PlayStation goes all-digital, lessons learned for Square Enix, and what happens when fantasy projects collide with the reality of Xbox's restructure

Looking for something excellent to read this weekend? We published over 400 articles on GamesRadar+ this week, but here's my pick of the six stories that you absolutely need to read.

1. Final Fantasy 14 is leaning the right lessons from Dawntrail as it enters the Evercold era

Final Fantasy 14 may be one of the longest-running MMOs still in active service, but that doesn't mean there isn't still room for improvement. Square Enix is honest about the challenges it faces as it prepares to deploy the new Evercold expansion next year, with assistant director Tsuyoshi Yokozawa explaining that there's "much to learn from missteps" made with the eight-player raid series in Dawntrail. This exclusive interview outlines how the Evercold team is drawing on past experience to outline a "firm guideline for our future battle content development."

2. Milestone Reached: Cyberpunk 2077 hits a sales record as CDPR clears up its brand heritage

CD Projekt RED is hard at work on The Witcher 4, a new IP, and a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, but that doesn't mean the studio doesn't have time to take a little victory lap. It was confirmed this week that over 40 million players have visited Night City, quite the turnaround given how hostile the RPG was to tourists during the 2020 launch window. CDPR took this opportunity to also clear up some confusion between CD Projekt and CD Projekt RED, opting to combine the two entities under one banner.

3. PlayStation readies for a digital-only future, on the same day it closes down two online storefronts

The video game industry has been gradually shifting towards a digital-only future for some time now. Rockstar Games opting to ship a code in a box for GTA 6's physical edition felt like a sign of the changing times, and now Sony has confirmed it: "Physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028." The news arrived on the same day that Sony confirmed that the PlayStation Store on PS3 and Vita will shut down, highlighting the perils of a digital-only future.

4. Fantasy meets reality: Why turmoil at Xbox is impacting IO Interactive and Project Fantasy

IO Interactive has been on a victory lap in recent weeks, celebrating the release of 007: First Light and a smattering of new Hitman and World of Assassination content. Speaking with me back in June, CEO Hakan Abrak said that Project Fantasy – a new online fantasy RPG – would be revealed "soon", although IOI has since found itself caught in the crosshairs of a Microsoft restructure. Xbox was due to fund the game but, with that support now pulled, the future of Project Fantasy is mired in uncertainty. Get caught up on the situation here.

5. The team responsible for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has no plans to play it safe

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories of the current generation, with the turn-based RPG surpassing all expectations when it launched early last year. Does that mean that developer Sandfall Interactive is going to play it safe with its next game? Absolutely not. In fact, game director Guillaume Broche says he "doesn't really care" if players like whatever comes next as much as they did Expedition 33. It's a candid conversation, one which highlights the creative struggle that Sandfall will undoubtedly face as it works to build on such solid foundations.