storyline for over two decades, while crossing over with Final Fantasy characters, I might add, doesn't sound like it would've made Disney loosen its usually tight grip on its IP. (This preceded Fortnite's bonkers crossovers, mind you.)

Trying to get to the bottom of what turned Square Enix's wish upon a star into a long-running video game franchise, The Game File's Stephen Totilo managed to get a hold of Michael Eisner, the man who ran The Walt Disney Company for over 20 years.

According to the outlet, Eisner apparently didn't remember Kingdom Hearts at all until it was referred to as the "Final Fantasy plus Disney characters" project. "Oh, I remember now," he then says. Asked if he recalls why he green-lit the first game, he simply says, "I don't." Ouch.

As the story goes, famed character designer Tetsuya Nomura and producer Shinji Hashimoto were early in development on a game that would try to emulate the free-flowing movement of Super Mario 64. When Hashimoto found himself in an elevator with a Disney executive, conversations about what eventually became Kingdom Hearts began in earnest.

Finding out what convinced Disney to relent and have its most iconic characters fight darkness alongside an anime protag wearing clown shoes and a key-shaped sword would've been fascinating, but Eisner likely signed off on many deals during his tenure, so all is forgiven here. Even well before Fortnite, Disney wasn't a total stranger to wacky video game ideas, either, between Disney Infinity and Epic Mickey.

Kingdom Hearts has had a life of its own many years after Eisner's departure, too. Kingdom Heart 4 is up next, with a "deep dive" into the series also scheduled for next month's D23 event.

Canceled Kingdom Hearts spin-off's intro apparently leaks online and not even veteran fans understand what's going on: "Why does it look like Pacific Rim but with Keyblades"

Shindo Life codes are here to give you a massive boost in the Naruto-inspired RPG, which is still incredibly popular despite launching in 2020 and being one of the longest-running Roblox experiences around! There are plenty of mini-games to play as you explore the huge worlds, while collecting new abilities and awakens.

The gacha element means you're constantly striving for better pulls, but the promos listed here will give you many free spins to improve your odds, along with a significant amount of in-game currency to spend in this Roblox experience. If you're ready for adventure, then here are the codes for Shindo Life and how to redeem them.

If you'd prefer some more general promos that apply across all of your experiences, here's what you need to know about Roblox promo codes.

All Shindo Life codes

The following Shindo Life codes can be redeemed for rewards:

• FixingShindoBuggyTimes! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins new!
• TickDamageBugs! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins new!
• LetsGOOOO40k! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins new!
• PatchUpdate249point5! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins
• ThankYouForPatience249Patch! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins
• FACEIDFIXUPD! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins
• 6YearsofShindoSoon! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins
• Shindo4Life2026! – 10K RELLcoins, 100 Spins
• ShindoLife2026Peak! – 25K RELLcoins, 250 Spins
• WalkingOnTheWalls! – 25K RELLcoins, 250 Spins
• 2mLikesC0d3d! – 40K RELLcoins, 400 Spins
• RELLGIFTsc! – Server Creator
• RELLGIFTbag! – Bloodline Bag
• ThankYouAllTruly! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• TimeFliesForFiveYears! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• ItrulyDOMissTheseTimes! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• ButWelooktowardThe! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• FutureAndRELLSeas! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• IsTheNextinLine! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• ItsTrulyLegendary! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• OneOfaKind! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• ThisPlatformaintReady! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• TheCommunitygonnaEat! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• BoredomWillBeRescued! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• WePerfectedRELLSeas! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• forTheFuture! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• ofOurGames! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• WeGotaLotofTestingtoDo! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• beforeWerecord! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• RELLSeasMovie3! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• theWorkloadSeems! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins
• neverENDING! – 5K RELLcoins, 50 Spins

There is a long history of codes for Shindo Life being released, with plenty of them still active. Claiming them all will give you a huge balance of RELLcoins to spend, along with a significant amount of free spins to help modify your character.

How to redeem Shindo Life codes

To redeem Shindo Life codes, you first need to use the arrows from the main menu to access the Edit screen, where you can customize your character. Once there, tap on the [ENTER-CODE] text box in the top-right corner of the screen, then type in a promo and when you enter the final ! the code will be automatically redeemed – if that doesn't happen either you've typed it incorrectly or it has since expired. Note that codes for Shindo Life are case-sensitive, so you need to enter them exactly as shown otherwise they won't be claimed automatically.

Expired Shindo Life codes

• ShindoDownAGAIN2x! – 25K RELLcoins, 250 Spins
• ShindoLifeTakenDown! – 25K RELLcoins, 250 Spins
• Year5ShindoLife! – RELLcoins, Spins
• 5YearsReleased! – RELLcoins, Spins
• 5YearsOfShindoLife! – RELLcoins, Spins
• 5YearSL2! – RELLcoins, Spins
• ShindoLife5YearCodes! – RELLcoins, Spins
• ITSBeen5Years! – RELLcoins, Spins

There have been many expired Shindo Life codes over the years, so I've included the most recent ones in the list above for reference only. Some of them seem to stick around for longer than others, but you should always ensure you've redeemed the current codes while you can to get the maximum benefit.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Bethesda is promising that the development roadmap for The Elder Scrolls 6 hasn't been impacted by mass layoffs across Xbox's various subsidiaries, despite some current and former staff fearing the worst.

Earlier this month, Xbox began what it called a "reset" of its business. In plain words, that meant the console maker parted ways with four first-party studios and laid off 1,600 workers across Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard, with 1,600 more job cuts coming over the course of the next year.

Now, asked about whether the sweeping cuts have impacted The Elder Scrolls 6's development timeline at all, Bethesda tells YouTuber MrMattyPlays that production on its most-hyped upcoming game is going just fine, thank you very much: "No, the roadmap is unaffected."

The question was tossed toward Bethesda because the publisher was hit particularly hard by Xbox's layoffs and because several staffers are seemingly far more worried about the fantasy epic's development than their employer.

Citing anonymous sources, IGN reported that several The Elder Scrolls 6 developers are worried about potential delays, crunch culture, and an extra reliance on contractors who would be unfamiliar with the studio's proprietary game dev tech.

The Elder Scrolls Online is already struggling with "team bandwidth" after developer Zenimax Online Studios lost well over 100 team members, but we likely won't see how the worker reductions affect The Elder Scrolls 6 until the game finally, maybe, rears its head once again.

Bethesda Game Studios' mammoth RPG was first announced to the public in the summer of 2018 with a trailer that didn't reveal much. There was a logo, a non-descript landscape, and a promise that BGS would eventually start properly making the sequel once Starfield was in the wild.

Last we heard, the company said it was happy with its progress on The Elder Scrolls 6. "The next chapter is on the way. We're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day," it wrote.

"Don't fall for it": Union says Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 news shouldn't distract you from huge Bethesda layoffs as Xbox CEO praises the series' "remarkable" achievements

On July 17, Xbox-owned Bethesda announced a whole bunch of stuff about the future of Fallout and, more distantly, The Elder Scrolls and Starfield. That same day, studio union OneBGS says devs hit by recent layoffs at Bethesda's Montreal branch were told that their severance pay would be as low as legally possible despite the billions in profit recorded by parent Microsoft and investment in the IP they helped build.

In a post on Bluesky, OneBGS - Bethesda Game Studios Union claims, "Montreal workers are being treated especially poorly by XBOX and we won’t stand for it."

The union says that, when the layoffs were announced on July 6, employees "across the US and Canada were told via video call" that they would "remain employed until September while the company negotiated severance with our union."

The union says the "breathing room" these terms provided evaporated on July 17. Behind the Fallout info explosion, the union says Xbox "told their laid-off Bethesda Montreal employees that they would receive the smallest severance legally possible without bargaining with the union."

This news reportedly came via "termination letters" delivered via email. The union says this left affected employees with "the bare legal minimum in terms of severance: eight weeks of pay in lieu of the minimum legal notice, any outstanding vacation pay, etc."

Additionally, the union says impacted staff "were to also immediately lose their group benefits health insurance."

In response, the union has filed "yet another legal complaint against Bethesda," alleging it continues to "violate labor laws in Canada."

"Bethesda and XBOX leadership depend on our labour to make them millions, and yet when we do, we are disposed of," the union concludes. "The cycle of workers paying for the mistakes of management ends here."

This news was shared on Bluesky by Bethesda lead character artist Ben Carnow, who adds, "Microsoft did not negotiate with the Union over layoffs in Montreal as they are legally required to do. Folks lost their healthcare with zero notice. Unconscionable."

The union's post also links to feedback listed under Xbox's new "Player Voice" forum. The post collectively calls out the thousands of Xbox staff and developers that Microsoft has laid off in just a few years, demands executive penalties and accountability (like "no executive bonuses when there is a layoff"), asks for an end to layoffs, and requests "transparency for players."

The United Videogame Workers CWA union, an industry-wide organization, previously argued that the Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 news was meant to distract from the blows dealt to Bethesda employees in the background.

"The timing of this kind of press is intentional," the UVW-CWA said. "How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it."

Amid the rubble of the layoffs across Xbox, which included numerous positions at Bethesda and ZeniMax, the remaining developers on The Elder Scrolls Online are starting to struggle. The MMO is one of numerous projects impacted by Microsoft's restructuring of its games division, with only a fraction of the staff attached now as opposed to prior.

To mitigate their own workload, devs on The Elder Scrolls Online are making changes to what features are available to players. As of today, July 22, that includes in-game purchases, since the ability to do so through the official site has been removed.

"To help manage workload, we have decided to remove the Web Crown Store from the official elderscrollsonline.com website," reads a message from Kevin Gbolie, community manager on ESO, on the official forum.

"The ability to acquire crowns via the website will remain," he says, "and, of course, this does not affect the items that will be offered on the Crown Store in The Elder Scrolls Online, you will just need to login into the game to view and purchase the latest offerings."

It's noted that the blog for showing off what's in the Crown Store will change as well, due to "team bandwidth." In response to comments on these changes, Gbolie mentions that while the new version of the blog is still being sorted out, it'll definitely come with a bullet list of new items.

This is unfortunate because the high-res screenshots accompanying the items were used by the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, and Gbolie even mentions the team is aware of that symbiosis. But alas, the time and energy just aren't there any more.

"The team responsible for the blog and those screenshots doesn't have the capacity to provide those at the scale we could before," he writes in another post. "But we will provide what we can for now and adjust from there."

It is a sad time for Bethesda, ZeniMax, this game, and the legacy behind it. These devs deserve better, but at least the game is still going – for now.

Bethesda reportedly canceled an unannounced PvP shooter, likely from Wolfenstein dev MachineGames.

Baldur's Gate 3's Honour Mode continues to throw hands, but one player was within sight of the finish line when they threw their 60-hour run in deplorable fashion.

In a post on Reddit, user theyfieri said they were 60 hours into an Honour Mode run, with "Ansur dead" and "just Raphael and the Elder Brain left." That's a seriously late-stage Act 3 run, pushing past what I still maintain is Baldur's Gate 3's most difficult fight and moving into the very final stages of the game - with just one more fight before the final boss, this is an effort that should have gone the distance.

Unfortunately, this player broke the cardinal rule of Honour Mode, which is to not pick roleplaying choices for the first time if you don't know what they do. While sneaking around the House of Hope, they came across Haarlep, the Incubus that 'looks after' Raphael. After making their way through Haarlep's intimate cutscene, they reached the dialogue in which the player is asked whether they'll give themselves to Haarlep in part, in full, or not at all.

The latter option triggers a fight if you succeed on the associated roll, and the first option means you're met with the occasional awkward wave of pleasure as Haarlep borrows your characters' appearance for their delicious deeds.

The second option, however, will instantly kill you as Haarlep snaffles you up - mind, body, and soul. With the main character devoured and nothing left to bring them back, the party wipes - and in this case, the Honour Mode run was over: "Haarlep ended my honor mode run," wailed theyfieri in their post, exclaiming that after all their successes, they "just learned Haarlep can kill you by fucking your brains out."

It's an enticing way to go, but also a pretty embarrassing one.

In a further comment, they say that they're "gutted" by the mistake because they don't have enough time to put into a second attempt. In fact, they didn't even realize they were 60 hours deep in the first place. There's sympathy for their plight among the community, but also several players espousing Baldur's Gate 3's unwritten rule: "I will not try new things in Honour Mode."

Check out our list of the best RPGs you can play in 2026.

Persona and Shin Megami Tensei artist Kazuma Kaneko says he won't be using generative AI in his next game.

Kaneko previously worked at Atlus from 1988, with his most recent collaboration with the company being the Demon design for 2024's Metaphor: ReFantazio. Alongside that he also did freelance work, designing a boss for Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner and the devil trigger designs for Dante and Vergil in Devil May Cry 3 – with his latest game Kazuma Kaneko's Tsukuyomi receiving a Devil May Cry collab.

Now though, he works with mobile game developer COLOPL, and released his first game with the studio in 2025. That game was Tsukuyomi: The Divine Hunter, a dungeon-crawling roguelike where you battle with the heart of the cards. These cards use AI generated artwork, however, the art isn't based on his previous work at Atlus. Rather, he trained an AI model with new illustrations made during his time at COLOPL.

The game received a Mixed rating on Steam, with reviews calling the art "generally quite awful." Even the positive reviews say "the AI is slop, that's the fact."

Now though, Kaneko has responded to a question on Twitter (translated by Automaton) about his future projects, as he explains that he is preparing to kick off a project at COLOPL. However, he mentions that he won't be using any generative AI tools this time around, as well as clarifying: "While I did participate in the development of a game that uses AI mechanics, I did not use AI for my own artwork."

Ahead of the game's release, Kaneko spoke about the process, saying it kind of wasn't really worth it in the end, and that "to be honest, it's quicker for me to draw it myself from start to finish." An offline version of the game released earlier this year on Nintendo Switch, titled Kazuma Kaneko's Tsukuyomi, which ditched the AI generation system, while keeping some of the artwork it made in-game.

Given the increased output of AI slop in the world in general, naturally, some weren't really happy with an artist as renowned as Kaneko using generative AI – even if it was used somewhat more ethically than your standard machine models, theoretically removing plagiarism concerns since it was taught using Kaneko's original art. However, shortly after launch, the game began generating art that looked suspiciously similar to copyrighted works like Disney's Frozen and Superman, so perhaps not.

Atlus, you've done it again – new look at Persona 4 Revival's stylish menu UI confirms a complete transformation for the OG JRPG.

Fallout 3 designer Bruce Nesmith previously shared his hopes that a remaster of the game would make the combat better than it was in 2008.

Last week, Bethesda dropped a load of info about its post-apocalyptic RPG series: Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction," New Vegas developer Obsidian is returning to the series for a new entry, and Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are both getting remasters.

Granted, this felt a bit like jingling keys to distract from Microsoft's massive wave of layoffs – something one workers' union has already called out – but it's naturally a very exciting prospect to fans.

Speaking to FRVR around the time The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered released in 2025, Nesmith shared his thoughts about a potential remaster of Fallout 3, admitting that the gunplay in the 2008 RPG is "not good."

"It didn’t hold up to shooters at the time," he explained, "a lot of work was done on that for Fallout 4."

And it's true, Fallout 4 did feel more akin to what would be a traditional first-person shooter of that era, making it so players didn't have to rely on the V.A.T.S. quite as much.

"I anticipate seeing a lot of that work [we did with Fallout 4] go into it [Fallout 3 Remastered]," Nesmith explained. And granted, Oblivion Remastered did make some changes to the combat compared to the 2006 original, namely giving new movesets to the melee weapons. So perhaps Bethesda will end up making the shooting in Fallout 3 (and New Vegas) feel more like Fallout 4.

Modders remastering Fallout 3 in Fallout 4 are not bothered by Bethesda's official version: "Our project has been a community-driven passion project for almost a full decade"

Standing in front of a cracked, bloodied mirror in the No Tell Motel, I know what comes next. My latest Cyberpunk 2077 run is off to a depressing start already. V has done nothing but roll her eyes at Jackie Welles and mourn the loss of her Arasaka status since I wrapped the game's prologue. But much like Regina George, at least she looks as fabulous as she is evil.

She's cold. She's calculated. She's a corpo through and through, and I'm so in-character it's scary. But being snarky to her Valentino bestie and signing him up for literal soul prison are two different things, and as my first ever asshole Cyberpunk playthrough goes from bad to worse, I am seriously questioning everything that led me to do this to myself.

Night City's bad girl

The most important thing going into any of the best RPGs is to have a clear character in mind to roleplay as, but that gets a little trickier with each replay. I've explored all three Cyberpunk 2077 lifepaths already, as well as tested out all the playstyle-dictating operating systems the game has to offer (Sandevistan forever, by the way). But there's really only one combo that screams "what a bastard" in my eyes, and that's corpo netrunner V.

Just to be clear, my first playthrough was a fem corpo V, non-asshole variety. She was just a cool slick city chick who used her knowledge of Arasaka to stick it to the man and destroy it from the outside. Things panned out a little bittersweet that time, though; I never got the secret ending where you and Johnny storm the corp by yourselves, sparing your friends in the process, so I saved that for my street kid playthrough immediately after. This time, I am approaching my corpo playthrough with much firmer parameters in mind: I'm not trying to be anyone's friend. I'm trying to get my job, my title, and my life back, and I'll manipulate my way there if I have to.

That doesn't mean my V is a full cyberpsycho, cutting people down in droves for the hell of it. Think lawful evil over bloodthirsty chaos. My corpo V is the ultimate cynic, mocking Jackie for his "major league" dreams before giving the Konpeki Plaza receptionist a rude dressing down without flinching. She also refused to take the Burning Balls guy to a ripperdoc (and watched him explode on the sidewalk instead) because why the hell would she want that freak dirtying her new car?

But most painfully, instead of sending Jackie back to his mother, my corpo V sent him directly to Vik Vektor. That was, probably, the shittiest thing I have ever done in Cyberpunk 2077. It might not sound so bad at face value – in truth, I've roleplayed it as my V actually trying to do Jackie a solid by sending him to a ripper to get a bit cleaned up before Mama Welles lays eyes on her poor dead son. But, sending Jackie to Vik, and in the process, delivering him into Arasaka's hands, is just a step on the way to the ending I'm angling for.

The devil in I

The Devil is considered one of the worst endings in the game. It's the default base game ending, unless you've ingratiated yourself with Rogue by doing Johnny's side quests or invested time into helping Panam and the nomadic Aldecaldos family out in the Badlands.

It plays out after you meet Hanako at Embers (when you eventually bring yourself to do so) and sees V aiding Takemura and Hanako in bringing patricidal Yorinobu Arasaka to justice. If V tried sending Jackie's body to Vik early on in the game, a move you later learn was intercepted by Arasaka, they can meet Jackie's engram down at 'Saka HQ and have a chinwag. Sounds like a sweet little reunion, right? Wrong. Engrams can only exist if the copied personality construct was a victim of the Soulkiller virus, much like Johnny himself.

Arasaka's intervention means Jackie didn't just die during the heist on Konpeki Plaza. His soul was scrubbed away like an offensive smudge on Arasaka's glass-paneled corridors after they stole his body from Vik's, and it's all thanks to V.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm still in the motel, remember? None of that has happened yet. My V hasn't even met Johnny Silverhand, and nor does she know that the chip in her head is going to be the death of them both – or maybe just one, if they're lucky. The only problem is that I didn't expect to feel so bad about my handful of choices so far already, even in the name of playing one of my favorite games in a brand new light.

As I head out to meet Dexter DeShawn and seal V's fate, I make one last promise to myself. Being an asshole doesn't mean my V needs to be a bad person – just a person who does bad things. Man, I'm sorry, Jackie. I wish I'd told you I'd see you in the major leagues.

Check out the best open world RPGs to play while you wait for GTA 6 (and yes, I know it's not an RPG)

A group of Fallout 4 modders who call themselves the Fallout 4: Capital Wasteland Team have released a statement saying that they intend to continue work on their mod, which aims to rebuild Fallout 3 inside Fallout 4, despite Bethesda announcing that Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters are in development.

In a statement released on Twitter, the team says that while they are excited for the upcoming remasters, the Capital Wasteland mod will continue development and the project is completely separate from Bethesda Game Studios and its work.

"The F4CW Team is incredibly excited to see Fallout 3 officially receiving a remaster and we can't wait to see what they have in store," the statement begins. "That said, we'd also like to reassure our community that F4CW is continuing development. Our project has been a community-driven passion project for almost a full decade now, and we're committed to seeing that our work, creativity and dedication continue!"

The modding team is consists of dozens of contributors, and progress is very slow. It is very likely that, despite 10 years of development time invested in the mod, the official Bethesda games will launch before the full project is complete. However, from previously released updates it appears that Capital Wasteland is something very different from a typical remaster anyway.

Fallout: New Vegas director says RPGs should be messy and force players to make hard decisions: "No person can fix everything"

Fallout: New Vegas and Pentiment director, Josh Sawyer, has spoken about how he doesn't find it interesting when RPG protagonists can save everyone and fix everything. Instead, his design philosophy surrounds restricting players and forcing them to sit with uncomfortable choices.

Speaking on The Examined Game (thanks Kotaku), Sawyer, who is reportedly working on a new Fallout game, explains that even if RPG players have been "conditioned" to be all powerful, he finds it more interesting when they are forced to make difficult choices.

"I save everyone, I kill everyone. I don't think that's particularly interesting," says Sawyer. "I don't think that makes players interrogate their values, either their own or the character that they're playing. And so I always prefer to kind of create scenarios where it says 'you're going to do your best, and your best is worth trying to do, but it's not going to fix everything, because you just can't. No person can fix everything."

He goes on to describe scenarios where he has incorporated this philosophy "to different levels of success. To favorable or unfavorable reception by the audience." Speaking of Pentiment, a game where you have to 'solve' a murder with no confirmation as to the culprit, Sawyer says that he didn't want to give a concrete answer, so players have to "sit" with their choices.

"With a role-playing game, so much of what we excel at is making the player sort of sit and deal with their choices, which often feel very imperfect," Sawyer says. "That sense of agony, where you're like, 'I have two things to do that are good and bad and I gotta decide which is most important."

Sawyer pulled a similar trick with Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, where players are unable to stop the god Eothas. "We also try to telegraph that he's way beyond the ability to physically do anything to," he says. "But players are very conditioned by a lot of RPGs to expect like, 'Yeah, but I'm built different. Like I'm going to be able to take this guy out.' And then you can't."

Another one of Sawyer's controversial decisions was in Fallout: New Vegas where an objective that allowed you to help Mr House while making peace with the Brotherhood of Steel was removed from the game. By forcing players to destroy the Brotherhood in order to help the billionaire, it made them question whether doing House's bidding was the right choice.

"So many problems are just human problems," he says. "They're like part of the reality of life, and being a human being, and living on this planet with other people right now. And even in a fantastic world, there are going to be powers that are beyond you and things that you can't overwhelm."

Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer says it was "pure luck" he directed the RPG at Obsidian: "Almost literally fell in my lap."

We'll be getting our first look at The Witcher 3's upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past, during Gamescom 2026, CD Projekt Red has confirmed.

Not only will Songs of the Past be showcased to the public for anyone actually attending Gamescom in Cologne, Germany next month in the form of a "guided presentation," but Geoff Keighley's big Opening Night Live stream on August 25 will see "new information" about the expansion revealed, a press release confirms.

Let's face it, it wouldn't take much to provide us with any new information – all we really know about the expansion – not DLC, CD Projekt Red insists – is that it sounds like it'll be pretty substantial, The Witcher 1 remake studio Fool's Theory is working alongside CDPR on it, and it'll be out next year. We've not actually seen any footage yet, just a nice new image of Geralt, so any glimpse here would be welcome.

The expansion had been rumored for months before its announcement, but it was still quite a surprise to find out it actually exists. After all, The Witcher 3 is now over a decade old, and it's been over 10 years since its last expansion, Blood and Wine, too. Not only that, but The Witcher 4 has been announced, and while that doesn't yet have a release date, it's fair to say that we're not going to be starved of The Witcher content before long – we even have that remake of the first game on the way. Certainly no one is complaining, though.

With Songs of the Past's launch set for 2027, I'd be surprised if we saw an exact release date at Gamescom unless it's planned to arrive early in the year. Regardless, though, it'll be very exciting to have a proper look at it – mark those calendars.

Former Witcher 3 director has just "one request" for CD Projekt Red as it finalizes Songs of the Past expansion.

I was a late bloomer to Fallout. I saw it aplenty in the magazines during the late 1990s, but it wasn't until a year after Fallout 3's 2008 release that I loaded it into my PlayStation 3 console, and it became my late Game of the Year. Playing a title that was a mix of first-person shooter and RPG genres was a new feeling for me; the feeling of awe was something I hadn't felt since I first played Half-Life in 2000.

Like all my favorite games, I purposely stop playing them for a long while to maintain that feeling of surprise and joy each time I return. Metal Gear Solid 2, Half-Life 2, and Tomb Raider are a few of these titles for me, and Fallout 3 quickly joined their ranks. But as the years passed, it became harder to play the game. I didn't own an Xbox, and my PC was out of action. Thanks to Crossover, a macOS app that lets me play a bunch of Windows games on my Mac, I can play Fallout 3 again – but as a day one Switch 2 owner, I've been dying to play it on my new Nintendo console. That dream might actually become a reality now that a Fallout 3 remaster has been officially confirmed by Bethesda.

New Nuka Cola, but with a Switch 2 taste

I've loved owning a Switch 2 since its June 2025 launch. The previous model was also a day-one buy, and could always be found in my backpack. The same applies to the latest console. Now I can play my existing games with a glossier finish, as well as new games that couldn't run on the original Switch.

But while it's been fun to play Street Fighter 6, Kirby Air Riders, and plenty of the other best Switch 2 games out there already, I'm dying to know whether the Fallout 3 remaster will make the jump. I know I could wait for Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition, which is already confirmed for Switch 2. But I've always preferred the third entry to to 2015's Fallout 4 due to the graphics and the RPG elements and will accept no substitute.

It's July 2026, more than a year on since the Switch 2 debuted, and up until Bethesda revealed the official remaster alongside an update on Fallout 5, I'd been wondering why Nintendo hadn't delivered its own Fallout 3 port yet. Now that the remaster is officially in the works, there's little need for a Switch 2 port – if the Fallout 3 remaster launches on the console at all, that is. I hope it does; it would be a match made in radioactive heaven.

Liberty Prime with an extra shine

If the Fallout 3 remaster did make its way to Switch 2, I'd love to see features like less loading times, more NPCs across the open wasteland, and, as a treat, a redesigned inventory system that uses the Switch 2's touchscreen.

Combining it with a fresh coat of paint that’s similar to The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered could be a great way to lessen one of the few pain points I've always had with Fallout 3. I've found the method of arranging every bit of loot to be a cumbersome process. But just having it ready to play on-the-go via my Nintendo handheld, regardless of having that option available now via Steam Deck, sounds incredibly enticing to me.

With the sim-spinoff Fallout Shelter having been available on Nintendo Switch consoles since 2018, Fallout 3 seems primed for the platform. We're in an era where there's a Fallout TV series as well, which still feels surreal. It's really good, too, and with its second season having wrapped up in early February, it feels like the stars are aligning for the Fallout 3 remaster to come to Switch 2.

As I'm reaching the four-year mark since I last played Fallout 3, I'd love to go back into the world again on my Switch 2 instead of having to carry my Mac around for the pleasure. By all means, I'd do it anyway. But to help my back and my Mac's battery life, it'd be great if Bethesda sees my plight and adds it to the voices. It's time for Fallout 3 to join the Switch 2 party – I'll bring the Nuka-Cola.

Check out the best Fallout games of all time, from spinoffs to mainline entries.

As some fans are filled with dread following Bethesda's confirmation that both The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 are being developed using the shiny new Creation Engine 3, words from New Vegas lead Josh Sawyer from six years ago might provide some reassurance.

Since Bethesda's flurry of news last week about its upcoming projects, there have been many concerns raised about the studio using Creation Engine 3 – an updated version of its proprietary engine – for the two biggest RPGs on its slate. Fans worry about bugs and the devs potentially prioritizing modders over the games themselves, but according to Sawyer in 2020 that's now doing the online rounds, it's actually a very easy engine to work with.

During an old stream of Fallout: New Vegas (below), Sawyer was asked if he had "a hard time" developing New Vegas thanks to Fallout 3's "buggy engine," to which he was quick to respond: "No, not at all."

He continued: "I will criticize other stuff in Fallout 3 and 4, [but] this engine is incredibly easy to make content for. Look into my eyes – without GECK [New Vegas' official editor and modding tool] and without the pipeline of this engine, we never would have finished this game in 18 months."

Sawyer reiterated that "this is the best content creation pipeline of any game that I've ever worked on, easily," but that doesn't mean it's without its issues. "It's buggy, you're right, it's very buggy. It's buggy and unstable and it's frustrating, but it's incredibly easy to make content for. Like, no one's gonna sit here and say, like, 'No it's not that buggy.' Like, yeah, it's pretty buggy, but it's fine. Like, that's a trade-off."

He went on to talk about the GECK tool, too, calling it "fast" and saying that "searching is super easy, finding references to things is super easy, scripting is very powerful," and that "iteration loops are super fast." All that made it "awesome."

In fact, Sawyer said that "the only shortcoming of the tools was the dialogue tool." He explained: "We built our own dialogue tool to sit on top of that, and that was fine. Like, it took a little bit of investment for us, but that was it."

Looking back about what Sawyer had to say about the ease of Creation Engine and how quickly things could be made with it, I can't help but wonder if that might be on Bethesda's mind today. After all, last month, it was reported that Xbox is apparently pushing for faster development on The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises – something which might prove even more difficult now that a number of Bethesda staff have been laid off.

Needless to say, if a familiar-feeling, easy-to-use engine can help facilitate the demand for more games, it's little wonder that that's the one that's been chosen.

16 years after Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian is returning to the post-apocalyptic RPG series and Todd Howard "could not be more excited."

After the game was unceremoniously canceled last year, the opening cinematic of Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link has apparently leaked online. The video contains several hallmarks of the unreleased project and plenty of Tetsuya Nomura-isms besides, lending credence to its legitimacy and providing some hints about what we might see in Kingdom Hearts 4.

Versions of the short film made their way around the information superhighway before a full upload landed on YouTube. The first half contains a massive battle between keyblade-wielders in space suits and a huge Heartless. Eventually, several of these magical astronauts find themselves in Quadratum, a realm based on our real world.

Then we jump to scientists walking around the halls of a facility of some sort, going in and out of various rooms. Narration makes mention of, "The era missing from history's cycle," and that it's "the third generation of the founded city that faced the true nature of this phenomenon," as someone urgently goes to hand over an envelope in a grand hall of some kind.

The "founded city" is Scala ad Caelum, the world from which all others flow. It's a glorious, paradise-like structure composed of white stone where it's perpetually sunny. So far, this all lines up with what we know about Missing-Link, as it would've been set between Union X and Dark Road and depicted what's known as the "blank era."

Perspective jumps to what appears to be a young Sigurd, a character in Union X who looks like he's got an unhealthy obsession with BloodBorne. The final scene shows a young version of him in a huge city at night - it's perpetually daytime in Scale ad Caelum, which means this is probably Daybreak Town, the precursor to the magical metropolis that gets leveled in the Keyblade War.

There's no way of truly verifying the legitimacy of this footage, but there are plenty of signs it's the real deal. It's polished, flows how you'd expect an introductory cutscene to, and the narrative elements line up with existing knowledge of Missing-Link. Members of the Kingdom Hearts community who took part in beta testing for the spin-off have pointed out the aesthetic doesn't line up with what they saw.

"The ML style was more steampunk. It wouldn't surprise me if this was a keyblade mod on something else or some fan art," says a commenter on Reddit. Others are lowkey stunned at what they're seeing. "Why does it look like Pacific Rim but with Keyblades," a top Reddit comment asks.

One thing that does jump out at me here is how large-scale this feels for a mobile release. Kingdom Hearts spin-offs don't tend to feel much like their mainline, triple-A counterparts.

Which leads me to agree with the prevailing theory that this is actually something intended for Kingdom Hearts 4. Missing-Link was going to tee up the new installment, and in the wake of Square Enix ending development on it, parts are probably being reworked for appearances elsewhere.

There's also a non-zero chance this is all part of something for the next Kingdom Hearts collection. Wherever this is from, I can say one thing with confidence: the lore isn't getting any easier to explain.

Kingdom Hearts 4 updates could be coming soon as series "deep dive" is confirmed for D23, 2 months after Square Enix's surprise new trailer

Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity boss Swen Vincke says he doesn't expect any of the staff at Larian's Barcelona studio to show up for work following Spain's win at the 2026 World Cup final.

While it wasn't exactly a great match by any means, the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 took place last night and saw Spain win its second title after going 1-0 against defending champions Argentina. It felt like – as far as social media was concerned – everyone was in Spain's corner, and after an at times agonizing 120 minutes, Spanish fans in the stadium and especially back home got to celebrate the country's win for the first time since the 2010 World Cup.

Given that the final was on a Sunday, it does make the afterparty a bit more of a risk, as many in Spain are likely in the office hungover as we speak. But thankfully for those working at Larian's Barcelona studio, the Divinity developers are getting a bit of time to celebrate.

Over on Twitter, Vincke posted reacting to the final game, saying "The best team in the World Cup won the World Cup," and that he's "Not expecting anyone in the Barcelona studio to show up for work tomorrow. Congratulations!"

In fact, that's not the first time Vincke has given props to the Spanish team, as Vincke's home country Belgium was knocked out by Spain on July 11. He posted, "Thank you for all the good emotions you gave us Red Devils! And congrats to the Spanish team. Larian Barcelona studio [is] going to be partying."

Now I'm a bit of a fair-weather fan; I'll watch any tournament Scotland makes it into (so as you can tell, I'm not watching often). But now I'm just curious if I could've taken a day off for a more important sporting moment… like when John Cena won his record-breaking 17th WWE World Title last year…

Larian offers free Baldur's Gate 3 copy to My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way after he tells a stadium of fans he hasn't played it despite loving classic RPGs

Todd Howard warns he is no longer thinking of retiring, he will persist until the end of days, asking you to buy Skyrim - and to release a few more games, we imagine.

Todd Howard has been at Bethesda Game Studios since 1994, when it was creating Terminator games, making a massive splash on the studio's popularity after taking on the director's role for The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, the game that established the Bethesda RPG for years to come.

Since then, he's directed Fallout 3, 4, Skyrim, and Starfield. And while he's only in his mid-50's now, by the time his Game Director roles on The Elder Scrolls 6 and presumably Fallout 5 come to an end, he'll likely be nearing retirement age.

Speaking to Jason Schreier, Howard is asked about his eventual retirement and says, "The truth is there was a period of time a while back where I pondered what does it look like? Not is it imminent, but what does it look like? And I no longer do."

He explains, "I see the work we're doing. I just love it. I love working with these people. It's really not something I think about."

Howard adds, "Some folks in our industry that are a little older than me, they're just making great stuff, too. So, it's not something I've been thinking about."

One such name who is a "little older" is Hideo Kojima, who on his 60th birthday just under three years ago said he has no plans to retire, and wishes to create things for the rest of his life. But worry not for now, Todd Howard will be around to sell you copies of Skyrim on PS6 and Xbox Project Helix.

Elder Scrolls and Fallout boss Todd Howard says "you'd be surprised how many great ideas I get" from Reddit.

Not everyone is feeling optimistic about The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 following Bethesda's confirmation that both are being developed using the studio's proprietary Creation Engine, albeit an updated version.

Last week, Bethesda dropped a slew of information, including confirmation that Fallout 5 is in pre-production, that Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters are in the works, and that Obsidian Entertainment is teaming up with the studio on a whole new Fallout game. Amongst all that was the announcement that both Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls 6 are being built on Creation Engine 3, "a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch. It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games."

Speaking to Windows Central, Todd Howard states that "I can't say enough about our tech team," calling it "incredible." He adds: "Our designers ask for so much crazy stuff, and our tech team finds a way to do it. And I think that's really defined our games where you feel like anything is possible."

Despite Howard's words, however, not all fans are thrilled about the news. "The creation engine is fun for modders but it is complete dogshit compared to most other big game studios' engines," one Reddit user responds. "Time and time again it has led to crap games that feel outdated on release day. Their games really suffer from trying to please modders above all else."

"Code for 'games are gonna release in an absolute buggy mess, and we just expect the players to fix it for us,'" another writes. "Bugs and Bethesda. A tale as old as time."

Many have specifically expressed concerns about how many loading screens the two RPGs might have, with one speculating on Twitter that the choice of engine "means they will very likely both still require loading screens when entering Interiors. I think this is one of the biggest weaknesses of Bethesda games, it really does feel outdated…"

Another on Reddit adds: "Bethesda seriously needs to get the load screens under control for TES VI and Fallout 5 (and presumably the Obsidian Fallout title). Small buildings still requiring load screens in the late 2020s would look bad, period."

With that said, not everyone is disappointed with the decision. "People hate the engine but no other game engine comes close to the modding ability," says a Reddit fan, as another comments: "This is a boon for future modders!" Meanwhile, some are just happy that it's not one particular alternative: "I'm just glad we won't see yet another studio subsumed into the Unreal ecosystem."

There's an air of uncertainty surrounding the Bethesda projects in general following the studio being hit in Xbox's recent wave of layoffs. Devs affected previously said that it's going to be "harder than ever now" for the studio to focus on those two core franchises after losing so much talent.

Bethesda says The Elder Scrolls 6 is going great, actually: "We're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day."

Bethesda Game Studios boss Todd Howard has revealed he's constantly lurking on Reddit and claims the team is consistently taking that feedback on board.

In a thread on r/Games, Howard chimed in with his first Reddit post since the launch of Starfield – well aside from reacting to one post six months ago that modded a cardboard cutout of him into Fallout 4 as the immortal snail – saying "Hey Reddit. I’m a professional lurker and read your comments all the time."

And given Reddit's reactions to Bethesda games at times – just look at any New Vegas thread – this may have sounded vaguely threatening, but Howard adds, "Many here do and we deeply appreciate all the passion for our work."

The thread in question was the post from Bethesda outlining the future of the studio. This post included news about how Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction," Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are both getting remasters, Obsidian is making a new Fallout game, and an update on the production of The Elder Scrolls 6. Howard explains, "Today’s info was an attempt at changing that and letting everyone know what we’ve been working on the past several years, and a look at what’s coming. So know we’re constantly listening and keep telling us how to be even better."

Howard also added, "You’d be surprised how many great ideas I get from Reddit. So upvote your favorite and we’ll do it. Maybe."

Unsurprisingly, fans really want Oblivion Remastered to be fixed after a year. One user says, "Please get Virtuous to keep patching Oblivion and give it as much love as you guys gave Skyrim, because it feels abandoned right now, which is a shame."

Meanwhile, another has fears that the upcoming Fallout remasters will share a similar fate, saying, "Pay Virtuous whatever amount needed for the remasters to function well."

Only 16 Fallout: New Vegas developers still work at Obsidian, says RPG's original writer.

Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 star Jennifer English is pulling out of upcoming fantasy RPG Tides of Annihilation due to personal health reasons, and is handing her role over to another yet-unnamed actor while working as an advisor on the project.

Jennifer English has been involved in some of the best RPGs of recent years, lending her vocal chords to Baldur's Gate 3's Shadowheart, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Maelle, Elden Ring's Latenna, and much more. While Tides of Annihilation was hoping to cash in on the genre's lucky charm, things haven't turned out as planned.

"We have some sad news to share, that Jennifer English will be stepping away from her role as the English voice of Gwendolyn, the main protagonist in Tides of Annihilation due to personal health reasons," developer Eclipse Glow Games writes in a social media post. "She will continue to support the project in an advisory role."

"During this transition, Jennifer remained incredibly supportive and, together with other members of our voice cast, helped us identify and connect with talented performers who could carry Gwendolyn forward while staying true to the character," the studio adds. "With Jennifer's support and recommendation, together with recommendations from other members of our voice cast, we've been fortunate to find an incredibly talented performer to carry Gwendolyn forward."

The Tencent-backed Eclipse Glow Games didn't name who will be voicing the game's protagonist moving forward, but we'll apparently find out by the time Tides of Annihilation's Gamescom 2026 demo is in the public's hands: "Players will hear her performance for the first time in the demo this August, as well as in select official updates shared across our channels during the same period."

Over on Instagram, English said she's "really grateful to have been part of Tides of Annihilation since the game's inception and to have worked with such lovely team." The actor also shared a bit more about what motivated her to take a step back from the project: "Recently, I've found myself needing to slow down and reassess the commitments I've taken on. After careful thought, I've realised I need to take time to rest and properly look after my mental and physical health."

Tides of Annihilation doesn't have a release window, but it'll be coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 when it's out the oven. The game was originally set to have English star opposite her former real-life partner Aliona Baranova in a shattered, twisted fantasy version of London.

While you're here, why not check out the most exciting new games of 2026 and beyond.

Bethesda unceremoniously dropped a cache of news about its upcoming games today as the wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 drags ever closer to 10 years. In a lengthy Twitter post, we learned that Fallout 5 is in pre-production, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters are in the works, and buried in the middle of the reveal blitz is the next Fallout 76 expansion, titled Raven Rock.

"Fallout 76 continues to be home to millions of players exploring Appalachia together," reads Bethesda's announcement. "With nearly 70 free updates released to date, the journey is far from over.

"In fact, we have a major Fallout 76 expansion planned for next year: Raven Rock, a prequel story to Fallout 3."

Unironically, this is one of the most exciting new Bethesda announcements in a long while. The Fallout 76 team has proven itself capable of telling compelling stories at the scale of mainline Fallout games with substantial narrative expansions like Steel Dawn and Steel Reign, which together tell one of my favorite interpretations of the Brotherhood of any game in the series. I'm thrilled about the potential to see the same development team explore that faction even further in a Fallout 3 prequel story.

We also have a writeup on everything that was announced about the future of Fallout as well as The Elder Scrolls, which is all relatively exciting if you can get past the stink of Xbox's recent layoff bloodbath, which definitely impacted Bethesda proper as well as many other Xbox studios. For what it's worth, the labor union representing Bethesda Game Studios employees in the US and Canada suggested in the wake of the company's announcements that it was simply a distraction from the bad news, and that fans would do well not to "fall for it."

Bethesda says The Elder Scrolls 6 is going great, actually: "We're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day"

Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has announced layoffs impacting up to 32 of its employees after new RPG Zero Parades: For Dead Spies suffered from disappointing sales. Disco Elysium fans are not surprised.

"Talented passionate workers, evil inept ownership," says one reaction to ZA/UM's announcement on Bluesky. In the years since adored RPG Disco Elysium launched in 2019, ZA/UM has managed to earn several lifetimes' worth of bad karma: it canceled a Disco Elysium sequel in 2022 and other Disco-related projects among the company leadership's downward spiral into finger-pointing, lawsuits, and an apparent hostile takeover from CEO Ilmar Kompus, who studio founder Robert Kurvitz accused of fraud. ZA/UM later underwent mass layoffs in 2024, and many of Disco Elysium's developers no longer work for the company. Instead, they splintered off into several new studios competing with each other in making the perfect Disco spiritual successor.

In spite of all this, Zero Parades is a good game – our three-and-a-half star out of five Zero Parades review at least found it capable of "some of the old charm" – and ZA/UM proudly references its "critical acclaim" in its July 17 layoff announcement.

Nonetheless, Zero Parade's "commercial performance has not enabled us to sustain a studio of our current size," the developer says. "We have served redundancy or at-risk notices impacting up to 32 of our colleagues across all departments at ZA/UM Studio. Their work has made a lasting difference and left its mark on ZERO PARADES."

ZA/UM mentions it's working with ZA/UM Workers' Alliance representatives, and it pointedly says that layoffs simply twist "the shape of ZA/UM, but not its purpose."

"Our artistic standards remain unchanged: we will persist," the studio concludes. But its earliest fans are capable of the loyalty the studio needs right now, and they seem unconvinced.

Zero Parades being an easier RPG than Disco Elysium makes perfect sense – and makes it more fun.

Behold, the terrifying march of time: Skyrim came out in 2011 and Fallout 4 launched in 2015, yet both games still bookend their respective series. Bethesda hasn't released a new mainline installment for its two best-known RPG series in over a decade, and Starfield didn't scratch quite the same itch for many.

So, today's motherlode of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls news, unceremoniously dropped online this morning, was a welcome release from years of waiting, rumors, silence, and more waiting. Here's a one-stop look at everything Bethesda revealed today, on the heels of layoffs that have cost the studio several design veterans from these series. (Bethesda boss Todd Howard called the layoffs a "really tough" part of a "change" to the studio.)

Fallout 5 is in pre-production, which could mean anything from a small group of developers putting white boards through the ringer to ideas on a napkin in Todd Howard's desk. Bethesda's active development priority is The Elder Scrolls 6, which, the studio says, is going well despite having nothing to show eight years after that notorious announcement teaser.

Both of these games use Creation Engine 3, the latest evolution of the game-making software, tools, and resources that have come to define Bethesda's style.

Remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are in the works, though we don't know who's making them or when they'll arrive. Original New Vegas developer Obsidian has returned to partner closely with Bethesda on the Fallout series, but its project is equally unknown. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered was notably in the hands of third-party dev Virtuous.

Similarly, Zenimax Online Studios will work more closely with Bethesda proper even as it continues support for The Elder Scrolls Online, which sounds difficult given its more severe layoffs.

Fallout 76's 2027 expansion, Raven Rock, will act as a "prequel story" to Fallout 3. Mobile hit Fallout Shelter is on track for more seasonal updates after reaching over 250 million players, and is also the focus of an "unscripted" TV project in the works at Amazon Studios and Kilter Films. Work on Fallout season 3, the next chapter of the hit TV show, continues apace.

According to Bethesda's latest figures, Fallout 4 has sold 35 million copies and Skyrim has passed 65 million, putting the studio's latest high-profile releases at a combined 100 million copies sold, which somehow makes this decade-and-change of non-news feel even more surreal.

Starfield, meanwhile, has seen over 17 million players, and is entering Year 3 of post-launch support with plans for further gameplay refinements, additional stories, and future Starborn content.

"Across Bethesda Game Studios, we're building for the future of Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Starfield," the studio's announcement concludes. "We're investing in our technology, bringing teams closer together, supporting our live games, expanding into new forms of entertainment, and developing the next generation of Bethesda RPGs."

And yes, the real announcement is, ultimately, more waiting.

"Don't fall for it": Union says Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 news shouldn't distract you from huge Bethesda layoffs as Xbox CEO praises the series' "remarkable" achievements

Bethesda just announced a whole lot of news about the future of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, and if you find the timing of it all a bit suspicious, you're not alone. United Videogame Workers-CWA says the announcement is an "intentional" distraction from the layoffs happening at Bethesda.

"The timing of this kind of press is intentional," UVW-CWA says in a Bluesky post. "How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it."

UVW-CWA is a direct-join union representing game workers across the industry, but it does not represent any one specific workplace. The CWA part of the name is for the Communications Workers of America, which supports several workplace unions at various Microsoft-owned game studios, including Bethesda.

The timing of this kind of press is intentional. How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it.

— @videogameworkers.bsky.social (@videogameworkers.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-17T20:21:37.854Z

Employees across Microsoft's gaming divisions staged protests last week in support of those affected by the Xbox layoffs. Game Developer reports that unions are also taking legal action against Microsoft.

According to CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth, "The unions CWA and CWA Canada have jointly filed unfair labor practice complaints against Microsoft alleging the company has unlawfully fired people without giving notice to or discussing it with the union as the employer is legally obliged to do when we are in the middle of ongoing bargaining [for] a collective agreement."

For her part, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is celebrating the historic success of Bethesda's various franchises on Twitter. "The achievements of these franchises are remarkable: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has crossed 65 million units sold, becoming one of the 10 best-selling games of all time, Fallout 4 has also crossed 35 million units sold, joining the top 25, and Starfield will soon reach over 1 billion hours played," she says.

But at a certain point, you have to start asking whether the developers who actually made those games have actually seen the fruits of their success. Certainly, they're not getting royalties – come on, this is the video game industry – but many aren't even getting to enjoy continued employment. We've only gotten anecdotal details on individuals who have been laid off, but we know their numbers include Christiane Meister, a 27-year veteran of everything from Morrowind to Fallout 4, and Dane Olds, a 20-year vet with a similar list of credits.

But hey, Fallout 5 is coming! And The Elder Scrolls 6! And Obsidian's making a new Fallout game of its own, finally – never mind the reports that Microsoft canceled the studio's Avowed follow-up in order to have it build something for the far more popular franchise. I'm certain that the developers who remain at these studios are putting their all into their work, but it's tough to see today's announcement as much more than Microsoft's attempt at jingling keys in front of the eyes of gamers who've grown increasingly exhausted of the industry's most cynical business practices.

Todd Howard says layoffs at Bethesda were "really tough": "We're going through a change so that we focus best on the franchises."

I'm sure nobody needs to be told that Bethesda's seminal RPG Skyrim is a best-seller. I mean, you don't get ported as much without having sustaining market value. But what may be surprising to hear is that The Witcher 3 has actually out-sold the dragon-heavy adventure, at least according to figures provided by the studio.

During a time of turmoil for the company and the industry as a whole, due to Xbox's widespread layoffs, Bethesda provided an official update on social media. Buried in the post, which touches on Fallout, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls 6 and more, is a little milestone for the latter's fifth mainline installment.

"With over 65 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, but we know it’s been a very long wait for the sequel," the company writes. "The next chapter is on the way. We’re where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day."

65 million copies; that's a lot. It's an amount most developers can only dream about. But then, most developers aren't Todd Howard and his team of quest-creators and dungeon masters.

If you're wondering where that ranks in terms of all-time sales, it places Skyrim in eighth, directly behind Terraria, and just ahead of Super Mario Bros on the NES. And it's actually tied with Geralt of Rivia's landmark outing, The Witcher 3.

CD Projekt Red confirmed The Witcher 3 had shifted 65 million copies in May of this year. It and Skyrim may have done so around the same time, even. But what's crucial to remember here is that The Elder Scrolls 5 had a four year head start, coming out in 2011 (I know, I know), whereas The Witcher 3 arrived in 2015.

I don't mean to cause drama here, but that sounds like a challenge. Todd, another port is in order. Make Skyrim the launch game on the next Xbox. That should do it. I mean, unless The Elder Scrolls 6 is going to be around by then - but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction": Bethesda breaks silence on long-awaited RPG

As Bethesda announces what's going on with the future of the studio, director and producer Todd Howard has acknowledged the layoffs that have hit the studio as part of Microsoft's latest batch of staff cuts.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Howard calls the cuts at Bethesda Game Studios "really tough" for him and his colleagues. This latest round of cuts saw staff at the studio laid off as part of Xbox's seemingly now-yearly mass layoffs – including 18-year veterans of the company like Ray Lederer. Bethesda as a whole also got hit hard as we also saw fellow ZeniMax Studios id Software and ZeniMax Online Studios face heavy cuts.

Howard adds, "This is Bethesda's 40th anniversary, and there have been periods where we've gone through changes," referring to a portion of the 1990s where the studio was on the brink. But now, he says, "We're going through a change so that we focus best on the franchises and what we need to do to deliver for everybody."

Word over the last week is that Xbox has been pushing Bethesda to focus on marquee titles with Bethesda Game Studios on The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, while the wider ZeniMax studios work on Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein.

Howard also spoke about his personal feelings on the layoffs with Windows Central, saying "I've been doing this a long time, whenever you've worked with people for, in some cases, many decades, and they're no longer here, that's really personally very difficult, and difficult for our teams."

These interviews have come alongside word that Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction," that Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are both getting remasters, and that Obsidian is returning to the post-apocalyptic RPG series for a new entry. But with layoffs across Bethesda and Obsidian, as one workers union has already suggested, it's hard not to see this as Microsoft trying to change the subject.

Video game fans are currently quite unhappy with everything going on at Xbox, with thousands of developers losing their jobs, and calling into question how these diminished numbers will affect development going forward. So a big blowout of every Fallout project everyone wants to know about – with nothing to actually show from them – arguably feels more like an attempt at a distraction or reassurance, rather than it being the right time to drop this news.

Bethesda says Starfield "remains an important part of our future," teasing plans for the space RPG's third year following worries from fans that the project would be swept under the rug as part of Xbox's big reset.

Over on Twitter, Bethesda speaks about what the road ahead looks like for the studio following sweeping cuts across Xbox's portfolio of studios. As for Starfield, there's seemingly still plenty to come, as Bethesda clearly proclaims, "Starfield continues." That'll be a relief for worried fans already, but thankfully there's more information on offer.

"With over 17 million players logging almost a billion hours to date, Starfield remains an important part of our future," Bethesda says. "As we enter Year 3, we'll continue expanding the Settled Systems with new stories, targeted gameplay improvements, and additional updates, while preparing for the launch of new Starborn content next year.

"More than 40% of players already customize their experience through Creations, and we'll continue investing in creators and giving players new ways to make Starfield their own."

So, why the worry? Following news of Xbox's reset that will see 3,200 jobs chopped when all is said and done, reports surfaced that studios would focus on their key franchises – including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout for Bethesda. While there were never any claims that Starfield would be tossed into the bin, fans felt uneasy that the space RPG wasn't mentioned.

Despite it all, it seems like Bethesda is continuing with Starfield for now.

That's not all for Bethesda, either. Bethesda says The Elder Scrolls 6 is going great, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are both getting remasters, and 16 years after Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian is returning to the post-apocalyptic RPG series. Busy day, then.

Oh, and Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction." Definitely a busy day.

It's official: Obsidian is returning to the Fallout series. 16 years after the launch of the beloved Fallout: New Vegas, the venerable RPG studio is returning to the post-apocalypse for a new entry that appears to be entirely separate from Fallout 5. You can count Todd Howard himself among those excited about the news.

"The wasteland continues to expand as we team up once again with our longtime friends at Obsidian Entertainment," Bethesda says in its announcement about the future of Fallout. "We're happy to confirm they're working with us on a new Fallout project. We'll have more to share in the future."

"We could not be more excited to work with Obsidian again," as Bethesda boss Todd Howard tells Bloomberg. Bethesda's level of input into Obsidian's game also isn't clear, but he says "the Fallout franchise is managed out of here and our staff and our franchise teams."

Howard doesn't offer much concrete detail on what Obsidian's game will look like, but believes the "timing is right" for the project to get started. Bloomberg previously reported that Obsidian was working on an Avowed sequel which Microsoft canceled to make room for this new Fallout project.

As part of this news blast, Bethesda also confirmed that Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction," and will presumably be released some time after The Elder Scrolls 6. The long-rumored remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas were also finally confirmed, so if you're looking for an excuse to learn why these titles are ranked so highly among the best Fallout games, you're about to find one.

Only 16 Fallout: New Vegas developers still work at Obsidian, says RPG's original writer.

Bethesda Game Studios has undeniably felt the impact of Microsoft's recent plan to cut over 3,200 employees at Xbox – but according to the company, The Elder Scrolls 6 is still chugging along just fine.

The studio reveals as much in quite a lengthy new post over on Twitter, confirming that The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently Bethesda's primary focus – and the developers feel pretty confident about the new RPG, too. That and the next Fallout game, which we now know is for sure happening.

"Our teams are now developing The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch," writes Bethesda. "It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games."

This lines up with what we know about Bethesda's in-house engine – Todd Howard said the devs are "very happy where the tech is and where it's going" early this year, describing how Bethesda has "handled" the new Creation Engine "better than we ever have" thanks to lessons learned from Starfield.

The studio's current thread continues, describing where the new Fallout and Elder Scrolls are in terms of development.

"Fallout 5 is currently in preproduction. The Elder Scrolls 6 is our primary development focus today, with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise. With over 65 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, but we know it's been a very long wait for the sequel."

That's an understatement – but Bethesda's words here are reassuring nonetheless. It has been well over a decade since Skyrim changed the RPG genre forever, leaving us all craving the next Elder Scrolls, after all.

But, as the studio confirms, "The next chapter is on the way. We're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day."

It's bittersweet, with all things considered – especially amid all of the layoffs. The company's union representatives reported a big loss of "dozens of programmers, artists, designers, and testers," which would imply quite the impact on development.

Devs affected by the layoffs also said that making new Fallout and Elder Scrolls games would "be harder than ever now" following Microsoft's Xbox cuts, so... yeah.

Here's hoping Bethesda truly is cooking with The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, and that former devs land on their feet, too.

Elder Scrolls Online is "not going to be able to put out the amount of content at the speed" it was, former dev says following Xbox layoffs.

After seemingly endless amounts of speculation and rumours, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters have been officially announced by Bethesda.

This happened in a Twitter post where Bethesda Game Studios acknowledged the future of the studio following Microsoft's latest massive wave of layoffs – including the future of its big three: Starfield, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout. While Starfield got some more proof of life and Elder Scrolls got a pretty simple "we're working on it," Fallout fans are eating right now.

Not only has Bethesda outlined the future of Fallout by confirming that Fallout 5 is in pre-production, and that the rumours are true and it will be working with Obsidian Entertainment on a new Fallout game, but the past of the series is also getting some love as Bethesda finally confirms those remasters are happening.

"We also know many players want to revisit previous Fallout experiences." Bethesda says, adding: "While we're not announcing any dates today, we have been working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas."

This duo of remasters has been heavily requested and heavily rumored since the release of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered in 2025, and while it's not exactly been a massive secret, this is the first time Bethesda has outright mentioned it's happening. Fallout 3 was first released back in 2008 and marked Bethesda's first outing with the franchise, while New Vegas was helmed by Obsidian Entertainment – a studio at the time filled with ex-Fallout 1 and 2 staffers – and is widely considered the greatest game in the franchise.

Only 16 Fallout: New Vegas developers still work at Obsidian, says RPG's original writer.

Fallout 5 is in preproduction at Bethesda as the studio prioritizes The Elder Scrolls 6.

Bethesda broke its silence today, releasing a lengthy look at the studio's pipeline and the plans for its biggest franchises. Fallout is a key focus, with Fallout 5 essentially simmering in the background.

"Our teams are now developing The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch," Bethesda explains. "It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games.

"Fallout 5 is currently in preproduction. The Elder Scrolls VI is our primary development focus today, with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise."

The Creation Engine 3 suite "extends beyond our teams to the technology, tools, and systems that will power the next generation of Bethesda RPGs," the studio adds.

Though the next mainline installment is years away, Bethesda stresses that "Fallout is one of our biggest priorities today. Fallout 5 remains our long-range destination, and we have multiple Fallout projects in active development right now."

This suite of projects includes remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, though Bethesda is "not announcing any dates today."

Partially confirming reports, Bethesda says original Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment is once again working on the franchise, though it doesn't give specifics beyond "a new Fallout project." Other reports claimed a different Fallout RPG had been in development at Obsidian before Bethesda axed it a while ago, forcing it to be similar to Fallout but not connected to the IP.

The live Fallout games, Fallout 76 and Fallout Shelter, will continue to receive new content as well. A new Fallout 76 expansion, Raven Rock, is coming in 2027 and described as "a prequel story to Fallout 3." New seasonal content awaits Fallout Shelter players, not to mention "an unscripted Fallout Shelter television project is also in the works with our partners at Amazon Studios and Kilter Films."

This flurry of announcements follows quiet years for Bethesda – its biggest franchises have gone untouched in-house for more than a decade – and a recent wave of layoffs that hit the studio as part of wide-reaching cuts ordered by Xbox.

In today's statement, Bethesda says its constellation of studios is "investing in our technology, bringing teams closer together, supporting our live games, expanding into new forms of entertainment, and developing the next generation of Bethesda RPGs."

Bethesda says The Elder Scrolls 6 is going great, actually: "We're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day."

As I look out over what was once the familiar wilderness of Albion, wearing a ridiculous stick-on beard designed to dupe the comically English bandits hiding up ahead, I can’t help but wonder if Fable 3 is the new Fable fans need. Hear me out: yes, that’s an absurd claim to make about a 16-year-old RPG that divided Xbox 360 players with its aging morality system and mandatory performative dance for menu interaction, but Microsoft’s buried PC version feels weirdly fresh.

I'm finding it hard to get excited for Fable 4 right now, given the wider situation with Xbox. Rising console prices, the cutting of 3,200 jobs, and numerous other shadows hanging over Microsoft mean I’m less hyped about Playground Games’ take on Albion than a longstanding fan of the series should be. That, and a lingering anxiety over whether the reboot will recapture Fable's original vibe, drove me to the questionable act of reinstalling my physical PC copy of Fable 3.

Here’s the thing: I was expecting running Fable 3 on a PC in 2026 to be a travesty. After all, it’s haunted by the long-dead Games for Windows Live ecosystem that once tethered it to a maligned DRM experience. Plus, I figured that since Microsoft hasn’t once attempted to provide access to the port since it was pulled from 2013, running it on newer hardware must come with pretty cursed caveats. Instead, I've been treated to a surprisingly smooth return to Albion.

A true hero

I don’t subscribe to the idea that games need to look more realistic. The industry’s obsession with realism started to bother me long before Fable 3, and I recall wondering why we were hellbent on life-like visuals while watching Solid Snake smoking his lungs out on a supermarket Plasma screen. There’s far more to visuals than flesh and bone, and Lionhead’s penultimate RPG is a testament to that.

Out of sheer arrogance, and the fact that I’d initially wrestled with installing Fable 3 on PC using Games for Windows Live patches, I cranked up the game's output to 4K. Take it from me, a silly person who runs a lot of old games on new kit – that’s a horrible idea, but taking the risk came with the instant reward of unrecognizable beauty in a game I’d previously completed on a very loud Xbox 360.

I’m not saying that if you got a magnifying glass out and started looking for texture crimes, you’d find no scene. There are occasional hang-ups of the sixth generation that’ll pop up to remind you of Fable 3’s maturity. I certainly wasn’t paying attention to them, though, as I almost didn’t recognize the regal gardens of the sequel's opening sequence, to the point where I’d believe it was a remaster.

Am I simply that easy to please? I won’t argue with anyone on that, as I do still regularly jump into much older titles on the PS2 and before. But that doesn’t change the fact that Fable 3 looks far more modern than its crummy Xbox Game Pass streaming version would lead you to believe. That’s the only active digital option Microsoft currently offers PC players, and that contributes to the idea that the best-looking version of Albion belongs to Fable Remastered.

I believe in preserving experiences, and I’m uneasy at the thought of younger players thinking that the OG remaster from 2014 is where we’re jumping from. That works in Fable 4’s favor since it’ll make the game look like a multi-generational leap, justifying its existence. It’s only when you let Albion shine in Fable 3 using a PC that you begin to really respect how vast and detailed it actually feels.

My latest Fable 3 playthrough makes me feel like a tourist, which is odd given I’ve completed it on 360 multiple times. My modern rig's draw distance puts an entirely different lens on Lionshead’s fictional realm, creating a denser route ahead than on console.

Don’t get me wrong; vastness isn’t a valuable metric unless it’s occupied. And some of the connecting routes between main settlements do feel slightly emptier compared to a grand, contemporary epic like Elden Ring. Still, we’re talking about a game from almost two decades ago that still manages to fill its world with a fantastic variety of enemies littering paths, NPCs bustling around, and buildings to explore or buy.

Yes, there’s plenty to do beyond taking in the view. I’m not talking about new-age ray-traced lighting and granular textures that would make even the priciest graphics card go brrrr. I’m simply talking about environments that are still striking when given 4K space and haven’t wrinkled, in part thanks to their distinct fairytale aesthetic. Sure, there are a few strange NPC faces now forever burned into my psyche that look a bit rough by today’s standards, but I’m not convinced uncanny Richard Aoyade isn’t keeping me up at night anyway.

The part that’s really bothering me here is that many players drawn in by the new Fable won’t get to experience this superior version of its predecessor. You’d need to hunt down a physical copy of the game, source a disc drive since your PC likely has no idea what that is, then shift patch files into the install folder.

Is Microsoft actually keeping a revamped version of the Fable 3 PC port in its back pocket for a rainy day? I don’t know about you, but my shoes are drenched, and if I can get a physical disc running at 4K and frame rates that never dip below 100, then there’s no need to bury the series’ last mainline game. I can only speak for my own mileage in terms of stability linked to the latter performance, but hey, that’s a reason in itself to make Fable 3 your “new” Fable game right now.

Clockwork Revolution isn't going to feature an overly annoying companion, thankfully, with inXile Entertainment founder and Fallout veteran Brian Fargo confirming as much.

We've all played games with less-than-ideal companions. From too much hand-holding to generally pesky personalities, there's no shortage of qualities that can make gameplay a bit of a slog to get through. The Legend of Zelda immediately springs to mind for me, with the ever-loathed (and beloved) Navi, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's Myles Mackenzie, the notoriously annoying sidekick of protagonist Samus.

Much to the gaming community's delight, however, Clockwork Revolution won't feature a companion that makes you want to connect your head with the desk – Fargo, studio head and game producer, reassures us of this in a new online post.
"Been getting questions about the companion in Clockwork Revolution. Rest assured: I LOATHE companions that point out the obvious because they think players are dumb," he writes.

"Ours only speaks when it knows something you couldn't or has something genuinely funny to say. Kept rare on purpose. Hoping by the end you say, 'I wish she talked more, not less.'" That'd certainly be the day, eh?

As for why Fargo and fellow developers at inXile chose to make their companion (presumably Prentice, the flying, foul-mouthed automaton described by publisher Xbox Game Studios last month) that way, basically, it has to do with retro games and how Fargo feels they treated their players.

"My philosophy goes all the way back to the '80s," as he explains in response to a fan agreeing that they're "so tired" of spoiler-laden companions.

"Even when the audience was truly younger than today, we always treated them with intelligence, and we never regretted doing so." That makes a lot of sense – and explains why older games feel more "difficult" in contrast.

I'm personally thrilled to learn Prentice won't be as hand-holdy, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see just how far that goes when Clockwork Revolution releases in 2027.

Time-bending RPG from Fallout veteran has choices that "take a long time to catch up with you."

Ever since the DS and Wii, Nintendo's built its brand on staying out of the AAA graphics race that its competitors have usually pursued. But the seeds of that corporate philosophy were around at least a decade earlier, when games like Super Mario 64 were at the cutting edge of 3D graphics, and RPGs were exploding across new cinematic frontiers. For Shigeru Miyamoto, though? Even in the '90s, he'd rather have just kept launching cannonballs on his OG Macintosh.

In July 1996, Miyamoto was interviewed by Kenji Eno, the developer best known for the cult horror game D. Eno, known for experimental game design, had just played the newly released Super Mario 64, and wasn't nearly as impressed as the rest of the gaming world. He dreamed of something more interactive from the 3D world, where snow would realistically react to Mario's footsteps, kicking up into snowballs as you ran around.

"I would love to do that," Miyamoto responded, according to a newly translated version of the interview on Shmuplations. "However, strategy guides exist now, so the joy of someone discovering something entirely on their own doesn't really translate anymore. Everyone expects to be able to beat the game as a given. There's a massive dilemma there."

Miyamoto's distaste for pre-determined solutions and linear exploration is part of why he decided old-school Zelda dungeons aren't "really that much fun" while making Ocarina of Time a few years later. With Mario 64, he wanted the game to be smaller in scope, but feared the market would reject something that wasn't packed with content and technical wizardry.

"In reality, instead of having six or seven stars per stage, I only wanted half that number," Miyamoto explained. "But like I said before, the foundation is set now, so we perhaps can start doing stuff like that from here on out. Do you remember that old Mac game where you'd shoot cannons at each other in a windy area? You'd adjust nothing but the launch angle and power to hit the enemy artillery hiding behind rocks. The other side would shoot back at you using the wind too."

Shumplations suggests that Miyamoto is probably talking about Cannon Fodder, not to be confused with the 1993 goofy shoot-'em-up that became a hit on Amiga. This Cannon Fodder is a simple 2D game with purely black and white graphics where your cannon fire can destroy objects in the environment.

"I think that kind of thing is far more interesting than the RPGs we see today," Miyamoto argued. "But you just can't make a game like that when you have to worry about justifying a 9,800 yen price tag. People look at a casual game like that and assume it can be made on a low budget, or that a rookie can handle it, or that if it's that simple, it could just be distributed via the Satellaview."

Satellaview was a satellite-based distribution service for Japan's equivalent to the Super NES which offered downloadable games. The idea that you purchase "big" games with high production values at a store and smaller, more experimental titles digitally would persist for years, even as digital distribution became more prevalent. That line was drawn even more strongly in the '90s.

"Everything gets manufactured based entirely on price," Miyamoto said. "Instead of opening up a playground for people to try out new ideas, everything has just become a conversation about cost. I find that a bit frustrating."

Even here in 2026, as we're being forced to say goodbye to physical games, we're still debating game prices – but it has become much easier for smaller-scale games with fresh ideas to make it to market. Who knows? Maybe Steam's next surprise hit will be all about two players shooting cannons at each other.

Zelda was Nintendo's answer to "traditional RPGs," Shigeru Miyamoto says: "We wanted the player to interact with the game world using the controller, and conquer dungeons."

Finding Ancient Bone in Palworld is not easy, as it's perhaps one of the rarest resources in the game, found only in one very small, secluded location. There's not even a Fast Travel point on the island where you get it to make life easier. So you'll either need one of the new flying mounts or a water one to get there every time.

You can only obtain Ancient Bone at the No. 3 Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a forcefield-protected island off the northeast coast of the Desiccated Dunes. However, once you finally make your way over the ocean, your problems are far from over, as I can explain below.

Where is Palworld Ancient Bone?

Palworld Ancient Bone can only be found at the No. 3 Wildlife Sanctuary, which is off the coast of the Dessicated Desert. You'll find the resource by mining skeletal remains in this area - note that skeletal remains found in other areas of Palpagos don't drop Ancient Bone.

The No. 3 Wildlife Sanctuary in the forcefield-protected island to the northeast of the Dessicated Desert, and there is no Fast Travel point there, so you'll need to use either the Deep Sand Dunes or The Furthest Flats travel points.

Once you get to the island, getting Ancient Bone is still far from easy, as there are level 50+ Alpha Pals roaming the area, and security drones crossing the skies. As a result you'll need to stealth around the area to get in and out alive - by crouching and avoiding the red scanner of the drones you can make your way to skeletal remains you can see, mine them, and get out - but always keep one eye on your surroundings until you're in the clear.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Ex-The Elder Scrolls Online senior encounter designer Morgan Goin was one of the devs let go from Zenimax Online Studios and says she can't see how the studio can maintain the same cadence of updates going forward.

Microsoft kicked off its fifth batch of layoffs since spending $75 billion on acquiring Activision Blizzard in 2023. Since then Microsoft has effectively had yearly layoffs each July, with Zenimax Online Studios – which was hit in a major way last year's layoffs, resulting in the cancellation of Project Blackbird and several high-profile departures from the company – being one of the biggest hits for of this year's wave alongside Doom developer id Software, as up to half of the devs behind Bethesda's MMO have reportedly lost their jobs.

While Bethesda did try to damage control this somewhat with a statement saying its team is the same size as in 2015, devs are painting a different story. Speaking to BBC News, Goin says she was "blindsided" by the sheer number of cuts and estimates that some disciplines at the studio have been reduced to a quarter of their pre-layoffs size. Goin adds, "We're not going to be able to put out the amount of content at the speed that we were… or anything approaching that."

Andrew Young, a senior content designer on Elder Scrolls Online from 2012 until 2024, said the MMO "basically funded other failing projects." While nothing specific was mentioned, The Elder Scrolls Blades and Legends didn't exactly light the world on fire, but it could be in reference to any number of underperforming Zenimax titles (two bad Wolfenstein spinoffs releasing on the same day, anyone?).

Like with last year's layoffs, Zenimax Online Studios is losing several high-profile staff as a result of this year's cuts, with studio head Joseph Burba, Elder Scrolls Online executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz all reportedly leaving the company.

Making Fallout and Elder Scrolls games will "be harder than ever now" following Xbox cuts, say laid-off Bethesda devs calling loss of institutional knowledge "staggering"

Palworld Cryogenic Coolant is required to make some of the most powerful cold-resistant items in the game. I'd have thought a coolant would have been required for heat-resistant gear, but clearly I'm wrong.

If you're after some of the best armor to take to Mount Obsidian or Feybreak Island, then, you might be hunting high and low for this Cryogenic Coolant. Unfortunately, looking for it to drop around the Palworld environment is going to leave you wanting, as this item can only be crafted at your base.

How to get Palworld Cryogenic Coolant

The recipe for Palworld Cryogenic Coolant can be unlocked in the Technology Tree at level 31, and it can only be crafted at a Production Assembly Line.

While it looks relatively simply to make - you only need Pal Fluids and Ice Organs to make it, both of which are easy to get by farming ice and water-type Pals like Kingpen - this mid-level item can't simply be crafted at a normal workbench. You instead need a Production Assembly Line.

This is unlocked at Level 29 and requires some hefty resources to build: 100x Ingots, 10x Cement, 5x Wooden Board, and 20x Nails. Let's hope your Base Pals have been hard at work.

With the Production Assembly Line in place and a few Ice Organs and Pal Fluids in your chests, you can now make Cryogenic Coolant. You'll need it to craft any of the following items:

• Ghangler Saddle (Level 31)
• Water Grenade (Level 33)
• Quivern Saddle (Level 36)
• Jormuntide Saddle (level 39)
• Cold-Resistant Refined Metal Armor (Level 41)
• Whalaska Saddle (Level 42)
• Quivern Botan Saddle (Level 45)
• Cold-Resistant Pal Metal Armor (Level 50)
• Cold-Resistant Plasteel Armor (Level 54)
• Plasma Multicutter (Level 54)
• Powerful Fishing Magnet (Level 61)
• Cold-Resistant Hexolite Armor (Level 64)
• Overheat Rifle (Level 64)
• Combat SMG (Level 68)
• Cold-Resistant Ancient Armor (Level 77)

Now you've got an assembly line going, put those Pals to work. To make some of the items on this list, you'll also need to find Palworld Hexolite Quartz, and you'll need some Ancient Civilization Parts, too.

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Palworld's Mozzarina isn't exactly one of the most desirable Pals for combat, but it is one of the most important animals for ranching purposes. This cute cow drops milk, which itself is required to make cakes, which are then required for breeding Pals.

This might be why it's a little harder to come by than most of the other low-level Pals. While sometimes it seems you can't move for Foxparks or Herbils, Mozzarinas are only found in an area you might not bother to access for some time. It's a low-level area, but there's not much driving you there, so you may go some time without finding a Palworld Mozzarina. When it's time to bake a cake, then, here's where to go.

Palworld 1.0 Mozzarina location

If you've already encountered a Mozzarina, for example in the Small Settlement, it should appear in your Paldeck, where it shows the location as Marsh Island and Eastern Wild Island. This is correct, but the best place to look is right near the Natural Bridge fast travel point, along the marsh island coast to the south. For some reason, these rotund milk makers seem to like lounging on the beach - who doesn't?

Once you've found one or two, you'll need to set them to work in your ranch in order to start farming milk. That's not all you'll need for Palworld breeding, though - you also need eggs, honey, and flour. Chikipi drops eggs while ranching, and honey can be obtained from Beegarde or Cinnamoth. You'll need a wheat pasture and a mill to get your hands on some flour.

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Bethesda Game Studios – and, in particular, ZeniMax Online Studios – have felt the impact of Microsoft's recent plan to cut over 3,200 employees at Xbox, with the company's union representatives reporting a loss of "dozens of programmers, artists, designers and testers."

It's no secret that the layoffs have torn through Bethesda and its Elder Scrolls Online studio, which has been hit particularly hard.

An MMO team that grew over time to quite mind-boggling figures has now been reduced to the same size it boasted over a decade ago, leaving remaining developers – and fans – concerned about the future. Those affected didn't just include devs, however… leadership has faced the chopping block, too, apparently.

We learn as much from Game File, which reportedly obtained a copy of the official notice from ZeniMax Online Studios regarding its plans to "transition" to new leadership "over the next few months" – leadership that consists of company veterans.

Leads departing include studio head Joseph Burba (who has a 14-year history at the company and was just appointed to his role last July), Elder Scrolls Online executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz.

They "will remain in place during the transition period to help ensure a smooth handoff," however.

As for who will step in to take the helm, head of business operations Joshua Henderson will run ZeniMax Online Studios alongside Nick Giacomini, who was just promoted to Elder Scrolls Online game director last August.

In their statement, the former leaders note that they predict "growth" for the MMO.

"We have tremendous confidence in Josh and Nick," they write, "the future of this studio, and the continued growth of ESO. With exciting experiences still ahead for our players as we wrap up work for Update 51 and beyond, we believe that your passion, creativity, and commitment to each other and the community will continue serving as the heartbeat of ESO."

It's bittersweet – especially after some 200+ losses at the studio.

Here's hoping that the affected developers are able to land on their feet, and ZeniMax Online Studios can pick up the pieces somehow – these certainly aren't easy times in the industry, and the impact is more evident than ever.

Making Fallout and Elder Scrolls games will "be harder than ever now" following Xbox cuts, say laid-off Bethesda devs calling loss of institutional knowledge "staggering"

Xbox subsidiary Obsidian got butchered along with most of the parent company's children during mass layoffs earlier this month, making the original Fallout: New Vegas team even more scarce. New Vegas writer Chris Avellone did the math, and it looks like only 16 of Fallout: New Vegas' total 73 developers still work at Obsidian.

"Some of the ex-NV developers were among those laid off last week, unfortunately," Avellone explains in a July 14 Twitter post on the topic. 21-year veteran art director Dan Alpert was impacted, as was animator Shon Stewart, and assistant art director Paul Fish. "Shon in particular was a big surprise when I heard about it," says Avellone, "he's a great animator."

But many New Vegas developers had already been long gone from Obsidian. Character artist Kevin Manning has spent the last seven years at Riot Games, for example, junior artist Megan Morse hasn't worked at Obsidian since 2012 and is currently an artist at Exodus studio Archetype, and Avellone himself left Obsidian – which he co-founded – in 2015. He's currently fiddling with secret "other projects, including RPGs," he says on Twitter.

Obsidian is now toiling over a new Fallout game – which may or may not be the new Fallout game we already knew about, Fallout 5 – after Xbox canceled its planned sequel to 2025 action-RPG Avowed. So while it isn't exactly thrilling news that only 20% of Fallout: New Vegas developers have jobs at Obsidian after 16 years of layoffs, game cancellations, new opportunities, and plain, old life, it's not a big surprise to me, either.

Fallout co-creator Tim Cain returned to Obsidian in 2025 for an unrevealed project, and co-creator Leonard Boyarsky has spent the last decade at Obsidian. This doesn't satisfy the people on Twitter who begged Avellone for his Obsidian stats to begin with, but so little does.

"I wasn't sure about a few people on the list, so this may get revised," Avellone adds on Twitter. "Still, better than nothing and a lot better than yelling back and forth."

Fallout: New Vegas writer says he feels "embarrassed" by some of the Fallout TV show dialogue, but has no notes for "really cool" Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

Game development is not a career where many people make a fortune. Most are lucky to get back the monetary cost of their project. Occasionally, you see the opposite, such as what happened for the solo developer behind Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot.

That dev, operating under the name Hamma Studios, made a Reddit thread commemorating the four year anniversary of what's now a notable milestone for their career. In July 2022, they noted a flurry of activity on the Itch.io demo for what would become Dwarves, as it was played over one thousand times.

This led to a spurt of motivation for them to do more, though at the time they were unsure when an update might come, since they were just a hobbyist developer at that point. Well, a lot can happen in four years, and now Hamma Studios has shifted over 300,000 copies of the game, turning that hobby into a full-fledged career.

"That prototype became Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot and has now sold 300,000+ copies, completely changing my life," they write. "Guess the most important part is to just never give up. The 300,000+ copies were sold across Steam, Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS."

To be honest, it doesn't matter where they were sold – those are the exact opposite of rookie numbers. The full version of Dwarves, an auto-battler strategy RPG of sorts, arrived in January of this year on Steam, where SteamDB estimates over half of those 300,000 copies were sold, and over 80% of its reviews are positive.

A quick glance at Steam Charts reveals an all-time high of 5,195 concurrent players for Dwarves, which is not bad at all for a one-person, single-player release. In the comments of their post, the dev writes that, although "cuts and taxes" mean they aren't quite a millionaire, they're still in a good place financially.

"I get to live comfortably as a full-time gamedev (at least for a few years)," they write. In a follow-up comment, they break down how $1 million dollars in gross revenue on Steam would theoretically only yield $185,000 take home pay due to various charges, taxes, and so on.

One particularly notable chunk is a 40% cut for an imagined publisher. Sidekick Publishing and Gamersky Games co-published Dwarves, though it's unclear how their arrangement compares to the hypothetical presented.

That might seem like a lot, but since Hamma Studios is just one employee, there was likely substantial work taken off their desk in the deal, spread across admin, PR, marketing, and other headache-inducing bits and pieces.

All in all, the story is an interesting data point and a glimmer of hope during a distressing time in the games industry and game developers. Chase your dreams - you never know where they may take you.

Making Fallout and Elder Scrolls games will "be harder than ever now" following Xbox cuts, say laid-off Bethesda devs calling loss of institutional knowledge "staggering"

Pure Quartz is one of two types of Palworld quartz, along with Hexolite Quartz. Both have different uses and are mined in different biomes, so to help you avoid confusion, I've got the locations of both, and how to farm them right here.

Both types of quartz are incredibly valuable, owing to their inclusion some pretty essential high-level blueprints, such as Hexolite armor and the all-important Circuit Board. So, if you're having trouble locating either, here's everything you need to know.

How to get Palworld Pure Quartz

Pure Quartz is found in the Astra Mountains in Palworld, which is a challenging area to navigate due to the extreme cold. Fortunately, there are a few Pure Quartz deposits in the grassy areas along the eastern coast, which aren't as cold, making for easier mining.

As always with any ores, you could also be sure to have a mining Pal in your party, such as Tombat, who will aid will collecting the mineral faster.

Once you've found some, Pure Quartz is used for a few recipes, but the most important is the Circuit Board, which itself is then used in electrical blueprints like advanced workbenches and assembly lines.

You can farm Palworld Pure Quartz at your base once you reach Technology Level 52 and unlock the Pure Quartz Quarry.

How to get Palworld Hexolite Quartz

Palworld Hexolite Quartz is found on Feybreak Island, and this pretty mineral can be used for crafting some pretty decent armor, but only once you reach Technology Level 59. The good news is that there's also a Hexolite Quartz Mine available on the Ancient Technology tree at Level 63, so you can farm plenty of the resource from the safety of your own home - or, rather, get Pals to do it for you.

For help farming other materials, check out our guides on Palworld leather, hardwood, and Meteorite Fragments.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Bethesda Game Studios has been feeling the impact following Microsoft's plan to cut over 3,200 employees at Xbox, with the company's union representatives reporting a big loss of "dozens of programmers, artists, designers and testers."

Unsurprisingly, these layoffs will likely have an impact on Bethesda's ongoing and future projects – like The Elder Scrolls 6, which fans have been eagerly waiting nearly 15 years for now.

Former developers affected by the widespread cuts from Microsoft report as much, too, with such sources telling Game Developer that Bethesda will feel the blow of the situation in its work on such new games.

"Bethesda Game Studios lost a lot of talent this week," one ex-dev says. "Xbox says they want to focus on their core franchises like Fallout and Elder Scrolls, but that's going to be harder than ever now."

In other words, this is a large setback for Bethesda, as the remaining folks working on the big series struggle to balance the shockwaves from the layoffs with a quick enough recovery so that development might move along.

It's not just Bethesda, either. As another source tells the outlet, "The institutional knowledge that has been lost or will be lost completely as individuals leave the gaming industry all together is staggering. Those that are left must be scrambling to pick up the pieces."

That's a troubling thought to try and stomach, to say the least, but it does seem to reflect the current industry's climate. Things are undeniably turbulent.

This all lines up with what Bethesda has recently been saying, too – that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be hurt and potentially delayed by the Microsoft layoffs, and that they've "had a crushing effect on morale" at the company.

We can already see this with The Elder Scrolls Online, which has been hit particularly hard by the Xbox debacle. Who knows how it might impact new Fallout and Elder Scrolls titles?

I just hope the affected developers are able to land on their feet, and Bethesda resurfaces despite the layoffs – the book isn't closed for good here yet, after all.

As Elder Scrolls Online fans fear for the MMO, Bethesda reportedly confirms its team is the same size it was when it delivered some of its best content.

If you're trying to find Hardwood in Palworld you must be over level 40, as that's where the recipes that require this are found. If that's the case, then you've probably already reached the areas needed to find this material, even if you're not immediately locating it. But, with any luck, that also means you've got a fast travel point or two ready to go and just get where you need to go.

If you're having trouble, I can tell you where you need to go on the vast Palpagos map to find hardwood trees, and I've also got the secret to farming them at your base. So read on if you want to start building high quality Palworld structures.

Where to find Palworld Hardwood

There are a few regions of the map in which hardwood can be found in Palworld, and a range of trees you can get it from, but none of the options are near the starting area:

• Twilight Dunes (spiky trees)
• Mount Obsidian (dead trees)
• Sakurajima (Sakura trees)
• Feybreak Island (red, orange, yellow, and white trees)
• Desiccated Desert (dead trees, spiky trees)
• Astral Mountains (white trees)

Not all trees found in the areas I've listed above drop hardwood, which is why I've called out the best ones to look for. It's also worth remembering that a higher quality axe will improve the yield you receive, so use a Refined Metal Axe, or even a Pal Metal Axe if you can, to get more.

How to farm Palworld Hardwood

You can actually farm hardwood in Palworld, thanks to an incredibly useful crafting recipe hidden in the Ancient Technology tree at level 43: the Logging Site 2. If you need or want a lot of hardwood you should unlock this as soon as possible, build at least one in your base and then set some logging Pals to work on it, and you'll soon have chests full of Palworld Hardwood.

For other useful resources, check out our guides on Palworld leather and Meteorite Fragments.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Hunger defies the extraction shooter formula in many ways, but we'll start with the semantics. In the hour I spend picking through its Napoleonic-era French countryside, which has been ravaged by the undead victims of a devastating plague, I often reach for my sword over the flintlock pistol fastened to my belt. But Hunger's individuality goes beyond pedantic limb-hacking. Here is a self-described "extraction RPG," where players leave the safety of their chateau's walls not necessarily to slaughter each other – though that's certainly an option – but to scavenge for supplies, be it extra ammunition or materials to be used in MMO-style professions.

While getting hands-on with the game, I'm accompanied by director Max Rea, who FPS fans may know as one of the key developers behind hardcore World War 2 shooter Hell Let Loose. It remains one of the best FPS games I've played – and is certainly the most absorbing – so it's good news, then, that Hunger is being made by "all the same people" reconstituted under developer Good Fun Corporation.

Now, the team is wielding its longstanding love of extraction shooters to bend the genre's framework to their will. "Arc Raiders is probably the closest thing to [Hunger], mixed with a bit of Dark and Darker and a bit of Escape from Tarkov," says Rea. "We have tried to position it much more as kind of like an Elder Scrolls-style extraction shooter [...] We feel there's [still] depth, but it should hopefully feel more intuitive if you've played, for instance, Morrowind, Skyrim, those types of games."

La grande vision

With Hunger, the team at Good Fun Corporation can flex their imaginations without adhering to the historical accuracy their past work demanded. "Being very honest, with Hell Let Loose, it was so prescriptive," says Rea. "There were no creative decisions for us to make with regard to context, because it was so antithetical to what we should be doing in our mission of recreating history."

Going the opposite way, Rea's team imagines Napoleonic Europe, still reeling from war, struck by an apocalyptic zombie-esque plague. Hordes of its victims, the titular Hunger, roam the countryside, forcing survivors to take shelter in a fortified chateau. The chateau serves as a base of operations to trade and store gear, take on quests, hone professions, and compare your fit to other players. "It's kind of mirroring that capital city vibe in World of Warcraft [...] It's a very performative space," offers Rea.

Stepping outside of the chateau's walls, Hunger's devastated countryside brings smoky oil paintings of the Battle of Waterloo to mind, and I'm reminded of Christopher Buehlman's exceptional medieval horror Between Two Fires. Passing through a ruined village, it's hard to tell whether it's been destroyed by the Hunger or pillaged by a marauding army. "We like the idea of a Napoleonic era gone wrong – kind of 28 Days Later meets Napoleonic history – and then we injected a lot of this Renaissance artwork and really mined the era," says Rea. "We've ended up with this strange mix of gothic Renaissance vibe running into Napoleonic history."

While Hunger's setting stands out, so too does its approach to extraction norms. Good Fun Corporation takes a streamlined approach to the often-hardcore genre, with Rea's Arc Raiders comparison proving accurate. It's certainly a far cry from the hours I've spent in Escape from Tarkov – for starters, I'm hacking up zombies with delightfully snappy directional melee combat – and as Rea explains, Good Fun Corporation is keen for Hunger to shine as an RPG.

"We've played extraction shooters for a long time, and really enjoyed them, and felt fundamentally that they were almost a roguelike take on what would otherwise be a linear experience," he says. "We wanted to have our take on it but blend in more elements, remove the [progression] spine away from gear, which is what it is in Tarkov, and put it instead into the stuff we loved, which was RPGs, and progressing a character and skill trees."

Rea points to wipes, which are the practice of resetting players' stashes back to default in the likes of Escape from Tarkov and Marathon – designed to maintain a level playing field.

"Wiping in Tarkov was a happy accident, something they had to do because of their infrastructure, but it's unheard of that you would wipe your character in World of Warcraft or an RPG [...] You simply start a new character if you want to play through a different experience," Rea explains. "As we got older, the idea of having months of progress wiped was really off-putting. It didn't suit me anymore, and I like the idea of constantly progressing and being able to focus on different aspects of progression, rather than getting all the gear, become super powerful, and dunking on everyone so much that the whole game has to be reset."

The team are "all old school World of Warcraft players," which has informed much of Hunger's direction. Professions, for example, encourage players to lean on each other's expertise to craft powerful gear. "You work with friends, potentially in a guild, and can craft [things for] each other," says Rea. A Scavenger or Naturalist may venture outside to collect materials for other professions, for example, while more hands-on roles like Gunsmith or Physician will see players turn those raw materials into gear. These MMO-style professions create a middle-ground between Hunger's player market and NPC traders, offering an alternative to gearing up beyond yanking it from someone's still-warm corpse. It's also handy for balance: players are encouraged to create another character to cover all professions, diverting the formula away from wipes.

"The path we see players take in Hunger is to effectively have a suite of characters that they unlock one after the other," says Rea. "We're looking at the best RPGs and best MMORPGs in the world and saying 'what do they do?' Why is it that you're not deleting your Oblivion save file? Why are you not deleting a World of Warcraft character? Because you've got to make a brand new one to play through, while also keeping your main, and then balancing the different going concerns of the characters you have. You're taking new professions on your character, you're doing a new build, so on."

By "moving the spine of progression away purely from gearing and therefore killing people," Rea hopes to let Hunger's RPG elements shine all the brighter. "We wanted to set up tons of different motivators for a player, be it finishing quests, exploring a particular location, or farming particular items and resource nodes. In that way we've tried to make it so that yes, you can PvP, but it's not the whole reason you play the game [...] We want to be in a place where players who are not massive extraction sweats, for lack of a kinder term, feel excited to jump in and have lots of interesting things to do.

That's not to say the more cold-hearted among us will be left empty-handed. Each map in Hunger will feature below-ground dungeons designed to "draw the very dangerous players" – Rea compares them to Escape from Tarkov's end-game Labs map – and as a PvP fan myself, I can't wait to see how fighting another player with a clunky flintlock pistol and saber goes. Rea laughs when I ask how melee versus ranged tactics will feel balanced. "It's funny because it goes back and forth. The Discord community is like 'melee sucks, I keep getting killed by ranged,' and then the other half are saying 'ranged sucks, I keep getting killed by melee', which is great because that's where we want to be!"

Playing Hunger, I find myself taken with its wider lens. Where other extraction shooters dig further into the genre's niches – Tarkov's realism, Marathon's breakneck PvP, Arc Raiders' PvE – Hunger is more concerned with iterating outwards. By tracing the genre's RPG roots back to their source, Good Fun Corporation has landed on a vision that doesn't feel crammed between its peers – and if you're half the extraction sicko I am, Hunger is already one to salivate over.

Unlike, say, Mass Effect or Fable, you won't find any outright, objectively good endings in Fallout: New Vegas. There are more morally justifiable outcomes, but none that are straight ahead bright and optimistic. But the RPG's director, Josh Sawyer, nonetheless has a preferred conclusion – based on power dynamics.

"I mean, some people would say like, 'I love Caesar,' and great, but it's kind of hard to hand everything over to an individual like Caesar or Mr. House," he tells The Examined Game. "It feels dangerous. And then with [New California Republic], you just realize like, man, they've got a lot of problems. Like, they have a lot of problems right now. They're doing things for a lot of very questionable reasons."

The NCR is a nebulous faction, within which you may find people who are using its resources and reach to build a better tomorrow for the Mojave. But Sawyer argues, "it's difficult to wrestle with that and come away and say like, yeah, I think NCR is great."

Thus, he thinks the most worthwhile Fallout: New Vegas outcome is to give New Vegas itself the independence it so desires. "I know it's going to be dysfunctional, I know it's going to be bureaucratic, I know there's going to be corruption, but also it hasn't been tried yet, right?" Sawyer muses. "Like we haven't organized this yet, so let's give it a try."

I won't argue, given how many political situations the real world is in where it seems like any sort of alternative would be an improvement to what's happening. Plus, a running theme of Fallout is how different factions are all perpetuating the same tribalism and constant desire for power. Going for an independent New Vegas ending breaks the region out of that back-and-forth.

It's not a conclusion I've personally gotten in any of my New Vegas playthroughs... mostly because I've only played to credits once. Usually, I like to play New Vegas just to disappear into the wasteland, pretending I'm in Mad Max and going where I'm needed.

If only there was a remaster of Fallout: New Vegas coming, so others and I could have an easy opportunity to experience New Vegas' ending as Sawyer most likes. One can dream, eh?

Fallout: New Vegas level scaling is designed to teach players that "this is not actually Fallout 3," Josh Sawyer says: "You're going to get your ass handed to you if you're not careful."

The Witcher remake developer Fool's Theory is working on under the supervision of CD Projekt Red is going to be open-world, like the fantasy series' more recent installment, The Witcher 3. But, according to the original 2007 game's lead story designer Artur Ganszyniec, it shouldn't be.

Ganszyniec tells Polish website Chip in an interview GamesRadar+ translated with DeepL and Google that converting The Witcher to a spacious open world would make it so "the pace and scale of the entire project would change immediately." He has this nagging theory that more land requires more content – and if you're like me and have played through expansive open worlds like in Shadow of the Erdtree and sighed a spoiled sigh at all the empty plains, you know he's right.

To Ganszyniec, the original Witcher is made more powerful by its snappy narrative and deliberate pacing. "We knew exactly where the player would be," he says, so CD Projekt Red developers could plan environments and cutscenes with a surgeon's intuition. But in an open-world version of the game, Ganszyniec muses, a player could instead grab something like a boat on Lake Vizima and just glide through its fifth act with no regard at all for the 2007 game's ruined old manor and carefully planned challenges.

If that were the case, I wonder if it would even really feel like you were still playing The Witcher 1. And if not, then a 20-year-old game might lose its value in most ways other than as a ploy to sell more copies.

"At some point, a pragmatic question must be asked: when does this multiplication of paths cease to be profitable?" Ganszyniec wonders. "You can invest an infinite amount of time and budget, but will it generate an infinite number of new players?"

In any case, The Witcher remake is going to be open-world. But Ganszyniec's questions are worth sitting with as the video game industry continues to decide if it still values preservation of the past on its journey of wanting infinitely more.

The Witcher 1 Remake made CD Projekt Red realize the "true impact" of not recording its old work: "We had little to no technical knowledge preserved from that time."